Chapter 6
The sound of the Volkov name hung in the heavy, smoke-stained air of the study like a death sentence. Giselle finally broke. The facade of the elegant, poised mafia queen shattered entirely, leaving behind a desperate, pathetic woman scrambling for her life on the Persian rug. Her sculpted satin evening gown twisted awkwardly around her legs as she crawled toward Nathaniel’s polished leather shoes.
“They made me do it, Nathaniel!” she sobbed hysterically, her carefully styled hair coming undone and falling in matted clumps around her tear-streaked face. “You have to understand! I was trying to save them! The Volkovs knew about the twins. They knew she was going into labor early. They approached me in the hospital corridors!”
Nathaniel did not move an inch. He looked down at her with a profound, terrifying emptiness in his cold eyes.
“Do you expect a medal for selling my flesh and blood to my enemies?”
Giselle reached out, her trembling fingers wrapping around his dark trousers, her massive diamond engagement ring scraping against the fine fabric. “They threatened to kill the babies! They said if I didn't hand them over, they would blow up the entire maternity ward! I had no choice, darling! I gave them away so they could live! I did it for you! I couldn't bear to see you bury your children in pieces!”
From the leather armchair, Agnes let out a sound of pure, unadulterated disgust. The frail retired midwife leaned heavily forward on her wooden walking cane, her voice surprisingly powerful for her seventy-four years.
“Do not insult this man’s intelligence, Giselle. You were not crying when you handed them over. I watched you count the money in the hospital supply closet while his wife’s body was still warm. You bargained with them. The Russian man wanted the boy. You told him the girl was part of the package or the deal was off. You sold them both for a higher price.”
Giselle shot a venomous glare at the elderly woman but didn't dare contradict her. She turned back to Nathaniel, weeping hysterically, rubbing her face against his shoes like a beaten dog. “I was terrified! I was just a nurse! What was I supposed to do against a cartel? Please, Nathaniel, I love you!”
Nathaniel looked at his fiancée, then slowly lifted his gaze to Elise, who stood resolute and beautiful in her black maid’s dress, her white apron unblemished by the filth spilling onto the floor. Elise met his eyes, understanding exactly what the mafia boss was silently communicating. The woman on the floor was nothing but a parasite.
Nathaniel looked down, violently kicking his leg backward and breaking Giselle’s desperate grip on his clothing. She sprawled onto the floor with a pathetic cry.
“Did you think I was too weak to protect my own children from a rival syndicate?”
He stepped over her, walking toward the unlit fireplace, his powerful shoulders squared against the mantle. He stared at the dark, cold stones, processing the horrific reality that his heirs—the twins he had mourned in absolute darkness for four years—were in the hands of the monsters who had spent a decade trying to destroy him.
May you like
He turned his head slowly, the sharp lines of his high-bridged nose catching the dim light.
“How much was a boy’s life worth to you, Giselle?”
