MATTEO
The club is drowned in low lighting and smooth jazz drifting through the speakers. Sion is calm tonight, but even I know in this den of lions nothing ever stays calm for long.
This place was built for men like my father—ruthless kings who ruled in silence and carved their power into the bones of this city. Now, it’s infested with parasites in tailored suits who mistake bravado for legacy.
You’d think a place like this would know how to keep the parasites out. I sip my drink at the bar and look out the window at the rain trickling down the glass.
Every time I see the rain now, I associate it with her.
My mind has been wrapped up in that woman for days.
Engaged.
The woman is fucking engaged.
I shouldn’t care—shouldpause, turn around, walk away. But even if she belongs to someone else, why does it still feel like she’s mine?
Why do I have this urge to claim her? Valerio is right—she’s just a woman, just another pussy to have. So why am I so drawn to her?
She lives close to the building where I found her—mybuilding. But even with that information, there are still dozens of residences. Most people wouldn’t stand a chance tracking someone down with nothing but a first name. I’m not most people.
The real question is…should I?
I think of that almost-kiss—the brush of her lavender scent slipping into me, claiming space it had no right to.
I raise my glass for another sip when I feel the shift in the air. I see him enter the bar area in my peripheral vision. He slithers in like a snake.
I clock him the moment he steps inside.
He doesn’t belong here—notreally, anyway. He plays at being one of us, but he’ll always be a counterfeit heir, blood on borrowed hands. Power bought, not earned, though he tries to claim otherwise.
Giacomo.
He spots me immediately, almost like he was looking for me.
Of course he was.
He adjusts his cufflinks and strides across the room like I’ve been waiting for him. His entourage peels off, giving him space.
“Matteo,” he says, voice slick with that fake charm he wears like cologne. “Didn’t expect to find you here tonight.”
I sip my drink, unmoved. “Still surprises you when I show my face? That’s cute.”
He smiles, but his eyes stay cold. “Old habits. Your father was the one who preferred Sion. You, on the other hand…”
“I’m not my father,” I cut in. “But I am legacy-born. It is my right to be here. Unlike others.”
“Funny,” he quips. “He commanded fear. You… well, you’re still working on that part.”
I lean back in the booth, my tone ice. “You’d be surprised how quickly fear comes when someone realizes who they’re standing across from.”
He lets the silence stretch, then tilts his head. “You’re young. Sharp. I’ll give you that. But inheritance doesn’t equal power. You can’t bluff your way through this world, Matteo.”
“And you can’t buy your way into legacy,” I shoot back. “Tell me, how much did you have to pay to get a seat in Sion? I know how desperately your old man tried to get his greedy little claws into this place—only to fail every time.”
That hits something; his smile twitches.
Good.
