Page 17 of The Bratva's Hostage

Francisco pushed the door open, and she stepped in. I followed close behind, and when I took one final glance behind me, I saw the men in the hallway stare intensely at one another, hands twitching for a weapon. We would be lucky to get through this without a shootout.

There were tense faces seated around a massive conference table. The question on their lips was clear enough. Why is the Russian Pakhan here?

Elena gestured and I sat down beside her, at the far end of the table, facing the nervous and angry faces around it. She explained things calmly, just as we had planned, maybe even better. It was almost as if the fear and anxiety I’d seen earlier had never been there.

“...I assure you all, I’ve given this a lot of thought, and it’s the right thing to do.” She held their angry gazes, firm and solid as a rock. “With father being sick and unable to conduct business as he used to, we will face a lot of issues in the weeks and months to come.”

She calmly inhaled, before exhaling a continuation

“At a time like this, it’s important—no, critical—that we show strength, not weakness. Our enemies are numerous, and they are waiting to sweep in and destroy us. Now, more than ever, we need allies. The Wolkov Bratva will be our ally. They will stand by us in times of need, I guarantee you that.”

The uproar was sudden, but not unexpected. I held myself from laughing as the men bickered in a mix of Italian and English, pointing accusing fingers at Elena, and calling her a sellout.

“How? How can we trust this man or his people?” Lucas asked in a calm voice. “What stops him from sticking a knife in our back while we sleep?”

“Because, Lucas,” I said, raising a hand to quieten Elena who had started to speak. “Because we benefit from this partnership with you. As for trust, we plan to seal this partnership with our marriage.” That brought a satisfying silence to the rowdy conference room.

Chapter 8 - Elena

It was the most uncomfortable moment of my entire life. As we rode the elevator down to the lobby, I couldn’t stop thinking of the looks on the faces of the men in my organization.

Their tag was clear. They considered me a traitor. I was in bed with our sworn enemy, and I’d tried to sell it to them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

That made me their enemy, only now I was a truly powerful enemy, and I had some strong people behind me. The anger they felt was not entirely justified.

Many of them had eyes on the throne, a throne that should have come to me by right and by birth, but I knew I wasn’t viewed to be strong enough to bring them under control.

By siding with the Russians, I’d not only created a partnership that led to growth, but I’d also consolidated my power and fortified my position. As the binding force between the two organizations, it would be almost too difficult for them to brush me aside.

Aligning with Maksim also ended any chance of fighting, bloodshed, and disintegration. While the family would hate me for the deal I’d made, it didn’t change the fact that I did it all to save them, and to preserve what my father had spent his entire life building.

Beside me, Maksim didn’t seem to share my discomfort. He was grinning from ear to ear. Even his men appeared to be at ease. The reason was clear. No matter what the papers said, the truth was that they owned us now. We’d sold out from a position of weakness, and they’d bought us.

He’d also managed to broker the release of his men when things settled down in the meeting, as a sign of good faith. Uncle Lucas had been furious, but he obliged.

From where he was sitting, it looked like we had lost on all fronts, and he voiced that concern when we met in his office after the meeting. “I don’t know about this, Elena, “he had said, sipping some water. “I don’t like those criminali. They will say anything, mia ragazza.”

“I know, zio [uncle],” I replied, rubbing my forehead. “I need you to have faith in me. You see those old geezers out there? They are going to tear down Papa’s legacy the moment he stops breathing. You know it, and I know it. It’s okay to admit it.”

He grunted. “Your old man’s not in the grave yet and the fools are sharing territory already. It’s a madhouse here, Elena. But still… these Bratva…”

“Zio…” I gave him a look that said words I didn’t have the heart to form. “I could finally learn the truth. It keeps me up at night. This is my biggest motivation.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You’re not wrong, mia ragazza. This could be a golden chance to find out the truth, and also, collect valuable information related to the Bratva that could give us an edge. I’ll take care of the family matters here while you work from the other side.”

That was exactly what I planned to do. The elevator bell dinged, and we stepped out into the lobby. We walked out into the street and were away from the Moretti building as quickly as we had arrived.

In some sense, the meeting had been a success. No one suspected me of anything wrong, and my story seemed as legit as it came. It was settled. I was getting married to Maksim Wolkov, a man twice my age, who had almost murdered me with his bare hands three days ago.

The reality struck me like a missile, and it sent my thoughts flying in a thousand places at the same time. What was that marriage going to look like? What sort of life awaited me as the Pakhan’s wife?

I’d never harbored any delusions of romance or happily ever after. While in school, I avoided boys like the plague. Not only were my father and Marco overprotective, but I also knew I had a greater calling awaiting me.

Boys always seemed like a fruitless distraction, and I was aiming for the clouds. My dad had once told me that my ambition was one of the best things about me but had also warned me that it robbed me of my humanity.

I didn’t care. I was born into a mafia family, the first child of a powerful man. I knew that everything I got would have to be earned, and so I pursued it with single-mindedness.

Marriage. A few months ago, I would have laughed at the proposal. My life had been great, and I had a solid plan for my future. In the last few days, everything had gone to shit.

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