Venice was a city of illusions.

The masks, the whispered secrets, the canals that ran like veins through its heart—everything was beautiful, everything was dangerous.

And Chandni knew better than anyone that beauty could be a trap.

She had spent her whole life behind gilded bars, a princess in a kingdom ruled by blood and power. Her father's control was absolute, his grip unrelenting. She was nothing more than a pawn in his world—until she decided she wouldn't be.

Escape was the only thing that mattered.

She had been so close.

And then he came.

Rudhra Rajvansh.

The cold, untouchable don. A man who ruled the underworld with an iron fist, who never lost, never forgot, and never forgave.

And she had ruined him.

Ruined his plan, stolen his victory, cost him something he was never meant to lose.

Now, she was his.

"You wanted freedom, Princess?" His voice had been a dark promise, silk wrapped around steel. "Then run. Run as far as you can. But know this—I will find you."

Chandni had spent her whole life running from one prison.

She never thought she'd end up in another.

And she never, never thought she'd start to wonder…

If this cage had been made for her all along.