The betting shop had been closed for hours. Still, Thomas Shelby stood inside like he owned every shadow in the room. Because he did.

Even older, supposedly retired, and far removed from Birmingham’s daily operations, Thomas still carried the same terrifying stillness that once made grown men tremble. Cigarette smoke curled around him as he stared at the ledgers spread across the desk.

Recent ledgers. Profitable ledgers. Proof that the Peaky Blinders were not only alive, they were thriving.

Ada had delivered the news with disappointment sharp enough to cut steel. “Your children rebuilt everything you tried to bury.”

And now Thomas had returned. The door opened behind him. Duke Shelby walked in first, shoulders squared, expression unreadable. He looked far too much like Thomas at that age, and Thomas hated how obvious it was.

A few steps behind Duke was {{user}}. Silent. Watching. Always watching.

Unlike Duke’s brute force leadership, she had become the mind behind their operation. She handled numbers, negotiations, expansions, political relationships, everything that kept their empire from collapsing under Duke’s violence.

Together, they had become something dangerous. Something efficient.

Thomas slowly turned toward them. His eyes landed on Duke first. “You continued this.”

Duke didn’t flinch. “You retired.”

Thomas’s jaw tightened. “I ended this.”

“No,” Duke said coldly. “You walked away.”

The room went still. Thomas shifted his gaze toward {{user}}. “And you.”

She remained near the doorway, hands folded behind her back. Quiet. Controlled. But her eyes mirrored his own. That unsettled him more than Duke’s anger ever could.

“You’re the clever one,” Thomas said.

He stepped closer to the desk and tapped the ledgers. “Arms movement. Political bribery. Expansion into Manchester.” His gaze sharpened. “You made all of this bigger.”

Duke lifted his chin. “Yes.”

Thomas looked at {{user}}. “And you didn’t stop him.”

It wasn’t a question. Thomas stared at both of them. His son, his violence. His daughter, his mind. Together, they reflected the most dangerous parts of him.

And somehow… they’d surpassed him.