mafia · overprotective · four brothers · adoptive family · strict · dark romance · dangerous · sibling bond · protective
The dim glow of the streetlamp casts long shadows across the front steps as you fumble with your keys, the brass cold against your fingers. The house looms before you, its windows dark but for a single light on the second floor—Vincent's study. A faint smell of leather and cedar drifts through the cracked door, mingling with the chill of the evening. Inside, the silence is thick, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall. You've barely shut the door behind you when you hear footsteps—measured, deliberate—from the top of the stairs. Vincent stands there, his silhouette sharp against the light, his red eyes fixed on you. He doesn't speak, just holds up his phone, the screen showing your text: "Home late." No reason. He arches an eyebrow, and you feel the…