Page 20 of Pregnant Virgin of the Bratva

Then I hear it. Faint. Muffled. Just a breath at first. Then a small, sharp sound that betrays the truth she didn’t want me to see.

She’s crying.

The noise is too quiet to carry far, but I’ve trained myself to listen for things most men ignore. I hear the way her breath catches in her throat, the way she tries to stifle the sound, how she bites it back like someone used to hiding pain. It is a sound that doesn’t belong in these halls, and yet it echoes through them all the same.

I stand there for a moment, listening to it.

I should feel something. Regret. Guilt. Pity.

I don’t.

She’s alive. That’s more than most get. She’s being fed, clothed, protected. She has a bed instead of concrete, and she’ll keep it if she doesn’t push me. I didn’t choose this to be cruel. I did it to keep her breathing. That’s what matters.

My phone buzzes in my coat pocket. I take it out, glancing at the screen. Yuri.

I answer with a bored, “What?”

He doesn’t bother with pleasantries. “You really think keeping her around is the best idea?”

“I’ve made my decision.”

“Yeah, I heard,” he replies. “Word’s already getting around. Some of the old guard are losing their minds.”

“They’ll get over it.”

“Maybe. Or maybe they’ll try to go around you.”

I lean against the stairwell wall. The concrete is cold against my back, grounding. “They won’t. Not if they want to keep breathing.”

There’s a pause, then a sigh. “Look, Kion… I know you think you’re in control, but this thing—it’s messy. You don’t know who she is. You’re risking a hell of a lot on someone you’ve barely spoke to.”

“That’s why I’m calling in a favor.”

Yuri snorts softly. “Of course you are. Let me guess. Full profile?”

“I want you to look into her. Everything. Where she came from. Where she lives. What kind of contacts she has. Family. Friends. Employers. Anyone who might be looking. I want to know if someone is already asking questions, or if I still have time to contain this.”

“You’re assuming there’s something to find.”

“I’m assuming it’s better to know than to guess. She said someone’s looking for her. I want to know if that’s true.”

Yuri goes quiet for a moment, likely already pulling up search parameters in the background. “You want a full workup?”

“Yes. As detailed as you can make it. Digital footprint, credit activity, school records if she has them. I want to know what kind of world she walked out of before she stepped into ours.”

“Timeline?”

“Yesterday.”

“Got it,” he mutters. “You’ll have the first pull within twelve hours. I’ll run her name, cross-check the face against local alerts. See what surfaces.”

“Excellent.”

“Kion?”

“What.”

“You sure about this?”