The Mafia's Prize

Katya knew that her father was perhaps the most stubborn man she had known. He was the kind of man that commanded silence when he walked into a room and could make a man confess without so many words.

But when you live with a brute for twenty years, you somehow become immune to his cold stares and loud orders, which was why she was hastily throwing her clothes into a box against his wishes. She would follow him to Moscow this time, whether he liked it.

“Your father is not going to be pleased, Katya. He said that you are to wait here until he returns.”

Her governess said as she walked into the room.

“You know how he is, Alliluyeva. He will never let me go with him, even when I am married with children. This is my chance to see Russia, and I will not let him take it from me, “Katya replied, stuffing more clothes in, a scowl on her face.

Her governess came to her side and took her face in her palm.

“You have your father’s scowl, but I am afraid it does not suit you at this very moment. You know your father as well as I do; if he sees you on the jet, he will order you to return here and locked up inside the mansion. Remember what happened on your sixteenth birthday?”

Katya sighed. Two weeks before she turned sixteen, she had written her cousins a letter after she found an address in her father's mail. She learned that her aunt had just given birth and asked her father if she wanted to see them for her sixteenth birthday. And, as always, he refused.

But being almost sixteen and strong-willed, she was determined to do everything it took to make the trip. So, she took a cab and snuck into her father's jet before take-off. She would have gotten away with it, except she had motion sickness and could not stomach the vomit. Her father had ordered the plane to go back and given orders to the security guards to keep her confined to the house for a month.

“He will not get me this time. I am much better. I did not throw up when we went on the school trip to New York.” she replied stubbornly.

“And when your father calls to ask if you are here?” her governess placed one hand on her hip.

Katya smiled at her.

“You will tell him I am here, won’t you? Papa won’t doubt if you vouch for me.”

Luyeva shook her head.

“nyet. I will not lie to your father. He needs to know that you are safe, and besides, I will lose my job.”

“You know that no matter what you do, he is not going to fire you because he will not find someone else that will put up with his stubborn, overbearing daughter. You are, as they say, invaluable,” Katya corrected her.

Alliluyeva had been in the family before Katya's mother died at childbirth. She organized, arranged, managed, and practically kept the household together. If there was anyone her father trusted his daughter's life with, it was her.

Her governess smiled. “Somebody had to make sure that your hands were clean, and you came down for dinner. But-" she raised a finger when the girl wanted to speak, "I will not go against his wishes. You must understand that he is doing it to keep you safe."

Katya shrugged.

“Okay. I will not go. I will stay put and remain in the prison that he has sentenced me to.”

Her governess rolled her eyes.

“Dramatic too. When you are done unpacking, you can come to the kitchen. I told the cook to bake a cake for you,” she told her and left the room.

Robert watched her walk into his study, a knowing look on her face. He sighed inside; Katya must be up to something.

”Trying to sneak out again?”

Luyeva nodded.

“She is determined that she is old enough to follow you. She was packing her clothes into a bag when I walked into the room,” she informed him.

”And…?”

“Talked her out of it. Luckily for you, your daughter knows how to back down from an impossible fight,” she replied.

His relief was visible.

“Thank you.”

“But I don’t think you will be able to keep her here for much longer. She might have listened to me today, but you should consider she is a young woman now. What she wants is far beyond these walls,” Luyeva said.

“She will learn to stay here. It is in her best interest. “Robert said.

“She wants to come with you. It would be best if you took her on this trip to satisfy her curiosity. If you keep a bird caged for too long, when it finds a way to fly, it flies far and high and never returns.”

Robert’s expression turned hard.

“I am not keeping my daughter in a cage. I am protecting her, and you should know better. I will not have her end up the same way, and she will never breathe in the air in Russia. Not as long as I live.” He finished and turned his back to the way, effectively dismissing her.

Taking her cue, Luyeva walked away, arms behind her back- her expression thoughtful.

Robert turned around when the door closed softly. For a moment, he had to hold on to the chair as his knees felt weak. She wasn't wrong- keeping Katya in was proving harder than he thought. It was only a matter of time before she decided that her father did not know what was best for her.

But he did. He wished he could tell her the truth, tell her why his decision was best. Maybe that would make everything easier. No, no- he swore that he would protect her. And he would do so, whether she liked it or not.

Food, Katya thought as she woke up the following day, the sun frowning on her. She felt strangely hungry.

She had gotten to her bedroom door when she remembered that she wasn't wearing anything except her nightshirt. And her hair must look like a rat's nest. What would papa say if he saw her like this? He would tell her- his sternest face on, that “a young woman should look respectable at every time.”

Then she remembered that her father had gone on a trip without her.

With the knowledge she had and a smile on her face, she bounded down the corridor, hoping to coax a meal out of the cook.

“Katya! Where is your dress? And why is your hair looking so unkempt?”

Luyeva’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

She turned to her governess, standing close to the kitchen door, a bored look on her face.

“Oh, not you too. Papa nags me enough when he is around. I should have some time off to do whatever I like when he leaves me here.”

“Katya, you should go put on-

Katya did a little dance to where she stood.

“Oh, loosen up and have some fun. You don’t have to be so strict now that the old man isn’t giving us the death stare. You know what? We should go out, buy many things that we don’t need and give them out. It won’t dent his account, but it’ll give him something to think about.” She placed an arm around Luyeva’s neck, “What do you think?”

”Good morning,” a male’s voice had her turning around.

A man wearing a clean, pressed suit and holding a briefcase stood in the middle of the living room. Who the hell was he? She turned to Luyeva for an explanation.

“Katya,” the woman gestured, “meet Michal.”

“Okay?” Katya prompted her to continue. Who was Michal, and why was he in her house? Why was he carrying a briefcase? If he was one of papa’s business friends, he should know that her father wasn’t around.

“Michal was sent here by your father.”

“And my father has gone on a trip. He will have to come back later, whenever papa comes back.”

Luyeva shook her head. “Michal is not a business friend of your father’s. Your father sent him here to take care of you. To watch over you while he is away,” she explained.

If her jaw could have hit the floor, Katya was sure that moment would have made it happen. All she could settle for was a shocked expression, and she was indeed shocked.

“To take care of me? What does he think I am, twelve? This must be a joke,” she said.

Her governess shook her head.

“Your father decided you needed something more than me. Michal will remain on the premises to see that you don’t leave the mansion until your father returns.”

Katya shook her head firmly. This was not happening, not today and not ever. She was twenty, for goodness sake! Her father had some explaining to do. She stared at the stranger in the clean suit angrily.

“I don’t know who you are, but I can assure you that this is a big mistake. I will call my father and have him rectify-“ she spread both arms out, “- this situation.” And with that, she stormed off.

Back in her room, she took out her phone and dialed her father’s number, her body trembling with anger. She had tolerated many things in her life- choice of school, friends, clothes, but this she would not stand for.

The call went through on the fifth ring, and her father’s gruff voice came around. “Katya?”

“Why would you send someone to watch over me? You barely let me leave this place or have my own life. What more do you want that I haven’t given to you?!”

“Katya, listen. It is for your good.”

"Bullshit. There is nothing to protect me from. You always say you do things for my good or my protection, yet I cannot see the good or the wrong that is after me. All you are is a self-conceited, selfish person who is so obsessed with dominating everybody that he doesn't see how it affects his daughter!

You are not doing all of this for me. You are doing it for your selfish self! “

“You will not speak to me in that tone,” her father’s voice was cold as ice.

Her laughter was strained, and frustration rang through. “You can use that tone on anyone else, but you should know that it doesn’t work for me. After living with you for twenty years, nothing works. What I would like you to do is send your puppet home.”

“I can’t do that,” her father’s reply was curt.

“Then I guess we don’t have anything else to discuss,” Katya said. “And one more thing… it would be best never to come home. You are never around that your presence would matter anyways.”

She ended the call and sank to the ground, weak with anger- tears filling her face. She did not mean to lose her temper or say those things. But, she wanted more, craved a life of her own. The realization that no matter how she tried, it would not happen had her curling up on the ground, sobs racking through her body.

She imagined what her life would be like to be independent, to be her, but little did she know what she would encounter in the future.