The Russian Roulette [The Mafia Chronicles #2]

Chapter X

Things don't happen overnight; they most definitely take time. Just like a plant growing, or the light from a star reaching earth; they all take time, and so do human interactions. But if things take time, how can people go from strangers to inseparable friends in seconds? How can you lose any detest you had for someone, and you don't seem to notice? All these thoughts went through Sophie's head as she stared at the beautiful black dress laying atop her bed two days after she got her ankle brace removes.

Once Sophie got the brace removed, she returned to sleeping in her and Alexi's room. And for the past three days, Alexi has made sure Sophie's ankle was taken care of, so much so that it seemed like he was married to her ankle rather than her. Just like every night before Sophie's injury, Alexi cuddled close to his wife somewhere in the middle of the night and whenever Sophie would wake up to his face resting on her torso and his arms around her waist, he would ask her why she was hugging him.

On the second day, Alexi reminded his wife about the meeting they were scheduled to attend the next day and briefly mentioned the dress code. Knowing Alexi, he had everything planned to the last minute of their day, so shock was not on the list of emotions Sophie felt when she saw a luxurious silk dress laying on their bed and her name written on a card beside it.

What was on her list of emotions was complete awe. The black silk dress was long enough to trail behind her as she stepped forwards and the slit in the dress was anything but modest with revealing her legs. The silk was evidently luxurious from the way her hands glided smoothly when she caressed the dress.

Her husband brought in a bag with the suit that he would be wearing to the meeting. He made sure both him and his wife looked as expensive as the Romanovs' jewelled crowns. Alexi knew deep down that Leonidas Gambino would be putting his eye on them, being the next potential picks to lead the mafia leaders and all. Alexi and Leonidas's relationship did not have a smooth sailing as both dealt with the deaths of family members in the beginning of their life, pushing them into the mafia scene.

Greed was one thing that united all these leaders. They all craved for more power. More wealth. More control. It was never enough for any of them, and they would be lying if they said they were content in life. None of them will ever be content. No matter how much power they collect, danger will always lurk in the shadows and hungry rabid wolves encircle their home waiting for a chance to pounce. They could never find peace.

So, putting all these powerful, greedy, and controlling men in the same room is an ill-fated decision. No matter how much manners they say they have, when they step foot into that room, all they can think about is latching onto each other's throats. They claim they have some sort of brotherhood but the only reason they protect each other is because they want to keep the 'united' act up to keep the world governments at bay. It was all a damn act.

On the third day, Alexi knew he had to tell his wife a story of his. He called her into his office to tell her a tale of Russian tragedy.

Before she became Sophie Dimitri, Sophie Knight seemed like a perfect chess piece for him to use. He thought she would enter his life and exploit his riches. As he spent time with her, he realised that she didn't want to be in this as much as he didn't, but the difference was that she was giving him a chance. She couldn't care less about his money, she would even offer to pay for him when they ordered takeout.

To test her even more, he asked her plenty of times about her father's involvement in the massacre to try to detect any lie, but her answer remained the same: "My father protected your parents more than he protected me." Sophie even promised to present him with proof that her father was not involved but she has yet to bring forth any evidence, not that he needed it. He knew her family wasn't involved.