All Chapters of A Bride For A Truce: Chapter 81 - Chapter 87

ADRIK’S POV Something wasn't right. Serafina had been gone for too long, five minutes, then six, then seven— and Vladimir still hadn’t responded to my last message. My mind told me I might be overreacting, but my gut told me I wasn’t. Serafina never ignored my calls. Never. Well except at the early stages of our marriage “So what do you say Adrik?” The man across the table was smiling at me in anticipation, almost like he already knew my answer.The other bosses were staring now, waiting for my answer. “Sorry, what was that?” My voice came out flat and distracted. “I said I'll be expanding operations to Russia in the next couple of months. I’m hoping we can partner together.” “Sure. Yes, definitely.” I nodded mechanically, but my attention was already elsewhere. My phone was still dark. No messages. No calls. I dialed Serafina again. Straight to voicemail. Something twisted hard in my gut. This isn’t right. “Gentlemen. Ladies.” I pushed back my chair. “Excuse me.”

ADRIK’S POV This was the second time tonight I’d ignored my gut and it had cost me. Badly. The Mercedes shot off the side street like a missile, the tires screaming as I jerked it onto the main road and Sergei’s hand shot out to brace himself.In the back seat, Marco and Vincenzo were still shouting over each other like angry crows. My pulse hammered against my chest as I thought of all the things that could go wrong. “Eyes left!” Sergei barked, pointing. “That’s them!” “I can see, I’m not blind!” I snapped. My throat burned from holding the panic that was trying to claw up. The first mistake was letting those two men get in my car in the first place. The second was not trusting my instincts at the warehouse. Now my men were chasing left, I was chasing right — and I had no clue which held Serafina. The lead car was already vanishing down the road. A second sedan had joined the chase and tried to block us, swerving like a drunk driver was behind the wheel. Sergei let out

SERAFINA My eyes slowly fluttered open but my lids felt so heavy I could barely keep them open. A searing headache sliced through my skull so hard I almost blacked out again. I glanced around and my brows furrowed as I tried to make sense of my surroundings.The room was dusty, damp and dimly lit. A single window sat high on the wall, far out of reach while the metal door was bolted shut. Cold air bit at my skin and I shivered. I was tied to a metal chair and my wrists and ankles burned where coarse rope bit into them every time I shifted. Tears burned at the back of my eyes but I quickly blinked them back. No, don't cry Sera. You need to stay strong. The hinges groaned and the door opened with a low creak. A man stepped in, he was broad-shouldered, with eyes that were dark and menacing. The air seemed to cling to him with every step that he took and there was something unhinged in his grin like a wolf sniffing blood. “Well, look who’s awake,” he said, his accent thic

Adrik’s Pov The air in the room was thick with dread, the weight of unspoken words very heavy. Diana sat silently by the wall, her face blotchy from crying, eyes swollen and red, the sounds of her sniffing filling the now quiet room. Sergei stood near the door like a statue, ready to move at my slightest command. Marco sat opposite me, his shoulders slumped, hands folded together like he was waiting for a verdict from God Himself. And across from me— Serafather Vincenzo paced like a caged animal, running his hands through his hair over and over. I barely looked at him at first. I couldn’t. If I did, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t rip his throat out with my bare hands. “You cannot step down,” Marco said quietly but firmly, breaking the suffocating silence. “You do, and Viktor wins without firing a single bullet. The Vory fractures. Alliances crumble. Blood floods the streets again.” I laughed even though what he said held no humor. It only pissed me off more. “Blood is alread