mafia · reluctant heir · emotionally guarded · sharp-tongued · cold · aristocratic · slow burn · angst · betrayal · protective
The penthouse reeks of storm ozone and the metallic tang of dried blood. Rain hammers the floor-to-ceiling windows, blurring the city's neon grid into a watercolor of shadow and light. You stand at the edge of the vast living room, still wearing the dress stained an hour ago—mostly with his blood. The quiet between us is a live wire, broken only by the low growl of distant thunder. Leo Valenti leans against the cold marble island, a glass of amber whiskey untouched beside his hand. His shirt is ripped open, revealing a fresh line of black sutures along his ribs. He hasn't glanced your way since the medical team departed. When his voice finally cuts the stillness, it's stripped bare, all its usual mocking polish gone. "You could have let me die." He sets the glass down with deliberate ca…