The Nanny // Faye Yoko AU

Chapter 29 It's about Mikey

Faye's footsteps were deliberate, each one echoing with a weight that made the room seem smaller. Without breaking eye contact with Madam Lavigne, she walked to one of the rooms, pulling open the door to reveal Ana, tied to a chair, her eyes wide with fear, struggling against her restraints. Her muffled cries for help filled the tense silence of the room.

"I'd hate to demand satisfaction," Faye said, her voice calm but laced with unmistakable authority. "But perhaps you're here to make amends." Her gaze was ice-cold, as if daring Madam Lavigne to deny her part in all of this.

"Pah!" Madam Lavigne scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Nannies are a dime a dozen. Keep her for all I care." Her voice dripped with indifference, and it was clear she had no regard for Ana or the people who worked for her. They were tools to be discarded at her whim.

Faye's jaw clenched at the callousness, her lips pressing into a thin line of frustration. "I'm not in the market," she said sharply, her eyes narrowing into a glare that could cut glass. The tension between the two women was palpable, electric, and dangerous.

Madam Lavigne met Faye's glare with one of her own, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Don't give me that look," she said, her tone mocking, as if she enjoyed provoking Faye. "You caught me, I'll admit that much before your people crushed the devices." Her gaze flickered toward Ana, as if she was little more than a nuisance. Then she turned back to Faye, jabbing a finger in her direction. "But you invited it. Don't be naive."

Faye's fists clenched at her sides, the muscles in her neck tightening. The accusation hung heavy in the air, and though her face remained stoic, Yoko could sense the frustration bubbling beneath the surface. Invited it? Yoko's mind raced. This whole situation was a setup?

"This is my city," Madam Lavigne continued, her voice low and dangerous. "A fire will be the least of your problems if you ever forget it." The threat lingered, settling like a dark cloud over the room, the words crawling under Yoko's skin.

The room was silent, tension so thick it could be sliced through. Faye remained still, her eyes locked on Madam Lavigne, her expression unreadable but seething just beneath the surface.

Madam Lavigne then turned her attention to her son, softening only slightly as she said, "Come, Louis." She pulled him toward the door, the boy completely oblivious to the darkness swirling around the adults.

"Bye, Mikey!" Louis said cheerfully, waving over his shoulder, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents that had just unfolded.

Mikey waved back, but her brow furrowed with confusion as she looked between her mother and the departing guests. Yoko, standing quietly behind her, felt the weight of everything that had just transpired, the layers of threats, power, and danger hanging in the air like a sword over their heads.

Mikey stood next to her mother, both watching Madam Lavigne and Louis disappear down the hallway. There was a tension between them, but not the kind that usually followed these encounters—something softer.

"What have we learned about assumptions?" Faye asked, her voice calm but with an edge of teaching to it as she glanced down at her daughter.

Mikey looked up, cradling the rubber duck Louis had given her. Her lips curled into a small, mischievous smile. "I like Louis even better now," she said, as if the whole mob drama that had just unfolded was nothing more than a funny anecdote. She stared at the duck for a moment before adding, "This one's my new favorite."

Faye stifled a chuckle, then nudged her gently. "Go change for dinner," she instructed, her voice firm but affectionate.

As Mikey scampered off to her room, Nicco appeared, pointing to Ana, whose face was pale and full of dread. "I'll throw this one back into the sea," he said, nodding toward the trembling nanny. Ana's eyes darted around, clearly panicked, but Nicco gave her no room to argue.