## Chapter 1
The city of **Aurelia** never slept.
It only changed its mask.
At night, it pretended to be beautiful. Lights softened the edges of greed. Music drowned out fear. Glass towers reflected the sky and made people forget what kind of things happened inside them. From above, it looked almost harmless.
Daniel Serpenti stood in silence, looking down at it.
The top floor of Serpenti Tower was quiet. Too quiet for a city like this. Thick glass sealed out the noise. The air smelled clean, controlled. Everything here existed exactly where it should. Nothing was out of place. Nothing dared to be.
Daniel had arrived twenty minutes early.
He always did.
Time mattered. Precision mattered. Being early meant you were prepared. Being late meant you thought excuses were acceptable. He didn't tolerate excuses.
Behind him, the conference room doors remained closed. Inside, voices carried faintly. Someone laughed. Someone complained. Someone swore.
They were waiting.
Daniel didn't rush.
He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves once, smoothing a wrinkle that wasn't really there, then turned and walked toward the room. His steps were steady, unhurried. He didn't need to announce himself. Presence did that for him.
When the doors opened, the noise didn't stop immediately. It faded naturally, like people realizing without being told that it was time.
Ten people sat around the long black table.
Not subordinates. Not exactly.
People who had survived long enough. People who had proven themselves useful, loyal, and smart. People who could joke in this room and still die for him without hesitation.
Luca was the loudest, as usual, leaning back in his chair with one arm draped over it.
Matteo sat near the center, calm, sharp-eyed, already focused.
Irene sat upright, tablet in hand, expression neutral.
Victor, older than the rest, watched everything without speaking.
Adrian, quiet but observant.
Nico, restless, fingers tapping.
Elijah, composed, dangerous in a subtle way.
Rafael, smiling like nothing bothered him.
And two others, both listening more than talking.
All eyes shifted toward Daniel as he took his seat at the head of the table.
No one spoke until he did.
"Start," Daniel said.
One word. Flat. Enough.
Matteo leaned forward. "No disruptions in the eastern routes. Third and fourth groups are keeping their distance."
"They always do when they remember who's watching," Luca said.
"Southern finances are clean," Irene added. "No leaks. No anomalies."
Daniel nodded slightly.
Nico frowned. "Northern side is restless."
"Restless how?" Daniel asked.
"Too quiet," Nico replied. "They're waiting for something."
"They always are," Victor said calmly.
Daniel listened. He didn't interrupt unless something mattered. He didn't waste words. He absorbed details, stored them, connected them later. His mind worked constantly, quietly.
Rafael leaned forward with a grin. "You know what everyone outside this room is doing?"
No one answered.
"They're staring at the rankings," Rafael continued. "Third place. Fourth place. Fifth place. All sharpening their knives."
"And none of them daring to look up," Elijah said.
"Of course not," Luca laughed. "No one's stupid enough to challenge first place."
Daniel said nothing.
The Serpenti Alliance held second position in the world. Power, money, influence. Enough to crush most enemies without effort. Enough to terrify cities. Enough that people assumed Daniel wanted more.
He didn't.
"People think you're waiting to take the top spot," Nico said.
"They're wrong," Daniel replied calmly.
Matteo glanced at him. "You admire them."
It wasn't a question.
Daniel didn't deny it. "Competence deserves recognition."
The Raven Clan didn't leave messes. They didn't leave proof. They didn't leave survivors who talked. If the rumors were true, they operated with a precision that bordered on obsession.
Seventy percent chance, by Daniel's estimation.
Maybe more.
Luca clapped his hands suddenly. "Speaking of them."
Groans followed.
"Oh no," Irene said. "Here we go."
"No, no," Luca said, holding up a hand. "This one's real."
Daniel lifted his gaze. "Speak."
Luca's grin sharpened. "The White Devil."
The room stilled.
"That name again," Nico muttered.
"She's in the country," Luca said. "Confirmed."
Victor frowned. "The Raven Clan is always everywhere."
"True," Luca replied. "But this time, it's not just presence."
"The White Lion," Irene said quietly.
"Yes," Luca confirmed. "The White Lion of the Raven Clan. In Aurelia."
A low tension settled over the table.
"The sixth-ranked group," Adrian said slowly. "The Lions."
"Dead heir," Luca said. "Brutally."
"How brutal?" Rafael asked.
Luca exhaled. "Whipped first. Slowly. Public enough to be humiliation. Private enough to be terror. Then killed."
Silence.
"The head of the Lions begged," Luca continued. "On his knees. Offered everything. Territory. Money. Loyalty."
"And she?" Nico asked.
"Left him alive," Luca said. "Alive and broken."
"And the witnesses?" Matteo asked.
"All of them forgot her face," Luca replied. "Every single one."
"That's impossible," someone said.
"And yet," Irene added, "they all remember the same thing."
"What?" Daniel asked.
Luca looked at him. "That she was beautiful. Like an angel."
"And that she wasn't human," Rafael said quietly.
"A devil," Victor corrected. "Wearing an angel's skin."
"No one knows if she's a man or a woman," Luca went on. "But ninety percent of the rumors say woman."
Daniel stood.
He walked toward the window again, Aurelia glowing beneath him.
"The Raven Clan doesn't move without reason," he said.
"And no one knows their reason," Irene replied.
Daniel watched the city.
Somewhere in Aurelia, the White Lion walked freely.
And the city had no idea.