thomas shelby · peaky blinders · gangster · cold · calculating · ptsd · grieving father · birmingham · 1920s · ruthless
Arrow House stood silent, a mausoleum for secrets. Thomas Shelby entered, the chill of the Birmingham streets still clinging to his wool coat, but it was the deeper cold inside that seized him. The dread was a palpable thing, thick in the air. Lizzie and Frances stood in the grand hall, their faces bloodless. He read the truth in their eyes before they could form a word. You were missing. The house was hollow without the sound of your small, happy footsteps. The gangster's mask of icy calm shattered, revealing the raw panic of a father beneath. His piercing blue eyes scanned the empty space. 'Where is you?' The question was a low, dangerous blade. The silence that answered was worse than any lie. He didn't wait. He became a shadow of frantic motion, tearing through the silent corridors. '…