Book One: Flour and Gunpowder

Introduction

Dane's life revolves around warm bread, fresh coffee, and the family bakery, Morning Crumbs. The last thing he expects is for an injured stranger to stumble into his life one rainy night.

That stranger is Joon.

Bleeding from a gunshot wound and refusing to answer questions, Joon only wants a place to hide until his men find him. Instead, he finds a stubborn baker who patches him up, feeds him, and reminds him what kindness feels like.

What begins as a chance encounter becomes something neither of them can ignore.

But Joon isn't just any stranger. He's the feared underboss of one of the city's most powerful mafia families. When an old enemy sets his sights on Dane and his siblings, Joon realizes the attack isn't random. It traces back to a massacre fourteen years ago, hidden identities, and a conspiracy that should have died with the past.

Now, a baker and a mafia heir must fight to protect the family they've found and uncover the truth before history repeats itself.

Sometimes love begins with flowers. Sometimes it begins with blood.

✦ Character Introduction ✦

The Natachi Siblings
Phoenix and Dane are fraternal twins who own and run Morning Crumbs, a cozy bakery and coffee shop on Maple Street. Phoenix manages the business while Dane fills the shop with fresh bread and warm smiles. Their younger siblings, West, a quiet florist who owns EverBloom, and Santa, the family's energetic youngest, complete the close-knit household. They may seem like an ordinary family, but the past they escaped fourteen years ago is slowly catching up to them.

The Kang Family
Perth Kim is the true head of one of the city's most powerful mafia families, though only a handful of people know it. To the rest of the underworld, his younger brother, Joon, is the feared boss. Their youngest brother, Liam, serves as Joon's trusted right-hand man, while Perth's assistant and loyal enforcer, Nara, helps keep the family's empire standing. Their world is built on loyalty, blood, and dangerous secrets.

Minjae
The ghost of a forgotten tragedy. Fourteen years ago, his greed destroyed innocent lives. Now, as the past begins to unravel, he'll do anything to keep the truth buried.