Layer by Layer Riggins Brothers 1

Prologue

The walls of the house had always grated on the nerves with their excessive luxury, pretentious grandeur, and—let’s be honest—a noticeable layer of dust. Makar had always preferred solitude, but with age it had begun to look less like a conscious choice and more like an illness. He could have hired at least a housekeeper, yet the only staff member left was an elderly cook who no longer had the strength to keep the place in order. After the death of his best friend, the old man had lost what little will he had left, as though he were simply waiting for this meaningless life to run its course.

The brothers knew perfectly well why their grandfather had summoned them that morning, but the first hint of something unusual came when they realized their uncle—who, like them, had every right to the inheritance—was nowhere to be seen. Only the two of them, Makar himself, and the notary were present.

“Grandfather, why did you call us here so early?” Stas asked, dropping heavily into the armchair opposite the bed. He had clearly drunk far too much the night before and was now paying the price with a brutal hangover. At that moment, he would have preferred to be anywhere but in this room. Stanislav had long since accepted that his older brother would inherit everything and might, at best, share it with their uncle. Why he himself had been summoned, he honestly didn’t understand.

Vlad stopped beside his younger brother and, in his usual manner, swept the room with a stern, assessing gaze.

The old man, who had been quietly conferring with the notary, broke off and looked at his grandsons. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, and his eyes closed briefly. Makar had always taken his time before making important decisions, just as he was doing now, so no one dared interrupt him.

But the silence stretched on too long, and finally Vlad broke it.

“I understand you have all the time in the world, but I have a contract signing that can’t wait.”

The elderly man opened his pale eyes and finally spoke.

“Your contracts can wait.” The words came out sharp and forceful, yet they made no impression on the brothers. Makar couldn’t understand where he had gone wrong in raising them. Perhaps their parents would have managed better, but they had died many years ago, leaving two boys in his care. He had truly loved those rascals, yet somehow everything had slipped through his fingers. That had to change.

“You both know perfectly well why I called you here.”

“Then why call us at all? We already know who gets what,” Stas groaned, clutching his head.

“Still partying, Stas?” the old man said with a faint chuckle. “And you, Vlad, have turned into a soulless machine. I can’t leave my inheritance to a pair like you. Business is a serious matter. Logic and intelligence alone won’t take you far—you need passion.”

“You’re not seriously saying you’re leaving everything to Uncle Sergey?” Vlad scoffed, stepping away from his brother with a smug expression. The heavy scent of alcohol coming from Stas made his head pound and killed any desire to sit through the will. “He’ll sink the company before it even gets off the ground.”

“I have no other choice. Either you straighten yourselves out, or the entire inheritance goes to my second son.”

“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” Vlad stiffened, hearing the iron resolve in his grandfather’s voice. He knew all too well that once the old man made up his mind, there was no changing it.

“Throughout history, there has been only one reliable way to deal with men.” Makar smiled mysteriously and glanced at the notary, who was settling himself at the writing desk. “Many years ago, over a glass of good whiskey with my best friend, we dreamed of uniting our families—and our businesses…”

“You’re not starting that again, are you?” Stas laughed, shooting a look at his brother, who had gone pale. They both knew exactly where this was headed.

“Don’t interrupt me, you brat!” the old man snapped. “Heaven help me, what ungrateful grandsons I have. In short, we both had sons, so uniting the families didn’t work out back then. But now everything has changed. Albert’s granddaughter has grown up—a real beauty…”

A loud burst of laughter rang through the room, cutting him off again. Stas struggled to compose himself and finally managed to stop.

“Grandfather, you have a very unusual idea of beauty. Nadya is anything but beautiful. She’s a bespectacled little goblin, not a girl. You’re condemning Vlad to a lifetime of misery.”