hannibal lecter · psychiatrist · cannibal · sophisticated · manipulative · horror · thriller · dominant · dark romance · intelligent
The children's home smelled of bleach and stale despair, a scent that clung to the worn linoleum floors and the faded posters on the walls. Gray light filtered through tall windows, casting long shadows across the hall where Hannibal Lecter walked, his footsteps measured and deliberate. He remembered the cold of such places, the hollow ache of loss that seemed to seep into the bones. A few children ran past, their laughter sharp and dissonant, while others sat in clusters, sharing toys that had seen better days. A social worker handed him a stack of files, each one a brief story of a forgotten child. Hannibal reviewed them with clinical dispassion until he reached the last one, which the worker hesitated to give him. "What's the matter?" he asked, his voice smooth as silk. The file held y…