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There was a solid moment of silence before the room exploded into chaos.
"Feds?" Grayson sputtered in disbelief, his eyes wide as saucers. "Are you fucking serious?"
Jace looked just as shocked, though he seemed more composed than Grayson. His green eyes darted to me, then back to Grayson before finally settling on me again. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, the weight of the situation making my head throb. "But it's true. She confirmed it herself."
Victor, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up. "Why would she do that?”
“Well, remember how you said Stephen was a very polite captor?” I asked him. They were standing around Sam’s bed. I was sitting on the one chair, feeling weak, and the rest of them surrounded us. I would’ve been surprised if Sam remembered this conversation at all. “That’s because he’s a mole in the Viper’s op. This can’t come as a surprise, we knew the law was likely to be after him.”
"But Sofia?" Grayson interrupted, his words muffled as he raked a hand through his tousled hair. "Why would she..."
"Because she's trying to protect us," I cut in, my voice deathly low. "Because she thinks it's the only way."
Silence returned to the room, broken only by the distant hum of the hospital and our collective breathing. It was Jace who finally broke it.
"So, what do we do now?" he asked, his gaze flickering between me and Grayson.
“That’s not all,” I said. “When you were on your rescue mission, the Viper came to see me.
"He...what?" Grayson's voice was full of disbelief, a stark contrast to his usually composed demeanor. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"I've been a little busy," I shot back, my jaw clenched tight as I tried to keep my simmering anger in check.
Victor sighed, running a hand over his face. "What did he want?"
"He was here to make an offer," I replied, glancing around the room at their faces – at the serious lines set deep into Jace's brow; Victor's jaw, clenched so tight I could see the muscles twitching; and Grayson, whose eyes reflected the same sense of trepidation that I felt stirring in my own gut. “He said that if I handed over the Blades, Sofia would go free. Unharmed.”
I expected some protests, not dead silence.
The silence hung in the room, spreading from one corner to another like an infectious disease, filling each crevice with an unspeakable dread. For a long time, nobody spoke. It was as if they were all holding their breaths, waiting for some kind of reprieve, hoping that I would suddenly burst out laughing and tell them this was some twisted joke. But the only thing twisted here was this situation, and unfortunately, it was no joke.
"Hand over the Blades?" Victor finally broke the silence, his voice barely more than a whisper. He looked at me, real fear edging his voice. "He wants you to hand us over?"
I nodded grimly. "That's what the Viper said."
Grayson sighed. “And you’re considering it?”
I thought about lying, but I knew I owed these men the truth. “Yes. I’m considering it.”
Grayson rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You can’t be negotiating with this man.”
“If it keeps her, and the four of you, alive, then you bet I am,” I said. “There are no other options here, Grayson.”
He was silent for a moment, his gaze flickering between Jace and Victor before returning to meet my own. I could see the cogs whirring in his mind, wrestling with the dilemma. Jace was equally quiet, his eyes downcast as he grappled with what I'd just told them.
Victor was the first to break the silence. “We can’t just give ourselves up, Teo,” he insisted, clenching and unclenching his fists. “That’s suicide.”
“You guys don’t have to do anything. He can take over the op. I’ll pay you all enough money that you can do something else. This isn't your fight. It never was," I said, my gaze falling on each of their faces in turn. "You can live your lives, outside of the chaos. Outside of all this shit."
Grayson laughed, a bitter and hollow sound. "Going legit? After everything we've done? Everything we've been through?" He shook his head, anger flashing across his face. "No way. This is our family, Teo. Your family."
"Your loyalty is admirable," I said tightly, rising from the chair. "But it's misplaced. This isn't about family or loyalty anymore. This is about survival."
Victor crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at me. "And what about Sofia?"
I paused, my heart clenching at the mention of her name. "She gets to stay alive. Beyond that, why should we worry?” I asked, trying to fight off the headache. If it was up to me, Sofia would be by my side, ruling as my queen. But she wasn’t. The Blades were about to stop being mine and the operation I had carefully, meticulously, made into a money making machine would be given to a power hungry psychopath.
