message ="I know you’re looking. I'm not your thief. But I might be your way out."
bitvenom_salt ="BitVenom_Salt"# Known only to BitVenom
timestamp = 1642095600
# Speczic moment when the message was created
My heart pounds against my ribs. Rafa Rosso has to be BitVenom. I know that line of coding anywhere. He must have figured out who I really am —NyxBinary.
I close the laptop slowly, mind racing. This changes everything. Either Rafa Rosso is laying an elaborate trap—or he truly is planning his own escape and has recognized a potential ally in me.
Either way, in three days I'll be face to face with the man I'm supposed to marry. A hacker who might be my destruction or my salvation.
I'll need to be the Petrov blade—sharp, invisible, and always aimed at the most vulnerable point.
Because in three days, the wicked game begins.
CHAPTER 5
Kira
Three days later…
The dress is a weapon.
Blood-red silk that clings like a lover's promise before cascading to the floor in a controlled waterfall. Backless, with strategic cutouts at my ribs that reveal just enough skin to be memorable without crossing into vulnerability. The bodice is architectural, structured angles that frame my collarbones and create shadows where there should be none.
Armor doesn't have to look like armor to function.
I apply my lipstick with surgical precision, the same shade as the dress. In the mirror, a stranger stares back at me—a woman carved from ice and steel, with eyes that give nothing away. My hair is swept back into a sleek chignon, not a strand out of place. Diamond earrings worth more than most people's homes catch the light as I turn my head.
Perfect. Untouchable. Lethal.
This is the version of Kira Petrov that walks into rooms and makes men forget how to breathe. The version that can hide a knife in plain sight and smile while using it.
"The car is waiting," Nicolai's voice comes through the intercom system in my suite. "And you're already seven minutes behind schedule."
I roll my eyes at his precision and gather my clutch—small, elegant, and containing three separate devices that could hack into any system in the building if necessary. A Petrov never attends a social function without digital contingencies.
Nicolai waits by the elevator, impeccable in a black tuxedo that probably costs more than some people make in a year. He gives me a rare appreciative nod.
"You look like you're about to declare war," he says with approval.
"Isn't that what this is?" I step into the elevator beside him.
The doors close, sealing us in privacy.
"Father and Alexei arrived at the hotel an hour ago," Nicolai informs me, adjusting his cufflinks. "They're meeting with Vito Rosso to finalize details before the official announcement."
"And my future husband?" I keep my voice deliberately neutral.
Nicolai's mouth tightens slightly. "No sign of him yet."
"Interesting."
"Father won't like it if he's late to his own engagement party." He chuckles.
I smile thinly. "Perhaps that's the point. You’re late yourself."
