LEV I’m not here to buy anything—or anyone. The underground auction is just a front, a perfect opportunity to observe a rival I’m planning to eliminate. I’m focused, calculated, in control. Until she steps on stage. She’s nothing like the others—her confidence has a sharp edge, her smile is an open challenge. She doesn’t beg or cower. She holds her head high, and in that moment, she becomes the one thing I never a distraction. Before I know it, I’m bidding. Not to save her, not out of mercy, but because I can’t stand the thought of another man claiming her. I win. Now, she’s in my home—a place no one outside my inner circle has ever been. She should be afraid. But she’s not. And that’s when I realized she’s more than just a pawn in this deadly game. She’s a weapon—one that could tip the scales of this turf war in my favor. But here’s the the same piece I could hand over to secure victory is the one I can’t bring myself to let go of. And in this world, attachments like that? They’ll get you killed. ALINA My sister’s life is on the line. She owes a fortune to men who don’t believe in second chances, and there’s only one way to save I have to sell myself at an exclusive, underground auction where the wealthiest—and most dangerous—men buy anything they desire. I expect humiliation. I expect pain. I never expected him. The man who buys me isn’t looking for a plaything. He’s playing a much darker game, and I’m just a pawn on his board. He’s cold, calculating, and ruthless, with a power that pulls me in even as it terrifies me. But the deeper I’m dragged into his twisted world, the more I realize this isn’t just about my sister anymore. I’m in way over my head, and the stakes are higher than I ever imagined. In his world, trust is a weakness, and survival isn’t guaranteed. I can’t tell if I’m his captive or his queen—or if I’ll make it out alive at all.