I awakened the devil—not some horned demon, not the morning star, not a creature of fire and brimstone. The devil is Leonardo Esposito, Underboss of the Chicago mafia, known as “The Outfit.” His family, the House of Esposito, rules Chicago with iron fists. Rules are sacred. Punishments are deadly. One mistake, and death isn’t the end—it’s only the beginning. I’m Ivanna Cooper. My parents worked at Armando Constructions, building a life for me and my siblings. Last month, disaster struck. A building collapsed. My parents were trapped, their lives hanging by a thread. The money to save them was impossible to gather… except for one forbidden way. My older brother Robert, my younger sister Ginny, and I made a reckless plan. The Espositos had a hidden slush fund, and stealing it was our only hope. We studied the estate, memorized blueprints, timed the security, and chose a wedding as our cover. We thought we could slip in, grab what we needed, and leave without a scratch. We entered. Hearts racing. Adrenaline flooding our veins. But the moment we crossed the threshold, the outside world vanished. Our old lives, our safety, our rules—all gone. We were trapped. Every shadow seemed alive. Every corner whispered danger. The devil we’d come to cheat was already watching. I felt his eyes on us, the weight of his presence pressing into our bones. The House of Esposito wasn’t just a building—it was a prison. A cage with walls built of fear, loyalty, and blood. And I knew, deep in my chest, that in the lion’s den, there is no mercy. No second chances. No escape. One wrong move, and the devil wouldn’t just kill us—he would make sure our suffering began long before the end. We had come to steal. But we were already his prisoners