All Chapters of BLOOD AND PETALS: Chapter 81 - Chapter 84

The conference room smelled faintly of cigar smoke and tension.Elena sat at the head of the long mahogany table, Mateo playing quietly with a toy car at her feet. She hadn’t bothered to get dressed up black pants, a fitted blouse, hair pulled back but her presence filled the room.Around her, the captains and lieutenants of Adrian’s empire shifted in their seats. Some looked uneasy, others openly hostile.“So,” said one of the older men, a grizzled figure named Vargas. “The boss is gone. For all intents and purposes, dead. And yet… you walk in here and speak as if he’s alive?”Elena didn’t flinch. She looked him straight in the eyes.“He’s alive. And until he wakes up, I’m in charge. You answer to me.”A murmur went around the room.“Excuse me?” another man, younger, with sharp features, snapped. “You’re a woman. You think you can command this organization just because you… believe he’s alive?”Elena leaned forward slightly, her voice calm but sharp. “I don’t need to believe. I know.

Night had settled over the compound, but the place was still awake.Men moved in and out of the main building. Phones rang. Cars came and went.Inside the living room, Mateo sat on the floor pushing his toy truck slowly across the carpet.Elena watched him from the couch while reading reports Luca had sent over.After a few minutes Mateo stopped playing.“Mommy.”“Yes, baby?”He looked up at her.“When is Daddy coming home?”The question hit the same place it always did.She put the papers aside and knelt beside him.“Soon.”“You said that yesterday.”“I know.”Mateo stared at the truck.“Daddy promised he would teach me how to drive it.”Elena smiled faintly.“That truck doesn’t even have an engine.”Mateo frowned.“Daddy said it will.”Her chest tightened.She pulled him into her arms.“He will teach you. Just… not today.”Mateo hugged her neck.“I miss him.”“I know.”“Did the bad guys take him?”“No,” she said quickly. “Nobody takes your father.”“Then where is he?”Elena kissed h