Warm My Bed, Brother-in-law Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Puppet Queen.

Read chapter 8 of Warm My Bed, Brother-in-law by PayalSinghRajput on NovelPedia.

ELENA - POV. The boardroom on the top floor of the Vitale estate was dead silent, except for the faint buzz of the AC. I sat at the head of the massive table. The leather chair was way too big for me, clearly built for Richard’s broad frame, but I kept my backbone straight. To my right sat my father, Mikhail Petrov, his heavy arms crossed over his chest, his gray eyes tracking every single move in the room. To my left was Nikolai Vitale, looking as cold and unreadable as a block of stone. Lined down the sides of the long table were the family’s top seven captains. They didn't look at me with an ounce of respect. Instead, they stared with varying levels of annoyance, curiosity, and flat-out contempt. To them, I was just a housewife wearing a dead man's suit. Lev stood directly behind my chair, hands clasped, watching every face at the table like a hawk. He didn't say a word, but his presence kept everyone in line. Nikolai Vitale leaned forward, tapping his fountain pen against the table. "As you all know, Richard is incapacitated. Until he recovers, the alliance must maintain its leadership. Elena will be taking over his seat, signing off on all shipments, and authorizing all major transactions effective immediately." A low murmur rippled around the table. The captains shifted in their seats, whispering to each other and shaking their heads, not even trying to hide their disapproval. "With all due respect, Nikolai," Captain Alonzo spoke up, his voice tight. "She doesn't know the routes. She doesn't know the payroll. If the local gangs realize a woman who hasn't spent a single day on the docks is running the ports, they’re going to start hijacking our trucks by midnight." "The operations stay exactly the same," my father cut in, his voice instantly silencing Alonzo. His gray eyes narrowed into a glare that forced the older captain to look down. "My daughter has the Petrov name behind her. Any attack on her shipments is an attack on the St. Petersburg Bratva. Are you suggesting your men aren't capable of securing the borders, Alonzo?" "No, sir," Alonzo muttered quickly, backing down instantly. I kept my hands flat on the table and let them talk. I knew they would look at me like an outsider. Anyone could see I didn't belong in this chair, and I had fully planned to just sit here quietly, sign their papers, and do my job. But watching Alonzo back down so easily made a cold reality settle into my gut. If I stayed completely silent, if I played the quiet puppet they wanted me to be, these men would eventually tear me apart the second our fathers looked away. I had to show them I was paying attention. My eyes drifted down the table and locked on Vincenzo. He was unusually quiet today, slumped in his chair with his right wrist wrapped tightly in a thick, white splint. He looked pale, with cold sweat dampening his hairline, and he was completely avoiding eye contact with everyone. I didn't know much about the inside operations, but I knew who the major captains were. I had seen them over the years, catching snippets of Richard’s angry phone calls at home, or greeting them briefly whenever he forced me to attend a family dinner. I knew Vincenzo was supposed to be a loud, hot-tempered guy who ran the western sector with an iron fist. Seeing him this quiet, looking practically broken, didn't make sense. I remembered the warning in my father's briefing on the ride over: the captains were going to test my limits today. Vincenzo was the biggest liability on the western front, and his silence was the perfect opening. "Vincenzo," I called out, drawing every eye in the room. The sound of my voice made him flinch. He slowly raised his head, his face twisting into a tight, uncomfortable mask. "Yes, Mrs. Vitale?" "You manage the western warehouses," I said, keeping my tone completely casual. "The morning report shows three containers from Colombia are still sitting in the yard. Richard always cleared them within an hour of arrival. Why is there