The silence of the night  was louder than any gunshot I'd ever heard. Strange how a man raised with pistols and poison could still find discomfort in quiet.

Maybe because silence had a way of making me think- and my thoughts were the one thing I could never silence.

I was born with a target on my back. Not because I asked for it, but because Moretti was inked into my blood long before I took my first breath. Mafia heir.

The legacy of death. The crown carved from bullet shells and betrayal.

My father, Matteo Moretti, never raised a son- he forged a weapon.

He didn't believe in softness. No pats on the head. No "I'm proud of you son." Only bloodstained lessons and scars that still itched in the dark.

He taught me how to break a man before I learned how to fix my own tie. Taught me how to pull a trigger before I could legally drive.

Strength, he said, comes from suffering. Cruelty, he taught, in a language the world understands.

And my mother? Angelina Moretti- Beautiful. Graceful. Cold as marble in a cathedral. Her love was a whispered apology wrapped in red lipstick and silence. She claimed her duties to her husband came before her son.

Together, they were a power couple- feared, envied, desired. And I their legacy. A prince of shadows, but never their child.

I grew up craving something I pretended to despise- love. The real kind. Raw. Violent. Consuming. The kind my parents faked with public kisses and private indifference.

But I knew I didn't deserve it. Not anymore.

I don't want love. I want destruction. Someone close enough to bleed me dry.

The only people I trust in this cursed life? Two.

Anatoli Knyazev- the Russian mafia king. The only bastard on this earth who sees me without the mask. He's brutal, brilliant, and loyal to the grave. He knows when I need silence, and when I need to burn.

And then there's Andrew Davila . My second-in-command. The guy with blood-soaked hands and a grin that makes women drop their morals. Found half-dead in a dungeon, saved by my father, raised by the code. He'd slit throats for this family without blinking. He understands the violence behind my silence.

But if there's one soul I'd burn heaven for' its her.

Alana Moretti. My baby sister. My only light in this pitch-black world. She's untouched by this chaos, and I intend to keep it that way. No mafia. Just safety. Whatever it takes.

Being a Moretti isn't a privilege- it's a sentence.

Power comes with enemies. With secrets. With death that waits patiently outside your door.

And yet...beneath it all, I crave something real.

A pair of eyes that don't flinch when they see the monster.

A touch that doesn't fear the blood on my hands.

A girl soft enough to break me, dangerous enough to survive me.  And maybe...just maybe... I found her.

She looks innocent. Sweet. But there's something behind her eyes. Something sharp. Something unholy.

She's a secret waiting to be unraveled . And darling, I've always loved a challenge.

I'll ruin her.

Or she'll ruin me.

Either way, someone's getting devoured.