something more

the brothers shadow

The Brother’s Shadow

The storm had passed, but Florence still felt heavy, like the clouds had only pressed their weight lower onto the city. Teny stared at her reflection in the dormitory mirror, pale and restless, her hair clinging to her cheeks from the damp night before. She kept hearing it, her name, whispered in the rain.

Teny.

Had she imagined it? Maybe the storm had played tricks on her ears. Maybe the figure beyond the gates had been no more than her fears made flesh. But the sketch in her book, the eyes too sharp to be Matteo’s, told her it had been real.

When she reached the courtyard again that morning, the iron gates looked innocent, slick with dew. No ghost lingered there now. Only her, carrying secrets she wasn’t sure her heart could bear.

“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

She flinched. Matteo stood by the fountain, tie loose, jacket slung over one shoulder. The morning sun turned his eyes darker than ever.

“I-i-i” She searched for words. I saw him. Your brother. He knows me. But her tongue betrayed her. “Did you follow me?”

Matteo’s mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “You make it sound like a crime.”

She wanted to shove him away, to keep him at arm’s length, but his nearness made her dizzy. “You can’t keep appearing out of nowhere like this.”

“You’re the one sneaking into courtyards in the middle of storms,” he shot back, voice low. Then softer: “What are you hiding from me, Teny?”

Her chest ached. He was too close, his gaze stripping her bare. She opened her mouth, I saw Angelo, but the words stuck. If she said it, she would break whatever fragile thread held Matteo together.

“I’m not hiding anything,” she whispered.

His hand lifted like it might touch her face, his knuckles trembling. For a heartbeat, the world stilled. Their lips hovered closer than they ever had before....

and footsteps echoed.

“Teny?”

Luca’s voice. Sharp, accusing.

She tore back as Matteo’s hand dropped. Luca stood under the archway, watching them with eyes that burned.

“Figures,” he said bitterly. “I should’ve known you’d choose the storm over the shelter.”

Matteo stiffened, jaw tight. “This isn’t about you, Luca.”

“No,” Luca snapped. “It’s about her. And you dragging her into your family’s mess.”

The word family struck like a knife. Matteo turned away, his shadow cutting across the courtyard before he disappeared without another glance.

Teny’s throat tightened. “Luca, wait.."

But he shook his head, hurt spilling through every line of his face. “You don’t get it. You think he’s the one who’s haunted? He’s not. You are. And if you don’t stop, Teny… you’ll drown with him.”

Then he was gone too, leaving her in the courtyard, more alone than ever.

---

By evening, Giulia found her. She dragged Teny into the music room, slamming the door shut behind them.

“My family’s been whispering too,” Giulia said, pacing. Her braid had unraveled, her usually perfect poise cracking. “Letters. Rumors. Angelo isn’t just some runaway. He’s been seen with men, dangerous ones. People who deal in debts and blood.”

Teny’s blood ran cold. “So he’s… alive.”

Giulia stopped pacing. Her eyes glistened. “Alive, yes. But not safe. Not for us. And if Matteo’s tangled in this too, you” She broke off, her hands twisting together. “You have to be careful. Promise me, Teny.”

Teny nodded, but her heart whispered a truth she couldn’t admit: it was already too late for promises.

---

That night, she sat at her desk, the candlelight flickering against her sketchbook. She hadn’t opened it since the first note. Her hands trembled as she lifted the cover.

Between two pages, another slip of paper waited.

Her breath caught.

The ink was darker this time, the strokes bold, deliberate.

You saw me.

Now you understand.

Stay quiet, or he’ll pay.

The paper slipped from her fingers.

He’ll pay.

Her stomach twisted. Did they mean Matteo? Luca? Someone else caught in the De Lucas’ shadow? She didn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

The ghost wasn’t just watching anymore.

He was warning her.

And the storm had only just begun.