The dress was stolen.
It shimmered like danger—blood-red, backless, thigh-slit high enough to make nuns faint—and it wasn't even hers. Elena Russo didn't care. Tonight, she wasn't the daughter of Detective Angelo Russo. Tonight, she wasn't a "good girl." Tonight, she wanted to feel something. Something wild. Something stupid.
And sneaking into a mafia party in a stolen dress screamed both.Her heartbeat thundered as she stepped past the velvet ropes outside the sprawling estate. The mansion looked like it had been ripped out of a luxury magazine and dipped in sin. There were golden chandeliers glowing behind glass walls, black-suited guards with guns under their jackets, and the pulsing beat of music heavy with secrets.
"You sure you wanna do this?" her best friend, Liv, whispered, eyes wide."No," Elena muttered. "But that's the point."
They weren't supposed to be here. No one under eighteen. No one not "connected." But Liv's cousin—who worked as a caterer—had smuggled in two passes and a warning: Don't talk to anyone. Don't look rich. And whatever you do, stay away from the Moretti brothers.Elena had smiled when she heard that name.
The Moretti family.
The city's royal bloodline of crime. Billion-dollar businesses hiding under layers of violence and silk. Rumors said their youngest son was cold enough to kill without blinking. Elena didn't believe in monsters. Not until she saw him.
He walked in like he owned oxygen.Black suit. Black tie. Black eyes that looked like they'd seen too much. He was tall—intimidatingly so—with a face carved by shadow and a smirk that didn't belong in polite society. Women whispered his name like it was a prayer they shouldn't say out loud.
Luca Moretti.
He was every warning label ever invented. Every sin stitched into human form. And when his gaze met Elena's across the crowded room, time stopped.
She looked away first. But not before she saw it—his slow, dangerous smirk. Like a wolf spotting a rabbit trying to wear heels.
They shouldn't have danced.
But they did.
He cut through the crowd like smoke and appeared in front of her as if conjured from nothing. The music pulsed. The room spun. And suddenly, his hand was on her waist.
"You're not one of us," Luca murmured, voice low, voice smooth. "But you're dressed like a trap. Should I be flattered or suspicious?"
"I don't dance with strangers," she replied, chin lifted.
"Good thing I'm not just anyone."
His hand didn't leave her waist.
The air between them stretched tight, humming with danger and electricity. Every nerve in her body screamed to move away, but something deeper whispered, Stay. Just for a minute.
So she danced.
One song. Then another.
People watched. Whispers circled. Elena felt like she was falling into something she couldn't name—like walking blindfolded toward a cliff just to see if the wind would catch her.
But the magic cracked when Liv tugged her arm.
"Elena. We have to go. Now."
"What?"
"Your dad. He's here. He's at the gates!"
Panic sliced through her like ice.
Luca's eyes narrowed. "Detective Russo?" he said, voice suddenly sharp. "You're his daughter."
The warmth vanished from his tone. He stepped back like she'd slapped him.
"I—no—it's not what you think—"
"You shouldn't be here." His voice dropped, cold now. "You don't belong in this world."
Then he was gone. Just like that.
Disappeared into smoke and shadows.
—
Elena and Liv barely made it out the back door. Her heels cracked on marble as they ran, dress clutched in one hand, shame clinging to her like perfume. They jumped into Liv's beat-up car, breathless and wild, just as blue lights lit up the driveway.
Back home, Elena crept into her room, praying her father hadn't seen her. But when she opened the door, her heart stopped.
Detective Angelo Russo was sitting on her bed. His gun holster was off, his tie loosened, and his eyes? Fire.
"Where were you?" he asked, quiet and deadly.
She didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Because for the first time in her life, Elena Russo had tasted danger—and liked it.
But danger had a taste too.
And it already looking back at her.
***********
Can you handle what happens next?
Chapter 2: Velvet and Steel drops soon — but if you want the full, uncut story with bonus scenes and chaos too hot for WebNovel…
👉 Get the complete book now on Selar: [https://selar.com/67555u]
💋 Mafia × Enemies-to-Lovers × Fire.
Warning: Luca Moretti is addictive.
****
Thank you for reading chapter 1 of my book. Since this is my first book, I'm posting one chapter today. I'm still your 12 year old author so please support me