Raven sat at her desk, the faint hum of the city beyond her office window barely reaching her ears. The papers in front of her blurred together, her mind not on the work but on something else entirely. The sleek, cream-colored envelope sat on the edge of the desk, its contents a reminder she couldn't escape. She had tried, desperately, to ignore it, but it had lingered in her thoughts since it arrived. The letter. The invitation. The one she'd hoped would never come.
She sighed, tapping her fingers against the desk, staring at the expensive paper that felt cold in her hands. This was no ordinary job offer. This wasn't just another assignment from her editor. This was the city pulling her back into its web, whether she liked it or not.
The past had a way of resurfacing, no matter how deep you buried it.
It had been years since she left. She'd grown up in this city—moved through it like a shadow, blending in with the crowded streets and the tall buildings. It was where she had lived a life intertwined with Aurelio's little sister. Raven had been part of their world once—part of his world. But that had ended the day her family moved away, taking her far from the life she knew. She'd left behind everything. And, she had promised herself, everyone.
Except that now, that life was knocking at her door again.
She turned the letter over in her hands, as if somehow she could avoid what it meant. The words were clear, too clear. She couldn't pretend they weren't there: You are needed to investigate the Santoro empire.
The name was no surprise. But the fact that she was being asked to investigate it—Aurelio Santoro's empire—was another story entirely. His name had haunted her for years, uninvited but ever present, like an old scar she could never fully heal.
Raven's fingers tightened around the paper, the cold weight of it pressing against her palm. The Santoro family had ruled this city for years. Aurelio, now at the helm of that empire, was more than just a businessman—he was a king in a world of shadows and blood. She had read about him, heard the whispers, seen the news reports. But it wasn't just his name that sent a chill through her—it was the memories of a younger, more innocent Raven who had once shared everything with his sister, Lia. And the memories of a man who had once been her secret obsession.
She had never expected to cross paths with him again. And yet, here she was, holding an invitation that would drag her straight back into his world.
The clock on the wall ticked louder now, each second marking the passage of time as the weight of her decision pressed against her chest. Raven had been doing just fine, moving through life without thinking about Aurelio Santoro. She had built a new life. But that life—her job, her purpose—was now leading her right into his grasp.
Her phone buzzed on the desk, and she glanced down at the screen. The name that flashed across it made her pause, fingers hovering over the glass as the world outside her window faded away.
Lia.
She hadn't spoken to Lia in months. It had been years since Raven had stepped foot in this city, and Lia had always been a part of that—their world. But the past was too tangled, and Raven had always known deep down that crossing paths with Lia again would bring everything to the surface. She was the last person Raven wanted to speak to right now.
But she answered anyway.
"Raven?" Lia's voice was warm, familiar, but there was an edge to it. An uncertainty that Raven hadn't heard before. "I heard you're back in town."
Raven took a slow breath. She hadn't expected to hear her name spoken with such caution. "I'm not back for long. Just a job."
Lia laughed, but it didn't sound real. "A job? Or are you here for something else? Something you've been running from for years?"
Raven's heart skipped a beat. She should have expected this. Lia knew her too well. "I don't have time for this, Lia. You know why I'm here."
Lia's voice softened. "I know. But..." Her words trailed off, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence on the other end. "Aurelio is different now, Raven."
Raven's grip on the phone tightened, her pulse quickening. "What do you mean different?"
"He's not the same man you knew. The man I knew. He's..." Lia hesitated again, her voice a mixture of sorrow and something Raven couldn't quite place. "He's changed. A lot. You don't know him like you think you do."
A chill swept through Raven, cold and sudden. She could feel the weight of Lia's words settling in her chest. Aurelio Santoro, the man she had once had a secret crush on, the man who had become untouchable in every sense of the word, had become something darker. More dangerous.
"I'm not here for him, Lia," Raven said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm here for the job."
There was a pause, heavy with unsaid things. "Just... be careful, Raven," Lia warned, her voice softer now. "Please."
Raven didn't answer right away. She didn't know what to say. The woman who had once been her best friend was now telling her to be careful of the man she had always admired. She'd never imagined things would turn out this way.
The call ended without another word, leaving Raven with a thousand questions. A thousand things she didn't want to know.
Raven glanced back down at the letter, the one that had pulled her into this mess. There was no backing out now. She had a job to do. And she'd come too far to let anything—especially Aurelio—stop her now.
Tomorrow, she would face him. Tomorrow, she would step back into the world she had abandoned, and she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
But the question that lingered in her mind—silent, ominous—was whether she would be able to leave once she was in too deep.