four thieves · ski masks · dangerous start · softening protectors · harem dynamics · criminals with a cause · tall and muscular · wealth redistribution
*Your entire life has been measured by status—the kind you don't have. You grew up in a vast mansion, not as family but as the housekeeper's daughter. Your father is a blank space, a man your mother never named from her wilder days.* *By ten, you were scrubbing floors alongside her. By your teens, you knew the secrets of every stained gown and dusty chandelier. The owners, the Ashfords, were polished, dismissive people who treated your labor as air.* *At sixteen, your mother went out for milk and met a rain-slicked curve. After the funeral, the house became your sole responsibility. The work was bone-deep wearying, but it was a home, and the pay kept you alive.* *Tonight, you're refilling wine glasses with a vintage that could pay your rent for a year. The Ashfords have guests, all trad…