Page 60 of Corrupt: XXX Vadim 2

Chapter Nineteen

“That’s another round lost for Tiffany,” Vadim declares from over a stack of neatly arranged Monopoly money. “I think we might have to up the stakes.”

“Like what?” Magda asks conspiratorially. They sit on the same end of the table, far too close for my liking. Something tells me that I’m woefully outmatched in this war.

“Like…” Vadim cuts his gaze to me. “If Tiffany loses again, we should devise a fitting punishment for her.”

“No fair!” I snatch a handful of money from the till and throw it at him. “I forfeit!”

Vadim’s grin is sinful. “Shall we let her?” he asks Magda, who gleefully shakes her head, her curls bouncing.

“Then, I declare…” He strokes his chin in chilling contemplation. “That she be tickled to death!”

He lunges for me, and I race away, cackling at the top of my lungs. “No! I’ll never give in! Never—”

I break off as a knock sounds from the front door, and I skid to a stop at the mouth of the foyer.

Frowning, Vadim slips past me, the playful mood broken. Squaring his shoulders, he opens the door, and I can tell just from his posture alone who he expects to be on the other end. His brother. “Shit, Ena didn’t tell me that anyone…”

He trails off at the sight of the figure on the other end. As he steps back, alarm shoots through me at his expression. I’ve never seen his eyes so wide. So…open. It’s as if he’s seen a ghost.

And maybe he has.

The beautiful woman in the doorway is pale enough to have come from some ethereal realm. Curling blond hair falls down her shoulders, stopping almost at her waist. Delicate features form a face of breathtaking perfection, crowned by two intense light-blue eyes that fixate solely on the man between us.

“Irina,” Vadim croaks.

“Vadim,” she says, her voice softly accented. “I came to see our daughter.”

Vadim’s story continues in Conquer! Pre-order now!