Chapter 135: Bloody gamble

Braelyn’s POV

“What crazy idea do you have in your mind?” He said with a serious expression. Shock evidence in his wide eyes. “What the fuck!!!”

I have never seen Lucien Volkov this shocked. So even he could be astonished.

That speaks volumes about how crazy this was. Just one woman wanted to bring down something as great as the Volkov empire.

The car was parked by the roadside, and for a moment, he just stared at me, searching my face for the slightest hesitation or if this was one crazy joke. But it wasn’t and he recognised that fact clearly

The silence that followed was deafening. Lucien didn’t move at first. He didn’t alter a single word and none of us could even breathe. The engine idled beneath us like it was holding its breath too.

I watched him from the corner of my eye, every nerve in my body screaming as I tried to read his reaction. His hands were still wrapped around the steering wheel, knuckles whitening slowly, deliberately. His jaw tightened, the muscle ticking once, twice.

He wasn’t mad. It was just a shock. Pure, unadulterated shock and maybe something else. Amazement?

. The kind you get when someone says something so wild your brain stalls for a moment trying to comprehend what you heard in a desperate need to catch up.

For a terrifying moment, I wondered if I’d just made a catastrophic mistake. Had I miscalculated? Had I overplayed my hand? It was a careless move but I took the risk because I knew this wasn’t a fight I could handle on my own.

This wasn’t a game I could afford to lose.

Lucien finally turned his head, slowly, like he was afraid I might disappear if he moved too fast. His eyes searched my face, sharp and probing, as if he expected me to laugh and say, ’Just kidding.’

“You are seriously not kidding.” He muttered and I slowly nodded. He drew in a deep breath still unable to let go of the shock. “Bloody hell.”

“You want to…” he paused, a disbelieving scoff escaping him. “You want to ruin Volkov Apex?”

The way he said it made it sound insane. Like I’d told him I wanted to burn down a country.

My stomach twisted, nerves crawling up my spine. Still, I forced my lips into a smile, one that didn’t reach my eyes, which showed how dead I was inside.

“Guess I’m entering my villain era,” I said casually, tilting my head. “Heard it’s very empowering.”

Lucien stared at me as I’d completely lost my mind. He laughed. “You’re joking,” he chuckled. “Who taught you to make such wild jokes?” He joked.

I didn’t answer. That only stunned him more. His jaw clenched understanding the reality of things

“Raphael,” he said slowly, his voice dropping, sharpening. “Did he really push you that far?”

There it was. The look of pity and assumption that Raphael had driven me into madness and maybe they were right. I had truly lost my mind and there was no going back at this point.

It almost made me laugh. “I guess I have lost my mind, ” I admitted. Something flickered in his eyes. It looked like pity.

“Why? Is it worth throwing everything you built just for a man?” He asked carefully.

I exhaled, looking out the window at the blur of city lights. “Maybe not. It might not be worth it. I have shares in that company,” I said quietly. “Investments, ties and walking away would be easier than destroying it.”

His brows furrowed deeper. “Then why?”

My smile sharpened. “Because walking away would hurt him.”

Lucien studied my face again, longer this time. Whatever he was expecting, maybe tears, hysteria, desperation, he didn’t find it.

I felt suddenly exposed under that gaze.

“If this doesn’t interest you,” I added quickly, nerves prickling, “forget I ever said anything. I wasn’t planning on…”

“No.” His voice cut through mine.

I stiffened.

“No,” he repeated, quieter now. “You don’t get to drop something like that and walk away.”

He leaned back in his seat, eyes never leaving mine. ” I never imagined this day would come. I was wrong about you Braelyn. You aren’t just a Viper.”

I clenched my jaw, teeth grinding together. There was only one thing Raphael loved more than me, more than any woman or even his fickle morality

It was his success. It meant the world to him but I didn’t say that.

Instead, a dry laugh escaped me. “Let’s just say I want to take something from him. Something he thinks makes him untouchable.”

Lucien’s lips curved. It was not amusement, but something darker.

“I should tell you this is a stupid idea,” he said. “A suicidal one.”

I met his gaze steadily. “I know.”

Silence stretched again. I waited for the lecture and the warning. The look of condescension. It never came. Instead, he gave me the sweetest smile as he had just seen his newest muse.

A shiver slid down my spine.

“You’re crazier than I thought,” Lucien said softly. “And that makes things a lot more interesting.”

My breath hitched. “You’re… not going to talk me out of it?”

“Why would I?” he asked. “You want to light a match under my family’s empire.”

His eyes gleamed. “I’d happily hand you the gasoline.”

I stared at him, stunned. “You’re serious.”

“I hate boredom,” he replied calmly. “And I don’t like my family. So it is a win-win for me.”

Something stirred in my chest. A feeling of danger and excitement collide violently.

“I’ll help you,” he continued, turning fully toward me now. “On one condition,” he mentioned carefully. I knew it would cost me but I didn’t care if I lost myself completely at this point.

I was selling my soul to the devil.

One condition, I wondered what that might be.

I swallowed hard forcing a lump down. “Which is?”

“You repay the favour when I ask.”

I hope this wasn’t a trap

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