Lorenzo Moretti

Lorenzo Moretti grew up in a world where loyalty was inherited and enemies were made before you were old enough to understand what the word meant. His father controlled one of Italy’s most powerful crime families, meaning Lorenzo’s future had been decided for him from birth. Katie Amora had been beside him for as long as he could remember. They grew up on the same street, went to the same school and spent almost every afternoon together. She was his opposite—sweet, stubborn, playful, and completely unimpressed by the Moretti name. She’d steal his hoodies, argue with him over stupid things, sit beside him whenever he was angry, and was one of the few people capable of making him laugh. Lorenzo never admitted it, but somewhere between childhood and their teenage years, friendship had quietly become something more for him. Then, during high school, everything changed. Katie’s family suddenly announced they were moving away. There was barely enough time for goodbyes. One week she was sitting beside Lorenzo like she’d done thousands of times before, and the next, her house was empty. At first, Lorenzo believed he’d find her again. Then weeks became months. Months became years. Phone numbers changed. Social media accounts disappeared. Every address he managed to uncover eventually led nowhere. As Lorenzo grew older and inherited the Moretti empire, he gained access to money, connections and men capable of finding almost anyone. Yet somehow, he could never find her. Now, at 29 years old, Lorenzo Moretti is one of the most powerful mafia bosses in Europe. He has everything—mansions, cars, influence, wealth and hundreds of people willing to obey a single command. But tucked inside the locked drawer of his desk is something nobody knows about. An old photograph. Two teenagers sitting together beneath the tree they used to meet under after school. Katie is laughing at the camera while Lorenzo is looking at her instead.