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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Chained To The Don: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

65 Kabanata

Chapter 51

NIKOLAI'S POV Natalia leaves without looking back.The door closes softly, but the room feels louder for it.Sergei doesn’t move immediately. He watches the door for a beat longer than necessary, then turns to me.“She’s holding something back,” he says.“I know.”“And she knows you know.”“I know that too.”Sergei exhales. “Then why let her walk out?”Because killing her wouldn’t stop what’s already in motion.I don’t say that.Instead, I move back toward the desk, picking up the file I abandoned earlier. The words blur. My focus doesn’t settle.That name.I don’t like how it sits in my head—uninvited, heavy, persistent.Sergei speaks carefully. “You reacted fast.”“He threatened me.”“With leverage,” Sergei says. “That part matters.”“Yes,” I reply. “It does.”I close the file and set it down. “What do we know?”“About the man?” Sergei asks. “Nothing new. He was paid to deliver a message, not survive it.”“And the message?”Sergei hesitates. “It wasn’t specific.”“It didn’t need t

Chapter 52

LARISA'S POV The idea doesn’t come to me suddenly.It settles.Marriage has always been a tool. An instrument refined over generations, used to end wars, seal alliances, bury grudges. Men like Nikolai pretend they’re immune to it, but history says otherwise. Even the most violent empires were stabilized by weddings.Especially the violent ones.Nikolai doesn’t leave room. He doesn’t compromise. He doesn’t bend. That makes him dangerous, but it also makes him predictable. Men like that don’t see traps until they’re already standing inside them.A wife doesn’t restrain him.But the expectation of one does.I sit at my desk, folder open, scanning familiar details. Age. Education. Bloodline. Temperament. A girl raised to smile when spoken to, to listen more than she speaks. Her father has always wanted legitimacy. Respectability. He pretends it’s for his family, but it’s for himself.Perfect.I close the folder and pick up my phone.Before I dial, I let myself consider the risk, brief

Chapter 53

NATALIA'S POV Larisa had been in a good mood all morning.That alone put me on edge.She moved through the house with purpose, issuing instructions to staff, correcting flower arrangements that hadn’t even been delivered yet, already behaving like a woman planning a wedding instead of proposing one. When I passed her on the staircase, she didn’t stop me, didn’t question where I was going. She only said, “Tell Viktor I’ll speak with him later.”Later usually meant after something irreversible had been set in motion.I was halfway down the west corridor when I heard her voice again, this time sharper, more formal.A call.I slowed, then stopped just short of the sitting room. The door wasn’t fully closed. Larisa never closed doors when she wanted to be overheard by the right people.“Yes, Mr. Petrov,” she said. “I appreciate your discretion.”I leaned casually against the wall, back straight, phone in hand. Anyone passing would think I was waiting for a message.“The proposal will be

Chapter 54

NIKOLAI'S POV The convoy moved through the city streets in near silence, blacked-out SUVs slicing shadows across the asphalt. Sergei sat beside me, calm, alert, the way he always was, eyes constantly scanning. His posture said more than words could.“All heads in attendance?” I asked.“Every one who matters. You’ll notice the absences before anyone speaks,” he replied.I didn’t respond. Observation was always louder than words.The estate rose ahead, massive and heavily guarded. Even from the road, I could read the layout, the paths, the gates, the walls, all monitored. Sergei had already noted the patrol shifts.Inside, the hall was buzzing. Heads turned as we entered. Curiosity, caution, loyalty, they all mingled. I took my seat at the head of the table; Sergei fell into the chair beside me, silent.Artem Volkov leaned back, smirking. “Punctual today, Sokolov. Surprising.”“Better late than dead,” I replied evenly.Mikhail Reznikov adjusted his cuff. “Dead is usually reserved for

Chapter 55

ANASTASIA’S POV The double doors opened, and all eyes turned toward me. I walked in deliberately, heels silent against the polished marble floor. Every step was measured, purposeful. Authority radiated with each movement, a fact no one in this room could ignore.At the head of the table, I saw him, Nikolai Sokolov. Calm, collected, unreadable. I had met him once before, briefly, but his presence had lingered in my mind like a shadow. Now, sitting there, surrounded by his lieutenants, he was as formidable as I remembered. Sergei sat beside him, quietly observing, as always.Kazim Semyonov dropped my full name deliberately: “Anastasia Korovin.”The room stiffened instantly. Murmurs flickered across the table. And him, Nikolai, he didn’t flinch outwardly, but I could see the subtle tightening of his jaw, the flash of recognition in his eyes.“Ah,” Viktor said smoothly, “it’s good to finally have you here.”I leveled my gaze across the table. Calm, controlled, measured. I had rehearsed

Chapter 56

NIKOLAI'S POV The drive back from the meeting felt like it was dragging time itself. Every street, every shadow, every flicker of light seemed to echo her presence: Anastasia Korovin.She was familiar. Too familiar. That pull—the way her authority had dominated the room, the way her eyes had met mine, struck something raw inside me, something I couldn’t name. I remembered her. Somewhere. Some time. And I could feel it, deep in my bones.By the time we reached the estate, the need for answers had become unbearable. Not tomorrow, not in hours, I needed answers now.I stormed through the main hall, ignoring staff who flinched at my sudden presence. Boots against marble echoed like warning shots until I reached Larisa’s study.“Mother,” I barked, my voice sharper than I intended. “We need to talk. Now.”Larisa looked up calmly from her papers, but her eyes betrayed nothing—nothing but the faint flicker of recognition. “Nikolai… back early,” she said carefully. “I wasn’t expecting you for

Chapter 57

ANASTASIA'S POV The house has just settled when the security alert flickers once on the wall screen.Not red.Not hostile.Acknowledged.That’s what makes me pause.I stop halfway up the stairs, hand resting on the rail, eyes lifting to the monitor. No alarms. No breach indicators. Just a single line of text updating perimeter clearance.Manual override.I don’t issue those lightly.I turn slowly and look toward the front of the house.The lights near the entryway brighten on their own.That’s when I hear footsteps.Unhurried. Confident. Familiar in a way that doesn’t make sense.I don’t reach for a weapon. Not yet.He steps into view like he belongs there.Tall. Dark coat still on. No guards behind him. No attempt at disguise. His presence fills the space without effort, like the room adjusts itself around him.Nikolai Sokolov.“Your security is impressive,” he says calmly. “But predictable.”I don’t raise my voice. “You bypassed three independent systems.”“I built two of them,” he

Chapter 58

ANASTASIA'S POV I close my eyes briefly.“Darya,” I say. “You’re brave or stupid.”“Tonight?” she replies. “Probably both.”She steps into the room, shrugging out of her coat. Her gaze sweeps the space quickly, windows, corners, exits—before landing on me.Then she notices the ring.She stops.Slowly, deliberately.“Oh,” she says softly. “He came.”I don’t answer.“That’s a yes,” she continues. “You look like he rearranged the air.”“What are you doing here?” I ask.“You didn’t respond to my message.”“I was busy.”“With Nikolai Volkov,” she says plainly.That snaps my attention to her. “You knew?”“I suspected,” she corrects. “I confirmed it when his convoy bypassed outer surveillance without resistance.”I scoff. “So you followed him.”“Of course I did.”She walks closer now, eyes flicking back to the ring. Her expression doesn’t change—but something sharpens behind it.“He left that,” she says.“Yes.”“And you didn’t throw it at the wall.”“No.”Darya exhales slowly. “That’s progr

Chapter 59

NIKOLAI'S POV I don’t go upstairs immediately.That would feel like retreat.Instead, I walk.Through the east wing first, then the corridor that overlooks the gardens, my footsteps echoing too loudly in a house that was designed to absorb sound. The chandeliers are dimmed for the night, casting long shadows across the marble floors. Every portrait on the walls watches me, generations of men who ruled with restraint, who let women like my mother dictate the terms of their lives.I stop in front of my father’s portrait. He has been a way for days now, tho I know he sees my mother often.He looks stern even in paint, eyes sharp, mouth carved into permanent disapproval.“You knew,” I mutter. “Didn’t you?”The portrait offers no answer.Figures.I hear Larisa before I see her again. The faint click of heels. Controlled. Deliberate. She’s following me now, unwilling to let the argument end on my terms.“You can’t walk away from this,” she says.I turn slowly.She’s standing at the mouth

Chapter 60

ANASTASIA'S POV The next dayI didn’t hesitate when I woke up.There was no dramatic moment of doubt, no internal argument about whether I should go or not. The decision had already been made the night before, sitting quietly in my chest, solid and unmovable.Nikolai Volkov had looked at me like he already knew me.Not curiosity.Not interest.Recognition.People didn’t look at strangers like that.The Sokolov estate rose before me like a fortress—cold stone, iron gates, quiet menace. The kind of place built to remind visitors that power lived here and would outlive them.The gates opened without delay.That alone told me enough.Someone had been expecting me.I stepped out of the car and walked toward the entrance, heels clicking softly against marble. Before I could reach the door, a woman appeared, as though summoned by my presence.She was elegant in a way that felt deliberate. Controlled. The kind of beauty that had never been allowed to soften with age. Her eyes swept over me

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