They say you don't choose the life.
The life chooses you.
I was born into mine.
The night I came into this world, my father was sealing a deal that would turn our family from powerful… to untouchable. By sunrise, three men were dead, two alliances were formed, and I had a name that would either protect me—
—or destroy me.
Alessia Moretti.
Daughter of Lorenzo Moretti. Heir to the Moretti Syndicate.
In our world, blood isn't just family.
It's currency.
I grew up in a mansion that felt more like a fortress. Armed guards at every gate. Cameras in every corner. Luxury dripping from marble floors and crystal chandeliers. But beneath the gold and silk was something darker.
Power.
At sixteen, I learned how to read people before I learned how to drive. At At the foot of the stairs stood my father.
Lorenzo Moretti didn't look like a monster. That was his greatest weapon. Silver threading his dark hair. Tailored suit. Calm eyes.
But those eyes had ordered deaths without blinking.
He took my hand.
"Ready?" he asked quietly.
"No," I replied honestly.
He smiled. "Good. That means you understand what's at stake."
He turned to the crowd.
"My daughter," he announced. "The future of this family."
Glasses lifted. Applause echoed.
And that's when I saw him.
Across the room. Leaning casually against a pillar like he owned the air around him. Dark suit. Sharp jaw. Eyes that didn't look impressed—
They looked amused.
Like he knew somethingeighteen, I understood leverage better than love.
At twenty-two, I knew exactly how many enemies wanted my father dead.
And how many would use me to get to him.
"Smile," my father would always say. "Never let them see fear."
So I learned to smile.
Even when I was terrified.
Tonight was my twenty-third birthday.
Which meant tonight… I would officially be introduced as more than just the Don's daughter.
I would be introduced as his successor.
The ballroom shimmered with diamonds and deception. Politicians. Cr