Chapter 5: The Lavish Prison

Chapter Five – The Lavish Prison

POV: LeviLevi woke to silence.Not the kind of silence he was accustomed to—the hum of library lights flickering softly, the distant thrum of city traffic, or the muted sounds of neighbors shifting in their cramped apartments. This silence was different—deliberate, pressing down like velvet curtains draping over reality, suffocating the air with its heavy weight. It felt almost predatory, circling him as he lay bewildered in bed.

He stared at the ornate ceiling above him, where frescoes of angels and serpents twisted and turned, their gold leaf glimmering in the slanted morning light that sneaked through heavy drapes. For a brief second, he thought it was a hotel room he’d only seen in glossy brochures, the sort of place that promised luxury and comfort.

But the illusion shattered as the ache in his wrists hit him like a punch to the gut. Remembering the ties, the SUV that pulled away from his life, the gates yawning open like the jaws of some impossibly large beast, he felt the terror of that moment creep back. Lucien’s eyes flashed in his memory, cold and calculating, right before the knife slid beneath the plastic, the separation from his old life pulling tighter.

With a jolt, he bolted upright, lungs seizing as panic clawed its way up his throat. The bed’s silk sheets clung to him like hands, a tactile reminder of how lavishly he was being held captive. Too soft.

Too generous. A prison disguised as paradise.The room oozed wealth, reeking of opulence: carved lions on the wardrobe, crystal decanters glowing enticingly on polished wood surfaces, and portraits of unreadable men staring down at him with a mix of pride and disdain.

It felt like a palace. A cage.He shoved the sheets away, tossing them aside as he crossed the plush carpet, his heart racing. His clothes were gone—replaced with a black button-down and slacks that felt foreign on his skin.

The sterile fabric rubbed against him, intensifying the feeling of being stripped, like a book torn of its pages. He had become nothing more than a subject, a plaything in someone else's twisted narrative.The door. Locked. Levi rattled it, pounding once before finally pressing his forehead against the cool wood, desperation clawing at him.

Think. Don’t panic. Think. He needed a plan

An escape route, any semblance of control over his fate.He scanned the room for anything useful. Drawers? Empty. Under the bed? Nothing. Then his gaze caught something glinting above the wardrobe: a camera. His stomach turned as he spotted another by the door. Watching. Always watching. The omnipresence of surveillance gripped him like a vice, intensifying his sense of helplessness.

He forced calm, feigning ignorance, though his skin crawled with revulsion. At the window, iron bars cut across manicured gardens and imposing fortress walls. Guards patrolled the grounds in flawless rhythm, their shadows crossing the meticulously trimmed hedges. Escape was an impossible dream—an illusion, crumbling beneath the weight of reality.The lock clicked.Without warning, Lucien entered the room, his presence filling the space with an energy that felt charged and electric.

No guards flanked him, no weapon displayed, yet Levi's pulse spiked as though one hung in the air between them.“Let me guess," Levi began, fists clenching at his sides. “How long do you plan on keeping me here?”Lucien studied him with a gaze that felt like glassware under inspection—cold, empty, and capable of breaking with the slightest misstep. His mouth curved faintly, hinting at amusement. “That depends on you.”“I told you the truth,” Levi protested, heart racing. “I’m not Adrian. You have the wrong man.”The words shattered uselessly; Lucien ignored them completely, moving instead to pour himself a glass of amber liquid from a crystal decanter that sparkled under the light.

His movements were unhurried, elegant, as though time were a luxury he owned entirely.He took a measured sip, eyes fixed on Levi as if assessing a fine wine. “You say you're not Adrian. Yet you never tell me who you are. Only what you are not.”The statement pierced through Levi’s defenses. He felt his chest tighten, a mixture of shame and anger bubbling just beneath the surface. He thought of dusty stacks, ink and paper, the nights spent alone locking library doors behind him. A quiet life of order, generally unremarkable, devoid of the importance Lucien craved.“I’m nobody you want,” Levi managed to choke out, his voice steadier than he felt.Lucien's lips curved in an unsettling smile, one that held no warmth, only certainty. “Wrong.

You’re exactly what I want.” The admission sank into the pit of Levi’s stomach like a heavy stone.Lucien closed the distance between them, abandoning the glass, his presence suffocating, diminishing the already scarce air in the room.

Levi tried to stand firm, though his legs trembled with an urgency he couldn’t suppress.Lucien adjusted his collar with deliberate movements, fingers grazing his skin lightly, like fire igniting a brand. Levi’s nerves screamed in protest, a primal instinct urging him to flee.“You don’t leave.

You don’t disobey,” Lucien murmured, his voice smooth, entwined with smoke and leather. “When I ask for truth, you’ll give it.”“And if I don’t?” Levi forced the words out, his heart thumping an erratic rhythm in tandem with a rising volume of fear.Lucien’s eyes gleamed. “Then I’ll teach you how.”

The silence stretched between them, thick and oppressive, pressing down until Levi thought it might break him. Then, without warning, Lucien stepped back, unhurried, as if savoring the exchange.“Breakfast will be brought up. Eat. You’ll need your strength.” His voice held a note of finality, a command echoing long after the heavy door clicked shut behind him.

As the sound reverberated through the room, the silence returned, heavier than before. Levi sank back against the edge of the bed, trembling against sheets that smothered rather than comforted, their silky texture an ironic reminder of his imprisonment.

The cameras blinked in their unrelenting vigilance, cold metal sentinels that mocked his reassurances.And in that moment, Levi understood: the cage was not merely the bars or the locks. It was Lucien himself, a web that had already closed around him, pulling tight with every decision, every demand. The realization washed over him like ice water, chilling him to the core.

He was trapped—not just by his physical confines but by the psychological manipulation woven into the fabric of Lucien's world.Glaring at the silent walls around him, Levi grasped the urgency of his situation. He needed to find a way to resist—to endure—long enough to turn the tide.

And deep down, Levi vowed that he would not let Adrian's ghost dictate his fate, nor would he allow Lucien to bind him in chains of silence.With that resolve burning in his chest, he steeled himself for the battles ahead. He might be imprisoned, but he would not remain a prisoner.