Chapter Twenty Two
"We'll fucking hang!"

Arabella stood silently in Tommy's office, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as the rest of the family gathered together in the room. Tommy remained sat behind his desk, his hands resting in front of him, alongside the numerous piles of money he had lay out across the table. Arabella was certainly curious as to where this was all going.

"Before I begin," Tommy spoke up, eyes slowly drifting over the room. "I want you to let you know I made a mistake. I made a mistake, and I want to apologise to all of you. Arthur, you warned me against getting involved in Russian business, and you were right. I doubted your wife. For that, I'm sorry." Tommy placed down a large wad of cash on the table, looking in the direction of his older brother. "Linda, I've added 3,000 here in the hope you will forgive me."

Linda slowly rose from the chair, placing a hand over her heavily pregnant stomach as she approached the desk, snatching the money without a word before returning back to her seat. "Apology accepted."

"Esme, I doubted you, as well," Tommy continued, casting a glance over to her, being met with a narrowed stare from the woman.

"Now, John's got innocent lives on his conscience," Esme snapped back, cradling her newborn baby in her arms. "Ordinary working men."

"Yeah, all right, Esme," John interjected, shutting his wife down quickly. Arabella glanced over at him as he lowered his head, her stomach tightening at the sight of the readable guilt etching across his face. "Got it."

"No, she's right," Tommy spoke up. "And you and Arthur are going to have to share that burden. But, I hope the house that you could buy with this can become a place of contemplation. Perhaps redemption." Arabella rolled her eyes at his words, resting her hand on the back of Esme's chair. The woman turned her head, sparing a glance up at Arabella, the two of them sharing an exasperated look. Tommy was clearly talking out of his arse.

Another bundle of cash was dropped down on the table, and John moved forwards to retrieve it. "Charlie," Tommy continued on, addressing his uncle. "For lost tools, dangerous goods and Curly's wise words. Johnny, for board and lodgings." Tommy pushed individual wars of cash towards both of them. "Lizzie–" he placed the money in front of her, but she shook her head, leaning forwards to toss it back to him without a word, her jaw tightening as she sat back in her seat, arms folding across her body.
"Arabella." Arabella snapped her head up upon the sound of her name. "For risking your life to protect my son."

She shook her head as he placed the money on the desk, not seeing it that way. Rescuing Charles from that monster Hughes was nothing to do with working for Tommy. And being by Michael's side the whole time wasn't for Tommy either, and it certainly wasn't for Father Hughes, it was because she cared about Michael, and she wanted to be someone he could rely on. That was what she risked her life for, and she would have done that whether she worked for Tommy or not. "Tom–"

"Michael," He continued, ignoring Arabella as he pushed two wads of cash to the front of the table. "For the killings. Five for cutting and five for shooting."

"No," Polly snapped firmly as she stood up, intercepting Michael from taking the money. "Tommy, no."

"What?!" He suddenly barked, straightening up as he met his Aunt's firm eyes. "Tell me, eh? This is who I am! And this is all I can give you for what you give me. For your hearts and your souls. Yesterday, I nearly lost my son. You should fucking understand that. For what?" He shook his head furiously. "For what? For this? For this?! And I know that you all want me to say that I'll change, that this fucking business will change. But I've learnt something in the last few days. Those bastards- those bastards are worse than us. Politicians, fucking judges, lords and ladies. They're worse than us, and they will never admit us to their palaces, no matter how legitimate we become, because of who we are. Because of who we fucking are, because of where we're fucking from."

"Isn't that right, Ada?" Tommy turned towards his sister. "Our Ada knows. She got smart about revolution. And she knows you have to get what you want your own way. Lizzie," He took a step forwards, indicating towards her. "I want it known, that money was for you because, some nights, it was you who stopped my heart from breaking. No-one else. And the rest of you, you took the King's shilling. You took the King's fucking shilling. When you take the King's shilling, the King expects you to kill. Right, Arthur? Yeah. That's how it works, right, John?"

"That's right," Michael spoke up, his voice cutting through the heavy atmosphere stifling the room. Arabella watched as he rose to his feet, moving to collect his money from the table whilst his mother scowled behind him.

"That's right, Pol," Tommy said, shifting his stare towards her. "That's fucking right."

"Tommy, you've had a bad time," Polly began, shaking her head at her nephew dismissively. "We understand. So, at an alternative time..." She took the money from Michael's hand, despite the frown deepening on his face at his clear annoyance by his mother's actions. "When we have all recovered. I would like to put before the family an alternative view of the future of the Shelby Company Limited. A more hopeful view."

"Which I, for one," Ada spoke up in agreement. "Would quite like to hear."

"As would I," Esme stood.

"As would I," Lizzie added.

Arabella nodded, hiding the small smile threatening to toy on her lips as she glanced over the women around her. "As would I."

The room fell silent at Polly's proposal, nobody else daring to speak up as the tension in the office grew heavier as Polly confidently placed the money down on the table with an audible thump. Tommy's shoulders stiffened as he glanced upwards at the ceiling, his hands resting in front of him on the desk, fingers curled tightly, nails scraping against the wood.

"Come on, Arthur," Linda spoke up, capturing the attention of the room. "The train for the dock leaves in one hour, then we'll get the boat to New York and it'll all be in the past."

"Wait, you're seriously leaving?" Arabella blurted out before she could stop herself, eyes landing on Arthur, searching his expression for an answer, but her expression soon began to falter when she received nothing.

"Yes," Linda answered for him. Arabella straightened up slightly, her jaw tightening as she met the woman's eyes from across the room. Lately, she had found that, whilst Linda was mostly a nice woman, and she clearly made Arthur very happy, which was what really mattered, Arabella could only tolerate her in very small doses.

Arabella remained still as everybody began to move to say goodbye to Arthur, a tight knot forming in her stomach. She'd grown closer to the eldest Shelby brother in the last few years, and by the look on Linda's face, it seemed as if the moment he got on that boat to America he wouldn't be coming back.

"All right, stay out of trouble you," Arthur told Arabella as he took a towards her. She exhaled heavily, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle as she closed her eyes shut, hesitant to let go. Arthur smiled down at her as he placed a hand on the top of her head, ruffling her hair gently.

"Be, uh, be safe," she told him, letting out a small cough as her voice became thick with emotion.

Arthur looked down at Arabella with a hint of sadness in his smile, knowing how much he was going to miss her. "You too."

She stepped aside, moving away to let the rest of his family say goodbye. Arthur headed towards John, who slapped his brother on the arm as a form of goodbye, unable to quite look him in the eye. Arthur slapped his younger brother back twice as hard, and Arabella probably would have laughed at their interaction if she wasn't struggling to hold back tears.

"I'll be off, then, Tom," Arthur said, nodding towards his brother. Tommy ignored him, taking a drag of his cigarette instead. "I'll see you, eh?" Arthur tried again. "I'll see you, brother." Upon no response from his brother, Arthur gave up, starting to move through the room. Arabella's eyebrows drew together as she studied Tommy for a moment, wondering why he was so silent. "Bye, Curly," Arthur nodded at the man, head hanging heavily in defeat as he stopped at the door beside Linda.

"You can go, but you won't get far, Arthur," Tommy finally spoke up, mouth drawn into a firm line.

Arabella turned her head to look at him as Arthur began to chuckle, waving his brother off.  "Ah, all right, Tom."

Arabella had a horrible feeling that perhaps he should be taking Tommy's warning as something much more serious.

"I spoke to Moss last night," Tommy started, the serious tone in his voice causing Arabella to swallow thickly in anticipation. She turned to face John beside her, the two of them sharing wary looks at the stoic expression written on Tommy's face. "He told me that the Chief Constable of Birmingham has issued a warrant for your arrest. Murder, sedition, conspiracy to cause explosion. John, they're coming for you, as well. Murder. Conspiracy to cause explosion. Michael–"

Arthur staggered forwards in shock, as John's face paled fearfully. "What the fuck?"

"–the murder of Hughes," Tommy continued on. Arabella shrank back unsteadily, her hand latching around John's arm. "Arabella." Her eyes snapped up, heart dropped upon hearing her name. "An accessory to the murder of Hughes."

Her grip on John loosened, arms growing limp by her side as she breathed out shakily, an intense feeling of nausea settling in her stomach. Her mind began to shut down, unwilling to even think anymore.

"Tommy, she didn't do anything!" Michael stormed forwards. "Tommy–"

Tears brimmed in Arabella's eyes as she stumbled backwards in a state of complete and utter shock, not once believing Tommy could ever do something like that to her. After everything she'd done for him...

"Polly–"

"Wait a minute," John snapped, interrupting firmly as he placed an arm protectively around Arabella, pulling her closer towards him. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"–The murder of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell," Tommy continued, his voice remaining completely emotionless. Arabella could feel herself growing angrier, the furious emotion replacing the panic rising in her from before.

"Why didn't you fucking tell us?" Arthur shouted. Arabella's body grew rigid, and Esme placed a hand on her shoulder in a quick attempt to comfort her.

"The people we betrayed last night want to bring us down," Tommy began to explain, raising his voice over the loud hammering that was beginning to thud against the door. Arabella swallowed thickly, and Esme tightened her grip on her, knowing the police were right outside their door. "They control the police, they control the judges, they control the juries, they control the jails. But they do not control the elected Government. Listen to me!" Tommy snapped, taking everybody's attention away from the door, but Arabella could no longer give a single shit about his excuses.

John released his arm from around Arabella, charging towards Tommy as Esme tugged her back quickly out of the way. "Why didn't you tell us before?!"

"You're my brother!" Arthur spat.

"Listen to me," Tommy continued, his dismissive attitude being the final factor in flaring Arabella's temper.

"They'll hang us!"

"So, I've made a deal–"

"How could you fucking do this?!" Arabella shouted shrilly, her eyes smouldering with anger as she stormed towards the desk.

"In return for giving evidence against them–"

"We'll fucking hang!" Arthur yelled.

"What the fuck have you done?!" Arabella cried out, emotion overcoming her as tears began to blur in her eyes. "How could you do this?!" She placed her hands against Tommy's chest, attempting to shove him backwards. "How could you fucking do this?!"

"It's all taken care of," Tommy finished calmly, as Arabella took a step back, breathing heavily as she stared up at Tommy in disbelief, her heart hammering furiously against her chest. Michael brushed his arm against hers as he moved beside her, watching as a single tear fell against her cheek. "Lizzie, collect up the money and bring it to the cellar. You will all get your money in due course. When the police get in, do not resist. You go with them, you do not say anything–"

"Bells, come on," John grabbed at her hand, pulling her back towards him.

"Arthur!" Tommy tried to shout over the growing noise, as John hurried Arabella and Esme in front of him towards the door. "Arthur, I've made a deal, with people even more powerful than our enemies. Arthur! Trust me, brother!"

Arabella rushed into the foyer, where they were immediately met by the police swarming around them. Her head began to spin as she took a step backwards, knocking into Michael, who placed a hand on her forearm to steady her.

John moved in front of Arabella, ordering Esme to run as police officers began cornering them. Michal quickly took Arabella's hand, tugging her backwards as the police moved in on them until they had been completely cornered. She soon found herself flung against the wall, strong arms pinning her down as she struggled against the tight grip held on her. The officer slammed a hand against her shoulder, forcefully shoving her hard against the wall, to get her to stand still, causing Arabella cry out in pain.

"Hey, stop!" John shouted from beside her as Arabella's face was slammed harshly against the wall. She turned her head, meeting his eyes desperately.

"John!" Arabella cried, unable to stop the tears falling down her face as her wrists were roughly pulled behind her back. "John!"

John was yanked away from the wall before he could respond, throwing out his arms as he fought to get back. Fearful sobs escaped Arabella's lips as she was pulled away from the way, being roughly dragged away from the people she loved.

Her tearful eyes soon found Tommy as he stood in the doorway, watching expressionlessly as the chaos unfolded all around him. "I fucking hate you!" Arabella ground out as she was shoved in his direction. She dug her heels firmly into the ground, slowing down so she could stop right in front of Tommy. She lifted her firm gaze, any trace of fear washed away, almost as if a pro tective shield had replaced any of the emotion on her expression. Her mouth curled in dis.gust as she met his cold eyes. "I will never fucking forgive you for this."

Tommy watched on silently as Arabella was yanked backwards, still fiercely struggling atsgainst the men dragging her away.

"Arabella!" Michael's desperate shout filled her ears, capturing her attention seconds before she was forced outside. "Arabella, I'm sorry!" She turned her head, their eyes locking one last time before she was shoved through the door, never to see the people she loved again.

A/N

Arabella is never going to forgive Tommy for this lmao

Sorry for the lack of updates, uni is slowly ruining my life 🙄