Page 13 of Forced Innocent Bratva Bride

He sucked in a deep breath, and I knew then that this was serious. Darcy wasn't exaggerating after all.

“You might wanna sit down,” he said, gesturing at the sofa across from him. “This one's heavy.”

His last statement caused my breath to catch, stopping my heart for a moment. This tension—this suspense—was unnecessary, and it was killing me.

I sank into the sofa, the leather crunching beneath my weight.

He leaned forward, staring at me with a more serious expression. “I need you to keep an open mind, Lorena,” he began, his tone hinting at the gravity of what was about to unfold. “I need you to put on your maturity cap and understand what I'm about to tell you. Can you do that?”

I could literally hear the sound of my own heart beating heavily in my heaving chest as I struggled to stay calm and in control.

I nodded subtly.

“Good.” He cleared his throat. “The company is in trouble. We're facing financial ruin, Lorena. For months, we've been trying to stay afloat, but it's clear now that bankruptcy is inevitable.” His voice was laced with solemnity, and a glimmer of anxiety flickered in his eyes.

A sudden chill ran down my spine as his words hung in the air. I blinked rapidly; a myriad of thoughts overlapped in my head as I struggled to process this information.

“There are accusations of money laundering, embezzlement, and corruption deep within the Campbell Enterprise,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“Jesus Christ.” I lowered my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. My mind threatened to explode from all those thoughts.

He massaged his temples. His eyes, once vibrant and bright, were now dull, devoid of the confidence that used to beam from within. “Because of this damaged reputation, no one is willing to help, and all our investors are pulling out. We're on our own, Lorena.”

Dad had worked so hard to build this company from scratch, and now it was like he was watching his life's work crumble in front of him. We were on the verge of losing everything.

If Dad went bankrupt, then that would mean that we'd have to liquidate assets and sell off divisions—maybe even the house and the car. We'd essentially lose the only lifestyle we’d been accustomed to.

Shit!

No wonder Darcy was so pissed off. This was terrible—horrible. It was suddenly hot in here, and I was already starting to sweat in weird places. I tried to think, but my mind was too busy racing back and forth.

Thousands of possibilities flashed through my head in a split second, but I was unable to come up with something meaningful. I was blank—numb. I feared the worst, and that had me physically and mentally paralyzed.

“Every cloud, they say, has a silver lining,” Dad uttered, retaining his calmness.

I jerked my eyes to him, brows narrowing as I wondered where he was going with this. Was he trying to say that there was a solution to the problem? My anticipation returned, doubled this time. I wanted to hope for the best, but I was too afraid of being wrong.

“Lorena,” he called softly, heaving a sigh, “there's a way out of this.” He pinned his gaze on me like a hook to a fish.

My eyes widened, a wind of relief blowing across my face as my expression softened. “Oh, God, Dad, you didn't have to scare me like that when you knew that there was a solution to this.” I cackled nervously, my brief moment of bliss fading away as I noticed his blank expression.

He was quiet, watching my smile trail off, his gaze still lingering.

“What's wrong?” I questioned, tilting my head to the side, curiosity and bewilderment etched on my face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Remember when I told you to put on your maturity cap?” He jogged my memory, his tone dropping to a whisper.

“Yeah…?” I furrowed my brows, hating the feeling of being kept in suspense.

“I'm gonna need you to put that on now—”

“Dad!” I cut him off, fresh out of patience. “What is it?” came my demanding tone.

“There's an organization that's willing to help us out of this mess,” he said, then paused for a moment and swallowed. “The Tarasov Bratva.”

My breath lodged in my throat, eyes slightly widening in shock as I went silent, beaming a disapproving glare at him. The name “Tarasov” made my skin crawl, and my face contorted into a frown.

I knew exactly what those manipulative and ruthless devils were capable of. Their reputation preceded them, and Iwas certain they would never willingly agree to help out of the goodness of their hearts. Those bastards had something up their sleeves.

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