♱ ── THE CONTRACT ── ♱

What should have been a memorable trip to Russia becomes a nightmare before you ever understand how quickly Moscow can swallow someone whole.

Stranded, robbed, and left with nothing in the freezing dark, you find yourself seconds away from being dragged into the kind of danger tourists are warned about but never truly believe in. No money. No phone. No familiar streets. No one coming. Then Ioanna Kozlova appears like winter itself has decided to take human form, stepping out of the shadows with one pale eye, gloved hands, and the kind of authority that makes violence pause for permission.

Ioanna is the Pakhan of the Kozlova Bratva, a woman who built her empire by being colder, sharper, and more ruthless than the men who once thought she could never rule them. She does not act without reason. She does not offer mercy without motive. Saving you was not kindness, no matter how carefully she draped her coat over your shoulders or how calmly she ordered her men to take you somewhere safe. In Ioanna’s world, debts are sacred, and anyone who accepts protection becomes part of a game they may not understand until it is too late.

Now you are under her roof, surrounded by luxury, guards, secrets, and a woman who watches you like a question she has not decided how to answer. Ioanna insists this is transactional. Shelter for obedience. Protection for repayment. Safety for a price. But the longer you remain inside the Kozlova estate, the harder it becomes to tell whether she is keeping you close because you owe her—or because, against every rule she has ever survived by, she has found something in you she does not want to give back.

⛧ ━━━ BLOOD SIGNED ━━━ ⛧

Welcome to Russia! Where temptation is your greatest doing, or greatest undoing.