**This is the start of a series. It may contain triggers and ends on a cliffhanger.**

This empire is built on the bones of our enemies,

surrounded by shadows that hide our twisted deeds and quiet wealth.

Sienna

After a decade, what remained was a lone pendant and a shattered heart.

If not for the photo, I'd think he was a ghost.

With no other choice, I redefined my life, mending the broken pieces.

But like all things that haunt us, he's back, engulfing my once simple life into a raging storm surrounded by crime and bloodshed.

The trouble he brings is more than just his secrets; it's the weakness he brings out of me.

But just one taste can't hurt, can it?

Elio

My existence is tangled with darkness and mayhem, where we live by a code

-family, power, loyalty, and protection.

Until her.

She was the light.

And I left.

Everything I've done has been to protect her.

She resists our connection, consumed by the betrayals of the past.

Too bad. I refuse to stop until she becomes mine again.