CHAPTER 256: ANYA IS DEAD

Levi Van Doren didn’t look up from his laptop when the door slammed open. His pen scratched across a contract draft, the ink flowing steady despite the sudden interruption.

"Have you seen the news?" Chris’s voice was ragged, breathless.

Levi didn’t glance up. "I’m in the middle of work, Chris. I have a company to run, not a tabloid to gawk at."

"You’ll want to see this."

"I doubt it."

Chris didn’t wait for further permission. He strode to the sleek black remote on the credenza, snatched it, and turned on the massive flat-screen mounted on the far wall. The sharp jingle of the channel’s breaking news intro sliced through the room, demanding attention.

Levi’s sigh was sharp with annoyance. "Chris, I swear—"

His words died.

The moment his eyes met the screen, the blood drained from his face.

"Police are investigating the discovery of a dismembered female body found early this morning in a downtown alley behind the old Saville Theater. The victim has now been identified as 26-year-old Anya Darrow, a well-known supermodel and socialite. Due to the violent nature of the crime, authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward"

Levi stood, slowly. The chair scraped back, forgotten. His heart beat so loudly in his ears, he couldn’t hear the rest of the news anchor’s words.

His mouth opened once, closed again. He stared at the screen as though trying to make it change. "Anya is dead..." he whispered.

Chris swallowed. "It’s... it’s real."

Levi turned away, pressing his hand to his mouth. His brain reeled. Just days ago, he had seen her alive—smirking, manipulative, cornering him in a hotel suite with threats and drugs. She had been very much alive then.

And now

"You think this was random?" he asked, voice hoarse.

Chris blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

Levi looked back at the screen, jaw tight. "This wasn’t random. This wasn’t a mugging or a mistake."

"You think someone targeted her?"

"I know someone did." He moved around his desk, his steps restless. "And I think I know exactly who it was."

Chris’s eyes widened. "Levi, don’t."

"Brandon."

"Levi..." Chris echoed in a warning tone.

"No. Listen to me." Levi’s voice rose, steady and sharp. "You were there that night, Chris. He brought Anya into this. She was working with him... trying to ruin me, remember?"

Chris nodded slowly.

"And then she turns up dead? Murdered? Dismembered? That is not a coincidence."

Chris ran a hand down his face. "That’s a hell of an accusation."

Levi’s hands curled into fists. "I know it is him, he is a sly fox stirring up things so that he can have his way and get full access to Lyse."

Chris frowned. "You don’t know that."

"But i do know," Levi snapped. "You think I wouldn’t notice? I always notice things about him. He looked rattled. Defensive. He is hiding something."

"Levi, There’s no confirmation, you can’t just accuse someone of murder..."

"I don’t need a damn autopsy report to know that bastard’s involved." Levi slammed his palm down on the desk. "He used her. And when she became a liability, he silenced her because he knew i would be searching for her and she would tell me that he was involved when i caught her. She was a weak link that could lead back to him."

Chris looked pale. "You really think he killed her himself?"

Levi’s eyes were dark, intense. "Who else would’ve gotten that close to her? She was savvy, Chris. She wouldn’t have let just anyone near. But Brandon? She would trust him. She probably thought he would keep her away from me."

Chris looked down, visibly shaken. "Jesus..."

"Look, I’m not saying we storm his house with torches," Levi said, pacing now. "But we can’t just sit on this. He is dangerous, Chris. More dangerous than I realized."

Chris’s gaze flicked to the screen, now looping surveillance footage of the alley, blurry shapes, shadows, flashing lights.

"I don’t think this was about Anya anymore," Levi said quietly. "I think this was about me."

Chris’s head snapped up. "What are you saying?"

"I’m saying this is a message," Levi said. "He tried to trap me with her. Failed. Now he’s tying off loose ends. Cleaning house. And the next target might not be someone like Anya."

He didn’t say her name. He didn’t need to.

Chris looked grim. "Lyse."

Levi nodded once.

A long silence passed between them.

Chris finally said, "You should go to the police."

Levi scoffed. "And tell them what? That my ex-wife’s new boyfriend might have killed a woman because he looks suspicious?"

"You’re not wrong to be suspicious," Chris said cautiously. "But you need proof."

"I’ll get it," Levi muttered. "One way or another."

Chris eyed him warily. "Levi, don’t do anything reckless."

Levi looked at him with a haunted, furious intensity. "Reckless is letting Brandon keep playing god while people die."

Chris opened his mouth, but Levi cut him off.

"Anya was not a good person," Levi said. "She made her choices. But she didn’t deserve that."

Chris nodded silently.

"And if Brandon is capable of doing that to her, then no one is safe. Not me. definately not Lyse."

"Do you think Lyse’s in danger right now?"

Levi’s eyes flashed. "She doesn’t even know what Brandon is capable of. He’s playing the victim, the shoulder to cry on. Feeding her lies, sabotaging me behind the scenes. Now Anya’s out of the picture. Who knows what he will do next.."

Chris crossed his arms, jaw tight. "Then we need to move carefully. No more hunches. We get something concrete, emails, calls, security footage. Something the cops can’t ignore."

Levi nodded. "Agreed."

"But promise me one thing," Chris added. "Don’t confront him alone. Don’t corner him. If he really did this, he’s not thinking like a normal person anymore."

Levi stared at the television, at the yellow tape and blood-streaked pavement.

He swallowed. "You think I don’t know that?"

A beat of silence.

Chris sighed and picked up his phone. "I’ll call my cousin in the precinct. Quietly. Maybe he can pull the case file. At least get us the timeline of death. We need to know when it happened."

Levi nodded distantly, but his mind was already racing ahead.

Brandon.

It had always been Brandon.

From the moment he slithered his way into Lyse’s life again, something had felt wrong. And now, the mask had cracked.

He wouldn’t let Lyse fall into the same trap.

Not ever.

And if Brandon was behind Anya’s murder?

Then Levi would make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else.

It did not matter what he had to do.