She was payment for her father’s sins. He was the monster sent to collect. When Elena Russo’s father dies, he leaves behind a $2.3 million debt to the Moretti mafia. To save her mother, Elena agrees to surrender one year of her life to Dante Moretti—cold, feared, and untouchable. She expects cruelty. She finds something far more dangerous. Dante built his empire on control. Feelings were never part of the deal. But Elena walks in with fire in her eyes, and suddenly the man beneath the monster starts to break free. He tells himself she’s just a debt. He tells himself he won’t fall. He’s lying. And when Elena becomes a target, Dante must choose: the empire he built… or the woman who’s become the only thing he can’t lose. Some debts are paid in blood. This one is paid in love.