Page 30 of The Bratva's Secret Twins

“You’re probably thinking that I had something to do with it. I didn’t.”

“Would you blame me if I thought so? You sent your men to threaten those poor guys back at the pool just to show how powerful you are. What’s to say this wasn’t another power show-off?” I asked, my stomach curling as I slipped my trembling hands under my thighs.

He snickered and rose to his feet. “As much as I’d love to take the credit for this, I’m afraid you’re wrong.” He picked up a remote and turned on the TV on the wall.

It was CCTV footage of a few men tied up in a basement. I recognized two of them as the men who had approached me after I collapsed in the woods.

“These are the men that tried to kidnap and sell you,” he said to me.

My heart skipped a beat, and the sickness in my stomach only grew.

“They belong to a local mafia, and their plan was to traffick you to a foreign mob. If I wasn’t there in that nick of time, they would have succeeded, and you would have woken up in a different country, with no family and nowhere to go. You would have been in a company of girls whose bodies would be defiled every day to make money for the mob.” He paused to savor the look of fear in my eyes. “Consider yourself lucky that I found you when I did.”

I was quiet, still trying to process how close I had come to being a victim of human trafficking.

“You…you saved me?” I stuttered, my mind reeling.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” He revealed that mischievous grin I so much despised as he approached me. Daniil leaned close and asked a question that sent shivers down my spine. “I did save you from those men—from that fate. Now, who’s going to save you from me?”

Terror overwhelmed me, causing me to break out in a cold sweat as I shifted to put as much space between Daniil and me as possible. I swallowed hard, but my throat suddenly felt clogged, like something was lodged there—making my breathing more ragged as my heart thrummed in my ears.

“You see, Vivian, I own you now.”

I shook my head in an attempt to deny his claims, moving at an almost frantic speed as his amused eyes stayed trained on me.

“Now that I have you in my grasp, I will not let you go because I want you. I want your heart…and your body.” He had paused slightly when his hand dared to go up my thigh, caressing it in a teasing manner that made my body tremble for completely different reasons. “You belong to me now.”

“No, I don't,” I managed to speak up, though my voice was weak. “I’m not a piece of property that you own, Daniil…. I am a person.”

“A person that I want.”

I scoffed in contempt at his arrogance. If I were in any other situation, it would be funny just how entitled he acted.

“And what if I don't want you?” I snapped, my heart picking up speed.

He caressed my hair, running fingers through and scratching my scalp. In a way, it was rather relaxing and enjoyable.

I tried to hide my pleasure, but he could see right through me.

“Ohh, I think you do, milaya.” He smirked, and all at once, he broke contact with me, walking a couple of paces away.

“You won’t get away with this.” I frowned. When I spoke again, my voice trembled despite my best efforts to remain calm. “My people will come looking for me, and they will find me.”

He laughed wickedly, a hand braced on his waist.

“I admire your faith in the ability of your loved ones to find you, but I hate to break it to you; they won’t.”

My frown deepened, and my nails bit into my palms as I curled my fists tighter. “And why is that?”

“Because milaya…the world thinks that you’re dead,” he declared boldly.

My eyes widened, and after a moment of silence, I choked out, “What?”

He turned on the TV once more, and there was a newscaster reporting an incident with the boat I’d been on. The news said there had been a technical error, a malfunction that led to the ship’s sinking. Luckily, everyone onboard escaped on safety boats except for one lady, a certain Vivian Kennedy.

Have you heard of the Titanic?

Tyler’s words resounded in my head as I sat there, unable to fathom what I’d just heard.

---