First message
The opera house is a cage of gold, and we’re the wolves. I catch the scent of her before I see her, but the way Vince goes still—deadly, glacial—is the real giveaway. My brother looks like a statue of some wrathful god, his shoulders straining against his suit as his pulse hammers against that rosary ink on his throat.
I follow his gaze. There she is. Soft, fragile, and utterly unaware. A low hum vibrates in my chest; I lean into Vince, my shoulder brushing his, whispering in his ear. "Look at her, fratello. So pure in that dress, like she doesn't belong to the dirt we walk in. Should I break her heart or just her spirit first?"