One dance and two opportunities: fateful encounters

Chapter Eighteen:

Daylight. Siaha's family mansion. Two days after the family meeting.

"Simeon," Levi called out with a twisted mirth in his voice, "You're the one who called me correct? Then why do you look like as though you'd like me gone as soon as possible."

Watching his adopted cousin smirk as though he were enjoying the discomfort on his face, he felt like just having him leave the Siaha mansion wasn't enough. 'Maybe it'd be better if he'd disappear off the face of the earth?'

The thought made his brow scrunch together in confusion and discomfort. They were currently in the family theater room. Levi had come a day later than he had requested, striding into the building as though it were his. The sight had made his lips quirk in a disdainful smile. He hated the guts of the bastard that called him 'brother' with much convenience.

But as much as Simeon had wanted to, he couldn't. His lovely grandmother had emotionally blackmailed him with her wanting to find his mother's killer before she passed on to the great beyond. She knew that despite the fact that he might laugh off such theory in her face, he'd do exactly as she had asked in the fear that she'd actually pass. He had lost too much to learn that death came for any and every one without an appointment.

Thinking of that sly old hag of his unknowingly brought a small smile onto his face, easing his scrunched up brows by a bit. A change that didn't go past the eagle-eyed Levi's sharp and cold gaze.

"I'm tired of waiting, brother." The title snapped Simeon out of his thoughts sending a warning glare to the man across. A warning that was very much ignored by Levi.

"The suspense is killing me. Why did you call for me in this devil's den?" Levi whined and Simeon grimaced. He knew that whenever this man spoke like that, he was just curious to know whether he'd catch a quick kill or not. He definitely wasn't as innocent as he looked.

Simeon's expression became very grave as he passed a bunch of files and documents across to Levi who took without a change in expression.

As he went on to flip through the documents file after file, the smile on his face turned into a face splitting grin. This was interesting.

Simeon crossed his arms over his chest and looked to Levi who was smiling as though he had been given his favorite Christmas present of all time. It was one kind of a smile. One that made his stomach churn in disgust and his heart quicken in fear.

"Grandmother has trouble with this bast*rd. It's something that can be solved but it won't be easy." Levi said without losing his smile. "When was the last time I had done something so interesting? I had almost thought I'd die of boredom. The old hag never seems to fail expectations."

Simeon shuddered not due to title that he had given his grandmother. His mind wasn't really in the name calling as they all had different loving titles for the woman in question. He didn't want to invite Levi into this case for more reasons than one.

Levi was someone who went to a hospital ward filled with terminally ill patients just to watch them die pathetically in order to measure his heartlessness level and this was the least of his 'deeds'. All that mattered to Simeon was that Levi wasn't the first person he'd call in time of need but he was the one of the best, if not the best, man for the job.

"This is going to be a hassle though." Levi sighed unexpectedly, to the shock of Simeon. "You sure that father of yours has nothing to do with this?"

"Though he was the one who gave me this..." Simeon sighed tiredly. This was eating him up in more ways than most.

"You know that I'm not talking about the threat letter, right?" Levi raised an eyebrow to back up his questioning gaze.

"I'm not that dumb to not know that much." Simeon scoffed. "The man is one to do something this disgusting when he's so desperate."

"Then why are you helping the pig to find the bison that's ready to crush him like as though you were a dog?"

"That's an easy question but the answers are multiple." Simeon replied slyly with a matching smile on his lips.

After many minutes of uncomfortable silence, Levi broke it with a single-word question. "So?"

"Firstly, grandmother wants to find out the truth to the matter surrounding her daughter's death." A quick round of silence as if paying their respects to the dead and Simeon continued, "The second reason is somewhat selfish."

"It's Solace, isn't it?" Levi cut in before Simeon could finish, earning Levi dry eyes from the latter. "Then, what other reason is there?"

"I want to find out if Roland has a hand in this entire operation or if he had joined in with someone else's scheme."

"Wow! Roland, huh? First name privilege? How intimate." Levi said with a small smile in his eyes that seemed to make his face glow but Simeon could call mockery at a glance.

With a flat tone Simeon said expressionlessly: "Stop that."

Levi chuckled and smiled but then his eyes landed on the door and his eyes turned cold along with his smile. Simeon smiled seeing his smile cool along with the sound of his laughter but when he followed his line of sight, his smiled died completely.

"Valerie, what's wrong?" The tone was supposed to sound caring but it came out in a cold and rebuking tone. She wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were supposed to be here especially her.

Valerie bit on her pale and trembling lips and forced herself to stay calm but as long as his gaze was on her, she couldn't be calm and neither could she think straight but she has to. For her lovely youngest!

Finding strength enough to stand and speak normally, Valerie ignored the gaze from Levi and looked straight into the eyes of Simeon with a cold and serious gaze, "Sol is missing."

✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

Sol stood in the expanse of a field of reeds and sobbed without stop. She wanted so badly to stop but she couldn't. The pain was gnawing into her.

She so desperately hated this feeling. The last time she felt an emotion this intense, it was when she had watched her mother die and she couldn't even get over it till now but seeing something like this set her off again.

Solace wanted to shout so badly but all she could make was indistinguishable noises that sounded like groans and gurgles along with the intermittent sharp inhale of air.

It hurts. It hurt so badly. I need to breathe. Solace placed a hand onto her chest and groaned with her face contorting with the pain. Soon, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the field.

Her eyes reddened with unshed tears and her face was covered with beads of sweat. In her hand was a letter from someone who had clearly written in bold multiple letters or words that summed up to one sensible thing.

It wasn't supposed to be her mother who was to be killed that afternoon in the underground parking lot. It was meant to be her!