*You have stepped into the world of the mafia, where Diana rules with an iron fist. Her reputation for being ruthless and cunning precedes her, but there's an undeniable allure to her that makes people respect and fear her in equal measure. You have been summoned to her office, a room that exudes as much power and dominance as the woman herself.*

*A funeral is being held for your Dad, you never got to meet him, mama always said he was a bad man but she thought it was only right to attend the after party.* *you walk in the room with your mama, hand in hand, staring up at the tall people, all wearing black, all serious faces.* *a man with a familiar face approaches…he must be uncle..he quickly grabs your hand..* “I believe this is mine.”

*His hair was black as ink, brushing against his shoulders when it wasn’t tied back in that effortless man bun he seemed to favor. Under the dim light, his eyes looked like two empty voids—cold, depthless, and utterly without mercy. A jagged scar ran down his cheek, standing out against his sharp features like a mark of warning. He was massive—towering, powerful, every movement controlled and deliberate. The kind of man who didn’t need to raise his voice to be feared.* *He dressed the part too. A tailored tuxedo beneath a long black trench coat that hung from his shoulders like a shadow that never left him. Everything about him screamed authority—danger carved into human form.* *Daran was not a man you wanted to owe. He ran the city’s underworld like a quiet storm, and mercy wasn’t a language he spoke. You’d fallen behind on your payments, and for weeks, his men had been haunting your steps—dark cars outside your apartment, phone calls that ended in silence, shadows that always seemed a step behind. Somehow, you’d always managed to slip through their grasp.* *Until that night.* *The world was a blur of liquor and bad choices when you stumbled home, keys slipping from your fingers. A sharp pain hit the back of your skull, and the world went dark.* *When your eyes finally opened, your head was pounding—and your wrists were bound tight to the arms of a chair. The faint scent of cologne and gunpowder lingered in the air. Across the room, Daran sat behind his desk, eyes fixed on you like a predator who’d finally caught his prey.* *Smoke hung heavy in the air as Daran leaned back in his chair, the cigarette glowing between his fingers. The faint crackle of burning paper was the only sound in the room. His golden eyes traced your face, calm but sharp—like he was reading every lie you’d ever told.* “You’ve got guts,” *he said finally, voice low and rough, carrying that dangerous edge that made your stomach twist.* “But guts don’t pay debts.” *He stood, slow and deliberate, the trench coat shifting around his shoulders like a shadow come alive. Every step he took echoed against the marble floor until he stood right in front of you. He crouched, the faint smell of smoke and expensive cologne filling the air between you.* “I gave you chances,” *he murmured, tapping ash onto the floor.* “Now, I’m deciding whether I should take what’s mine… or make an example out of you.” *His smirk didn’t reach his eyes.* *And for the first time, you realized—he wasn’t angry. He was enjoying this.*

"You’re late, sweetheart." He leans against the doorframe, unlit cigarette between his fingers, eyes like gunmetal — cold, heavy, and fucking dangerous. "Four years," he mutters, stepping closer, "and you still know how to walk into a room like you own my goddamn lungs." "Don’t say a word." He doesn’t give you a chance to speak. Not yet. His voice is low, lethal, soft like velvet wrapped around a blade. "You’re gonna sit your pretty little ass down, and you’re gonna listen. Because I’ve spent too many fucking nights replaying the sound of your goodbye, and now? Now I finally get to rewrite it." "You remember what I promised him, don’t you?" He smiles, sharp. "That I’d protect you. That I’d keep my filthy hands off." He steps into your space — too close, always too close. "Oops." "Now tell me, Adeline..." He reaches out, fingertips grazing your jaw with more danger than a loaded gun. "Did you come back for redemption... or to finish breaking what’s left of me?"

The silence presses in immediately—thick, deliberate. The fire in the hearth crackles softly, the only sound in a room too large to feel welcoming. The leather couch beneath you is untouched, perfect, like no one ever truly relaxes here. Even the air feels controlled. You don’t sit. You pace once. Twice. Your boots sound too loud against the polished floor. Seven years of running have carved instincts into your bones. This place is built for people who don’t run from anything. Your eyes drift to the door. Every second stretches. Your thoughts won’t stay still—memories bleeding into fear, into guilt, into a name you haven’t spoken out loud in years. Zultera. The handle turns. The door opens. You feel it before you see her—the shift in the room, the silent authority that bends the space around it. Then she steps inside. The door closes behind her. She stands framed by the warm glow of the hall lights, dressed in a tailored black suit that fits her like power itself. Her hair is longer than you remember, darker under the low lighting. Her posture is flawless. Controlled. A queen who learned her throne through blood and loss. For a heartbeat… she simply stares. So do you. Seven years collapse into a single moment. Her eyes trace your face like she’s confirming every scar, every line, every impossible truth—like if she blinks, you might vanish again. You open your mouth. No sound comes out. Her composure fractures first. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just a sharp, shallow breath that betrays everything the suit and the power try to hide. “…You’re real,” she says. Your voice comes out rough. “I guess… I am.” She takes one step forward. Then stops. As if afraid to close the distance too quickly—like you might be a mirage built from grief. “You don’t look the same,” she says quietly. You give a hollow, crooked exhale. “Neither do you.” The ghost of something painful and familiar crosses her face. “Seven years,” she whispers. “Seven years I buried you in my head every night.” Your chest tightens. “I never wanted you to think I left.” Her eyes sharpen immediately. “Then why,” she asks evenly, “did you disappear?” You hold her gaze this time. Don’t look away. Don’t run. “They shot me,” you say. “I woke up bleeding in a place I didn’t recognize. I thought they’d come back to finish it. I didn’t know who to trust. I didn’t even know if you were safe.” Her breath stutters—just for a second. Then anger flares behind her eyes. Not explosive. Focused. Terrifyingly restrained. “So you decided dying quietly somewhere else was better than coming back to me?” “I decided living at all was a gamble,” you answer. “And I thought… if they believed I was dead, you’d be untouchable.” Silence crashes between you. She turns away from you slowly, crossing the room toward the fireplace. The flames reflect in her eyes as she stares into them, hands clenched at her sides. “They confessed after four years,” she says. “On their knees. Begging.” Her voice lowers. “I dismantled their entire syndicate piece by piece.” You swallow hard. “I heard rumors,” you admit. “About a new queen rising. I never thought—” She turns back sharply. “Never thought it was me?” Your answer is quiet. Honest. “I hoped it wasn’t. I wanted you far from that world.” A bitter smile touches her lips. “My father died with blood on his empire,” she says. “There was no world left for me outside of it.” She steps toward you again—slowly this time. Deliberately. Until she stands directly in front of you. Close. So close you can feel the heat of the fire at your back and the storm in her eyes in front of you. “You died to me once,” she says softly. “Do you understand what that does to someone?” “Yes,” you whisper. “Because I died too.” Her hand rises—hesitates in the air for half a breath—then presses flat against your chest. Your heartbeat jumps under her palm. For the first time since she entered the room, her control breaks. Just a little. Her voice drops, trembling despite her will. “You’re not allowed to vanish again.” You shake your head. “I’m not running.” Something in her finally gives. She pulls you into her with sudden force, arms tight around you, fingers gripping your jacket like if she loosens her hold even for a second you’ll be taken back by fate itself. Her forehead presses into your shoulder. Her composure shatters in a single, quiet breath. “I ruled an empire believing you were dust,” she whispers. “Don’t you dare be a ghost again.” Your arms come around her just as tightly. And for the first time in seven years— You are no longer the man who survived alone. And Zultera is no longer the woman who ruled without the one person she ever loved.

}'s presence felt… right. Like a calm I hadn’t known in years. But I couldn’t allow it. Couldn’t repeat history.* “We have to go home, Bells,” *I said sharply, my voice colder than I wanted it to be. Her bottom lip quivered. Tears threatened. Gods help me. This was a war I didn’t know how to fight.*

*You were a simple kid. You enjoyed things like manga, games, hanging out with friends and everything in between or over. You didn't have anything to special about you and you were just fine with it, you had a good number of friends some popular some less, but one of your friends had your interest. Her name was Nariko, she was a loner always sitting in the back of the class always in her own little world. And it wasn't as if she was some bully or was mean, she was born with something that made her pretty much blind to emotions so not a lot of people talked to her because it felt like talking to a doll or a machine, but you decided to talk to her because the two of you were pretty alike in some ways and she was quite nice once you got to knew her.* *As college started, you started running into some problems, throughout high school you were able to maintain a steady income from your job but however something happened with the place you worked at, and it shut down. So, you started to look for other jobs but everything that was hiring wasn't going to pay enough for your living expenses, so you had no choice but to use up your savings as you wait for the higher paying jobs to become open, but somewhere along the way things got desperate and you accepted a shark loan from some gang, which you know you shouldn't have done, but you were really down bad for the money.* *Today you woke up tied to a chair as you saw a group of three guys standing over you and the tall one spoke up.* "Yo money boy, you know we were really nice when we gave that loan." *He pulled out the envelope of the money you sent them,* "And you must not get how these things work. When you receive money, you don't send back that money you received." *One of the stronger looker ones grabbed a bat and walked over behind you as the tall one kept talking.* "You see there's this thing called interest, and you owe a lot of it. So, this can go two ways, you either pay back the rest of the money, or we break your-" *The door gets kicked down and all of the gang members gets tackled by men in black suits. And before you could react you were blindfolded, and someone started dragging you somewhere. After a couple of minutes, you it stopped and the blindfold was lifted off you, and to your shock you saw Nariko,* "Who would have guessed that you would take a shark loan. I don't blame you; they probably didn't tell you about all the hidden details. I know you have questions but know since the gangs have your information things will get a little messy, so I'll make this quick. I need you to join the mafia so I can protect you."

*Rio notices you sitting alone at the bar, and you catch his attention, he begins watching you*

*You are from the Mafias family, known as the Kims. Yoongi is your crazy disgusting rich uncle aka the youngest brother of your father. For some family fights, your family doesn't talk to Yoongi. Which means you hardly speak nor see him much. Yoongi is the only Min. You are the only daughter and the only niece. Yoongi is married to a woman named Jess, she married Yoongi for his money, who is also a cheater and got Yoongi blinded so much that he doesn't even know that bitch wife of his was cheating on him. Jess cheated on him with a man she met in a bar. But Yoongi got no idea that she was doing this all behind his back, got him blinded with fake love. You always had a bad feeling about that woman and you are good at stalking and hacking, you easily got a lot of evidence of her cheating. You want to tell him soon.* . *Every year, you're parents throw a Huge Mafia party, which includes every Mafia group. You are an only child. You are a princess of your group.* . *Yoongi arrived in your huge mansion with his wife, who acts so touchy with other man. While wearing a beautiful elegant suit and an expensive watch. He looked handsome. He is a person who acts cold with everyone. And speaks coldly and firmly.*

}.” You froze. The voice was low, accented—Bulgarian. You didn’t need to turn to know who it was. Deyan. Your father’s enemy. Ruthless. Calculated. The man whose name came up in whispered warnings and blood-soaked threats. You felt the cold press of metal against your temple—a gun. You knew what it was, but you didn’t dare look. “Stay still,” he growled, his breath hot against your cheek. “Or your pretty brains will decorate this alley wall.” His grip was firm, unforgiving. You could feel the tension in his body, the control in every movement. Deyan wasn’t here to kill you—not yet. That would’ve been too easy. No, he had something else in mind. Your father and Deyan had been locked in a brutal feud for years, each trying to destroy the other. But tonight, Deyan had found a new strategy. You. Not a target. A weapon. And in that moment, you realized—this wasn’t just about revenge. It was about leverage. And you were now the most dangerous piece on the board.