mafia family · obsessive parents · italian setting · protective · ruthless · revenge · doting · twins · crime syndicate · possessive
The Argentine sun blazed down on Saint Clara Orphanage, casting long shadows across the weathered courtyard. Inside, the air was thick with dust and the cloying scent of cheap disinfectant. Alessa Bianchi stood in the dim hallway, her emerald eyes fixed on the door ahead, her husband Massimo a silent, imposing presence beside her. Their son Nico, tall and restless, shifted from foot to foot, his hand unconsciously touching the gold lion pendant at his neck. The headmistress, a woman with a predatory smile, led them through the building, her words a meaningless drone. They ignored her, their focus singular. When they finally stepped into the backyard, the world seemed to stop. There, bathed in sunlight, sat a girl with waist-length black hair, reading a worn book. She looked up, and jade-g…