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your pov
"Would you believe it?" the woman said, her voice laced with surprise. Her eyes darted between us, lingering longer on Violet. It was hard to tell whether the shock came from seeing her alive or just seeing her here, now.
"Surprise," I muttered flatly, the word devoid of any real sentiment.
She gestured for us to take a seat. Violet sat next to me, her posture rigid. I could see her fists tightening as soon as the woman mentioned Vander.
Hearing his name was like stepping into a gray world—a place drained of all warmth and life. Vander wasn't just a leader; he was family, the closest thing to a father any of us ever had. And now he was gone. Gone for good.
"Sweetheart, I was real sad to hear about Vander," the woman said, exhaling a plume of smoke.
"And the kids, just terrible." Her gaze shifted to me, a flicker of something—sympathy, maybe—crossing her face. "Thought you were dead that day, y/n. Apparently not, after you know..."
Of course, she knew. Everyone always seems to know.
Violet turned to me, her brow furrowed in confusion, but her expression quickly hardened. She looked back at the woman, her voice sharp with accusation. "By the looks of it, no one down here lifted a damn finger to stop Silco."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with frustration. I could feel her anger radiating, and I couldn't blame her. She was furious at the inaction, the cowardice, the way everything had crumbled.
I stayed quiet, my mind flashing back to that day. I tried to stop him—I tried to get Powder back. But I ended up left for dead, sprawled on the cold, hard ground of some alley.
Safe to say, Mylo was always right.
The woman's gaze softened as she looked at me. "A few tried," she said, almost apologetically. Then, turning back to Violet, she added, "But Silco's got the muscle... and the money."
She wasn't wrong. Down here, money and power were the currency of survival. Silco controlled both, and that meant he controlled everyone. Bribery, extortion, fear—it was the lifeblood of this place now.
"He took over The Last Drop," she continued, her voice quieter now.
I felt Violet's eyes on me, sharp and accusing. She'd seen me perform there. She knew it wasn't a one-time gig. And with Silco running it? Yeah, she was definitely pissed.
Her chuckle broke the tension, but it wasn't one of amusement. It was bitter, frustrated. She turned away from me, shaking her head. "Yeah, I noticed," she muttered, closing her eyes as if to calm herself.
The woman sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor. "Things have changed without Vander looking out for us," she said softly, her voice tinged with regret.
