#im sorry if you got duplicate notifications!! i accidentally deleted my reply

[invsiblestringswrites]

For her own sake, it was almost a blessing that she was only coming up with this plan now, hadn't had any time to sit with it and consider all she would be risking - sacrificing. "We have to give them something, but we don't have to give them you." She'd deluded herself for too long, thinking this day would never come. "Give them Gabriel." Them - she meant us. His father's third, a wily thing prone to brash decisions and a bred-in cruelty he seemed happy to indulge. "We can do it together. I'll have just as much skin in this as you will. And after.." And after, what? She'd be lucky if there even was an after, and it was selfish to even begin the sentence.

"that's the problem." archie snapped. he was angry, but he was also humiliated -- he felt stupid not to have seen it. he didn't know everything, she was right, but in that moment he felt like he didn't know anything. blind, naive, idiotic...his mind hurled the words at him, taking on his father's voice. archie was not a stupid person, he was well aware of that, but his feelings had clouded his judgement. he fixed evelyn with a penetrating look. he wondered if she was telling the truth, or whether this was a desperate attempt to save her own life. his money was on the latter. "go on then." he gestured with a wave of his hand. "please, go ahead, tell me your miraculous plan." because it would take nothing short of a miracle to keep them both alive and out of prison now.