Sins Of The Heart

Chapter Six: Blood and Silk

Giovanni

The room smelled of cigars and fear.

The air was thick with tension, but I thrived in it. This was where I belonged, in the heart of negotiations that went far beyond words. Deals made with violence, alliances sealed with blood. The kind of business that couldn’t be done in suits and boardrooms. It required something darker. Something real.

Across the table, three men sat—two of them sweating bullets, the third trying to keep a brave face. I watched them, unmoving, while Luca stood to my left, arms crossed. Angelo leaned back in his chair at the far end of the room, casual as ever, but I knew he was ready for anything. Matteo was quieter, standing near the back, his eyes never leaving the man in the middle.

Viktor Ivanov, Dmitri’s cousin, had made the fatal mistake of thinking he could cross me. He had botched a deal—an arms shipment that never arrived, money that had vanished into thin air. I’d given him a chance to explain himself, to make amends. But now? Now, we were past explanations.

The bloodied man sitting in front of me, bound to the chair with rope, could barely lift his head. His lip was split, and one eye was already swelling shut. I hadn’t laid a hand on him—yet. But Luca had, and I didn’t need to ask if he’d enjoyed it.

“Do you understand the problem now, Viktor?” I asked, my voice low and calm, as if I were discussing the weather.

Viktor’s head jerked up, his eyes wide with panic, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He tried to speak, but it came out as a garbled mess, fear choking the words before they could form.

“Please... I—” he started, but I held up a hand, silencing him.

“I gave you an opportunity to fix this,” I said, keeping my voice steady. There was no need to raise it. Fear did most of the work for me. “You chose to disrespect me instead.”

He sputtered, blood splattering from his lips as he tried to form another excuse, another pitiful explanation. I leaned forward slightly, my eyes locking on his, and his face paled.

“Luca,” I said, without taking my gaze off Viktor, “what’s the penalty for disrespect?”

Luca’s smile was sharp, predatory, as he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. “You know how it is, Gio. A hand for a hand. Or maybe a little more, given the circumstances.”

Viktor’s breathing turned ragged, his body trembling in the chair. “Please, no. I’ll fix it. I’ll get the money, I swear. Just give me more time.”

Time. I wasn’t a man who gave second chances when it came to betrayal. Time had already run out for Viktor, and now he would have to pay the price.

“I already gave you time,” I said coldly, standing and adjusting the cuffs of my shirt. I didn’t need to make a show of it. The truth was already etched into the lines of Viktor’s face—he knew what was coming, and no amount of begging would save him now.

I stepped away from the table, giving Luca room to work. My brother moved in with a kind of efficiency that came from years of experience. Luca wasn’t cruel for the sake of it—he was methodical, precise. Violence was just part of the job, and he did it well. Angelo, watching from the corner, grinned as Viktor started to plead, his words a jumble of fear and desperation.

I didn’t need to watch what came next. I had business to attend to elsewhere. Besides, Viktor’s fate was already sealed.

I turned to leave the room, but not before giving Matteo a small nod. He would make sure things didn’t get out of hand. Viktor wouldn’t leave here alive, but I didn’t need a mess to clean up later. Matteo understood that.

As I stepped into the hall, the sound of a muffled scream followed me, but I didn’t flinch. This was my world, a world built on power and blood. There was no room for hesitation. Viktor had made his choice the moment he thought he could steal from me. Now, he was learning the consequences.

But as I walked through the dimly lit corridors of the building, my thoughts shifted away from business, away from Viktor’s unfortunate end, and to something else—someone else.

Elena.

It had only been a couple of days since our wedding, but she was already a constant in my mind. Not in the way business was—strategic and necessary—but in a way that felt almost… soft. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, about the way she looked at me, her eyes filled with uncertainty and fear.

She was trying, I could see that. She was doing her best to fit into this new life, even though I knew it terrified her. And I understood why. After all, she had been raised by Dmitri, a man with no soul and no softness. She had every reason to believe that I would be no different.

But I wasn’t Dmitri. And I had to find a way to show her that.

As I stepped outside, the sunlight cutting through the cool morning air, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. The call was answered on the second ring.

“It’s Giovanni,” I said, my voice steady. “I need you to find something for me. A dress.”

There was a pause on the other end, and then the voice came through, professional and sharp. “For the gala, I assume?”

“Yes. For Elena,” I clarified, already picturing the way she would look in something elegant, something soft that would match the quiet strength I could see in her. “Something that will make her feel… comfortable.”

I didn’t want her to feel like a pawn, like an ornament to be paraded around. I wanted her to feel secure, to know that she could stand by my side as an equal. But I knew she wasn’t there yet. She needed time, and until then, I would do everything I could to ease her into this life.

“Understood,” the voice said. “I’ll have a selection delivered by tomorrow.”

“Good. Make sure they’re the best.”

I ended the call and slid the phone back into my pocket, my mind already working through the details of the gala. I had to be careful with Elena. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and the last thing I wanted was to overwhelm her. But she couldn’t hide forever. The world needed to see her at my side. That was part of what this marriage was, after all—an alliance, a show of strength.

I would give her time, but I would also push her, just enough to show her that she didn’t need to be afraid.

As I got into the car, the faint sounds of violence from the building behind me faded into the background, replaced by thoughts of her. I’d have the dress delivered tomorrow, something that would make her feel like she belonged. Something that would show her that I wasn’t here to control her, but to protect her.

And when we stood together at that gala, the world would know that Elena De Luca was more than just a pawn in her father’s games. She was mine, yes—but she was also so much more than that.

I just had to make her see it too.

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Hope you're having an amazing day, my loves!

-M