A lethal dose of you

THE DARK CANVAS

The penthouse office at the top of The Obsidian was quiet, save for the scratching of graphite against heavy paper.

Sitting on the wide leather sofa, her legs tucked under a designer silk dress, was Bianca Maroni. She was the only daughter of the city’s oldest and most brutal mafia family—and she was completely, hopelessly obsessed with Gabriel Vance. While other girls her age drew landscapes or fashion designs, Bianca’s sketchbooks were filled with dark, haunting portraits of Gabriel. The sharp edge of his jaw, the intricate ink on his skin, the coldness in his eyes. To her, he wasn't a monster; he was a king. And she fully intended to sit on the throne beside him.

Gabriel stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, staring down at the city traffic below. His jacket was off, and his left forearm was wrapped in a neat, professional medical bandage. He wasn't paying any attention to Bianca. His mind was entirely consumed by a pair of fierce, icy eyes and a plain green medical uniform. Elena Cole.

"You're quiet today, Gabriel," Bianca murmured, not looking up as she carefully shaded the dark outline of his shoulders on her page. "And you didn't let me know you got hurt last night. My father said there was a mess at the club."

"It was nothing I couldn't handle, Bianca," Gabriel replied, his voice flat and distant.

Bianca paused her pencil, her sharp, dark eyes flicking up to look at him. She was beautiful, but it was a dangerous, spoiled kind of beauty. Raised in the underworld, she knew exactly how to read men, and right now, Gabriel’s posture was too tense. He wasn't just brooding; he was distracted.

"Who did your stitches?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed the flawless, clinical precision of the bandage. It didn't look like the rough work of their usual underground back-alley doctors. "It looks... neat."

"A student at the university hospital," Gabriel said carelessly, though a spark of heat flared in his chest just thinking about her. "It’s irrelevant."

Bianca’s grip tightened on her pencil until the lead snapped against the paper. She didn't like the tone of his voice when he said the word student. It was too guarded. A sudden, ugly knot of jealousy twisted in her stomach. She closed her sketchbook with a sharp snap, rising from the couch with a tight, beautiful smile.

"A student," Bianca purred, walking over to him and running a manicured finger lightly over the edge of his bandage. "How boring. You deserve the best care, Gabriel. Maybe I should drop by that hospital and thank them for taking such good care of my future husband."

Gabriel’s eyes snapped to hers, a flash of pure, terrifying authority warning her to back off. "Stay away from the hospital, Bianca. I mean it."

Bianca froze, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second. Gabriel had never defended a stranger to her before. Her suspicion instantly deepened into a quiet, dangerous rage. He was hiding something—or someone.

She stepped back, her mind already spinning. She was a Don't daughter; she had resources of her own. If there was a girl at that hospital who had caught Gabriel's eye, Bianca would find her. And once she drew her face in her sketchbook, she would make sure it was the last thing Gabriel ever looked at.