Page 6 of His Stolen Bride

“Yes.”

I shake my head hard. “You’re lying. Sergei came to my mother’s door and⁠—”

“And you took him outside,” Mikhail cuts in.

My chest goes hot. “He forced me.”

Mikhail’s eyes don’t soften. “You left the building with him, and then he died.”

Panic makes my voice go thin. “I didn’t kill him.”

“I didn’t say you did.” His voice stays calm. “I said your presence lured him.”

I shake my head. “You can’t put this on me.”

Mikhail’s gaze holds mine. “I can put anything on you.”

I swallow. “Then do it. Kill me.”

A beat of silence.

Then he says, “If I kill you, I confirm your father’s betrayal. That gives my enemies a reason to move.”

I stare at him. “So let me go.”

He chuckles at that. “If I let you go, I look weak.”

My stomach turns. “So, what do you do?”

Mikhail’s voice doesn’t shift. “I marry you.”

The words hit so hard, I actually laugh. I can’t help it. “You’re insane.” Mikhail watches me like I’m a specimen, and I shake my head once more. “I’m not marrying you.”

He nods once, like he expected it. “You will.”

I step back. “No, I won’t.”

Mikhail turns his head slightly, speaking to one of the men behind him without taking his eyes off me. “Bring her phone.”

A man approaches and hands Mikhail my phone.

Mikhail taps the screen once, then holds it up so I can see a picture of my mother, leaving the rental building, taken from a distance, but clear enough to make my blood run cold. My mouth goes dry. “Don’t.”

Mikhail’s voice stays level. “Your mother is all you have left. Your father burned everything else.”

I force my words through my teeth. “Leave her alone.”

“That depends on you.”

My hands curl into fists. “You can’t do this.”

Mikhail steps closer again. His eyes stay steady, his tone flat. “I can do worse.”

I stand there, shaking, trying to find a crack in him, a sign he’s bluffing or that he has a limit. He doesn’t offer one. My voice comes out low. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” he says. “The rest, malyshka,” he continues with a lopsided grin, “I’ll learn behind closed doors.”

A silence stretches. Then I say, “I want to see my mother.”