Dahlia inhaled sharply. This was a reaction that Nash was hoping for, the proof he had hit home.

Her eyes went wide, fingers crushing her notebook like she was trying to strangle it. Victoria didn’t move, just stared at him without blinking. Then, slow as a lazy cat, she pushed her sunglasses down her nose.

"So the little rat finally bit the poisoned bread," she murmured, almost too quiet to hear. "How much do you really know?"

"Enough to know you’re not who you pretend to be," Nash said. "Enough to know something big is happening behind the scenes. I’m not here to ruin you. I just want the truth."

Victoria didn’t react. She just watched him, the tension in the room getting thicker with every tick of the clock. Then, without looking away, she flicked two gold fingers.

"Dahlia. Wait outside." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Dahlia hesitated; Victoria never kicked her out during important talks. It looked like she alone knew the truth about Victoria, yet she chose to deal with the sneaky rat alone.

She looked worried, not just about whatever was happening, but because Victoria wasn’t acting like herself. She shot Nash a quick glance as she passed him, eyes wide, like what the hell are you doing?, then slipped out.

Now it was just them.

Victoria leaned back in her chair, cheek resting on her gold hand, looking almost bored.

"Tell me, Nash," she said quietly. "What exactly do you think you know? And what are you planning to do with it?"

Nash focused. He knew Victoria wouldn’t just spill everything; she wasn’t the type. He had to be smart about this. This was the kind of moment where he deeply regretted not having checked her triggers earlier, but he was experienced enough to navigate his way without it.

It was all a tongue game, just pay attention to her reaction. First, he tried the nice way, soft voice, honest eyes.

"I’m not here to threaten you," he said gently. "I can see you’re carrying something too big for one person. You built this whole empire, but it’s cracking. I just wanna help. You don’t have to do it alone."

Victoria smirked. She waved a lazy gold hand.

"How sweet," she drawled. "The underground’s newest hero here to save me." She snorted. "Am I supposed to cry and confess now? Please. Skip the bad drama."

Nash immediately saw it wasn’t working; she didn’t care about soft words. She liked strength. Directness. So he switched gears.

Leaned in, voice sharper.

"You dragged us all into something dangerous," he said. "Create a situation you can’t control. If this goes wrong, we all go down with you. You need to wake up before it’s too late."

Victoria’s eyes flashed.

"And who the hell are you to lecture me?" Her voice turned icy. "You’re still new here, Blaze. Don’t act like you know everything."

Nash swallowed, very wrong button. She was getting mad; she probably hated being told what to do.

Even without seeing them, he could feel her trust and affection lowering. This wasn’t working either. Nash felt his own frustration rise, but he swallowed it. It wasn’t that hard; he had done it before, and he could have a conversation with Victoria and actually make her listen.

Even without ever checking her triggers, and just because, while being the hardest to reach, she was quite simple to deal with... when...

His eyes widened a little. He straightened, took a little breath, and gave her a calm gaze.

"I don’t know everything, but I know it’s your fault we’re in this mess," he said. "Why does someone else own the Midnight Rest? Why could we lose everything overnight? Who really runs this team? I made a deal with you, Victoria. Not a guy named Harlan Reiss working under someone who apparently has a beef with you. So explain why the person who put me here can’t even promise me I won’t wake up tomorrow with nothing."

Voice calm, no emotion, no act. Just straight facts without bullshit. Victoria didn’t answer, just stared at him for a long moment. Then she sighed, rubbing her gold fingers against her temple like she had a headache.

"You don’t have to worry about your situation," she admitted flatly. "As long as you perform as usual, nobody’s taking your spot yet. The setup’s stable enough."

Bingo. Nash saw the crack and pushed through it.

"I know Baby Boom’s manager and Harlan Reiss are connected to Apex Records, and you, too, apparently," he said. "So that make you look like their pawn. Problem is, Monique wants me, an for some reason she seems to have a higher status than you in Apex Record. So if you’re just a pawn lesser than her, why wouldn’t they root for her and take me to her?"

Victoria froze, just for a second. Then she straightened in her chair, eyes locked on him. Boredom gone, now she was present.

Nash knew he had her.

Victoria slowly lifted her hand and rubbed at her sinuses like the whole conversation was giving her a migraine. She even closed her eyes for a second, like she was trying to push away the headache Nash was giving her just by existing.

"Three months ago," she said, with a weird little smirk in her voice, "I would have buried you for calling me a pawn."

Nash leaned forward over the desk, close enough that his breath probably mixed with whatever stupidly expensive perfume she was wearing.

"And one month from today," he shot back, "I could bury anyone messing with us. Your call, Victoria."

Then he straightened up, slow, like he had all the time in the world, turned away, and took a couple of steps like he was about to leave. But he stopped, crossed his arms, and looked back at her over his shoulder.

"So stop treating me like trash. Put me in the game for real. Tell me what’s actually going on."

Victoria sighed and slumped back in her chair.

"This is why you don’t give gold to a rat," she muttered, mostly to herself. "Eventually, he starts thinking he’s the king of rats."

Nash turned all the way around then, keeping this little smirk while he walked back to the desk. He leaned down, planted one hand on the wood, and got right in her face.

"Yeah," he said. "I am a rat. The king of rats. But you?" He tilted his head, "Right now, you’re the queen of nothing."

He leaned in closer. Close enough that she probably saw her own reflection in his eyes.

"When I got here, this team was a joke. Losing every match against me. Now? We’re winning. And I can make us even better. Give me four sticks, and I’ll turn them into champions." His voice dropped. "So, from where I’m standing? I’m not the rat in this story. I’m the gold. And you? You’re the rat whose whole empire’s gonna crumble without me."

He straightened.

"Here’s how this goes," he said. "You tell me everything about Harlan Reiss and Apex Records... or I walk out with Aiko, take Monique’s deal, and get the truth from the other side."