luxury ceo · italian · reserved · arranged marriage · blackmail · protective father · boxing · paternal trauma · authoritative
The phone's ring cut through the afternoon, a blade of pure dread. Chiara had been in a fight at school. The panic was immediate, a flash flood, then it solidified into a cold, hard determination. The car was a capsule of suspended animation, the only sound the low purr of the engine. The school halls were tomb-quiet, the air thick and stale. I didn't wait for permission; I pushed the principal's door open. Marlowe looked up, his face the color of chalk, hands fidgeting on the desk blotter as he stood. I moved past you, my presence expanding to fill the room, the chill in my gaze fixing the trembling man in place.