Child 44 Chapter 57 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Same Day

  • Leo is standing outside Andrei's house, still shaken by his realization. He still hasn't told Raisa, though, who's standing alongside him.
  • Finally, Leo "stepped into the house" (4.57.31). He creeps past Andrei's sleeping wife and daughters, following the light into the basement.
  • Andrei is unsurprised at the sight of his brother. He casually mentions his victims as if they weren't even people.
  • Andrei continues, explaining that he always knew that Pavel/Leo was still alive. In fact, his murder spree had simply been an elaborate way to get his brother "to find [him]" (4.57.60). Could've just written a postcard, you'd think, but oh, well.
  • Andrei realizes that Leo is here to kill him, but he doesn't care. Before it goes down, he just wants to play one last hand of cards with his big bro.
  • As Andrei and Leo play, Nadya enters the basement. Desperate to get the girl away, Leo asks her to make some tea.
  • Nadya's tea run is interrupted by a knife-wielding Raisa. Raisa quickly hides the weapon and asks Nadya to lead her downstairs, confused by the girl's assertion that they're family.
  • Meanwhile, Vasili and his men have surrounded the home. Vicious Vasili decides to go in solo, telling his crew to "kill everyone" if he's not back in five minutes (4.57.135).
  • Raisa is already in the thick of things when Vasili enters the basement. Vasili tells Leo to get on his knees, and he pulls out his pistol.
  • Suddenly, Vasili collapses—he's been stabbed by Andrei. This is a big moment for the guy: saving his brother makes him "as happy as he'd ever been in his life" (4.57.155).
  • Leo picks up the gun to kill Andrei, but he just can't. Seeing this, Raisa gets up and helps him pull the trigger, finishing this ordeal once and for all. To their horror, Nadya has been watching the whole time.
  • Leo and Raisa emerge from the house, hands up, telling the soldiers that Vasili died in pursuit of a fearsome killer. Meanwhile, Nadya is still in the basement with "her father's fury in her eyes" (4.57.169). Yeah, that's not a good sign.