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Ezra laughed, his anger mounting. "You want us to help you depose the same man we are seeking protection from."

"Yes." Helena repeated.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ezra snarled. "Why? Why would I do that? I don't even need your help against the Silent Hand. Why would I ever want to help you?"

"I'm glad you asked." Helena steepled her fingers. "First, you want my protection against Griffin. I can help and my help comes with a legal backing. Second, I have a plan. I already know what we have to do. Lastly, if you don't help me, I'll expose you to Griffin.

The infighting between the two of you would do half my job for me. What do you think?"

Ezra nearly attacked the peacekeeper. His hands bit into the table, drawing gouges into the wood. "Are you threatening me?" His voice was low and dangerous.

"Yes." Helena nodded. "If I don't ,somehow, make it out of this meeting alive, I have loyal peacekeepers waiting to send word of your betrayal to Griffin. The choice is yours."

Ezra stood, his chair skidding back behind him from the force of his motion. He took a step forward when a hand gripped his arm. He looked down at it and traced the hand to see Olivia staring at him.

Her eyes was sending him a message. Don't act now. Patience.

Ezra held her gaze for a long moment. He trusted Olivia. She had to have a reason for this. With a deep breath to calm himself, he righted his chair and sat down.

Helena watched everything calmly. She didn't display anything but confidence.

After Ezra sat, Olivia turned to Helena. "You said you had a plan, didn't you? Let us hear it."

Helena leaned forward, her expression intense as she began to speak. "We will be using the Law of Authority to depose Griffin. As I'm sure you're aware, the City Lord has made it clear that no count is to interfere in Southside. Griffin's ambitions have been growing, and he's been eyeing Southside for expansion. We can exploit this."

Olivia listened intently, nodding for her to continue.

"This is the only chance we have to depose him without a big battle needed." Helena took a deep breath, her eyes locking onto Ezra's. "I need you to use the assets of Ascension Capital to frame Griffin for disobeying the City Lord's orders. We need to make it look like Griffin is meddling directly in Southside, directly challenging the City Lord's authority."

"I can see the merit of your plan." Olivia frowned. "But how do we do that without exposing ourselves?"

Helena smiled, her eyes gleaming with determination. "First, we gather intelligence. Griffin has operations that he may have already initiated in Southside. I'll find them myself."

"Second, we create a false trail of documents linking those activities to Griffin. If we can't find anything on him, we'll create it ourselves. We just need to ensure that these documents and records are 'leaked' in a way that they can be discovered by the right people."

"I'll be using my trusted personnels to disseminate the information subtly. Lastly, we orchestrate a blatant violation of the count's orders."

"And how will you do that?" Ezra growled. "How will you blatantly violate the count orders and link it strongly to Griffin?"

"Didn't I answer this before?" Helena crossed her arms. "We use Ascension Capital's resources to stage an incident in Southside that directly contravenes the City Lord's orders. This could be in the form of a significant business deal or a hostile takeover attempt attributed to Griffin."

"This all lies with you, Ezra. You already control Ascension. All we need is to ensure that there are credible witnesses to this staged incident who can attest to Griffin's supposed involvement. Thankfully, we have the Arbiter for that."

"When we do all this, the City Lord will have no choice but to depose Griffin. It will be seen as a direct challenge to his authority, and he'll have to act decisively to maintain his control. No fights needed and no bloodshed. Griffin will be deposed."

Ezra couldn't help but be impressed by the plan. However, his anger wasn't completely gone. "I think you're forgetting something. The Arbiter wants me to keep Ascendant secure, not hand it to Griffin. She won't stand for this."

"She is aware of my plans." Helena answered. "She is prepared to lose a few assets to see Griffin lose his Authority as count."

Ezra stared in silence. "Assuming that's true, your plan is still too dangerous. One misstep, and it could backfire. And it'll be me and my coven that would be facing the consequences."

"You have to choose your poison, Ezra Matten. Will Griffin be informed and you face consequences without any allies. Or, we pull off this plan and Griffin only discovers your involvement at the last moment. A time when you'll have me as an ally and the Arbiter would be free to act openly as an impartial official of the law."

"The plan must be executed immediately after the Silent Hand is defeated. This ensures that there would be no distractions. All our allies will be briefed and ready to support the narrative once the plan is in motion. Their backing will add credibility to the accusations against Griffin."

Ezra kept staring silently at her. His fury, back with full force. She was pressing him into a corner.

"I will give you time to think on my offer." Helena stood, smoothening her uniform. "Choose well, Ezra Matten."

She nodded sharply and left the room. MVLeMpYr-the-story-platform

The moment Helena left the room, his fist crashed down on the table, severing it into two. His black zone rolled off him and sealed the room. He roared his rage into the sky.

Olivia watched him calmly.

After a minute, Ezra calmed himself. The Arbiter had promised salvation. Instead, she had brought him more problems.

Life as a vampire had almost made him forget. There was no such thing as a free meal.