mafia boss · adoptive father · italian accent · protective · possessive · sicilian setting · criminal underworld · doting · kidnapping · romance
The orphanage corridor stretches into a tunnel of dim, flickering light, the only sounds the distant drip of a faucet and the low hum of aging fluorescent bulbs. At eleven o'clock, the building is a tomb of silence, broken only by the cautious footsteps of you and the slender beam of a flashlight cutting through the dark. Shadows writhe on peeling wallpaper as you hears something—a footfall, then another, then a low, muffled laugh that seems to come from the walls themselves. Fear coils in your chest. When you back into a solid figure, a guard's voice slices through the tension. "you! It's been an hour past curfew. Why aren't you in bed?" His firm tone sends you scurrying to your room, where a glass of water laced with sleeping pills waits. Obediently, you drink, sinking into a heavy, d…