Chapter 6 - Entering the Lion’s Den
The private elevator of the downtown skyscraper opened directly into a sprawling, subterranean lounge hidden beneath an elite art auction house.
The air thrummed with the low bass of deep house music, expensive cigar smoke, and the murmur of powerful voices discussing millions of dollars as casually as the weather.
When Viktor and I stepped out onto the polished obsidian floor, the room seemed to shift.
Conversations paused mid-sentence.
Heads turned in unison.
Powerful men in bespoke suits and striking women in diamonds immediately adjusted their posture, their eyes darting from Viktor to the woman standing on his arm—me.
I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening instinctively around the sleeve of his jacket.
“Relax,” Viktor murmured, leaning down so his lips brushed my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “You belong here just as much as any of them. Let them look.”
We walked toward a private VIP booth flanked by leather couches and guarded by two massive men who nodded respectfully as Viktor passed.
Sitting in the center of the booth was a striking older woman with sharp silver hair, wearing a sapphire necklace that looked like it belonged in a museum.
“Viktor,” she purred, taking a slow sip of her martini as we approached. “You missed the auction’s main event. And yet, judging by what you’ve brought with you, you found a far more interesting prize.”
Viktor seated me gently beside him before addressing the woman.
“Elena, stop terrorizing my guests. This is Sarah.”
Elena’s sharp blue eyes swept over me, taking in the emerald gown, the styled hair, and the faint traces of residual shock on my face.
Instead of being dismissive, a slow, knowing smile spread across her lips.
“Sarah,” Elena repeated, her voice laced with approval. “The insurance clerk from downtown, I presume? Word travels fast when Viktor Kozlov reorganizes an entire real estate portfolio on a Tuesday afternoon.”
My eyes widened as I looked at Viktor. “You told her?”
“Elena handles our legal acquisitions,” Viktor explained smoothly. “She knows when a property needs a fresh coat of paint and a new tenant.”
“And a worthless ex-boyfriend evicted into the rain,” Elena added, laughing softly as she raised her glass toward me. “Happy birthday, my dear. Trust me, losing a man like Marcus is the greatest promotion you will ever receive.”
Before I could process the surreal reality of sitting in a secret mob-adjacent VIP lounge with Manhattan’s underworld elite discussing my breakup, another figure approached the booth.
It was a younger man with slicked-back blonde hair and an expensive Rolex flashing beneath his cuff.
Marcus.
Or rather, someone who looked remarkably like him, but far more desperate.
Wait.
Not Marcus.
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How did Marcus get in here?
My heart leaped into my throat as I saw my ex-boyfriend being shoved forward by one of Viktor’s guards, looking disheveled, soaking wet, and utterly terrified.
