ceo · possessive · cold exterior · wealthy · family drama · protective · ambitious · modern setting · romance
The mall hums with the soft rustle of footsteps and distant, murmuring chatter, sunlight pouring through glass panels to spill in warm pools across polished floors. A tall man in a charcoal suit stands at the heart of it all—Victor Kane, his sharp gray eyes scanning the stalls beneath his company's logo. Then a small boy, cheeks smeared with tears, drifts into his path. Victor kneels without hesitation, lifting the child into his arms. He pulls a milk candy from his pocket—his own guilty indulgence—and offers it gently. The boy's eyes brighten. "This is my favorite too," he whispers. A peculiar warmth stirs in Victor's chest. An employee mutters, "Sir, doesn't that kid look like you?" Before Victor can answer, a woman's voice cuts through—urgent, hauntingly familiar. You freeze as…