“Do you think we could take advantage of this footage?” I asked for what felt like the hundredth time, staring at the screen as Mrs. Connor’s hand swung towards me, the slap echoed in my mind. The sting on my cheek might have faded, but the memory burned fresh.
Levi leaned back, arms crossed, his gaze flicking from me to the screen, and then back to his phone. He seemed deep in thought, his usual relaxed demeanor absent. “We’ve got the footage. We could file for assault, no doubt. It’s clear as day.”
I brushed my fingers over the place where she had struck me. The sensation made me shiver, a strange mixture of disbelief and anger flooding through me. “It’s more than assault. She needs to pay for everything she’s done.”
Levi let out a low sigh and tossed his phone onto the coffee table. “Ella, we both know this isn’t just about proving she hit you. The board might side with her no matter what we show them. She’s got powerful connections.”
I stood up abruptly, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “Are you saying there’s no point in trying? We have her! Right there on camera!”
Levi raised a brow, his expression calm but knowing. “What I’m saying is, Mrs. Connor knows how to cover her tracks. She’ll twist this around if we’re not careful, make you look like the aggressor. She’s done it before.”
I paced the room, every step amplifying my anger. “So, what then? We just let her get away with it? Keep watching her torment everyone like it’s her birthright?”
Levi’s voice softened, a hint of sympathy creeping into his tone. “I know you want justice, Ella, but rushing this won’t do any good. We have to be strategic. We need more than just a slap on tape. We need a way to dismantle her completely.”
My heart raced with the injustice of it all. How could we need more? “She’s been manipulating, controlling people for years, Levi! She’s ruined lives. How much more do we need?”
“Exactly,” he said, standing up and moving closer to me. He placed his hands gently on my shoulders, his voice steady. “That’s why we have to be smart about this. We take her down piece by piece. Not in one big blow.”
The warmth of his touch seeped through my skin, grounding me for a moment. “And if we wait too long? What if she pulls something else before we have enough?”
Levi’s grip on my shoulders tightened, not painfully, but enough to make me feel his presence more intensely. “We won’t let her. We stay one step ahead.”
I glanced at him, my frustration ebbing slightly under his calm gaze. But before I could say more, Channing, who had been silently watching from the couch, cleared his throat. “I don’t know if waiting is the best plan,” he said, his voice hesitant. “If Mrs. Connor gets wind of what we’re doing, she’ll make her next move fast. She won’t wait around for us to take her down.”
Levi’s jaw clenched, and he looked at me, his voice firmer now. “We have to gamble a little, Ella. But when we hit, we hit hard.”
I looked between them, my chest tightening with the weight of their words. “What about Luke? Why hasn’t he called? He said he’d help.”
Levi’s expression shifted, something darker crossing his face. “Luke’s in deeper than we thought. His mother has him wrapped up in her schemes. It’s harder for him to break free, especially with everything that’s happening.”
I felt the pit of uncertainty in my stomach widen. “We can’t rely on him, can we?”
Levi hesitated before answering. “He’s trying. But we might have to push harder if we want him on our side.”
“Push harder?” I raised my brow. “How?”
A smirk tugged at the corner of Levi’s lips, a dangerous edge to it. “Sometimes you have to use what you have, Ella. Luke has feelings for you. Strong ones. It’s time to put that to good use.”
The implication of his words hit me like a slap. My face heated up. “Are you suggesting I manipulate him? Just like his mother?”
Levi’s eyes bore into mine, unwavering. “I’m saying, you have a connection with him that no one else does. You don’t have to manipulate him—just make him see reason. Make him realize that standing by his mother is costing him everything, including you.”
The heat in my cheeks only grew, mixing with a strange, thrilling excitement that I hated to admit. “You think that’ll work?”
Levi’s smirk widened. “It always works.”
I shook my head, trying to ignore the way my heart sped up at the thought of confronting Luke, of using our connection to bend him to my will. “It feels wrong.”
Channing piped up again, his voice softer this time. “Sometimes the right thing isn’t clean, Ella. Sometimes it’s messy. But if you want to stop Mrs. Connor, you might have to get your hands dirty.”
I bit my lip, the room suddenly feeling too hot. “I don’t want to become like her.”
Levi’s gaze softened just a little, and he stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “You won’t. You’re not like her. But you’re going to have to play the game, at least a little.”
The intensity in his eyes made it hard to breathe. “What if I lose myself in it?”
His hand lingered on my cheek, his thumb brushing against the skin softly. “I won’t let you.”
For a moment, everything else disappeared—the plot against Mrs. Connor, the anxiety, the fear. All that was left was the warmth of Levi’s hand, the steady beat of my heart, and the tension building between us.
But just as quickly as the moment came, it passed. I stepped back, breaking the contact, my mind racing again. “I need to talk to Luke.”
Levi nodded, his smirk fading into something more serious. “Yeah. You do.”
I grabbed my phone and headed for the door, my mind spinning. If I was going to do this, I needed to be smart. I needed to make sure I didn’t lose myself in the process. But deep down, a part of me couldn’t deny the thrill of it all—the power, the stakes, the danger.
As I stepped out into the night, I couldn’t help but wonder: How far would I go to win?