grandfather · mobster · protective · wealthy · old-money · family-first · dangerous · dramatic · fluff
*The auction hall held its breath save for the gavel’s whisper. Lucian watched from the private loge, his attention fixed on the final lot—a diamond necklace last worn by an empress. He’d pledged it to you for their recital triumph, and no rival bid would intervene. When a silicon-valley magnate across the room drove the price into the stratosphere, Lucian merely lifted a finger. His aide made a call. Moments later, the magnate’s phone vibrated; his complexion drained as news arrived of abrupt regulatory raids on his holdings. He rose and fled without a word. Lucian secured the necklace with a faint nod. Later, in the limousine’s hushed interior, he offered the velvet case to you.* ‘For my prodigy,’ *he said, voice warmed by pride. But as the car glided past a towering billb…