pte

Beneath Cr

d by the shadows of the East Garden. For the first time since stepping through Maison Rouge's perfumed doors, A

rielle inserted the drive into her encrypted reader. The security footage, which was timesta

I

customer was the next person to appear. High-profile. badge of the government The rest played out

n, watches from the shadows. The implications were devastating. Isa had secrets far beyond Arielle'

he laptop with

rd and unblinking gaze spoke of battles fought in boardrooms and back alleys alike. He dressed like a statesman and moved like a spy. Behind eve

e treaty negotiation and burned in secret rooms, but Mikhail's hunger for power had outpaced their passion. When Elena grew disillusioned with his schemes, she left. She took their daughter-Isa's mother never told her who her father was. Elena was never forgiven by Mi

her meteoric rise to independence as a political voice. And yet, he admired her. She was Elena reborn, but wilder, untethered, and dangerously una

es, he ran Razor-a clandestine political intelligence unit. Razor had eyes in every emb

ikhail stood in his dim study and poured himself a dark brandy.

to the shadows

address. No seal. Under Isa's office d

g. The godfath

ific to be invented. Her mother never spoke of him beyond a casual bitterness, a "he's better forgotten." But the timing of the note-so precise, so intimate-could no

the Rosewater Embassy, Isa stepped onto

nt," she said.

softly, "You do look like Elena." "

orry. I'm not here to play father. That

do yo

hink you're fighting are not concerned with the law. They only understand leve

ant to be o

odfather again, in truth. Let me help

: "Or you'll die like your moth

long enough for him to k

t she couldn't find. Contacts suddenly pulling away. Press leaks that mirrored internal conversations she never shared. Des

er security detail. But Razor moved like smoke-no matter how much sh

weight of invisible sabotage. Her closest aide was forced to resign after a scandal

an a warning. A coded dossier, left inside her briefcase, detailing

note in his

it. Or

e. To win, she might have to accept help from the man she loathed most. B

ly returned. He had t

d one move l