Page 29 of Kidnapped By the Bratva

“Kristen?” I breathe, my voice trembling with confusion. “What are you doing here?”

He approaches me quickly, concern etched across his face. “Are you okay, Sophia?”

I nod, my throat tight, my eyes darting nervously toward Maxim, who watches the scene unfold with a cold, calculatingexpression. I can feel the shift in the air, the tension thickening. Maxim is not happy.

Kristen stops a few feet away from me and holds up the briefcase. “I brought the money,” he says, his voice steady but tense. “Let her go now.”

Maxim’s eyes narrow, his jaw clenching. “That’s not what I asked for.”

I freeze, my heart pounding in my ears. This is bad.

“I told Preston to come personally,” Maxim says, his voice calm but laced with a dangerous edge. “Where is he?”

Kristen sighs, his shoulders sagging slightly. “You wanted the money. I brought it. That should be enough.”

Maxim takes a step forward, his expression darkening. “No, it’s not.”

Without warning, Maxim’s fist flies out, striking Kristen hard across the face. The impact is brutal, sending him stumbling backward. I gasp, instinctively stepping forward, but my hands are still tied, and I can’t reach him. Blood trickles from Kristen’s nose as he straightens up, his expression grim but determined.

“Stop it!” I scream, my voice shrill with panic. “Please, stop!”

Maxim doesn’t listen. He’s furious, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. “I asked forKace, not you!” His voice is sharp, filled with rage as he lands another punch, this time to Kristen’s stomach. Kristen doubles over, coughing, but he doesn’t fall. He’s tough, I’ll give him that, but I can see the pain in his eyes.

“Maxim, stop!” I beg, tears stinging my eyes as I watch Kristen take the beating. “It’s not his fault! Please!”

Maxim’s breathing is heavy, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His rage is palpable, radiating off him like a heatwave. “Kace sent you to do his dirty work, did he? Too much of a coward to face me himself?”

Kristen spits out blood, straightening himself up with visible effort. “I’m just here to deliver the money,” he grits out, wiping the blood from his mouth. “That’s all.”

Maxim takes a menacing step closer, his hand still curled into a fist. He’s barely holding back, and I can see it in the way his muscles tense, the way his eyes blaze with fury. He wants to kill someone. He wants to make my father pay, and he’s willing to take it out on Kristen if he has to.

“Maxim, please!” I shout, stepping between them as best as I can. “This isn’t going to solve anything! Please stop!”

For a moment, Maxim’s gaze locks on mine, and I see the conflict in his eyes. His anger is still there, boiling inside, but there’s something else—something darker, more dangerous. It’s the cold calculation of a man who enjoys control, who takes pleasure in making others suffer.

He stares at me for what feels like an eternity before finally stepping back, his fists unclenching. “Fine,” he mutters, his voice low and dangerous. “For now.”

I breathe a shaky sigh of relief, my heart still racing. Kristen is breathing heavily, but he nods at me, signaling that he’s okay.

Maxim turns to one of his men, his expression hard. “Take the money.”

Maxim’s men snicker as they take the briefcase, and the taunting starts almost immediately.

“Can you believe it?” one of them sneers. “Kace couldn’t even man up to come get his own daughter.”

“Pathetic,” another adds, shaking his head. “Sending someone else to clean up his mess.”

I stand there, my breath shallow, my heart racing. Each cruel word they say digs deeper into me, and I can feel my chest tightening with panic. My father wouldn’t just send Kristen—he wouldn’t abandon me like this. There has to be an explanation.

Finally, Kristen speaks, his voice hoarse and filled with grief as he wipes blood from his face. “He couldn’t come,” he says, glancing at me before turning his gaze back to Maxim. “Kace passed away this morning. He had a heart attack.”

The world stops.

I blink, my mind struggling to process the words. “What?”

Kristen’s face is ashen, the weight of the truth heavy in his eyes. “He’s gone, Sophia. Your father… he’s gone.”

For a moment, everything around me fades away. The sneering voices of Maxim’s men, the cold wind biting at my skin, even the tension in the air—it all disappears, replaced by a deafening silence. My father. Dead.

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