Chapter 162: It’s not what you think

The room was dark except for the faint light coming from the closet. He pushed the door wider. Still nothing. Viktor stepped inside. He glanced toward the bed. The blankets were pulled up. Sienna appeared to be asleep.

His shoulders loosened. Good. He closed the door carefully behind him. Then he walked toward the bed. Slowly. Quietly. So quietly that even Sienna’s trained ear wouldn’t catch him.

Or so he thought the woman he was checking on wasn’t asleep at all. And on her computer screen, the auction timer was counting down.

00:03:47

Sienna’s eyes narrowed. The latest bid had come from the identity registered to a dead man. She leaned closer to the screen. "Who are you?" Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Then she placed another bid.

Viktor reached the side of the bed and leaned down.

He meant to kiss Sienna’s forehead. Just once. Then leave her alone and return to Marcus. His lips stopped inches from the pillow. Viktor frowned. The blanket was warm. But Sienna wasn’t there.

He straightened slowly. For a moment, he simply stared at the empty bed. Then he heard it. A faint sound. Click. A pause. Then another. Viktor turned toward the closet. The door wasn’t completely closed.

A thin line of light spilled across the bedroom floor. His eyes narrowed. Quietly, he crossed the room. This time, there was no need to worry about waking Sienna. He reached for the closet door and pushed it open.

And stopped. Sienna sat inside. Her back was to him, her attention fixed on the glowing screens in front of her. Several windows were open. Encrypted files. Data streams. Code. And right in the center of the largest monitor was the auction.

Viktor stared. His mind went completely still. Then he noticed the name. The signature attached to her account.

Invisible Shadow. For several seconds, Viktor didn’t breathe. He knew that name. Everyone in his world knew that name.

The hacker who appeared where he wasn’t supposed to. The hacker who had disappeared from systems that had taken millions to build. The same hacker responsible for destroying the Capri network. Bankrupting companies. Draining accounts.

Making an empire stumble without ever showing his face.

And he well, now he knows it’s a she, sitting in his bedroom.

Barefoot. Wearing pajamas. And arguing with an auction. Viktor leaned against the closet door.

"Well." Sienna froze. Her fingers stopped over the keyboard. Slowly. Very slowly. She turned around. Her eyes widened.

Viktor. Standing behind her. Sienna’s heart dropped. For one terrible second, neither of them spoke. Then she looked at the screens. Then back at him. Her secret was out. There was nowhere to run.

"It’s not what you think." Viktor lifted an eyebrow. Sienna immediately reached for the keyboard. "I couldn’t sleep."

Windows began disappearing. Files closed. "Really?"

"Yes." She tried to shut down another screen. Viktor stepped forward.

"No." Sienna’s hand stopped. He looked at the countdown. "Don’t stop." She blinked. "What?"

"It’s almost over." His gaze moved to the screen. "If you stop now, Marcus will win." Sienna stared at him.

"Marcus?" Viktor looked at her. That was when realization slowly crossed her face.

"You?"

He smiled. Sienna pointed at the screen. "You’re bidding?"

"Yes."

"The dead mafia boss?"

"Yes." Her mouth fell open. "That was you?"

"Technically, he’s been dead for seven years."

"Viktor!" He folded his arms. "What?"

"You were competing against me?"

"I didn’t know it was you."

"And I didn’t know it was you!" They both turned back toward the screen.

00:00:18

Sienna’s eyes widened. "Wait." She reached for the keyboard. Viktor leaned closer to look at the numbers. The bid jumped. Marcus. Sienna immediately raised it. "Marcus is going to lose his mind," Viktor muttered.

"Good." Viktor looked at her. Sienna smiled. Then another bidder appeared. The number changed. Again. Sienna’s attention snapped back to the screen. Viktor stepped closer.

"Bid."

"I am bidding!"

"Faster."

"I’m trying!"

00:00:09

Sienna’s fingers moved. But at the same moment, Viktor’s phone vibrated. Marcus. Viktor glanced down. Sienna looked toward him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Answer it."

"I don’t want to."

"Viktor!" He looked at the screen again.

00:00:05

Marcus was probably waiting for an order. Viktor reached for his phone. Sienna turned back to the keyboard. And in that brief moment. Someone else placed a bid.

00:00:01

The screen flashed. Then it went dark.

AUCTION CLOSED.

Sienna stared. Viktor stared. A new message appeared.

WINNING BID CONFIRMED.

Neither of their names was on it. Sienna slowly turned toward Viktor.

"You distracted me." Viktor looked offended. "You distracted me."

"You were the one who came into the closet."

"I came to check on my sleeping wife." Sienna folded her arms. "I was trying to find information."

"By bidding against me?"

"I didn’t know it was you!" Viktor smiled. She glared at him. Then her expression slowly changed. "Wait." Viktor watched her. "Don’t get the wrong idea."

"Oh?"

"I was only trying to find out more about Don Konstantin." Her voice became more serious. "And his missing daughter." Viktor’s smile faded slightly.

"That’s all." Sienna glanced back at the screen. "I wanted information."

"This is a dangerous place to be looking for information, Sienna." She looked at him.

"I know."

"No, you don’t."

"I know enough." Viktor stared at her. Then sighed. Sienna raised both hands. "Fine." He waited.

"You win."

"I usually do."

"Don’t start." A soft laugh escaped him. Then his eyes moved toward her screens again. Something occurred to him. His expression changed. "Wait." Sienna’s eyes narrowed.

"What?" Viktor looked at the numbers still displayed on the auction page. The amount of money she had been prepared to spend.

"Where did you get that much money?" Sienna shrugged. Viktor stared. She shrugged again.

"Oh." He slowly leaned back. "I almost forgot." A smile touched his mouth. "You’re Invisible Shadow." Sienna bit her lip.

"Among other things."

"Among other things?" Viktor stepped closer. Sienna looked up at him. His expression was softer now. Curious. Almost impressed. "What else is my little librarian hiding from me?"

Sienna blinked. "Little librarian?" She rolled her eyes. Viktor smiled. Then he looked back at the screens. At the files.

At the woman who had been lying beside him for months while keeping an entire second life hidden behind a computer screen. Perhaps his little bird had more secrets than he did.

And Viktor suddenly found himself very interested in discovering every single one of them. "Nothing." Sienna gave him an innocent little shrug. Viktor narrowed his eyes. "Nothing?"