Page 181 of The Contract

Terror takes over.

I bite down on my lip so hard it splits.

Just to keep from moving.

Just to keep from sobbing.

Blood pools on my tongue.

And still, I don’t flinch.

And finally, he places it in my palm.

“Done.”

He steps back.

No smirk. No gloating.

Just that lethal calm—the kind only men like him wear like a second skin.

The kind that says he always wins.

I look down.

In my hand is…

Da’s knife.

Unrushed, he heads out. No parting glance back to admire the wreckage. Just the slow, echoing click of his shoes on polished floor.

“Promise to break pretty for me, Zapretnaya.”

Epilogue 1: Riley

TWO MONTHS LATER

I read the note pinned to the blindfold.

Tonight, Zapretnaya.

My, my, my… aren’t we the persistent little stalker?

Two months of silence, and suddenly he wants a date.

Not a whisper. Not a peep. Just those cold, clinical emails?—

Mila is safe. Your sister is safe. Do not reach out to them.

Which, let’s be real, is exactly what I’ve done.

I’ve tried slipping messages to Kennedy. Nothing obvious. Just quiet little breadcrumbs I pray she finds.

I don’t exactly know how to train carrier pigeons, but I’m working on it.

And Mila…

I’ve tried looking for Mila. Hence the new tracker tucked somewhere neatly inside this stupid fucking necklace.

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