Page 123 of Code of Heart

“They want a spectacle? Give them swagger. Channel your inner asshole. Make it a goddamn performance. Pack like you knew this was coming—because deep down, we always did.”

Something shifted in the air. They drew themselves upright, eyes blazing with the promise of a fight.

And then Ivy smirked, her eyes blazing fiercely. It wasn’t a nice smile. It was feral, sharp, vicious, and promised to draw blood. “Let’s go raise some hell,” she said.

Levi’s grin mirrored hers as they lined up ready to march into the storm…unbroken, unbowed, and ready for battle.

Levi moved through his office with swift, efficient accuracy, methodically packing every personal item that mattered into his backpack. Anything that wasn’t essential was left behind.

He cast one ultimate, lingering glance around the office space. This was the place where he had built his empire, made impossible decisions, and dreamed bigger than anyone thought possible.

And then, like a man documenting the last moments before a battle was lost, he pulled out his phone and started snappingphotos from every angle. One final memory preserved as evidence and proof of what remained. A testament before the end.

Across the hall, Ivy sat at her desk like she had all the time in the world, legs casually propped up, her tote bag already packed at her feet. She lounged in her chair, perfectly at ease, snapping selfies like this was another normal day at the office.

Levi couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. Even in the face of disaster, Ivy could make defiance look effortless. Then an idea struck him.

“Hey, Ivy,” he called. “Take a picture of us. Right now.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You want aselfiewith me while your company burns down?”

“Not just a selfie,” he clarified, a glint of mischief returning to his eyes. “I want a shot of me standing in the doorway to my office and one as you are with your feet up, looking completely unbothered. Then send it to me.Immediately.”

Her grin was wicked as she grabbed her phone and snapped some photos.

The moment his phone buzzed with the incoming message, Levi pulled it up and began tapping furiously, thumbs flying across the screen. Then, without missing a beat, he lifted the phone and started speaking rapid text commands into it.

When he was done, he turned the screen toward Ivy, that dangerous, familiar spark back in his eyes.

She read it once—twice—and then threw her head back with a sharp, barking laugh. The first real laugh from her after the weekend’s traumatic events.

“You’re insane,” she wheezed. “And I love it.”

Levi slung his backpack over his shoulder and shot her a devil-may-care smile as he headed for the door.

“Spread the word,” he called back. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

With the confidence he was known for, he strolled out, every step oozing the smug calm of a man who knew the storm was his to unleash.

The fall might be inevitable. But he sure as hell wasn’t going quietly.

It took every ounce of Levi’s restraint not to march across the conference room and wipe that smug grin right off that self-serving demon Tyler’s face with his fist. He was kicking himself for missing the obvious signs of what Tyler had been working towards these past months.

But that wasn’t the weapon he had chosen today.

No, he was going to bury Tyler with his own arrogance.

Levi sauntered into the room like he owned it, even as his empire crumbled beneath his feet. Exactly as expected, Tyler had staged the scene perfectly with two reporters stationed near the end of the table, their pens already poised like vultures ready to tear apart the carcass of his career.

Right on cue.

He flashed them a brilliant, easy smile as he strolled by, catching the not-so-subtle exchange of knowing glances between them.

Good.Let them watch.

Two large, unfamiliar men stood near the walls. He snorted at the fact that Tyler hired private security for this. Levi offered them a pleasant nod as he ambled to the far end of the table, to the seat that was still, technically, his…for now.

He settled in easily, setting his backpack on the floor, his body loose and unbothered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it—that glorious moment when Tyler’s smug confidence flickered with disappointment.