CHAPTER 52OwenLevi
Owen
Levi was destroyed. He hadn’t spoken in hours and hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch since the moment they walked through the door.
He sat there like a man carved from stone, eyes dull and unfocused, staring into nothing. His expression was bleak and devoid of life.
Hopeless.
Owen stood nearby, helpless and pacing with no idea what to do. He had seen Levi down before, but never like this. He made his feelings about how Levi handled the entire situation perfectly clear, but it didn’t mean he wanted to see his oldest friend in such a state.
This wasn’t the fallout from a difficult day or a rough breakup. This was a complete internal collapse. Owen was genuinely starting to wonder if Levi would ever come back from it.
Being served divorce papers right after losing the company—his life’s work? That wasn’t merely a low blow; it was a death sentence to whatever hope Levi had been desperately clinging to.
Owen’s phone buzzed, slicing through the suffocating silence. He glanced down and immediately answered the incoming call from Charles Pierce, the tension in Owen’s chest loosening a bit at the familiar name.
“Mr. Voss,” Charles greeted, his voice calm but laced with sorrow. “I apologize for the timing of this call. I saw the news…and what happened today. I’m truly sorry for the injustice you and the others are enduring.”
“Thank you, sir,” Owen said somberly, glancing again at Levi, still unmoving and unblinking. “It’s out of our hands now. One step at a time, right?”
He tried to sound hopeful but failed miserably.
Charles exhaled heavily on the other end. “I’ll be brief. First, I was hoping you might have time to come to the manor tonight. Our security team has gathered all the footage for the police, but I’d like your eyes on it before we turn it over. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I trust your instincts.”
Owen was already grabbing his keys, motioning to Isaac that he was heading out. Isaac frowned but gave a reluctant nod when Owen mimed a texting gesture.
“I’m on my way now,” Owen confirmed.
“Good.” Charles paused. His next words came quieter, more hesitant. “The only other reason I called…How’s Levi?”
Owen briefly paused in the doorway, his heart heavy as he turned back for one last look at his friend. Levi sat exactly where he had left him—lost and unreachable.
“Not good,” Owen admitted roughly, as he slid into the driver’s seat of his car. “He’s…checked out, Charles. Completely. He hasn’t moved in hours. Hasn’t spoken or acknowledged anyone. It’s like…” His throat tightened painfully. “It’s like he died inside, and his body’s now waiting to catch up.”
For a long stretch, Charles said nothing. Owen put his car in gear, the call connecting to the stereo system as he slipped his phone into his pocket and headed to the manor. Finally, the older man spoke again, his voice softer but weighted with unspoken meaning.
“It’s not my place to interfere,” Charles began carefully, “but I would encourage you, and the others, to spend time with Aurelia. Convince her to at least talk to him. I’ve advised her, as gently as I could, that no matter how this ends, some things should be said before the silence becomes permanent. ”
Another pause.
“My unofficial legal advice?” Charles continued. “Tell Levi not to sign those papers. Not yet. Hold out as long as he can. Sometimes people don’t realize what they’re truly ready for…until it’s too late. I’ll see you shortly.”
The call disconnected before Owen could respond.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter as the city lights blurred past him. All he could think about the entire drive was how dangerously close “too late” was becoming.
Owen had spent hours glued to the security footage, eyes red and gritty, his vision blurring from the relentless strain. His stomach growled, an increasingly loud reminder that he hadn’t eaten since—god, when? Owen never missed dinner.
He should have walked away, called it a night, let fresh eyes take over in the morning.
But something kept him locked in place. It was that gnawing instinct he had learned over the years never to ignore. The answer was here. Right in front of him.
Yet, he kept missing it. It was really pissing him off.
He had already found Kyle, slipping in through the back patio, dressed like a guest. That alone had him grinding his teeth, but it was the nagging certainty that a second unknown player was involved that kept him rooted to the spot.
Aurelia had mentioned in her statement that this piece of shit was on the phone with someone else when she regained consciousness.
Charles was equally frustrated, pacing behind him, relaying everything he had seen that night.
“How he got in through the back…I’m not sure,” Charles muttered, starting over again. “Selene helped Aurelia off the stage and then—”
Wait.
Owen’s eyes snapped back to the screen. His mind replayed that moment like a film suddenly running in reverse.
Selene helped Aurelia off the stage…
He scrubbed back through the footage, zeroing in on the moment Kyle entered from the gardens. The estate’s security was top-notch, so how did Kyle know exactly where to go and how to avoid them?
He was so focused on Kyle’s movements that he completely overlooked everyone else in the frame. Owen slowed the footage, homing in on Selene’s location.
She was near the bar by the double glass doors—the very doors Kyle slipped through. And when he did, she was right there , in Kyle’s direct line of sight. They made eye contact. Just for a second. But it was there.
Owen’s heart hammered as he kept watching.
Selene picked up a tall glass filled with a dark liquid, her hand brushing over the rim almost too quickly to catch. Kyle melted back into the shadows, eyes never leaving her. Then Selene crossed the room directly to Aurelia…and handed her the drink.
The rest was a memory Owen could never unsee, as Aurelia drank the entire glass, smiling politely, and getting up on stage completely unaware of what was going to happen next.
She stepped off the stage, almost tripping over her dress, and Selene had been there waiting to catch her…
before guiding her gently toward the gardens.
Owen’s fists clenched so tight his knuckles cracked. “Son of a bitch,” he growled under his breath.
“What is it?” Charles asked, voice tight with urgency.
Owen barely heard him.
“Where’s Selene?” he demanded, as his fingers flew over his phone, already calling Isaac. “Did she come in today?”
Charles’s brow furrowed before his face drained of color. “No—she wasn’t here. I heard someone mention in passing she didn’t show up, but I didn’t think anything of it.”
Owen was already moving, shoving his chair back, and sprinting for the door. Charles launched into motion, pulling out his phone to alert the police.
But Owen wasn’t listening.
He was already outside and running to his car, barking into the phone as Isaac answered.
“Get to Aurelia’s house. Now. I’m on my way.”
There was no time to explain. They had to get there.
Before Selene did.
Levi
Levi felt like he was drowning, and mentally, he welcomed it.
He had begged for the darkness to pull him under, to keep him there. Because resurfacing meant facing a world without her…a reality he didn’t know how to survive.
Barely breaking the surface, his friends’ voices crashed into him all at once, cutting through the fog.
They were saying her name. Over and over again. Aurelia.
Hearing it made his chest seize. For a brief, fragile moment, he stayed still, listening. The moment he let the world back in, the raw emotions he buried came roaring to life, unstoppable.
His mind went utterly blank again when he heard Isaac curse and disconnect a call, his movements frantic as he searched for his keys.
“That was Owen,” Isaac said, his voice sharp with panic. “Selene is the one who drugged her, and she didn’t show up to work today. He thinks she’s in danger!”
Grace and Ivy exchanged wide-eyed, terrified looks.
“Owen’s already on the way to Aurelia’s house,” Isaac added quickly. “And Charles…he’s got the police involved.”
The room tilted under Levi’s feet. Before anyone could say another word, he shot up from the couch.
“I’m coming with you,” he snapped, already moving toward the door.
Isaac didn’t argue. He didn’t have time to; he was too busy charging ahead, the front door slamming open as they bolted to the car. The second they hit the road, Isaac filled him in on the rest—what Owen had found in the security footage, the truth they’d missed staring them in the face all along.
Selene…Auri’s best friend. The woman who had stood by her side since childhood. How could she do something so vile?
Levi’s stomach twisted violently. Owen had known and felt that night that something wasn’t right, but they’d dismissed it because she was her friend. Now, all Levi could think about was getting to Aurelia before something irreversible happened.
The full weight of his failures barreled into him, threatening to pull him under again. He forced himself to be calm and rational this time because if anything happened to her…he would never forgive himself.
This time, there wouldn’t be a second chance.