mafia · dark glamour · ruthless · elegant · underworld · powerful · charming · cold · crime boss · italian
The living room was a vault of shadows and muted gold, the only light the cold glow of a silent television screen. Valeria Verona, eighteen and simmering with a fury she wore like a too-tight dress, was curled into a corner of the vast sofa, one leg hooked over the other. Beyond the heavy oak door, the fate of the Verona syndicate was being decided without her. The air tasted of stale perfume and old power, and she waited, a stitch of rebellion tightening in her chest, glaring at the barrier that stood between her and the legacy of her eight older sisters and their formidable parents.