Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
MAKSIM
By the time the morning sun bleeds through the sheer curtains of our master bedroom, Camilla is resting peacefully in my arms.
Viktor never got the chance to truly harm her, and for that single grace, I will spend the rest of my life being grateful.
Reaching her in time saved both her life and whatever shred of my soul remains intact.
The private physician checked her over thoroughly at dawn—aside from a minor, dull ache in her right shoulder, she is completely unhurt.
No broken bones, no deep tissue damage. Nothing that time, rest, and my constant care won't fix.
For today, the dark world outside these walls does not exist. The syndicate can wait. The blood on my hands from last night has been scrubbed clean, and my only mandate for the next twenty-four hours is absolute, uninterrupted rest.
My plan for us today is simple: rot away in bed.
I want to order endless trays of whatever food she desires, lay tangled in these cotton sheets, hold her so tight against my chest that I can feel every steady beat of her heart, and whisper how much I love her a thousand times until she gets tired of hearing it.
"What should we do today?" Camilla asks softly, rolling over onto her side to face me. A sweet, contented smile touches her lips, her soft eyes searching mine in the morning light.
I reach out, tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear, my thumb lightly tracing the delicate line of her cheekbone.
"Here is my exact agenda for us today, princess," I say, my voice low and thick with sleep.
"We are not leaving this bed. We aren't answering a single phone call, we aren't talking about Viktor, and we aren't dealing with the rest of the world.
I am going to have the kitchen bring up every delicacy you could possibly crave, and we are going to lie right here.
I am going to hold you in my arms, trace every inch of your skin, and remind you how utterly crazy I am about you until the sun goes down. "
I press a soft kiss to her knuckles, looking deep into her eyes. "How does that sound to you? Is that what you want today?"
She giggles, her cheeks flushing a faint, pretty pink as she rests her palm over mine. "That sounds like a wonderful plan, Maksim. I love it."
We’re both laughing, the heavy weight of last night finally melting away into the warmth of the room, when a firm knock echoes against the outer door of our suite.
I groan softly, but the hyper-vigilant side of me instantly snaps back awake.
I slip out of the warm bed, pulling on a silk robe, and walk out of the bedroom into the private hallway to answer it.
When I open the door, one of the housemaids is standing there, her hands neatly folded, looking hesitant to disturb us.
"Forgive me, Pakhan," she says quietly, bowing her head. "Mr. Massimo Caruso is waiting in the grand foyer to see you."
My brows furrow instantly. Massimo.
"Understood," I nod curtly, closing the door before heading back into the bedroom.
Camilla is sitting up against the headboard, watching me with curious eyes. "Who was that?"
"Your father is downstairs," I tell her, watching her reaction carefully.
She frowns, the soft smile leaving her face in an instant. "My father? Why? Did you invite him?"
"No," I say, walking over to the edge of the mattress and cupping her jaw gently. "I didn't call him. You stay right here, in bed, like we planned, and I'll go downstairs and see what he wants."
Camilla immediately shakes her head, throwing the duvet off her legs. "No. I'm coming with you."
I look into her stubborn, beautiful eyes and choose not to argue. Massimo Caruso may be her blood, but this is my house, and I am more than capable of protecting my wife from her father if it comes down to it.
"Alright," I murmur softly, kissing her forehead.
I wait by the terrace door while Camilla slips into a loose, elegant silk house dress. Once she knots the belt around her waist and slides her feet into soft slippers, she reaches out for my hand. I entwine my fingers with hers, and together, we head downstairs to face her father.
Massimo is pacing back and forth across the marble floor, his polished shoes clicking sharply against the stone. The moment his eyes land on Camilla, his jaw tightens into a hard, furious line, and his posture stiffens with cold rage.
He doesn't care that she was kidnapped. He doesn't care that she barely survived the night. He is livid.
"Maksim," Massimo barks, stepping forward, his hands gesturing sharply as he tries to assert dominance over my foyer.
"You acted like a reckless vigilante last night. Do you have any idea the political disaster you’ve created across the families by executing Viktor without a council vote?
And you—" He turns his blazing glare directly on Camilla, his tone dripping with patronizing venom.
"—wandering through public events, getting yourself taken like a helpless amateur. You are embarrassing this family. You are my daughter before you are his wife, and you will learn your place!"
A lethal, dark heat rushes through my veins. My grip tightens, and I step forward, my jaw set, ready to tear Massimo's throat out right in front of the grand staircase.
"Massimo, watch your fuck—"
Before I can finish, Camilla’s soft, firm hand touches my arm. She steps slightly in front of me, putting herself directly between her father and me.
This time, she doesn't hide behind my shadow. This time, she speaks for herself.
"You lost the right to call yourself my father the moment you entered me into that sickening auction," Camilla says, her voice smooth, steady, and sharp as a velvet-sheathed blade.
She looks Massimo straight in the eyes, her chin held high, not a single tremor in her voice.
"You did not protect me. You did not give me away in marriage.
You sold me. You treated me like property, and the minute that gavel came down, you surrendered every ounce of authority you ever had over my life. "
Massimo's face turns a dark, dangerous red.
"Because of that," she continues, taking a deliberate step toward him, "you no longer get to decide how I behave, where I stand, or what kind of woman I become. You have no power here."
"Silence!" Massimo roars, his chest heaving as he raises a hand pointing a trembling finger at her face. "You will not speak to me with such insolence in front of—"
I step up beside Camilla, my hand resting heavily on the small of her back, my shadow towering over her father. My eyes lock onto his with pure, unadulterated warning, my voice an icy rasp.
"In my house, Massimo, my wife speaks whenever she damn well pleases," I say softly, the threat hanging heavy in the quiet foyer. "And you will listen."
Massimo looks like he’s about to explode in sheer, unadulterated anger. His jaw twitches, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists as he realizes he has completely lost control—not just of the political game, but of the daughter he thought he owned.
I step past Camilla, placing myself fully between her and the storm raging inside her father, staring him down with cold, calculating detachment.
"Since we are discussing political consequences, Massimo, let us be entirely clear about where we stand," I say, my voice smooth, quiet, and deadly. "The original terms of our alliance are dead. Effective immediately."
Massimo’s head snaps toward me, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What?"
"You expected full access to the Bratva’s private offshore financing routes in exchange for this union," I continue, slowly folding my arms across my chest. "That is no longer happening.
I am cutting the Caruso network out of our major banking channels entirely.
I am retaining only the localized shipping lanes that directly serve Sokolov interests. "
"You can't do that!" Massimo thunders, taking a frantic step forward. "That was the entire foundation of our agreement—"
"The foundation was compromised the moment Viktor bypassed your security protocols," I cut him off sharply, my tone leaving zero room for debate.
"It was through Caruso links that Viktor was able to track my wife to the opera house and breach the perimeter.
Your infrastructure is soft, Massimo. It is leaky, corrupt, and compromised.
I will not trust Bratva wealth to a network that cannot even secure its own backdoors. "
Massimo stands frozen, the color draining from his face as the brutal reality of the situation settles into his chest.
He didn't just lose his daughter today. He lost his leverage. He thought using Camilla as a trade piece would shackle the Sokolov syndicate to his command, but instead, the marriage has consolidated my power and left him completely vulnerable.
By standing up to him and refusing to be broken, Camilla didn't just survive Viktor—she exposed the rotting weakness at the core of the entire Caruso enterprise.
He looks from me to Camilla, who meets his glare with silent, unwavering strength.
A low, primal growl rips from Massimo's throat. Realizing he has been completely outmaneuvered in his own game, he turns on his heel without another word and storms out of the mansion, slamming the heavy mahogany doors behind him with a crash that rattles the chandelier above.
Silence fills the foyer once more.
I turn back to Camilla, a low smile finally tugging at the corner of my lips as I look at my brave, fierce wife.
"Now," I murmur softly, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her back against my chest, feeling the soft rhythm of her breathing finally settle. "Where were we before your father interrupted our morning?"
As we walk back up the grand staircase toward our suite, the heavy silence of the house gives way to a quiet that feels entirely different—clean, still, and free of ghosts.
I lead her through the doors and sit her down on the edge of the mattress.
I drop to my knees in front of her, resting my hands on her thighs, looking up into her eyes with total clarity.
"I need to say something to you, Camilla," I say, my voice steady, though my heart is pounding in my chest. "And I need you to listen to me carefully."
She tilts her head, her soft brow furrowing slightly as she gazes down at me.
"Last night... watching you over that balcony, realizing how close I came to losing you...
it changed everything," I tell her, my fingers gently lacing with hers.
"I bought you at an auction. I brought you into my world under the guise of an arrangement, a contract, a piece on a chessboard.
But I refuse to keep you as a bought bride for another second.
You are not my property, and you never will be. "
Camilla's eyes widen, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
"I have set up separate estates under private security—places far away from the Bratva, far away from your father," I continue, holding her gaze with complete sincerity.
"If you want to leave, if you want a life completely separate from me, under full protection where no one can ever touch you again...
it is yours. The papers are ready. The money is yours.
The choice is yours. I am offering you absolute, real freedom. "
Silence stretches between us, thick and breathless. Freedom—real, uncompromised freedom—is finally sitting right in front of her.
Camilla stares at me, stunned, her eyes shining with unshed tears as the weight of my words settles into her heart. She slowly reaches out, framing my jaw with both of her warm hands, searching every inch of my face.
"You big idiot," she whispers, a soft, breathless laugh breaking through her emotion. "Do you really think I’m going to walk away from you now?"
"Camilla—"
"I am staying, Maksim," she says firmly, her thumb gently brushing across my cheekbone. "I am choosing to stay right here with you. But let me be very clear about one thing: I am not choosing another cage. I am choosing the man who learned to open the door."
She leans down, pressing her forehead against mine, her breath fanning soft and warm against my lips. "I love you. I love the man you are with me, and I am so, so glad to be your wife."
Something inside my chest snaps—the final, hardened wall I’ve built around my heart over decades of violence and cold survival completely shatters. My throat constricts so tight I can barely breathe, a sudden, burning prickle stinging behind my eyes.
Before she can see the tears threatening to spill from the ruthless Pakhan, I pull her into my arms, burying my face in the crook of her neck, hugging her so tightly that not even the air can come between us.
I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a deep, shuddering breath of her sweet scent.
In her arms, surrounded by her light, the ruthless monster who thought he was built for nothing but blood and shadows realizes the truth.
He has finally found a home.