Silenced By The Mafia Boss

Lucien

She wasn't supposed to look at him like that.

Lucien stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, the city stretching beneath him like something he owned.

Because he did.

Every street. Every deal. Every secret buried in shadows.

And now—

Her.

"Elara Voss."

Her name rolled off his tongue slowly, like he was testing it.

Tasting it.

Behind him, Matteo stepped forward. "She checked out clean. No criminal record. No connections. Just a student trying to survive."

Lucien didn't respond immediately.

His gaze remained fixed on the reflection in the glass.

Not his.

Hers.

The way she had looked at him earlier—steady, unafraid.

Curious.

That was the problem.

"She doesn't fit," Lucien said finally.

Matteo frowned slightly. "Fit what?"

Lucien turned.

"The pattern."

Everything in his world followed a pattern. People lied. People begged. People feared.

Elara Voss?

She observed.

Like she was trying to understand him.

And that…

Was dangerous.

"She's the one," Matteo added after a pause.

Lucien's expression didn't change.

But the air in the room did.

"Say that again."

Matteo hesitated. Not out of fear—out of caution.

"She's connected to the file your father sent."

Silence.

Heavy.

Controlled.

Lucien walked back to the desk, slow, precise.

"Explain."

Matteo placed a thin folder in front of him.

Lucien didn't open it immediately.

He already knew what it meant.

A name on that list wasn't random.

It was a sentence.

"You have seven days."

The memory echoed in his head.

Cold.

Sharp.

Final.

"Kill her."

Lucien finally opened the file.

Elara's picture stared back at him.

Simple. Soft. Alive.

Nothing about her looked like a threat.

Nothing about her looked like someone who deserved to die.

His jaw tightened.

"She doesn't know," Matteo said quietly.

Lucien's gaze flicked up. "And how sure are you of that?"

"Completely."

Lucien leaned back slightly, studying the picture again.

That same look in her eyes.

Not fear.

Not weakness.

Something else.

Something that didn't belong in his world.

"Then she's easier to eliminate."

The words came out flat.

Practiced.

But something about them…

Didn't sit right.

Matteo watched him carefully. "You've never hesitated before."

Lucien's eyes snapped up.

Cold.

Warning.

"I'm not hesitating."

A pause.

Then, quieter—

"I'm thinking."

That earned a reaction.

Because Lucien Moretti didn't think.

He acted.

Fast. Clean. Final.

But this—

This felt different.

And he hated it.

"Set it up," Lucien said.

Matteo nodded once. "How?"

Lucien's gaze drifted back to the photo.

Then to the memory of her standing in front of him.

Alive. Breathing. Looking at him like he wasn't something to fear.

"Keep her close."

Matteo frowned. "Close?"

Lucien's lips curved slightly.

Not a smile.

Something darker.

"I want to see her."

"To understand her?" Matteo asked.

Lucien didn't answer immediately.

His eyes darkened, something dangerous settling in.

"No," he said quietly.

"To break her."

But even as he said it—

Her voice echoed in his mind.

Soft.

Careful.

Unaware.

And for the first time in a long time—

Lucien felt something unfamiliar crawl under his skin.

Not doubt.

Not guilt.

Something worse.

Interest.

"You have seven days," his father's voice rang again in his head.

Lucien closed the file.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Like he wasn't just sealing her fate—

But his own.

Because one thing was already becoming clear…

If he didn't kill Elara Voss—

She would ruin him.