It was raining heavily in Monaco. A man knelt before Alessandro Romano, pleading, his eyes cast downward. He didn't dare meet his master's gaze.
Alessandro Romano sat in a high-backed black leather chair, one ankle resting over his knee, fingers tapping lazily against the armrest. The room smelled of expensive cigar smoke and polished wood.
"Please…" the older man's voice cracked. "Don Alessandro, I just need more time."
Two armed men stood behind the kneeling debtor, motionless.
Alessandro finally lifted his gaze, cold, measured, unreadable.
"You've had three years," he said calmly. "Three extensions. Six missed payments."
The man trembled. "My business collapsed… the market... "
"The market," Alessandro repeated softly, almost amused. "You allowed your son to gamble with my money."
Silence fell, As the rain continued to pour heavily in Romano estate. Rain droplets slides on the dark windows like tears.
"Do you know what happens to men who waste what belongs to me?"
The man's breathing grew ragged.
"I....I will repay you. I swear.."
"You cannot."
It was not a question. It was a verdict.
Alessandro's gaze shifted to the girl standing quietly near the door. She hadn't spoken since entering, her head slightly bowed, yet her eyes never wavered from observing him.
Interesting.
He studied her like one studies a potential investment: healthy posture, clear skin, intelligent eyes, no visible fear.
"Is this your daughter?" he asked, still not looking away from her.
The father hesitated.
"Yes."
Her chin lifted slightly as Alessandro's attention settled on her. She met his gaze.
Most people dropped their eyes within seconds. She didn't.
Something cold and deliberate sparked behind Alessandro's dark stare.
"How old?"
"Twenty-two."
Educated. No criminal history. No medical records of genetic illness. He already knew this...he always knew before summoning anyone.
He rose slowly. The movement alone made her father flinch.
One of his men stepped forward and dragged her closer. Within seconds, she crouched slightly beneath his level.
Alessandro lifted her chin with a single finger, studying her face.
"What is your name?"
"Eliana," she said, soft but steady.
"Eliana," he repeated, testing how it felt on his tongue.
Her father suddenly crawled forward on his knees. "Please… don't involve her. She has nothing to do with this!"
Alessandro ignored him, eyes fixed on Eliana.
"Your family's debt is no longer monetary," he said. "It will be repaid in another form."
Her breathing changed subtly. He noticed.
"You will live in my estate henceforth," he continued, calm and controlled. "You will follow my rules. You dare not attempt to escape."
Her father let out a loud cry. "No.....she's the only daughter I have! Please… her mother will curse me from her grave!"
Alessandro raised a single finger. The guards stepped forward immediately.
Silence returned.
Eliana's heart pounded, but she did not step back.
"If I refuse?" she asked quietly.
The audacity.
He leaned closer, voice low, dangerous.
"If you refuse… your father loses more than his pride tonight."
The message was clear.
Her father cried openly, begging, apologizing, swearing he never meant for this to happen. "Please… take my son instead. Let him serve you to repay the debt!"
Alessandro didn't even acknowledge him.
Eliana closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, something inside had shifted. Not broken. But Hardened.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
Not why me, not please don't. Strategic.
Alessandro's gaze sharpened.
"An heir."
The word landed heavy between them. She tightened her grip slightly..,..the only visible reaction.
"I will give you protection. Luxury. Safety for your family." His voice softened just enough to feel dangerous. "You will give me a son."
Her father sobbed in the background.
Alessandro waited, not wanting to force her decision.
Eliana's voice was quiet but firm. "If I agree… you clear my family's debt completely?"
"Yes."
"And you won't harm him?"
"If he remains loyal."
She nodded once.
"I'll go."
Her father shouted her name, but Alessandro studied her again, searching for hesitation. There was fear, grief, but beneath it? Strength. Quiet, controlled strength.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Prepare the car."
The guards moved instantly. As they escorted her toward the door, Eliana paused and looked back at him. Not with hatred. Not with pleading. But with something sharp.
Alessandro felt it again....that strange, unfamiliar tension in his chest. He told himself it was satisfaction. Nothing more.
She was an asset.
A solution.
A vessel for his bloodline.
That was all.
ELIANA'S POV
The rain felt colder when I stepped outside.
The Romano estate loomed behind me like a prison carved from marble and power. I didn't look back at my father. I couldn't. If I saw his face again, I might break, and breaking was not an option.
Two black cars waited at the front of the steps, engines running.
One of the guards opened the rear door.
I hesitated only for a second before sliding inside.
The leather seats were warm. The air smelled expensive, like cedarwood and something darker. The door shut with a heavy finality that echoed in my chest.
And just like that, my old life ended.
The car began to move.
The city looked beautiful at night, Glittering beside the sea like it belonged to the gods.
I used to love this city.
Now it felt like it had swallowed me whole.
I pressed my hands together in my lap to stop them from trembling.
An heir.
The word replayed in my mind.
My brother's foolishness had led us here.
His gambling, His arrogance. My father's weakness in trusting him. Years of debt piling like invisible chains around our house.
And I was the final payment.
I fought back my tears from dropping.
I should hate my father.
But all I could see was the look on his face when he realized what the Don wanted. The shame. The horror.
He would have offered himself if it would change anything.
But Alessandro Romano did not want an old man.
He wanted blood. Youth. Genetics.
He had looked at me like I was a document being reviewed.
Approved.
I shifted slightly as the car turned along the coastal road.
Looking outside through the tinted glass, Freedom was just out there...vast and endless.
Yet I had willingly stepped into a cage.
Would I truly have refused?
No.
I already knew the answer.
If I had said no… my father would be dead before morning.
I closed my eyes briefly.
I had chosen survival.
That didn't make me weak.
It made me strategic.
The car slowed.
Large Iron gates, tall, black, intricate. They opened automatically as we approached.
So this was his world.
The estate beyond was larger than I imagined. Lights illuminated stone pathways, fountains, manicured hedges cut with military precision. Security cameras rotated discreetly along the perimeter walls.
This wasn't a house, It was a fortress.
The car stopped beneath a covered entrance. Another guard opened my door.
The rain couldn't touch me under the shelter, but I still felt drenched.
I stepped out slowly.
The air smelled different here, cleaner. Controlled.
This was where he ruled.
A second car pulled in behind us.
Even before the door opened, I felt his presence.
Alessandro Romano stepped out with effortless composure, as though the storm bent around him. His coat was dark, tailored, untouched by the rain.
He didn't look at me immediately.
He spoke quietly to one of his men.
Instructions. Authority. Control.
Then his gaze shifted, landing on me.
A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes before it disappeared beneath his familiar cold calm.
"You will be given a room in the east wing," he said evenly. "You are not to leave the estate without permission."
No greeting.
No comfort.
Just rules.
I met his gaze. "Understood."
Perhaps he expected trembling. Tears. A plea.
I gave him none.
"Follow them," he instructed.
I turned without saying a word.
Inside, the mansion was breathtaking. Marble floors. Crystal chandeliers. Silence so thick it echoed.
It was beautiful and suffocating.
A maid appeared, bowing slightly. "Miss… this way."
Walking down the long corridor, I made myself a promise.
I would not be broken here.
If he wanted an heir, he would have one.
But I would not become empty, I would observe. Learn. Adapt.
Men like Alessandro Romano thrived on fear.
I would not give him that satisfaction.
Behind me, somewhere in that massive estate, the most dangerous man in Monaco had just claimed ownership over my future.