'I Do' For Revenge-Chapter 242: Terms of survival

AXEL’S POV

Three hours.

That’s how long Tye and I spent turning Charles’s trap into ours.

The war room had transformed into a command centre. Monitors displayed blueprints of Café Lumière, satellite images of the surrounding blocks, and personnel files of Tye’s operatives.

Red lines marked sight lines, blue dots indicated positioned assets, and yellow zones highlighted potential threats.

"The café has four exits," Tye said, pointing at the blueprint. "Main entrance on 52nd, service entrance in the back alley, emergency exit to the west, and a connecting door to the building next door that most people don’t know about."

"Charles knows about it," I said flatly.

"Of course he does," Tye agreed. "Which is why we’ll have someone at each one. Former Delta Force for the main entrance, he’ll be playing a businessman on his laptop. Navy SEAL at the service entrance, dressed as a delivery driver. The other two get surveillance teams."

Layla sat across from us, looking pale but determined. "What about inside?"

"Two baristas who aren’t actually baristas," Tye said. "Both trained operatives. Three customers scattered throughout: one reading a newspaper, one on a date, one working on a tablet. All armed, all with clear lines of sight to Charles’s usual spot."

"How do you know his usual spot?" Layla asked.

"Because I’ve been tracking his credit cards," Tye said. "Charles has been to Café Lumière four times in the past month. He always sits in the back corner booth. It gives him a view of the entrance and puts his back to the wall."

"Smart," I muttered.

"Not smart enough," Tye said. "That corner booth also puts him directly in view of our barista at the espresso machine and the customer on the date. If he tries anything, they’ll have him before he can blink."

I studied the layout, looking for weaknesses. "What about counter-surveillance? Charles specified that Layla come alone. If he spots our people, he’ll run."

"That’s the tricky part," Tye admitted. "Charles is paranoid and well-trained. He’ll be scanning for surveillance the moment Layla walks in."

"So how do we avoid detection?" Layla asked.

Tye pulled up photographs of his team. "We use people Charles has never seen which are none of my usual crew. I’m pulling in operatives from outside networks: private security, retired intelligence. People with no connection to Eclipse. As far as Charles knows, they’re just random customers."

"And the wire?" I asked.

Tye held up what looked like a delicate silver bracelet. "State-of-the-art. Audio transmission hidden in the clasp. Nearly impossible to detect without a full-body scan. Plus, it doubles as a panic button. Layla presses the clasp three times fast, we come in immediately."

Layla took the bracelet, turning it over in her hands. "What if he asks me to leave my phone outside? Or checks me for surveillance?"

"Then you improvise," Tye said. "The bracelet looks like jewellery. Even if he’s suspicious, he’d need to examine it to know what it is physically. And if he gets that close, our people move in."

I didn’t like it. Too many variables, too many ways for Charles to surprise us.

"There’s another problem," I said. "Charles wants Layla desperately. He wants her coming to him with no other options, willing to make a deal. If he senses we have a backup plan, if he thinks she’s confident, he’ll know something’s wrong."

Layla looked at me. "So I have to convince him I’m truly desperate."

"Yes," I said quietly.

She nodded slowly. "That won’t be hard. Part of me really is desperate, Axel. Eclipse is burning. Three thousand employees are watching their jobs disappear. I just let it all collapse."

"This isn’t just about Eclipse," Tye said carefully. "Charles is playing a deeper game. The contamination attack, the evidence planting... it’s too elaborate just to destroy a cosmetics company. He wants something from you specifically."

"What could he possibly want?" Layla asked.

"Control," I said. "He wants you back under his influence. Eclipse was your proof of independence, your escape from his world. Destroying it brings you back to zero."

Layla’s jaw tightened. "Then we don’t let him destroy it."

"We won’t," Tye promised. "But you need to be ready for anything. Charles is unpredictable. He might offer you a deal, or he might just want to gloat. Either way, we need him to reveal the locations of the physical evidence."

"How do I get him to do that?" Layla asked.

"You negotiate," I said. "You make him think you’re willing to trade something valuable for the information. And you keep him talking long enough for us to get everything on record."

"What do I have that Charles wants?" Layla asked.

The question hung in the air.

"You," I said quietly. "He wants you to acknowledge him, to come to him for help, to prove that you still need him. That’s what this has always been about."

Layla’s expression hardened. "Then I’ll give him what he wants. I’ll play the desperate daughter coming home to daddy."

"Can you do that?" Tye asked. "Can you make him believe it?"

"I spent over twenty years doing that," Layla said coldly. "I can pretend for one more hour."

—

Tye left to position his team. That gave me thirty minutes alone with Layla before she had to leave.

She stood by the window, staring out at the city.

"Talk to me," I said, walking up behind her.

"I’m scared," she admitted. "Not of Charles hurting me physically. I know you’ll have people there. I’m scared of what he’ll say, what he’ll offer, how he’ll try to manipulate me."

I wrapped my arms around her from behind. "He can’t manipulate you anymore. You see him clearly now."

"Do I?" She turned to face me. "Axel, what if part of me still wants his approval? What if I sit down across from him and some broken piece of me still sees him as my father?"

"Then you remember who you really are," I said firmly. "You’re Layla Hunington O’Brien, not Watson. You built Eclipse from nothing. You survived his abuse, exposed his crimes, and you’re still standing. He doesn’t get to define you anymore."

She leaned into me. "Promise me something."

"Anything."

"If this goes wrong, if Charles somehow wins, if Eclipse falls... promise me you won’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault. None of it."

"Layla..."

"Promise me, Axel."

I kissed her forehead. "I promise. But it’s not going to come to that."

She looked up at me, and I saw the woman I fell in love with.

"I need to get ready," she said.

I watched her transform. She changed into a simple black dress, tied her hair back, and removed most of her jewellery except the wire bracelet. No makeup, no armour. She looked younger, more vulnerable.

It was perfect. And it terrified me.

"Remember the signal," I said as she prepared to leave. "If anything feels wrong, if you’re threatened for even a second, you say the word ’dentist’, and we storm in. I don’t care if it blows the operation. Your life is worth more than Eclipse, more than catching Charles, more than everything."

She kissed me. "I know. That’s why this will work, because he doesn’t understand that I’m not alone anymore. I’ll never be alone again."

—

Thirty minutes later, I was in the surveillance van with Tye, watching multiple screens showing different angles of Café Lumière.

"All operatives in position," Tye reported. "Barista One at the espresso machine. Barista Two at the register. Customer One at the window table. Customer Two on a date near the back. Customer Three working at a center table. Exit teams ready."

"Audio check," I said.

Tye typed commands. Layla’s voice came through clearly: "Testing. Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Tye confirmed through her earpiece. "Remember, we’re with you every step."

On the screen, I watched Layla approach the café entrance. She paused, took a visible breath, and walked inside.

The café was moderately busy, exactly what Charles wanted. Enough people that our operatives blended in, but not so crowded that he’d feel exposed.

Layla scanned the room, and I saw her freeze slightly.

Charles sat in the back corner booth, exactly where Tye predicted. He wore an expensive suit, his silver hair perfectly styled, looking like a successful businessman enjoying an afternoon coffee.

He smiled when he saw her. It wasn’t a scary smile, but a proud one. It felt like a father welcoming his daughter back home after a long time away.

Layla walked toward him slowly, and I could hear her breathing through the wire.

Charles stood as she approached, ever the gentleman. "Layla," he said warmly. "I knew you’d come. Please, sit."

She slid into the booth across from him.

Charles settled back into his seat, his smile widening. "Now then, shall we discuss the terms of Eclipse’s survival?"