Prologue

Some obsessions begin in silence.
Some begin the moment two strangers lock eyes.

The party was loud. Glamorous. Dripping in power, champagne, and secrets.

Karthik Raichand stood in the shadows — untouchable, unreadable, the Mafia king everyone feared but no one truly knew. He hated crowds. Hated small talk. But tonight, he came for business.

Until he saw her.

A flash of red across the dance floor.
A laugh that sliced through the noise.
Eyes that held fire... and innocence.

Kiara Sharma.
He didn’t know her name then.
Didn’t know what she did, where she came from.
He only knew one thing — he wanted her.

She wasn’t like the women who threw themselves at him.
She didn’t even glance his way.

And that… that made him burn.

He watched her all night. How she carried herself. How she smiled, completely unaware that a man like him — ruthless, powerful, broken — had just chosen her.

She left the party long before midnight.

But she didn’t leave him.

He saw her once.
And that was all it took.

Now, she was in his world.
She just didn’t know it yet.

He was going to find her.
Take her.
And give her 30 days.

To hate him.
To fight him.
Or to fall for him.

But escape? That was never an option.

Because she had unknowingly walked into his shadow —
And he had no intention of letting her go.

Now, she is...

Trapped In His Shadows🔥❤️