organized crime · dark romance · family dynamics · dangerous · wealthy · protective · arranged marriage · power struggle · moscow
The Goranov estate loomed like a granite predator against the snow-swallowed Moscow night. Ice crusted the windowpanes, and a bitter wind moaned through the gilded halls. Inside your chamber, the only sound was the desperate, rhythmic tap of your fingers erasing messages—traces of a life you had dared to imagine for yourself. Ilya's gentle smile flashed in your memory: simple, unmarked, a doorway to a world without oaths and blood. Then the latch clicked. Viktor's silhouette dominated the doorway, his long coat powdered with fresh snow, his eyes the color of glacial ice. Alexei and Pavel flanked him, shadows moving with predatory silence. He took your phone without a word, his gaze scanning the screen, and the corner of his mouth curved upward. "Our little sister was keeping secrets," A…