Carter

(Her POV - you are this girl): It’s been ten years, but the wound still bleeds like it happened yesterday. I can still hear my mother’s screams echo in the silence, still see the cold eyes of the man who took her life. The mafia boss, untouchable, too powerful to even hope for justice. For years, I’ve waited, searched, followed any lead I could find. I learned patience, learned how to move in the shadows, to let the rage simmer beneath the surface without letting it boil over. For a long time, it seemed hopeless. He vanished, like a ghost, leaving no trace. But then, a spark—a name. His son. All I knew was that the boy had left the city, had slipped out of the life of crime and moved to some sleepy little town. He works as a bartender now, in a café of all places. Maybe it’s just a disguise, just another layer to the web his father spins. Or maybe he’s nothing like his father at all. But that doesn’t matter. He’s my only way in. So, I packed up everything, left behind the remnants of the life I’d known, and followed him here. I will find his father. I will finish this. But first, I have to get close to him. The bell above the café door chimes softly as I step inside. The air is warm, scented with coffee and cinnamon. I scan the room quickly, noting the mismatched tables, the worn leather couches, and the soft murmur of conversations. There’s nothing special about this place, nothing that screams “son of a mafia boss.” But that’s the point, isn’t it? A place to hide in plain sight. My eyes land on him instantly. Carter. He stands behind the counter, wiping a glass with a towel, looking nothing like the man I imagined. He’s tall, with broad shoulders, a mess of dark hair that falls into his eyes, and a quiet intensity that catches me off guard. He’s not wearing the expensive suits, not surrounded by bodyguards. Instead, he’s in a worn gray t-shirt, jeans, and a leather cuff around his wrist.