Chapter Text
Beth stared at Rio, sitting next to her on that bench that suddenly felt too narrow to contain everything that had just shifted. The wood creaked under their weight, as if it too struggled to bear this imposed closeness. She kept her hands flat on her knees, as if to contain the tremor threatening to betray her.
The park was almost empty, crossed only by a few passersby and the creak of a rusty swing in the distance. The smell of cut grass mingled with the scent of damp earth, as if nature refused to ignore what was happening on that isolated bench. Sunlight filtered through the branches, splashing their faces with a soft light, almost too peaceful. Nothing like what she felt. Cruel irony: she felt as if she were sitting on an invisible, unstable throne, a throne that would cost her dearly.
She took a deep breath. Her voice came out lower than she intended:
- So… I’m the boss.
It wasn’t a question. She needed to hear it from her own mouth, as if to engrave this new reality, absurd yet inevitable.
Rio gave a slight smile, neither approval nor mockery: just an observation.
- You’re the king now. All eyes will be on you.
A shiver ran down her spine. The eyes… but also the suspicion. The handcuffs. The interrogation rooms with harsh white lights. She knew what that implied. The image of Annie came to her, brutal. She hadn’t witnessed the arrest, but she could easily imagine the scene: the door smashed, the too-small kitchen invaded by uniforms, handcuffs snapping on her sister’s wrists under Ben and Kevin’s widened eyes. It wasn’t just an image; it was a scar etched in her memory, a burn that refused to fade.
A knot formed in her throat.
- I have to get her out of there, she whispered.
Rio turned his head to her. His dark gaze measured her slowly, as if weighing each of her weaknesses. His eyes were calm, almost gentle, but Beth knew that gentleness was just a mask behind which he was already calculating his next moves.
- Prisons aren’t my business. But… if you want my help, you know there’s a price.
Beth held his gaze. She didn’t want to blink, not give an inch. Dean had taken the kids. They were safe, far from this world, far from her. A tear in her chest, but also a bitter relief. At least they wouldn’t witness her fall.
Her voice strengthened, even as fear gnawed at her insides.
- We start tomorrow. Annie will be out. And you… you work for me now.
Rio let out a low chuckle, almost a whisper. Amused, not offended.
- I work for no one, Elizabeth. But I’m curious to see how this goes.
A group of children ran across the park, their laughter mingling with the wind in the branches. The contrast with their conversation gave Beth a pang in her heart. She pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders, a useless but comforting gesture. She thought of her own children, taken by Dean. The emptiness they left resonated in every room, in every silence. She wanted them far from danger, but this choice condemned her to carry alone a weight she wasn’t sure she could lift.
- You know she’s not made for this, she said, almost pleading. Annie won’t last.
- No one does, he replied simply.
This apparent indifference hit her like a cold slap. But she understood the message: no one survives unscathed. Not Annie, not Ruby, not her. Perhaps that was their fate: hold on until everything collapses, then start again.
She thought of her long-lost wedding ring, pawned long before everything went wrong. That simple gesture, at the time, now seemed like the first step toward this new life. A choice that opened a door she had never managed to close.
She lifted her head, meeting Rio’s gaze once more. He revealed nothing. As always. And that was his strength, this absence of flaw. But Beth also knew he wasn’t invincible. If he was still alive, if he hadn’t made her a target, it was because he saw in her something she struggled to name.
Beth straightened her shoulders. If she wanted to be the boss, she had to learn this too: never show doubt. Play the part until it becomes a second skin.
She stood first. The bench groaned as it released its weight.
- Are we done? he asked, intrigued.
- For today.
Rio nodded, a wry smile. As if validating a choice she hadn’t fully accepted yet. As if he already saw beyond her hesitations.
Beth felt her heart beat faster as she walked away from the bench. The cold wind rushed through her hair, and a certainty settled in: there was no turning back. Annie depended on her. Ruby too, even if Stan tried to shield her. Her children depended on her, even if they were no longer here.
Each step echoed like a silent promise. She knew she was alone, yet never had she felt the weight of unseen eyes upon her so strongly. Rio’s men, the police, even neighbors greeting her obliviously… all waiting for the slightest misstep.
Fear lurked in her gut, but this time, it would no longer lead her. She would no longer be a pawn manipulated by others.
A world had disappeared. And without realizing it, she had just founded a new one.