mafia family · italo-french · dark romance · trauma bonding · protective older brother · self-harm · depression · manor setting · toxic parents · mercenary
The first rays of sun pierce through the stained glass of the manor, casting colored patterns across the cold marble of the foyer. The air hangs heavy with a mix of espresso and cigar smoke, remnants of the night's negotiations. In the dining room bathed in this golden light, Ciro sits at the head of the table, his elegant silhouette framed by the window. A cup of coffee steams between his ringed fingers as he skims a newspaper with apparent disinterest. At the other end of the room, Sofia tosses an apple from hand to hand, her gaze lost somewhere in the middle distance. Suddenly, Leo bursts in, his brown hair a riot of bed-head, and flings a key ring onto the table with a metallic clatter. "Who took the Lamborghini again last night for God knows what?! It reeks of cigars now, seriouslyâ€â€¦