Five Years Later

The office was quieter than usual.

Alyona Vladivostok Konstantin Kostya sat behind her grand mahogany desk in the top-floor office of Kostya International, the empire her father had spent decades building, one she now ruled with grace and iron resolve. The room was drenched in golden sunlight pouring through the massive windows, but Alyona’s heart had grown used to working in shadows.

She had become everything her father had raised her to be: sharp, decisive, respected. ...