Page 76 of Forced into a Bratva Marriage
“You lied to me about the Vetrov case.”
“I did not.”
She straightened, arms across her chest. “Yeah, but you didn’t tell me the whole truth either.”
“Which is it?” I asked, looking right at her. “Did I lie, or did I just not tell you the whole truth?”
A pause.
“Were you ever gonna tell me?” She held my gaze, her voice low and even. “If I hadn’t found out on my own, would you ever have set the record straight?”
I stared at her in silence, trying to understand why she was treating this like a betrayal.
She leaned in, a hint of pain and disappointment flickering in her eyes. “Would you have ever told me that you were the mastermind behind it all?”
I didn’t respond.
“Would you have told me thatyouwere the one who ordered the bombing of the warehouse?” she continued. “That using Vetrov’s situation to clean upyourmess wasyouridea?” Her voice rose with each syllable.
Silence.
Her words and the emotional weight they carried landed more heavily than I thought.
“What difference would it make? It wouldn’t change anything—”
“Then why did you lie?” she cut me off, eyes flashing with defiance. “Why did you keep that part from me if you truly believe what you just said?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe it doesn’t to you—but to me, it does!” she raised her voice. “I need to know what kind of man I’m dealing with!”
And just like that, something snapped inside me.
“Damn it, Ellie!” I banged both hands on the table, reflexively springing to my feet. “You knowexactlythe kind of man you’re dealing with!” My voice rose, echoing off the walls.
She flinched at first, shocked by my reaction, but she showed no sign of fear. She stood her ground, holding my gaze even as I walked around my desk.
“I’m a monster!” I continued, approaching her with slow, menacing steps. “The devil everyone knows. I’m a viper who strikes even when I don’t intend to.” The words tumbled out of me in a frantic rush.
She blinked a few times but didn’t retreat.
“You said it yourself: I derive pleasure from other people’s suffering. So why the fuck are you surprised that I kept that important detail from you?”
She locked her jaw, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. The gap between us was thin, and the tension in the air was growing by the second.
“Since you’re so tough, tell me,” she said, staring into my eyes. “Why is Vetrov the only one paying foryourmistake?”
My expression turned ugly.
“He wasn’t even the target. He was just the available substitute to take the blame.” She took one step further. “Myquestion is, why is he serving time while the real target is still in the wind?”
My fingers curled into fists at my sides.
“From what’s in that file, Niklaus Varro seems to always be two steps ahead of you,” she said, her tone sharp as a knife. “That’s why you still haven’t caught him even after all these years.”
“Careful now,” I growled, jaw locked in place.
“Why?” she shot back. “Is the truth too hard a pill for you to swallow?”
