Vasili Thorne

Vasili Thorne, a character in the Crimes of Passion series, is a Prince of Drakovia, and one of Trystan's half-brothers. He makes his first official appearance in Book 2, Chapter 1.

Appearance
Vasili has short wavy brown hair, brown eyes, dark skin, and a light stubble. He wears a gray turtleneck sweater, black round glasses, beige pants, a watch on his left wrist, and a black trench coat.

Personality
Vasili is a cunning strategist. He is smart, ambitious, and cool-headed. He is well-liked by the Drakovian people as he's seen as a patron of the arts, and he's a champion of tradition and a generous tipper. According to Trystan, he is also a sucker for decorum and rule-making, and wouldn't risk the queen's ire to provoke Trystan or you. He is considered to be the family diplomat.

However, when you realize he's the killer, he's shown to be actually very power hungry and believes his actions are simply a means to an end.

Background
Vasili is a socialite, and he's close with his full-blooded siblings and his parents. He's also amicable with all of his half-siblings, although the Queen's feelings about him are unknown. He is a key figure in fundraising for the expansion of the Drakkos children's hospital, including a new arts programme to encourage mental stimulation and wellbeing for long-term patients. Additionally, he's on the boards of the Drakkos Opera Society, the Drakovian Historical Preservation Society, the Drakovian Film and Television Fund, and is even President of the official Drakovian book club.

Book 1

 * Chapter 17: The Long Goodbye (Determinant)

Book 2

 * Chapter 1: To Catch a Thief
 * Chapter 3: Drakovian Intelligence
 * Chapter 4: Objection
 * Chapter 5: A Rose Among Thornes
 * Chapter 6: Served Cold
 * Chapter 7: The Drakovian Heir
 * Chapter 8: Unite and Conquer (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 9: The Royal Tea (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 10: The Mask Drops
 * Chapter 11: Footage Not Found
 * Chapter 12: Fashion Victim
 * Chapter 13: In Memoriam
 * Chapter 14: Illegitimate
 * Chapter 15: The Drakovian Nightingale
 * Chapter 16: Heavy Is the Crown (Mentioned)

Trystan Thorne
Vasili and Trystan used to be close when they were young, but Vasili grew up in Trystan's shadow, and he considers him/her to be a flight risk. During his/her trial, Vasili says that because Juliana wanted changes that could have resulted in Trystan being removed as heir to the throne, this could have potentially been a motive to kill her. In Chapter 15, he's revealed that he's always held a grudge against Trystan and felt he was better suited to rule Drakovia, instead. When he dated Juliana, she started coming up with the idea for the Act for Heir Equity, which if passed would have made Vasili a legitimate heir to the throne. The night of Juliana's murder, after having enough of Trystan's immaturity and rudeness prior to the events of the story, it's revealed that he had conspired to murder Trystan so that he and Juliana would rule Drakovia as King and Queen, with Sebastyan, Lydea, and Marguerite beside them.

Sebastyan Thorne
Vasili and Sebastyan were said to be close. Eventually Sebastyan had put together that Vasili had murdered Juliana and Nadja and planned to go forward with this information, resulting in Vasili murdering him as well.

Juliana Georgescu
In Chapter 15, Luke's dossier on Vasili brings up the fact that Vasili attended the prestigious Lake Skryty Summer Camp at the same time Juliana did. You surmise that they had become teenage sweethearts, and was Juliana's secret lover whom she had written letters to, first with intimacy (these letters were subsequently burned by Vasili), and years later with disgust (the latter of which was used as evidence against Trystan during his/her trial). Vasili was in love with her, and was upset that she chose Trystan over him.

Trivia

 * His character model resembles a version of Your Character from Veil of Secrets.
 * He and his family share the same surname as Garrett Thorne from Open Heart: Second Year and the default surname of Attorney as well as Reese from Surrender.
 * He is the oldest of Trystan's half siblings and the second oldest of all the Thorne children, as he would have been next in line after Trystan had he been legitimized.
 * In Book 2, Chapter 14, he is revealed to be the big bad of the book who committed all the murders to ensure the passage of the Act for Heir Equity, so that he could seize the throne.
 * His crimes include murder, conspiracy and treason.
 * In Book 2, Chapter 15, you can either execute him or arrest him for the murders.