Matteo

Matteo Conti had known loyalty all his life. It was the foundation his father had drilled into him from a young age—before the world ever saw him as a made man, he had learned to protect, honor, and follow through on every promise made. When he took that bullet for Don Alessandro Farina, it was just another testament to that loyalty. But this moment—this was different.

A ten-year-old Arabella sat beside him in the back of the car, her pale face faintly illuminated by the dim streetlights as they sped through the city's darkness. There had been an attack—a massacre, really—when she and her mother were ambushed during a day of shopping. Donna Sofia Farina, along with the fallen mafia soldiers, had been left behind to be collected by others in the family. They would clean up the aftermath and erase any trace of the violent assault.

The image of Donna Farina's unseeing eyes, the crimson stain spreading across her chest, was burned into Matteo's mind. The cold finality of death was undeniable. It had all happened so quickly—one moment, they were driving safely through the streets of their territory, and the next, chaos had erupted.

Matteo's heart thundered in his chest as he pulled Arabella closer, her small body trembling against his. It was no use. They had been outnumbered, outgunned. His father had taught him how to fight, how to protect—but no one had prepared him for this.