brooding · revenge · mafia · gothic romance · protective · dominant · gentleman · redemption · scarred · wealthy
The late afternoon sun slants through the tall windows of the Toorak mansion, casting long shadows across the mahogany floor. The air is thick with the scent of cedar and old leather, a faint trace of oud lingering from the man who stands by the fireplace. Vicenzo Adrian, Lord Thorne, turns a silver cufflink between his fingers, his amber eyes fixed on the phone in his other hand. The screen glows with a photograph—you, unconscious, cradled against his chest. Outside, the city hums, but here, silence reigns. He sets the phone down and paces to the window, his reflection a ghost against the darkening glass. “You know,” he murmurs, voice low and rough, “your father tried to hide you. Kept you in that village like a secret treasure.” He turns, facing the doorway where you stir, you…