Alle Kapitel von Blood And Vows : Kapitel 151 – Kapitel 160

LilianaDuring the chaos of the firefight, while Mikhail drew their attention with his desperate gambit, I had moved like a shadow along the walls of the ballroom. A year of living in this world had taught me patience, it had taught me to wait for the perfect moment to strike.Dmitri, The Architect, the monster who had worn the face of a friend for years was so focused on his personal vendetta against Mikhail that he never noticed me approaching from his blind side.The poisoned needle, athin sliver of metal coated with a paralytic toxin that would render a man helpless within seconds. It had been with me all morning, I couldn't take the risk now that I am expecting a child.As I watched this man, this creature try to murder my husband and unborn child, I felt no hesitation whatsoever.I struck like a viper, sliding the needle between his ribs with surgical precision. He spun towards me, his face showing shock and the beginning of understanding, but it was already too late.The toxin

LilianaThe morning sun streamed through the windows of our bedroom as I sat at my vanity, brushing my hair and thinking about how much our world had changed in just three weeks. The mirror reflected a woman who looked the same on the outside but felt completely different within.I was pregnant. The Architect was dead. And my husband had just formed alliances that would reshape organized crime globally."Any morning sickness today?" Mikhail asked from the bed, looking concerned."Not today," I replied, setting down the brush. "I think the baby likes all this excitement.""The baby better get used to it," he said with a wry smile. "Based on yesterday's meetings, our life is about to get very interesting."A knock at the door interrupted us."Come in," I called.One of our housekeepers entered, worried. "Ma'am, it's about Miss Anastasia. She still won't open her door. It's been three weeks now."I’d sent the housekeeper earlier to check on Anastasia and report back to me immediately.I

LilianaLooking at my half-sisters was like seeing the faces of my tormentors from childhood. These were the girls who had watched me scrub floors, who had laughed when I was punished, who had treated me like I was less than human. The sight of them cowering now, their once-pristine dresses torn and dirty, their perfectly coiffed hair disheveled, filled me with a mixture of satisfaction.Elena, the oldest, had been the worst. She'd taken particular pleasure in making my life miserable, in reminding me daily that I was nothing more than a servant in my own father's house. She would deliberately spill wine on freshly cleaned floors just to watch me scrub them again, her laughter echoing through the corridors like the sound of breaking glass.Now they were all afraid, confused, completely dependent on a father who had failed them by teaching them nothing about real strength or survival. Their soft hands had never known work, their backs had never bent under the weight of servitude."Do y

LilianaI could I be related to Mikhail? My mother was a maid. How could I be a Volkov by blood?I sat in our bedroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror across the room, trying to reconcile what I saw with what I now knew about myself. The woman looking back at me was the same one who had woken up this morning as Liliana Volkov, wife to the most powerful man in Russia, carrying his child.Now I was... what? Still his wife, technically, but also his cousin. The baby growing inside me wasn't just our child anymore, it was the product of a family line that twisted back on itself in ways I was only beginning to understand.Cousin. The word felt foreign in my mouth, tasting of shame and confusion. All my life, I'd been told I was worthless, that my bloodline meant nothing, that I was a bastard child with no real family connections. Now I discovered that not only did I have family, but I'd unknowingly married into it.The nausea that hit me had nothing to do with pregnancy. It was pure

LilianaThe word mother hung in the air like a death knell, and I watched Mikhail freeze completely beside me. His entire body went rigid, and I could see blood draining from his face as the implications of what Anastasia had just said began to sink in."What did you just say?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but there was something dangerous in it, something that made even Anastasia pause for a moment."I said we shall see if you can live with the guilt of sending your own mother away," she repeated, and there was something almost gleeful in her expression now, as if she'd been saving this revelation for last, her final and most devastating blow."You're not my mother," Mikhail said, but I could hear the uncertainty creeping into his voice. "My mother died when I was five. I watched my own father kill her. You're my aunt. You raised me after my parents died."Anastasia laughed, that cold, calculating sound that had nothing maternal about it whatsoever. "Oh, my dear boy. You hav