เข้าสู่ระบบ“Hmm,” Sergei mused, his gaze dragging over the card before flicking up to me again. “Kids with rich parents.”The laughter that had started to build again didn’t last. It died a fraction because Yuri Malenkov, the man at the head of the table, flexed his wrist in the air.His eyes dropped to the card, narrowing as if it had personally offended him. His fingers balled against the table, the faintest pause in a man who otherwise wasted nothing.And when he looked up again, he wasn’t looking at the others but at me.A woman stepped into my periphery, completely buck-naked, except for the thin straps of her shoes, tight nipples and a face heavy with makeup.Her expression was blank in the way only trained compliance could achieve, carrying a tray stacked high with chips, obscene in volume.She lowered it in front of me and traced her fingers across my shoulder blades which caused the hairs at the back of my neck to rise involuntarily. Then she stepped back without a word.“I don’t see an
“Hmm,” Sergei mused, his gaze dragging over the card before flicking up to me again. “Kids with rich parents.”The laughter that had started to build again didn’t last. It died a fraction because Yuri Malenkov, the man at the head of the table, flexed his wrist in the air.His eyes dropped to the card, narrowing as if it had personally offended him. His fingers balled against the table, the faintest pause in a man who otherwise wasted nothing.And when he looked up again, he wasn’t looking at the others but at me.A woman stepped into my periphery, completely buck-naked, except for the thin straps of her shoes, tight nipples and a face heavy with makeup.Her expression was blank in the way only trained compliance could achieve, carrying a tray stacked high with chips, obscene in volume.She lowered it in front of me and traced her fingers across my shoulder blades which caused the hairs at the back of my neck to rise involuntarily. Then she stepped back without a word.“I don’t see an
It costs $11,000 for the pleasure of passing through the velvet rope, down the exclusive corridor, heading straight for the high-limit rooms upstair.I paid it without hesitation, sliding the card across a glass desk to a man who didn’t look at me twice.La Casino Capitol pulsed with wealth.Low lights spilled into gold across marble floors, reflecting off crystal and steel, turning every surface into something deliberately seductive. Drunk women, the stench of ‘suave and ice’ and liquor latched onto them as they drifted through the space like decoration, while men sat heavy in their seats, fingers stacked with rings, wrists burdened by watches that could buy cities. And it showed.Gold teeth flashed when they laughed. Thick chains rested against open collars. Custom suits stretched over soft bodies, the fabric fighting a losing battle against excess. They exuded dominance and power in every way, but there was something more repulsive lurking beneath the surface.Bile rose to my th
“No,” I said simply. “You shouldn’t.”That seemed to settle something in him, like it confirmed whatever version of the situation he’d built in his head.“Exactly,” he muttered, a little more certain now. “So whatever this is, you’re overreacting. Let me go.”“Overreacting?” Jerry echoed, the word already edged with impatience as his grip tightened.“Easy.” I intervened before it could escalate. “You were inside a private establishment asking about her movements. You ran when approached. You dropped a device filled with her images. And now you’re telling me you don’t know what this is?”The young man’s eyes darted past Jerry’s raised hand, scanning for an escape, before frantically searching himself only to realize his phone was indeed the device in Jerry’s hand. His expression tensed, shoulders stiffening, instinctively bracing against the pressure on his collar.“I’m telling you,” he said slowly, “I did a job. That’s it. Take pictures. Send them in. Get paid. No names. No questions.
The garage was already occupied by the time I stepped in. Inside, I spotted two of my cars immediately – the one Jerry had driven Rosalia in still angled toward the exit, ready to move at a second’s notice, and the escort vehicle tucked closer to the column where a black sedan waited.Jerry closed the distance the moment I appeared, a phone already in his hand. His expression had tightened in a way that told me whatever dragged me out of that boardroom had earned it.“He came in as a customer,” he began, placing the phone in my palm as we stopped beside the car. “It wasn't all unusual until he asked how long she’d be inside.”I unlocked the screen without responding, my eyes already scanning through what he’d handed me while his voice continued, steady and controlled. There were photos. Too many. My thumb slowed over one of the images.“I let him walk,” Jerry went on, unfazed by my silence. “He left the boutique, came straight out here, got into this car. Apparently he’s been on us
I let him move me where he wanted. His hands were quick, adjusting the fabric at my waist before the tape followed. “Take a second,” Kai called as he drifted out, already pulled in another direction. On his way past, he plucked my phone from one of his assistants and placed it back into my hand, a light tap against my fingers. “No disappearing on me.” The door slid shut behind him and silence settled in. I twirled carefully, the fabric whispering around my legs as I faced the mirrors. Just me, multiplied endlessly. The dress was beautiful, I couldn’t deny that. But all I could see was what it represented. It wasn't just any marriage. It was one into this family. The thought didn’t feel like fate. It wasn’t something written for me, something inevitable or remotely romantic. It felt constructed because I had slowly, carefully woven this outcome into existence myself. And now I was standing in it with no one to blame. My throat tightened as my gaze dropped, then lifted again
For a heartbeat, I thought I was hallucinating. Then I answered and now, God help me, I wished I hadn’t.My phone was still on the floor where it slipped from my hand. My heart had skipped like it was trying to claw it way out of my chest. Before I could think, I flopped onto my bed, punching at th
“It might,” my voice was low. “It might also make him exile the people who gave him shelter. He’s not as blind as you think.”Her eyes darted to the boy, then to me, then back again. In that tiny flicker I saw the math she’d been doing in her head, what she could trade, how much time she had left,
My eyes located a young woman, hollowed out. Her cheekbones were too sharp, skin puckered and dry in places where it should have been soft. Her hair plastered to her scalp, sweat and oil making it glisten, her eyes were wide and raw, the whites rimmed pink, sleeplessness fossilized in her face. She
PRESENT The last week became a string of little victories and teeth-baring setbacks. We burned a safehouse in South Philly where we'd thought Vito hid his family, instead, we found out his associates kept false passports there. And that led us to intercept a courier for shipping crates to Milan fr







