Velvet & Vows: Diego Russo (Spin-off) ⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘༻✦༺⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘ Diego Russo Second in command of the Las Vegas Mafia and his brother's right hand, a player who never settles and never apologizes. Together they rule over the West Coast... He owns the night, the streets, and everyone who dares to stand in his way. Untouchable and unbreakable. Until the FBI drags him down on federal drug charges and the empire he helped build starts to crack. Now the only person who can get him out isn't family, isn't loyalty, isn't blood... it's her... Serafina Eléonora Laurent Criminal defence lawyer. Daughter of Jean-Luc Laurent, founder of the most powerful law firm on the West Coast. Raised in privilege, educated in power, conditioned to win. She wears control like a second skin and walks into court knowing the verdict bends in her favor. To the world, she is discipline and legacy. To herself, she is curiosity wrapped in restraint. She doesn't chase danger... she dissects it. And when Diego Russo becomes her client, she doesn't save him. She finds his survival... ⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘༻✦༺⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘ Preview... I exhaled and leaned back, chains clinking. "So... Laurent," I said, voice softer but still amused. "Are you always this mean, or is it just my lucky day?" Serafina finally turned to me fully. Up close, she was worse. Dangerous. Beautiful. Untouchable. "You're not funny," she said. I smirked. "Everyone says that. Right before they fall for me." She looked at my handcuffs. Then at me. "I'm not here to fall for you, Diego Russo," she said, voice low. "I'm here to keep you out of prison." I tilted my head. "Same thing, sweetheart." Her eyes darkened. "Never call me that." My grin widened. Oh... This was going to be fun. ⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘༻✦༺⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘ In a city built on sin, power is everything. And mercy is never free. #1 mobster 02/21/2026

❝𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐞.❞ A hundred concubines lived in Emperor Sylvos' inner court - the heart of his thorned fortress. With a cruel ranking system, only favored concubines had the honor of meeting with His Majesty. And only the woman able to bear him a child could become empress. Raine Stjorme had climbed the ranks to the top. And after praying each night, she was finally with child. Yet all this was rewarded with the cruelest of fates. Murdered by the man she loved, Raine cursed Emperor Sylvos with her dying breath. She cursed his whole court as they snickered at her final moments. And her curse had taken root. Now, Raine awakens three years before her destined death, on the fateful day she first encounters the emperor. Armed with this second chance, she vows to make him fall - and to bring his empire down with him. But when faced with the tyrant who claimed her heart, could she still follow through? ✦✦✦ 𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙎 𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙇𝙐𝘿𝙀𝘿: -𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 -𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 -𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙮 -𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 -𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 -𝙑𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 -𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙁𝙈𝘾 -𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨

"You're atheist," I remind him. "You don't believe in god." "I believe in you," He murmurs, letting the cigarette hang from his lips. "I believe in whatever you believe." He says, letting the confession roll off his tongue as if it were that simple. As if god, the devil, heaven, hell-as if none of it really had meaning to him. "That's not how it works," I mutter as we walk down a few more alleyways-the city of Manhattan coated in a light blanket of snow. Henry Vitiello had never had anything to pray for, that is, until he met me-the only thing that had ever opened his mind up to the possibility of religion "Isn't it?" He argues, taking the cigarette by his middle and pointer finger before blowing the smoke out. "I'II dip my hands in holy water if it means I could touch you." "You'd probably burn." 𓆩♡𓆪 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎, the reaper. He's a prick. An asshole. A pretentious son of a bitch. He's not perfect. He's not even decent. But he's hers. She could be a bottle labeled poison but he was an alcoholic, and he had drunk her empty. Now he was hungover. 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, the healer. She's known to be the perfect good girl, with perfect grades and a perfect life with a perfect family. They didn't know that behind the gated doors of their billion dollar estate, she was strapped down to a chair every night and picked apart just to be put back together in time for supper. 𓆩♡𓆪 star-crossed; adjective (of a person or a plan) thwarted by bad luck. 'star-crossed lovers' and that, they were. So they fucked under those very stars that tried so desperately to break them apart. 𓆩♡𓆪 ‼️DISCLAIMER ‼️ BOOK REFERENCES TO MARA DYER, SHATTER ME, MIND FUCK, ETC ARE ALL INTENTIONAL SO DONT BE RUDE. AS FOR TRIGGER WARN