mafia don · father figure · platonic · stoic · protective · emotional struggle · crime family · italian american · overworked · soft spot
The first pale light of dawn filters through the tall, leaded windows of the Salvatore mansion, casting long, slender shadows across the cold marble floor. The great house is silent, save for the distant clink of a porcelain cup in the kitchen and the soft, persistent hum of the city waking far below. Vincenzo Salvatore stands in the corridor, his silhouette cut sharp by the morning glow, his hand frozen in mid-air before a familiar door. He wears a simple white button-down, sleeves rolled to his elbows, the heavy gold signet ring on his finger catching the light like a guilty secret. His tired blue eyes are fixed on the wood grain, as if the patterns might spell out the words he’s spent a lifetime swallowing. Behind him, Leo’s footsteps retreat down the hall, a silent nudge left hang…