The Mafia King's Obsession.

*Harper*

Birthdays weren’t a celebration for me. They were just a reminder I didn’t belong.

Still, I sat there, at the long dining table, pushing a piece of cake around my plate while Sophia, perfect, gleaming, venom-laced Sophia, shared happily about her "surprise plan."

“I thought we could do something fun this year,” she said sweetly, eyes too wide. “Just us girls. A little sister bonding time.” Then she turned toward our parents and added, “I want to treat Harper. She’s never really had a birthday like she deserves.”

A lie wrapped in a bow, and of course, as always, they bought it.

“Oh, Sophia,” Helen, my foster mother, gushed. “That’s such a thoughtful idea.”

“I don’t know…” I started, already feeling the invisible hooks digging in.

Cole, my foster father, looked up from his paper. “You should go, Harper. She’s trying. And it’s your birthday.”

Trying. Right. She never really tried, she always wanted to get away with her things, and I always gave in.

Sophia beamed at me like she hadn’t just spent the morning whispering passive-aggressive jabs under her breath. I kept my expression blank. I’d learned long ago not to flinch, pain was always more satisfying when the victim reacted.

“Fine,” I said quietly. “Sure.”

Sophia clapped her hands, the sound too sharp. “Yay! Dress nice, okay? We’re going somewhere exclusive.”

After that, she left me alone and I didn’t need to avoid her, she left to see some friends and I was able to concentrate on my studies. History was my passion, and I loved every bit of learning about what made humanity what it is now.

Lili called me, as she also felt suspicious about Sophia’s invitation. “Just promise me to be careful. And I am sorry again I am not there to celebrate it with you…”

“It’s ok, really, I know your internship won’t finish until next month, and I am so happy you got it, so I will be patient and wait for you at the airport when you come back,” I smiled through the phone, I did miss her.

“I expect you to be standing in the middle with a big board and a bouquet of flowers,” she added and I laughed. The funny party being that she meant it.

“I will see about that, but anyway, I have to go, thanks for calling Lili, you are my favorite person in the world,” I said to her as I grabbed my book.

“Of course I am your favorite person, I am the only one brave enough to get close to you!” We both laughed. “Ok babe, talk to you tomorrow, let me know how it all went.”

Soon after, I received a text message from Sophia, telling me to be ready at 9. It was quite late, but I wasn’t about to argue with her through texts.

I had a shower, and then got dressed in the most comfortable dress I could wear. It was a soft silk red dress that Lili gave me on my birthday last year. It was comfortable, and it had a nice cut on the side. With a knee-length, it was sexy in the most conservative way.

At 5 to 9, Sophia was already at the door waiting for me. “Wow, you do dress well when you want,” were her kind words, I just gave her a small smile and followed after her.

The car ride was silent. She wouldn't even tell me where we were going. I just smiled and turned the music up when she asked.

Eventually, we pulled up to a nondescript black door in the middle of a warehouse district. Red neon glowed faintly above it like a wound. Two large men stood outside, dressed in black, arms folded.

“This isn’t a regular club,” I muttered, eyeing the door.

“Nope,” Sophia said cheerfully, stepping out in her designer heels. “Welcome to The Hollow.”

She didn’t say what it was. She wanted me to see it.

Inside, the air was thick with musk, incense, and something darker. Red and black ruled the space, curtains, lighting, furniture. Chains hung like jewelry from the walls. Leather, lace, velvet, and skin.

A man sat on a single-couch and two naked girls were kneeled at each side of him. He was playing with their breasts openly in front of everyone.

A woman dressed in latex from head to toe was in a corner, licking herself pretending to be a cat, and some men and women praised her.

And on a darker corner, below some stairs, a redheaded woman was riding a man, she had a collar and a leash.

It was an underground club. I couldn’t really tell what kind, the music was a mix of trance and house music, a very contrasting tone to the look of the place. So she wanted to bring me to a very exclusive fetishy club and scare me?

My heart didn’t race. My skin didn’t prickle. I wasn’t shocked. Just observant.

Sophia actually led me to the bar and only there she turned around with a wicked smile, one that changed as soon as she saw I was not showing any sign of fear or surprise. As soon as I got into the place I could tell she brought me here to scare me.

“Not what you expected?” I said quietly, glancing at Sophia.

Her expression twitched, just for a second. “You’re awfully calm.”

“I don’t scream easily,” I said to her calmly. I didn’t need to smile or mock her.

I was not her.

-

*Rowan*

Upstairs, behind a dark glass wall, I watched.

I leaned back on the black leather couch, fingers tapping against a crystal glass of bourbon. My eyes were sharp, unblinking, locked on the two unfamiliar women who had just entered.

One was loud, clearly trying to belong.

The other… was silent. Still.

“I don’t recognize them,” I murmured.

Rafe, my right hand, stepped up. “Want me to find out who they are?”

My gaze lingered on the quiet one. The one who didn’t look away. Didn’t cower. She had curves wrapped in a red silk dress that didn’t belong here, but she wore it like she didn’t care. Her brown hair was loose and framed her face.

“No,” I said, voice low. “I want to know what she’s doing here… and why she looks like she’s already survived hell.”