Russia.
It had been nine days since Aaron and Kira had left for Italy. Normally, their father wouldn't have been so worried as he had great trust in Aaron. However, he had learned that Roman Sergeyevich Stepanov's son, Yuri Stepanov, was also in Italy. Yuri was still young, reckless, and foolish, but it was his father who was the problem.
Roman Sergeyevich Stepanov had been childhood friends with Ivan Smirnov. However, Roman was a man with perverse inclinations, enjoying inflicting suffering on women. He owned a brothel where he held about thirty young girls captive, and he had even brought Ivan Smirnov to that place. Fortunately, Smirnov had reported these crimes to the authorities. However, given the wealth and influence of Roman Stepanov's family, he had escaped proper punishment, receiving only a warning despite committing serious crimes. Since most of these women were not Russian, the authorities hadn't paid much attention.
Years later, he continued his illegal activities, operating on a larger scale. His organization was involved in human trafficking, arms, and drug smuggling, even holding women captive. Despite his wealth and cruelty, he lacked Smirnov's intelligence to compete at his level.
Three decades ago, Kira had been kidnapped and sold on the black market. It was actually Roman who had orchestrated it all, but Ivan had chosen to keep it a secret. He had also learned that Kira had been in a relationship with Yuri, Roman's son, for some time. This was why Ivan Smirnov had decided to send a woman, whom he had generously paid, to seduce Yuri and separate them. She had succeeded, and Ivan had even heard from Timur that Kira had caught them.
Ivan's concerns centered on the safety of his children, far away from him and potentially exposed. He had heard that everyone had been sent back to Rome, except for Nikita and Valery. Although Timur had assured him that where the children were was secure, Ivan couldn't help but worry.
He had considered sending ten additional men to protect his children but had ultimately not made that decision. Ivan had absolute trust in those he had chosen to accompany his children, men feared within the organization for their "butcher" skills. This nickname was given due to their formidable efficiency in the art of murder. One of them was equal to ten men in terms of strength, agility, and speed, especially Nikita and Valery, among the top killers in the organization. That's why Ivan had remained silent when eight of these men had been sent back to Rome.
"Timur, this friend you mentioned, what's his name?" Timur was Ivan Smirnov's most loyal guard. Ivan had saved him as a child, helped his family, and sent his sister to university. That's why Timur was so devoted. He never lied to Ivan, and Ivan trusted him completely.
"His name is Giovanni Rossi, sir."
"Giovanni Rossi? That name sounds familiar. How would you describe him?"
Timur described Giovanni, and the more he spoke, the more Ivan felt like he knew him.
"Can we trust him?"
"Yes, sir. But he seemed interested in Mr. Aaron."
"What? My son? He's not reliable then... but I trust Aaron. He's capable of protecting himself."
"Protecting himself from what? Whom are you talking about? The children?" Elena, Ivan's wife, asked after hearing her husband say, "He's capable of protecting himself."
"It's nothing serious, dear. Where are you planning to go?" Ivan replied.
"Nothing serious? More secrets again. You know I hate secrets. Why do you always keep things from me? It's none of your business where I'm going!" she retorted, irritated.
Furious, Elena headed towards the exit, closely followed by Ivan.
"Where are you going like that?" he asked again.
"It's none of your business!" she answered, her voice full of anger.
"It was about Aaron, okay?" Ivan finally exclaimed before calming down, taking his wife in his arms. "We were talking about Aaron, my dear. It seems a certain Giovanni is trying to seduce him. He wants our son in his bed."
"Really? Was that all?" she asked.
"Yes, my dear. Now, tell me, where were you going?" her husband asked.
"Nowhere!" she replied.
Her husband looked at her incredulously. "Really?"
She gave him a mischievous smile. "I wasn't going anywhere at all. I just wanted to try on the dresses I'll wear at the wedding. I found this one very pretty and wanted to show you." She wasn't lying; she always wanted her husband to see her at her best, yet he kept things from her, and she wanted to get back at him a little.
"The dress is beautiful, but you're even more beautiful, dear. What if I helped you take it off?"
"Are you sure you're just going to help me? Nothing else?" she said with a little laugh.
"Yes, I promise!" he replied.
And with that, Ivan took his wife in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, where the door closed behind them. No one will know what happened next. But we can all guess.
Apart from these unsettling news, in Russia, as Myra's wedding preparations continued, a significant development awaited Kira and Aaron. After their engagement, Alexei, who had initially decided to wait until marriage before taking the next step, couldn't resist and made love to his fiancée. Now, Myra was wondering if she might be pregnant. She was too scared to take a test, but she was almost certain given the amount of sperm that had entered her uterus.