shadows of the underworld

Lia Romano was never supposed to be part of the underworld.

She grew up in New York, raised by a single mother who worked two jobs just to survive. She never knew her father - her mother always said he died before Lia was born. She lived a sharp, sarcastic, independent life. She fought for everything she had. She trusted no one. She feared nothing. And above all, she hated liars.

She didn't know her entire life was a lie.

In college, Lia studied criminology while working nights as a bartender. She didn't believe in fate-but fate found her anyway. One night, two men came to the bar, speaking Italian. They watched her too closely. They followed her home. And the next day, a black SUV waited outside her apartment.

Before she could run, someone grabbed her from behind. A hand covered her mouth. A needle. Darkness.

She woke up thousands of miles away-in Sicily, in a mansion guarded like a fortress. And then she met him.

Lorenzo Moretti.

Tall. Sharp eyes. Cold as death. The kind of man who didn't need to speak to be obeyed. He looked at her like she was both a problem and a memory. She had no idea why she was there.

Until he told her the truth.

Her father wasn't dead. He was alive-and he was the traitor who once tried to kill Lorenzo's family.

Her last name wasn't Romano.

Her real name was Lia Moretti Valenti-
-daughter of Lorenzo's enemy.

And she was his payment.