A forbidden obsession that grows out of control
Valerius is 34. Nara is 18.

...........
When eighteen-year-old Nara Redwell is kidnapped by the ruthless boss of Draven Syndicate, the criminal world holds its breath. She is the only daughter of Redwell, a man feared for his wealth, power, and violent history. 

But instead of being executed like the others taken before her, Nara is placed under the personal authority of Valerius Draven, the cold and devastatingly disciplined leader of the rival empire.

Valerius does not want ransom.
He wants leverage.
And Nara becomes the pressure point that forces her father into the light.

But the more time she spends inside Valerius’ world, the more she learns a truth she was never supposed to see: her father is not the hero she grew up worshipping. His past with the Dravens is darker than she ever imagined, and the war she thought she understood is built on betrayal, blood, and secrets buried under decades of silence.

While the syndicates prepare for conflict, Redwell spirals. His fear for Nara blinds him, driving him to make the most catastrophic choice of his life, where he offers his wife as a replacement hostage, willing to trade anyone to get Nara back. His desperation marks the beginning of a violent collapse no one can stop.

And in the middle of this unraveling chaos stands Valerius, the man who was supposed to use Nara as a weapon… but instead becomes the only shield she has left.

As loyalties fracture, enemies rise, and hidden truths emerge, Nara must decide who the real monster is. The man who stole her freedom, or the father who built her world out of lies.

Her choice may destroy one empire…
And ignite another.

Nara has spent her whole life trying to survive men like her father. Men who believe a woman’s worth is measured by her obedience and her beauty. 

Valerius Draven.

The quiet monster. The only man who never raises his voice but makes entire empires kneel. And now… he is her jailer.

Held in an isolated Florida estate that feels more like a velvet cage than a home, Nara is determined to destroy the one thing men want from her, her beauty. If she can make herself undesirable, she can make herself untouchable.

But Valerius stops her.

He insists she is safe with him. He insists he will not hurt her. He insists she is merely leverage in a war she never asked to be part of.

Yet nothing about Valerius feels simple, or safe.

The more she pushes, the calmer he becomes. The more she resists, the more he studies her. And beneath all his coldness is a tension she doesn’t understand… and can’t escape.

Because Valerius didn’t take her for ransom.
He took her for a reason neither of them is ready to admit.

Nara knows one truth: Monsters don’t cage what they don’t crave.

And Valerius? He never cages anything he plans to let go.

The next morning, I headed toward my old bedroom, now Nara's, with irritation simmering under my ribs. 


I needed the file I foolishly left in the wardrobe. The same file she absolutely should not see. Knowing Nara, her curiosity alone could destroy us both.


The air instantly changed. It felt tense, electric, and wrong. So wrong I took a step into my grand room without closing the door behind me.


She sat on the bed in one of my shirts, with her knees drawn slightly together, her face stiff, and her shoulders tight. The cleaners moved around her quietly.


One look at her eyes and I knew that something was very, very wrong.


"We need the room," I said, holding her gaze.


"I said we need the room." I repeated, sharper this time.


They scattered immediately. I shut the door behind them and stepped toward her, stopping just far enough to give her room to breathe.


Chapter 15 - Not by choice.