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The Russian Billionaire Shamed the Waitress in Russian — Then She Used the Name Only His Father Was Allowed to Call Him

Chapter 5

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The insults.The laughter.She did not spare him.“A man your father might not recognize.”The next morning, Viktor canceled every meeting on his calendar.By noon, Leonid knew something was wrong.By two, three attorneys from Morozov Meridian’s independent audit committee had arrived at the Manhattan office.By four, the black notebook was inside a conference room thirty-seven floors above Park Avenue.Nia was there too.She had not wanted to be.Viktor insisted.“You are the chain of custody,” he told her.“I’m a waitress.”“You’re the person Elena trusted.”“That doesn’t make me an accountant.”“No,” Viktor said. “Apparently it makes you smarter than the people I paid to be accountants.”It was the closest thing to humility she had heard from him.The notebook contained dates, company names, percentages, handwritten transaction codes, and references to documents stored on the cassette.The tape itself was not music.It was a recorded conversation.Anton Morozov’s voice came through an old player, rough and unmistakable.Leonid’s followed.They argued about missing ownership interests.Then Anton said something that changed the room.“You moved them through Volna, Kestrel, and Northstar. I have every signature.”Leonid laughed on the recording.“You have paper. I have the people who decide what paper means.”The attorneys stopped taking notes.Viktor’s face turned to stone.The tape continued.Anton threatened to remove Leonid.Leonid replied, “Then be careful what you eat, what you sign, and who drives your car.”The recording ended.No one spoke.Nia watched Viktor.The billionaire who had mocked her language skills now sat with both hands flat on the table, staring at the machine as though his father’s ghost might speak again.Finally he said, “Call federal counsel.”One attorney nodded.“And freeze every entity connected to those names,” Viktor added.Another attorney hesitated.“That could trigger disclosure obligations and potentially disrupt several subsidiaries.”“Do it.”“Viktor—”“Do it.”The door opened.Leonid walked in.No one had invited him.His gaze went first to Viktor.Then the notebook.Then Nia.His expression answered every remaining question.“You,” he said.Nia stood.Viktor stood too.Leonid looked almost amused.“Anton always did have a weakness for strays.”Viktor crossed the room.Pavel moved closer, but Viktor raised a hand.“No.”He stopped inches from Leonid.“Say her mother’s name.”Leonid smiled.“Why?”“Say it.”“Elena Sokolova.”Viktor’s jaw tightened.“So you remembered.”“Of course I remembered.”
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The Russian Billionaire Shamed the Waitress in Russian — Then She Used the Name Only His Father Was Allowed to Call Him

7 Part