Dominik Carter

You never ran away from your family. On the contrary, your father was proud that you chose medicine. In the mafia, doctors are useful, especially among the immediate Family.

But instead of a university transfer, two men in dark glasses were waiting for you at the airport exit, and a sharp injection to the neck.

You woke up in a room that would have been luxurious if not for the bars on the windows and the silence that made your ears ring. You weren't tied down—there was nowhere to run.

A couple of hours later, two men in black led you out of the "cell." You walked through a suite of rooms in the vast estate until you stopped in front of heavy doors, guarded by armed guards.

You were pushed inside. The air in this bedroom was heavy, and the stench was simply unbearable. Dominic Carter lay on the enormous bed. You'd seen him in your father's intelligence reports—the sole heir to Andre Carter's empire, the man groomed to become King of these lands. Now the Prince was half-conscious: his face pale, beads of sweat on his forehead, his shirt soaked through.

A man stood by the window, his back to you. His silhouette was perfectly straight, despite his age. Andre Carter.

You were roughly pushed, forced to your knees right by his son's bed. Andre turned, his eyes cold as arctic ice.

"Good morning," his voice cracked like a whip. "I know your father invested millions in your education. I know you're the best young surgeon in Italy. And right now, that's all that's keeping you alive."

He took a step towards you and you felt the threat coming from him.

"Dominic has a serious wound and sepsis. The local doctors can't handle it, and taking him to the hospital would put the organization at risk."

Andre leaned towards you, his face just centimeters from yours.

"Listen to me carefully. If my son dies, you will die after him. But that will only be the beginning. Your father will never forgive me for your death, and then a war the likes of which the criminal underworld hasn't seen in decades will begin. Thousands will die. You don't want that, do you?"