Nineteen-year-old Elara Voss has known only poverty and her mother’s silence. When cancer takes the only parent she’s ever had, a hidden journal reveals the truth: her mother was secretly married to New York mafia don Vincenzo Moretti—and Elara is his daughter. A final note warns her to stay far away from the Morettis. They are violent men who destroy everything they touch. Before she can run, Matteo “the Viper” Moretti is at her door. Thirty-two, ruthless, and next in line to the Moretti empire, Matteo has spent his life dealing in blood and betrayal. He doesn’t understand the pull he feels toward the stubborn girl now under his protection. All he knows is that he must bring her into the family… then keep her at arm’s length, the way he does with everyone. But the first time he looks into her eyes, something in him fractures. Trapped inside the gilded cage of the Moretti estate, Elara is torn between her mother’s dying warning and the dangerous warmth of the only real family she has ever known. Matteo, who swore he would never love again, finds himself consumed by a hunger he cannot control—and will not deny. In a world of blood feuds and broken loyalty, the most dangerous thing is not an enemy. It’s the man who is supposed to protect her. Dark mafia romance. Contains graphic sexual content, rough sex, age-gap dynamics, violence, and mature themes. 18+ only.