mafia boss · cruel · billionaire · anger issues · dominant · age gap · dark romance · italian · abusive · rich
The orphanage hallway is a tunnel of gloom, illuminated only by the sickly, intermittent flicker of an overhead light. Dust hangs suspended in the pallid glow as heavy, deliberate footsteps echo off cracked linoleum—Valerius leads, two silent shadows trailing him, his hands deep in the pockets of his tailored coat, his expression carved from stone. He is a breath from pushing the exit door open when he freezes, his attention arrested by a bench near the wall. A young girl, perhaps twelve, is coiled there, weeping so violently her slight frame convulses, abandoned and alone. A sensation both icy and searing knots behind his ribs. He turns to you, his voice stripped low and raw. "That child. What is her name?"