Fiona’s Fold (The Deal)

"You ever make a deal you knew you shouldn't? Ever shake a hand and feel the weight of the lie before it's spoken? That's my life. That's my trade. Then Rhys walked in with a logo in his pocket and a prayer in his chest. And I thought… this one's different. This one's dangerous."

---

I've made a thousand deals.

A thousand hands. A thousand lies.

I've walked away from empires

With nothing but the dust in my eyes.

I've seen the ones who promise.

I've seen the ones who take.

I've seen the logos burn

And the empires break.

Then you walked in.

With a name you didn't want.

With a face that said "I'm honest"

And a voice that said "I'm scared."

I can read a lie in a heartbeat.

And yours wasn't a lie.

Yours was a wound.

And I didn't know how to fold a wound.

---

THE FOLD. THE FOLD. THE CARD IN MY SLEEVE.

I'VE WALKED AWAY FROM EVERYTHING I COULDN'T BELIEVE.

I'M NOT A CARD. I'M NOT A GAME.

I'M JUST A NAME THAT WANTS TO BE CLEAN.

THE DEAL IS MADE. THE DEAL IS REAL.

BUT WHAT DOES IT COST TO BELIEVE? TO FEEL?

---

I've made a thousand promises.

A thousand lies I told myself to sleep at night.

I told myself I wasn't them.

But every promise has a weight.

And every weight has a seam

Where the truth bleeds through.

You looked at me like a mark.

You saw the name and thought

"Another one. Another flame."

You were right. I was that.

But I'm trying to be something other than the ash.

---

"You want to know why I stayed? Why I didn't fold and walk away? Because you looked at me like I was something. Not a con. Just something worth building with. I've been running from that look my whole life. But you stayed. And I thought… maybe this one's different."

---

I've been running since I was a kid.

Running from the thing that took my sister.

I know running. I know the fear

That you'll become the thing that burned what you loved.

You looked at me like I was home.

You looked at me like I could be something other than the legacy.

Maybe we're not the cards we were dealt.

Maybe we're the hands that choose to build.

---

THE FOLD. THE FOLD. THE DEAL IS MADE.

I'VE WALKED AWAY FROM EVERYTHING I WAS AFRAID.

I'M STAYING. I'M NOT A CARD.

I'M BUILDING. IT'S NOT THAT HARD.

THE DEAL IS REAL. THE DEAL IS TRUE.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO BELIEVE IN YOU?

---

"I've made a thousand deals. But this one feels different. This one feels like staying. Maybe that's the fold. The one that folds you into something you didn't know you needed."

"Welcome to Atlas. Something new. Something worth building."

"We'll see. We'll see."