Page 94 of Mafia King’s Dangerous Vow

My eyes lift. Papa smiles. “Do not look so insulted. It is one of the few useful things about being a woman in a house full of dangerous men. They forget you are present until they want you warm.”

I make my face do nothing. “And if Aleksander does not forget?”

“Then perhaps you are not as useful as I expected.”

This is the assignment, then. Make Aleksander want me. Make Aleksander trust me. Make him careless enough that I become a door left open in his house.

I knew my father was ruthless. I knew he had traded me into marriage without hesitation. I knew he had stolen my son and held him out of reach like collateral.

But until this moment, some part of me still believed the bargain had been singular.

One daughter exchanged. One alliance secured. One body delivered across the aisle and signed over.

Now I understand. Papa did not just sell me. He intends to keep collecting from my body for however long Aleksander’s desire lasts.

The bile rises so fast I can taste it. Still, I make myself answer lightly. “I’m sure Aleksander would be flattered to know you spend this much time thinking about his emotional life.”

Papa’s expression cools. “Attachment creates leverage.”

“So does arrogance.”

He smiles. “Careful,” he says again, almost fondly. “You are not yet in a position to be clever.”

“I thought that was why you wanted me inside the Sokolov household.”

He studies me. Approval crosses his face, and it makes me want to wash my skin. “Yes. Perhaps.”

He reaches for a pen and writes on a small card. Four names.

Reznikov. Malysh. Orlov. Morozov.

The last one enters my body like a needle, but I don’t blink. Papa turns the card and slides it toward me.

“If you hear any of these names, pay attention.”

My eyes move over the list slowly, as if they are all unfamiliar. “Old colleagues?”

“Old routes.”

“Are they yours or Aleksander’s?”

His mouth curves. “That is exactly the kind of question I would like answered.”

I set the card beside the photograph. “What happens if I bring you context?”

“Then you receive more.”

“More photographs?”

“Perhaps.”

“A name?”

“Perhaps.”

“A meeting?”

Papa lets the silence stretch. Then he says, “If you are useful.”