Ruthless Empire: Bound To The Mafia Don
When a fragile peace between two powerful mafia families begins to crumble, a political marriage becomes the only way to prevent another devastating war.
For years, the Romano family has blamed the Mancini empire for the tragedy that shattered their lives. Alessia Romano has carried that hatred since the day her mother died, and she has never forgiven. So when Leonardo Mancini, the ruthless Don of the Mancini empire, arrives to negotiate an alliance, Alessia expects tension, hostility… and war.
What she does not expect is to be pulled into his world.
Originally promised to her younger sister, but as alliances deepen and tensions shift, Leonardo’s attention turns in an unexpected direction.
Toward her.
There is something about Alessia he cannot ignore. Something familiar. Something unsettling. A connection he does not explain, and she does not understand.
Forced into a world where power is everything and loyalty is tested, Alessia finds herself navigating a life she was never meant to live. A life where every choice has consequences, and every truth comes at a cost.
As their dangerous attraction blurs the line between hatred and desire, long-buried truths surface. Secrets about her mother’s death. A war that may have been orchestrated from the shadows. And betrayals that cut deeper than she ever imagined.
Someone powerful has been controlling events for years. The closer Alessia gets to the truth, the more she realizes the greatest threat may not be the man she’s being drawn toward—but the family she was born into.
Now caught between obsession and betrayal, Alessia and Leonardo must decide where their loyalties truly lie. Because in their world, love is not a weakness.
It is a risk.
And trusting the wrong person could cost them everything.
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Chapter: Chapter 14“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”— William Faulkner**Alessia**The moment I stepped into the party, I immediately wanted to go back. Back to the garden. Back to the dangerous little thrill I felt standing beside a certain Don. It was still preferable to the smiles I was being forced to wear here.The second Dominic let go of my arm, I should have walked away. Instead, I stayed. Because Dominic Valenti was the kind of man who interpreted basic politeness as encouragement.The party continued around us. Laughter. Music. The clinking of glasses. Not a single person noticed how badly I wanted to escape. Or maybe they did and simply didn’t care.But somehow I knew he did, because of the way he pulled me out earlier, only to tell me to leave after—like he was angry at someone. My gaze found him naturally. As if he knew I was staring, he looked at me, and for a moment, I felt a little flutter of safety.What? Safety? From Leonardo? No. Definitely not.I turned my eyes away from
Last Updated: 2026-06-22
Chapter: Chapter 13“I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost.” — Dante, Inferno**Leonardo**Fucking hell.The last temptation I needed tonight had a name.Alessia Romano. Of course.I lit another cigar. It burned slowly between my fingers. Inside the house, someone laughed loud enough to be heard through the walls.I stayed where I was.The quiet garden did nothing to quench the raging fire burning in my fucking mind. Because even though Alessia had left a few minutes ago, my eyes kept finding the same door over and over again.I took another drag. The smoke settled in my lungs. It didn’t help. Nothing had helped all evening. Not the whiskey. Not the cigar. And definitely not the distance.I looked down at the cigar. A faint smear of lipstick stained the edge. Fucking red.The image of Alessia coughing after stealing it from my hand. That stubborn look she wore right before doing something she absolutely shouldn’t. Then the sound of her arguing. The sound of he
Last Updated: 2026-06-16
Chapter: Chapter 12“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Rumi**Alessia**I hated parties.Not because they were loud. Not because they were crowded. I hated them because they required smiling, because I had to pretend, and pretending was exhausting. Especially when the reason for the celebration was already related to me.The house had been in complete chaos since morning. Flowers appeared from nowhere. Caterers occupied half the kitchen. Relatives I hadn’t seen in months suddenly remembered we shared DNA.By noon, I had been asked to help with decorations, carry boxes, arrange tables, and entertain guests. I had declined every single request. Unfortunately, nobody respected my decision.Passing Sophia’s room, I slowed. The door was partially open.The moment I stepped inside, I stopped.The room looked like a hurricane had passed through it.Paint brushes littered the floor.Half-finished sketches covered every available surface.Clothes were scattere
Last Updated: 2026-06-13
Chapter: Chapter 11“Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”— Pablo Neruda**Alessia**There should be laws against men like Leonardo. Unfortunately, nobody had bothered writing them.I spent the entire day trying not to think about him.It was going terribly.Every time I managed to focus on something else, my mind dragged me right back to the gas station. Back to his hand beneath my chin. Back to the way he had looked at me like I was personally responsible for ruining his evening. Back to his stupid warning.Be more careful.As though I spent my free time collecting dangerous situations.By the time the front door closed behind me, I went straight to the kitchen to calm down the burning sensation in my throat with cold water. Nonna was already preparing dinner. Without even greeting her, I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and emptied half of it in one go.“Good evening to you too,” Nonna said, looking at me with her usual I already know what happened expression.I sighed. “Good eveni
Last Updated: 2026-06-10
Chapter: Chapter 10“Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed.” — Machiavelli, The Prince**Leonardo**There were very few things in this world I considered unforgivable.Betrayal. Disloyalty. Cowardice.Men who preyed on women sat somewhere near the top of that list. Especially the ones who mistook a woman’s discomfort for permission. Especially the ones who believed nobody would stop them.The bell above the gas station door chimed as I stepped inside. The smell hit first—cheap coffee, grease, cleaning chemicals. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.The cashier caught my attention the moment I stepped inside. Men like him simply stood out once you knew what to look for.He looked up from the register when the bell rang, leaned back comfortably behind the counter. Too comfortable. He was the kind of man who mistook entitlement for confidence and familiarity for charm. The kind who moved through life convinced that consequences were things that happened to other people.His name tag read Tyler
Last Updated: 2026-06-07
Chapter: Chapter 9“If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell.”— Virgil, The Aeneid**Leonardo**I had survived this long in my life by following rules I had laid down for myself. My number one rule, constant since the beginning: Never put myself in a position I knew I couldn’t control. I followed this rule and lived by it.Until a certain big brown-eyed girl.The gas station appeared a few miles later. I pulled in without much thought. Or at least that was what I told myself. The fuel gauge sat comfortably above half. The car didn’t need gas. I had fuel that could last me for a long time, but I needed to put distance between myself and the girl sitting beside me.Alessia glanced up from the window.“We need gas?”“No.”She frowned.“No?”I parked beside a pump and shifted the car into park. I took off my jacket and tossed it in the backseat. The smell of rain and gasoline hit my nostrils as I stepped out. I loosened my tie and rolled my sleeves up because I was fucking burning up. I could have laughe
Last Updated: 2026-06-04
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