It was subtle, but Victoria saw it.
He had expected her to arrive with anger and accusations. He had not expected her to possess evidence that connected him to the events surrounding Daniel's disappearance.
Mason quickly recovered.
"You're making a serious mistake."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you lied."
His jaw tightened.
"Watch your mouth."
Victoria shook her head.
"No. I've watched my mouth for months. I've watched other people stay silent because they were afraid of what you might do. I've watched Daniel's family suffer while you told everyone he had abandoned them."
Mason's face reddened.
"You don't know what I've done for this club."
"I know what you've done for yourself."
The words struck harder than she intended.
Mason's eyes flashed with anger.
He had spent years presenting himself as the man who protected the Black Vipers. He had used his position to settle disputes, organize events, and make decisions on behalf of the group.
He believed that history gave him the right to demand loyalty.
Victoria saw it differently.
She remembered the early years, when Mason had been willing to listen to anyone with a useful idea. She remembered how the club had once encouraged members to question decisions if they believed someone was being treated unfairly.
Somewhere along the way, Mason had changed.
Or perhaps the power had simply revealed a part of him that had always existed.
"You think you're better than me?" Mason asked.
"No."
"Then stop acting like you can judge me."
"I'm judging what you've done."
He took another step toward her.
"You have no idea what it takes to keep a club like this together."
Victoria looked around the parking lot.
"I know it takes trust. I know it takes people who show up when someone needs help. I know it takes honesty when things go wrong."
She paused.
"And I know that fear is not the same thing as respect."
Several riders lowered their eyes.
Mason noticed.
His anger became sharper because he could feel the group slipping away from him.
"You've said enough."
"Not yet."
"Victoria."
She held his gaze.
"Daniel trusted you. He believed you were going to investigate the stolen motorcycles. He believed you would protect the club from people who were abusing it."
Mason's face became rigid.
Victoria continued.
"Instead, you turned the club against him. You let Ryan believe his brother had abandoned him. You allowed people to repeat lies while you knew there were unanswered questions."
Mason's voice dropped.
"Leave."
"No."
"Leave now."
"No."
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Mason gave a dismissive laugh.
"You always thought you could come in here and tell everyone how to behave."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"And you always thought being the loudest person in the room meant you were right."
She slapped him.
The sound echoed beneath the gas station canopy.
Every rider froze.
Travis stopped halfway through opening a bottle of water. Frank stared at Mason. A customer emerging from the convenience store paused beside the door.
Mason turned his face slowly back toward Victoria.
He looked stunned.
Nobody had ever struck him in front of his own crew.
For a moment, he seemed unable to decide whether he was more angry about the slap or the fact that everyone had witnessed it.
Victoria lowered her hand.
"That was for Daniel."
Mason's expression darkened.
"You have just made a terrible mistake."
Victoria did not retreat.
"No, Mason. The mistake was believing that you would eventually do the right thing without being forced to face the truth."
He moved closer, and the riders shifted uneasily.
But Victoria was no longer interested in arguing.
She reached into her jacket and removed her phone.
Mason noticed immediately.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling someone."
"Put it away."
She unlocked the screen.
"Who do you think you're calling?"
Victoria selected a contact.
"Someone who has been waiting a long time to speak to you."
Mason's confidence faltered.
"Victoria, don't."
She raised the phone to her ear.
The call connected.
"Yes," she said. "I'm here."
Mason stared at her.
Victoria continued.
"He denied everything again."
A pause.
"Yes. The whole crew is here."
Mason's face had lost some of its color.
Victoria tapped the speaker icon.
A familiar voice emerged from the phone.
"Mason?"
The biker boss went completely still.
It was a voice he had spent six months trying to forget.
A voice he had told the club would never be heard again.
Daniel Mercer was alive.
Chapter 5: The Phone Call That Changed Everything
For several seconds, Mason did not speak.
The members of the Black Vipers looked from Victoria to the phone, struggling to understand what they were hearing.
Frank moved closer.
"Daniel?"
The voice answered.
"Frank? Is that you?"
Frank's mouth fell open.
"Where have you been?"
Daniel gave a tired laugh.
"That's a long story."
Mason finally found his voice.
"No. This isn't possible."
Daniel heard him.
"Hello, Mason."
Mason stared at the phone as though it were something dangerous.
"You can't be there."
"I'm not at the gas station."
"Then where are you?"
"Somewhere safe."
Mason's eyes moved toward Victoria.
"You planned this."
Victoria shook her head.
"Daniel chose to speak. I chose to stop letting you silence him."
Daniel's voice became firmer.
"Mason, I've spent months wondering whether I would ever be able to speak to these people again. I didn't know who you had turned against me, and I didn't know whether contacting my brother would put him in danger."
Ryan had not been at the gas station, but Victoria had arranged for him to hear the call from a secure location with the investigators. He was listening through a separate connection, waiting for the moment he had hoped for since receiving the envelope.
He pressed a hand over his mouth.
His brother was alive.
After six months of unanswered calls, sleepless nights, and painful uncertainty, Ryan could finally hear Daniel's voice.