Page 8 of Plus-Size Bratva Possession (Vadim Bratva #12)

Dino and Carlo convinced me to let the Lebedevs in for a conversation. For a while, I was reluctant. But something in their words toyed with my mind.

“They're going to burn the city down if you don't at least talk to them,” Carlo had said on the phone a few days earlier.

I'd told him to fuck off, but then Dino had called, and I could hear the genuine fear in his voice. I still said no, until they came over last night.

“What is it you want, Gastone?” Carlo demanded.

“Seek your revenge, but think of that innocent woman you’re keeping,” Dino insisted.

“Even the Lebedevs gave Larissa more freedom. What’s your grand plan here, to keep her with you until you die, never let her out?” Carlo added.

“Whatever it is you want from them, an apology, remorse, you won’t get it without communication,” Dino said softly. “If you keep this up, we’re going to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

My brothers drove home a fair argument, and after last night, I knew I couldn’t keep the Lebedevs from coming to the table. My brothers were all I had. If my stubbornness put them in danger, that would be on me.

To gain anything, doors of communication had to remain open.

But now, as we sat in the living room together and waited for them, I wondered if I might have made a mistake. Elena had spent the whole evening preparing snacks with such excitement that it felt like her friends were coming over. The part-time maid, too, had been convinced to stay the full day.

I looked at my watch while Elena wiggled in her seat, her foot tapping and tapping, giving me a headache.

“Can you please stop that?” I snapped.

She just grinned at me like it was her birthday or something.

“When do you think they’ll come?” she asked, eyes shining.

“I don’t know,” I said, looking away. There was something about her excitement that made me feel like I was the one wrong here.

I didn’t want to name the emotion, but if I had to, it would have been guilt.

I had taken so much from her, and seeing her over the moon over a simple meeting, a chance to see her brothers but not leave with them, made me feel like a monster.

I hated feeling that way. Wished I hadn’t agreed to this whole thing. Because now that I had it, I knew that smile would wipe off her face sooner rather than later.

I only agreed to let them in my house so I could see the look on their faces when I told them Elena wouldn’t be going back with them. Not now. Not ever.

Just then, my head snapped toward the door when the bell rang. Elena rushed to the door impatiently, but on realizing she couldn’t open it, she turned to me with a pleading look.

I stood straighter as I walked past her and put in the code, careful to keep it from her line of sight. The door swung open to welcome six men who would happily put a bullet between my eyes if they thought they could get away with it.

Caspian stood at the front, the oldest of the clan. Behind him were Gio, Federico, Dante, Luca, and Achille—the whole fucking lineup. Six pairs of eyes burned in my direction with barely contained rage.

“Where is she?” Giovanni said without a single greeting, his hands clenched into fists by his side. It took considerable restraint not to punch him in the face right then and there, considering he once took my sister.

I didn’t say a single word, didn’t even pretend to be polite as I stood aside, letting them walk in without formal invitation.

They'd barely made it through the door when they saw Elena behind me. She froze, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of her brothers.

“Oh my god, you’re all here!” she cried, and rushed up to them.

Caspian caught her first, wrapping his arms around her so tightly that I thought he might break her in half.

Then she hugged each of her brothers, one by one, clinging to them like she might never let go.

She was crying hard, touching their faces and hands like she needed to make sure they were real.

I stood off to the side, unsure of what to feel.

I thought she’d be happy, but not like this.

This was intense. She looked so small surrounded by them, so loved as they murmured reassurances and kissed the top of her head.

I felt a wave of pain wash over me at this simple sight. I didn’t expect that. I felt myself weaken. I was responsible for bringing her this pain. I was responsible for so much pain, all around.

Part of me knew I had caused this—maybe not directly, but still.

And part of me... was jealous. I couldn’t remember the last time I held my sister like that.

I cleared my throat and tried to stop thinking like that before it got worse.

I had to remind myself that this wasn’t my fault, that I was losing my mind.

All of this started from way before Larissa, before any of the madness the previous year presented.

I cleared my throat. “If the family reunion is over, maybe we can get down to business?”

Elena pulled back from her brothers, wiping at her face, but turned to me to give me a brief nod.

“You son of a bitch,” Federico snarled, stepping toward me. “Look at her. You've kept her locked up in this—” he gestured around my penthouse with disdain “—this cage when you have an entire mansion in Long Island?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Your sister has hardly been suffering.”

“She can’t step out. This place is tiny,” Luca yelled.

I smiled. “It’s larger than most penthouses.”

“Why here?” Achille hissed.

“The smaller the space, the fewer places to hide, to plan an escape.” I looked around the room and felt a pang of remorse when I saw the shock on Elena’s face. Clearly, she hadn't known I had another place, a larger mansion.

But at the same time, there was a reason I brought her here, shut her off from the world.

Though it wasn’t my intention to maintain power, right now, my decision was working for me because her brothers looked furious.

They realized exactly what they were dealing with.

That I had the power to keep her in the dark, to control her life. That they were at my mercy.

“You fucker,” Achille, the youngest brother, lunged forward, but to my surprise, Elena got in between us just in time and placed a hand on his chest, glowering at him to remain calm. All around me, I saw the brothers stiffen, felt myself stiffen at this unexpected display of protection.

“Stop it,” she said softly. “Fighting won’t get us anywhere. Let’s just talk like normal people.” Then she looked straight at me and gave me a command. “Gastone, why don’t you take them to the living room? I’ll tell the maid to bring some tea and coffee. I think we all need it.”

I stared at her, caught off guard by her sudden take-charge attitude. “That sounds…fine.”

“Perfect.” She nodded briskly.

For a moment, no one moved. Then, slowly, Caspian moved to the living room and took a seat on one of the leather sofas. The others followed suit one by one, though none looked happy about it. I was the last to follow them in.

Elena returned from the kitchen and made way towards Giovanni, sitting on the edge of the sofa. She looked around the room and, on noticing the tense silence, chose to get the conversation started. “Let's talk about what happens next.”

“There's nothing to talk about,” Giovanni cut in. “You're coming home with us today.”

“That's not happening,” I said flatly.

“You can't stop us,” Federico challenged.

I smiled. “Actually, I can. You see, your sister and I are legally married. Taking her would be tantamount to kidnapping. And while your family might be comfortable with that particular crime, mine tends to respond rather...forcefully.”

“You forced her into that marriage,” Dante spat. “It's not legal.”

“Prove it,” I shrugged. “Her fingerprint is on the documents. The marriage is registered. In the eyes of the law—”

“Fuck the law,” Luca interrupted. “Family comes above.”

“On that, we agree,” I said, my voice hardening. “This is about family. About what you people did to mine.”

“Here we go,” Giovanni rolled his eyes. “Back to Larissa.”

“It’s not just about Larissa,” I snapped as memories rushed back, memories that made my world dark and my thoughts murky. “Your family has taken everything from me, you hear me? Everything! The pain you caused, the havoc…”

I felt my throat choke, my words falter, my voice weaken. For a brief moment, I felt a sting of tears, and when I met Elena’s eyes, I saw complete confusion. She didn’t know. Of course, she didn’t know.

“That wasn’t on us, and you know it,” Caspian said through gritted teeth.

This was just like them. To rip away all the good and wipe their hands off with an excuse.

“No. When is it ever?” I scorned.

“There’s no point living in the past,” Dante tried another tactic. “Nothing you do can change things.”

“What… are you talking about?” Elena asked, her voice soft.

I ignored her. Everyone did.

“But an eye for an eye is the only way to avenge it,” I said.

“Don’t you dare?” roared Caspian, standing now. I stepped forward until I was glaring right at him.

“Can’t imagine something like that happening to your sister now, can you? But you didn’t care when you were the ones causing the pain.”

“You can choose to believe what you want,” Caspian argued. “But leave Elena out of this. She is innocent.”

“So was she,” I roared as that same pain constricted in my chest. “So was she…” My voice softened now.

Behind me, I heard Elena ask Gio if we’re still talking about Larissa. Gio said nothing. Of course. Why would he? He didn’t want to be the monster in his precious sister’s eyes.

“None of you can even admit it, can you? You can't even apologize for the damage you've done. You’re all blind to your wrongdoings,” I stepped back and addressed them all.

“You're fucking delusional.” Giovanni stood up, his hands balled into fists. “We don’t owe you any apologies. This ends now, and Elena is coming with us.”