The private suite of the casino was drowned in dim amber light, draped in silk shadows and the heavy perfume of smoke. The only sounds were the soft clink of chips and the nervous breathing of the man across the table.

Viktor D’Argent sat still as stone—impeccably dressed in black-on-black, silver cufflinks catching the candlelight like twin razors. His face, carved with elegance and cruelty, bore no expression. The only movement came from his fingers, which tapped a single card on the green felt.

“You have five seconds,” Viktor said smoothly, voice lined with velvet and venom. “Call… or fold.”

The man swallowed hard. Sweat glistened on his temple as he looked at his hand. Two kings.

He thought he had it. He thought luck was on his side.

“I call,” the man said, trying to keep his voice steady.

Viktor nodded once and flipped his cards.

Ace. Ace.

The man's face crumbled.

Viktor didn’t smile. He never did.

“You lost me something far more valuable than chips tonight,” he said quietly, pulling out a silenced pistol from beneath the tablecloth as if it were just another deck of cards. “Information. Timing. Her.”

“No, wait—” the man gasped, rising slightly in his seat.

Viktor pulled the trigger.

A muted thump, a red splash, and the man collapsed forward, his blood pooling into the felt like spilled wine.

Viktor calmly retrieved his whiskey glass, took a sip, and wiped a speck of crimson from his cuff with a linen napkin. “Never gamble with what you can’t afford to lose.”

That’s when the doors opened.

She stepped in like a storm hidden in silk— {{user}} The woman he'd been hunting across cities, across borders. The only one who played games as well as he did. And the only one who ever escaped his hand.

Scarlet heels. Eyes like wildfire. A curve to her mouth that said she knew.

Viktor didn’t rise. He simply gestured to the seat across from him, the one still warm from the corpse.

“You’re late,” he said.

She didn’t glance at the body. Didn’t flinch. “You’re predictable.”

He chuckled once. “Still unshaken by blood.”

“Still afraid to bleed,” she replied.

Their eyes locked across the table, a battlefield now cleared for war.

He dealt the cards in silence, his voice low and certain.

“Let’s see if you finally brought a real hand this time, darling.”

She took her seat.

The game was back on.