THE WICKED GAME

INTRODUCTION

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, some places and incidents are products of the author's imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author.

Copyright @2026 by MousyMice.

All Rights Reserved.

~oOo~

It was all just a game—until the stakes became fatal.

~oOo~

Aleksandr Morozov was trained to be the next Pakhan from the moment he could walk. His father, Igor, carved away his humanity, teaching him to map every emotion, calculate every weakness, and turn people into pawns on a chessboard. Aleksandr was the grandmaster—ruthless, precise, and untouchable, moving through the city like a ghost on his black Ducati. He thought he was unshakeable.

He was wrong.

A single night of betrayal shattered his world. Igor was executed, their inner circle crumbled from an insider's treason, and Aleksandr took a bullet meant to end the Morozov bloodline. Saved only by the loyalty of his truest friend, he was shipped halfway across the world to the tropical chaos of the Philippines. Now, exiled, bloodied, and operating out of the shadows of Manila's streets, the former prince of the Bratva is waiting for his moment to reset the board.

~oOo~

Piper Samantha Pryce was the resident enigma of her class. On some days, she was a quiet ghost glued to the back row; on others, her bright, sharp-witted charm filled the entire room. Nobody could quite place her, and that was just how she liked it.

Between surviving her university classes and single-handedly managing her parents' 5-unit apartment building—her sole source of tuition and allowance—Piper didn't have time for nonsense. She knew how to fix leaky faucets, chase down late rent, and hold her ground against difficult tenants.

Her routine was smooth and predictable until unit building #3 went vacant.

The new tenant didn't even arrive on his own. A secretive associate dropped off the towering 6'5" Russian, leaving him with nothing more than a single, dark piece of luggage and upfront cash. Covered in gothic ink and dripping with silent danger, Aleksandr brought an unmistakable edge to her quiet property. Piper thought she was just leasing a space to an unusually quiet stranger to cover her school fees. She had no idea she had just opened her door to an exiled Bratva heir—or that his dark world would soon follow him.

~oOo~

Written in Tagalog and English.