Page 21 of The Bratva Enforcer and His Virgin Bride

He walks past a row of crates, fingers brushing the edge of one as he moves.

Ben’s eyes track him briefly, then return to Karl’s hands.

“It’s tied to Creed,” Karl continues.

That name sharpens the air immediately.

Karl watches my reaction carefully.

I give him none.

Karl continues anyway. “The missing network isn’t gone,” Karl says. “It’s locked. And the lock… still has a key.”

My focus sharpens. “Where is it?”

Karl’s gaze holds mine.

For the first time since I entered, something in his expression becomes slightly more precise. Not emotion. Calculation.

“You’re asking the wrong question,” he says.

I wait.

He takes a slow step closer.

Ben shifts half a step forward behind me, tension tightening invisibly in his posture.

“Not where,” Karl continues. “Who.” A pause. Then: “It still exists.”

My jaw tightens. “Explain.”

Karl tilts his head, then lowers himself back into his seat with infuriating calm, like he’s already anticipated every reaction I might have before I speak it aloud.

The warehouse falls quiet again.

Water drips somewhere in the distance.

Ben remains behind me, silent and watchful.

Karl folds his hands loosely in front of him. “There’s a condition,” he says.

I stare at him without expression. “Of course there is.”

A faint smile touches his mouth. “If you want access to the network,” he continues, “you will marry Sofia Morozova.”

For a second, I genuinely think I misheard him. Did he just say ‘marry’? And who the fuck is Sofia Morozova?

“What?”

Karl remains perfectly composed. “You heard me.”

I let the silence stretch, waiting for the punchline that never comes.

He’s serious.

My irritation sharpens instantly.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”