I Knew

Intro – 8s, low piano, ticking clock]

Marco (calm, amused):

You always walk like the floor might listen.

Relax.

I already know.

⸻

I read the city like a balance sheet,

Every secret leaves a paper trail in the street,

You don’t switch sides without moving weight,

Without shaking hands you thought I wouldn’t trace.

Late-night calls, clean confessions,

Sudden courage, public repentance,

You think light makes you invisible?

Nah—

It just casts longer shadows.

Former Mayor (spoken, defensive):

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Marco:

I know everything you didn’t say.

⸻

Former Mayor:

I chose what was right.

Marco:

You chose what was safe.

Former Mayor:

I’m fixing my mistakes.

Marco:

You’re afraid of your legacy.

⸻

Marco:

I knew you’d fold when the light got loud,

When fear stopped working on the crowd,

You sold the dark, then sold it twice,

Now you wanna buy your soul back with advice?

Former Mayor:

You don’t own this city!

Marco:

No—

But I own the truth you’re hiding.

⸻

You think I don’t regret the deals I made?

The nights I chose calm over graves?

I told myself order was mercy’s twin,

Didn’t see the blood soaking in.

Isaiah made me face the cost,

Made me see what control had lost,

If standing up is switching sides—

Then yeah.

I switched to survive.

Marco (cold):

You switched because the wind changed.

⸻

Former Mayor:

You’re becoming worse than the villain you replaced.

Marco:

And you’re becoming honest—

That’s more dangerous.

⸻

Let me be clear so you understand,

I didn’t need you—I had a plan,

You were a bridge, a useful lie,

A familiar face to pacify.

Now you testify, cleanse your name,

Stand beside light, call it change,

But when this city shakes again—

They’ll remember who kept it standing then.

Former Mayor (quiet):

You don’t scare me anymore.

Marco:

Good.

Fear makes people sloppy.

⸻

I knew you’d talk, I knew you’d bend,

Knew you’d want forgiveness in the end,

But light don’t erase what the dark revealed,

It just teaches you how it feels.

Stand with Isaiah, speak your truth,

Play redeemed, play bulletproof—

Just remember when the night comes back…

I knew.

⸻

Former Mayor:

If you’re exposed—this all falls apart.

Marco (smiling):

Exposure only matters

If people still trust their eyes.

(Footsteps fade. A door clicks shut.)