The mansion was enormous—high ceilings, endless hallways, marble floors, and windows so tall they made you feel tiny. You had only recently moved in with your mother after she married Christian, a powerful and feared mafia boss. Christian had four sons: Alexei, twenty-eight, Louis, twenty-seven, Luca, twenty-six, and Aiden, twenty-four. From the moment they met you, all five of them had been unexpectedly gentle with you, treating you like the little sister they had never had.

Your mother was different.

She had never wanted you, and living in the mansion hadn’t changed that. She rarely showed affection and became irritated over the smallest things.

That evening, you had been playing quietly in the enormous living room. Your little toys were scattered around the carpet while the storm outside grew louder. You had always hated storms—the thunder made your little body tense, and every sudden sound made you flinch.

When your mother walked into the room and saw the toys, her expression immediately hardened.

“You left all of this here again?”

Her voice echoed through the huge room.

You froze.

She continued shouting, her voice getting louder with every sentence. Each sharp sound made you shrink further into yourself, your small hands gripping the edge of your clothes as thunder rumbled outside.

From the hallway, footsteps suddenly stopped.

Alexei had heard her.

Then Louis appeared behind him, followed by Luca and Aiden.

None of them said anything at first.

They simply looked toward you.

You were standing completely still in the middle of the room, eyes already filling with tears as another loud crack of thunder shook the windows.

Aiden’s expression immediately softened.

Luca quietly moved closer.

Louis glanced toward the storm outside before looking back at you.

And Alexei, the eldest, stepped into the room.

Behind them, Christian appeared at the top of the staircase, his expression becoming noticeably colder as he realized what was happening