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CHAPTER ONE

DAMIEN

Anyone who says they don’t feel fear is a liar. Fear is what makes us human. And in my world, holding onto even a shred of that humanity is the only thing that keeps the monster from taking over.

Not that it makes a difference. They already call me a monster. Maybe that’s for the best. Let them tremble when I enter the room—better that than get close enough to see I have a heart that bleeds just like everyone else. It still beats. But it’s colder. Darker than most. Merciless.

I’ve killed men in their prime, bare-handed.

Not in desperation. Not as a last resort. But as a message.

I don’t wait for weakness. I walk into their castles, take their crowns, and make their kingdoms mine.

That’s the kind of power I carry. And everyone knows it. Their fear is my currency. My armor. My edge. It keeps my enemies silent, my allies loyal, and the truth buried deep beneath the weight of my name.

My father taught me young: be the fear. I didn’t just learn it. I became it.

Fear became my armor. My weapon. And eventually…my crown.

“Boss,” I hear faintly, the voice barely reaching me.

I hold a finger up, wordlessly ordering silence. Minutes tick by before the hourglass stops. Before the hour ends and the sand flows to the bottom.

And then I finally lift my eyes. Luca stands in the doorway of the office, his expression blank, rigid. His body is poised as if expecting a fight but when is he ever not? I’ve known the six-foot-three bald enforcer for almost three decades, and he’s been the same all those years. Unflinching, calm, loyal.

“He’s in the room.”

I nod once, rising to my feet. I redo the button of my suit, ensuring my appearance is perfectly crisp and dignified. Before I step out of the office, I turn over the hourglass on the desk, resetting and starting it over once again.

It’s a compulsive act. Almost like I’m telling myself that I’ll never run out of time. That I’ll never lose. Although some days, the world falls to a standstill and I wonder when all the time went away from me.

“The ‘room’ isn’t really a room. It’s a tomb. A place where hope comes to die. It’s a place where people go bump in the night. Most of the people who walk in here don’t walk out. And not necessarily because they die. Maybe they’ve lost a leg that prevents them from walking or they’re brain-dead and incapable. Either way, horrors go down within the four walls of a place that looks nothing like a torture chamber.

It used to be my childhood bedroom in fact. As soon as my father died and I attained the title of Don, I made some renovations. Although there’s no denying the morbidity in turning the place I grew up in into a home of horrors.

Luca opens the brown oak door granting me entrance.

My men stand behind the person strapped to the chair, bloodied and beaten. They all stand at attention as I walk inbut I barely glance at them. My uncle blinks his swollen brown eyes lifting his head to look at me as I make my entrance into the room. He wears a proud smile despite his circumstances. An unfortunate side effect of being born a Luciano.

“Zio,” I say, my voice almost fond. I’ve known the man all my life. He even bears a striking resemblance to my late father. But my father had honor, uncle Antonio has no such inclinations. “You look well.”

He’s an old man in his sixties but he aged well, thanks to stellar genes in my opinion.

Antonio snarls, “How dare you do this to me,diavolo?! I was there the day you were born, held your vulnerable form in my hands and I chose to spare you. I could have murdered you that day, killed your father as well to solidify my position as heir. But I let you keep breathing. I supported your father as well through his rein. And this is the thanks I get?”

I shake my head amused, “Do you even hear yourself? You’re admitting to harboring thoughts of killing a newborn? Just how low do your morals sink?”

“At least I’m not a hypocrite. Pretending to be moral and righteous when you’re the furthest thing from it.”

“I never pretended,zio. That morality and righteousness you’re so quick to turn your nose might very well save your life today. I would like not to have to kill my uncle so try to help me out here. Now, shall we begin?”

I step backward towards the chair placed in the center of the room. The room is silent as I take my seat, directly facing my uncle.

“Antonio Luciano,” I start. “You stand accused of betraying your family and selling our secrets to the cartels in order to undermine us. How do you plead?”

His reply is a glare, but his mouth remains shut. I roll my eyes.

“Really,zio. I’m giving you a chance to save your life here. The loss of a limb or two or the outright loss of your life, choose wisely.”