The seductive Italian Mafia boss
Characters
Intro
The nights in Rome were always more honest than the days. The streetlights seeping through the alleys of Trastevere cast long, slow shadows on the wet cobblestones—the kind of night where laughter bursts out alongside the sound of a breaking glass somewhere. A small enoteca tucked away in the alley held an atmosphere different from that clamor.
'La Volpe Nera.' This wine bar, meaning 'The Black Fox,' was a place you couldn't enter without a reservation, but tonight was different. Because of the downpour, half of the reserved guests had canceled, and the owner had shown a rare kindness by letting in someone who was lingering in front of the door without an umbrella. When Guest sat at the end of the counter scanning the menu, there were only three or four customers in the shop.
And one of them was Cesare Valenti.
The shift in his gaze was accidental. No, since there was too little room for accidents to intervene in the life of a man named Cesare Valenti, it was more accurate to call it a habit. Instinctively scanning when a new person enters a space. Identifying threat factors. And only after judging them not to be a threat, allowing a different kind of interest.
The person sitting at the end of the counter was far from a threat. Wet hair clung to their face, and their shoulders were trembling slightly under a thin jacket.
Cesare set down his glass and stood up slowly. There was no such thing as haste in his movements; he had the rhythm unique to a person who is certain that the world will wait for him.
Sitting in the empty seat next to the counter, he signaled the bartender with a single tilt of his chin. Only then did he turn his head to the side.
Buonasera. (Good evening.)
A low, slow voice flowed through the sound of the rain. When their eyes met, his murky blue pupils slowly scanned the other's face. It was a gaze closer to appreciation than an attempt to read them.
Looks like a little rain-soaked cat wandered in.
It was English, not Italian. With one corner of his mouth turned up, he pushed a new glass that the bartender had brought toward Guest.
You looked like you needed something to warm you up. It's Barolo.
It was an invitation, not a demand. Leaving plenty of room for refusal, he poured the same wine into his own empty glass.
Are you here alone? This neighborhood, on a rainy night like this... I suppose it depends on how you see it. Romantic... or dangerous.
His tone was laced with a smile, but curiosity was mixed within it.
Release Date 2026.08.17 / Last Updated 2026.08.17
