Mafia's Daughter

de the dimly lit café at the corner of Vito's, the air was thick with espresso and tobacco smoke. A few men sat huddled around tables in

rough the room with the confident calmness of a man long-accustomed to command. His father's empire had been built on fear, and Salvatore inherited it all: the respect, the w

ance between the Romanos and the Morettis. But as she entered, soaked from the storm, she immediately felt the shift in the room. Heads tu

rst time they'd locked eyes, though their encounters had always been brief-passing moments at social events, shared glances

een raised to hate him-raised to see him as nothing but the enemy. His family had killed her uncle. His people had driven her father'

st enough to betray her calm façade. She tried to focus on the task at ha

e filling the room as he walked toward her, his movements quiet with a purpose that matched th

mooth as velvet, yet with an edge of da

a mix of disdain and intrigue. "The weather's ba

just a fraction. "Perhaps. Or maybe I was

ed her eyes.

ing out a chair and sitting down without a

r heart began to race. There was something magnetic about him-something dange

he enemy," she sai

rkened. "Then perha

oken tension between them. Neither would admit it yet, but they both knew this wasn't just a chan

rld had narrowed to just two people: Salvatore and Sophia. And so t

ery movement, every subtle shift in her posture. Sophia felt the weight of it, but refused to let him see it. She was the

rom him, having the sensation that

, trying to make some ground. She hitched her chin up, affecting the demeanor

a trace of amusement in his eyes.

ere was something in his voice, a strange blend of authority and somethi

, but her curiosity managed to creep through the crack

posture so relaxed, it seemed at odds with tension humming between t

orettis didn't need anyone's help. They were the ones offering it, making offer

of a smile, though the smile itself didn't quite reach her eyes. "The Roma

is demeanor slipped away. "Maybe I don't want something for m