Rain was falling softly on the windows. Inside the big house, everything was quiet. Hazel Romano sat on the soft sofa. Her hands were shaking. Her father had just told her something she didn't want to hear.
"You will marry him, Hazel. In two weeks."
She gasped. "You can't mean that."
Her father, Giovanni Romano, didn't look surprised. He was once a powerful mafia leader. Now, he made deals to keep his power. He looked at her with cold eyes.
"It's already decided. The Moretti family helped us long ago. Now we must help them.
Zyran wants a wife. He chose you."
Hazel had heard about Zyran Moretti. People spoke his name in fear. He was the boss of a dangerous mafia group. Many said he was cold and cruel.
"He doesn't even know me," she said quietly, her voice shaking. "Why me?"
"He knows enough," her father said. "He wants someone loyal. Someone he can trust. You will be safe with him."
Safe. That word didn't feel true.
The next morning, Hazel packed her things into a suitcase. A black car came to take her away. When she arrived at Luca Moretti's big mansion, she knew one thing for sure—
This wasn't a marriage.
This was a prison.
"And Hazel said she can't marry him"
"In a low tone"