𝗥𝗛𝗘𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘 was raised to be a shadow. Sit straight, smile when you're spoken to, don't make people repeat themselves and don't you dare draw attention and learn to be grateful they let the deaf daughter stay in the room at all. In Northvalle, perfection is currency. Her sister, Alina, is priceless. Rhea is the problem they keep just out of frame.. .. She's had her eyes on 𝗘𝗭𝗥𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗢𝗩 longer than she'll ever admit. The city's quiet threat. Fixer, the man you call when you're out of options and ready to sell whatever's left of your soul. He doesn't play about what's tied to his name. He doesn't repeat himself and when you keep him waiting too long, he collects more than debt. He's invited into the Lore empire for one reason.. Alina. A marriage on paper. An alliance at the table. Lore influence for Markov protection. Breaking that kind of deal would cost more than money and everyone at that table knows it. Ezra knows what's at stake. But the wrong girl keeps catching his eye... the daughter who was never part of the offer, the one who moves like she's been taught her whole life not to be seen. He should keep his distance. Instead, he starts to toy with the line.. a glance held too long, a touch he has no business giving, secrets in dark corners that would ruin her if anyone ever found out. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ 𐙚 ̊. "We shouldn't be doing this..." "Then stop trembling every time I breathe your name, Malyshka." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ 𐙚 ̊. • 𝘼 𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙆 𝙈𝘼𝙁𝙄𝘼 𝙍𝙊𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Mature| 18+ Copyright ©️𝗐𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗂𝗆 2025 All rights reserved.

"𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧." 𝘙𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘯𝘯'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵... 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. •𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙫𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

un·der·bel·ly /ˈəndərˌbelē/ noun A hidden unpleasant or criminal part of society. "the dark underbelly of a ghetto" "I do for me and mine how I see fit. Even if I have to wage war against everything in my path." His voice so powerful it felt like it cracked the earths core. With such precision and not even an ounce of remorse, he pulled back the top piece of his gun, the man beneath him began to beg. "Please Ce-" was all he let out before his body twitched as bullets riddled his body, followed by a loud thump. Welcome to the twisted tango of the Underbelly. ****Unedited/Unrevised****