"Where can I see you… in private?" she asked at last, voice low, trembling with a mixture of anger, fear, and something else she couldn't name.
For a beat, he didn't answer. Then his voice came, slow and deliberate, every syllable dripping with quiet triumph.
"Good girl. I knew you'd come around."
Lois closed her eyes, bile rising in her throat.
She hated the way those words made her shiver.
Hated that Ross sounded so certain, so in control. But there was no escaping it now.
She'd made her choice—the only one she believed could protect her mother.
She ended the call with numb fingers, the room spinning around her as the weight of what she'd agreed to sank in.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, her breath shallow.
She told herself this was for Mom—that she was doing the right thing.
But deep down, a cold voice whispered that Ross wasn't the kind of man you bargained with.
***
