Before anything else, I'm leaving for a two weeks-long hike tomorrow, so I won't be on Tumblr for that time, and I won't be writing much for this fic so that might delay the updates a little bit, not much because chapter 6 is almost ready, but I won't have access to a computer until at least the beginning of June. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

As always in this fic, trigger warnings apply for this work, about domestic abuse and mention of domestic abuse.

Thank you for reading and commenting and sharing, it means the world :)

Even with the hot water of the shower running on her body and her boyfriend currently leaving a trail of kisses on her neck, Feyre kept thinking of the text she'd received an hour earlier. 7 pm, OakBridge park in The Rainbow. The number was unknown, but she knew who it was. And she'd spent the last hour thinking of what to say to Tamlin to get him to agree to her going out alone. Now, as his hands were roaming her body and she could feel his desire growing with every passing second, seemed like the perfect time to get him to agree to anything, so she kept on washing herself, and said in the most casual voice she could muster:

"I'm going out tonight."

Tamlin's hands kept on moving on her stomach, but he stopped his kisses and said into her ear: "What? To do what? With who?"

"Oh, I'm meeting an old friend of mine. She's in town for just a few days and she suggested we get coffee."

"Who is this friend? Why have I never heard of her?"

"She's someone I knew from high school, so I never mentioned her before, she lives on the West Coast."

"Why didn't you tell me anything sooner?" He asked as his hands stopped moving too. Feyre turned to him and encircled his body with her arms.

"Well, she leaves so far away, and she's never in town, so I didn't think I would see her. And she wrote to me only this morning so I didn't know before now."

"Where are you going to meet?"

"In a coffee shop in The Rainbow. We used to spend our afternoons there when we were teens, so we thought it'd be fun. Anyway, I'll go meet her and we'll have dinner a bit later, what do you think?" She said as she gave him her most genuine smile.

He stared at her for a while before he started to nibble at her neck again. "Alright, but don't be out too late, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't," Feyre answered, and she smiled as he started kissing his way down her body. She was finally going to get some answers.

It was 7:05 when she got to the bench in OakBridge park where the redhead was seated. She sat beside her, and was about to say hi when Sandy spoke.

"You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry, I…"

Sandy turned to her and cut her mid sentence: "I don't want excuses, I want you to be on time. I'm taking risks here. If Tamlin was to learn about what we were doing, I could lose my job with the company. Or worse."

"I'm truly sorry, Sandy."

Sandy sighed and fell back on the bench.

"It's fine. So, you're Tamlin's girl, huh?"

She hated that expression. "Yes, I'm his girlfriend."

"What do you know of his extracurricular activities?"

"Not much. I know that his father's company is involved. And I know that they've been working with Hybern Inc. for like the last couple of months or so. And I know that he has meetings by the docks, where their legal activities happen too. That's pretty much it."

Sandy looked at her for a while, before she exhaled and started talking.

"Oh honey, you don't know anything. Yes, your boyfriend's family is involved in drug dealing, and yes, they're working with Hybern Inc. But they have been working together for like ten years, it's nothing new. The only new thing is that they have a new supplier, so they need to work tighter schedules and be more careful around new people. That's why both companies have been working closer together. The meetings at the docks happen regularly, we go there and we check on the supplies, then we divide the goods, we register everything and we're on our way."

"Who are you in all this?"

"I work for Hybern Inc., I'm one of their top saleswomen."

"You mean… for the illegal stuff?"

Sandy let out a laugh. "You can say 'drugs' you know. And yes. Well, not only. I work for the company on legal contracts too, their food import business is thriving so not all my work is illegal, but yes, I'm also a saleswoman for 'illegal stuff' as you say."

Feyre looked at her, taking in her look one more time. This woman, with her dark blue pantsuit, her Chanel briefcase, her perfect makeup and her hair held tight in a low bun, was a drug dealer. She was the opposite of the image Feyre had in mind, of a white trash junkie selling drugs out of a dark alley. Those ones existed too, right? She knew so little of any of this, she actually understood why Sandy was laughing at her.

"Do you… Have you been involved in this for a long time?"

"Nearly fifteen years. But you don't care about me so stop asking questions that waste both our time, and get to the point."

"What do you know about Tamlin's activities? What does he do exactly?"

"From what I've seen since I started working more closely with him the last year or so, he handles most of the field work for his father. He checks on the shipments, handles the fair division of the goods between salespeople, since we all work on commission, from his company and Hybern Inc. and registers every transaction. Basically, that's what he does for his real job, and he just does it again for the drugs."

She spoke with such casualness about all this, Feyre almost felt dizzy at all this new information about Tamlin. He had lied to her on so many levels, she didn't dare to count them anymore. And she couldn't even talk to him about it, he would cut her off the second she'd mention it. Sandy's voice brought her back to reality.

"Look, I'm sorry if this is a lot to take in, but I can't stay long so if you have other questions, it's now or never, honey."

"I … No, not really."

"Good. I'll go, then," she said as she got up from the bench and left without another word. Feyre watched her leave towards the entrance of the park, but she stayed on the bench for a while longer, thinking about what she'd just learned. Maybe she should stop digging around for more information. It didn't bring her anything, anyway. She had trusted Tamlin completely before she'd learned of all this, and she missed that quiet time. She started wishing she could go back to a time before the garden party, before her conversation with Rhysand. But was it really what she wished for? Tamlin had lied to her for so long, and maybe she had been wrong to trust him so unconditionally. Because the only difference between now and before the garden party, was that she at least knew the truth. Now the question was: what did she want to do with said truth?

She got up from the bench and started walking away from it and to the exit. As she approached the flowery arch of the entrance, she saw two shadows standing under it. One was a tall brown-haired man, and the other was a short woman in her early forties wearing a dark blue pantsuit. Sandy. Just as Feyre wondered what she was still doing here, she recognized the man beside her, and her blood froze in her veins. Hart. One of Tamlin's security guards. She stopped a good 20 feet from them, but it was too late.

"Hello Miss Archeron. If you don't mind, your boyfriend would like to see you."

"So, coffee with an old friend, right?"

Tamlin was sitting behind his desk, looking at his computer, the absolute picture of calm. But Feyre knew him well enough to know he was anything but calm.

Hart had led Feyre and Sandy to a car where she had found Rhysand behind the wheel, and they'd driven back to her house. Tamlin had been waiting by the front door, and without acknowledging Feyre for even a second, he'd ordered Sandy into his office, and Rhys and Hart to stay with her in the living room. He'd been with Sandy for more than fifteen minutes before she'd come out crying.

And now Feyre was the one seated in the office, staring at her boyfriend, his voice colder than she'd ever heard it.

"I asked you a question. I'm waiting for an answer."

"You had me followed," she said in a soft voice, knowing it was a mistake to bring it up, but needing to do it nonetheless. He immediately got up from his chair and slammed both hands on the desk.

"Are you seriously going to bring this up right now?" He yelled. "Do you really think it's wise to start an argument with me, Feyre?"

She stayed seated in her chair but she didn't back down.

"Well, I'm sorry but since when are you having me followed?"

"It's none of your concern! And I was right to do it! You lied to me!"

"And you didn't lie to me?! You refused to give me answers to my perfectly legitimate questions and -"
"Shut up!" He cut her off and she jumped in fright. "I told you I didn't want you involved in this, and yet you keep on disobeying me! How am I supposed to trust you in these conditions?!"

"Trust me? You clearly don't trust me, Tam, you're having me followed!"

"I didn't know this person you were supposed to meet, I was protecting you!"

"Protecting me? How is having one of your thugs following me protection? Why don't you just admit that you were jealous of the very idea that I dared to have people in my life that you don't know about?"

He let out a bitter laugh at that, but he didn't seem any calmer when he resumed talking. "You know why I had you followed? Because I know you don't have any friends outside of mine. I couldn't believe that you were meeting a friend because you never go out to meet anyone." As he was talking, his tone became less angry, and his voice became tainted with disdain, as if he was mocking her. "I have to take you with me to meet my friends when I go out, because I know that you have no friends to meet with. How about the next time you want to lie to me, you make up a less pathetic story than 'meeting a friend', huh?" He was almost laughing now, and Feyre felt the familiar sensation of shame coursing through her. Because he was right, of course. She didn't have friends, why had she thought meeting a friend would be a good excuse? Of course he'd seen right through it and known it was a lie. She should have never tried to go behind his back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Tamlin came around from behind his desk and kneeled beside her. When she found the courage to look him in the eyes, she didn't find anger there, in fact he was smiling at her, a small, content smile.

"It's ok, Doll. I forgive you," he said in a sweet, soft voice, "and I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just worried about you, especially when you pry around my affairs with this job. It's too dangerous for you to know anything about it. But it's fine now," he finished as he took her face between his hands and kissed her. She felt her muscles relaxing at the thought of their argument being over, and she kissed him back, letting herself relish the warmth of his body against her. He stepped back after a few seconds.

"I need to speak with Rhysand now. Would you step out and tell him to wait outside for me to call him in?"

She nodded and he kissed her once more before going back to his chair. Feyre got up and went to the door of the office. She found Rhysand right outside, and when she looked towards the front door, she saw Hart outside, smoking a cigarette. She closed the door to the office.

"Tamlin wants to talk to you, he asked that you wait here," she blurted out, eager to get to the kitchen and make herself some tea. But Rhysand wasn't ready to let her go.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? I heard him yelling."

"I was wrong to do what I did. He was right to be angry," she answered, averting her eyes. Just because the brawl between her and Tamlin had been justified, didn't mean she had wanted a stranger to hear them.

"You shouldn't let him talk to you that way, Feyre."

"It's none of your concern how my boyfriend talks to me. You're a colleague of his, and I'd rather you stay away from our relationship, thank you very much."

"Feyre, I didn't want to offend you. But the way he talks to you, it's -"

He was interrupted by the sound of his name coming from Tamlin's office, so he sighed and went in, leaving her alone in the hallway. She was about to leave when she realized she could hear what they were saying in the office. She looked outside and saw Hart still busy with his cigarette, so she didn't move. After all, she wasn't disobeying, he'd told her to step out, not to leave. Tamlin was speaking, his voice composed again.

"I spoke with Sandy. I need you to set up a meeting with your boss as soon as possible."

"You want to reduce her share of product?"

"I want her to leave this operation completely. My family always trusted Hybern Inc. in all the transactions we had together, but clearly, there are people in your team I can't trust. This new supplier we're working with was a huge risk on my part, and I won't have unreliable people around me."

"Tamlin, I understand that what happened was bad, but Sandy has been working with Hybern Inc. for nearly fifteen years, she was always very reliable and -"

"Well clearly, she's not anymore."

"She made a mistake, but I don't know if it's a good idea to involve Mr. Hybern. You know how he usually deals with people that disappoint him."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Rhysand. You're on this operation as a representative for your boss, and now I'm asking to see him personally. And honestly, seeing as you're already on thin ice with me, I would suggest you stay in line."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Tamlin lowered his voice at that moment but she heard him say her name. She was about to lean closer to the door when a sudden racket at the front door surprised her. She moved away from the office in time to let Tamlin get out without seeing that she was still there. Rhysand came out after him, and he looked at her, but he didn't say anything and turned around towards the entrance.

The noise at the door was Hart, trying to stop Sandy from coming inside. Except that Sandy wasn't the woman who'd gone out half an hour earlier. She seemed very upset, almost violent in the way she was trying to push Hart out of the path to get in.

"What the hell is going on?" Tamlin asked, getting to the door first. Hart was about to answer but Sandy pushed him away, and as she looked at Tamlin, Feyre got a pretty clear view of her eyes. The light blue of her irises was nearly gone, her pupils dilated almost entirely, and the whites of her eyes were almost completely red.

"She took something," Rhys said from beside her, "stay back," and then he was actually pushing her back into the living room and joining the others at the door. But after only a few seconds, the sound of yelling grew closer, and Rhysand, Tamlin and Hart came through the living room, apparently backing away from a very upset Sandy, who saw Feyre and pointed at her.

"YOU! It's all your fault! You're the one who asked me to meet you, you're the one who wanted to know what was going on! Now I'm losing my biggest source of income because of you!"

"Back off, Sandy!" Tamlin yelled back at her, his fists clenched as if he was going to punch her. "You brought this on yourself! There aren't a lot of rules in this business: Don't talk to anyone about it, and don't take any of the product. You'd already broken one rule today, and clearly, you're completely high! Now consider yourself lucky that I don't call Hybern right away and tell him that I have his stoner of a dealer in my house!"

"You can't do this to me! I've been in this business since before you smoked your first joint, boy!"

"And clearly, you're not that good at it. Now get the hell out of my house."

"If you want me out, you're gonna need to throw me out! And you know what I'll do once I'm out of here? I'll go to the cops about your little business!" The room seemed to stop at those words, and Sandy smiled. "That's right, I've been working with your father for nearly ten years, longer with Hybern Inc. I have enough information on every deal that went down to put you and your whole family away for a long time."

Tamlin took in a long breath and seemed to have calmed down, although Feyre knew it was only a facade. "Sandy, don't do anything stupid. How about we talk about it in my office. I'm sure we can find a suitable amount of -"

"Money? I don't care about money, boy, I have enough money to live under the sun until I die. I care about respect! I'm going to go to the cops, strike a sweet, sweet deal, and then when your trial happens, I will make sure to be present at every single hearing you -"

She never finished her sentence. Instead, her face went from jubilation to surprise, as the red spread on her forehead. It only lasted a half second, but an eternity seemed to go by before she fell to the floor. Feyre looked at Sandy's body as it came to rest on the ground. Nothing else happened in that first second, and only when the blood started spreading on the rug, did Feyre start screaming.