Todos los capítulos de Máfia's Hated Bride: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 19

NIKOLAI VALKOVThat same cursed night, after leaving Angeline in Dunyavin…The docks were a war zone. Destroyed crates, tire tracks from fleeing ship, the smell of smoke and saltwater in the air. My men walked among the wreckage with the dejected air of those who had failed. Sergey approached, his face etched with hard lines.— They all did it, Pakhan. Methodically. As if they knew every route, every time, every weak point. They attacked in the right way, as if they knew that at that moment you wouldn't be in command.Anger burned like acid in my stomach, but my mind was already working, cold and collected. "As if they knew that at that moment you wouldn't be in charge." Sergey's words echoed. The wedding. The public trap that took me out of my territory. Did I underestimate the Harringtons? Or was it another enemy?"Did we capture anyone?" my voice came out harsher than I intended.— Three. Two didn't survive. The third is

ANGELINE HARRINGTONFrom what little I knew of Nicolai, from instinct and the terror he inspired in me, one thing seemed certain: he was not a man to repent. An order given by him was like a law engraved in stone—immutable, fatal. But something, some unknown mechanism in his impenetrable mind, began to work. Perhaps it wasn't repentance. Perhaps it was just an annoyance, the same feeling you get from a piece of furniture that's out of place. Be that as it may, something changed. Because today, the shadow that watched over this prison finally materialized before me.I woke up shivering twice as much. A deep chill had settled over me during the night, and not even the fluffy fabrics or socks could lessen my uncontrollable trembling. Through the small, dirty window, I saw the outside world transformed into a white and gray blur. The snow had thickened twice as much. I needed to warm up, because if I didn't, I was sure I wouldn't survive. The cell-like room was freezin

ANGELINE HARRIGTON Upon realizing this, I felt a different kind of chill run down my spine. He was defining the boundaries of my prison, and it was a bigger cage than I had imagined. A cage with a library."Thank you, Agnessa," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. I picked up a stack of books. "Can I ask you one more thing?""Yes, ma'am. I'm here to receive orders." The phrase sounded so strange coming from her. Orders. To her, I wasn't a prisoner giving orders; I was a channel, a transmitter of Nikolai's desires.Could you get me a notebook? And a pen?She frowned slightly. Notebook and pen. They weren't clothes, they weren't food. They were tools. Tools for thinking, for remembering, perhaps to let me mentally escape that hell for a little while. She didn't fully understand, but nodded in agreement. "I'll do it."We walked back to my room in silence. Lunch awaited me: another substantial meal. I ate in silence, under Agnessa'

NIKOLAI VOLKOVThe fortress in Moscow was silent, but the echo of the council meeting still buzzed in my ears, louder than any other sound. Seated at my desk, I didn't review smuggling reports or troop movement updates. I was reading Dunyavin's updates. Dry reports, written in Agnessa's firm and economical hand:"Day 14. The lady ate everything. She spent the afternoon in the library. She asked for more paper.""Day 16. The lady read late into the night. She slept well. She lit the fireplace by herself.""Day 18. Mrs. Valkov eats well, enjoys the library, and reads a lot. She likes to write down what she learns in the notebook she asked me for. She has never tried to run away."The last line seemed to leap off the page. "You never tried to run away." Not out of loyalty, of course. Because I had nowhere to go. The logic was clear, but a part of me insisted on seeing it as an acceptance, a surrender I hadn't earned.I pressed a key