Page 71 of Forced to Marry the Bratva

I walk over to him and drag him to a chair, pushing him down on it before bracing my hands on either side and staring into his eyes. “Lying will only make this worse for you. I suggest you tell us the truth. Now.”

He swallows hard, sweat beading on his forehead. “I swear, I don’t know anything about the poisoned needles.”

“You disappoint me,” I say softly. “I expected more from a ‘reputable’ businessman such as yourself.”

Alexai shifts in his seat, eyes darting between the three of us. “Please, I assure you, this is all a misunderstanding. I get that you think I might be involved, but you know me, Damien. I’ve bet with you for years now, man. I’ve never cheated you. In fact, I admire your victories.”

“You know,” I grab his chin and force him to look into my eyes. “Had we talked yesterday, I wouldn’t even have considered you a suspect. But I thought back to everything that happened today, and Alexai, you gave yourself up when you made one grave mistake.”

“W…what mistake?” he asks, pretending to be confused.

I give him a thin, threatening smile and whisper just loud enough for my brothers to hear me. “During all the years you supported me, I realized you have a betting pattern. You’re thoughtful and calculating. You bet to win. But today, when you upped the stakes to double, knowing that I usually don’t win, I took you up on the offer, not thinking much of it. But after what happened, I figured you got greedy because you knew I would lose, didn’t you?”

He opens and closes his mouth like a gaping fish. “N…n…no,” he mutters unconvincingly.

“Look here, asshole,” Lev scoffs. “Seems pretty straightforward to us. You made a deal to sabotage the fight in exchange for winning back your lands from Damien. Only you got caught, and now you have to face the consequences.”

“No, no,” Alexai protests weakly. “I did no such thing!”

I slam my hands on the sides of the chair, making him jump. “Enough lies!” I snarl. “You have one last chance to tell me the truth before we take this to the next level. And you know who we are, don’t you? The Bratva doesn’t take attempted murder of one of their own quite so lightly.”

The tension in the office is suffocating, but I don’t let it show on my face. Alexai is cracking, his composure crumbling with each veiled threat. It’s only a matter of time before he gives in.

Alexai deflates, shoulders slumping in defeat. “It was Gerald Russo,” he mumbles at last. “He approached me with an offer too tempting to cast aside. I’m sorry; I never meant for it to go this far.”

“Explain,” I say coldly, the blood rushing to my head. So Genevieve was right. She came to warn me. The fact that I owe her my life isn’t lost on me. I have so much to make up for.

“He told me that this was a surefire way for me to get the land I lost back from you. I tried to dissuade him and told him to use the old tactics, but he was adamant that if the player fought dirty, the fight would be forced to end, and I’d be back at square one, waiting for you to fight another round. This seemed… final.”

“Gerald,” Boris growls. “I should have known that pathetic waste of space was involved in this.”

“Please, have mercy,” Alexai begs, glancing between us in terror. “I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt me!”

I straighten, staring down at the quivering man before me. “You’ve given us what we need. Consider this your one and only warning—cross me or my family again, and you’ll regret it.”

“Th…that’s all?” he mutters in disbelief.

My brothers and I are nearly at the door when he asks the question. I turn around, remembering something else. “Just one more thing,” I say, staring right at him.

He takes a deep gulp.

“I want the paperwork for the transfer of ownership of your two underground rings passed on to me by tomorrow.”

“But—” he protests.

I raise a brow, cutting him off. “I’m done playing games, Alexai,” I say firmly. “You lost, and I won, fair and square.”

“Or we could always put you in prison for attempted murder,” Lev chimes in, holding up a tape recorder he had concealed in his suit. He presses play, and Alexai’s confession fills the air.

Alexai’s eyes widen in terror, but he swallows hard and nods. “Yes, yes, the paperwork will be in your hands by tomorrow.”

“Good,” I say, turning back to the door just as Lev switches off the tape.

***

We stride out of the dim arena halls, rage simmering in my veins. How dare Gerald plot against me? Despite everything that’s happened, I am his son-in-law. The fact that he stooped so low tells me one thing for certain: he has no loyalty.

And there is no place in our world traitors.

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