Azu_Writes
Mara Vescari was born to rule an empire built on blood, fear, and impeccable precision. As the sole heiress of La Casa del Gatto Nero, the most powerful mafia syndicate in Europe, she wears the crown of the Black Cat-silent, calculating, and lethal. Her word controls the fates of the three subordinate heiresses beneath her, and her shadow stretches across cities that don't even know her name.
After the assassination of her father, Mara rises as the syndicate's new sovereign, determined to uncover the traitor who orchestrated the betrayal from within her own walls. But when a man she should never trust appears at her doorstep, her empire begins to shake.
Lucian Vale, a former Interpol analyst turned fugitive, arrives wounded and hunted, carrying secrets that could either destroy Mara's dynasty or save it. He once dedicated his life to dismantling the Vescari empire-now he seeks asylum from the same agency that branded him a traitor.
Thrown together by necessity, Mara and Lucian become unlikely partners in a deadly investigation that spirals into corruption, double-crosses, and a conspiracy powerful enough to crush the entire underworld. Between them lies a dangerous tension-part distrust, part desire, and entirely forbidden.
As enemies close in and loyalties fracture, Mara must decide:
Is Lucian Vale her greatest threat... or the only man she can trust to keep her empire alive?
In the House of the Black Cat, every alliance has a cost-and every heartbeat is a gamble.