THE UNDERWORLD

Five crowns. One corrupted law. No clean hands.

The World of The Devil's Angel

In a world where power is inherited, loyalty is bought, and blood is the price of betrayal, even the most beautiful things are built upon ugly truths.

The Devil's Angel is an international crime saga set within the glittering yet treacherous underworld of Europe and beyond. From the romantic boulevards of Paris to the ruthless streets of Milan, the shadowed estates of Sicily, the unforgiving winters of Moscow, the political corridors of Jakarta, and the quietly dangerous institutions of London, power takes many forms—but its appetite remains the same.

At the center of this world stands the Allard family, a French criminal dynasty whose carefully constructed empire is threatened by a wound that money cannot mend: a brotherhood shattered by succession. When François Allard names his younger son, Cyrille, as his heir instead of his firstborn, Astin, a family dispute becomes the fault line of an international power struggle. One brother fights to protect the empire he was entrusted with; the other seeks to reclaim the legacy he believes was stolen from him.

Their conflict does not remain theirs for long. Lucio Borghese, Milan's flamboyant and merciless kingpin, sees opportunity in the Allard family's fractures. Mateo Montanari, Sicily's disciplined and calculating master, watches from a distance, waiting for the moment intervention becomes profitable. In Moscow, Vladimir Romanov commands a criminal empire so feared that even his silence carries weight—and his quiet recognition of Cyrille may prove more consequential than any public declaration of allegiance.

Beyond the traditional mafia empires, another kind of power thrives. In Jakarta, Edward Winata disguises corruption beneath the polished image of political success, proving that the most effective criminal empires do not always need to operate outside the law. Meanwhile, London remains a city of shifting allegiances, where compromised lawyers, former soldiers, and powerful patrons navigate the uncertain boundary between justice and influence.

Yet this is not merely a story about empires, rivalries, and men who believe themselves untouchable. It is a story about the people hidden beneath their reputations—the brothers who cannot forget, the loyalists who have nowhere else to belong, the monsters who refuse to admit they are lonely, and the powerful who discover that love is the one thing they cannot control.

Here, affection can become a weakness. Loyalty can become a prison. And love, once it finds its way into the heart of a dangerous man, can become the most devastating liability of all.

In a world ruled by devils, even an angel must decide what they are willing to sacrifice.

The Allard Family

Paris. Founded in the 1930s by Louis Allard, the family began as a modest criminal operation dealing in smuggling and illegal gambling. Over the decades, it evolved into one of France's most formidable syndicates, maintaining a discreet but persistent influence under François Allard before reaching unprecedented heights under his second son, Cyrille.

Today, the Allards are a dynasty of extraordinary wealth and carefully cultivated prestige. Their public empire spans fashion, automotive parts, and logistics; their private one extends into narcotics, arms trafficking, assassination, cybercrime, and money laundering. Billions flow through a labyrinth of shell companies and offshore accounts, concealing the true scale of their influence from the very society that helps sustain it.

Yet the greatest threat to the Allard empire may not come from a rival family. It comes from within.

François's decision to name Cyrille his successor instead of his firstborn, Astin, fractured the family at its core. Astin considers the inheritance a birthright stolen from him and is determined to reclaim his position. Cyrille, meanwhile, is caught between his duty to his promise to François and his unwillingness to destroy his own brother. But affection cannot erase ambition, and blood does not guarantee loyalty.

For the Allards, reputation is everything. Loyalty is expected. Secrecy is absolute. Anyone who threatens the family risks becoming a cautionary tale.

The Borghese Family

Milan. Wealth, ruthlessness, and an appetite for victory define the Borghese family. Led by Lucio Borghese, this Italian criminal dynasty has built its empire on weapons, narcotics, extortion, and the kind of intimidation that makes even powerful men reconsider their alliances.

Unlike the Allards, who prefer to conceal the machinery of their empire behind legitimate enterprise, the Borghese are far less interested in appearing innocent. They operate openly within Milan's criminal underworld, collecting protection money and enforcing their authority through fear. Their methods are cunning, vicious, and often deliberately cruel. To Lucio, victory matters more than the rules—and he has little patience for those who mistake restraint for strength.

His ambitions extend beyond Milan. By supporting Astin Allard's attempt to overthrow Cyrille, Lucio has positioned himself at the heart of the Allard succession crisis. Whether driven by opportunity, revenge, or the prospect of a weakened rival, his interference threatens to turn a family dispute into an international power struggle.

Despite their brutality, the Borghese maintain a strict code: women and children are not to be harmed, nor are they to be knowingly placed in harm's way. Lucio's contempt for human trafficking is one of the few boundaries he refuses to cross.

It is a peculiar morality, perhaps, but even a beast has rules of its own.

The Romanov Family

Moscow. Little is known about the origins of the Romanov criminal empire. Rumors suggest its rise began during the Soviet era, when secrecy was currency and violence could determine the fate of nations. Whatever the truth, the family has since established itself as one of the most feared forces in the Russian underworld.

Their operations span weapons, narcotics, and human trafficking, supported by an organization whose internal workings remain largely concealed. The Romanovs do not seek public approval, nor do they waste effort cultivating a respectable image. Their reputation precedes them, and their brutality ensures that few are willing to test whether the stories are exaggerated.

At the head of the family stands Vladimir Romanov, the pakhan—a man whose life is obscured by rumor, whose motives remain difficult to discern, and whose capacity for violence has become the stuff of whispered legend. Some claim he committed his first murder before experiencing his first kiss. Whether truth or myth, the story captures what makes him so unsettling: the sense that whatever humanity he possesses has always existed alongside something far more dangerous.

Yet Vladimir's relationship with the Allards defies expectation. He tolerates their presence, maintains an unusual rapport with Cyrille, and has implicitly recognized him as the legitimate heir to the Allard empire. In a world where alliances are rarely unconditional, his support is significant—even if no one can be certain what it will ultimately cost.

The monster has no need to explain himself. The world has already learned to fear the silence.

The Montanari Family

Sicily. The Montanari family is an empire of quiet authority, disciplined ambition, and calculated restraint. Under Mateo Montanari, its operations flourish away from public scrutiny, sustained by illegal enterprises, online gambling, and casinos that turn chance into a remarkably profitable business.

Mateo is not a man who mistakes violence for power. Cold, precise, and fiercely controlled, he rules through efficiency rather than spectacle. He values loyalty, despises unnecessary cruelty, and considers emotional impulsiveness a liability. Every decision serves a purpose; every action carries a consequence.

The Montanari have little interest in the Allard succession crisis. Cyrille and Astin may fight over their father's legacy, and Lucio Borghese may indulge himself in the chaos, but Mateo has no intention of becoming another man's pawn. His neutrality, however, is not an oath of peace. He simply prefers to wait until the outcome becomes worth his attention.

If the balance of power shifts in a way that benefits him, Mateo will not hesitate to act. He has no need to start a war when he can profit from the moment it ends.

The master does not chase opportunities. He lets them come within reach.

The Winata Family

Jakarta. The Winata family is the embodiment of respectable power. A wealthy dynasty of entrepreneurs, businessmen, and politicians, they have spent generations building a reputation that is as immaculate as it is useful. Their name commands respect in corporate boardrooms and government corridors alike, and their influence reaches into the institutions that shape the nation.

At the center of the dynasty stands Edward Winata, a popular and beloved politician whose public image embodies everything the family wishes the world to believe. Charismatic and influential, he represents stability, ambition, and national progress. Few would suspect that the empire behind his success is deeply entangled with organized crime and systemic corruption.

Unlike families that rule through visible violence, the Winatas understand the power of institutions. Their weapons are political favors, compromised loyalties, financial leverage, and the quiet manipulation of systems meant to serve the public. They do not merely seek wealth; they seek the kind of influence that makes wealth almost irrelevant. When business, government, and criminal interests become inseparable, opposition becomes extraordinarily difficult.

Their greatest strength is also their greatest disguise. The Winatas have cultivated a world in which their legitimacy is rarely questioned, their enemies struggle to find a way in, and the machinery of accountability can be made to work in their favor.

Some empires are built by conquering the throne. Others are built by becoming the throne.

London

London. Unlike Paris, Milan, Moscow, or Jakarta, London has no single family that can claim undisputed dominion over its underworld. Its power structure is fragmented, its loyalties fluid, and its most influential players often operate far beyond the reach of conventional authority.

London is where the worlds of crime, politics, law, and private security intersect. Here, power belongs to those who know which doors to open, which secrets to bury, and which people can be bought. Alliances are temporary, loyalties negotiable, and the difference between the law and those who exploit it is often a matter of perspective.

Among its many players is William, a corrupt lawyer whose professional allegiance extends only as far as his next lucrative arrangement. He serves the powerful, negotiates with the criminal, and bends the law for whoever can afford his services. In William's world, justice is not blind. It simply has a price.

Then there is Arthur, a former Special Air Service operative who has traded military service for a different kind of battlefield. Now employed as a bodyguard to a prominent political family, he operates in the dangerous space between public respectability and private vulnerability. Where William profits from compromised principles, Arthur survives by discipline, vigilance, and the knowledge that some threats cannot be settled in a courtroom.

Neither man rules London. Both understand how its shadows work.

In a city built on institutions, the most dangerous people are often those who know exactly how to use them.

THE ORIGINAL NOVEL

Where the fall begins.

The Devil's Angel

Book One
MAFIADARK ROMANCEDEAD DOVEORGANIZED CRIMEHURT/COMFORT

When ambitious law student Evelyn Moore saved a bleeding stranger from a lethal assassination attempt, she didn't just save a life—she invoked the obsessive devotion of Cyrille Allard, the ruthless, enigmatic kingpin of a massive mafia empire. Swept into a whirlwind of dark desire, lethal deception, and bloody power struggles, Evelyn is dragged deep into a ruthless shadowy domain where loyalty is dead and betrayal waits in every breath.

With a vengeful rival brother waging all-out war for control and the crosshairs of a criminal underworld closing in, love becomes their most dangerous weapon. To survive the darkness, they must defy the world—or be completely torn apart by the very shadows that bind them.

READ NOW

THE MAP OF SIN

Six places. One web of debts. Tap a pin.

THE PLAYLIST

The songs that sound like the series.

♦

The Devil's Angel

Series playlist

Tap a song to find it on Spotify.

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

WHICH FAMILY ARE YOU?

Five questions. No clean hands.

THE CHARACTERS

Tap a family to filter. Chat with them in Janitor.AI.

SCROLL ↓