Chapter Text
Oksana stood on the roof of a building staring out into the Mediterranean Sea with a pair of binoculars, completely bored out of her mind. She hated having to come with her father to his meetings, however as she was his only child and heir to his position as head of the Russian mafia, it was required of her to learn the ropes. If she had it her way she’d be out doing literally anything else, like shopping. She even thought about exploring the city's nightlife tonight, smiling at the idea of taking home a beautiful Italian woman.
“Oksana," her father, Konstantin, said in a scolding tone, “you better be paying attention.” She rolled her eyes behind the binoculars she was using.
“Can’t I listen and enjoy the view at the same time?” she asked in a sarcastic tone. She turned to see her father regarding her with a disapproving look. Sighing, she lowered the binoculars and crossed her arms, giving him a look that indicated she was listening. Satisfied he turned back to the two men he was sitting with, switching back to Italian to continue their meeting. Though it was not his nor Oksana’s native language, it was one they spoke almost fluently considering they often did deals with the Italian mafia and spent quite a bit of time in said country. In fact, Oksana loved Italy more than Russia these days and often opted to stay in one of their homes on the Mediterranean coast.
Today, the men talking with her father were well known sellers within the blackmarket and were working to establish a business arrangement with him. Oksana didn't catch all the details, but it seemed like they were trying to get Konstantin in on a sex-traffiking deal, of which he didn't appear to be too happy about. Suppressing a yawn, she continued to half-heartedly listen to the discussion. Around the time her father started to express his lack of interest in the whole ordeal, she grew bored enough again to turn and resume looking out into the sea.
After a few minutes of peering out onto the beaches, something caught her attention. She paused, focusing the binoculars on a wild mane of curly, black hair. She let out a faint gasp, ignoring the bodyguard standing beside her who eyed her with concern. Oksana hadn't seen a beautiful head of hair like that in years, not since Anna.
Anna was an anomaly for her. She typically didn’t form emotional attachments with anyone, purely using others for her own satisfaction, but with Anna it was different. Konstantin had hired her to teach Oksana various languages in order to better prepare her for her future within the mafia. They hit it off immediately and Oksana looked forward to spending time with her at their daily lessons.
Ultimately, they had formed a sort of romantic entanglement despite the fact that Anna was not only twice her age, but also had a husband. The obsession might have gone a bit too far when Oksana felt the need to get said husband out of the way. Needless to say it didn't end well, and Konstantin was not happy about having to clean up that mess. Oksana, on the other hand, was left heartbroken.
She pushed the thoughts of Anna from her mind and instead watched the Asian woman with amazing hair stroll along the beach. She had to be at least two decades older than Oksana, maybe in her mid-to-late forties. She was wearing a white tank top and dark blue sarong, a pair of strappy sandals held in her hands. Oksana's eyes continued to follow her, mesmerized by the way the wind played with her hair and the sun shone on her skin.
The bodyguard beside her pointedly coughed, breaking her from her trance. Annoyed, her gaze left the woman and landed on him.
"You should probably focus on what your father's saying rather than staring at older women. You know what happened last time," he reprimanded her in Russian. She stared at him in disbelief. It was one thing for her father to scold her, but one of the bodyguards? Especially since she would be their boss one day. Just as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, Konstantin was suddenly next to them, meeting apparently over with.
"Did you hear what this asshole just said to me?" Oksana asked, turning to look at her father. With a hardened face, Konstantin nodded his head at the bodyguard, dismissing him.
"Oksana."
"Father," she mimicked back, mocking his tone.
"You need to start taking your role in life seriously," he said, looking out at the woman she was previously staring at. "It is time you stop fooling around and take on some responsibility." She groaned in response, having heard this speech a thousand times before.
"No, listen," he interrupted, "I am not going to be around forever and eventually you will have to take over." He set his hands on her shoulders, gaze softening. "This is a tough job Oksana, I just want you to be fully prepared."
"I understand, Father," she sighed, "but I-"
Her sentence was cut short by a loud, sudden gunshot. Warm, wet blood splattered her face and she watched a red spot form on Konstantin's silk button down, right above his heart.
"Father!" she yelled as he slowly sank to the ground in her arms, "No, please!" Around them, their men started to shout, chaos erupting. Oksana tried to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but it was fruitless, he was going to die here. Konstantin's gaze found hers as he took one of her hands in his.
"I believe in you," he managed to sputter out. Then his eyes grew cold and he took one last, labored breath, leaving her forever. She cupped his face with both hands, tears starting to form in her eyes.
The bodyguard who had chided her before knelt beside them, worry written on his face. Oksana turned to look at him as the tears finally spilled over.
"He's gone."