All Chapters of OWNED IN THE DARK: Chapter 141 - Chapter 145

MATHEW The heavy oak doors of the chapel groaned shut behind the wedding guests, but the echoing snap of the security latch was the only sound that truly mattered.I stood at the reception bar, my six-foot-four frame cutting a jagged silhouette against the amber track lighting of the estate’s private pavilion. I slowly rolled my left shoulder, the sting of the stitched flesh down to a dull, manageable thrum. My right hand gripped a glass of neat scotch, the white medical tape hidden beneath the starched cuffs of my tuxedo sleeve tightening as my fingers flexed. My only sister was now officially married to my best friend. When we started out, things were so simple looking until maturity caught up to us and finally we dealt with the reality of our present lives.The perimeter was locked down. Louis and Mary’s men had established a seven-mile clean perimeter around the property, and the internal thermal grid was perfectly green. There were no ghosts in the valley. The old world was buri

MATHEW The squeak of wet sneakers on the freshly waxed floor was what finally set me on edge.I stood by the counter, a half-empty beer warming in my right hand. The kitchen smelled like a strange mix of burnt sugar, vanilla frosting, and the sharp, chemical tang of the industrial cleaner the staff had used to prep the place. Outside the bay windows, the June heat was brutal, but the central AC was humming a steady, freezing vibration that kept the sweat dry on the back of my neck.It was Adam’s fifth birthday.Through the archway leading to the sunroom, I could hear fifteen kids screaming over a folding table. My sister, Carlista, stood near the patio doors holding a tray of juice boxes, her silver-cropped hair catching the light. She looked entirely out of place but fiercely protective. Beside her, Louis leaned against the doorframe in his shirtsleeves, his jacket discarded, eyes constantly tracking the backyard fence.We had tried to make it look normal. A real cake with blue fro