Page 54 of Gilded Shackles
Of course she knew. She didn't just know. She planned it. Every word, every signature, every smile.
She set the trap.
And we walked right into it.
I close the folder. Deadly calm. "What do you want me to do?"
Viktor leans back, steepling his fingers like he's the goddamn Pope about to hand down absolution. Or war.
"We cancel the deal. She keeps her cursed land, and we take our money back. I'm not losing one more dime to her schemes."
The words hit like a bullet to the ribs.
I force my face to stay blank. Don't react. Don't give them shit. I've played this game my whole life.
But inside, my brain is sprinting. I know exactly how this ends if Viktor pulls the plug.
They take the deal back, and Elle goes with it. I hand her over like she was never mine. Just like that. Gone.
And I'm not okay with that. Not even close.
I've given up a lot for this family. Blood. Bones. Entire parts of myself I won't get back. I'm not giving up my wife, even ifI haven't said that word out loud yet. Even if the idea of calling her that still makes me feel like someone swapped my brain for a stranger's.
"There are other ways," I say, voice steady despite the dryness in my throat. "Let me handle Gayle."
Viktor raises an eyebrow. "And how exactly will you do that?"
"I'll get a reduction on the price, or make her throw in another property to compensate." I lean forward. "The Donovan portfolio is extensive. There are other assets worth having."
My uncle reads me instantly. "You're that desperate to keep the girl?"
"I'm that desperate not to let Gayle win."
He leans back. Something proud crosses his face, like I'm finally passing a test he's been running. "Then renegotiate," he says after a long beat. "You get us a better deal, we keep her. Otherwise, she goes back with the land."
Goes backmakes my chest tighten like I've been drop-kicked.
"I'll talk to her," I say.
Viktor shrugs. "Try it your way. One shot. If she laughs in your face, it's over."
He's giving me this chance because he knows I won't screw it up. Because I never have.
And because somewhere under all his ruthlessness, he likes her too.
If he's testing me, fine. I've been acing his tests since I was ten.
Gayle's penthouseis disgusting in the way only inherited wealth can be. Everything is white. Chairs you can't sit on. Floors that glare at your shoes. Art that cost six figures just to be ugly on purpose.
The building belongs to Viktor now, but Gayle held onto the penthouse like a spider keeps the center of its web. Non-negotiable, apparently. Her one condition in the sale.
Not a single photograph on any surface. No family portraits. No childhood snapshots. Nothing personal. Just money on the walls where memories should be. Strange, for a woman who claims her daughter is the most precious thing in the world.
I hadn't noticed it before. But then, the last time I was here, I'd been knocked on the head. Details got lost.
She opens the door herself. Silk robe.
"Nikolai," she purrs, walking away before I've even stepped in. "What brings you here?"
