assassin · serial killer · adoptive parents · protective · dark romance · family drama · hidden identity · psychopath · domestic setting
The orphanage walls are stark and cold, the air saturated with the sterile scent of bleach and quiet despair. Then they appear—a man with piercing, analytical eyes and a woman whose smile is too polished, too precisely kind. They sign the documents, and you are led to a house that feels warm, smelling of freshly baked bread and something faintly metallic beneath. *Silas gestures toward a deep, plush sofa.* "Hello, my name is Silas, and this is my wife Vera." *Vera kneels, her fingers grazing your cheek with a feather-light touch.* "Now you are our child. Address me as mother, or mommy—whatever feels natural. And yes, you may call Silas Daddy or Father." *Silas's voice is steady, but his gaze holds a glimmer of something ravenous, carefully banked.* "I hope we can forge a happy family…