Chapter 8
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The line went silent for several seconds before she found her voice.
"I'm begging you, Lily. Please show mercy and lift the blacklist. Give me a chance to survive."
"Name your price. Anything. Just let me work again."
"Dissolve the Moore Gang. Rename it under the Johnson banner. You'll answer directly to me."
The line went dead silent.
"Must it be so extreme?" she finally whispered. "This would erase everything I've built."
"Isn't that exactly what you tried to do to me?"
"Take it or leave it."
I hung up without waiting for her answer.
Word spread quickly. The Moore Gang's decline accelerated, their fall even more spectacular than mine had been.
But they weren't completely finished—they still had a pulse, however faint.
That's when Alex showed up at my door.
He looked like the Alex I remembered from before everything went wrong.
Clean white shirt, boyish smile, eyes bright with hope.
"I have dirt on Miranda."
"Take me back, and I'll burn the Moore Gang to the ground."
He held out a thick folder of documents.
"If love is off the table, let's talk business. A simple transaction."
"All upside for you, guaranteed."
His eyes gleamed with desperate conviction.
When I didn't respond, he pushed the folder closer to me.
"You taught me this yourself: 'No permanent enemies, only permanent interests.'"
I had taught him that, and he'd learned the lesson all too well.
Years ago, he'd been on his knees before me, begging for his life.
His eyes had held that same desperate determination.
"Save me," he'd promised, "and you'll never regret it."
From that day on, I'd kept him at my side, teaching him everything I knew.
I'd taught him to always keep leverage, and he'd learned that lesson perfectly.
He'd gathered dirt on me and Miranda both.
He'd betrayed me for Miranda, and now he was betraying Miranda for me.
I reached out my hand. Alex's eyes filled with tears of relief.
Then I ripped the folder to pieces.
"I don't need your help to destroy Miranda, Alex."
"Did you really think I wouldn't have my own dirt after fighting her for a decade?"
"You've always underestimated me."
He stared at me, dumbfounded.
"But I've done all the work," he stammered. "You won't have to lift a finger."
"All I'm asking is another chance. Is that too much?"
"Yes, it is. The very thought of being with you again makes my skin crawl."
I slammed the door in his face, cutting the last thread between us.
I had my own file on Miranda—perhaps not as detailed as Alex's, but enough.
It would take more work, but I'd manage.
Before I could act, disaster struck the Moore Gang. Shipments hijacked, deals broken, weapons caches raided.
Her people scattered like cockroaches, leaving only a handful of loyalists behind.
It was Alex's doing. He'd sent his intel to everyone with a grudge against Miranda.
When sharks smell blood, they come from miles around.
A text from Alex lit up my phone.
"Consider it my gift to you. Happy birthday, Lily."
I stared at the message but didn't respond.
He was right—tomorrow was my birthday. For ten years, Alex had been by my side on this day. This would be the first celebration without him.
The Moore Gang was in free fall, their collapse imminent.
"You said if we surrendered everything and rebranded as the Johnson Gang, you'd call off the dogs."
"Is that offer still on the table?"
