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“I know exactly what I'm getting.” His voice drops to a growl. “A spoiled princess who thinks her father's money makes her untouchable. But Daddy's contracts are already signed, sweetheart. Your opinions stopped mattering the moment I decided I wanted you.”

“Then you're getting damaged goods after all. Because the woman you think you're buying? She doesn't exist.” I smile, coldand sharp. “What you're actually getting is someone who will make your life miserable every single day until one of us dies.”

Anton studies me for a long moment, then throws back his head and laughs. “You know what? I think I'm going to enjoy breaking you.”

The casual cruelty in his words makes my blood run cold, but I keep my expression steady. After he leaves with promises to “see me soon,” I climb the stairs to my prison with one thought burning through my mind.

I need to find a way out of here before the wedding. Because if I don't escape soon, I'll be trapped forever in a life that will slowly kill everything I am.

28

ERIK

“Two weeks.” I pace the length of Nikolai's office, my hands clenched behind my back. “The wedding is in two weeks, and no one has seen her leave that compound since the exchange.”

Dmitri shifts in his chair. “Igor's locked her down tight. My contacts in the Lebedev organization say she hasn't even appeared at windows.”

“She could be dead for all we know.” The words taste like acid.

“She's not dead.” Alexi's fingers fly across his laptop keyboard. “Dead daughters can't marry into strategic alliances. Igor needs her breathing for this to work.”

Nikolai spreads architectural blueprints across his desk. “The Lebedev estate has been fortified since our last intel update. Motion sensors, thermal cameras, doubled guard rotations.”

“Then we go through them.” I stop pacing, my focus sharpening. “How many men?”

“Forty-six on the grounds at any given time.” Dmitri's voice carries the weight of military assessment. “Plus household staff that could be armed. We'd be looking at a small war.”

“So we have a war.”

“Erik.” Nikolai's tone cuts through my rage. “A frontal assault gets Katarina killed. Igor would put a bullet in her head the moment he realized we were breaching his defenses.”

My jaw clenches. “Then what do you suggest?”

Alexi spins his laptop around, showing thermal imaging of the estate. “Here. Service entrance on the east wing. Delivery trucks arrive every Tuesday and Friday to deliver to the kitchen. Minimal security because it's considered low-risk.”

“I can disable their surveillance systems.” His fingers dance across the keys again. “Give us a thirty-minute window before they realize something's wrong.”

Dmitri leans forward, studying the blueprints. “Katarina's room is here, third floor, northeast corner. The same room she had as a child, according to our intel.”

“How do we know she's actually there?” I ask.

“Because Igor's traditional. Unmarried daughters stay in the family wing under supervision.” Nikolai traces a route on the blueprints. “If we're right about the timeline, the wedding is next Saturday. That gives us one chance.”

“This Friday's delivery truck.” Alexi taps the screen. “I will hack their systems Thursday night, and then we infiltrate Friday morning during the regular supply run.”

“And if we're wrong about her location?”

Dmitri's expression hardens. “Then we tear the place apart until we find her.”

I study the blueprints, memorizing every corridor and exit. “What about extraction?”

“Same route in reverse. Alexi keeps their systems blind. We're out before they realize what happened.” Nikolai rolls up the blueprints. “Clean, surgical, minimal casualties.”

“The Petrovs will retaliate.”

“Let them try.” Nikolai's smile carries no warmth. “Igor chose sides when he forced this marriage. Anton Petrov chose sides when he agreed to it.”

Alexi closes his laptop. “I'll need three days to map their entire network. More time would be better, but?—”