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dbranch writes
dbranch writes
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Novels by dbranch writes

Concrete Thrones: The Making of a Mafia Boss”

Concrete Thrones: The Making of a Mafia Boss”

In the heart of New Verona City — a decaying metropolis built on drugs, debt, and deceit — Luca Marino, a streetwise orphan with a sharp mind and a sharper temper, dreams of escaping the slums. But when his brother is murdered by the powerful Valente crime family, Luca’s life spirals into the dark underbelly of organized crime. To survive, he enters the same world that killed his brother, starting at the bottom as a debt collector in a gang-ridden neighborhood. Ruthless yet calculating, Luca quickly learns that loyalty is an illusion and mercy is weakness. Guided by Don Emilio Valente, a charismatic but aging mafia lord, Luca becomes both a protégé and a potential threat. As he rises through the ranks — from street hustler to enforcer to mastermind — Luca forges uneasy alliances, manipulates rival families, and builds a syndicate that answers to no one. But every throne made of concrete is drenched in blood. When love, betrayal, and ambition collide, Luca must decide: is he building an empire… or digging his own grave? “Concrete Thrones” is a gritty tale of survival, deception, and the hunger for dominance — a modern mafia epic where every move could mean power, or death.
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Chapter: The Birth of a King”
The night after Enzo’s disappearance, Southbridge looked quiet only from a distance. Up close, it vibrated with the same tension before a thunderstorm. No one said Dario killed his lieutenant, but everyone felt it. The city breathed through its teeth—slow, careful, waiting.From his penthouse window, Dario watched the glow of the docks spread like molten metal across the river. Containers moved in mechanical rhythm, cranes creaking against the wind. Everything down there—every gun, every shipment, every man—answered to him now.He should have felt invincible. Instead, the silence pressed on his chest like a hand.He kept seeing Enzo’s chair at the table—empty, accusing. Vince’s ghost had been loud; Enzo’s was worse. It said nothing. It just waited.Dario tried to drown it in routine.At sunrise, he met with suppliers from the north side. By noon, he reviewed the books. By dusk, he toured the warehouses. Every hour accounted for, every weakness patched.But paranoia breeds from order a
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: Concrete Crowns”
The city didn’t celebrate Vince’s fall. It mourned in silence. Southbridge’s air grew thick with something you couldn’t name — fear, grief, or maybe just the aftertaste of violence that lingered long after the gunfire faded.For Dario, it was the first night in months where no one came knocking on his door. No calls. No gunshots. Just silence. He should have slept. He didn’t.He sat alone in his office above the butcher shop — the same place Vince once stood, giving orders and breaking men’s spirits. The bloodstain on the concrete floor had long been scrubbed away, but in Dario’s mind, it was still there. He could still see Vince’s last glare, the betrayal painted across it, the way he fell — slow, heavy, final.Outside, the city lights flickered against the rain. Southbridge was his now. Every street corner, every warehouse, every frightened whisper of his name confirmed it. Dario Costa runs the game.But power was never quiet. Power had a voice — and it screamed.The paranoia came s
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: “Ashes and Crowns”
The rain had stopped by morning, but the streets still looked drowned.Southbridge smelled of smoke and gunpowder, the air thick with the stench of what the night had taken.Dario stood at the window of the old station office, staring at the rising smoke from the yards below. The city felt different now — quieter, like it was holding its breath. Somewhere beneath that silence, Vince’s blood was drying on the concrete.The body was gone. The men had buried him by the East Wall — no ceremony, no words, just dirt and memory. But Dario didn’t go. He couldn’t. Kings didn’t attend funerals; they made sure no one else held one.He turned as Nico entered the room. The young man looked pale, his hoodie stained with dried blood.“Boss,” Nico said carefully, “the boys are asking what happens now.”Dario lit a cigarette, his movements mechanical. “Now?” He exhaled a slow cloud. “Now we rebuild.”Nico shifted uncomfortably. “We lost twenty men. The docks are gone. The Serpents—”Dario cut him off.
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: The Fall of Vince
The city was restless again.Rain fell in thin, crooked lines, sliding down cracked windshields and broken glass. The storm didn’t wash away the blood — it only spread it thinner.Southbridge slept uneasily, but Dario didn’t sleep at all.He sat in his office, the lights dimmed, staring at an empty chair across from him. Vince’s chair.It had been three days since his right hand walked out the door. Three days of no contact, no word, no trail.Dario’s men searched the docks, the safe houses, even the dive bars that only ghosts remembered. Nothing.Some said Vince had gone underground.Others said he’d joined Alvaro’s remnants.Dario said nothing at all.But silence, in his world, was louder than betrayal.By the fourth night, the rain had turned to mist.Nico entered the room, his hoodie dripping. “Boss,” he said, out of breath, “we found him.”Dario didn’t move. “Where?”“Old station yard — north edge. He’s holed up with two of Alvaro’s lieutenants.”Dario rose slowly, the chair legs
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: “The Ghost of Kings”
The war had ended, but the silence that followed was worse than the gunfire.Southbridge reeked of smoke and iron. Windows were shattered, cars burned to their frames, and the river ran dark with what the streets refused to bury. The news called it a cease-fire. The cops called it chaos.Dario called it unfinished business.He stood at the edge of the bridge that bore his empire’s name, watching the city breathe in the distance. The skyline shimmered through the haze like a promise he could never keep.Vince joined him, nursing a bandaged shoulder. “No word from Alvaro’s crew in forty-eight hours,” he said. “It’s quiet.”“Too quiet,” Dario muttered. “The dead don’t stay silent that long.”Vince glanced sideways. “You think he’s gone?”Dario exhaled smoke through his nose. “No. Men like Alvaro don’t vanish. They wait. They rebuild. They whisper.” He turned toward the city. “And then they bite.”In the week that followed, Dario rebuilt.He moved his headquarters from La Rosa’s ruins to
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: “Southbridge Burns”
The war didn’t start with gunfire. It started with fear.By the end of that week, every corner of Southbridge was whispering the same name: Alvaro. The Serpents had moved in like ghosts, cutting deals, buying loyalty, twisting old friends into spies. Streets that once saluted Dario now echoed with doubt.And when fear takes root, bullets soon follow.The first night of war began at 2:17 a.m.A car bomb ripped through La Rosa’s backlot, shattering the quiet like glass. The explosion lit the skyline in orange. Flames licked the sky, and the sound of screams followed.Dario was thrown from his chair, ears ringing. The room filled with smoke and dust. Vince stormed in, pistol drawn.“They hit the club!” he shouted.Through the haze, Dario’s face was calm, almost too calm. “Get the wounded out. And tell everyone—Southbridge is closed. From tonight, it’s our city or no city.”By sunrise, the streets were barricaded.Every corner store, every alley, every rooftop became a fortress. Dario’s m
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Empire of Shadows: From Gutter to Godfather

Empire of Shadows: From Gutter to Godfather

In the corrupt heart of New Avalon City, a slum rat named Lucien Kane is born into a world that despises him. Orphaned, beaten, and forgotten, he grows up scavenging scraps in the gutters, dreaming of power. When his only friend is murdered by street thugs working for a powerful crime family, Lucien vows revenge. But vengeance is only the spark. Through manipulation, alliances, and sheer will, he transforms from a street urchin into a calculating criminal mastermind. His rise cuts through bloodlines, corporations, and governments — until he controls everything: drugs, politics, law enforcement, and the hearts of men. But the higher he climbs, the more enemies he creates — and the shadows he commands begin to whisper his downfall. From the gutter to the godfather… from man to myth… this is the empire of shadows.
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Chapter: The Black Crown”
The city didn’t wake up that morning — it staggered out of nightmares.Columns of smoke rose like black flags, helicopters circled the skyline, and the air tasted of gunpowder and silence. Every news channel screamed the same headline:“Night of Fire: 67 Dead in Citywide Gang Purge.”But none of them said the name.They didn’t need to.Everyone already knew who had written that night’s story in blood.Leon Vale.The man who had turned vengeance into empire.1. The AftermathLeon sat in the dim war room of his high-rise headquarters — walls lined with screens, maps, and coded ledgers. His empire had grown too large for backroom deals and whispered threats; it now ran like a machine — cold, efficient, and merciless.Across from him, Vex paced the floor, hands tense.“The media’s all over it,” he said. “Civilians, cops, even the mayor’s calling for a crackdown. They’re blaming ‘an unknown paramilitary network’ — but everyone knows it’s us.”Leon didn’t look up. He was staring at the chip
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: Ashes of the Empire”
The city never truly slept — it just hid behind its noise. But tonight, silence reigned. The streets were empty, save for the hum of distant generators and the cold blue glow of dying billboards. Somewhere in that silence, vengeance was breathing.Leon Vale stood on the rooftop of the high-rise overlooking Dock Sector 9 — his first territory, the one he nearly bled to claim. Below him, black vans lined the street, men in matte armor unloading crates of weapons. The skyline shimmered with rain and smoke, reflecting like ghosts on the water.This was no ordinary night.This was judgment.1. The PlanVex approached from behind, rifle slung across his chest. “Everyone’s in position,” he said quietly. “Four crews — North, East, South, and the docks. Once you give the word, we burn them out.”Leon didn’t respond immediately. His eyes tracked a flickering sign across the street — Marconi’s Diner, the same place where he’d once washed dishes for pennies. He’d fought rats in that alley, slept
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: Ghosts in the Crossfire”
The rain returned that night — heavy, cold, and relentless. It wasn’t cleansing; it was a burial shroud for the city. Neon lights bled into puddles like open wounds, and under that fractured glow, the streets whispered one name — Leon Vale, the man who had gone from shadow to sovereign. But power always comes with a price, and tonight, the debt collectors came armed.1. The AmbushLeon sat in the back of an armored black sedan, flanked by two of his most trusted lieutenants — Vex and Dario. The convoy rolled through the industrial district, engines humming low, their reflections stretching across the wet asphalt.“Eyes open,” Vex murmured, scanning the windows. “We’ve been followed twice this week.”Leon didn’t answer. His gaze stayed fixed ahead, his mind replaying the betrayal that split the inner council. The traitor — Silas, the man Leon once called his brother — had disappeared into the city’s underbelly with a handful of loyalists and a stockpile of weapons.The radio crackled.
Last Updated: 2025-10-22
Chapter: “The Fire in the Docks”
The docks always smelled of salt, rust, and deceit.Tonight, they reeked of something worse — gasoline.Leon stood at the edge of Pier 9, coat whipping in the midnight wind. The city lights flickered across the water like dying embers. He’d been warned the retaliation would come, but he hadn’t expected it this soon. The east docks — his empire’s lifeline — were silent. Too silent.“Boss,” Marco murmured, scanning the horizon through binoculars. “No movement on the cranes. No guards at the gate.”Leon’s jaw tightened. “They’re here.”He motioned with two fingers, and his crew fanned out behind the cargo containers. Shadows moved like predators, rifles low, boots soft against wet concrete. The sound of dripping rain was the only rhythm.Then — a flash.A single flare lit up the sky in blood red.The night exploded.Gunfire erupted from the rooftops and cranes. Bullets tore through crates, shattering glass and sending sparks skittering across the ground. Leon ducked behind a forklift, hi
Last Updated: 2025-10-18
Chapter: whispers in the Smoke”
The city never slept — it just changed masks.By dawn, the rain had stopped, but the air still carried the scent of fire and betrayal. Smoke drifted from the old distillery where Leon had burned the evidence, curling up into the bruised sky like a warning to the gods.Word moved faster than bullets in this town.By the time the first rays of light hit the waterfront, whispers had already found their way into the alleys, into the mouths of hustlers, dealers, and drifters.“They say Leon killed his own men.”“They say he drank their blood.”“They say he made a pact with something darker.”No one knew what was true. No one dared to ask.At the East Docks, a figure named Marta the Fence listened to the gossip while counting her cash. She’d seen empires rise and crumble before breakfast, but there was something different this time. The fear wasn’t normal. It wasn’t human. It had weight — like smoke in the lungs.She flicked her cigarette, watching the ash spiral away. “From gutter to godfa
Last Updated: 2025-10-18
Chapter: The Blood Oath”
The rain came again that night — the kind that soaked through skin and memory, washing away sins too fresh to forget.Leon stood under the iron balcony of the old distillery, the new heart of his empire. The place smelled of smoke, gun oil, and ambition. His men — the ones who survived the warehouse purge — gathered in a circle around the crimson-stained table. The sound of dripping water echoed through the dark hall like the ticking of an unseen clock.He was no longer the gutter rat they once mocked. Now, every breath he took carried weight. Every word, a command. Every silence, a warning.But power has a scent — sharp, metallic, irresistible — and men hungry for it always come sniffing.At the far end of the table, Vince “Two Hands” Morales was already whispering to Rico. They thought Leon didn’t notice. He did. He noticed everything.“Boss,” Rico said finally, his tone too casual. “Word is, the east docks ain’t been paying. You sure we ain’t spreading ourselves too thin?”Leon’s g
Last Updated: 2025-10-18
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