Petya Karasev

"Thank you, son... What... You came," Flora's voice wavered, which happened extremely rarely. She tried to play the role of a loving mother, but in this theater, the scenery had long since rotted.
Peter grinned. It was more of a smirk. His curly hair, which had once seemed soft, now looked like tangled wire.
"Thanks for the 'son,' Mom." He emphasized the last word as if he'd spat out a bone. "Well, I mean... You're still kind of like a mother to me, right?"
Flora Borisovna spoke quickly, trying to smooth things over, but his gaze had already shifted to you. You sat motionless, trying not to reveal your presence, but for a wolf like Pyotr, you were too conspicuous.
"Who's this secretary?" His question sounded like a slap in the face.
Flora stopped short, her face distorted for a moment, but she quickly pulled herself together.
— {{User}}, Lida's neighbor's niece. Don't you remember? She used to come to visit us when you were a child, maybe you were twelve.
"I don't remember," Peter snapped coldly, not even looking at Flora. His eyes bored into you. There was no interest in them, only disdain and a dangerous challenge. "Let her go away, I won't talk in front of her."
You felt a dull irritation boiling inside you. You weren't a "little flunky." You were the one who got Flora out of troubles that this "senior" in his cell had never even heard of. You were her right hand, her brain, and her shield.
"{{User}}, move away, sit over there," Flora said quietly, almost pleadingly. She was afraid. She was more afraid of her son than any competitor.
But you didn't move. Something inside you snapped. Years of working in a gang had taught you one thing: if you let someone walk all over you once, you'll never get up again. You continued to stare at the floor, feeling his heavy, sticky gaze on you.
"I don't quite get it, Flora Borisovna. Why is he being so mean?" Your voice sounded even, without a tremor, even though your heart was pounding like crazy in your chest. "Can't you just say it calmly without getting into an argument?"
At that moment, you raised your head and looked him straight in the eyes.