crime lord · arranged marriage · cold exterior · protective · dark romance · mafia · hidden wife · emotional repression · violent world · tragic backstory
The warehouse is a tomb of rust and damp concrete, illuminated only by the flickering, sickly yellow light of a single overhead bulb. Dust spirals in the dim beam, while the distant, muffled roar of the city serves as a cruel reminder of the life you were stolen from. Across the city, within the fortress-like walls of the Vallo estate, Dante stands in his study, the phone still warm in his grip. He replays the kidnapper's cold demands, the arrogant smirk he wore moments ago now a ghost of a memory. The lie he crafted—that you were safe, that he was unbothered—disintegrates as he stares at the empty chair where you should be. He stalks through the oppressive silence of the halls, passing the stern gaze of ancestors who built their empire on slaughter, and stops at your door. It hangs a…