Page 34 of Kidnapped By the Bratva

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My knees buckle, and I collapse back into Kristen’s arms, sobbing harder than before. He was going to fix it. He knew it was wrong, and he was going to make it right. I feel like I’ve been ripped in half, torn between anger and sorrow. I didn’t get the chance to forgive him. I didn’t get the chance to make things better between us.

“Why?” I choke out between sobs. “Why did this have to happen?”

Kristen holds me close, his embrace strong and steady. “Sometimes life takes people from us too soon. It’s cruel, but it’s not your fault, Sophia. Your father knew you loved him. He was proud of you, and he wanted the best for you.”

I nod, but the pain is still there, raw and unrelenting. My chest aches as the realization sinks deeper. My father is gone.The man who, despite his flaws, always tried to give me the best life he could. Now, he’s just… gone. I’ll never get the chance to fix things between us.

Kristen pulls back slightly, looking down at me with a serious expression. “He worried about you constantly while you were gone. He was searching for you, doing everything he could to get you back. Don’t ever doubt how much he cared.”

I swallow hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. “I didn’t know… I didn’t know he was trying to fix things.” My voice is barely a whisper, the weight of my guilt pressing down on me like a lead blanket.

“He loved you, Sophia,” Kristen says gently, his voice filled with a quiet strength. “More than anything. You were his world.”

I close my eyes, trying to hold back another wave of tears, but it’s impossible. My father was many things, but in his own way, he tried. He loved me, even when I couldn’t see it. Even when I was too angry to notice. I wish I could go back, just for a moment, and tell him how much I loved him. How much I appreciated everything he did for me.

I can’t. I’ll have to live with that regret for the rest of my life.

Kristen squeezes my shoulder, offering what comfort he can, but I can feel the emptiness settling in, a hollow ache that I know will never fully go away.

Kristen guides me gently to the bed, his voice soft as he speaks. “Sophia, you need to settle down for a moment. I have something important to tell you.”

I sit down, wiping the last of my tears, my heart still aching from the weight of grief and regret. Kristen sits beside me, hisface lined with exhaustion and something else—concern, maybe even fear.

“Your father’s death…,” Kristen begins, his voice tight, as though the words are hard for him to say. “It wasn’t a heart attack, not a natural one at least. It was murder.”

I freeze, the breath catching in my throat. Murder? My mind races, trying to make sense of his words. “What do you mean?”

Kristen sighs heavily. “It was the Italians. Don Fernando and his people. They’ve been plotting against us for a while, trying to stir up trouble between the Russian and American Mafia. When they realized that Kace and Maxim might eventually uncover the truth about Arlo Sharov’s death, they decided to eliminate Kace before that could happen.”

My body feels like it’s turning to stone as I listen. My father… murdered. “Why didn’t anyone know?” I whisper, my voice shaking. “Why didn’t anyone stop it?”

Kristen’s face hardens. “Because Fernando was smart. He made it look like a heart attack, and without a deeper autopsy, it would have been accepted as natural causes. If we push for an investigation now, we’ll find the evidence. But Fernando timed it perfectly—before Maxim and Kace could sit down and piece things together. He wanted them to fight. To destroy each other, and us, so the Italians could rise to power.”

My head spins, the world around me crumbling even further. My father… murdered for no reason other than to fuel someone else’s greed. He didn’t deserve this. He wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t a man who deserved to die for another’s gain.

Kristen looks at me with deep sympathy, his voice softening. “I’m sorry, Sophia. I know this is a lot to take in.”

I nod, my throat too tight to speak. Rage bubbles inside me, burning alongside the grief. Is this how Maxim felt when he found out about his father? The sorrow, the helpless fury? Did he experience the same crushing weight, knowing that his father was taken from him?

I hate Maxim for everything he’s put me through, but I can’t deny the pain of losing a parent to murder… it’s something we now share. An ugly, brutal bond neither of us asked for.

Kristen’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “There’s more,” he says, his tone shifting. “We’ve talked about forming an alliance with the Russians, to stand against the Italians.”

An alliance. It makes sense. We need the Russians to fight back against the Italians and to take revenge for my father’s death. “Then go ahead,” I say, the words falling from my lips before I even have time to process them. “Do it. Make the alliance.”

Kristen shifts uncomfortably beside me, and I can feel the hesitation in his voice before he speaks. “There’s an issue, though.”

I glance at him, my brows furrowing. “What kind of issue?”

He clears his throat, looking away briefly before meeting my gaze again. “The alliance… it comes with terms. The Russians—they’re not just looking for a simple business arrangement. They want something more… traditional.”

I can feel my heart start to race. “What are you saying?”

Kristen sighs, running a hand through his hair. “They want to seal the alliance through marriage. Between you and Maxim.”

I feel the floor drop out from under me. Marriage to Maxim? The man who kidnapped me, used me as bait, held me prisoner. I stand up, my body tense with disbelief. “Marriage. Are you kidding me?”

“I know how this sounds, and I wouldn’t suggest it if there were any other way,” Kristen says quickly, standing as well, his hands up in a gesture of peace. “This is up to you. No one’s going to force you into anything.”

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