Chapter 159 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE

Chapter 159 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE
Blue’s POV

I stood up immediately, looking down at Scarlett. "I'll be right back."

I could see the frustration and disappointment flash in her eyes. She was practically on the edge of her seat, desperate to finally hear the full story, and I knew she didn't want me to walk out that door right now. But the look on Tanner's face meant this couldn't wait.

I gave her a reassuring nod and walked out into the hallway, pulling the door close behind me.

Tanner and I walked a bit down the quiet corridor, keeping our distance from any potential eavesdroppers, before I turned to face him. "What is it?"

"It appears that many students don't know about Derek's loss of standing with Mr. Linden yet," Tanner explained, his voice low. "They are still willing to do his bidding."

My brow pulled down. "What is he asking people to do?"

"To get fuel," Tanner said grimly.

My eyes brightened as the pieces clicked together. "So it is a fire. That's Derek's plan. What's the scale of the fuel theft? Does it seem like a small or large fire?"

"I couldn't be sure of how much they were taking, or how much they already have or still plan to take," Tanner replied, shaking his head slightly. "But regardless, it doesn't seem to be a small fire at all."

"Where are they taking the fuel from?" I asked.

"It's from the maintenance shed—the one close to the courtyard," Tanner said. "It's rarely used, so they must have thought getting fuel from there would keep their tracks hidden longer."

"Well done," I said, clapping a hand onto his shoulder. "Keep trailing him again tomorrow. Then we will have another meeting with the guys on how we can survive whatever Derek has planned, and also incorporate our own escape plans into the catastrophic destruction that is about to happen at Bellamy."

Tanner looked at me with a trace of concern in his eyes. "How could we ever survive a fire here, boss? There are no supplies to that effect."

"I can ask Jax to do something about that," I told him smoothly.

Then my thoughts drifted to the hidden architecture of the building. The underground tunnels. I knew about their existence, but most of them had been abandoned over the years and hadn't seen a single soul in decades.

I wasn't entirely sure of the exact paths inside the tunnels that led to the outside world, or if they even opened up somewhere safe. But one thing was certain: staying down in those stone tunnels would keep us safe from a surface fire.

"Don't let Derek spot you or notice you are on his trail," I instructed, returning my focus to Tanner. "He will implement his plan very soon since he doesn't have much time left to stay at Bellamy. It might be as soon as tomorrow."

Tanner nodded sharply. "Got it, boss."

He turned and walked away down the corridor, vanishing into the shadows.

I didn't head back to my room right away. Instead, I went down to meet Stan, finding him near the lower level staircase.

"Stan," I said, stepping up to him. "Tell everyone to be at the usual meeting spot way before dawn tomorrow. We need to finalize everything."

"I'll make sure they're all there," Stan confirmed with a firm nod.

I considered going to see Jax right then to discuss getting fire safety supplies, but I quickly put the idea off. I had been asking a lot of Jax these past few days, and I didn't want to push it too far just yet.

I turned back toward my room, taking deep breaths as I walked down the hall. My stomach felt heavy. I knew I had to go back inside and finish telling Scarlett the ugly truth about my relationship with Greg, and what really happened the night her step-father died.

I pushed the room door open gently, bracing myself for the tense conversation waiting for me.

But when I stepped further inside, the room was quiet. I looked over at the sofa bed and saw a dark shape curled up under the blankets.

I walked closer and realized that Scarlett had fallen fast asleep.

For all her burning anxiety to learn the truth about everything, her body was worn out from the stress and the emotional roller coaster of the day.

I stood beside the bed for a moment, looking down at her soft, relaxed face. I reached down, gently removing her shoes one by one without making a sound, and adjusted her position so she was lying comfortably on the mattress.

As I pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, Scarlett stirred slightly, letting out a soft sigh that made me freeze in place, holding my breath. But her eyes didn't open. She just snuggled deeper into the pillow and remained fast asleep.

I let out a quiet breath of relief.

I kicked off my own shoes and carefully climbed into the bed beside her, pulling a corner of the blanket over myself. I lay on my side, watching her steady breathing in the dim light of the room.

I was genuinely glad that she was beside me in this moment, despite the rift between us and the heavy secrets still hanging in the air. As I closed my eyes, a single thought dominated my mind—a fervent wish that we would somehow survive our final days inside Bellamy.

And that my father would not make any more impromptu appearances.