Caroline’s head snapped up at Nicole’s words. Something in her eyes shifted. The fear was still there, but it burned with something else now...anger.
Her shoulders shook, not from weakness this time, but from holding back. And then she let it out.
"You think it’s that easy?" she spat, her voice cracking but louder than before. "You think if I could have just told everyone, I would not have?!"
The room went silent. Even Grace smirked, wiped off the next moment.
Caroline’s hands slammed against the table, the sound sharp enough to make me flinch. Her tears were no longer just sorrow, but they burned with rage.
"If I could say it out loud..." her voice cracked, but she pushed on, "If I could confess everything openly..."
Her chest heaved as she sucked in a breath, her eyes blazing. "Then those people would not have had any power over me in the first place!"
She looked from one face to another, desperate for them to understand. "Do you not see it? Do you not understand?"
Her voice broke into a scream, raw and bitter. "They only controlled me because I could not let the truth come out!"
The room fell silent as her words echoed through the room, hitting all of us like a slap.
Her breathing was sharp and uneven, her chest rising and falling as if she had just fought a battle.
In a way, she had, and she was right? If she could say the reason that easily, she would not have been blackmailed in the first place.
Nicole’s fists slowly loosened, though his jaw stayed tight. His eyes, still hard, studied her face as if he was trying to break her open with just his stare. But for the first time, I saw a flicker of hesitation in him.
Grace leaned back in her chair, her smirk gone. Her eyes narrowed instead, calculating. Like she had just realized this game was not going to play out the way she wanted.
Dave, as always, stayed unreadable. His hand rested against the arm of his chair, calm, steady, as though he had expected this outburst all along. But his eyes... they were sharper now, watching every shift in Caroline’s expression.
Caroline’s hands were still pressed flat against the table, her knuckles white. Her voice lowered, but it was rough, shaky, as she continued, "You think I do not hate myself already? Every second, I wish I could turn back. But I could not. I was trapped."
Her eyes glistened as she looked at me, almost breaking apart again. "Elena... they had everything. Things about my past, things no one should know. They told me if I did not do as they said, it would all be exposed. Not just me... my family too."
My heart clenched. The anger, the confusion, all of it twisted into a painful knot inside me. I wanted to believe her. I wanted to take away that fear in her eyes. But at the same time, the questions only grew heavier.
Nicole finally spoke, his voice lower, calmer now, but no less dangerous. "Then tell us who is behind all of it. Give me a name, something, because unless you do, all I see is a con sitting right in front of me."
Caroline shut her eyes tight, shaking her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I can’t," she whispered. "If I do... it will not just be me who pays the price. It will be everyone I care about."
The silence after that was crushing, making it harder to even breathe.
I could feel my pulse hammering in my ears, my breath shallow. Her words scared me, not because I thought she was lying, but because I could hear the truth in them.
Whoever these people were, they were powerful enough to make Caroline choose silence over saving herself.
Grace finally broke the silence, her tone sharp again. "Pathetic," she muttered, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. "Always crying, always playing the victim. Maybe if you had not been so weak, none of this would have happened."
I glared at her, fury rising in me again, but before I could speak, Dave’s voice cut through. Calm, controlled, but with a weight that silenced even Grace.
"She’s not weak," he said flatly. His gaze was locked on Caroline, his tone firm. "She’s still standing. That’s more strength than most can claim."
Caroline’s eyes widened, her lips parting as if she couldn’t believe he had said that. For a moment, her trembling stopped, replaced by relief.
On the other hand, I froze in my position. My chest tightened, my breath catching as if the ground had slipped beneath me.
I was not sure what stunned me more.
Dave’s words, the conviction behind them, or the fact that I felt their weight just as much as Caroline did.\
In that moment, everything else, the accusations, the anger, the fear seemed to fade into the background. What stayed was the faint trace of warmth his words had left behind.
I could not tell if he spoke for me, for Caroline, or for something else entirely. But I was grateful he did.
Nicole, however, did not soften up a bit. His voice came again, sharp as a blade. "Caroline. This is your last chance. If you want us to believe you and to protect you, then you need to give us something."
Caroline’s breath hitched. She looked at me, then at Nicole, and then down at her lap. Her fingers twisted together, indicating how restless she felt.
I wanted to again take her in my embrace and tell her it would be okay, but I waited for her.
Nicole’s question was valid. In order to fight this enemy of ours, we have to get any information against them.
Finally, she whispered, "I... I cannot give you names. But I can give you a warning."
The whole table went still. Even Grace leaned forward now, curiosity evident on her face.
Caroline raised her head slowly, her eyes haunted but firm.
"They are already watching us. Every move we make and if we are not careful..." Her voice broke again, but she forced the words out anyway. "None of us will make it out alive."