Page 1 of Forcibly Sold to the Bratva
Chapter 1 - Ilariy
We’ve been having these meetings for the past two months, and I’m starting to wonder what the point of them even is. My brothers and our allies speak as though the Sokolovs are untraceable. It feels like where we should be making progress, we choose instead to gather around and feel defeated.
To me, the Sokolovs are simply men, and weak men at that. There’s no reason we can’t find them.
“They’ve gone underground somewhere, I’m telling you,” Faddey declares with a grimace.
“We believe you,” Nikolai Orlov nods at my brother. “Our men have nothing.”
I find my oldest brother Agafon’s face in the room, watching him carefully in the hope that he’ll stop all this hopeless talk and push our brothers and allies to take action. We’re wasting time every second we’re not out there searching for the Sokolovs.
But Agafon remains quiet. He watches for consensus, and I already know where this conversation is headed. The Orlovs and Zolotovs have hinted it might be time to call this wild goose chase off.
“Look,” Ardalion, or Lion, as we all call him now, rubs his fingers against his forehead. “We’re wasting resources.”
“Wasting resources?” I ask coldly. “I didn’t know you lacked them, given how the Zolotovs back you.”
Abram Zolotov levels a glare at me. “We’ve got our own businesses to run,” he says, before turning with guilt toward Lion. “Please, try to understand we’ve put everything into this for two months now. All we meet are dead ends.”
“We understand,” says Lion.
I feel the blood in me heat, my lust for revenge getting stronger. Seeing Lion agree with our allies feels like a traitorous move. How could he allow this, when Viktor Sokolov beat his sister up so much that she took weeks to heal? Weeks!
I still remember that harrowing night we were out there, looking for my sister-in-law Lilibeth. My brother Agafon had been a mess when he learned Viktor Sokolov had kidnapped Lilibeth because of his hatred for my brother.
“Agafon!” I roar at my brother. “Tell them this is madness. We have to keep looking,” I insist. “Think of your wife!”
I turn to Lion, Benedikt, Sergey, and Samuil. “Think of your sister!”
Agafon sighs and leans back in his chair. “Lilibeth is safe now,” he says, staring right at me.
I slam my fist on the table, and everyone turns to look at me. I meet Nikandr’s eyes and see the guilt etched on his face.
“They almost ruined you, Nik,” I tell my brother. “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t you want revenge?”
Nikandr sighs. “Brother, I hear you. The Sokolovs have taken a lot from all of us. But if they’re not to be found—”
“Then we must look harder!” I bellow, unable to understand why everyone is so keen to just give up.
“Ilariy, you need to calm down,” Agafon insists. “The Sokolovs are scattered around in hiding. Their leader, Viktor, is dead by our hands. Yes, they’ve got a new family running the show now. But Tikhon and his siblings are weak. Many of their loyal followers defected after their cousin died. What’s left isn’tworth this obsession, and we got our revenge by killing Viktor, didn’t we?”
“Not worth it?” My voice drops dangerously low. “Have you forgotten what they did to Nikandr? To your wife. We almost lost them both, and you know it. Nikandr…still struggles.”
Our brother hasn’t been the same since what the old Sokolov leader embroiled him in. The torture he faced went beyond scars. And Lilibeth... I can’t even think about what she endured without wanting to kill someone.
Nikandr stands silently at the far end of the table, his face showing no emotional. He doesn’t join these discussions much anymore. On some level, I feel like he blames himself still. Just being in the same room with him fuels my hatred for the Sokolovs.
“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” Agafon says softly. “But we have other business that needs attention. The shipment from Turkey—”
“Fuck the shipment,” I cut in. “We have people for that.”
Bogdan clears his throat. “Ilariy, we’ve turned over every rock in this city. The new Sokolov leader—this Tikhon—he’s playing it smart. Too smart.”
“We’ve got ears everywhere,” Lion adds. “Nothing. It’s like they vanished.”
I laugh sarcastically. “You’re Lilibeth’s oldest brother, and this is how you talk? You really think all of our might combined can’t find them?”
“Our mights have been combined for two months, Ilariy,” Lion argues back. “And of course I have every reason to hate the Sokolovs for what they did to my sister. But I also know our businesses are struggling while we stay focused on tracking theSokolovs. You know what happens when our businesses suffer? We weaken. Our families go into danger. We must protect what we have now, or we risk losing it all by getting blindsided in our need for revenge.”
