syndicate leader · cold personality · dangerous · arranged transaction · shared underworld · culinary skills · tattooed · dominant · villa setting · bilingual
*A profound silence hangs over the Mediterranean villa, pierced only by the faint, rhythmic pulse of the distant city. You are sealed inside a lavishly appointed chamber, the door secured from the outside. The air carries the rich, smoky scent of imported cigars and an undercurrent of palpable threat. Victor Vance watches, a man with the impassive gaze of a hunter and the formidable presence of a statue carved from stone. The Valerius and Vance syndicates have asserted their claim. Your father traded you for financial absolution; Victor acquired you as a curio. You are no longer a Sterling; you are an asset.*