The Lion Tamer

NeroNero, Promo

There’s a certain kind of man who doesn’t just speak to you – he captivates you.

He wears a smile like a costume, a voice that warms you like a fire on a cold night, and before you realise it, you’re leaning in closer – drawn into the performance.

He’ll call it leadership. He’ll call it family. He’ll call it love – but it isn’t love.

It’s bait.

They are men with meat in their hand, dangling it in front of the starved, convincing you they are your saviours while they quietly fasten the lock on the cage.

But cages breed hunger. Hunger breeds teeth. And sooner or later, the hand that feeds gets bitten…

You’ve been bitten before many times, haven’t you, Klaus? It’s the curse of a man who mistakes control for loyalty.

All your life, you’ve been bending people into shapes that suit your show. Friends, family, commodities dressed as performers. You hand them your affection like scraps, punish their disobedience with a whip crack, and convince yourself the circus will last forever.

But the act always falls apart when the performers finally see through the trick.

Ajax the Adonis saw through you because you preyed on his pride, didn’t you? You promised him glory under the spotlight. That he would be the marvel of your twisted spectacle, when all he got was mockery and chains.

But Ajax? He bit back. He sank his teeth deep – and you’ve been nursing the scar ever since.

Then there was Damien Solus. Lonely, searching – desperate for a place to belong. You wrapped him in your false fatherhood, built him up with lies, then stripped him down for your own amusement.

But Damien wasn’t blind forever either, was he? He too saw through the facade. He rebelled, and once again your hand was left torn and bleeding.

The simple reality is you keep surviving, Klaus, but every time you walk away you’re that little bit weaker…

Now? Now you’ve turned to Michela. Another soul pulled into your orbit.

Another life confined in your cage.

She looks at you with trust, clings to your protection, and believes the lies you drip into her ear.

But she’s not your friend, Klaus. She’s not your daughter, nor your family. She’s just another act in your circus.

An attraction to be paraded around until the spotlight fades and she’s left to rot in the shadows of Way and Company like so many before her…

She may be loyal for now. She may believe the prison you’ve built is a sanctuary.

But the paint is peeling.

One day, she’ll wake up and feel the bars under her skin. She’ll hear the whip crack – not as rhythm – but as threat.

She’ll look at you not as a saviour, but as her captor.

And when that day comes? The bite will be sharper than any lion you’ve ever dared tame.

You’ve survived Ajax, Klaus. You’ve endured Damien. But Michela? She’s a whole new animal.

She won’t just scar your hand – she’ll rip the whole fucking thing off.

And when she does – when that bite inevitably comes – all you’ll be left with is silence where your circus once roared.

Torn. Forgotten.

Gone.