Chapter 50 Options are almost finished

Chapter 50 Options are almost finished
They sat in grim silence until Adrian walked into the room rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Mama, I'm hungry," he said.

"I'll get you breakfast baby," Elara said and took him to the kitchen where Margaret was preparing food.

"How are you holding up?" Margaret asked quietly.

"Barely," Elara admitted.

"For what it's worth, most of the staff supports you," Margaret said. "We know Victoria wasn't who she claimed to be and we're angry someone got through our security."

"Thank you," Elara said.

"There's something else," Margaret said hesitantly. "I overheard two guards talking last night, they said someone offered them money to look the other way during certain shifts."

"Did they take it?" Elara asked.

"They said no, but I don't know if that's true," Margaret said. "I wanted you to know there might be more compromised security."

"Who were the guards?" Elara asked.

Margaret gave her two names and Elara immediately texted Kai, who sent those guards home pending investigation within minutes.

"We can't trust anyone," Kai said when she returned to the office. "If guards are being bribed, we need to assume everyone is potentially compromised."

"Then how do we protect Adrian?" Elara asked.

"We keep him with us at all times," Kai said. "No more playgroups, no more letting staff watch him, one of us is with him every second."

"That's not sustainable," Maya pointed out.

"It's sustainable until we eliminate the threats," Kai said. "After the regional council meeting, after Derek and Mandivus are dealt with, then we can relax."

"And if those threats aren't eliminated?" Elara asked.

"Then we keep fighting until they are," Kai said.

That afternoon federal agents arrived to interview Victoria, and Elara watched through one-way glass as they questioned her about Mandivus's escape.

"I want immunity," Victoria said calmly. "Full immunity from all charges and witness protection."

"In exchange for what?" the lead agent asked.

"Names," Victoria said. "Everyone involved in the coordination network that Darius runs from prison, including federal employees who've been passing information."

The agents looked at each other and the lead agent said, "We'll need to consult with prosecutors."

"You have two hours," Victoria said. "After that I stop talking and take my chances with a trial."

The agents left to make calls and Elara turned to Kai. "Do you think she really has information worth immunity?"

"If she knows about corrupted federal employees, yes," Kai said. "That's bigger than just pack politics."

Two hours later the agents returned with an offer—limited immunity in exchange for complete cooperation.

Victoria agreed and spent the next four hours detailing a network that made Elara's head spin—prison guards passing messages, lawyers acting as couriers, federal employees leaking information about investigations, and pack members across three territories coordinating Darius's orders.

"How did he build all this?" Elara asked.

"Thirty years as head Alpha," Victoria said. "Darius has leverage on everyone who matters and loyalty from people who owe him favors."

"Including you," the agent said.

"Especially me," Victoria corrected. "He paid for my training and positioned me in places where I could be useful, I've been his asset for fifteen years."

"Why turn on him now?" the agent asked.

"Because immunity is better than life in prison," Victoria said simply. "I'm practical, not loyal."

"Who helped Mandivus escape?" the agent asked.

"Three prison guards and a federal marshal," Victoria said and provided names. "They were paid fifty thousand each plus protection if things went wrong."

"Protection from who?" the agent pressed.

"From whoever Darius arranges to eliminate loose ends," Victoria said. "He doesn't leave witnesses."

"Like he tried to eliminate Elara," the agent said.

"Like he's still trying to eliminate her," Victoria corrected. "The hit is still active, fifty thousand to whoever delivers confirmation of her death."

Elara felt sick because there was a price on her head being advertised to anyone willing to collect.

"How many people know about the hit?" the agent asked.

"Everyone in Darius's network," Victoria said. "Which is approximately forty people across five states."

"Forty people trying to kill me," Elara whispered to Kai.

"Forty people we now know about," Kai corrected. "Which means we can identify and stop them."

But even as he said it, Elara knew identifying threats wasn't the same as eliminating them, and forty assassins was more than any security team could handle.

That night Elara lay in bed with Adrian curled against her side and stared at the ceiling trying to figure out how they'd survive the next two weeks.

The regional council meeting would either secure their future or destroy it.

Derek would present his challenge.

She would present her bloodline claim.

And somewhere out there Mandivus was hunting them with forty potential allies willing to help for money.

Her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: "The hit is real but so is the counter-offer. Protect you for twice what Darius offered. Interested?"

Elara stared at it wondering if this was another trap or a genuine offer from someone practical like Victoria.

Either way, she was running out of options and out of time.