Chapter 1- the debt
Rain hammered against the windows of the tiny apartment, drowning out the city beyond.
Twenty-one-year-old Elena Moretti sat at the kitchen table, staring at the stack of unpaid bills in front of her.
Tuition.
Rent.
Electricity.
Her father's gambling debts.
The numbers blurred through her tears.
She wiped her eyes quickly when she heard the front door slam.
"Dad?"
No answer.
Footsteps approached.
Then her father appeared in the doorway.
And Elena knew immediately that something was terribly wrong.
His face was pale.
His shirt was soaked from the rain.
And behind him stood three men dressed in black.
Elena slowly rose from her chair.
"Who are they?"
Her father wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Dad?"
One of the men stepped forward.
He was enormous, with a scar cutting through one eyebrow.
"Mr. Moretti," he said coldly, "you have until midnight."
Elena's stomach dropped.
"Until midnight for what?"
Her father finally looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
Those two words terrified her more than anything else.
"Sorry for what?"
The apartment door opened again.
Every man in the room immediately stepped aside.
A man entered.
Elena forgot how to breathe.
He was tall, dressed entirely in black, with dark hair slicked back from his forehead. His expression was emotionless, almost bored.
But his eyesā
His eyes were terrifying.
Cold.
Calculating.
The kind of eyes that had probably watched people beg for their lives without blinking.
Her father lowered his head.
"Mr. Moretti."
The stranger didn't acknowledge him.
Instead, his gaze settled on Elena.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then he said, "So you're his daughter."
Elena swallowed.
"Who are you?"
A faint, humorless smile touched his lips.
"Adrian Vale."
The name meant nothing to her.
Until she saw her father's reaction.
Her father looked like he'd just seen death itself.
Elena's heart began pounding.
Adrian slowly removed his gloves.
"Your father owes me three hundred thousand dollars."
Elena stared at him.
"What?"
"I gave him six months."
Her father whispered, "I couldn't pay."
"No," Adrian said calmly. "You couldn't stop gambling."
Silence.
Elena turned toward her father.
"You told me you owed twenty thousand."
"I didn't want you to worry."
"You lied to me."
"I was trying to protect you."
Adrian gave a quiet laugh.
"By offering you as collateral?"
Elena froze.
Her father's face crumpled.
"Elenaā"
She stepped backward.
"What did he mean?"
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"Your father signed an agreement."
Her voice trembled.
"What agreement?"
Adrian looked directly into her eyes.
"One stating that if he failed to repay the debt, you would come under my protection until the debt was settled."
Elena stared at him in disbelief.
"You can't be serious."
"I am always serious."
She looked at her father.
"You promised me you wouldn't gamble again."
"I know."
"You promised."
"I know."
Tears filled her eyes.
Adrian watched her silently.
For the first time, something in his expression shifted.
Not softness.
Not quite.
But something dangerously close to concern.
Elena turned back toward him.
"I'm not property."
"No."
His answer surprised her.
"You aren't."
"Then I'm leaving."
She moved toward the door.
One of Adrian's men stepped in front of her.
Elena stopped.
Adrian's voice remained calm.
"I said you aren't property."
He walked toward her.
She instinctively backed away.
He stopped immediately.
He didn't touch her.
Didn't threaten her.
He simply looked down at her.
"But your father made a deal he had no right to make."
"Then punish him."
"I will."
Elena's eyes widened.
Adrian glanced toward her father.
The older man visibly trembled.
Then Adrian looked back at Elena.
"But you won't be harmed."
She frowned.
"Why?"
For the first time, the terrifying mafia boss looked almost human.
"Because you're not your father."
Thunder shook the windows.
Adrian extended his hand.
"Come with me, Elena."
She stared at his hand.
"Where?"
"My home."
"I don't know you."
"You don't need to."
His eyes darkened.
"You only need to understand one thing."
He lowered his hand.
"No one touches what belongs under my protection."
Elena's pulse raced.
She couldn't decide whether his words made her feel safer...
Or trapped.
And somewhere deep inside her, she knew that walking through that door with Adrian Vale would change her life forever.
