All Chapters of OWNED IN THE DARK: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

MATHEW The tension that had wrapped itself around the cabin for the last forty-eight hours didn't leave but it shifted, pulling back into the corners of the room like a strategic retreat. The access roads were still sealed, the perimeter guards were still actively hunting any ghost vehicles in the fog, and Luke’s steady breathing at St. Jude’s was a constant weight in the back of my mind but inside the kitchen, the air was suddenly quiet.I stood by the heavy oak counter, my six-foot-four frame braced against the wood as I used a fresh roll of medical tape to secure the frayed edges of the cloth wrapping my right knuckles. My left shoulder gave its usual, predictable burn with every movement, but I ignored it. I was staring down Louis.Louis, who had stood beside me through fifteen years of the Diamond syndicate’s absolute gravity. Louis, who had scrubbed concrete floors, anticipated kinetic breaches, and coordinated multi-billion-pound infrastructure mergers without a single flicke

MATHEW The smell of expensive spilled gin, industrial bleach, and raw copper was finally fading from the upper decks of Elparaiso, replaced by the clean, biting chill of the midnight air sweeping across the rooftop terrace.I stood by the reinforced glass as I stared in silence at everything happening around me, my leather jacket slung over one shoulder, leaving me in a charcoal dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the forearms. I slowly adjusted the fresh roll of medical tape wrapped tightly around my right knuckles and watched as different strangers danced to the beat of the music being played by the dj. My little sister is now my best friend's problem as he had proposed to her right before us but good luck to him..Carlista is a handful but if I could handle Ciara then he'd definitely survive handling her.The atmosphere was rather quiet. The lady assassin had been scrubbed from the floor, Luke was sitting back in a leather booth nursing a mineral water, and the high-society p

MATHEW The heavy oak door of the safehouse didn't bounce off the wall when I kicked it shut, but the violent, metallic click of the deadbolt echoed through the silent hallway like a gunshot.I threw my leather jacket onto the entryway bench, my six-foot-four frame stiff, my muscle memory still tracking the defensive perimeter we had set up around the tree line. The midnight air outside was thick with rain, the tires of my truck still slick from the muddy roads leading back from the Brooklyn borders. My left shoulder gave its predictable, burning spike of pain, and the fresh medical tape across my right knuckles felt tight as I clenched my fists, letting the residual adrenaline of the Elparaiso breach settle into a low, controlled sound. "Louis," I rumbled into my encrypted comms as I walked into the kitchen, my voice a rough, gravelly vibration. "Status on the eastern access road.""Silent, boss," Louis’s dry, absolute voice crackled back through the earpiece. "Mary’s guards are mai

MATHEWThe smell of burnt paper still lingered in the house.It clung stubbornly to the air, mixing with the scent of coffee and the faint traces of wood smoke drifting from the stove downstairs. The documents were gone. The secrets hidden inside them had turned to ash hours ago.But the damage remained.I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in our bedroom, staring out at the gray morning rolling over the hills. Thick fog hung over the estate, swallowing the trees and fences until the world beyond the glass looked distant and unreal.My shoulder ached.The stitches pulled every time I moved, sending a familiar burn through the muscles of my left arm. My right hand was wrapped in fresh white tape from yesterday's fight. The knuckles underneath were swollen and bruised.I barely noticed either injury.My attention kept drifting back to the empty side of the bed.The dark sheets were tangled where Ciara had slept.Or tried to sleep.The mattress had already gone cold.She'd be

MATHEW The air hit me the second I stepped out of the boutique's back exit.It felt heavy, sticky against my skin, carrying the smell of hot pavement and city exhaust. For a moment, I just stood there in the alley, adjusting my collar and drawing in a slow breath.The tension that had been coiled inside my chest minutes ago had settled into something colder now.New York continued around me completely unaware.Taxis blared their horns.People crowded sidewalks.Somewhere nearby, music drifted from an open restaurant door.Nobody knew that behind the polished storefronts and expensive boutiques, another war had quietly begun.I walked the two blocks back to the truck, my boots striking the pavement in a steady rhythm.When I climbed into the driver's seat, Louis didn't immediately look up from the tablet mounted to the dashboard but I noticed the slight pause in his fingers.He'd seen something."Your biometrics had a pretty dramatic spike," Louis said casually.I started the engine.