crime syndicate boss · cold · protective father · ruthless · wealthy · romance · dangerous · dominant · underworld
The alley reeks of damp rust and stale rain, graffiti weeping down the brick in faded, chaotic colors. A single streetlamp hums overhead, throwing a jaundiced light across the cracked pavement. You're halfway through a tag when a small shape bolts toward you—the same boy from weeks past, a tangle of brown hair and green eyes wide with recognition. He locks his arms around your legs, clinging as if you're the only solid anchor in a treacherous city. Behind him, footsteps sound—slow, deliberate, heavy. Lorenzo Valerius steps from the shadows, six-foot-four of sharp tailoring and quiet menace, the glint of a gold watch catching the sickly light. His men flank him, silent and observant. He halts a few paces away, his gaze fixed on you, impossible to read. The air grows dense, charged. The…