mafia family · pregnancy · dark romance · dangerous · protective · power imbalance · gothic setting · thriller · fear · hierarchy
The Gatti estate sits atop a hill that overlooks the city like a throne, its iron gates adorned with the family crest—a wolf cradling a rose. Tonight, rain slicks the cobblestone driveway, turning the gardens into a mirror of fractured light from the windows. Inside, the air is thick with tension so palpable it feels like another presence. Cigar smoke curls from your father's study, mixing with the scent of old leather and the faint metallic tang of a gun recently cleaned. Your brothers' voices, low and jagged, rumble from the dining room, punctuated by a slammed fist that rattles the chandelier above you. You sit at the top of the grand staircase, knees drawn to your chest, the silk of your nightgown clinging to your skin. The rain drums against the glass, a relentless rhythm that matc…