Chapter 390: A wife’s resolution.
Itai clenched his jaw before laughing softly, in a mocking way. The same way he did when he found a plan stupid. "What makes you think they will not touch those old crooks?"
Maris replied confidently. "Because, Missy Miller is not going to let anyone kill her parents. She was a daddy’s girl. All her father has to do is beckon, and she will crawl to him on her knees and hack into the royal family’s operational accounts and defense cyber net. Once we have control of their money and weapons, we have the empire." All other hackers had failed, only that crook Miller had come close. Thankfully, he had passed his skills down to his daughter. He was useless, but she was not.
Itai tapped the table slowly, pondering on her plan. It did sound like a sue thing to him. He was working things out in his mind, trying to come up with a solution in the little time they had left.
He stood, moving to the window where he could always consolidate his thoughts. "Go back and figure out what you have done wrong this time." Itai looked at her one last time through cold eyes. "And make sure it never happens again. As for your brother, we both know that he is better off dead than alive. I will make the arrangements."
After declaring this, he looked out of the window, making another call to instruct his people to start hiding evidence and hiding.
Maris glared him for a while, before backing out. Her steps were hurried as she made her way past guards and a few servants. Itai’s words were echoing in her mind: "As for your brother, we both know that he is better off dead than alive. I will make the arrangements."
Her heart clenched. Bonzo was her brother--her only brother, and the only family she had left. They had been through so much and sacrificed too much to get where they were. He would do anything for her and she would do anything for him. How could she let him die? After him, would Itai target her next?
Lately, more and more people in this organization were dying. She had a feeling that Itai would get rid of her to save himself.
She closed the door as soon as she entered the bedroom, and slipped into the bathroom. Maris turned on the taps, and the sound of running water filled the room. It masked her voice from the hidden microphones she knew her husband had secretly planted in the bedroom.
Hands trembling, she dialed a number she had memorized years ago. The line clicked, and a familiar voice answered: "This is Elder Dahl."
Maris sighed in relief. Elder Dahl was a commander of the enforcers at one of the stations in the city. He also owed her father a favor. Dahl tried to talk her out of marrying into the Stormfeather house, but she insisted on doing so. Since then, the elder had never reached out to her.
"Uncle Dahl...it’s Maris," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Please, don’t hang up. Bonzo has been arrested by the enforcers. My husband is going to order for his death. He is all I have. Better he rot in prison than be buried in the ground. I will give you everything--Itai’s operations, his contacts, even myself. Just save my brother."
There was a pause, heavy with disbelief. "Do you understand what you are saying?" Dahl’s tone was sharp. "If you hand yourself over to the royals, there is no guarantee that you and your brother will not be sentenced to death for treason. And your husband.....if he knows what you want to do, he will tear you apart."
Maris pressed her forehead against the cool wall tiles, tears streaking her cheeks. "I know. But desperation leaves no choices. My brother was dragged into this because of me. He had no choice but to follow Itai because he wanted to protect me. And I....I had no idea that the Stormfeathers were planning to rebel before I married into the family. By the time I found out, it was too late. I stayed on because I have a daughter, and Itai would never let me walk away with her. I Please, you have to save us."
Dahl exhaled slowly. "What exactly do you hope for after surrendering yourself?"
"Extraction from here." She said quickly. "For me and my child. And immunity for me and my brother. In exchange, I will give the Stormfeathers to the royal family on a silver platter. Itai is already sending people into hiding and getting rid of evidence. They need me as much as I need them. I will testify. I will hand over ledgers and accounts. Every hidden vault, every smuggling route. I will burn the Stormfeather empire to the ground if it means we live."
Silence stretched, broken only by the hiss of water from the faucet. Finally, Dahl spoke: "You are gambling with fire, Maris. Once you step onto this path, there’s no return. The royals will use you. The Stormfeathers will hunt you as long as they live."
Maris closed her eyes, remembering the look in her brother’s eyes when he first found out what the Stormfeather’s truly were. How he asked her to run away before it was too late. And how resigned he appeared when they realized she couldn’t escape.
She remembered her brother’s laughter from years past, before crime had swallowed their small family of two. "Then let me burn. But I burn alone. Better ashes than blood."
Dahl’s voice softened, reluctant but resolute. "I will see what I can do. But I cannot make any promises. I suggest you make other arrangements for your daughter as soon as possible. You might not get that immunity deal. You may have to spend some years in prison. Or, you might be assigned a dangerous task to make up for the bad you have done.
I suggest you request for the Veythars to shield your daughter, Oprah. After the royal family, they are the next most powerful and wealthiest family that can be counted on. If they turn you down, then send her to the white snake tribe’s lord. He has a younger sister whose son was born human and weak. They are worried he might not find a proper wife in future so they are shopping around for a child bride to be raised alongside him.
So far, there are not many takers because everyone is worried he will die young. I am one of the elders helping them expand the search. If you are willing, send Oprah to them. They are a good family, and noble too. Very wealthy, so she will continue to live the life she is accustomed to. But if they accept her, they will erase her memories of the past completely and change her name. You will never contact her again."
Maris whimpered. "Is there another option?"
Dahl replied coldly, "Oprah Stormfeather is the daughter of two rebels. Not just any rebels but the leaders of the rebel movement. Do you think there is another option? They may not even want her. If you don’t want to bury your daughter, or have her grow up in an orphanage, I suggest you do as I say. We both know that there is one last outcome for her that we are not saying out loud."
Maris gulped. The last outcome for her child was death. The royals might just decided to wipe out every last living Stormfeather, including the babies. Such things had been done before.
She wiped tears from her eyes, filled with regret for every step that had led her to the position she found herself in currently.
If she hadn’t been greedy for quick wealth, she would not have married Itai.
If she had accepted the cheap ring worth five hundred beast coins from her ex-boyfriend and married him, she could have lived an ordinary but safe and long life.
If she had followed Bonzo’s advise and escaped as soon as she found out the dark secrets of the Stormfeather’s. Maybe she would have lived in hiding for a while, but that would have been better than this. Or maybe she would have traded what she knew for a better life for herself and her brother.
If she had pretended to be foolish on the very first day Itai asked her to use her sharp eyes and cleverness to plan crimes to fund the rebellion. Then she would not be considered a rebel leader.
If she had not put Bonzo’s name on the list of those going to kidnap Sienna Miller. Bonzo would not be in custody now, awaiting an assassination.
Hot tears slipped down her cheeks. The more she tried to wipe away, the more came pouring out. There were so many ifs. So many regrets. So many chances to stop before things escalated, but she never took them. And now, it was too late.
Maris hung up, her body shaking. She removed her clothes and took a bath. When she turned off the taps, silence rushed back like a tidal wave. When she looked in the mirror, she saw not the wife of the rebel leader and crime lord, but a sister ready to betray everything she had come to believe for family.