Chapter 162 ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO

Chapter 162 ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO
Blue’s POV

I walked to Stan’s room. He shared the space with another student, but the guy took one look at my face as I stepped inside and immediately made himself scarce, closing the door behind him.

I took a seat on the desk chair while Stan stood near the window.

"It's been confirmed that Derek is planning to cause a big fire at Bellamy," I told him.

Stan frowned, leaning against the sill. "Shouldn't we tell the authorities then?"

"We could," I replied, crossing my ankles. "But that would not work in our favor. I need the chaos to disappear under the radar. We will not survive another one of my father's visits, and I don't want to go toe-to-toe with him."

I clenched my jaw, the harsh reality settling over me. My father was too dangerous and way stronger than I was right now. The moment he finished dealing with the mess I had created, he would come for my head—and by extension, Scarlett’s.

"So what is the plan?" Stan asked.

"We will all stay in the underground tunnels when it starts," I explained. "And then find our way from there to the outside. I still need to find out where those tunnels lead to."

A knock sounded at the door before it opened, and Jax walked in. I noticed right away that his arm was out of the sling, hanging freely at his side.

"Is it time to remove it already?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jax shrugged, rolling his shoulder. "It was getting annoying."

I shook my head, not bothered enough to argue with him about it. "Do you think I should ask Tony about the tunnels?"

Jax raised a brow, considering it for a second. "That would be most unwise. Okay, maybe not that unwise. Tony is actually more reasonable than he comes across."

"My thoughts exactly," I said.

Stan looked between the two of us. "How about we just go explore the tunnels ourselves first? How hard can it be for us to find the way?"

The answer to that turned out to be: very hard.

A short while later, the three of us were underground, navigating the damp, pitch-black stone passageways. We spent hours down there, turning down winding corridors only to get lost over and over again.

Fortunately, we had the sense to mark our paths on the stone walls as we went, so we were always able to backtrack and find our way back to the entrance.

Jax leaned his shoulder against the wall, catching his breath. "Tony it is."

"Yes," I agreed, wiping dust off my hands. "We meet again tonight at the regular spot. Tanner should have more information about what Derek is up to by then."

We climbed out through the narrow, subtly covered hole that led back to the surface. By the time we stepped back into the fresh air, it was already evening, the sky painted in dark purples and oranges.

"There's something I wanted to tell you," Jax said as we began walking down the outer walkway.

Stan kept walking on ahead, mumbling something under his breath about going to see someone—which I knew was just his excuse to go check on Scarlett’s roommate, Rachael.

Once Stan was out of earshot, I turned to Jax. "What?"

"There is word going around on the outside that Rowe did some more serious shit than we thought," Jax said, his voice dropping into a cautious whisper. "Apparently, he stole from the Rosso gang and placed it all in Scarlett's name—probably to safeguard it, not knowing he would meet his untimely death."

"That fucker," I muttered, shaking my head in disgust. "He just caused havoc. I'm glad he's dead. So how much are we talking about? It's money he stole, right?"

Jax nodded solemnly, picking his words carefully. "I hear it's six billion dollars."

I blinked, stopping dead in my tracks as I stared at him, totally taken aback. "What? How did Rowe steal that much from them?"

"I suspect he used the chance of pretending to give them the information he refused to give Mr. Linden to steal from them," Jax explained, rubbing his chin. "How he pulled it off, though, I have no idea."

"So the money belongs to Scarlett now?" I asked.

"More or less," Jax said grimly. "But Scarlett isn't safe at all. This info has been leaked already. Whoever snatches her up and forces her to sign it over will become rich beyond belief."

I held my sides in contemplation, a cold feeling settling in my gut. "This is all the more reason why we must disappear from Bellamy as soon as possible."

We turned the corner near the residential corridor, and I froze.

Scarlett was standing there near the edge of the wall, her arms crossed tight over her chest. She looked like she had been waiting for me.

Jax gave me a swift God-help-you look, unceremoniously abandoned me, and sauntered off down the hall without saying a word.

I walked toward her leisurely, taking in the sight of her. The cool evening wind ruffled her full red hair, framing her intense face. In that moment, despite the mess we were in, I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that she was easily the most beautiful thing to ever grace my sight.

I reached her, stopping just a foot away, ready to say something to soften her up.

Before I could open my mouth, she looked me dead in the eyes and dropped a bomb on me.

"You were there that night to kill me, right?"