Chapter 1 THE OBSIDIAN CLUB

Chapter One: The Obsidian Club

Aria Castell had promised herself she would never come back.

Not to this city.

Not to this life.

And definitely not to this man.

Yet here she was-standing at the threshold of The Obsidian Club, five-inch stilettos biting into the soles of her feet, and her heart hammering like a traitor against her ribs. The heavy doors loomed ahead, carved in black marble and steel, untouched by time or mercy. The same doors she had walked through once, five years ago.

Back when she was foolish.

Back when she was free.

Back before him.

She exhaled and stepped inside.

The scent hit her first-cologne, cigars, and something darker. Lust, power, violence. A cocktail that only the wealthy and the damned could ever afford. The floor gleamed under the gold-drenched lights. The crowd moved like smoke-women in red satin, men with cruel smiles and dangerous eyes.

Aria's own eyes scanned the room, half praying she wouldn't see him. Half terrified she wouldn't.

She hadn't come to find him.

But she knew he'd find her.

She pulled her coat tighter around herself and moved deeper into the club, trying to act like she belonged here. Like she wasn't a walking secret.

> Two secrets, actually.

Her twins. Nico and Nino. Her boys. Her entire world.

They were the reason she had vanished.

And now, somehow, they might be the reason she was here again.

She moved toward the bar, heels clicking like confessions against the marble. The bartender didn't ask for her order. No one did. The club didn't cater to randoms. If you were inside, you either belonged or you were about to bleed.

Aria glanced up at the chandelier. Still intact. Still glowing with the same cold elegance. Time hadn't changed a damn thing here.

Except for her.

Then she felt it.

That gaze.

It crawled up her spine like heat, familiar and merciless. Her pulse froze mid-beat. Her fingers tightened around her clutch.

She turned slowly.

Luciano De Rossi.

He stood across the club like a shadow cast from hell.

Tailored in a black-on-black suit, shirt unbuttoned just enough to reveal the hint of ink on his chest. His dark hair had grown a little longer, swept back now with a careless grace. But his eyes... God, his eyes.

Pitch black. Piercing. Cold enough to burn.

He didn't move.

He didn't have to.

Everyone around him bent unconsciously, clearing space. He was a De Rossi. Heir to a mafia empire. A king in a kingdom of blood.

And he was looking directly at her.

Aria's throat tightened.

She hadn't seen him since that night. The night she disappeared. The night they created something neither of them knew existed.

She tried to look away.

Too late.

He was already walking toward her.

Every step he took lit her nerves on fire. Her body remembered him, even if her heart wanted to forget. Five years hadn't dulled the pull. Hadn't erased the memory of his lips on her skin or his name on her tongue.

He stopped inches away.

"You've got a lot of fucking nerve," he said, voice like smoke and steel. "Showing your face here."

Aria met his gaze, even as her knees threatened to buckle. "Didn't realize I needed an invitation."

"You disappeared." His eyes narrowed. "No number. No name. Just one night and poof-ghost."

"It was one night, Luca. That's all."

He laughed once, low and bitter. "If that's true... why are you shaking?"

She tried to turn away, but his hand reached out-gripped her wrist. Firm, possessive. His thumb brushed the inside of her wrist where her pulse betrayed her.

"You look different," he murmured.

"You don't."

He stepped closer.

The world disappeared. It was just the two of them, suspended in tension, surrounded by people too scared to interfere. Her body burned under his gaze.

"I should've known it would be you," he said. "No one else looks at me like that. Like they want to kiss me or kill me."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"You're not denying it."

She opened her mouth-only for his voice to drop to a whisper.

"Why are you here, Aria?"

Her throat closed.

Because of the boys.

Because she needed money.

Because she needed protection.

Because she missed him-God help her, she missed him.

"I came for answers," she said instead.

His brows lifted. "You came here? To me? For answers?" His gaze darkened. "You sure you're not hiding something?"

He didn't know. Not yet.

But she saw the suspicion flicker in his eyes. The same look he used before pulling a trigger.

"I'm not hiding anything," she lied.

Luca's jaw flexed. Then he let her go.

But his voice was a promise.

"I'm going to find out why you came back."

He turned his back on her and walked away like he hadn't just shattered the floor beneath her feet.

Aria stood frozen, chest heaving. The lie she carried burned her lungs.

Because Luciano De Rossi had no idea...

> He already had two sons.

And they were watching cartoons in her apartment right now-

waiting for the father who didn't even know they existed.