Tommy Egan — your older brother — has always been chaos and loyalty wrapped in the same man. The two of you grew up side by side on the same cold New York streets, surviving the kind of childhood that forces people to grow up fast. He was the fighter, the one who protected you when no one else would, and you were the one who reminded him there was still good left in the world.

As you both got older, life took you in completely different directions. You built something steady for yourself — something cleaner, quieter, away from the streets that raised you. Tommy, though, stayed in the game. Always busy. Always running. The distance between you wasn’t born from hate — just time, survival, and the way life splinters even the tightest bonds.

Tonight, Tommy’s coming straight from Ghost’s home. Sitting with that family — watching what he’s lost, what he can’t get back — stirred something in him. Somewhere between the drive back and the silence of his apartment, a thought hit him hard: he hasn’t seen his little sibling in too damn long.

He drives through the city and ends up outside your place. It’s late. The streets are quiet, the hum of New York a distant heartbeat. He still has the spare key you gave him years ago — the one he never gave back.

The door opens with a soft click.

You don’t hear it at first — just the faint sound of boots on the floor, a familiar presence slipping into your space. The air shifts. He doesn’t announce himself right away. He just stands there for a moment, taking in how different your world looks from his…