Chapter 1: He’d sold me… to the Mafia Lord.

The sound of shattering glass ripped through the night.

I jolted awake, heart pounding like a war drum against my ribcage. For a second, I lay frozen, tangled in my sheets, praying I’d imagined it. But then came the unmistakable echo of heavy footsteps downstairs, measured, deliberate, far too calm to be the clumsy scurry of a thief.

No. These weren’t burglars.

These were hunters.

I slipped out of bed, my bare feet brushing the cold hardwood floor, every nerve in my body alert. My bedroom clock glowed 2:17 a.m. The entire house was dark, the kind of silence that could suffocate.

Muffled voices drifted upward, sharp like knives cutting through the walls. I couldn’t make out every word, but one sentence froze my blood:

“Check every room. The girl’s here somewhere.”

The girl.

Me.

My throat tightened. Panic clawed its way up, but I forced it down. I couldn’t afford to break, not now.

I darted to my door and twisted the lock, pressing my back against the wood. My breath came fast, too loud, like the sound itself might give me away. Shadows flickered under the crack of the door.

“Upstairs,” a voice ordered.

The floor creaked. The air grew heavier with every step they took closer.

Think. Think.

My gaze shot to the balcony. Beyond it was a drop straight into the garden below. Could I make it? Could I outrun them barefoot in the dark?

I grabbed the handle and pushed it open. The night air slapped me, sharp and cold, carrying the faint smell of rain. My eyes darted around desperately, only to meet two silhouettes already stationed in the yard. Black suits. Guns gleaming in the moonlight.

They were waiting.

My stomach dropped. I wasn’t escaping. Not tonight.

The footsteps outside my door stopped. The lock clicked. Not mine, theirs.

The door swung wide, crashing against the wall.

Three men stepped in, filling my room like shadows given flesh. Suits pressed to perfection. Ties knotted so tight they looked like nooses. Guns strapped at their sides, hands gloved, movements calculated.

Their eyes, dead, merciless, pinned me in place.

“There she is,” one of them said, his lips curving into a predator’s smirk. “Boss will be pleased.”

Boss?

I stumbled backward until my spine smacked the wall. “Wh-who are you? What do you want?”

The tallest one tilted his head, amused. “You’ll find out soon enough, Mrs. Romano.”

Mrs. Romano?

The name sliced through me, unfamiliar and terrifying.

The men began advancing, slow and deliberate, like they had all the time in the world.

My pulse hammered in my ears. Desperation surged, and before I could stop myself, I bolted toward the bathroom, slamming the door shut and twisting the lock.

For two seconds, I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d bought time.

Then a gunshot exploded, splintering the wooden doorframe. A gloved hand punched through the broken panel, snapping the lock free. The door burst open, and I screamed, stumbling backward.

“Don’t fight,” one murmured as he grabbed my wrist in an iron grip. “The Lord doesn’t like his toys broken.”

The Lord?

The words crawled under my skin, heavier than chains. I knew exactly who they meant.

Dante Romano.

The name itself was a curse. I’d heard it whispered in fear-laced rumors, carried on hushed lips across the city. The Mafia Lord who owned half the streets and controlled the other half with bullets. The man who ruled through blood, power, and arrogance so thick it poisoned every room he entered.

And now his men were here. For me.

“No, let me go!” I thrashed against their hold, my nails scraping uselessly against expensive suits. My scream tore through the night, raw and desperate, but no one came.

Of course not.

Everyone knew better than to stand in Dante Romano’s way.

The men dragged me down the hallway, their grips bruising my arms, my bare feet scraping against the polished floor. The air reeked of smoke and gunpowder—the scent of a war zone that had breached my home.

When we reached the staircase, I froze.

He was there.

At the bottom of the stairs, a man stood in the dim glow of the chandelier. Broad shoulders filling his black suit. Tall, commanding, radiating a presence that bent the air itself. His dark hair slicked back, sharp jawline carved like stone, lips set in a cold line.

But it was his eyes that rooted me to the spot, piercing, stormy, and filled with a kind of ruthless authority that made breathing impossible.

Dante Romano.

The Mafia Lord.

The man who had destroyed countless families without blinking, who carved his empire from fear and corpses. And now… my captor.

He lifted his gaze, locking on mine, and for a moment, the entire world stopped.

“Bring her here,” he said, voice deep, controlled, and laced with arrogance that made it sound like an order from God Himself.

My body went cold.

“No! You can’t do this!” I screamed, kicking, struggling. My voice cracked, raw with terror. “Why me? I don’t even know you!”

The corner of his mouth curved, mocking, cruel. “You don’t need to know me, dolcezza. All you need to know… is that you’re mine now.”

His.

The word struck like a slap.

Before I could speak, another figure emerged from behind him. My father.

My blood ran colder than ice.

“Dad?” My voice shook, my entire body trembling. “What’s happening? Why are they here?”

But he wouldn’t meet my eyes. His face was pale, drained, his shoulders sagging under invisible weight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice hollow. “It’s the only way.”

The only way?

I stared at him, heart splitting open, realization dawning like a blade through my chest.

He’d given me away.

To save himself.

To save whatever pathetic scraps of dignity he had left.

He’d sold me… to the Mafia Lord.

Dante’s lips curved into a cruel smile, eyes never leaving me as he stepped forward. The air shifted with every stride, until he was standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up at me like a predator admiring prey caught in his trap.

“This marriage,” he said smoothly, “is the price your family pays for their mistakes. A debt can be erased in many ways, but I find this one… most entertaining.”

“No…” My voice cracked as hot tears blurred my vision. “I won’t marry you. I won’t”

His eyes darkened, his arrogance sharpening into steel. “You don’t have a choice.”

With a snap of his fingers, the men yanked me forward, dragging me down the stairs until I was forced to stand in front of him. My heart raced so violently I thought it might burst.

He leaned closer, his cologne, sharp, intoxicating, dangerous, filling my lungs. His voice dropped, low enough that only I could hear:

“Run if you want. Scream if you like. But at the end of the day, dolcezza… you’ll still be mine.”

And for the first time, staring into the merciless storm of his eyes, I realized, This wasn’t just a marriage.

This was a prison.

And I was already locked inside.