All Chapters of Two Worlds, Two Lives : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
53 chapters
CHAPTER 41
POV: Logan The prison gate didn’t creak. It hummed. Low. Mechanical. Indifferent. Steel sliding over steel. The sound of something opening that had never cared whether it held monsters or men. The guards walked him out without speaking. He didn’t rush. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t look back. Handcuffs locked around his wrists. Cold metal against inked skin. The tattoos at his neck had faded slightly over the years, but they were still there — sharp lines disappearing beneath the collar of prison-issued gray. His shoulders were broader than when he went in. Prison had aged him, yes — carved deeper lines into his face — but it hadn’t weakened him. If anything, it had sharpened him. They led him into the white processing room. Too bright. Too sterile. Too artificial. He sat when told. Across the metal table, a senior officer adjusted his collar, trying not to stare. “Name.” The officer’s voice was steady. Barely. “Logan Walterson.” Not loud. Not aggressive. Just deliberate
CHAPTER 42
Pov: Jones They charged me on a Tuesday. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just a quiet announcement from a man who didn’t look at my face when he read the papers. “Formal charge: second-degree murder pending trial.” The words didn’t echo. They settled. Like dust. I didn’t react. I didn’t give them that. My lawyer — the one Max managed to secure — leaned toward me and whispered, “We expected this. It’s procedural.” Procedural. Like Barry was a checklist. Like my life was a file being organized. I nodded once. But something felt wrong. Not the charge. The rhythm. Everything was moving too smoothly. Evidence updated overnight. Reports revised. New statements added. Every time we poked at one hole, another document appeared “clarifying” the previous one. It was like chasing something that kept rewriting itself. By afternoon, my face was everywhere. “Construction Site Killing — Insider Conflict?” “Financial Motive?” “Jealousy Angle Emerg
CHAPTER 43
POV: LOGAN The prison cell doors were closed behind him. But in his mind, Logan was already on the other side, waiting. He'd been through enough systems to know how everything worked — or at least, how to break it. His arrival in the holding area had gone as smoothly as expected, but now that he was free, the true game began. He sat in the back of the sleek black SUV, the sound of the engine humming a steady rhythm. Lucien sat across from him, calm and calculated, his eyes focused ahead as the city lights blurred by. Johnny was beside him, too quiet as usual. He wasn’t looking for a fight, not yet. But that didn’t mean his presence didn’t send an undercurrent of unease through the air. They weren’t just taking Logan out of the system. He was still tied to the consequences of his past. A legacy, a bloodline that had earned enemies for generations. “We’ll get him, you know.” Lucien’s voice was low, but Logan felt every word as though they were etched in stone. His father's plans we
CHAPTER 44
POV: Kai Kai had always believed the truth behaved like light. If you looked long enough, eventually it slipped through somewhere. But tonight the truth felt buried under too many shadows. His apartment was quiet except for the faint hum of the laptop in front of him. The desk lamp cast a yellow circle of light over scattered papers, coffee cups, and a half-empty notebook filled with his handwriting. Names. Timelines. Question marks. In the center of the page was one name written darker than the rest. Jones. Kai leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He had spent the entire evening replaying the footage of his exhibition. Going through past and recent artworks of Jones. His phone vibrated beside the keyboard. A message. The reply he had been waiting for. He opened it. The private investigator he had contacted earlier that afternoon had finally responded. Kai hesitated before reading it. Hiring a private investigator wasn’t something he usua
CHAPTER 45
POV: JohnnyJohnny didn’t go home immediately after leaving the Walterson mansion. He drove. No destination at first. Just the road stretching ahead of him while the city thinned into quieter streets. The night air was cold when he finally pulled over near a late-night diner. The place was almost empty — a truck parked outside, neon light buzzing softly above the door. He stepped inside. A waitress glanced up from behind the counter. “Coffee?” Johnny nodded. He took the booth near the window, the one where he could see the parking lot and the road beyond it. Old habit. He never liked sitting where his back faced the door. The coffee came quickly. He wrapped his hands around the mug but didn’t drink. His mind was still inside the mansion. Logan’s return had shifted something. Old Walterson had been calm — too calm. Lucien had been watching everything, saying very little, but Johnny knew that look. Lucien only got that quiet when he was already five steps ahead of everyon
CHAPTER 46
Kai didn’t realize how far he had driven. The road stretched ahead in long, empty lines, headlights cutting through the night. His thoughts were louder than the engine — looping, circling, refusing to settle. Jones. The footage. Lewis. Something wasn’t right. Something— A figure stepped into the road. Kai slammed the brakes. The tires screeched sharply, the car jerking to a halt just inches away. For a second, everything went silent. Then his heartbeat rushed back in. “Shit—” He was already out of the car. The old woman had collapsed to the ground, her frail body trembling slightly. Kai rushed toward her, dropping to his knees. “Are you okay?” he asked quickly. Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then slowly clearing. He leaned closer. “Ma’am… can you hear me? Are you okay?”She stared at him, and for a moment, something like confusion passed through her face — then suddenly— “Ahh…” she groaned, exaggerating the sound. Kai paused. The sharp smell of stale
CHAPTER 47
Johnny didn’t waste time. By morning, he was already standing inside the Walter mansion. The air in the room felt heavier than usual. Not tense—just… settled. Like everyone already knew whatever he was about to say wouldn’t be good. Logan stood near the window, hands in his pockets, gaze distant but alert. Lucien leaned against the table, arms folded, watching Johnny closely. Old Walterson sat quietly, his presence alone commanding the room. Johnny stepped forward. “The technician is dead.”Silence followed. Not shock. Not surprise. Just confirmation. “They ruled it an accident,” Johnny continued. “But before he died, he realized something. His report never made it into the case log.” Lucien’s expression hardened slightly. “So it was pulled,” he said. Johnny nodded. “Before it even got there.” Logan’s jaw tightened. That meant only one thing. Someone wasn’t just reacting to the situation—they were controlling it. “External pressure,” Lucien muttered. “They’re cleaning
CHAPTER 48
Her heels echoed sharply against the polished floor as she stepped out of the elevator into the quiet reception area. The building was almost empty at this hour — too late for anything normal. Her phone buzzed inside her bag. Melissa pulled it out, already irritated. Allen: Meet me at the spa. An address followed. Melissa stared at the screen for a second before typing back: Be there soon. She slipped the phone away with a quiet sigh. Who goes for a spa session this late? The answer came just as quickly. Her mother. Of course. Melissa stepped out into the night, her jaw tightening as an old memory clawed its way back — one she never truly buried. Her father, sick. Weak. And Allen… laughing. Not alone. With Mario. In the same bedroom. That night never left her. It lived somewhere deep in her chest — a wound that refused to close. Every time it surfaced, it brought the same thing with it. Pain. And something darker. Hatred. Since her father’s death, Allen had neve
CHAPTER 49
Too much baggage. Too much weight for one soul to carry for long. Sometimes I wonder… what would happen if I let go? If I finally free myself… release this imprisoned soul. Would I become the traitor? The bad egg? The one who tears the family apart?Maybe there’s no freedom for me. Maybe this is the punishment. For Martin. For Susan. The past clings like a shadow I can’t outrun. No matter how fast I move, it follows—whispering, reminding, suffocating. I exhale sharply in the backseat of the car, my fingers tightening against my thigh. The city lights blur past the window, but my mind is far from here… trapped somewhere I wish I could forget. I asked Mario to meet. A simple meeting. Neutral ground—at a restaurant. But no—he insisted. Dinner. His house. Of course. A faint, bitter smile tugs at my lips. Control. It has always been his game. The car slows to a stop. “We’ve arrived, sir,” the chauffeur says. I don’t respond immediately. Just one more breath… before stepping
CHAPTER 50
Too many paintings. Too many explanations. Too many smiles I didn’t feel. My hands still ache from holding brushes all morning, my voice dry from talking buyers through every piece like I wasn’t exhausted. I sink into the couch in my uncle’s office, my back pressing into it as I tilt my head back and close my eyes. Silence. Finally. It’s been almost an hour. He said he had “something important” to take care of and left me here waiting. I let out a slow breath, my fingers resting loosely on my lap. Then— ding. My phone lights up beside me. I reach for it lazily, already expecting nothing. But it’s him. A message. Sorry, I won’t be coming back to the office. Head home. We’ll talk tomorrow. I stare at it for a second. Then— “Huh…” The sound leaves me weak, frustrated. I drop my hand, phone still in it, and exhale heavily. Of course. My eyes sting. I blink once… twice— Too late. Tears spill, sliding down my already warm cheeks. I press my lips together, trying to