My mother’s hand squeezed my wrist so hard her manicured nails nearly bit into my skin, but I didn't wince. I simply looked at her—really looked at her—and saw the panic breaking through her carefully painted mask.

The tinted windows of Nikolai’s armored Maybach swallowed the glittering lights of Michigan Avenue. Inside the vehicle, the silence was thick, heavy with the weight of what had just transpired.

Penny had given me a quick, fierce hug at the valet stand before whispering, “If he steps out of line, I’ll poison his scotch. Call me if you need an alibi.” I had managed a faint smile then, but now, sitting next to Chicago’s most dangerous man, the reality of my decision hit me like a physical blow.

Nikolai poured two fingers of amber liquid into a crystal tumbler and offered it to me. "Drink. You look like you’re waiting for an executioner."

"I just traded a snake for a tiger, Nikolai," I said, taking the glass but not drinking. "Pardon me if I’m waiting to see when you'll bite."

A faint, shadowy trace of a smile touched his lips. "A tiger only attacks when threatened or hungry, Evelyn. You are neither my prey nor my enemy. You are my partner."

"A partner by contract," I corrected him firmly. "I want the paperwork drawn up by my own lawyers before the sun comes up."

"Already done," Nikolai replied, pulling a thick black leather folder from the seat pocket beside him and dropping it onto my lap. "I had my legal team draft it the moment I walked into that ballroom tonight."

I blinked, startled. "You had this ready before you even talked to me?"

"I don't leave success to chance," he said smoothly. "Read clauses four through seven. You’ll find every single condition you demanded in that hallway is explicitly stated, along with an unconditional transfer of ten percent of Moretti Logistics stock to your name upon signing."

I opened the folder under the soft ambient light of the car cabin. My eyes scanned the dense legalese. He wasn't lying. Everything was there: total financial independence, separate living quarters within his penthouse estate, full autonomy over my career, and a clause that stated any public disrespect toward me by the Moretti family would result in severe financial penalties against the offender.

"Ten percent of Moretti Logistics?" I looked up at him, genuinely shocked. "That’s worth tens of millions. Why give me that kind of leverage over you?"

"Because leverage creates trust," Nikolai said, leaning back against the leather seat, his sharp gray eyes locking onto mine. "Julian thought he could control you by keeping you desperate for his validation. I prefer my allies armed and dangerous. If you have power, you won't hesitate to use it to protect our joint interests."

The vehicle pulled into the private underground parking bay of a massive, sleek skyscraper overlooking Lake Michigan. The security team scrambled into position, opening the car door with practiced, military precision.

As we stepped into the private elevator that led straight to his top-floor penthouse, the reality of my old life fading into the background, my phone buzzed frantically in my clutch. I pulled it out.

Thirty-seven missed calls from my mother. Fourteen text messages from my father demanding I return home immediately to "fix this mess." And three messages from Julian.

I tapped on Julian’s latest message: Evelyn, you're making a massive mistake. Nikolai isn't a man, he's a monster. He's using you to get the family council votes. Come back and we can talk about this like adults.

I stared at the screen, a cold laugh bubbling in my throat. I didn't reply. Instead, I blocked his number, along with my parents' numbers, one by one.

When the elevator doors chimed open, revealing a sprawling, ultra-modern glass-and-steel penthouse with sweeping views of the dark ocean-like expanse of Lake Michigan, Nikolai took his coat off and handed it to a butler waiting in the foyer.

"Your wing is down the left hall," Nikolai said, turning to me. "It has its own entrance, office, and security system. You will have absolute privacy."

"Thank you, Nikolai," I said quietly.

He paused, studying my face for a long moment. "Julian is right about one thing, Evelyn."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I am a monster to my enemies," he said, his voice dropping into a low, lethal rumble that sent a sudden shiver straight down my spine. "But tomorrow morning, the Moretti Council meets. Julian will try to claim that I forced you into this. He will try to destroy your character to save his own skin. Are you ready to show them what happens when they provoke the monster's wife?"