Page 64 of The Bratva's Secret Twins

Sophia, my little mini-me, gazed up at me with those deep blue eyes, her brunette hair tied up in pigtails.

“Mama, I missed you so much!” she cooed.

“Aww. I missed you, too, pumpkin,” I replied with the same tone.

“Mama, look, I made a castle!” Leo said to me, pointing at the stack of toys. He had a mischievous grin on his face, and his brown eyes twinkled.

Leo was the spitting image of his father: same eyes, same black hair, same grin. It was a whole lot for me, and the real reason I couldn't forget Daniil was because I had with me a mini copy of him that I saw every day.

“Wow, Leo, that’s amazing,” I said encouragingly, fixing my gaze on the castle he’d built.

He giggled and squirmed out of my hold, jumping around the room energetically.

“Sophia, honey, you look so beautiful this evening.” I smiled at her.

She chuckled and snuggled into my neck while Leo was blabbing excitedly about his castle, demonstrating with his hands.

I set Sophia down and listened to Leo’s presentation while my little girl played with my hair.

“Fantastic, Leo!” I cheered him on. “Maybe someday, you’ll be an architect.”

He laughed, happy that I’d enjoyed his presentation.

“Alright, who’s hungry?” I asked, already knowing their answer.

“Me! Me!” they both declared.

“Okay, come. Let’s go meet Aunt Alba and then head to the kitchen.”

They jumped up and down, excited as they raced each other out the door.

“Wait up! Wait for me!” I called out with a smile.

I had a beautiful home, but I couldn’t help but dread the day that Daniil would set his eyes on me again. If he found out that he had not just one but two kids with me, he would do the unthinkable. The man could kill me or even do it with his bare hands.

My heart skipped, and just like that, that fear returned, worse than before.

It was a constant burden that I carried with me, and someday, I worried that I’d be crushed beneath its oppressive weight.

Chapter 20 – Daniil

My G-Wagon pulled over outside a tall building called FinCorp. According to Vlad, this was one of the fastest-growing companies in the city, and they would be hosting this meeting today. It turned out that Mr. Petrov was not the only businessman interested in this deal; a couple others seeking to get familiar with the Bratva would also be present. I didn’t care about them or where their interest lay; my mind was focused on sealing the deal so we could get to the money-making part.

Andrei opened the car door for me, and I stepped out, taking a moment to subtly glance around my surroundings. I saw Vlad stepping out of his Bentley. We locked eyes, and he majestically approached me. Clad in a blue suit, he looked serious now that this was time for business. His hair was neatly combed, and he, just like me, exuded wealth and power.

“This is it, brother,” he said to me, patting my shoulder.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” I replied.

He smirked, and we all walked into the building with our security details, both before and after us.

We were greeted by a couple of men who led us to the conference room; Vlad and I were directly behind the men while Andrei trailed after us. As we walked into the conference room, there were already multiple men seated at the table, all looking serious and probably even a little bit mad at the time we’d arrived. However, they all stood and shook hands with Vlad and I before sitting back down.

In this business, we knew that most of our partners could turn on us in a heartbeat, but the fear and respect our family name instilled in them wouldn’t let them try anything funny. They knew better than to misbehave around any Wolkov, let alone two.

Making enemies was a part of this life, and we had tons of those across the globe and even in this room. We struck deals with almost everyone, so long as it was beneficial to us, but we trusted no one.

“You’re late, and we’ve been waiting for you,” one of the men said to Vlad. He was clearly displeased, but he was sure to mind his words, even though resentment was rather palpable in his tone.

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