𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟔

Maeve's eyes stung whilst she sat in the lukewarm bath. She pulled the water over her skin and watched as it beaded off slowly.

The house felt empty. It felt cold.

Finn was downstairs with Isiah doing god knows what. Maeve was simply sat in the bath staring at the wall with a blank expression. It had been a long time since she felt like this.

Her heart pounded but she finally decided to get out, gripping the sides of the metal tub and pulling herself up. She glanced at the minor scratches and cuts on her hands from all the scratching she'd done to get Arthur's blood off of her skin.

Maeve stared at the black dress that hung up by the door. It was as if it was  taunting her — which was impossible because it was an item of clothing.

She shakily dried herself off and slipped the dress over her body.

-

Everybody stood out on Watery Lane, the sound of horses walking echoed down the street. John held his arm around Maeve's shoulders whilst they watched the wagon pass them.

Some people stepped out to place flowers down but Maeve was staring at Linda. The wife of her father who seemed far too relaxed to be attending the funeral of her husband.

She shook it off and looked down at the floor. John squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring way and she sniffed.

"He wasn't supposed to die, John." Maeve shook her head, a guilty look on her face. "It was supposed to be me— or Tommy. Not him."

"I've told you already, do not blame yourself for this. It was all out of your control. It was out of Tommy's control too." John said to her. Maeve looked out at the horses and it all appeared in her head again.

-

Maeve sat with her feet on the table. Tommy leaned over the table and Polly stood to greet Micheal who had just walked through the house.

"Maeve, i've been trying to think of words." He began. "Don't." Polly quickly stopped him. "Words don't work. Michael, we're in a grave situation. Tommy has a plan."

Maeve scoffed obnoxiously and Tommy just looked at her, knowing the situation was far too fragile to be arguing with her.

"Instead of going to Australia, you're going to New York." Polly told her son. Micheal's face dropped. "Why?"

"Because the company has business to attend to in America." Ada informed him. He took a breath. "Will i be coming back?" Micheal questioned.

"Train leaves in an hour, Micheal." Tommy said bluntly. "You made a choice. You knew it was going to be shot. And you chose not to tell me." Tommy said.

Maeve looked up at Micheal with a somewhat sly look in her eyes. She remembered that day in the hospitals

"I chose my mum."

"When all this business is over, we'll all be free to make our own choices." Polly said. "So is that it?" Micheal asked.

"You get the train to Liverpool on the SS to Monroe. The boat sails tomorrow." Tommy lifted an envelope up for Micheal. "Now you can go."

"You're a coward, Micheal." Maeve whispered. They all looked at her. "You're a fucking coward." She said, biting the skin around her fingers anxiously.

"Maeve." Polly scolded.

"Oh, fuck off Aunt Pol." She shook her head, her eyes still focused on the table. "Just fuck off." She repeated. "Your son is a coward who knows nothing about family loyalty. Nothing at all. We welcomed you into this family with open arms and this is what you do?"

Nobody knew what to say. They were afraid of making her snap and causing a larger problem.

Micheal didn't argue with her because he knew she was correct. "I'm sorry, Maeve." And with that he turned and walked back throughout the house.

"Don't fucking look at me like that." Maeve scowled at Polly who was glaring at her. "I said don't look at me like that!" She snapped.

"Alright, Maeve." John whispered, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Stop— don't say that! You're not my dad and you never will be!" Maeve shouted, staring hard at the table with both her palms flat on it whilst she leaned forward.

Everyone shared an anxious look as they watched the girl silently break down in her chair.

"You're all bastards, the lot of you." She said before pushing her chair away and storming out, slamming the door behind her.

"You have to tell her, Tommy. Or you have to get this over with soon before she does something all of us will regret." Polly said to Tommy.

-

Everybody stood before the wagon that supposedly held Arthur's body. Charlie and Curly threw gasoline on the wood whilst Ada placed down some last few flowers.

A woman approached from the grass, a white flag in hand and it took Tommy to pull Maeve back before she charged at the woman. Audrey Changretta. Maeve could've killed the woman if they'd have let her go after her. But Tommy kept her back, knowing it was some sort of peace offering.

"Please, wait till we're finished." He asked Audrey before walking back to the family.

Audrey stared at them all and they all stared back. "How dare you turn up here— how dare you!" Maeve finally stormed forward, pointing a finger at the woman. "You deserve to die too! Just like your husband— you're all dirty fucking Italians!" Maeve hissed.

Audrey didn't even flinch.

"And your son deserves to rot in hell!" Maeve shouted loudly. This time, nobody held her back or went after her because a part of them wouldn't
mind if Maeve did something to Audrey.

-

"What the fuck did that whore want?" Maeve hissed as she walked alongside Finn and Tommy. They'd had some sort of meeting with Audrey Changretta but refused to let Maeve sit in on it — incase she flipped out.

Finn pulled his hat over his head and shrugged. "She was chatting some nonsense about how they'll take everything from us— our businesses..you know, all that."

She rolled her eyes and continued walking. "So what is it that we're doing now?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Polly said plainly. "And you don't answer a lot of questions," she retorted. Polly just shook her head.

"We're ending it with Luca today. We're handing over all our businesses and—" Tommy began. A dramatic gasp left her mouth. "You bloody what— you're just signing them over to him? For what! Dad's dead, they killed him. So you're..so you're rewarding them?"

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose and raised a hand to stop her. "Maeve, it's all apart of a plan."

She scoffed. "Just like everything else. All apart of a fucking plan." Maeve said sarcastically.

-

Tommy watched as Luca and his men walked into the room where Tommy made his gin, guns in their hands. Maeve took a deep breath and remained beside Finn.

"Look at them," Luca spoke in Italian. "All that's left of the Peaky fucking Blinders." He taunted, stepping in front of Tommy, clicking his fingers and the man behind him placing a briefcase onto the table.

"I've had my lawyer draw up these papers.." he said. "Cover ever enterprise in your possession. Bars, restaurants, warehouses. Every fucking thing that you have taken all that years to gather together. You will sign them all over."

Maeve wanted to say something. She wanted to shout and scream about how it wasn't fair. About how they'd taken her dad away from her. But she couldn't do that because she had done the exact same to them. And Maeve wasn't a child anymore. No, not anymore.

"To my family. Or you're gonna die. Right here. And once i've killed you, i'll kill Micheal Gray." Luca continued and pointed at Maeve, keeping eye contact with her.

"I would've buried you all. But my mother, she knows you, she said, it'll be worse for you if i let you live. And take away everything that you have."

Maeve's heart was pounding ridiculously quick.

"Search them," Luca instructed the other men as he pulled a gun from Tommys jacket. "Especially don't trust this bitch." he insulted Polly.

They began patting the four down and they all complied — apart from Maeve who tried to put up a fight but got a look from Tommy that made her give in.

The men stepped back.

"So." Luca began, holding up a pen. "Sign. Every fucking one of them." He taunted.

The pen rolled onto the floor.

Tommy looked down at the pen. "You can sign them on your knees." Luca tormented. "On the floor," he wiped the papers off the table.

Luca had noticed the hard glare Maeve was giving him and he stared right back at her.  Tommy did nothing. Luca flipped the table, growing angry.

"Get on your fucking knees and sign." he shouted. A grin appeared on Tommys face.

"Hold on a minute— no need to fucking shout." Maeve held her hand up. "You can't come in here and get everything you want, alright? You're not a child so don't fucking act like one."

"A friend of mine once said," Tommy interrupted, picking up the paper. "Big fucks small. So i had to find someone bigger than you. Now you may know there are two families in Brooklyn, who want to take over your monopoly on the import of liquor into New York." he said.

"But if they move against you in New York, they'll start a war between the families." Polly spoke.

"But if you were to die in a vendetta, with some fucking bookmaker in Birmingham, they could take over your business without a war." Tommy nodded.

"We also contacted a businessman in Chicago. He's also interested in moving into the liquor business in New York," Polly added.

"His name is Alphonse Capone." Tommy said with a smirk.

"You been talking to that fat fuck?" Luca asked, looking over at him, scowling.

"You see all the blood relatives you've brought with you from New York, Mr Changretta, they're all dead. And these men here—" he pointed behind him. "They work for money for the highest bidder, they now have new orders."

"Is that right?" Luca asked. He turned around, looking at his men. "Is that right?" he repeated.

The men stood down. "And you, Matteo?"

He stayed silent.

"Hey..very fucking" Luca pulled the gun from his pocket and Tommy knocked it out of his hand, grabbing him and fighting with him.

The door opened and more men walked in behind Arthur. Maeve's mouth parted as her father walked in with two other blinders, guns in hand.

She wanted to scream.

Luca looked at Arthur with wide eyes, Arthur's gun pointed. Time moved slowly like many moments before. A shot fired and soon enough Luca fell to the floor, a bullet being sent right between his eyes.

"Tell your people in Chicago, that Micheal Gray will sign the import license to New York." Tommy pointed at the men. "Three hundred barrels of English dry gin a month."

"Leave," Arthur said to them, "Tell your boss what you saw here today and tell him you don't fuck with the Peaky Blinders."

Maeve practically ran to Arthur, jumping into his arms. He held her tightly and sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into her shoulder.

"You're not dead?"

"You didn't think i'd leave you that easily did you?" He whispered. Maeve refused to let tears fall from her eyes this time. Yes she was overjoyed that Arthur was in fact alive but a part of her was more than furious that the family had lied to her about such a thing.

"But i watched you die?" Maeve muttered.

Arthur smirked. "What can I say? Always been good at acting," he joked. Maeve rolled her eyes and hugged him tighter.

-

Everyone had gathering in the large room of Tommy's home, drinking whilst music played in the background.

"Listen up," Tommy got everyone's attention. Maeve looked up, staying in the comfort of being beside Isiah as he kept his arm around her.  "Before we go and eat, i'd like to say a few words." he said. "Last time we were all here, it ended badly.."

Her mind went back to when he'd had them all arrested.

"Yeah," Arthur mumbled. "But now we're in a happier place. That's it, i'd just like to raise a toast." Tommy raised his glass.

"Hold on," Arthur stopped him. "A few words i want to say from the heart." Tommy nodded, allowing him to continue. "And this time you're gonna let me finish, Tommy." he joked. "Now as you all know, Arthur Shelby is dead. Cause of that, Tommys offered me a way out, a new identity. Start a whole new life for myself and i've thought about it. Made a decision. I ain't fucking going nowhere."

Everyone laughed at his words.

"Our enemies are gone, dead, all of em, for the first time since me, my two kid brothers, Tommy and John. Enlisted in the Warwickshire Yeomanry, we have peace. So, i think i'd like to make a proposal, to all of you, the Shelby Company Limited, insist that Tommy here, takes some time off."

Lizzie looked up at Tommy with a smile.

"Time you took a holiday Tom. Put your feet up. Wars over. No one wants to kill us. So, to peace." he raised his glass.

"To peace." they repeated.

Maeve clapped lightly. "But before we all go back to drinking and all that rubbish, that ain't all we're here for today." Arthur continued. "We're here to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of our lovely Maeve!"

She grinned and grew a light crimson colour when they began clapping loudly. John whistled and ruffled Maeve's hair from behind the couch. She scoffed and shoved his hand away.

"She might've spent her birthday locked up but that don't mean she don't deserve to celebrate. Even if it is indeed weeks later!"

Isiah placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered a few things to her.

"To Maeve— because god only knows what we'd do without her!" John said loudly, raising a glass into the air. "To Maeve." They all agreed.

"To a better fucking future." Maeve muttered under her breath whilst still keeping a smile on her face.

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