Chapter 1 1-The crimson gala

[ IRIS'S POV ]

The air to the grand ballroom of the Russo estate was thick with scent of money , blood , and a thousand freshly cut roses.chandeliers dripped light softly,making the room look alive. So much that it's reflecting off the polished marble floors where the elite of the underworld mingled.

Tonight was not just a celebration,it was a truce, a public peace making and alliance between the Russo and the Moretti families and an end to a decade-long feud that had painted the streets of New York red.

I hated galas. I hated the forced laughter that never reached anyone's eyes.The whispered behind crystal glasses, the way every glance weighed on my like a number written in blood. I would kill to be anywhere but here.

My name is Iris Russo. Nineteen.Old enough to be exchanged , young enough to be ignored.

I lingered where I always did , near the velvet curtains , half swallowed by shadow. A place where I would be hardly noticed or never. My dark red dress was simple ,almost severe.I wore it like armor .

Sofia never did.

She didn't need to.She was born into this .

She stood beside our father like she belongs there , like the room had been built for her . Well tonight's gala is also in her name . Ivory silk hugged her body. Sequins catching the light with every move she made. Blonde hair . Perfect wave. A smile trained . Warm enough to calm a soul, hard enough to set a fire . To disarm men and kill for sport.

"Iris, I knew I would find you here." She murmured as she passed me ,lips curved sweetly, eyes sharp." You look like you're waiting for a coffin, like we're here for a burial and not a celebration.

"Someone has mourned what this family used to be," I replied quietly but enough for her to hear ." And you're busy selling what's left."

Her smile tightened, just for a moment and it was gone as quickly as it came, just like a pro that she is .

"Careful ," she said softly." People mistake bitterness for weakness."

" You and I both know I'm not bitter, sister." I said using my eyes to trace the room ." This is not just my style."

"What is your style , staying in the room reading and acting like a widow?" I looked at her, to reply.

But she drifted away before I could reply . Sofia answered the rule . And she lived by them.

---------

The room shifted. Not louder.

The kind of quiet that settles before violence. The door opened.

Savaltore Moretti.

He didn't walk in , he claimed the space . Tall. Broad . And good looking . Am not really the type to check people out , but he's just impossible not to be felt or seen .He controlled the room like it belonged to him with just his presence.

His suit was charcoal. Neat. Cut to precision. Power rolls off him in waves. Beside him , His father ,Vincenzo Moretti smiled like a man who had buried cities .

But Salvatore didn't smile .His eyes swept the room with cold disinterest, men , women, alliances reduced to nothing .

Until they landed on Sofia .

Approval showed in her eyes.calculation, ownership deferred. She was happy he looked her way .

She straightened, radiant . She put on her practiced smile . Like this was her moment .

Then his gaze moved . Past her . Past my father , and every single soul in the room.

Straight to the shadows. Where I had chosen as my hiding place . Straight to me .

My breath stilled . My world narrowed to the weight of his stare , it wasn't a curiosity. It wasn't a surprise. It was recognition.

As if he had found something misplaced .His eyes darkened and he tilted his head to a side slightly, mouth curving, not into a smile , but a promise .

Something dark stirred low in my spine .

Then he looked away .I exhaled like I'd been underwater. I have heard alot about him . About a boy who was given a gun instead of a book.

"Iris!" My father barked ."Stop hiding. Come here ."

I obeyed . I always did.

Sofia's voice cut in smoothly . As soon as I reached their side ." This is my sister Iris.She's always shy ."

Salvatore turned , I had thought he looked scary. But up close . He was worse. His presence pressed in , heavy that my heart is beating against my chest.there is something about his look i can't lay hands on .it's like standing close to a blade .

" She doesn't look shy ," he said calmly. A voice I did not know a man like him could possess. He is boring holes into my body .

Sofia laughed lightly," she is shy ," she said not accepting what Salvatore had said .

His eyes never left mine, " No," he murmured," She watches ," I held his gaze ,"Observing is safer. He said silently, making sure I caught on something dark that sparked in his eyes .

He stretched his hand in a gesture , I looked at it for a moment, then placed my hand on his. He took my hand.

Didn't kiss it . Didn't release it .

His thumb brushed my wrist, slow, deliberate.

" Dangerous too," he said under his breath," you hide it well."

I stiffened." Let go ." My body went into a spiral . I could not lay my hands on it .Like his gaze was unsettling me.

His lips curved." Soon." He said, smirking . I knew he felt it . How my body shook under his touch.

He released me as if nothing had happened.

But my skin burned where he touched me .

----

Later that night , alone in my room , I stared at my reflection .

As a girl no one was supposed to notice .

But I had been seen. Not chosen .Not admired . I felt marked or maybe am putting too much into it .

The truce was going to be signed tonight. The alliance would be sealed .

And my sister would be the new Mrs Moretti .

I looked back at myself in the mirror .My reflection staring back at me .

How about we destroy Sofia's engagement. And take her place as the new Mrs Moretti. My lips curving in a devilish smile .