Page 18 of King

We walk down the hallway to the study.

“Yes, yes.Family.”My father nods, his expression serious.“Is everything.Without family, what are you?Nothing.Come in, come in.”He points to the open door to his study, and we enter.Inside, my stepbrothers and his new wife are waiting.

We spend the first fifteen minutes saying hello and catching up on everyone’s news.

“Congratulations,” my stepbrother Ivan says, turning to us.“Father tells us that you two are now married.Why did you skip the big wedding?”

I turn to Harrison, who squeezes my hand.“We want a reception for everyone to help celebrate, but given what happened, we wanted to marry as soon as possible.”

He nods in understanding.“We heard about what happened.”He makes a face.“News about things like what happened to you travels fast in the Russian community.”

“I understand,” I say and exhale.“What about you?What’s new with you?”

For the next half hour, my half-brothers regale me with their stories about their families, football games, and business dealings — the ones you can talk about, of course.It’s all very nice, friendly and truly warm.

Maybe they really do want to reconnect.Part of me always worried that they were as instrumental as I was — reconnecting to accomplish their own goals.But now, I see that they really do have ordinary lives outside of my father’s business.They are real people, with loves, lives and dreams.

In the corner of my father’s study is his baby grand piano — a memory of it is still vivid in my mind.My father can play.He studied music and genuinely hoped to be a performer, but the family troubles forced him to drop out of music school and become part of the business.I realize when I see it that the fact that Harrison also plays is part of what attracted me to him.Anyone who can feel music, really feel it and understand the emotions can’t be all bad.

At least, that’s what I always told myself about my father, despite everything my mother told me about him and his business dealings.

“Father,” I say and point to the piano.“Do you still play?I remember listening to you play Chopin as a child.”

“Does he still play?”Ivan says with a laugh.“When doesn’t he play?Play something for us,Papa.”

My father shrugs and looks up at the ceiling.“If you insist.”He laughs and then goes over to the piano and sits down, opening the cover.“What would you like to hear?”

I remember one piece he used to play that is burned into my childhood memory.“Rachmaninov.Prelude in C Sharp Minor.”

He laughs and smiles at me.“Just the Prelude.Nothing difficult.”

“You used to play it,” I protest.“My mother said you could have been a concert pianist.”

“Ah, yes.I could have.But maybe I will only play the first part.The easy part.I’m too old and too rusty to play the whole piece.”

But of course, he does play the whole piece.His face is almost euphoric as he plays, the emotions playing over his features showing how much he loves the piece.

It brings tears to my eyes.

When he finishes, he glances over at me and sees that I’m wiping my eyes.Right away, he comes over and pulls me into an embrace.

“Oh, my dear Natalia,” he whispers.

“Papa,” I say, and bite my cheek to keep from weeping.

I know that whatever happens, I will do my best to spare my father if I can.It’s only then that I understand Harrison’s desire to keep the family business from being destroyed completely.

I glance over at him, and he is nodding.

He understands.

ChapterNine

Harrison

I see Natalia’s tears — her real tears.I know that I must do everything in my power to keep Stepan out of prison.Maybe we can eventually work out some kind of non-prosecution agreement with the FBI or Justice Department so he can stay free, and Natalia can re-establish their relationship.

It all depends on how amenable he is to cooperation.I have to get to know him better.I have to develop a closer relationship with him so I can judge whether he is salvageable or a lost cause.