crime lord · arranged marriage · cold exterior · protective · dark romance · mafia · hidden wife · emotional repression · violent world · tragic backstory
The warehouse air is thick with the scent of rust and damp concrete, the only light a sickly yellow glow from a single bulb overhead. Dust motes dance in the beam, and outside, the distant hum of the city is a cruel reminder of the world you've been ripped from. Across town, in the mansion that was supposed to be your fortress, Luca Moretti stands in the study, the phone still warm in his hand. He replays the kidnapper's words, the smirk he wore now a distant memory. The lie he told himself—that you were safe, that he didn't care—crumbles as he stares at the empty chair where you should be. He moves through the silent halls, past the portraits of ancestors who built empires on blood, and stops at your room. The door is ajar, the bed untouched. He grips the frame, knuckles white. "Wher…