)

Mason pointed his gun towards Alison. "Move away from him, Alison," he commanded, but she held her ground, her gaze unwavering. "I don't want to shoot you, Alison. Please, move."

"Why should I?" she snapped back, her voice laced with anger and frustration. "I heard what you said back at the hotel. You thought I was dead, so why does it matter if I die now?" 

A flash of pain crossed Mason's face, but it was gone in an instant. He took a step closer, his voice earnest, "Because, Alison Emrys, I love you."

Alison couldn't help but smirk, her defiance showing in her eyes. "Well, if you really loved me, you should've brought me ice cream or flowers, not a loaded gun."

Mason smiled back, caught off guard by her humour in such a dire situation. He didn't know whether to be irritated or amused. "You're right; I did say that you'd be another secret to take to my grave. But I knew you were alive. I wouldn't let you die."

Alison tensed beside Grayson, her hold on his hand loosening as she absorbed Mason's words.

"Just like you," Mason went on, his voice softening, "I say things, bad things, about you sometimes because, well, you can be a real pain in the ass. But that doesn't change how I feel about you. I still love you, just like the first day we met."

He paused, his eyes locked onto Alison's. "We met in these very halls, remember?" Mason continued, gesturing the walls around him. "I dropped my English papers, and you helped me pick them up. But when I got to class, some were missing, and I knew you had them."

He chuckled softly at the memory. "I spent the whole afternoon searching for you, even skipped two classes," he admitted. "And when I finally found you, you were in the library, just leaning against the windowsill. Your hair was all loose, and you looked so bored."

He paused for a moment, lost in the memory. "I remember when I approached you, I tripped over that garden bed, and you burst out laughing. I swear that was the real reason they kicked you out of the library."

A warm, fond smile crept onto Mason's face, and Grayson could see the effect it had on Alison. She was slightly trembling now, hating the flash backs she didn't want to remember. 

"You handed me the rest of my papers, with your own notes scribbled across them, editing and adding to my work. Then, you started telling me about a strange dream you had," Mason's tone softened, filled with nostalgia. "Can you imagine that? A complete stranger, not even exchanging names, yet chatting like we were best pals." Mason's voice grew softer, more tender. "But I listened to every word you said that day, and those words have stayed with me. The day I met you was the beginning of everything for me. I fell in love with you right then and there. I could write an entire book about how you make me feel, a million reasons why I love you, and it still wouldn't be enough."

He closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself, and then spoke softly, "Alison, you've never left my mind since the day we first met. No matter how angry or frustrated you make me, no matter how many times we argue or how much we fight, I can't bring myself to harm you. You mean too much to me."

His gaze remained locked on her, and there was a sincerity in his eyes that was hard to deny. "I thought I lost you once, and I can't go through that pain again. So, please, just move away from him."

However, Alison stood her ground. She had been through so much, and probably had lots of happy memories with Mason, just like Grayson had with Emily. But Grayson knew that Alison had moved on. Just by looking in her eyes, you could see something had broken deep inside her, something that had been shattered long ago. She'd carried her family's burdens from a young age and endured isolation, so it was likely she expected people to come and go in her life. It made things easy for her to move on.

Grayson glanced at Alison; she didn't flinch, her gaze locked onto Mason's. 

Mason loaded the gun with a metallic click that echoed through the corridor. He took a step forward, finger on the trigger, now aimed directly at Grayson. "Move, or I'll shoot him."

Alison's thumb gently brushed against Grayson's hand. She drew a deep breath and turned her gaze toward him. She knew they were in a precarious situation, and she needed to think fast. "Do you trust me?" she whispered.

Grayson met her gaze. He could see the turmoil in her eyes, the weight of the decision she was about to make. He knew that trust was a complicated thing, especially in their situation. He whispered softly, "You're so stubborn," but it was clear that he had no other choice. He had to trust her.

As Alison moved away from Grayson, Mason's tense grip on the gun loosened slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on her. 

"We've wasted enough time," Cora's impatience grew, and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Give us the contract."

Grayson's confusion only deepened, and he struggled to comprehend the situation. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his frustration creeping into his voice.

Mason finally tore his gaze away from Alison and turned to Grayson. "The Social Contract," he clarified, his tone still calm.

Cora aimed her gun at Alison. "You've got the Social Contract, sweetie. And now, we need you to hand it over," she demanded, taking several steps closer to Alison, her gun pointed directly at her. "We have clear footage of you entering the Safe, taking the papers, and then leaving the scene. Don't act innocent, Alison, or should I call you Bloom?"

Grayson's mind raced as he tried to piece together the puzzle. He stole a glance at Alison, who appeared just as bewildered as he was. Was Alison pretending right now? Was that what she wanted to tell me back at the sickbay?

"Call me whatever you want, but I didn't take the Social Contract." Alison met Cora's gaze. "I admit I have made several attempts to steal it, but I could never get pass the security system."

Mason's eyes flickered between Alison and Grayson. "Give me the Social Contract, Hawthorne." Mason's eyes bore into Grayson, searching for any sign of deception.

"I don't know what video footage you're talking about; Grayson's not the one you should be looking for," Alison insisted then shifted her attention to Mason. "Mason Valentine, if you ever loved me, if you still do, you have to let us go." Her gaze bore into his, trying to reach the man she once knew.

Mason's gaze remained fixed on Grayson, his finger tense on the trigger. "Do you remember your last birthday? You wished to be happy, and that's all I've ever wanted for you because you made me happy," Mason responded without looking at Alison. "I knew your family was going through tough times, Alison. I wanted to help, so I started selling my writing. But I realized it wouldn't be enough. That's when I decided to use some of your work, thinking you wouldn't mind, considering how close we were. It was all for you."

Mason didn't meet her gaze, and his finger remained on the trigger, pointed in Grayson's direction. "It started to bring in a lot of money, enough to support both of us and your family, to lift them out of poverty. But people kept demanding more, and I couldn't keep it from you any longer. I didn't tell you at first because I knew you didn't like "help", and eventually you found out, just as I expected." 

Mason finally tore his gaze away from Grayson and directed it towards Alison. "I knew you wouldn't take the money, and I understood it would mean more suffering for you and your family. I also knew you'd come to regret that decision," he confessed. "That's why I created the Social Contract. Everything I did, Alison, it was all for you. But even now that wasn't enough."

Alison's eyes were on the verge of tears - anger, sadness, and frustration evident in her gaze. She couldn't deny the love that still lingered in Mason's words, but she also couldn't ignore the manipulation and deceit he had put her through. She chose to stay quiet, but her silence spoke volumes, her lips quivering with unspoken emotions.

Grayson, still held at gunpoint, watched the tense exchange between the two, unsure of what would happen next. 

But then, it happened.

Cora's sudden movement caught everyone off guard. She swiftly shifted her gun from Alison to Mason, her expression stern.

"Mason Valentine," Cora declared with authority, her gun trained on him, "you are under arrest for the crimes of arson, planting an explosive device in a hotel, manipulation, and involvement in further criminal activities." She said the rest as if she had been practising this line in front of a mirror for weeks, just waiting for the perfect moment to use it. "You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Her tone turned icy as she delivered the final, chilling words, "Life's a game, as you said. Play or be played."