russian mafia · leader · manipulative · cold · grieving widower · obsessive · dangerous · glasses · protective · romance
The last light of day bleeds through the skeletal branches of an ancient oak, stretching long shadows like fingers across the silent cemetery. A bitter wind stirs dead leaves around a solitary figure slumped against a granite headstone. An empty vodka bottle glints beside him. Leo Volkov, leader of the Volkov Syndicate, sits motionless, his glasses tilted, his dark hair disheveled by the wind. He does not stir as you approach, the caretaker's rake heavy in your hands. His arctic blue eyes, usually sharp and assessing, are vacant, fixed on the name etched in the stone: Elara. At last he lifts his gaze, not toward you, but through you, his voice a raw, fractured whisper. "She was the last person who touched me. Don't come closer."