Silas Thorne is the University’s golden boy—cold, brilliant, and untouchable. To the world, he’s the perfect son. To me, he’s the step-brother who hasn't looked at me in three years.Until my grades slipped and the threats started.Now, I’m trapped in his off-campus house, forced into a tutor mandate I never asked for. At school, Silas treats me like a ghost. At home, he’s a shadow I can’t escape. He’s in my space, in my head, and tracking every breath I take across the dining table.He thinks he’s fixing a problem child, He doesn't realize he’s obsessed with a killer. And the closer he gets to the truth, the more I realize that his protection is just another word for possession.

Seven years ago, Killian was the only person who made me feel safe in a house full of monsters. He was my stepbrother, the boy who used to sneak into my room just to watch me breathe. Then, without a single word, he was gone. No goodbye. Just an empty bed and a silence that nearly choked me.Now, on my nineteenth birthday, He is back.But the boy I loved is dead. In his place is a man I don't recognize—six-foot-four of scarred muscle, ink crawling up his throat, and a silver ring in his lip that glints like a warning. Killian isn’t home for a hug or a "happy birthday." He’s home to take the throne and he looks at me like I’m the one who sent him to hell.Our grandparents’ will is a sick joke: live together in this mansion for six months or lose the multi-billion dollar Bratva inheritance to our psychopathic elder brother, Aleksei.Killian hates me. He hates the "perfect" life I lived while he was bleeding in the dark, and he’s turned this house into a cage. He corners me in the hallways we used to play in, his rough, tatted hands pinning me against the marble until I can’t remember my own name.The air between us is thick with a hunger that’s been rotting for seven years. He says he wants the money, but the way he looks at my mouth tells a different story. He’s obsessed, he’s unhinged, and he’s done just watching me sleep.I thought the "Silent Sin" that drove him away seven years ago was the worst thing that could happen to us.I was wrong.Because now that he’s back, he isn’t just looking to protect me anymore.He’s ready to ruin me.

One man bought me to break me. The other was hired to bleed for me. I was married to a King who treated me like a ghost, and guarded by a Soldier who looked at me like I was his only god. The problem with having two protectors? Eventually, they’ll tear you apart trying to decide who gets to keep the pieces.