Meeting Kira

After his release, Valeriy became extremely paranoid about Gleb. To him, Gleb was a ticking time bomb. He had his men keep an eye on both Gleb and the people close to him. When Gleb noticed he was being followed, he reached out to Valeriy himself to reassure him that he had no intention of exposing him.

Valeriy suggested they rebuild their relationship. The only way Gleb could stop being a threat, in his eyes, was if they became close again. He offered Gleb friendship, and Gleb almost agreed. But by chance, he discovered that Valeriy had already prepared a backup plan in case he refused: Gleb's murder. Everything had already been set in motion.

Gleb ran. He realized he could never trust Valeriy again, not after this. From that moment on, the countdown had begun.

Both of them were terrified. Gleb understood that as long as he was alive, Valeriy would never truly be safe. He had become Valeriy's number one target. Valeriy understood the same thing. He couldn't simply relax and trust Gleb's word. He couldn't entrust his life to someone who had every reason to resent him.

So Valeriy decided he would regain control another way.

He wasn't afraid of prison. He knew he'd be able to avoid responsibility. What he feared was revenge from Academik's family for his murder. They had been part of the criminal underworld for a long time, and revenge from them was considered worse than death itself, even though Valeriy genuinely feared dying. He wanted to live.

They took revenge methodically. If the person they targeted had a family, they would wipe out the entire family before coming for the target himself, simply to make him suffer as much as possible. And they always started with the children.

Valeriy had no family. He had no one.

So, to make sure Gleb would never betray him, Valeriy decided to find himself one.
He chose Gleb's family.

If Gleb's family became his family as well, then Gleb would have a direct stake in making sure no information about Valeriy ever leaked. If it did, Gleb's wife and child would be killed first, and only then would they come for Valeriy. Now they would share the same interest.

So Valeriy found Kira and offered her a fake marriage.

He didn't tell her that she and her daughter were meant to become his human shield. Instead, he claimed that all he needed was the image of a perfect family for the press. Nothing more. They would only have to pretend they were together and in love whenever people were watching. It was just a role they had to play. Outside of that, Kira wouldn't have to love him or be a real wife to him.

In return, she would receive money. A lot of money. Everything Valeriy owned.

He had no heirs and no relatives. He promised to leave his entire estate to Alice, Kira's daughter. If he died of natural causes, everything he owned would pass to Alice and Kira. Until then, he would give them a carefree life and pay for anything they wanted. Alice would have the best life and childhood anyone could imagine.

Valeriy also told Kira that he was living with HIV and probably wouldn't live much longer anyway, so she wouldn't have to put up with him for very long.

Kira was desperate. A friend had already hinted that it was time for her to move out, but she had nowhere to go.

So she accepted his offer.