Page 1 of Reckless Royalty

MADDY

30TH APRIL 2023

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Three days.

It’s been three days since I watched my Mum and sister die. Three days since I saw the blood, heard the gunshots, and felt the air shatter around me. I should’ve never chosen that restaurant, but I did— and now they’re gone because of me.

That’s the part that leaves me gutted. Out of all the places we could’ve gone for my birthday, I thought it would be fun. Some trendy little spot near the city center with overpriced cocktails and live music. I wanted to impress them with the good money I was finally making at my new job.

Now I can’t stop thinking about how my choice put them in the line of fire. How it got them killed.

I swallow hard, my throat still raw, even though I haven’t spoken a word since it happened. Not to the police, not toanyone. Even when they begged me to tell them who I saw—who pulled the trigger.

It’s like my voice broke when the bullets started flying, and now it’s buried so deep, I can’t reach it. It’s locked somewhere so far inside, along with the screams I never let out.

The black SUV pulls up to an estate that looks more like a fortress. The gate swings open, and we drive inside without stopping. I’m sitting in the back, silently staring out the window at the manicured lawns.

I still don’t know where I’m going; all the police told me was it would be for my own safety. It’s not like I could fight them on it, since I can’t even speak.

The car stops, and the driver—a man I don’t know—opens the door for me. “Miss Graves, we’re here,” he says with a thick accent.

I nod, even though I don’t feel like moving. I force myself out of the car, wrapping my arms around myself as the wind cuts through the thin sweater I’m wearing. The estate looms in front of me, massive and intimidating.

No matter what the police say, it doesn’t feel like safety. Nothing does anymore.

The driver leads me inside, where two guards are standing by the door. They glance at me but say nothing as we walk through the grand hall.

The interior is elegant but cold, all polished wood and marble, like the kind of place you can’t touch anything without feeling apprehensive. I don’t belong here, but then again, I don’t belong anywhere anymore.

“Mr. Vasile will see you now,” the driver says, stopping in front of a large set of double doors.

I blink. Vasile? As in Ion Vasile,the crime boss?

I nod again, since that’s the only thing I can do lately— my throat tight and my heart pounding harder than it should be.

There’s no point in being afraid of this. I’ve already lived through the worst of it. Still, I feel like I’m walking into the lion’s den.

The doors open, and I step inside.

My breath hitches as I see Ion Vasile sitting behind a massive desk, looking exactly like the kind of man who could control an empire. King of the Romanian Mob, you would have to be pretty dumb not to recognize the man who owns every dark place in this city.

And the police think the safest place for me is right here…with a mob kingpin?This man must be more powerful than I thought, seeing as he has the police completely in his pocket.

He’s older than I remember from pictures in the papers, his hair streaked with silver, his face lined with age but sharp with authority.

But when his eyes meet mine, there’s a softness there that catches me off guard. He doesn’t look like the monster people say he is. In fact, there’s something almost fatherly about the way he nods at me.

I tighten my grip on the sleeves of my jacket, a nervous habit I can’t shake. My fingers are cold, and my heart is racing.

“Madison Graves,” he says, his voice even, calm. “I understand this is not where you thought your life would be three days ago.”

No. Three days ago, I didn’t know how much blood one person could lose before they stopped breathing.

I stare at him, my throat tightening as his words land like stones in my chest. I want to respond. I want to tell him it’s my fault. That they weren’t supposed to be there. That if I had just picked somewhere else…

But the words get trapped inside me, like everything else. Instead, I just nod, my lips pressed together in a hard line.

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