Chapter 3: Shadows in the Champagne Room

Bella’s legs felt like they forgot how to move. She stood frozen in the middle of the VIP floor with the tray still balanced on one hand. The four guys at the table had gone dead quiet. Even the slot machines behind her seemed to lower their volume.

Mikhail didn’t blink, but instead he just looked at her, steadily. Like he had all night and the next one too.

She forced her feet to work, took one step back, then another. She turned toward the bar like her life depended on it.

Rico was wiping glasses when she got there. He took one look at her face and raised an eyebrow.

“You good?”

She set the tray down too hard and the glasses rattled.

“He was right behind me,” she said.

Rico didn’t even turn around. “Yeah. He does that.”

“He just stood there.”

“That’s Mikhail. He likes to watch people squirm.”

Bella wiped her palms on the skirt again. “What does he want?”

Rico shrugged. “Nobody ever knows till he decides to tell you.”

She glanced back over her shoulder and Mikhail was already gone like he’d never been there.

She exhaled hard. “Okay. Okay. Just keep working.”

Rico slid her a new tray. “Champagne room just called. It's a private party and they want two girls. So, you’re up.”

Her stomach dropped. “Me?”

“You’re the new shiny toy. They asked for the blonde.”

She wanted to argue. Wanted to say no. But the words wouldn’t come. She nodded instead.

The champagne room was down a short hallway behind the high-limit tables. Then, she sighted the black door with a gold handle. The security guy nodded once when he saw her and opened it.

Inside was dimmer than the main floor, with red velvet walls, low couches and a pole in the center nobody was using yet. Six men in suits sat around a low table with bottles already open and smoke curling from cigars.

One of them spotted her first. He was wearing a gray suit, had slicked-back hair and a gold watch that caught the light.

“There she is,” he said. “The new girl.”

The others turned and Bella forced her feet forward and set the tray on the table. “Good evening. What can I get you?”

The man in the gray suit smiled slowly. “Whatever you’re selling, sweetheart.”

The others laughed while she kept her smile in place. “Champagne? Whiskey? I can bring more ice if you need.”

“Sit with us,” another one said. He was younger and putting on a red tie. “We tip better when we’re not lonely.”

She glanced at the security guy by the door but he stared straight ahead like he hadn’t heard anything.

“I’m working,” she said.

The man in a gray suit patted the couch next to him. “The boss said you’re available.”

Her skin crawled. “Which boss?”

The door then opened behind her before anyone could answer.

And then Mikhail, the most feared in the city, walked in and the room changed. Laughter died, backs straightened and cigars got set in ashtrays. He didn’t look at the men. He looked at her.

“Out,” he said.

The six guys stood so fast, chairs scraped. They filed past him without a word and the man in gray suit paused at the door.

“Mr. Lobanov—”

“Out.”

The man in a gray suit left and the door clicked shut but only the low music stayed.

Mikhail walked to the table and sat in the middle before a long glass table. Viktor on his right hand another guy she didn’t know on the left.

She stepped inside.

“More champagne?”

Mikhail looked up and his eyes locked on her again with the same feeling like fingers sliding down her spine.

“Bring another bottle,” he said. “And stay.”

She walked to the ice bucket, pulled out a fresh bottle, and popped it open. The cork made a soft pop. She filled their glasses without spilling.

The conversation didn’t stop just because she was there.

Viktor leaned forward. “We hit the Rossi warehouse on the east side tonight. Took out six of them. Marco’s nephew is still breathing though.”

The third guy laughed. “Not for long.”

Mikhail swirled the champagne in his glass. “I want the whole bloodline gone. Every last one. No cousins. No kids. No one left to carry the name.”

Bella’s hand froze mid pour and a few drops spilled over the rim.

Mikhail kept talking like she wasn’t even there.

“Marco thought he could take what’s mine. He touched my family once. I buried them. Now I bury his.”

Viktor nodded. “We will move on the sister next week. She’s the last loose end.”

Bella’s heart slammed against her ribs. Sister. They meant Sofia. She set the bottle down carefully and her fingers wouldn’t stop trembling.

Mikhail’s voice dropped lower. “Make it clean. I don’t want the girl to suffer. Just make sure no Rossi seed grows again.”

The words hit her like ice water and she turned to leave.

“Stay.”

His voice cut through the room, softly but it wasn’t a request. She stopped with her back to them.

“Turn around, Bella.”

She did. Slow.

Mikhail was watching her. Really watching. Like he could see every thought running through her head.

“You heard that,” he said.

She didn’t answer.

He stood up. Walked around the table until he was right in front of her and close enough she could smell his cologne again.

“You scared?”

She shook her head even though her legs felt weak.

He lifted her chin with two fingers gently but she still felt the strength behind it.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Her eyes burned. She blinked fast. “I just… I need this job.”

“You have the job.” He dropped his hand. “But now you know who I am. What I do. You still want to stay?”

She thought about Sofia. About the texts. About the way her father had looked at her in that chapel like she was nothing but money.

“I don’t have anywhere else,” she whispered.

Mikhail studied her face for a long second and picked up one of the open bottles, then poured himself a glass.

“Sit,” he said to her.

But Bella didn’t move.

He looked at her over the rim of the glass. “I don’t ask twice.”

She then sat on the edge of the couch with her knees together and the tray still balanced on her lap like a shield.

He sat across from her, leaned back with his legs spread.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

She looked at the floor.

He took another sip. “The champagne room is for VIPs. You don’t belong in here.”

“Then why am I here?”

“Because I put you here.”

She lifted her eyes. “To do what?”

“To learn.”

“Learn what?”

He set the glass down. “Who runs this city?”

She swallowed. “You do.”

“Smart girl.”

Then, silence stretched.

He leaned forward with his elbows on knees. “You heard the name Rossi tonight.”

Her fingers tightened on the tray. “Yeah.”

“They’re looking for you.”

“I know.”

“They won’t find you.”

She met his eyes. “Why are you helping me?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Then he said, “Because I hate them more than I hate you.”

She frowned. “What did they do to you?”

His jaw flexed just once.

“They took something from me,” he said. “Ten years ago. A wife. A child she was carrying in a car bomb and ordered by Marco Rossi.”

Bella’s breath stopped but he kept going like he was reading a report.

“I swore I’d finish the Rossi bloodline. Every last one. No mercy. No survivors.”

She stared at him, at the man who’d given her a room, food and a job. The same man who wanted to wipe out an entire family. Including anyone connected to them and including her. Her father had sold her to the Rossi side to pay a debt.

And now she worked for the man who wanted them all dead. Tears burned her eyes and she looked away so he wouldn’t see but he did. He always did.

Then he stood and stepped back.

“Go finish your shift. We’ll talk later.”

She walked out of the room on shaky legs. The hallway felt too long and the casino noise was too loud. She kept serving drinks, smiling, and taking tips. But her mind kept replaying his words.

Finishing the Rossi bloodline.

No cousins. No kids.

She thought about her father begging the Rossi men to take her instead of hurting Sofia. She thought about the deal he made.

She then realized the man she couldn’t stop staring at was the same monster her father had sold her to appease.