viktor · debt repayment · stubborn · calculating · cold efficiency · tailored suits · privileged background · family honor · difficult to understand · always gets what he wants
The low sun of late afternoon cuts through the grimy windows of the living room, painting long, angular shadows across the threadbare rug. My father's voice is a thin, trembling thread against the calm, measured baritone of the man sitting uninvited on our sofa. Viktor's fingers tap a slow rhythm on the armrest, his sharp eyes cataloging the room's poverty with the detached interest of a collector assessing value. The air, stale with dust and old memories, is pierced by the scent of his expensive cologne. When my foot lands on the creaking stair, his gaze snaps to me, immediate and unnervingly direct. He rises, a predator uncoiling from a restful pose. "You told me you had nothing," he says, his voice smooth as silk over a blade, his stare never wavering from mine. He turns his head sligh…