Page 39 of Forced Bratva Bride

“There's no one here," Chiara whispers, pain in her voice.

“Let’s go back to the main floor and help the people in there,” I say, realizing that we're wasting our time trying to look for any survivors in this mess.

She nods, and we run back into the warehouse.

Her inner strength is incredible, shining through as she kneels over people, wrapping wounds in torn shirts, and helps with lifting fallen pieces of rubble off trapped workers. She talks gently to those who are in pain and holds the hand of a man as his life drifts away from him. Then she stands up, wipes away her tears, and goes to find someone else to help.

After an hour, I realize I cannot see her anywhere, and panic hits me.

I hurry over to one of my workers, asking where she is, and he tells me he saw her heading towards the office.

I bolt in that direction, worried about her.

When I find her, she is sitting in my office chair, her entire body shaking and her eyes flooded with tears.

“Chiara, babygirl, you did so well out there. You helped so many people,” I say, pulling her into my arms. Her body is stiff, but I hold her against me, waiting for her silent sobs to dissolve. When I lean back to look at her again, I notice that she is staring at her hands and the device she grips in her fingers.

She glances up at me.

“Is that the explosive?” I ask, shocked.

She nods, holding it out to me, angled so that I can see the code stamped into the shredded edge of the metal.

“What are you showing me?” I ask, confused.

“This explosive is one of Stefano’s products. This is what he smuggles. I recognize the code.”

“Stefano’s?” I repeat, my voice tight.

I take the device from her shaking hands and turn it over, examining it.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “Do you think he…"

Her words lock in her throat and she is unable to ask what she wants to.

“It looks that way,” I say quietly.

I watch Chiara closely, and by the distress I can see assaulting her mind and body, I know that this is a shock to her. I know that there is no way she could fake her reaction, not like this.

She had nothing to do with this.

I sigh and sit on the edge of the desk.

“Chiara, I need to tell you something.”

Her eyes dart to mine.

“My brothers and I have suspected that Stefano was involved in this for a while. We didn’t know if it was him acting alone or your whole family, but we knew your family was involved in the sabotage that was happening to our shipments.” I take a deep breath, knowing that the next part will be difficult to say. “It is the reason we arranged the marriage between you and me. Because we needed a way to get closer to your family, to find out the truth, and stop this senseless violence and these attacks.”

Chapter 14 - Chiara

I shake my head in disbelief, staring at Maxim as though he's told me something incomprehensible.

“It can’t be,” I whisper, unwilling to accept it.

“This device tells a different story, though,” Maxim says, turning the explosive over in his hands. I stare at it, the evidence, with Stefano’s name all over it.

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