Fated by a Single Night
Ainsley
One unforgettable night. Two strangers. One secret that changes everything.
After the death of her beloved grandmother and a heartbreaking betrayal, Isabella Álvarez Volkov returns to Russia to start over. A drunken night with a mysterious stranger becomes a memory she tries to forget—until she discovers she's pregnant with twins.
Unaware that the father is Mikhail Petrov, one of Russia's most feared mafia bosses, Isabella chooses to raise her children alone. But fate has other plans. When they cross paths again, old memories resurface, dangerous enemies close in, and hidden truths threaten to tear them apart.
In a world ruled by power, betrayal, and bloodshed, can two broken hearts find love... before it's too late?
Chapter 9
ISABELLA'S POV :
The past few days had been. Strange. I couldn't explain it. But everywhere I went. It felt like someone was watching me.
When I went to the grocery store. A black SUV was parked across the street. When I visited the bookstore, the same man wearing a black cap was standing near the entrance.
Even when I left the hospital after another prenatal checkup I saw the same vehicle in my rearview mirror. Maybe I was just imagining things. Right?
---
"Isa?" Mama's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "We're here."
I looked outside. The Volkov mansion. Home. At least that's what I kept telling myself.
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"Boss." Igor hurried into my office. His face was unusually serious.
"What happened?"
"We have a problem."
I slowly looked up.
"Our men spotted members of the Kuznetsov Bratva."
My expression darkened. "What are they doing in my territory?"
"They've been following someone."
"Who?"
Igor placed several photographs on my desk. The moment I looked at them my heartbeat stopped. Isabella. Every picture was of her. Walking out of the hospital. Leaving her office. Entering her family's mansion. Someone had been watching her for days.
My jaw tightened. "Who gave you these?"
"One of our informants stole them from the Kuznetsov warehouse."
I stared at the photographs. Why her? She wasn't connected to the underworld. Not that I knew of. Unless... a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
If they suspected what I was beginning to suspect... Then she wasn't just an innocent woman anymore. She was leverage.
---
ISABELLA'S POV :
The next afternoon... Mama asked me to pick up a few things for the nursery. The twins would be here in a few months.
And somehow... Shopping for tiny clothes made everything feel real. I smiled as I picked up a pair of little knitted socks. "So tiny..." A little boy. A little girl. I couldn't wait to meet them.
---
As I stepped out of the baby boutique... A white delivery van suddenly stopped in front of me. The side door slid open.
Before I could react— A hand grabbed my arm. "What—?!"
Another hand covered my mouth. "Mmph!" Panic flooded my body. I kicked. Struggled. Tried to scream.
"Get her inside!"
"No!" I bit the man's hand as hard as I could.
"Argh!" He cursed loudly.
I broke free for a second. "Help!"
People on the sidewalk turned toward us. But before anyone could reach me... One of the kidnappers shoved me hard. I stumbled backward.
Instinctively wrapping both arms around my stomach. "No..."
Please... Not my babies...
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"Boss!" One of my men burst into the meeting room.
"They found her!"
I immediately stood. "What happened?"
"They're trying to abduct Miss Volkov!"
The chair behind me crashed onto the floor. "Where?"
He gave me the location. Without another word... I grabbed my gun and ran.
---
ISABELLA'S POV :
I tried running. But at six months pregnant... I wasn't fast enough. One of the men grabbed my wrist again.
"Let me go!"
He slapped me across the face. My ears rang. "You've caused us enough trouble."
Tears blurred my vision. "I don't even know you!"
"You don't need to." He smirked.
"Your boyfriend does."
"...Boyfriend?" I frowned. "I don't have one."
The man laughed. "You expect us to believe that?"
"I-I'm telling the truth!"
Another black SUV suddenly screeched to a stop. Gunshots echoed through the street.
Bang!
Bang!
People screamed. Everyone started running. The kidnapper holding me looked toward the road. "...Petrov."
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
The moment I saw her... Something inside me snapped. She was terrified. Crying. Holding her stomach.
My grip tightened around my gun. "Let her go."
One of the kidnappers laughed. "Or what?"
I didn't answer. Instead... I fired one warning shot into the pavement. The bullet exploded against the concrete. Everyone froze. "I won't repeat myself."
The leader shoved Isabella closer to him. "Drop the weapon."
"No."
"You'll kill her."
His smile widened. "I don't miss."
---
THIRD PERSON
Chaos erupted. The rival mafia opened fire. Mikhail's men returned fire immediately. The street became a battlefield. Cars screeched to a halt. People ran for cover. Amid the confusion... Isabella saw her chance. She drove her elbow into the kidnapper's ribs. He loosened his grip.
She ran. But only a few steps. A loud gunshot rang out. She froze. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. "Ah!"
She collapsed onto the pavement. Protecting her stomach with both hands. "MY BABIES!"
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"...ISABELLA!" Everything around me became a blur. I didn't care about the bullets anymore. I ran straight toward her.
One of my men shouted— "Boss, don't!"
Too late. I reached her. She was shaking. Blood stained her sleeve. Yet despite the pain... She wasn't crying because of herself. She kept repeating the same words.
"My babies..."
"Please..."
"My babies..."
My chest tightened. Without thinking... I took off my coat and wrapped it around her.
"Look at me."
Her tear-filled eyes slowly met mine. "The babies..." She sobbed. "Please save them..."
I gently cupped her face. "You'll both be okay."
"I promise."
---
Sirens echoed in the distance. The kidnappers retreated. Their mission had failed.
But the damage had already been done. Mikhail carefully lifted Isabella into his arms. She was trembling uncontrollably.
Then she whispered something so quietly. He almost didn't hear it.
"...They're yours..."
His footsteps stopped. "What...?"
But Isabella had already lost consciousness. Leaving him frozen in the middle of the street. Her words echoing over and over inside his mind.
> "They're yours."
The past few days had been. Strange. I couldn't explain it. But everywhere I went. It felt like someone was watching me.
When I went to the grocery store. A black SUV was parked across the street. When I visited the bookstore, the same man wearing a black cap was standing near the entrance.
Even when I left the hospital after another prenatal checkup I saw the same vehicle in my rearview mirror. Maybe I was just imagining things. Right?
---
"Isa?" Mama's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "We're here."
I looked outside. The Volkov mansion. Home. At least that's what I kept telling myself.
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"Boss." Igor hurried into my office. His face was unusually serious.
"What happened?"
"We have a problem."
I slowly looked up.
"Our men spotted members of the Kuznetsov Bratva."
My expression darkened. "What are they doing in my territory?"
"They've been following someone."
"Who?"
Igor placed several photographs on my desk. The moment I looked at them my heartbeat stopped. Isabella. Every picture was of her. Walking out of the hospital. Leaving her office. Entering her family's mansion. Someone had been watching her for days.
My jaw tightened. "Who gave you these?"
"One of our informants stole them from the Kuznetsov warehouse."
I stared at the photographs. Why her? She wasn't connected to the underworld. Not that I knew of. Unless... a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
If they suspected what I was beginning to suspect... Then she wasn't just an innocent woman anymore. She was leverage.
---
ISABELLA'S POV :
The next afternoon... Mama asked me to pick up a few things for the nursery. The twins would be here in a few months.
And somehow... Shopping for tiny clothes made everything feel real. I smiled as I picked up a pair of little knitted socks. "So tiny..." A little boy. A little girl. I couldn't wait to meet them.
---
As I stepped out of the baby boutique... A white delivery van suddenly stopped in front of me. The side door slid open.
Before I could react— A hand grabbed my arm. "What—?!"
Another hand covered my mouth. "Mmph!" Panic flooded my body. I kicked. Struggled. Tried to scream.
"Get her inside!"
"No!" I bit the man's hand as hard as I could.
"Argh!" He cursed loudly.
I broke free for a second. "Help!"
People on the sidewalk turned toward us. But before anyone could reach me... One of the kidnappers shoved me hard. I stumbled backward.
Instinctively wrapping both arms around my stomach. "No..."
Please... Not my babies...
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"Boss!" One of my men burst into the meeting room.
"They found her!"
I immediately stood. "What happened?"
"They're trying to abduct Miss Volkov!"
The chair behind me crashed onto the floor. "Where?"
He gave me the location. Without another word... I grabbed my gun and ran.
---
ISABELLA'S POV :
I tried running. But at six months pregnant... I wasn't fast enough. One of the men grabbed my wrist again.
"Let me go!"
He slapped me across the face. My ears rang. "You've caused us enough trouble."
Tears blurred my vision. "I don't even know you!"
"You don't need to." He smirked.
"Your boyfriend does."
"...Boyfriend?" I frowned. "I don't have one."
The man laughed. "You expect us to believe that?"
"I-I'm telling the truth!"
Another black SUV suddenly screeched to a stop. Gunshots echoed through the street.
Bang!
Bang!
People screamed. Everyone started running. The kidnapper holding me looked toward the road. "...Petrov."
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
The moment I saw her... Something inside me snapped. She was terrified. Crying. Holding her stomach.
My grip tightened around my gun. "Let her go."
One of the kidnappers laughed. "Or what?"
I didn't answer. Instead... I fired one warning shot into the pavement. The bullet exploded against the concrete. Everyone froze. "I won't repeat myself."
The leader shoved Isabella closer to him. "Drop the weapon."
"No."
"You'll kill her."
His smile widened. "I don't miss."
---
THIRD PERSON
Chaos erupted. The rival mafia opened fire. Mikhail's men returned fire immediately. The street became a battlefield. Cars screeched to a halt. People ran for cover. Amid the confusion... Isabella saw her chance. She drove her elbow into the kidnapper's ribs. He loosened his grip.
She ran. But only a few steps. A loud gunshot rang out. She froze. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. "Ah!"
She collapsed onto the pavement. Protecting her stomach with both hands. "MY BABIES!"
---
MIKHAIL'S POV :
"...ISABELLA!" Everything around me became a blur. I didn't care about the bullets anymore. I ran straight toward her.
One of my men shouted— "Boss, don't!"
Too late. I reached her. She was shaking. Blood stained her sleeve. Yet despite the pain... She wasn't crying because of herself. She kept repeating the same words.
"My babies..."
"Please..."
"My babies..."
My chest tightened. Without thinking... I took off my coat and wrapped it around her.
"Look at me."
Her tear-filled eyes slowly met mine. "The babies..." She sobbed. "Please save them..."
I gently cupped her face. "You'll both be okay."
"I promise."
---
Sirens echoed in the distance. The kidnappers retreated. Their mission had failed.
But the damage had already been done. Mikhail carefully lifted Isabella into his arms. She was trembling uncontrollably.
Then she whispered something so quietly. He almost didn't hear it.
"...They're yours..."
His footsteps stopped. "What...?"
But Isabella had already lost consciousness. Leaving him frozen in the middle of the street. Her words echoing over and over inside his mind.
> "They're yours."
Chapter 9
— Chapter 9 of 16