Chapter 7
Giselle remained huddled on the floor, shivering uncontrollably as the reality of her impending execution began to set in. But survival instincts are a powerful, blinding force. Realizing that begging for mercy and claiming victimization had failed entirely, a sudden, desperate shift occurred within her. She wiped her nose with the back of her manicured hand, her diamond earrings catching the low light as she pushed herself up onto her knees.
She took a shaky breath, attempting to weaponize the only piece of leverage she had left in the world.
“I know where they are,” Giselle whispered, her voice rasping and dry. “I know exactly where the Volkovs are keeping them, Nathaniel. They are alive. They are four years old, and they are beautiful. But they are hidden away in a fortress, and you will never, ever find them on your own.”
Elise’s expressive brows shot up in surprise. She moved slightly closer to Agnes, anticipating an explosion of violence from the mafia boss. But Nathaniel did not explode. Instead, a terrifying, absolute stillness descended over his body. His thick, slightly wavy hair seemed to absorb the shadows of the room as he stared at the woman he had intended to marry just an hour prior.
“Are you attempting to negotiate the terms of your survival with the lives of my children?”
Giselle swallowed heavily, forcing herself to hold his cold, observant gaze. “If you kill me, the secret dies with me. The offshore account requires my biometric scan to release the funds, and the Volkovs only communicate the twins' status to me during those transactions. If I disappear tonight, they will know you found out. They will execute your son and daughter before the sun rises, Nathaniel. You need me alive.”
Nathaniel stepped away from the cold fireplace, his polished leather shoes making no sound against the thick Persian rug. He stopped three feet away from her kneeling form. The intricate tattoos across his hands and fingers flexed as he slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket completely, a gesture of casual dominance that made Giselle flinch backward.
“Is your pathetic life truly worth more than the agonizing pain I am fully prepared to inflict upon you right now?”
Giselle shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks again, but she held her ground, clinging to her fragile bluff. “You can torture me all you want. I won't speak. You kill me, you kill your bloodline.”
Nathaniel tilted his head, his sharp jaw setting into a brutal, unforgiving line. The air in the study felt as though it had dropped ten degrees. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a heavy, gold-plated lighter, flicking the lid open and shut with a rhythmic, metallic click that echoed like a ticking clock in the silence.
“Do you honestly believe I cannot extract the precise coordinates of my children from your mind before you bleed out on this rug?”
Giselle squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing into her hands. “I am their only lifeline! They know me! I am the only one who can get them out!”
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Nathaniel stopped clicking the lighter. He pocketed it slowly, his expression devoid of all human empathy.
“Who currently holds them within the Volkov compound?”
