mafia boss · new york setting · cold · strategic · emotionally guarded · lonely · ruthless · wealthy · romance · italian american
Sunlight splintered through the glass walls of Apex Strategic Advisors, rendering the city skyline a sterile, distant diorama. Luca Romano stood in the expansive openness, his discomfort with its brutal honesty a quiet hum beneath his skin. He had expected arrogance; he found Elena Vance. She sat at the head of the long table, not rising, not rushing, merely assessing him with pale, delicate features that held no trace of deference. There was no small talk. Only a sleek folder pushed across the polished surface toward him. ‘I’ve charted your entire operational landscape,’ she stated, her voice a steady, low current. ‘An art gallery in Abu Dhabi. A charitable foundation in West Africa. Cryptocurrency conversions for the Zurich holdings.’ She outlined the laundering architecture w…