Page 55 of Captured By the Bratva

Violet shakes her head, her voice firm despite the tears in her eyes. “No, I need to know. I need to hear the rest. Let’s untie Uncle Joe. He’s clearly not a threat.”

We untie Joe, his wrists red from the bindings. He rubs them, looking grateful but exhausted. Caleb remains silent, his eyes fixed on the floor, his jaw clenched.

As Joe settles back into the chair, I keep my gaze on Caleb. He hasn’t said a word since Joe’s revelation, and his silence is unnerving. I don’t trust it. I don’t trust him.

The room is quiet as we prepare to hear the rest of Joe’s story. The truth is out there, lurking just beneath the surface, and we’re on the verge of uncovering it. As we stand here, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to this than we’re seeing.

Chapter Twenty-Five - Violet

As Joe begins to speak again, I feel a growing sense of unease and panic. The room feels stifling, and my mind races with a thousand thoughts, none of them comforting. My heart pounds in my chest, and I can barely focus on his words.

“After the autopsy report, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry anybody,” Joe says, his voice steady but weary. “Those meetings Kirill saw were to pay for information, to get men to investigate, to dig up what they could. Information that a policeman or a private investigator couldn’t obtain.”

I watch him, my eyes wide with disbelief and fear. Every word he says feels like a new weight pressing down on my chest.

Joe continues, “I needed to get to the root of the problem. I hired some people—those gangsters—to look into the matter and find out who is hurting our family and who killed Jeff. I have the medical report that confirms it was murder.”

The room is silent, everyone hanging on his every word. I feel a lump forming in my throat, my emotions swirling in a chaotic mess. I can barely process what he’s saying.

Joe turns his gaze to me, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and determination. “Violet, I always wanted you to succeed your father in the company. I was concerned about your safety. You were in danger whenever you were out in the open. To keep you safe, I temporarily took the role of chairperson.”

I feel tears welling up in my eyes, my hands trembling as I struggle to hold myself together. “Why didn’t you tell me, Uncle Joe? Why keep me in the dark?”

Joe’s face softens, his expression pained. “I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, Violet, but I thought it was the safest way to protect you. I’m sorry. I truly am. I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel betrayed.”

The weight of his words crashes down on me, and I can’t hold back the tears any longer. I sink into a chair, my body shaking with sobs. The room around me blurs, and all I can feel is the overwhelming sense of loss and confusion.

Joe steps closer, but I can’t bring myself to look at him. “Violet, please understand. I did what I thought was best for you, for all of us.”

I want to believe him, but the pain is too fresh, too raw. “You should have told me,” I manage to say between sobs. “I had a right to know.”

Joe nods, his face etched with sorrow. “You’re right. I should have. I was scared, Violet. Scared of what might happen to you, of losing you too.”

I feel Kirill’s hand on my shoulder, a steadying presence amidst the chaos. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

I look up at Kirill, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and determination. Despite everything, I know he’s right. We have to find the truth, no matter how painful it might be.

Joe takes a step back, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry, Violet. I truly am. I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, but it was the only way I knew how to keep you safe.”

Joe takes a deep breath, his shoulders sagging under the weight of what he’s about to reveal. “I owe some favors now,” he admits, his voice tinged with regret. “I’m not proud of what I had to do to get the information, but I don’t regret it. It had to be done.”

I watch him, my heart pounding. The man in front of me is a mix of the familiar uncle I grew up with and someone entirely different—a man who delved into the darkness to uncover the truth.

“I found the contacts in Jeff’s books,” Joe continues. “Old debts, shady dealings. I called them myself and organized meetings. I had to pretend to be someone I’m not, make promises I never thought I would. But It finally led me to the right evidence.”

The room is tense, everyone hanging on his every word. The air feels thick, and I can barely breathe. Kirill stands beside me, his jaw clenched, eyes fixed on Joe.

“Who killed him?” Kirill demands, his voice low and threatening. It’s the question on everyone’s mind, the one we need answered to make sense of all this.

Joe looks at me, then at Kirill, and finally down at his hands. “According to the evidence we gathered, only one other person went into the Harrison mansion that night.”

My breath catches in my throat. The anticipation is almost unbearable. I can see the curiosity in Kirill’s eyes. I know my own are dark with fear.

Joe takes another deep breath, his face pale. “The security footage, the digital trails… everything points to one person.”

“Who was it?” I whisper, my voice trembling.

“I think you know, dear.”

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