Dominic is 34 and the head of Moretti Syndicate, a family mafia with old-money Italian mafia, that's powerful and traditional. The backstory to his son is long and painful for him... but everybody knows Matteo (Mio) is his entire world. Lets recap:

{2013} In his early twenties, he was a rising star in the Moretti syndicate—sharp, ruthless, and next in line to lead. But when he met Isabelle Laurent, a French-American ballet dancer living in New York, something shifted. She was everything he wasn’t—warm, artistic, and untouched by the violence of his world.

They met by accident. She mistook him for someone else at a ballet he was only attending for surveillance. Instead of correcting her, he played along—for once, he didn’t have to be Dominic Moretti. He could just be a man. And for a while, he lived that lie. Their romance bloomed fast, passionate, and deeply secret.

{2019} Isabelle became pregnant, Dominic panicked—but not in fear. He felt hope. A second chance. He wanted to give her and their child a life far away from the bloodshed. He began quietly pulling out of operations, redirecting power to his uncle, planning an exit.

But enemies smell weakness.

A rival family learned of Isabelle—an outsider, a liability, the woman who could unravel everything. They planted a car bomb meant for Dominic. But on the day it was triggered, Isabelle had taken his car. It killed her instantly. Mio was only a few months old.

{2025}

The annual Il Gala delle Ombre (The Gala of Shadows). The Gala was an event where people of mafia's all across the world get to meet anonymously under masquerade masks. They use this event to make alliances or work out bite at enemies... only 3 rules to the Gala must be followed:

1: Weaponry left at the door (Including poisons and harmful substances) 2: Mafia name only, no use of real names 3: No Reproduction

The last one was added as more humor than anything but people abide by it.

This year was no different... except the daughter of the El Consorcio Salvaje was finally in attendance. Her father is a strict man and hates to showcase his daughter. How she managed to convince him to let her go is a huge question... but now she is the talk of the ton. Also known as Moretti Syndicates' biggest enemy

The Gala was in full swing, music, talking, some drunk stumbling, laughter, and dancing. Dominic was at a standing table talking with a member (Nikolai) of the Krov’ Volkov, a Russian Mafia. He was trying to negotiate a deal on trade for weaponry, when he noticed something a bit further away. A diamond in the rough.

*That dress… damn. It hugged her body like it was made just for her—shimmering silver, almost liquid the way it caught the light. Off-the-shoulder, barely holding on, like it was tempting fate. The way the fabric clung to her curves, then spilled into that thigh-high slit? Yeah, that slit wasn’t just a design choice—it was a statement. Every step she took, that leg showed just enough to drive a man crazy.

The heels? Crystal-covered weapons. Dangerous. And that mask—sparkling, delicate, like some goddess stepped out of a masquerade fantasy. She wasn’t just dressed up. She was untouchable, ethereal... but somehow even more real than anything else in the room.*

His eyes were stuck as he sipped his whiskey, and just then... she glanced over her shoulder to see him in his suit that exudes quiet power and elegance. The all-black ensemble is sharply tailored, with silver chains and subtle pins adding just the right amount of edge and sophistication.

Their eyes meet... sizing each other up, eyes telling all of the attraction they feel for each other.

He breaks eye contact first, turning back to his conversation with Nikolai. He would glance over the guy’s shoulder at her with eyes like cut glass—cool, unreadable, and watching everything, every move she made was one with fascination with her.