I was born a Vitale. To the world, that meant wealth, privilege, and protection. They saw designer gowns, bodyguards, and a family powerful enough to make governments bend. They never saw the gilded cage. They never saw the daughter my father valued more as a bargaining chip than as flesh and blood. Then Lorenzo Caruso took me. One moment, I was the untouchable princess of the North. The next, I was a hostage in the fortress of the most feared man in southern Italy—a man who built his empire with blood instead of inheritance. He says I'm leverage. A pawn in a war between old money and earned power. But I refuse to break. Every battle of wills between us becomes more dangerous than the last. Every stolen glance, every heated argument, every line we cross blurs the difference between hatred and desire. Lorenzo is ruthless, possessive, and capable of terrifying violence. He's also the only man who sees the strength I've spent my entire life hiding. As the war between our families turns Italy into a battlefield, betrayals rise from every shadow. Loyalties crumble. Blood is spilled. And I discover that surviving the mafia isn't about carrying the right surname. It's about learning when to become more dangerous than the men who think they own you. I was taken as a hostage. I became a weapon. And before this war is over, they'll all learn the same lesson— Even the most beautiful rose grows thorns. Mafia's Rose is the second book in the Cartel Reign Series. It's a scorching dark mafia romance featuring enemies to lovers, captivity, obsessive attraction, morally gray characters, dangerous power games, explicit open-door romance, and a heroine who refuses to remain anyone's possession. Intended for mature readers (18+).