Page 65 of Secret Bratva Twins

“You are a fucking psychopath, DeLuca,” I growled, earning an irritated snort from the man.

“Go look in the mirror, Maxim. Your bloodline has more of that running the last time I checked.” With an eye roll, he returned the attention to his daughter. “You know me well, Gia. Nobody fucks with me and gets away with it. And if there is one thing I sure don’t do, it’s bluff.”

“Why are you doing this?” I cried, my chest tightening. “They’re your grandkids.”

“They’re that bastard’s kids. They have the blood of my enemies and as such, I don’t consider them my grandkids.” His gaze floated to Maxim. “I’ll give you two options. The first one is that you kill your brother, he doesn’t deserve to rule this city.

“Dad, please…”

“Hold on… don’t ruin the moment. I’m not very heartless now. A tiny part of me is at least considerate, that is why I prepared an alternative.”

We both held our breaths, thinking of what could possibly running through the old man’s mind.

He made a slow point towards the door. “That door is locked with a code, a code only I know, and currently, that room is already running out of oxygen. If I can’t get what I want, then I’d die happy knowing you both lost something as well.”

“No...” A tear spilled down Gianna’s cheek. She shook her head doubtfully. “No!”

“Yes, sweetheart.” The cynical smile on Paul’s lips grew. “But you can get them out.” His gun swayed towards my forehead and he eyed me with a glint that reflected triumph. “All you have to do is put a bullet through this Russian son of a bitch.”

Gianna was trembling now. Her arms went around her body, and she shook her head more violently. Watching her in that state caused me more misery than I could explain. I knew she would never consider the proposition, but at that moment, I was ready to sacrifice myself for her and our children.

“No,” she kept mumbling. “No, this can’t be happening. I can’t... I can’t choose.”

“Well, you fucking have to, Gianna!” The mask of satisfaction wore off Paul’s face, and now his eyes held the flaming brimstones I recognized. The devil in him had successfully come out. “You have only two options, dear daughter: Kill Maxim or watch your precious little kids suffocate and die!”

Chapter 25 - Gianna

I stared at the man I called father and a deep ache spread through me when I realized that I couldn’t recognize him.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hurt his grandchildren the way my dad did. The wickedness and hate in his eyes blazed a thousand times over now, like heat in a fiery furnace that was fed more wood to intensify.

It didn’t make sense.

I dropped my arms from my chest, taking a step forward. “Why are you doing this, Dad?”

“Why?” His brows creased as if he were trying to understand why I didn’t get this sick game. He shook his head. “Are you asking me why, Gianna? Like you already don’t know?”

My father pointed his gun at Maxim, but he stayed behind me, rooted like a tree, and I knew without a doubt that he wasn’t going to leave my side. He didn’t have to say it with words, but his actions proved it repeatedly—his devotion to protect me with everything he had.

“He is the problem. Has always been. Then, and even now,” my father roared. “I don’t get why it’s so hard for you to choose. If you love your children so much as you claim, all you have to do is kill him. Why can’t you do that?”

“Because I can’t, Dad. Okay?” How would he even think that I would consider such a proposal? “I would never hurt Max or my children. What’s even wrong with you? Don’t you think this is all a bit extreme? Don’t you think you are taking this all a bit too far? Let the children go, and then we can—”

“No!”

“Dad...”

“There’s no freeing the kids without his blood being spilled.” He smirked. “You get it, don’t you? A sacrifice must be offered as an atonement...”

Hot, salty tears pricked the back of my eyes. As I watched him and listened to him speak more and more, he sounded deranged. “There will be no sacrifice, Dad. This is not a game. You kidnapped your grandkids, and you have them locked up...” My breath faltered just thinking about the torture they were facing. “You have them locked up in a room running out of oxygen. They are going to die.”

“But they don’t have to when you know what to do.” He scoffed. “Look, Gia. I will do whatever I have to do for the ones I love. To protect what I have, if I have to conquer and destroy the world, I will fucking do it in a blink.”

I stared hard at my father. His eyes had no flicker of doubt; he was dead serious.

Another step forward,

“Wait... You call this love?” I pointed to the door behind me. “This is love? You have to be kidding me.”

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