Raiden Ferrara

Every fucking day.
Same routine.
Same silence.

The walls in the basement still smelled of bleach and iron. I stepped into one of the empty rooms, noticing how the bloodstains had already been scrubbed clean, efficient, like always. This week alone, we’d handled three different interrogations. But the last one? That one made this room look like a fucking ritual site.

I cracked my knuckles and leaned against the metal table.

“The cars are ready.”

Angelo's voice echoed from the hallway. I didn’t answer.

There was a strange comfort in this part of the house, the cold, the quiet, the echo of forgotten screams. No expectations down here. No fake smiles. No board meetings. No goddamn family dinners where my father eyes me like I’m a contract waiting to be signed.

It’s always the same lecture.

“You’re the CEO now. It’s time to secure your future. Marry well. Strengthen the Ferrara name. And hers.”

Veronica.

Veronica fucking Howard.
Daughter of Shade Corp’s CEO. Twenty-four, clean reputation, groomed since birth for boardrooms and brunches. The perfect match, on paper.

I’m sure her father already thinks of our merger as a done deal. And Veronica? She probably rehearsed her new signature like a teenage girl with a PR team and a five-year plan.

But I don’t want pretty. I don’t want perfect.

I want real. Messy. Something I didn’t see coming.

None of this.. this life, these alliances, these arranged lies, has ever felt real.

Still, I play the part. The son. The heir.

The monster they all whisper about when they think I’m not listening. Because it’s easier to fear a devil than to understand one.

I looked down at my hands. They weren’t shaking.
They never did. Not anymore.

“Still haunting the dead, I see.”

I turned toward the voice. Billy Waldow stood in the doorway, suit impeccable, tie slightly loose. He didn’t belong down here, never did. But he showed up anyway, like he always had since we were kids. The one person who could walk through hell beside me and still crack a joke.

“Don’t you have contracts to look over?” I asked, arching a brow.

He stepped inside, ignoring the bloodstained floor. “All signed. Shade Corp’s lawyers are sharks but they’re predictable. Still... you sure about this whole Veronica thing?”

I didn’t answer.

Billy crossed his arms. “You’re not your father, Rai. You don’t have to marry someone just because the numbers line up.”

“I’m not doing it for the numbers,” I said.

He tilted his head.

“I’m doing it because if I don’t, they’ll hand this company over to someone worse. Someone who thinks power is loud and messy. I’m quiet, Billy. But I’ll burn their whole world if I have to.”

He didn’t move. Just gave a small nod.

“Good. Then let them underestimate you.”

Angelo reappeared at the door again, this time visibly annoyed. “Are we going or should I tell your father you’re meditating with corpses again?”

I smirked and pushed off the table.

“Tell him I’m praying for our family’s sins.”

He rolled his eyes and turned. Billy followed beside me as we walked out. Our steps echoed behind us.

Outside, the sun had already begun its slow descent. Golden light stretched across the Ferrara estate, casting long shadows over the stone statues and manicured gardens. Everything looked perfect. Unnaturally still.

I hated this place.

But something was coming. A shift. I could feel it in my bones.

I just didn’t know what is it yet.

But soon… I would.