Chapter 145: Transactional

Don Capri stood in the frame, still holding his own phone, the call with his accountants only just ended, if the tight set of his jaw was anything to go by. He looked at the broken phone. He looked at his daughter. He didn’t ask.

Elena came out behind him, already reaching for Aliya’s shoulder, and Marcel trailed last, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed like he already knew whatever was about to be said wasn’t going to be good.

"Sit," Don Capri said to Aliya, not unkindly, and waited until she did, sinking back into the corner of the couch like the fight had gone out of her all at once. He rubbed a hand over his jaw before he spoke again.

"The accountants found something. The accounts and collapse of our stocks. It wasn’t random."

Aliya’s eyes lifted to his. "What do you mean it wasn’t random?"

"Someone did this on purpose. Goes by the name... " he paused, like the name itself tasted wrong in his mouth, "the Invisible Shadow."

Aliya blinked at him, the anger draining into something colder and more confused. "Why would the Invisible Shadow hacker target us? He’s... he’s famous. He goes after governments, corporations. Not..." she gestured vaguely at herself, at the wreckage of her phone on the floor. "Not us. Never has."

Marcel pushed off the doorframe, uncrossing his arms. "Unless he knows Viktor." He let that sit a second. "And he’s working with him."

The room went quiet in a different way.

Elena turned to him sharply. "That’s not possible. If Viktor had a connection to someone like that, I would have known."

Aliya’s mind was already racing ahead of her mouth. "Then it must be someone he recently met," she said, sitting forward, the pieces slotting into place behind her eyes.

"And the only person Viktor’s recently come into contact with is her." She looked around at the three of them like the answer was obvious, like she couldn’t understand why they weren’t seeing it too.

"It makes perfect sense. All of this happened right after we threatened to expose Viktor and she wasn’t scared. Not even a little. And then we lost all this money." She shook her head. "It has to be her. It has to be Sienna who did this to us."

Elena’s arms folded tighter across her chest. "She’s a nobody. There’s no way she could be that smart, much less the Invisible Shadow hacker."

"I don’t care who she is." Don Capri’s voice cut through the room, low and hard. "I just want my money back. I am in serious trouble because of her."

Marcel tilted his head, considering. "It could be. When I met her, I knew she wasn’t ordinary. She’s smart." He said it almost like a compliment, and it seemed to cost him something to admit it.

Aliya was already on her feet. "Leave this to me, Dad. I’ll handle her."

"Darling." Elena’s voice sharpened, stepping toward her.

"You heard what Viktor did. Eliminating our allies, one by one. You need to be careful." She reached for Aliya’s arm, but Aliya was already pulling away.

"I want that girl gone too, more than you know. But now is not the time."

"She ruined me." Aliya was already at the door, her voice flat and final. "And I don’t care what Viktor did to scare us. I just want her gone."

She walked out. It was still dark outside, the kind of dark that sits right before dawn, and she didn’t look back to see Elena or her father standing in the doorway, watching her go.

Marcel followed Aliya outside, the apartment doors closing quietly behind him.

She stood near the stone railing with a cigarette between her fingers, smoke curling lazily into the night. "You okay?" he asked. Aliya didn’t answer. She took another drag, staring out into the darkness.

Marcel waited. Finally, she glanced at him. "If only you were a true Kessler." He frowned. "You would have been my man."

A bitter smile touched her lips. "But you’re not." Marcel’s jaw tightened. "Don’t start." "You’re just the Kessler shell." She flicked ash onto the ground.

"The name. The money. The power." She looked him over. "But none of the blood."

"I might not have Kessler blood," Marcel said, his voice hardening, "but Don Kessler loved me." Aliya’s expression shifted. "More than his own son." He stepped closer.

"And before he died, he made Viktor promise he would never kill me or my mother." His eyes narrowed. "So in every way that matters, I’m a Kessler."

He tapped his chest. "I have the damn name." Aliya studied him for a long moment before letting out a quiet laugh. "Then what do you want?" Marcel said nothing.

She took another drag of her cigarette. "You want me?" He looked at her. She smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. "I know you do." Marcel’s expression remained unreadable.

Aliya stepped closer. "Fine." Her voice dropped. "If you’re willing to pretend to be Viktor for one night..." She reached up and slowly brushed a speck of ash from his jacket.

"I could make you forget every other woman you’ve ever been with." Marcel caught her wrist before she could pull away. "Don’t." She stared at him.

"I don’t want to pretend to be anyone." Her smile faded. "I want Viktor." Marcel released her.

"Even if it’s a fake Viktor," she whispered. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Marcel looked away. Because there was something Aliya didn’t understand. A few weeks ago, he might have wanted exactly what she was offering.

Now? Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sienna. Her smile. Her stubbornness. The way she looked at Viktor. And worse... The way Viktor looked at her. Marcel had thought he understood obsession. He was beginning to realize he hadn’t seen anything yet.

Marcel studied her for a long moment. Then a slow, dangerous smile appeared on his face. "How about this?" Aliya raised an eyebrow. "If you can prove you’re better than every woman I’ve ever been with..."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I’ll give you a secret." Her interest immediately sharpened. "What secret?"

"One that could bring both Sienna and Viktor to their knees." The cigarette paused between her fingers. Aliya searched his face. "You know something about them?"

"I know enough." She smiled slowly. "Then we have a deal." Marcel held her gaze. "Careful what you agree to."

"Careful what you promise." For a moment, neither moved. Then Aliya dropped her cigarette and crushed it beneath her heel. Whatever had begun as jealousy, resentment, or simple hunger had become something far more dangerous.

They both wanted something they couldn’t have. Aliya wanted Viktor. Marcel wanted what Viktor had. And neither was willing to admit how much that desire had already consumed them.

The night stretched on around them, but by morning, neither would be the same. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even trust. It was two people reaching for something that belonged to someone else, knowing perfectly well that the moment they got what they wanted, they might have to pay for it.

And somewhere inside that bargain was a secret.