RUTHLESS VOW

Copyright @ 2025 by EN. STEPH. NORA All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations in book reviews and certain other noncommercial used permitted by copyright law. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ~~~~~~~ CONTENT WARNING This book contains mature themes and content that may be triggering or disturbing to some readers. Please be aware of the following: Sexual Content: Explicit s****l scenes between consenting adults Possessive and obsessive behavior in romantic contexts Intense romantic and s****l tension Violence: Physical violence and fighting Gun violence Injury and blood Mentions of death Organized crime activities Mature Themes: Debt bondage/forced arrangement Power imbalance in relationships Emotional manipulation Kidnapping References to past abuse (not between main characters) Loss of a parent Betrayal and deception Morally gray characters making questionable choices Mental Health: Grief and mourning Anxiety Trust issues and trauma responses This is a dark mafia romance featuring an anti-hero with a brutal past and a heroine navigating an impossible situation. While the romance is central and ultimately hopeful, the journey includes intense emotional and physical conflict. Reader discretion is advised. If any of these themes are particularly triggering for you, please take care of yourself first. Your mental health and comfort are important. ~~~~~~~ PLAYLISTS “Control”—Halsey “Earned It” —The Weekend “Don’t Blame Me” —Taylor Swift “Animals”—Marroon 5 “Gangsta”—Kehani “Wicked game”—Chris Isaak “Angel”—Massive attack “Stand by me”—Florence + The Machine ~~~~~~~ PROLOGUE Three years before Elena walked into Dante's office... Dante Moretti stood in the rain, watching a man die. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last. In his world, death was currency, and he'd spent it freely to build his empire. At twenty-nine, he'd already done things that would haunt most men for a lifetime. He felt nothing. That was the price of the crown his father had forced onto his head. Antonio Moretti had beaten the humanity out of his son before Dante was old enough to fight back, and by the time the old man died, Dante had perfected the art of coldness. He ruled without mercy because mercy was weakness. He trusted no one because trust was a blade that always turned on you. He was alone. He preferred it that way. Or so he told himself. The man at his feet gurgled his last breath, and Dante turned away without looking back. Marco appeared at his shoulder, silent and steady as always. "It's done," Marco said quietly. "Good. Clean it up." They walked back to the car, and Dante allowed himself one moment of introspection. Was this what the rest of his life would be? An endless parade of threats eliminated, empires defended, blood washed from his hands only to be replaced by more? He pushed the thought away. Sentiment was dangerous. Caring was a liability. He would rule alone. Die alone. And that would be enough. He had no idea that in three years, a woman with honey-brown eyes and a sharp tongue would walk into his office and shatter every wall he'd ever built. That he would see her standing at a grave in the rain and feel something crack in his chest for the first time since his mother died. That he would become so obsessed with her that he'd lie, manipulate, and destroy anything that tried to take her from him. That he would fall so completely, he'd no longer recognize himself. But that was three years away. For now, Dante Moretti climbed into his car and returned to his empty estate, convinced he needed nothing and no one. He had never been more wrong.