Chapter 8 - THE MAFIA BOSS WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT
At 12:07 a.m., Adrian Volkov had no pulse.
Sophia stood outside the operating room while doctors worked behind locked doors.
Charles sat nearby.
Roman paced.
Nobody spoke.
At 12:11, Sophia realized she still had Adrian’s blood on her hands.
At 12:16, a doctor came through the doors.
“We have a heartbeat.”
Her knees almost gave out.
The bullet had missed Adrian’s heart by less than an inch.
He needed surgery.
Even if he survived, the next twenty-four hours would be critical.
Sophia sat beside his bed until sunrise.
She held his hand.
“You liar.”
Machines answered.
“You told me you were difficult to kill.”
Nothing.
“You don’t get to make dramatic speeches and then disappear.”
Still nothing.
She lowered her forehead against his hand.
“I stopped pretending too.”
Hours later, Charles entered.
Sophia looked at him.
For the first time since finding him alive, anger replaced relief.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You made me bury an empty coffin.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
Charles sat down.
“And I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Why didn’t you trust me?”
“Because I knew you would try to save me.”
“Of course I would.”
“That was exactly what Elena would use.”
Sophia looked at Adrian.
“She used him instead.”
Charles followed her gaze.
“Yes.”
“What happens now?”
“Elena still has Isabelle, Victor, and Damian.”
Sophia stood.
“Then we get them back.”
“You haven’t slept.”
“I’ll sleep when this is over.”
“Sophia.”
She turned.
Charles looked older than she remembered.
“There is something else.”
She almost laughed.
“Of course there is.”
“The inheritance condition.”
“What about it?”
“It was never legally enforceable.”
She stared.
“You said that on the tape.”
“I wrote it to provoke Damian.”
“You let me believe I had to marry someone?”
“I needed Damian to act quickly.”
Sophia covered her face.
“So I hired Adrian for nothing.”
Charles looked toward the unconscious man.
“I wouldn’t say nothing.”
Despite herself, Sophia smiled.
Then the monitors changed.
She turned immediately.
Adrian’s fingers moved.
“Adrian?”
His eyes opened slowly.
Sophia leaned over him.
“Hey.”
He looked confused.
Then focused on her.
“Am I dead?”
“No.”
“Disappointing.”
She laughed through tears.
“Idiot.”
His voice was weak.
“Elena?”
“Gone.”
“Victor?”
“Missing.”
“Isabelle?”
“Missing.”
“Damian?”
“Also missing.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I was unconscious for how long?”
“Eleven hours.”
“Everyone falls apart without me.”
Sophia squeezed his hand.
“Apparently.”
His eyes opened.
“You stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She leaned closer.
“Because you still owe me one night as my fiancé.”
A faint smile.
“I believe our contract expired.”
“I’m extending it.”
“For how long?”
Sophia’s heart beat faster.
“We’ll negotiate.”
Before he could answer, Roman entered.
“We found Isabelle.”
Adrian tried to sit up.
Pain stopped him.
Sophia pushed him down.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Roman looked at her.
“She’s at Laurent Tower.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“No sign.”
“Damian?”
Roman hesitated.
“He’s with Elena.”
Sophia’s face hardened.
“Again?”
“Security footage shows him walking beside her voluntarily.”
Adrian cursed.
Charles entered behind Roman.
“There’s more.”
He placed a tablet on the bed.
News reports filled the screen.
Federal agents were raiding Volkov properties.
Kane businesses too.
Laurent International shares had been frozen.
Someone had released part of the ledger.
Elena.
“She’s burning everything,” Adrian said.
Charles nodded.
“Not everything.”
“What is she keeping?”
Sophia understood.
“The clean assets.”
Charles looked at her.
“Exactly.”
Elena was destroying the criminal structures while positioning herself to take legitimate control afterward.
Adrian looked at Roman.
“How many of our people remain loyal?”
“Enough.”
“That isn’t a number.”
“Forty-three.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
His empire had once employed hundreds.
Sophia touched his hand.
“What do you want to do?”
He looked at her.
“End it.”
“How?”
“Give the authorities everything.”
Roman stared.
“Boss.”
Adrian looked at him.
“The organization is finished.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Yes.”
His voice was calm.
“My father wanted me out. He died trying to make that possible.”
Adrian looked at Sophia.
“I think I finally understand why.”
Sophia felt something inside her shift.
He was not trying to save his empire.
He was choosing what came after it.
Charles nodded slowly.
“The complete ledger could dismantle Elena’s network.”
“And mine.”
“Yes.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Good.”
Roman looked devastated.
Adrian extended his hand.
“You have protected me long enough.”
Roman took it.
“Always.”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
Sophia looked away to give them privacy.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
Damian.
“Sophia.”
She stiffened.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t have much time.”
“You’re with Elena.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because somebody had to get close enough.”
Sophia froze.
“What?”
“I’m not betraying you.”
“For once?”
“For once.”
His voice trembled.
“Elena has Victor. Isabelle too.”
“Where?”
“The top floor of Laurent Tower.”
“We know.”
“No. You don’t understand.”
A noise sounded on his end.
Damian lowered his voice.
“She wired the building.”
Sophia’s blood went cold.
“With what?”
“Explosives.”
Charles heard.
His face changed.
“How much?” Sophia asked.
“Enough.”
“Why?”
“She’s going to destroy the evidence and everyone inside.”
“When?”
“Thirty minutes.”
Sophia looked at Adrian.
He was already trying to remove the IV.
“No.”
He ignored her.
Damian continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Elena knows Adrian survived.”
Sophia stopped.
“How?”
“She has someone inside the hospital.”
The lights went out.
Adrian immediately pulled Sophia toward the floor.
Gunfire exploded in the hallway.
Roman drew his weapon.
Emergency lights flashed red.
May you like
And through the darkness outside Adrian’s room came a woman’s voice.
“Mrs. Volkov sends her love.”
