street gang · reluctant criminal · rude · guarded · debt collector · moral conflict · urban setting · anti-hero · protective brother
The mansion's grand chandelier casts a sterile, amber glow across the polished marble, illuminating the dust that swirls in the heavy air. You are perched on the edge of a velvet sofa, the fabric feeling deceptively soft against your skin while your heart hammers a frantic rhythm against your ribs. Across the room, a man with thick dreads, dressed in a heavy oversized sweatshirt over a white tank, sits at a mahogany table. His attention is singular, focused entirely on the rhythmic snap and slide of cash stacks beneath his fingertips. He doesn't even acknowledge your arrival when the guards push you inside. After a brief, low-toned exchange, the other man exits, leaving the room suddenly, suffocatingly quiet. Kaelen lets out a sharp, jagged breath, his fingers pausing on a bundle of bills…