Lipstick Stains with Broken Chains
(2026)(The second book in the Violent Legacy series)
A novel by Whitnay Edes
My name is Rowan McCall, and I survive by staying in control. Control of the thing inside me that waits for permission to be unleashed. I wasn’t raised to be gentle or forgiven.
I was raised by a Mafia Queen, taught that weakness gets you buried and monsters are useful, if you can keep them leashed.
I don’t play princess.
I carry knives.
And I choose my words carefully, because once I let go, there’s no telling who takes over.
I had rules. Structure. Routine. Silence.
All I had to do was stay in control and keep my past locked where it belonged.
Then Ivan Korovic became the new Russian Don.
Cold. Calculated. Watching.
And when he forced my mother into a marriage bargain, I became the offering.
The days blur. The walls close in. And the control I’ve fought for my entire life starts to slip.
Because some monsters don’t stay quiet forever.
And if I lose control now, it won’t just be my past that comes for blood.
I did what I had to do. I always do.
The question is…who pays when I can’t hold her back anymore?
I was raised by a Mafia Queen, taught that weakness gets you buried and monsters are useful, if you can keep them leashed.
I don’t play princess.
I carry knives.
And I choose my words carefully, because once I let go, there’s no telling who takes over.
I had rules. Structure. Routine. Silence.
All I had to do was stay in control and keep my past locked where it belonged.
Then Ivan Korovic became the new Russian Don.
Cold. Calculated. Watching.
And when he forced my mother into a marriage bargain, I became the offering.
The days blur. The walls close in. And the control I’ve fought for my entire life starts to slip.
Because some monsters don’t stay quiet forever.
And if I lose control now, it won’t just be my past that comes for blood.
I did what I had to do. I always do.
The question is…who pays when I can’t hold her back anymore?