Page 269 of Bratva Jewels Box Set

“I want to say how proud the school and I are of you both. You are exemplary students. You give us no trouble at all, and Iwish my entire school was filled with students like both of you. It would make my life so much easier,” he says with a chuckle.

I give our principal a smile, but I’m not sure what his compliments are leading to.

“I’ll hand over to Mrs. Mikhailov to give you the good news,” he states.

Anna and I turn and give our ballet teacher our full attention.

“I agree with everything Mr. Semenov has said, and I couldn’t be prouder of the two of you for putting in all the hard work you have been doing these past couple of years. Your last dance exam was extraordinary, and it was the culmination of your years of sacrifice and dedication for the two of you to get perfect scores, making me the proudest teacher. I believe the two of you are destined for more than what our town can give you, so I sent videos of your dances to some of the best ballet schools around the world and applied for you both to be scholarship students after graduation next week,” she explains.

Anna and I look at each other. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we could apply for scholarships to ballet school, we had both been working on getting into overseas schools via our school grades. It’s the reason we work so hard on getting almost perfect grades, it was the only way out of this town. We had sent out a handful of applications, but we weren’t holding out on much hope that two little Russian girls would be accepted.

“This morning, I got an email for you both. I’ve printed it out. Read it,” she says, handing each one of us a white piece of paper.

We each take the paper, and I open it to see the words The Juilliard School, New York written in bold. And the words Elena Vasiliev, has been accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree on a full-ride scholarship. My mouth falls open as I gaspat the words that I’m reading. No. This can’t be happening, I’m dreaming. I look over to where Anna is and see tears welling in her hazel eyes. She looks up at me, and the same shock I am feeling is reflected on her face.

“Is this real?” I ask, my voice shaking with emotion.

“Yes. It is. You will be starting in the fall this year,” Mrs. Mikhailov explains excitedly.

“The school is so proud of you both,” Mr. Semenov says with a wide smile.

Little did we both know that our dreams had been orchestrated for other gains.

6

ELENA

Anna and I were riding high on finding out we would be making a new life for ourselves in New York City, a place we knew only from movies. We spent the summer practicing our English, so we would be prepared. Unfortunately, in the middle of my last summer at home, my sister lost her battle with her drug addiction and was found dead from an overdose. She was older than I was, so we weren’t close, and she battled demons for most of her life. That was the turning point between my mother and me, the moment I told her that I wasn’t giving up my scholarship to Juilliard because of my sister’s untimely death. And it was the moment my mother wanted nothing more to do with me. I was so desperate to get out of my town, and maybe it was selfish of me not to stay and mourn with my mother, but we lost Alexandria a long time ago when she first started using drugs. I had worked so hard to get this opportunity, to escape the bleak future that was waiting for me in Sochi. I was so angry at my sister for being so selfish with her life, only caring about finding her next hit and not her family, and yet my mother wanted me to give up my bright future to sit and mourn my sister’s dark end. I loved my sister, don’t get me wrong, but Icouldn’t stay there any longer. My future was in New York, I was destined to be someone more than I could ever be if I stayed at home. I guess karma got me in the end. The bright future I thought I was choosing ended up being so much darker than any I would have had if I had stayed back in Sochi.

Who knew nearly one year to the day later, it would be my turn to die? It was the last time Elena Vasiliev and Anna Sokolov, Juilliard students, were ever seen alive.

“It’s an end-of-summer party in The Hamptons, Maxim. Everyone is going. We will meet lots of celebrities and maybe one of them will put us in their videos,” I explain to my brother, who had called to check in with me and moan about Mom and Dad and their divorce. Not long after I left for New York, the cracks in our parents’ marriage appeared, and six months later they were divorcing. My mother had already moved on to a new man, a widower, who was rich and had an already inbuilt family who needed her compared to her own that didn’t.

“Do you know these people, Elena? You need to be careful,” he asks protectively.

“Maxim. This is America, it’s not like home,” I say, rolling my eyes at my overprotective brother.

“I know. I’ve been there before. Not everyone has your or Anna’s best interests at heart,” he answers sharply.

Maxim is being annoying, but I know he is only like this because he cares. “I promise Anna and I won’t put ourselves in any danger. We know how to look after ourselves. I promise we will stay together. No drinking. No drugs. Nothing, we will stay sober,” I promise him.

“I trust you, Elena. It is the others I don’t,” he grumbles.

“Max, Anna and I have been working every single day since we arrived here. We have spent the entire summer doing classes, this is literally our last weekend of freedom before we do it all again. We need this,” I tell him.

There’s a huff down the line. “You know it’s because I worry and …”

He doesn’t need to say it because he works for some of the biggest criminals in the world. Every day my brother and Sergei, Anna’s father, see the filth of this earth. Of course, he is going to see the world through a more tainted lens than we do.

“I love you, Maxim. I know if I ever needed you, you’d be there in an instant waging war for me. Please, trust me,” I ask him.

“Fine. Have fun. Text me as soon as you get there. Check in every day so I know you are okay. Otherwise, your brother will be crashing your weekend,” he warns.

“I promise,” I tell him, and with that, we end our call.

“It’s time to party, isn’t it?” Anna asks.

I nod and we both squeal with excitement.