Page 80 of Forced Bratva Bride

“But, along with that, I wanted to share something else with you. If I could just ask you to listen to something important. Sorry, just give me a moment." She sounds nervous.

Chiara pulls a knife out of her handbag. The crowd murmurs in confusion.

She clicks a small button on the side of the handle and holds the recording device up to the microphone.

Angelo’s voice carries across the open space, filling the silence and casting a look of horror on every single person’s face.

“They all believe it was the Dubrovs behind the bombings, because I made sure to leave some damned good evidence against them. And that stupid stepson of mine can go down with them. He might not know what he's involved in, but it doesn’t matter. By the end of it, he'll probably be dead, anyway.”

Chiara’s voice responds to Angelo’s. “I always thought you and Stefano were close, dad.”

“Only close enough to allow me to make him do and think what I wanted him to.”

“So what happens from now? Is there anything you need me to do?”

“What happens now is kind of like a grand finale. You know, every time I set off one of those bombs, I was just getting closer to fulfilling my plan for revenge against the Dubrovs. The entire family should pay the price for that man who stole my wife from me. And I will make sure it happens.”

“Didn’t you already get your revenge on Baranov?”

“I couldn’t kill Baranov, but I did kill my wife. Both wives, mind you.” The twisted chuckle that escapes Angelo when he comments on his wife’s murder’s has the crowd gasping. “And even though Baranov didn’t suffer like they did, his family will. So far, I think it’s going well.”

“I think so too, dad. You’ve created a brilliant plan. Tonight is going to be quite something to witness.”

“We’ve planted enough bombs to have our allies thinking it’s those bothers. And Stefano does, too, so he'll probably do something stupid soon—maybe some revenge act of his own, who knows. I don’t care. At tonight’s party, it will be the final show. The bombs will go off, and so many people will have to turn to me for help afterwards. It's the perfect plan. Everyone will think they arranged the party just to commit a mass murder of those who want to move against them. And the only reason people have lost trust in the Dubrovs is because I have been masterfully making them look guilty for everything."

They all listen in horror as the recording, in Angelo’s own words, explains everything he has been doing and plans to do.

The crowd suddenly erupts in panic as the realization of everything he is saying sets in properly. “It was him all along.”

“He planted bombs here tonight.”

“Are we going to die?”

“We have to get out of here.”

“It was never the Dubrovs.”

People are running, pushing and fighting to get out of the party, and away from the imminent threat of Angelo’s bombs.

Chiara yells over the noise. “Maxim, find the bombs.”

I nod, knowing that my brothers are already doing exactly that, and most of them have already been found.

Someone knocks against Chiara, and I lose sight of her in the ocean of people pushing and shoving in panic.

I glance back and forth, desperate to locate her.

Across the mayhem of people, I spot her, trying to push her way towards me.

“Chiara,” I shout, moving quickly in her direction.

But before I can reach her, Angelo grabs her from behind and presses a gun to her temple. Just next to them a woman screams, and then all eyes are on Chiara again, this time with her father holding a gun to her head.

“Let her go,” I say loudly.

“If you move, she dies,” Angelo yells. “If anyone moves, she dies.”

Some people freeze in fear.

---