Bianca Romano's first morning inside the House of Vipers felt like walking into a lion's mouth.
The headquarters was a fortress built of steel, shadows, and rules designed to break the weak. It was nothing like the world she came from. Nothing like the quiet life she once had before her father destroyed everything she loved. Nothing like the girl she used to be.
Here, she was Bloody Rose.
Here, she was alone.
And worst of all… here, she was under him.
Lorenzo DeLuca.
The Reaper.
The King of Vipers.
The man whose very presence made her lungs tighten.
The man who hated her for reasons he never explained.
The man she feared… yet refused to kneel before.
Bianca walked down the cold hallway with her head lowered, every step echoing. Her boots clicked against the marble, the sound swallowed by the thick silence of morning. Everyone she passed avoided her eyes, either because they didn't know her yet—or because they already guessed Lorenzo's dislike for her.
Whispers followed her.
"She's the new recruit."
"The Boss hates her."
"How long till she breaks?"
But Bianca kept walking. Her heartbeat trembled, but her spine stayed straight.
She didn't come here to be liked.
She came to be dangerous.
---
THE TRAINING GROUND
When she reached the underground training hall, she immediately felt the pressure shift. The air here was heavy with sweat, metal, and gunpowder. This was where the Vipers sharpened their claws.
The moment she stepped inside, all movement stopped.
Every head turned.
Every stare pinned her like a blade.
But none hit harder than the one from the man standing in the center of the room.
Lorenzo.
His silver eyes locked onto her, unreadable and cold as forged steel. He didn't soften. He didn't shift. He didn't even blink.
He just stared at her like she was something he needed to crush.
Bianca's breath stilled. Her palms weakened. Fear curled low in her stomach, cold and sharp—but she hid it. She always hid it.
His voice cut through the silence.
"You're late."
Her throat tightened. "The guard at the gate held me back for—"
"I don't care."
He stepped closer.
Bianca instinctively stepped back.
That was a mistake.
Because his eyes sharpened like a predator who smelled fear.
Lorenzo leaned in just enough for her to feel his breath near her ear. "If you ever step into my training hall late again, I'll teach you what the word punishment really means."
She swallowed hard, but she didn't look away.
He hated that. She could see it in the way his jaw twitched.
Standing her ground wasn't rebellion—it was instinct. It was survival. It was the only thing she still owned.
He straightened. "Fall in line. You'll meet your team."
---
THE VIPERS ELITE
Lorenzo lifted a finger.
Four figures stepped forward—each one dangerous in their own way.
1. Zero – The Fists of the Vipers
A tall man with a thick scar running across his jaw approached first. Muscles hardened like stone, fists wrapped in black tape. His presence radiated violence.
He gave Bianca a slow, assessing look. "So you're the new one."
His voice was deep, rough, like gravel scraping against metal.
Zero was known for breaking skulls before breakfast. He was Lorenzo's second in command—the closest thing the Reaper had to a right hand.
Bianca nodded. "Yes."
Zero didn't smile. "Don't die."
That was his welcome.
2. Echo – The Eyes of the Vipers
Next was the smallest of the four—a red-haired woman wearing glasses with thin digital screens reflected in them. She carried no weapons.
She didn't need any.
Echo was their hacker, their ghost in the wires, the brain behind every code and every lock. She had a curious energy, as if she lived on electricity.
She gave Bianca a soft wave. "Hi. Don't mind the tension. Everyone here's a little… intense."
Lorenzo shot her a look.
Echo shut up instantly.
3. Enzo – The Shadow Blade
A man with dark, slicked-back hair stepped forward next. Enzo moved like smoke—silent, smooth, precise. He had no expression, no tension, nothing in his eyes at all.
Bianca couldn't tell if he hated her or simply didn't care.
He tilted his head. "Lorenzo says you fight. We'll see."
That was all he said.
4. Scarlet – The Crimson Fang
Finally, a tall woman with a knife strapped to her thigh approached. Her hair was jet-black, her eyes sharp with challenge. Scarlet was known as one of the deadliest females in the organization—cold, calculating, and viciously loyal to Lorenzo.
Scarlet looked Bianca up and down, then smirked.
"Let's hope you're not as weak as you look."
Bianca opened her mouth to respond, but Lorenzo cut in.
"She doesn't speak unless spoken to."
Bianca froze.
Scarlet raised an eyebrow, amused.
Echo looked uncomfortable.
Zero didn't react at all.
Lorenzo turned away from them all and walked toward the center.
"Training starts now."
---
A LESSON IN FEAR
The next hour was brutal.
Lorenzo didn't simply correct Bianca—he humiliated her. Whenever she blocked wrong, he pushed her. When she hesitated, he shoved her harder. When her breathing stuttered, he mocked her.
"Too slow."
"Too weak."
"Did you come here to fight or to cry?"
Every word cut her skin like a blade.
But Bianca didn't cry.
Even when the fear crawled up her throat.
Even when her muscles trembled.
Even when his cold eyes pierced through her like needles.
She stayed standing.
Lorenzo hated that.
His lips tightened every time she refused to break.
By the time training ended, her lungs burned, bruises bloomed across her skin, and sweat dripped down her back—but she didn't fall.
Lorenzo stared at her like she was a problem he couldn't understand.
"Dismissed. Everyone."
But when the others turned away, he spoke again.
Except this time, his voice was lower.
Sharper.
Directed at her alone.
"You think you survived today," he said quietly, "but this is nothing. I will break you if you fail me. And you will fail me."
Bianca's pulse thundered. Her voice shook, but her chin lifted just a bit.
"I won't."
His eyes hardened.
He didn't like that answer.
He stepped closer—too close.
"Be careful, Bloody Rose," he whispered. "I don't need another corpse in my house. But I will make one if you waste my time."
Bianca couldn't speak.
Couldn't move.
Could only watch as he walked away, the shadows swallowing him whole.
The room felt colder the moment he left.
Her legs finally weakened, but she caught herself on the nearest wall.
Scarlet smirked at her struggle.
Zero simply walked past her.
Enzo didn't even glance her way.
Echo gave her a small, sympathetic look before following the others.
Bianca stayed alone.
Shaking.
Breathing.
Alive.
Barely.
She wasn't loved.
She wasn't welcomed.
She wasn't tolerated.
But she was here.
And she would become stronger.
Stronger than her past.
Stronger than her fear.
Stronger than the monster who ruined her childhood.
She didn't know yet that she and Lorenzo hunted the same demon.
All she knew was this:
The House of Vipers was hell.
Lorenzo DeLuca was the devil.
And she would survive the devil if it killed her.