My Three Stepbrothers' Dirty Games

6. Curiosity’s Price

Mia’s POV

The grip on my arm was pure iron.

Sebastian’s fingers bit through the fabric of my tank top, anchoring me against the cold stone archway. His dark eyes burned into mine with a lethal, suffocating intensity, his heavy chest rising and falling in sharp, jagged breaths.

“Let go of me, Sebastian,” I forced out, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to sound composed.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t throw you out on the street right now,” Sebastian growled, his face dropping lower until his jaw was practically touching my cheek. The heat radiating from him was blistering, laced with the sharp, dark scent of cedarwood and cold leather. “I warned you. I gave you one rule.”

“I was looking for water,” I lied, my heart thumping violently against my ribs like a trapped bird.

“In the basement?” A smooth, ice-cold voice cut through the air.

Micah stepped up, his polished leather shoes making no sound against the stone floor. He stood just behind Sebastian’s shoulder, tall, immaculate, and utterly unbothered by the chaos unfolding in front of him. His grey eyes swept over me with dark, analytical precision.

Beside him, Lucas leaned against the stone wall, his arms crossed over his chest. The playful smirk that usually lived on his face was completely gone, replaced by a cold, calculating stare that made him look every bit as dangerous as his older brothers.

“She’s lying, Micah,” Lucas said quietly, his voice dropping an octave. “She didn’t take the stairs by accident. The service door was unlatched, and she followed the corridor straight to the central council chamber.”

Micah didn’t answer immediately. He reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a silver cigarette case, and snapped it open with a light clink. He placed a thin black clove cigarette between his lips, flicked open a polished lighter, and took a slow, deliberate drag.

The fragrant, dark smoke curled into the cold air of the vault.

“Release her, Sebastian,” Micah commanded softly.

Sebastian didn’t move. His thumb stroked the inside of my elbow—a quick, possessive movement that sent a bizarre, terrifying spark through my veins—before he slowly uncurled his fingers. He took half a step back, but he didn’t retreat. He hovered like a dark cloud, blocking the stairwell exit with his massive frame.

I rubbed my wrist, the skin red where his grip had been, and squared my shoulders. “My father left for New York,” I said, holding Micah’s icy gaze. “He trusted you to look after this house.”

“And I am,” Micah replied, blowing a thin stream of smoke toward the vaulted ceiling. “I am protecting everything that belongs to this family. The question, Mia, is what you think you were doing down here.”

“I heard voices last night,” I said, deciding that playing completely dumb would only make them treat me like a fool. “I heard you talking about my father. About his company.”

A heavy, dangerous silence fell over the corridor.

Lucas let out a low, humorless chuckle. “She was listening at the library door.”

“I know what you’re doing,” I pushed on, my pulse racing as I looked between the three of them. “You’re using him. You’re setting his startup up to take the fall for whatever illegal syndicate business you’re running down here.”

Micah took another drag of his cigarette, his grey eyes narrowing slightly. He didn’t look surprised. He didn’t look panicked. He looked like an grandmaster who had just watched a pawn make a predictably foolish move.

“You have a vivid imagination, little step-sister,” Micah murmured, stepping closer. He reached out, the cool tips of his fingers catching my chin, tilting my face up so I had no choice but to look straight into his eyes. His touch was feather-light, yet it carried the weight of an absolute anchor. “And a remarkably loud mouth.”

“If anything happens to him—”

“If anything happens to him, it will be because you forced my hand,” Micah interrupted, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper.

His fingers tightened on my chin, not enough to bruise, but enough to hold me completely captive.

“Do you know what this place is, Mia?” Micah asked softly, gesturing with his free hand toward the sprawling stone complex, the glass vaults, and the carved crown emblem above the archway. “This isn’t a game. This isn’t a high school secret club. This is The Kings of Chaos Brotherhood. We own the city. We own the courts, the banks, the harbor, and the men who sign your father’s paychecks.”

“You’re criminals,” I spat out.

“We are a private organization,” Micah corrected coldly. “Your father came to us on his knees, begging for a bailout because his brilliant startup was forty-eight hours away from bankruptcy. Eleanor gave him a lifeline. But in our world, lifelines come with a leash.”

He released my chin, taking a step back and resting one hand inside his suit pocket.

“Your father signed a contract, Mia. A contract that binds his company, his assets, and his liability to the Brotherhood,” Micah continued, his expression completely impassive. “If I press one button on my desk upstairs, a paper trail activates that points three federal agencies directly to Arthur Calloway’s private accounts. He will spend the rest of his natural life in a maximum-security prison.”

Cold realization washed over me, thick and suffocating. My knees felt weak. “He doesn’t know.”

“Of course he doesn’t know,” Lucas chimed in, stepping up beside me. He leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear as his voice dropped into a wicked whisper. “He’s too busy enjoying the Bel-Air sunshine and playing big-shot CEO. He has no idea his sweet little daughter is down here trying to play hero.”

I looked at Lucas, then at Sebastian, and finally back at Micah. They had me. They had my father, my future, and my freedom trapped in an iron grip before I had even unpacked my bags.

“What do you want?” I whispered, my voice cracking slightly despite my determination to stay strong.

Micah tilted his head, watching me like a scientist observing a specimen. “What do I want?” he repeated smoothly. “I want order. I want absolute discretion. And most importantly…I want compliance.”

He dropped his cigarette onto the stone floor, extinguishing it beneath the heel of his leather shoe with a sharp, definitive twist.

“You know our secret now, Mia,” Micah said, stepping into my space once more. His presence was overwhelming, swallowing the light, drawing all the air out of the corridor. “Which means you no longer have the luxury of being an innocent bystander. You’re bound to this house. You’re bound to us.”

“I am not one of your pledges,” I snapped, trying to pull away, but Sebastian moved instantly, dropping a heavy hand onto my shoulder, locking me in place.

“You’re right,” Sebastian growled near my ear, his thumb digging softly into the muscle of my collarbone. “Pledges get to leave when their time is up. You don’t.”

“Here are the new rules, step-sister,” Lucas said, his lazy smirk returning, though his eyes remained dark and possessive. “You don’t leave the estate grounds without one of us. You don’t make private phone calls. And whenever we call for you…you answer.”

I looked up at Micah, my jaw clenching as anger flared through the terror in my veins. “And if I refuse? If I go to the police right now?”

Micah smiled. It was a cold, terrifying sight that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

“Then your father takes the fall on Friday,” Micah said flatly. “And you get to watch his life disintegrate from the front row.”

The silence in the subterranean vault was absolute. The cold stone walls seemed to lean in, pressing against me from all sides. They had calculated every angle. Every escape route was blocked, every lever in their hands.

“You’re monsters,” I whispered.

“We are Montgomerys,” Micah corrected, his voice devoid of any warmth. “And in this house, we keep what’s ours.”

He turned on his heel, walking slowly toward the sleek steel elevator at the end of the hall. “Sebastian, take her back to her room. Lock the floor down.”

“With pleasure,” Sebastian muttered, his grip on my shoulder shifting as he pulled me backward, turning me toward the spiral staircase.

Lucas offered me a mock salute as he followed Micah toward the lift. “Welcome to the family, Mia. The real game starts now.”

As Sebastian guided me up the dark iron stairs, his hand firm and burning against my skin, I looked back one last time at the vault, at the silver crown emblem glowing in the amber light.

I had come down here looking for leverage to save my father. Instead, I had walked straight into their web.

I was no longer just a guest in their Bel-Air mansion. I was their captive. And as the heavy door at the top of the stairs slammed shut behind us, locking with a sharp, mechanical click, I knew my life would never be the same again.