L E V I ' S  P O V

The mere sight of this place disgusted me and brought back overwhelming feelings at the same time.

This was the place where Ophelia was treated like garbage, the place where people took advantage of her kindness and the place where she worked hours to save enough money to survive.

Despite all of these cons, it was also the place where I met her, the place where I had to be forever grateful to for allowing me to find such an angel like Ophelia.

I wasn't sure how to feel as I walked through the doors, and I certainly wasn't sure how to feel as I came in and saw the disturbance and complete chaos inside the restaurant.

Yells were heard as I entered the glass doors. Numerous people stood in front of the cashier, asking for a refund, while the ones that were sitting down complained that their food was taking too long.

Suddenly a door slammed open and an angry woman walked out with Rachel, the manager, following behind her.

"You can't leave!" Rachel shouted angrily as she marched after the girl.

"Yes, I can and I will. This diner is completely finished. It's hit rock bottom. You want to fix it? Stop cutting back on Ophelia's days because of some fucking agenda you have against her." The lady stopped as she turned around to spit these words in Rachel's face.

Rachel's face turned a deep red colour as she fumed angrily, hands fisted tightly. Without another word, the girl walked right past me and made her way through the door after slamming her apron on the counter.

I watched the scene unfold in front of my eyes with my hands stuffed in my pocket.

"Seems like you have a bit of a problem here," I spoke.

Rachel's eyes snapped to mine as she ran a tired hand through her dark red hair. If it wasn't for her disgusting attitude, I would have considered her to be a beautiful young lady— that, and the fact that it was hard to appreciate anyone's beauty except for Ophelia's.

"Uh— Mr. Morterez. It's been a tough week," She swallowed uncomfortably. "What brings you here, sir?" She asked but then flinched afterward when she heard a dish break in the kitchen.

"It's about Ophelia—" I started but she cut me off.

"Oh, that's no problem, sir. She—" I stopped her with a raise of my hand.

"Please— Just please don't ever interrupt me again," I said lowly. Anyone who've ever known me knew that I absolutely hate being cut off when I'm speaking. It had nothing to do with me thinking that I'm superior, it was just one of my greatest pet peeves.

"Y-Yes, sir, sorry, sir." She mumbled and her cheeks blaze in embarrassment.

I gritted my jaw as I made a hand movement, urging her to continue what made her think that she had the audacity to interrupt me.

"What I was saying was— that no need to worry, I'll be increasing Ophelia's days as of tomorrow. In fact, she'll be able to work every day since I've been feeling generous and care about her so much," She finished in a rush with a smile on her face.

My lips tugged up slightly at the corner, "That's very nice of you," I acknowledged. "However, that wasn't my reason for stopping by. I'll be happy to tell you that Ophelia won't be working here anymore. In fact, she'll be going to college and getting her degree in medicine. I thought I'd tell you since I'm feeling so generous." I smiled.

The smile on her face instantly dropped, her face contouring into a look of disbelief. "College?" She squeaked.

I refrained from the urge to roll my eyes, that'd be rude of me. I checked the watch on my wrist, seeing that it was getting later.

"I should be going, good luck with whatever this is," I gestured my hands all around the chaotic room. Disgusting.

Without another glance at her, I exited the restaurant and got into my limousine.

"Did everything go alright, sir?" Gerald's voice rang through my ears as I made myself comfortable.

"Perfect," I said strongly. "Next stop, Finley's Orphanage for Girls," I pulled out my phone from my pocket.

"Of course, sir." He replied as he tipped his hat respectfully and faced the road once again, starting the car.

Time to deal with your fucking ass now, Finley.

----------------

"Is he there?" I asked Kace once I exited the car.

He opened the document in his hands, nodding his head. "Age 54, married for 21 years and has two daughters. Disgusting prick," Kace mumbled beneath his breath.

I licked my bottom lip swiftly, "You've never met him?" I asked lowly.

He quickly shook his head, "Never even seen him, my parents didn't like me going to the orphanage to see Ophelia so we always met up." He explained.

I hummed while looking at the building in front of me. This place looked like a crack house. It really showed how low the government's standards were and how much they care for them to allow dozens of girls to live in a shitty place like this.

Although a relatively tall building with three flat stories, the house wasn't very large in diameter, surrounded by a brown, broken down picket fence that all I had to do was step over, making the gate useless.

I wished I could at least say that the painting was horrible peeling off of it, but there wasn't even a coat of paint to begin with. It was all just worn our wood that was getting softer and softer each time the rain crashed against the material.

Small specks of light shined through the creases in the wood although not a sound was heard inside.

"Okay, Levi. Just let me do all the talking, okay? Just take a deep breath and r—" Kace started as he hovered his palms in front of me.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do," I glared at him with my jaw clenched.

Kace took an intimidated step backward. Although he was badass enough to jab me in the jaw, his ass knew not to fucking anger me right now, especially since I ignored him hitting me because he was genuinely worried about Ophelia.

He decided to not say anything after that and motioned for us to walk up to the door.

With three firm knocks, I stood behind Kace as he waited for the door to open up.

The door swung open seconds later, and a man with a beer stomach and a balding head stood before us. He was wearing suspenders that lied flat against the blubber of his stomach, and I watched as his beady eyes light up upon seeing us. He truly looked like a fucking Finley. Disgusting and a big, shitty glob.

"This is an absolute delight!" He gushed. "—to have both you here in our little establishment." I looked him up and down, trying to conceal the look of disgust on my face as I stared at him.

With as much rudeness and no matter how I disregarded Kace, I wasn't stupid enough to open my mouth to speak, knowing that if I did— it wouldn't end well for any of us, and I'd ended up saying something that I surely wouldn't regret now, but later.

"Good Evening, Mr. Falcon," Kace smiled charmingly as he put his hands out for the man to take.

Finley Fucking Falcon. Even his parents knew to make his name as fucked up as the human being that he would become.

The man beamed as he shook Kace's hand. I didn't miss how Kace wiped off his hand in his slacks subtlety.

"Mr. Morterez!" He shouted as if we're old buddies from college. He outstretched his hand and I looked at it unimpressed. Yeah, not gonna happen.

"He's having a bad day today, deal gone wrong," Kace lied.

"Ah— of course, well, come in, come in!" He gushed like a little bitch as he motioned for us to take a step inside.

Cleaning products.

All I smelled were cleaning products. It smelt as if he cleaned down the entire house just for today.

"I'd never imagined that Mr. Morterez would even think about donating to us!" He continued to let shit flow out of his mouth.

I walked further into the house and looked around. The house was quiet— too quiet for a place full of adolescent girls.

"Where are the children?" I kept my voice low.

He adjusted his suspenders, "In their room, of course. We wouldn't want them to bother you." He explained. "Come, come. Let's have a look around," He motioned for us to follow him.

Kace gave me a knowing look and nudged his head in the direction to follow the man.

I passed by room after room, looking at all my surroundings and all of the paintings on the walls that look ages old, "As you can see— we can really use the money. We want the girls to live very comfortable lives while here." He stated.

All of the doors were shut and an eerie silence existed that left me extremely uncomfortable.

One door, however, was slightly creaked open and somehow, my feet brought me to a halt. Noticing that I wasn't following, Kace stopped also and raised his hand for the man to stop also.

"That's one of the rooms of an old child of ours, unfortunately, she was of age and had to leave. It was truly unfortunate. She was a beautiful girl, " He smiled with a sickening sweetness behind his eyes and smiled. "She—"

"Shut up," I cut him off.

He sealed his lips close, watching me closely.

I pushed open the door slowly with my foot, the creaking of the old wood nerving me.

The room was small; with a small single bed and a cracked mirror on the other side of the room, which was connected to a dainty dresser in which the drawers were cracked and its contents of a few clothes were spilling out.

It wasn't the colour of the room, nor was it the faint smelt— it was the single picture frame that lied cracked and broken on the floor that had me turning around slowly to face Kace and Finley.

It was a picture of Ophelia. But a much younger version of her. It was still very obvious that it was her due to the similarities of her features, smile, and these bright eyes.

"This is Ophelia's room," I spoke. It wasn't a question— it was a downright statement.

Kace took a step back with a clear of his throat when he saw the change of my demeanour and stance.

In two swift movements, I raised my hand and locked it around Finley's neck, both of his hands grabbing onto my wrist in a protective stance.

"Levi," Kace warned.

I wasn't listening to him, I was busy watching sadistically as Finley's body trembled in fear and lack of oxygen, his face turning a deathly colour of red.

I applied more pressure on his neck, my teeth gritting together as I felt his feet slowly rising from the floor so that only the tips of his toes were on the floor.

Just seeing this room— the room where my woman used to stay with this sick fuck, made me lose all control.

I could feel the veins bulging from my forehead as I looked at Finley, his entire body beginning to seize up due to the lack of air in his lungs,

"Levi, man. The girls," I heard Kace say softly and pleadingly.

With a hand still around his neck, my eyes snapped to the door, my eyes focusing on the little mops of hair, big rounded eyes, and little hands grabbing onto the door frame.

My palm squeezed harder around Finley's neck, watching as his eyes begin to close and his face began to turn from red to a purplish-blue colour. His mouth began to froth slightly, his hands scratching and digging into mine to let him go.

Sucking on my teeth lightly, I threw him on the ground, hearing him take an incredibly large breath as he spat and scratched at the floor.

I looked from Kace and the little girls behind him, back down to Finley.

Swiftly grabbing the picture frame, "Let's get this sorted out."