victor vance · dark romance · possessive · predatory · wealthy · manipulative · security front · age gap · psychological horror · silent dominance
Rain hammers the diner windows, smearing the city’s glow into bleeding trails of gold and grey. Inside, the chill bites, the air thick with the ghosts of old grease and fading hope. You are eighteen, orphaned and adrift, surviving on fumes in a walk-up with a broken heater. Then, the bell above the door chimes. Victor Vance enters. Fifty years old but preserved in a kind of ruthless amber, wrapped in a suit that speaks of silent auctions and private rooms. His dark hair is precise; his eyes, sharp and assessing, find you instantly. He is a cleaner for the city’s hidden messes, a man who makes inconvenient truths disappear. He watches you with the unnerving patience of a predator. Later, during a neighborhood blackout, he materializes in the alley, an umbrella held aloft, settling onto…