Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A/N: Hopefully this long Shakespearean chapter will provide you all from an escape from reality.

Chapter 34:

I Can See Clearly Now (The Rain is Gone)

The intense energy in the air was palpable. A mixture of shock and adrenaline pulsed through Emily. She grabbed her phone, but she wasn’t sure who to call first. Surely they hadn’t been the only ones to receive the video of Ezra.

She thought of the girls. And then she thought of her mother. The body had been found on their property. First Toby had nearly been killed under suspicious circumstances and now they’d identified Ezra as the burned body and Jason was in jail for his murder.

She’s going to know something is going on.

But her mother wasn’t her only concern. Her mind shifted to Aria and the pain this discovery was going to cause her. She was just beginning to heal from her childhood trauma. This was going to tear open her old wounds.

She looked over at Alison. She was staring at her phone in shock.

“This can’t be happening. Not again.” Alison’s hands were trembling in anger.

Alison knew what it was like to be imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit. Charlotte had been responsible for that too.

“She’ll let him rot in there before turning her minions in.” The blonde’s tone was laced with venom. “Jason is the one person who was in her corner the entire time. He fought for her. He abandoned me for her. And she’ll sit back and let him go down for this.”

Their phones chimed at the same time and they both jumped.

But it was just a message from Spencer.

Don’t say a word to anyone. She echoed what Jason’s lawyer had said to him right before the call ended. I’m calling Jerica.

She’d clearly seen the news about Ezra and what they were saying about Alison’s family. And if Spencer had seen it, it had reached a mainstream audience.

The virality of the clip was all but confirmed when a message came through from Max.

Omg, Ali…is the news about your brother true? Tell me it’s a deep-fake and I’ll believe you!

Unlike Max, the rest of her followers were not giving Jason the benefit of the doubt.

#DeadlyDiLaurentis,#RosewoodRoaster, and #DidHeDoit were already trending. #FireFitz was also climbing the ranks of popularity, which would have been ironic if Ezra was still alive. After everything he’d pulled with Aria the girls had wanted him to be fired and held accountable. They didn’t mean literally setting him on fire.

The kids pushing the trending tag had no idea how on the nose they were. All they knew was what the media was feeding them…which was that Jason was a sick and twisted killer who had murdered an innocent teacher. The public had no way of knowing that the teacher was not innocent…nor that Jason wasn’t a murderer.

“This is bad.” Alison choked out, pacing in circles. “This is really bad.”

She knew all too well what it was like to live out a trial by the media. The population watching would condemn an innocent person long before an actual trial took place.

As much as Alison wanted to turn away from the train wreck exploding on social media she couldn’t help but stare at the comments.

“They’re all over this online.” Alison chewed on her bottom lip. “He’s never going to get a fair trial. They’ll crucify him.”

“Spencer is on it. She’s talking to Jerica.” Emily read the play-by-play that Spencer was texting her. “Jerica is threatening to sue everyone involved. Spencer is pissed off.” A given. “She’s backing Jerica up. They’re going to make this right.”

Spencer’s involvement earned a tiny hint of a smile from Alison.

But then she looked at the growing number of comments on the news story that cemented the fact that everyone thought that her brother was a murderer.

No wonder Alison ran away from home. Her family puts the Manson family to shame.

Is Jason’s middle name Vorhees? Cuz he’s really out there doing THE MOST with all that killing.

It’s giving affluent sociopath.

Setting a guy on fire is next level insane.

Dude is kind of hot. I’d let him step on my face and thank him afterwards.

Dead mom. Deadbeat dad. Two siblings in prison. What other dark skeletons are hiding in Alison’s closet? Has she tasted blood, too?

Y’all need to chill. She’s probably devastated. #LeaveAliAlone

I feel so bad for her. I want to give her a hug. She deserves so much better than this.

Alison lowered herself down against the arm of the sofa. She reached up and rubbed the ache forming in her temples.

“It’s too late for Jerica and Spencer to rein it in. It’s already out there.”

Her phone bleated.

Another text from Max,

Don’t listen to these idiotic keyboard warriors. How are you? Is there anything I can do to help? Anyone’s ass I can kick for you?

It was sweet that he was coming to her defense, but she knew the kid. He couldn’t hurt a fly.

José and I have been taking karate lessons. I’m itching to roundhouse kick someone. Just drop the names and locations.

Alison started to formulate a response that he needed to stay away from her because she was poison, but she dropped the phone in frustration.

She cared a great deal about Max, José, and Elena. She wanted them as far away from the danger as possible.

Emily kneeled down in front of her, picking her phone up off the floor and putting it on the table in front of the couch.

“Ali, look at me.” Her feathery light fingertips grazed Alison’s knees.

“None of this would be happening if I hadn’t indulged a crazy person’s lies. Or if I hadn’t been telling my own lies my entire life.” She refused to meet Emily’s gaze. She heaved out a sigh, “I used to think that lying was the best thing for everyone. Because lies provided comfort that honesty never could in my life. It was just…easier. It was easier to pretend that I was loved and cherished instead of manipulated and used. But people weaponized that and used it against me.”

“They weaponize the truth, too. We’re not exactly dealing with honorable people here.”

Alison finally dragged her gaze to Emily’s, her palms landing gently on top of where Emily was resting her fingers on her knees.

“Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.” The blonde furrowed her brow. “I can’t wrap my head around why Charlotte would turn this into a spectacle. The last thing she would want is scrutiny. It would screw up her plans.”

“She technically went viral when she kidnapped us.” Emily flinched, her vision flashing as the darkness and pain clawed at her. She shook it off. “Four kids disappearing wasn’t exactly subtle. The news was all over it.”

“I know, but something about all this feels…disjointed. Despite how vindictive and petty Charlotte is…she’s usually smarter than this. Her intelligence is how she’s gone this long without facing real consequences for her actions. Pulling a murder investigation into the fray is reckless. It doesn’t feel like a move that Charlotte would make.”

“She has people helping her. Maybe someone went rogue.” Emily pointed out. Loyalty meant nothing to the depraved and the wicked. “It’s not like she can flag down her psychiatrist and tell them that her henchmen aren’t following orders…at least not without incriminating herself. Like you said…she’s smart. And she’ll choose self-preservation every time.”

“I guess it doesn’t really matter who the mastermind is. Whether she wanted it or not, Jason is being accused of murder.” She grimaced, little creases lining her forehead. “I told him this would happen. I warned him.”

“You did everything you could.” Emily tried to ease her mind.

“If I’m being honest…the first thought I had was that I should just let him rot behind bars,” Alison said softly. “He deserves it after what he did to us when we were kids, right?”

“Ali…” Emily could see that she was hurting, but she didn’t know how to tiptoe around the subject.

Alison knew that Emily hated Jason. She also knew that she had a good reason to hate him. The NAT club had ruined innocent children’s lives.

Alison held her palm up to stop Emily from saying anything more.

“You don’t have to placate me or pretend to care about him. It’s okay. A part of me always believed he’d end up in prison. Just not like this. Maybe…” She slowly lowered her hand, “…maybe he’s safer in custody with everything going on right now. Maybe this was the lesser of two evils. Maybe it was death or prison.”

“I hate to play the part of the pessimist, but whoever is helping Charlotte got to Sara when she was in custody.”

“So why not just kill him instead of the set up?” Alison asked. “Do they have bigger plans for him?”

“Charlotte had bigger plans for Sara. The ice-bitch barbie said as much. And she still put a hit out on her.”

“Sara knew things. That’s what got her killed. Her deal with the FBI might not have been common knowledge, but if we could read between the lines then so could Charlotte. She figured out Sara was going to turn on her. But she doesn’t have any reason to kill Jason. He doesn’t know anything.”

“Doesn’t he?” Emily asked. “The recording I took of my visit with her. Her confession that she killed your mom.”

“You’re supposed to be talking me off of the ledge.” Alison tried to scowl, but her expression came off more like an angry kitten.

“I think we need to be real about this, babe.” Emily reached for Alison’s hand. She sighed, “We can’t forget that Charlotte is the one who nearly got Ashley Marin sent to prison. And she framed you and the rest of us for Mona’s fake murder. She knows how to play the law and the judicial system. She wouldn’t have him behind bars for no reason. But that’s if this was her call. We don’t know that it was.”

Alison clenched her jaw in frustration.

Her phone was lighting up with notifications.

“It’s not going to stop.” She lowered her head and gnashed her teeth together.

“What do you want to do?” Emily asked.

Alison reached for her phone.

“I feel like I should make some kind of statement. But it’s a fine line. If you talk about your trauma too much people can view you as being attention-seeking. If you don’t talk about it enough then they think you don’t care.” She felt a growing lump forming in her throat.

It wouldn’t be the first time she made public statements about her traumatic experiences.

“In the past I never got it right. The right way to talk. The right way to appear. The right way to look. The right way to feel. All of that matters for public perception.”

“People love you.” Emily put her hand on Alison’s shoulder.

“But they can turn on a dime depending on how I present myself. In the past I was either too emotional or not emotional enough. It didn’t matter what I did. People thought I was putting on an act. I’ve been tainted by that. No one will ever view me through a clean lens again if they know that. What happens next has to be perfect. And I’ve always been terrible at perfect.”

“You don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t have to say a word if you don’t want to. The people in your life know you. And your real fans aren’t going to dig at your old wounds.” Emily squeezed her knee.

Her assurance meant the world to Alison, but she knew how fickle being in the public eye could be.

“If I don’t speak up then they’ll just make up their own narrative. They technically already are.” Alison frowned. “I should know. I was good at that when I was in high school.” She closed her eyes and gave a subtle shake of her head. “It’s better to get out in front of it. I owe it to my brother.”

The same brother she’d been at odds with her entire life. The same brother who would always choose Charlotte over her. The same brother who had done terrible things when they were younger.

She still loved the dumb fool.

“Okay.” Emily cupped Alison’s hands in between hers. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Alison wasn’t surprised by her loyalty, but she had a hard time picturing Emily in the spotlight with her. The brunette hated the spotlight.

“Em, you don’t have to…”

“I want to.” Emily stood up and kissed her temple to reassure her. “You were there for me when I fell apart after my dad died. You’ve always been there for me. I’ll follow your lead.”

“I need to talk to someone on my PR team.” Alison glanced at her phone.

“Let Jerica handle that.” Emily looked at her own phone, waiting on an update from Spencer.

Their ivy league best friend seemed to be summoned just as they were thinking about her, but Alison didn’t like what she had to say.

Ali, freeze your socials. Immediately. Make everything private. Deactivate for the time being if you have to. And take a leave of absence from work until we can get ahead of this.

Alison groaned. Her social media was part of her paycheck. Her acting was the other part. Charlotte was messing with her very livelihood. Plus, the longer she waited to say something the more her fans would speculate. Rumors would be rampant.

“We should tell Jerica that we have the video A sent us of Ezra’s death…” Alison started to compose a message, but Emily stopped her.

“Not on the phone.” Emily moved so quickly that she nearly knocked the phone out of Alison’s hands. “Sorry.” She steadied Alison’s hands immediately. “We shouldn’t put anything in writing. We need to tell Jerica about the video face to face. And we’ll need to make a copy of it just in case.”

“Right.” Alison pulled her phone close, as if she could protect the evidence from A.

Emily’s phone vibrated against her palm.

“Hanna…” She answered.

“Caleb is calling a car. We’re on our way.” Hanna skipped the hello. “And I’m in my pajamas so don’t judge me.”

Emily let out an unexpected laugh. She would fit right in since Alison still had wet shower hair and Emily was in an old grungy T-shirt.

“I was half asleep when I got that nasty ass video. One hell of a wake-up call.” Hanna sighed. “And here I thought today was going to be a good do-over spa day. Caleb was going to come with me and everything.”

Before Emily could reply Hanna shifted topics.

“Did they really arrest Jason?” she asked. “That’s diabolical as sin. Even for Charlotte.”

“We’re not so sure she’s calling the shots anymore.” Emily chewed on her lip.

There was a quiet breath and then a long pause.

“Hanna? You still there?”

“I’m here.” Her voice sounded subdued. “Caleb said he told you about my nightmares about the Dollhouse…about someone else being there.”

“Yeah.” Emily sank down on to the couch.

They didn’t really talk about the details of the Dollhouse. It took too much out of them. But now it held the key to stopping their tormenter.

“I have memories about it sometimes, too.” Emily mindlessly rubbed at the scar on her shoulder. “Whoever she had working with her was careful though. Everything in my mind is a jumbled mess. Sometimes I feel cold uncaring hands on me…”

She closed her eyes and let out a breath, fighting the memory of someone with chilly gloved fingers checking the injuries she’d received. But whoever it was didn’t seem interested in treating her ailments. It was like they were documenting what they found...like the girls were lab rats.

She’d been drugged once after refusing to play a game. It was like being awake during a surgery. She remembered the freezing steel table and the chill on her skin. She remembered someone in sterile gear talking through a speaker to someone else. But everything was garbled nonsense because of the drugs in her system.

She was conscious, but not able to see or hear anything. But she felt it all. She felt it when those rubber gloves observed the cuts on her ankles where chains had bound her feet. She felt cold uncaring fingers circle the burns left by the shocks that had been delivered to her delicate tan skin, leaving scorch marks in their wake. She felt those fingers come dangerously close to her breasts when a monitor was placed to read her heart rate and vital signs.

She had assumed it was just Charlotte taking pride in her handiwork, but the more they learned about Charlotte’s team the more they came to realize that some of the treatment they received wasn’t part of Charlotte’s well-established method of torture.

Charlotte liked to play with them.

Someone else was studying them.

Emily’s entire body was shivering, though she wasn’t cold. She felt her heart fluttering in her chest.

It was only when she tried to slow her breathing that she realized she was heaving out loud uneven breaths.

She felt a soft tender hand slide underneath her hair, a warm palm on the base of her neck. She looked up and saw Alison standing behind the couch, a mixture of empathy and ire on her face.

Emily lifted her free hand and trailed her fingers against Alison’s arm, a silent form of appreciation.

“I blocked so much out that it’s been difficult opening those doors again, but there was definitely more going on there than we realized.” Hanna’s voice was trembling. “I remember…those operating tables we were brought in on.” Sans their clothes, which had been terrifying, “And all the messed up games they forced us to play. And the room with all of the sterile equipment.”

The mention of it made Emily shudder. She stood up to try and shake it off.

“Purple gloves?” Emily asked.

“Yeah.” Hanna choked out her response. “Pink sometimes, too.”

“Those are usually ones without latex.” Emily pushed through her discomfort. She felt Alison squeezing her shoulder. “Maybe someone had a latex allergy. Could be worth jotting down for our notes.”

She reached for a sticky note and wrote latex allergy? on it and slapped it on to the clue board. As she stared at the words, something needled her brain. A memory lost somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind. She’d seen those gloves somewhere else before. But she couldn’t remember where.

“What about Aria and Spencer? Have they ever mentioned this?” Hanna’s tone was thick with emotion, drawing Emily out of her memories.

“We don’t talk about it. What about Mona? Did she ever see anything before we got there? She was there longer than any of us.” She cringed thinking about the months that their old foe had spent being tortured in that hellhole.

“I’ve never asked. I’m too afraid I’ll send her spiraling again.” Hanna choked on a knot in her throat. “She’s finally in a good place mentally. I can’t screw that up.”

“I get it.” Emily stared at the new sticky note she’d placed on the board, wondering if this was what Mona’s obsession had been like back when she was stringing things together on her own.

Those gloves. Why do I know those gloves?

“Caleb and I ruled out Ezra being in the Dollhouse. He said he already told you that.” Another pause. Another wave of emotion. “I guess the video of his murder backs that up. Unless he was on his way to your place the night he died to leave you a confession or something.”

“He wouldn’t have been that stupid. He was paranoid to the point of delusion.” Emily thought about the lengths that Ezra had gone to in order to get them the information about his family via Eddie.

“You think he was on his way there with something he found? Or do we think he was grabbed from somewhere else and killed there strategically?” Hanna asked.

“I don’t know.” Emily squirmed. She wasn’t comfortable talking about it on the phone. Even though she knew that Caleb had Hanna’s security settings locked down she still wanted to do everything in person. “Listen, Hanna, we’ll talk more when you get here. I have some other calls to make.”

“Sure. See you in a bit.”

Just like she hadn’t said hello, she didn’t say goodbye either. She was in too much of a rush to get out of the hotel and into the car.

Caleb held the umbrella for her as they dashed to the car.

Neither of them were aware of the second car rounding the corner, having missed their call for a car by just mere minutes.

The driver of the second car watched them climb into their Uber.

He couldn’t help but consider that maybe he’d dodged a bullet.

His last text, WTF is going on? had gone unanswered.

Despite his fondness for Charlotte, he hadn’t signed up to take orders from anyone else. And he sure as hell hadn’t signed up to go through with deviations from the original plan.

The news going public with Jason’s arrest hadn’t been part of the idea. Now everyone would be scrutinizing Alison’s family and her past. Her fans would be looking everywhere for her. Which meant more cameras.

Law enforcement was going to be all over her, too. That meant more eyes professionally trained on her. Including Linda Tanner and Marco Furey. Linda had been easy enough to manipulate in the past, but Marco was an unknown variable. He seemed to lean more towards the girls’ side than Tanner. He had less of a past with them and less bias. Furey’s level-headedness could become a real problem.

Every single call that had been made lately was making his job much harder.

It was sloppy. And Charlotte was not sloppy.

It worried him that he hadn’t heard from her.

He grabbed his phone as he watched Caleb and Hanna’s car drive away from him.

He glared at one of the few names in his burner phone as he punched out a text.

Where is she?

He didn’t get a response.

Something was wrong.

He rattled off a string of swear words and threw his phone against the dash so hard that the case cracked.

He screamed in frustration and grabbed the steering wheel and squeezed it until his knuckles turned white.

“Motherfucker played me.” He yanked the steering column so hard that it broke the handle to the lever that moved it up and down.

He knew he needed to get control of his anger. He needed to channel it. He needed to use it on someone who deserved his wrath.

After a few seconds he cooled down and put the car in drive.

He knew exactly where Hanna and Caleb were going, so he didn’t have to tail the car.

All he had to do was wait for the right moment.

Screw the plan.

He could go rogue, too.

The rain slowly started to let up as he neared the condos. He was smart enough not to go directly there. Too many things could go wrong. One of the girls could see him. Or the cops might be watching. Or someone worse might be watching.

He knew when to stay out of sight.

As Caleb and Hanna made their way inside the building he drove to a country inn down the street.

Alison had gone there one night last summer. It hadn’t taken her long to end up in the arms of the brunette.

It wasn’t surprising that Emily had come to her rescue that night.

She had been the most stubborn of the girls in the Dollhouse. It had been admirable in a sense. She had been fearless and brave to the point of idiocy.

He was impressed, but her stubborn nature had pissed Charlotte off.

He hadn’t quite understood Charlotte’s obsession with Emily Fields. He’d only come to understand the older girl’s anger when he learned that Alison loved Emily in a way that she didn’t love the others.

Charlotte had always been possessive of her sister. She didn’t like the idea of anyone else being able to have her. It had built a seething resentment.

She’d taken that resentment out on all of the girls in the Dollhouse, but she’d honed in on Emily. He was sure it would break her. But it had only strengthened her resolve.

They’d finally learned that threatening the brunette didn’t work.

But threatening the people she loved did.

He understood that all too well.

Because he felt the same way about Charlotte.

He would do anything for her.

Anything.

His childhood had been a series of disappointments and betrayals. His mother was too wrapped up in her own life to care about his. Growing up, he’d never had a place he truly belonged.

It had landed him directly in the path of the growing shitstorm in Rosewood. He’d bonded with a bunch of men who had their own mommy issues. That had led him to her. To the girl who had changed everything.

Everything changed when he met Charlotte DiLaurentis.

He’d heard her story and he’d connected with her. He’d bonded with her because he understood.

He knew what Charlotte was…how her brain operated. He knew she was incapable of love. But he wasn’t incapable of it. He had fallen hard and fast for her charm and her vulnerabilities. He had loved her at her most cunning and during her worst moments. And even though she couldn’t reciprocate those exact emotions…it was clear he meant something to her.

They had planned for a future together, but that plan was now compromised.

Things could have been different if it had only been the two of them.

But it wasn’t just them.

He took a breath and reached for his phone.

Still no response.

Maybe he’d been stupid to believe this would ever work.

All he wanted was for Charlotte to be his...to be free so they could be together.

For that to happen he had to play the cards that he had. So he swallowed his pride and composed another text.

You have my attention. What’s the next move?

This time he got an answer. A text with a photo and location attached:

Not yet. Just be ready when I make the call.

He knew the location. He knew the smiling faces in the photo.

He’d done research on them. He’d done research on everyone Emily and Alison cared about.

But they weren’t supposed to be part of the plan.

“What are you up to?” he muttered.

Another message popped up.

Don’t ever question me again.

Instead of throwing his phone out of spite again he calmly put it down in the cupholder and flipped his sun-visor down. He slid the compartment that was supposed to have a mirror, but in its place there was a picture of the girl he was risking everything for. He just had to hold out a little bit longer and they could put their plan of running away together in motion.

Charlotte wanted to go to Jamaica.

And he’d go wherever Charlotte wanted to go.

But there was something he needed to take care of first.

o ~ O ~ o

The rain had let up long enough for Caleb and Hanna to make it into the building. But another downpour started the second the doors closed behind them.

“That’s not ominous at all.” Hanna peered out the glass doors.

She plucked a small piece of lint from the top of her matching pink pajama set. There were a few places that were wet from the rain that made the light pink look closer to a dark red, which matched the little red hearts on the clothing.

She ignored the stares of an older couple and their judgmental poodle coming off of the elevator and followed Caleb as he walked towards it.

He was wearing matching pink boxers that she’d bought him, but no one could see them because he’d thrown on a pair of shorts and the T-shirt he’d been wearing the day before.

His hair was shaggy and he had stubble on his face he’d not had time to shave before leaving, though he’d had enough time to grab his laptop because he never left it unattended. It was in the small sleek bag slung over his shoulder. The fancy bag was a juxtaposition to the casualwear he had on. The style was something akin to Florida Man going to a business meeting.

She stared at the fun-house mirror version of them in the elevator’s shiny doors, which only made them appear more disheveled.

“You okay?” He reached for where she was plucking mindlessly at the collar of her shirt. He pulled her hand away from her pajama top.

“I’m rethinking the whole slumber party look.” Hanna gestured to her PJs.

“Han, we saw someone with a green buzzcut strutting around in their underwear in the rain yesterday. You look fine.” He replied, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. “Besides, I meant…are you okay okay?”

His eyes bore into hers, a loving gaze filled with concern.

“I’m wondering if we should have taken the stairs.” Hanna watched as the floor numbers slowly lit up as they ascended. “Charlotte tried to kill Emily and Jason in an elevator once.” She considered something. “Then again, I’m sure whoever is doing the dirty work now wouldn’t shy away from shoving us down the stairs.”

“So that’s a no on whether or not you’re okay.”

“I’ve been through a lot worse.” Hanna shrugged.

“Even so…I’m here for you.” He curled his fingers into hers.

She felt a lump forming in her throat. She squeezed his hand in appreciation. She didn’t have the words to tell him how much she loved him.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

They quickly made their way to the condo, where Alison and Emily were waiting on them.

When Hanna knocked Alison opened the door and gestured for them to come inside.

“Still no answer?” Alison turned to where Emily was walking in circles in the living room.

“Going straight to voicemail.” Emily ended the call and waved to Hanna and Caleb. “Her phone is probably still on airplane mode.”

“Or they don’t have service.” Alison locked the door, double checking before joining everyone in the living room. “Which is a blessing, really. Because that means she isn’t checking her socials. If her followers are anything like mine her notifications are probably going off non-stop about Ezra’s death.”

“You haven’t been able to reach Aria yet?” Hanna guessed.

“Who is that? Hanna?” A familiar voice came from a laptop in front of Emily.

Hanna glanced at the screen and saw Spencer staring back, her brows pinched in thought. She wasn’t at the hospital anymore, but Hanna didn’t recognize the house where she’d set up shop.

“Hey.” Hanna waved.

Spencer waved back.

“Hanna banana.” Toby was sitting next to Spencer. He sounded hopped up on painkillers.

He was still covered in bandages. Hanna glanced at Caleb, her mouth suddenly going dry at the thought of him being attacked and left for dead like Toby. She reached for an unopened vitamin water sitting on the counter. She popped the top and started gulping the drink down.

“No word from Aria yet.” Emily glanced at Hanna and then turned her attention back to her laptop. “Did we officially scare Jerica away with this mess?”

“Jerica is unflappable. She’s dealt with worse in politics.” Spencer looked down at a notepad where she was jotting things down.

“Kind of a terrifying commentary on the state of politics if she was not unnerved watching a murder live on camera.” Caleb interjected sarcastically.

“She hasn’t seen the video yet. I didn’t think it would be wise mentioning it in a manner that it could potentially be taped or recorded.” Spencer looked up from her notes, her lips curved into a grimace.

“Our thoughts exactly.” Alison was glad Emily had been smart enough to document it so they could show it to Jerica in person. “It was…” she shuddered, the man’s melting flesh and his haunting screams were fresh in her mind, “…he died in a lot of pain.”

Alison swallowed hard. There was no love lost between her and Ezra, but the way he’d gone out was egregious. Only a psychopath would find joy in the dying screams of a man on fire.

When she looked over at Emily the brunette wouldn’t meet her eyes. Her father likely met a similar fate. They didn’t know all the details, but he had been killed in a firefight. He’d gone out saving lives.

The same couldn’t be said for Ezra…at least not to their knowledge. One thing he had done was gone out of his way to get them all the information he had. It didn’t absolve him of his actions, but he had been trying to help them.

She thought about the message they’d seen after the video of his demise.

He knew too much.

He must have figured out exactly who was after them. Too bad he hadn’t been able to get them that information.

“It seems counterproductive to murder someone on the Fields property if they were planning on framing Jason.” Spencer looked up at the camera again.

“Yeah, you’d think they’d add to the body count on the DiLaurentis property.” Hanna blindly agreed.

“Hanna…” Spencer glared daggers at her. “Remember how we’ve talked about tact?”

“I’m just saying…there were nearly two bodies in one night on Alison’s property back when we were in high school. If Grunwald hadn’t come along and found Alison then she would have died with Bethany in that hole.” Hanna had the decency to look slightly apologetic.

“Thanks for unlocking the memories from one of the most traumatic things in my life.” Alison grumbled.

“I’m not trying to be insensitive. I just think it’s weird that Ezra was firebombed at Emily’s house instead of doing it closer in proximity to Jason so they could make the frame job easier.”

Emily clenched her jaw and winced at Hanna’s choice of words. Firebombed was certainly a vivid and colorful image.

She felt a painful tug in her chest. She forced out a cough so the others wouldn’t hear the yelp that was caught in her throat.

The blonde could see her discomfort in her posture.

Alison reached for Emily, but Emily pulled away…afraid that she’d lose control of her emotions in front of everyone.

She shot Alison an apologetic look for rejecting her sympathy. Then she clenched her fists and cleared her throat with another little cough.

It drew Caleb’s attention towards her. He cocked his head, a look on his face a mixture between a scientist working something out and a curious puppy. He knew something had shifted in the room and he knew it had to do with Emily.

Hanna was oblivious. She reached for a pre-prepped plate of breakfast that was sitting on a warmer and studied the food like she was going to be tested on it.

“On the bright side Aria has plenty of material for her next book.” Hanna took another sip of her vitamin water. Emily stared at her, though she wasn’t surprised by the remark. “What? We’re not ready to make jokes yet? The man was a creep. How many times did we say we wanted to mow him down with a car or throw him down a flight of stairs?”

She wasn’t wrong. They’d talked about doing it. They’d joked about killing him for what he’d done to Aria, but they weren’t sadists.

“Yeah, but burning to death is a horrible way to die.” Emily tensed up, visibly uncomfortable at the thought of the fire licking his skin and the smoke paralyzing his lungs.

She had gotten a taste of being smothered by fire more than once. In the bunker and at the cabin the night of New Years. The memory of the flames made her skin feel hot. Her throat tickled when she thought about how it had felt to choke on the smoke.

Had that been her father’s end, too?

Spencer was quietly watching Emily’s microexpressions. She was able to sense her friend’s discomfort even through the camera.

Toby muttered something and looked at Spencer and she nodded in agreement.

“You okay, Em?” Toby questioned.

The second he asked, Hanna realized the insensitivity of her commentary.

“Oh, shit.” Her eyes widened. It dawned on her that Emily’s dad had met a horrible end overseas. “Emily, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking…”

“It’s okay.” Emily feigned a smile. “We have bigger problems to deal with than my unresolved family trauma. We need to shift focus and figure out what we’re going to do about this.”

“We should try Aria again.” Alison suggested. “I don’t want her finding this out from her socials. She should hear it from us.”

“I’ve left two messages and sent her an SOS.” Spencer fidgeted with the cuffs of her long-sleeved shirt.

“It’s probably a good thing she’s out of the country. Now that they know it’s Ezra they’ll probably try to find a way to blame her. I mean…isn’t that one of the themes of her book? I know she never named him, but the entire premise was about exploring the dangerous side of power imbalances and predators.” Hanna leaned against the wall and folded a buttery piece of toast in half before taking a bite. “There is a chapter in the book talking about revenge and retribution.”

“You read her book?” Spencer questioned.

“Why does everyone always act so surprised when I read a book?” Hanna scooped some of the eggs on to the toast with a fork. “I’m a highly educated woman with cultured taste.”

“I want to back you up on that, but it’s really hard to take you seriously in your little heart pajamas.” Spencer teased.

“Are you kidding? These say that I mean business.” Hanna traced a red heart on her sleeve.

She took another bite of her eggy toast.

“I don’t know how you can eat after seeing that video.” Alison felt her gag reflex cutting off her airway.

“My body requires energy to function.” She looked down at the food. “And it’s still warm.”

“Your body or the food?” Caleb lifted a charming brow.

“My body is and always will be hot, not warm.” Hanna flipped her hair out of her face, letting her shoulder length tresses fall into her face.

“I said something about being hot a few days ago.” Spencer admitted. “Then my mom told me that warm was the new default setting when you hit middle age. Hot requires too much work.” She paused and pursed her lips. “Admittedly, she’s not great at inspirational speeches. She deals in facts and logic. I get that from her.”

“It’s probably not a bad idea to try and approach this hellscape with facts and logic. Getting emotional about these things in the past has never ended well for us.” Emily curled her right hand around her left bicep, her shoulders tensing.

“The cops can’t pin this on us this time. They can’t place any of us in Rosewood with Ezra around the time of his death.” Alison tried to find the bright side.

“I mean…except the guy who beat the shit out of him.” Toby raised his broken arm.

“I don’t think you’re even on their radar.” Alison bit harshly, though her anger wasn’t directed at him. “They’re dead-set on blaming my brother for this. They won’t look into it any further.”

“What does Jason have to say about all of this?” Spencer asked.

“I don’t know.” Alison buried her face into her palms. “He’s confused. And…scared.”

“He has every right to feel that way.” Emily pried Alison’s hands away from her face and linked their fingers together.

“He’s being set up.” Alison chewed on her lip. “I know he’s done terrible things, but he says he didn’t do any of this and I believe him. He’s been clean for a while. Plus it seems too convenient that the accelerant was found his car. And the phone call about Charlotte being in trouble at Welby seems completely out of the blue. Unless Charlotte called him herself.”

“Why would she do that?” Hanna asked.

“Because she’s Charlotte.” Alison sneered. “She knows the best way to hurt me is to hurt the people I care about. And Jason just happens to be closest in proximity.”

“You’re not wrong.” Toby scratched at the gauze on his head. “She seems to be lashing out at those of us who live here.”

“I still don’t get it. Why frame Jason for Ezra’s murder?” Spencer pressed her fingertips against her temple.

She was deep in thought. They could practically feel her energy radiating through the screen.

“They needed a fall guy.” Alison guessed. “And Jason and Ezra didn’t get along.”

“Doesn’t make sense.” Toby uttered. “I would have made a perfectly good fall guy. I beat the shit out of Ezra. I threatened him on more than one occasion.”

“Stop offering yourself up like a sacrificial lamb.” Spencer popped him on his good shoulder.

“I’m not. I’m just saying that it would have been more logical for Team Bad to use me.”

“They screwed that idea up when they demolished a house on top of you. Maybe their original plan was for the finger to be pointed at you without you being alive to defend yourself. But you survived the house imploding so they had to improvise.” Emily followed Spencer’s train of logic. “Dead men tell no tales. You were very much alive and they couldn’t risk you uttering Charlotte’s involvement to the cops. So they had to go with the second best plan.” Emily’s eyes darted towards Alison.

Alison nodded in agreement,

“A recovering alcoholic with a restless side, a poor memory, and a longstanding feud with Ezra.” She sighed. “That’s why they showed Ezra and Jason arguing at the high school. They were fighting over Aria. The fact that the media had that picture of them is telling. Someone sent it to them.”

“All the jury needs is reasonable doubt. Ezra made his fair share of enemies. We just have to find out who stands to gain anything with him dead.” Spencer peered through the screen, her eyes finding each of her friends.

“I would imagine a lot of parents of underage kids will be sleeping easier knowing that he’s off the streets for good.” Caleb glowered at Ezra’s name on the board that had been pinned with all of their evidence. “I mean, do we know he actually stopped after what he did to Aria? Because if he didn’t…the list of suspects who wanted him dead could be a lot longer…which could be good for Jason.”

“Guys, this is going international.” Hanna saw a news alert on her phone. An article from Brazil had a picture of Ezra next to a picture of Jason. Ezra looked every bit like a sweet young teacher and Jason looked like an angry drunk prick. “We really need to talk to Aria and get her up to speed on this.”

Hanna swiped a message on her phone. Her last three messages had gone unanswered, but she tried another one,

SOS. THAT MEANS WE NEED TO TALK NOW, ARIA! DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200. DO NOT LOOK AT SOCIALS. CALL ONE OF US ASAP!

“Has anyone tried Liam?” Toby was playing with his new phone. “I have his number. We’ve been in contact about his wedding stuff. I could call him.”

“No. You’re on bed rest.” Spencer argued.

“I can call him from the bed.” Toby refused to back down. “Liam is a really great guy. I know he loves Aria. He’ll take care of her. But he doesn’t understand on the level that we do. He may know about our past, but he needs to know what to do now that it’s come to his doorstep. Aria is going to need all the support she can get.”

“He’s right.” Emily reluctantly agreed. She saw Spencer shoot her a glare. They had talked about leaving Toby out of it going forward. “Spence, she’s out of reach in a different country. She’s going to feel alone and isolated and scared…even with Liam there. We need to make sure he knows what he’s in for and how to handle it.”

“Or we could just wait on Aria to call us back.” Spencer argued.

“And let her discover it from some random true crime junkie on TikTok?” Emily asked.

“While you two were bickering I sent him a message.” Toby held up his phone and wiggled it around like a kid proud of the mischief he had gotten himself into.

Spencer snatched his phone to make sure he hadn’t written anything incriminating in his pain medication haze.

“Hey, give that back.” Toby tried to swipe it from her, but her reflexes were quicker.

“Friends don’t let friends do drugs and text.” Spencer hovered just out of reach.

“All it says is to have Aria call one of you as soon as possible.” Toby shrugged unapologetically. “Sometimes men communicate a bit quicker without all the fuss.”

“Misogynist.” Spencer teased, handing his phone back to him. “You know, this is why people try to kill you.”

“By ‘people’ do you mean you? Because I’ve gotta be honest…I don’t love the side-eye you’re giving me right now.” Toby put his phone down and poked Spencer’s arm.

“You really shouldn’t poke the bear.” Hanna warned him.

“She won’t do anything to me. I’m injured.” He grinned, flashing his teeth.

“You want to bet?” Spencer asked.

“Don’t break the one uninjured bone left in his body, Spence.” Emily tried to interject peacefully. “We’ve had enough death for one morning.”

Spencer cocked an eyebrow, but underneath her faux annoyance her friends could see the overwhelming love she had for Toby. She couldn’t resist the charm of his wry impish smile.

“Fine.” She nodded curtly. “I’m going to see if I can get a meeting with Jason’s lawyer while we’re waiting on Liam and Aria to call us back.”

“You’d leave me here all by my lonesome?” Toby let out a fake gasp, unable to resist one last jab. “What happened to hiding in the safe house?”

“Is that where you two are? It looks kind of…drab.” Hanna squinted, trying to get a better view of the plain walls.

“It’s a small cottage that belongs to a friend of my mom’s. It’s being renovated. They offered to let us stay. Since it’s close to the hospital we accepted.”

Toby barked out a laugh.

“She accepted. I wanted to go home to my cozy chair in my cozy living room.” He smiled up at Spencer. “She won’t even let me near the windows, but she’s going to come and go as she pleases.”

“I’m not the one Charlotte and her goons are attacking.” Spencer touched a healing bruise on his face.

“Point taken. I’ll dutifully wait for Liam’s response while you do your lawyering stuff.” He glanced at their surroundings. “This isn’t bad as far as command centers go. I can be the president of The Witness Protection House.”

In a way, it was comforting to hear the two of them sniping at one another. They were creating a normal atmosphere that was keeping the rising panic at bay.

“I beg of you not to strangle each other.” Emily managed a smile.

“No promises.” Spencer turned her attention back to them. “Alison, I’ll see what I can find out about Jason. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.”

“Be careful.” Alison bit her lip.

People back on the east coast seemed to be dropping like flies and she didn’t want Spencer mixed up in one of Charlotte’s deadly games.

“Always.” Spencer’s tone was laced with concern, but she tried to hide it. “Let me know if you hear from Aria.”

“We will.” Emily looked at her phone to see if there was anything new.

Part of her hoped that Aria didn’t get their messages for a little while longer, because she was so happy with Liam. Emily wanted her to enjoy her book tour with her fiancé and their dog. Hopefully Argos was good at snuggling. He probably hadn’t signed up to be an emotional support dog any more than Liam had signed up to be fodder for a psychotic stalker from Aria’s past, but both the mutt and Liam loved Aria regardless.

Spencer ended the video call, leaving the others in silence. The tension could have been cut with a knife.

“This is so messed up.” Emily palmed her face, digging her fingers into her hair.

“A has really shitty timing.” For the first time since her arrival Hanna curled in on herself, hugging her arms to her stomach. “I’m getting really sick of this omnipresent bullshit.”

Caleb wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Have you guys made anymore headway with the search?” Caleb’s eyes were on the clues that they’d strung together on their suspect board.

“Got sidetracked after the recent uptick of attacks the A-team is doling out.” Emily shook her head. “What about the charity and the DNA?”

“I set up an advanced search for information on the charity. I have a program that’s running through millions of databases.” Caleb put his laptop bag down next to the open laptop on the table. He pulled his phone out to see if he had any new alerts. “Nothing yet.” He frowned. “And as far as the DNA, I am working on making a ghost profile on some ancestry sites.”

“What’s a ghost profile?” Alison asked.

“It’s a dark web hack that feeds me information without letting anyone see what I’ve uploaded. I can upload the DNA profile of the unknown Fitz sibling and see if there are any familial links that might give us a clue as to who they are.”

“He’s like my own personal supercomputer full of random knowledge.” Hanna laid her chin on his shoulder and watched as he woke the computer and typed in his passkey.

“If that DNA profile links to other people what stops them from discovering what you’re doing?” Alison questioned.

“No one can see the profile I’ve created. It’s kind of like sneaking in a back door and hiding in the dark so you can spy on others. You’d be surprised how much people will put about their heritage online. And the way I have this set up I have access to their information, but they don’t have access to anything I’m doing.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Alison asked hopefully.

“There are already matches for dead distant cousins for me to pore through. That’s a start. They all seem to have a European heritage, which isn’t that abnormal considering that nearly eighty percent of people here in the US have ancestors from Europe. After fleeing their different countries they came here and multiplied like plague bunnies and then drove the Natives off their land.”

“It’s weirdly comforting to know that my ancestors were as shitty as my family was when I was growing up. Something to be said for genetics.” Alison reached for a piece of toast, but then changed her mind at the last minute and walked away from the food.

“I think I’d prefer ancient Indian burial ground curses to this bullshit.” Hanna gestured to the board, her eyes scanning the information they had gathered. “Breaking a curse would be easier than stopping a psychopath and her minions.”

“About her minions…” Emily timidly met Hanna’s eyes. “And the Dollhouse…”

Alison and Caleb glanced at one another. They had both been helpless to do anything while Emily and Hanna had been locked up with the other girls. It wasn’t a subject they talked about in group settings, but Emily and Hanna had opened the door by bringing it up earlier.

“I’ve tried to remember, but I can’t.” Hanna’s face flushed with color, a mixture of embarrassment and anger. “Or my subconscious won’t let me.”

“I know what you mean.” Emily put a comforting hand on Hanna’s arm. “I have trouble with specifics, but there is something buried deep in the confines of my memory.” Her eyes darted to the pink sticky note she’d put up earlier.

latex allergy?

“I can’t figure out the piece I’m missing. I know she wasn’t alone in that Dollhouse." Emily pursed her lips. "Moving us…especially when we were unconscious…”

Alison angrily balled her fists together. Caleb bit back his rage. Alison caught a glimpse of her frustration mirrored back at her from Caleb’s eyes. They had the same vicious protective nature.

“…that alone would have required more than one person. The fact that the police believe she was acting alone doesn’t mean that she actually was. We were so focused on her that we lost sight of something important. And it’s nagging me because I don’t know what it is.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, too.” Hanna admitted. “There is a lot we missed.”

“Did the cops ever find out anything about the construction of the bunker?” Caleb asked.

“No. Charlotte clearly knows someone with a ton of money.” Emily rubbed her arm, scrubbing at the goosebumps forming there. “To the tune of a thirty-six million dollar ‘charity’ I’m guessing.”

Her eyes drifted to the board again. The sticky note was calling for all of her attention.

“She probably paid the cops off.” Hanna frowned pensively. “The law enforcement in Rosewood was never much help.” She faced Emily. “I agree with you. I don’t remember specifics, but someone else had to be there. The only way any of this makes sense is if whoever was helping Charlotte then is helping her now.”

Hanna pointed to the photo of James on the board,

“Are we any closer to nailing this dumb dick to the wall? He’s been pining after Charlotte like a puppy for years.”

“I can’t find a way that the DNA and the Fitz family ties in with him.” Caleb paused to look at the board. “Do you mind if I set up shop here to do a little more research? I feel like we’re right on the cusp of something.”

“By all means. The faster we get answers the faster we can end this madness.” Alison nodded. “It would have been nice if Ezra had given us all the answers before he was torched.”

“You know, Ezra isn’t the only Fitz we know. Maybe we should try Little Fitz? See if big brother let him in on any family secrets?” Hanna suggested.

“Sure, we could just call him up, ’Hey, Wes, I know that your brother just died, but we think that you have another brother out there and he’s the one who killed him. Any idea who it could be? So sorry for your loss’.” Alison glanced at her phone like she wanted to throw it again.

“Ezra seemed hellbent on keeping Wes out of it. Whoever was after him threatened Wes. And now that we know what this person is capable of…” Emily fought back the bile in her throat, “…I completely understand why he wanted to keep his brother out of it. We could reach out to Wes, but given Ezra’s paranoia and the way he died I highly doubt Wes knows anything about it.”

“True.” Caleb agreed. “He seems like a decent guy. More decent than his brother. I think that if he knew something he’d let us know.”

“Or his brother’s death will send him into hiding.” Alison offered another perspective.

“He’s overseas. I’ve already run several profiles on him. He’s probably the only Fitzgerald that I don’t hate.” Caleb admitted. “He’ll likely come back for the funeral, but I don’t really see a need to pour salt in his fresh wounds. He won’t know anything. His father clearly kept everything from Ezra and Wes.”

“Can we focus on where Ezra was traveling?” Emily asked.

“Already have. And I’ve yet to find anything out of the ordinary. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to find. It just means he covered his tracks well.”

“Well, we know now why he did that. He didn’t want Charlotte to find out what he was doing.” Hanna traced her finger from a line connecting Ezra’s name to the unknown DNA.

“They never did find anyone else’s DNA in the Dollhouse, did they?” Alison asked.

“No. The fire destroyed most of it.” Emily shook her head.

“I wonder if Charlotte’s creepy little lapdogs were there that night.” Hanna shuddered. “I wonder how they got out.”

“Same way Charlotte did. There were secret passageways everywhere. They probably bolted when the fire got out of control.” Emily creased her brow in concentration. “Though Spencer and I saw someone when we were in that weird little playroom.”

She took a breath and closed her eyes.

Spencer had been staring at a bunch of random children’s toys right before they’d set the room on fire. The blocks that spelled out the name Charles weren’t the only thing that caught her attention. There had been a tattered old stuffed animal near a baby blanket. There had been a name sewn into the foot of the bear.

Teddy.

Not unoriginal for a teddy bear.

But perhaps it had been more than just a teddy bear.

Now that they knew the truth about what happened with Jessica and Mary and the little boy who died in their care they’d taken into account they might have overlooked that the stuffed animal was a connection to the child. It could have been Teddy’s teddy bear.

Emily delved deeper into the darkness of the memory.

A shadow moved in the thick of the smoke.

The window was too dark to see through, but a spark from the flame had drawn someone there.

A faceless predator appeared, slamming angry gloved palms against the window.

They thought it was their captor, but after a few seconds they realized the person’s gaze was on the teddy bear.

Spencer and Emily had frantically rushed away just as the hooded figure disappeared.

Emily opened her eyes to find that she was gripping the back of the chair so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

“Don’t push it if you can’t.” Alison reached for Emily’s hand.

Emily flipped her palm over to meet Alison’s and laced their fingers together.

“I think that playroom had more than just stuff from Charlotte’s childhood.” If she hadn’t been sure before, she was sure now. Teddy was connected to everything that happened to them down there. “There was a stuffed teddy bear. I think it was his. And Mona…she was singing a song about Teddy Bears.”

“Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic…”

It had been so haunting to hear Mona singing it. She had told Emily that her mom used to sing it to her when she was younger, but how could Charlotte have possibly known that?

“Mona couldn’t remember any of the stuff we talked about in the water well after we got out. She had been sleep-deprived and starved when I was thrown in there with her…”

She saw Alison physically recoil at the mention of the torture.

“Charlotte made Mona play games before we got there, but I’m not sure how Charlotte would have known about the song being personal to Mona. That teddy bear picnic thing might have actually been some kind of twisted game…or clues about Teddy.”

“I remember Mona’s fascination with teddy bears.” Hanna tried to hide the discomfort from her friends, but her face gave her away. “She was muttering something about teddy bears to me once. I couldn’t understand her. I bet it’s how Charlotte broke her.”

She looked at the ground sadly. Mona had been her best friend once upon a time. Even after everything she’d put them through it was hard to see her so shattered in the Dollhouse.

“I think we were so wrapped up in trying to figure out what game Charlotte was playing that we missed all the references to Teddy. I don’t know why exactly, but I do know the stance that hooded helper of Charlotte’s took when they saw the room go up in flames. It freaked them out. And only someone who really cared about that little boy would have reacted in a panic to seeing the teddy bear going up in smoke.” Emily hadn’t been able to see the look on the person’s face that night, but she had seen the fear in their posture.

“That leaves little doubt that whoever is working with Charlotte is connected to Teddy. But it’s not James. So who else was in her orbit at the time?” Hanna asked.

Emily looked at the DNA.

A Fitzgerald father and an unknown mother.

“What if Ezra’s father had an affair with Teddy’s mother? That could explain the fake charity. And it could explain why the ‘charity’ paid for Teddy’s funeral.” Alison tried to map out the family tree. “Why else would he have paid for it unless it was to cover something up for someone else?”

“That’s good.” Hanna pointed at Alison and nodded enthusiastically. “Two of the most likely motives when money is involved are love and guilt.”

“Well, I am the poster child for a parent who throws one kid under the bus for another.” Alison felt a pounding in her head, a headache she’d been fighting since she’d woken up.

She saw Emily peering at her in concern and she straightened her spine.

“So which do we think it is in this case? A father mourning a child he had out of wedlock or a father covering for something bad that another one of his children did?” Emily asked.

“Ezra wouldn’t have been old enough to do anything to Teddy. He was a baby, too. And Wes wasn’t even born yet.” Hanna pointed out. “Maybe it was the other brother? The unknown DNA brother…or sister. Because you said the unknown DNA couldn’t be Teddy since it was before he was born.”

“I think that all we can confidently say is that whoever it is clearly didn’t grow up in the Fitz household since Ezra didn’t know who it was.” Emily said.

“Not only that. My mom and her sister were involved in Teddy’s death and I don’t think Ezra’s father would have paid to protect either of them.” Alison added.

“So it’s more than likely the other scenario. An affair for a womanizer isn’t that big of a stretch. Ezra’s dad was a big ho.” Hanna scoffed. “If we can confirm that the DNA for Teddy’s mom is the unknown variable in the DNA profile maybe we can figure out if Teddy had a sibling and who it is.”

“Caleb, could you focus your search on the maternal DNA in the unknown’s profile?” Alison asked.

“I already have it set up that way. So far…nothing.” He turned his screen to show them. “Not even a distant relative. It’s kind of strange, actually. Usually there’s a trace somewhere in the system.”

“Maybe the mother was an only child with parents who were also only children.” Alison tried to concentrate on the board, but her sight was getting fuzzy. “Or maybe everyone in her family is dead.”

Hanna shot another concerned look at Emily and then glanced at Alison.

“Maybe,” she replied softly. “Plus the DNA databases haven’t been around that long, right Caleb?”

“Yeah. They weren’t really a thing until the late 1900s, especially not public databases.”

“I’m sorry…did you say late 1900s…as in it was an entirely different old timey century?” Hanna cocked an eyebrow at her fiancé.

“It was technically a different century.”

“We were born in the 90s." Emily snorted out a laugh.

"Yes, which was in a different century."

"My mom would smack you upside your head if you implied she was from the distant times of the 1900s.” Hanna rustled his hair.

“My mom would just let someone else clock you over the head with a rock and then bury you alive,” Alison mumbled.

“Damn, that’s dark.” Hanna huffed out. “I mean, I know that’s what happened, but Jesus.”

Alison bit down on her lip when a shadow of her haunted subconscious reared its ugly little head.

She tried to take a breath to steady herself, but her lungs were too tight to take in enough air.

She hated it. It made her feel like she was inhaling dirt…like she was being buried alive...again.

I’m suffocating, mother! Can’t you see me breathing?

She clenched her jaw and fought the haunting images in her mind. The real memories and the nightmares that plagued her were clashing in her head.

A desolate yard in Rosewood, barren trees blowing in the wind.

An accusatory bony finger waggling at her.

Tatters of her mother’s clothing falling off the bones.

“Your fault!” That’s what her eyes said. “This is all your fault. If you’d just come home…”

The anger in her gaze felt so real.

It was hard for Alison to reconcile the dark side of her mother with the same woman she’d dreamed held her the night of the fire that had nearly killed her and Emily.

Her mother had loved her…in her own warped way. She would have been thrilled that she was dating Emily. For all her flaws…her mother had embraced Emily when she came out. She’d accepted Charlotte and paid for her transition. Jessica DiLaurentis was a lot of things, but she wasn’t intolerant or bigoted.

“Your mother was a complicated woman.” Emily gently touched Alison’s arm, offering her support.

Alison started to say something, but a lump was caught in her throat. Her nose burned as she fought back tears.

“Ali? You okay?” Caleb asked.

“Your fault!”

Was it her fault? Maybe it was.

“I’m fine.” She managed to eke out. “I’m just…” She struggled to find the right words, “I just need…” There was a sticky sensation in her mouth, as if someone had stuffed cotton in her cheeks. “I’m going to get some water.”

Alison scrambled to her feet and moved towards the kitchen.

Hanna stared at the bottled water that they’d set out for her and Caleb.

“But…there’s water right here. Why…” It took Hanna a second to realize that Alison wasn’t really thirsty. “Oh.” She glanced down at her feet. “Panic attack?” She asked Emily.

“Panic attack.” Emily quietly followed Alison.

She found her pacing in the kitchen. The blonde was mumbling something about her bitch of a mother laughing at them from the grave.

She stopped abruptly and turned when she heard Emily approaching.

“I’m not losing my mind if that’s what you’re thinking.” She leaned against the counter and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I didn’t say anything.” Emily held her palms up in a passive manner.

“You’re hovering.” Alison frowned.

“Your stomach was growling and distracting me. And you clearly have a headache if the way you’ve been rubbing your temples is any indicator. You haven’t eaten anything and you’re probably dehydrated. We need to remedy that.” Emily handed her a sliced bagel sitting on the warmer of the stove before walking over to cabinet and pulling a glass off the shelf.

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of water, filling the glass nearly to the brim.

“Drink this.” Emily handed the blonde the glass.

She knew that Alison had a habit of forgoing basic necessities like food and water when she was stressed out.

Alison took a bite of the bagel and sipped on the water.

“Happy?” She opened her mouth after she’d finished chewing to show Emily that she’d swallowed, like a child being forced to take medication.

Emily reached out and ran her fingers through Alison’s hair.

“Just hold on for a little bit longer. We’re so close to ending this.”

“That’s what scares me.” Alison put the water and bagel down and brushed the crumbs away. “The closer we get the more dangerous it gets.”

If something happened to the brunette Alison would never forgive herself.

“We’ve never not been in danger.” Emily shrugged.

Sometimes Emily’s disregard for her own safety scared Alison.

“Emily, whoever is helping my sister has killed two people. Not just killed…tortured and maimed. How can you be so caviler about something with that much risk involved?” She cupped Emily’s cheek, her fingers still chilled from the glass of water.

“Because I’ve already lived through the worst happening to me.” The speed in which Emily replied was an indicator that she’d given it a lot of thought. “Maya. You. My dad…” Her eyes darted away from Alison. Her attempt to hide her pain. “Maya and my dad are gone. They’re not coming back. But I got you back. And I don’t intend to lose you again.”

“Nor I you.” Alison’s brow creased, her eyes ferocious and intense. After a few seconds she sighed and looked down at the floor. “You do have a point though. Trouble seems to find us no matter where we go.”

“Can’t run from it.” Emily leaned on the counter next to the blonde. “Can’t hide from it. Might as well face it head on.”

“You are so much like your dad.” It was something else that scared Alison, because Emily’s dad had died saving other people.

“I wish he was here to tell me what to do.”

“You always seem to know what to do.” Alison’s eyes landed on the glass of water. She didn’t have to ask for it, because Emily instinctively knew what she needed.

“One of the perks of having trauma is recognizing when others have it.” Emily’s fingertips brushed against Alison’s, setting her every nerve ending on fire.

“You know, it’s weird. I’ve forgotten what normal feels like. Do you remember the last time we had a good day?” Alison tapped her fingertips against the counter, moving them just enough to tickle Emily’s knuckles.

Emily pursed her lips in thought, letting out a noise between a sigh and a hum.

“I’m not sure.” She skipped all the pretenses and reached for Alison’s hand. “But I know it was with you.”

Alison squeezed her hand, but her gaze was fixed on the wall.

Emily could tell she wanted to say something, but she was struggling to put her thoughts in to words.

After a few seconds Alison turned to her and locked eyes with her, as serious as Emily had ever seen her.

“Are you happy?” Alison questioned.

A surge of confusion washed across Emily’s features.

“With things in general or with you? Because things in general are kind of…” She waved a hand flippantly into the air, letting it linger. “But things with you?” She turned to the side, pulling Alison closer to her. “I’ve never questioned things with you. I love you.”

Alison smiled sadly.

“I know. But sometimes I think about how different things might have been if I hadn’t dragged you and the girls into my family drama.”

“Your fault!” Her mother’s voice screamed in her head.

“It’s not like you knew this was how things were going to turn out.” Emily put her hands on Alison’s waist. “And I wouldn’t want you to change anything. Because we belong together. Even if you had written yourself entirely out of my life I would have known something was missing.” She kissed Alison’s forehead. “I did know something was missing. I wasn’t complete without you.”

“So you don’t think about how much easier things might have been…”

“No.” Emily cut her off. “Alison, if you hadn’t been here when I found out about my dad I might not be here today. Hell, if you hadn’t been in my life I might not have even made it out of high school alive. You pulled me out of that barn that Mona locked me in. I would have died of carbon monoxide poisoning if you hadn’t showed up.”

Alison lifted her hand and gently touched Emily’s lips.

“Your lips were blue.” Alison shuddered when she thought about how close she’d been to losing the love of her life that day. “I was so scared. I wasn’t sure if you were breathing. I was ready to call 911 and risk coming back.” She dipped her hand down, her palm landing between Emily’s breasts. “Then I saw your chest move. And I realized that’s all that mattered to me. That you were alive.”

“Because of you.” Emily slid her hand on top of Alison’s and held it in place. “You saved me.”

Alison reached up with her free hand and pushed Emily’s hair behind her ear, tracing the delicate cartilage there.

There was a real raw vulnerability in the way that Emily held her…in the way she looked at her. It was one of the most intimate things that Alison had ever felt.

“And here I thought you were the one who threw out life preservers.” A smile tugged at the edges of her lips.

“I do. But a good lifeguard recognizes when they’re in over their head.” Emily curled her fingers into Alison’s palm. “Admittedly, I haven’t always been the best at asking for help.”

Alison snorted out a laugh.

“No, you definitely haven’t. You’re like a toddler adamantly insisting that you can do it all by yourself.” Alison rolled her eyes lovingly. Her smile slowly faded. “So you can understand my concern.”

“I understand why you’re worried.” She cupped Alison’s hand in between hers. “I know I have a habit of charging into the heat of battle, but I’m not going to run off and do anything stupid.”

There was a slight twitch of her lips and a quick glance towards the ground. It’s how Alison knew she was lying. Emily wasn’t someone who would sit around and wait for the fight to come to her. Not anymore.

“You most certainly will.” Alison argued. “It’s who you are.”

“Maybe.” Emily didn’t deny it. “I can’t help my instincts.”

“Can you at least try not to get killed? I’m going to be really mad if I have to revive you…again.” Her icy blue eyes narrowed, but Emily could see the love behind them.

“Maybe I want you to give me mouth to mouth.” Emily pulled away with a smug smirk on her face.

Alison smacked her shoulder playfully.

“Contrary to your blasé and cocky attitude, you are not a cat and you do not have nine lives.” Alison reminded her. “Just don’t forget who we’re dealing with.”

“Ah, but we don’t know exactly who we’re dealing with…besides Charlotte.” Emily pointed towards the living room, where Caleb and Hanna were studying their clues.

“Those DNA results can’t come fast enough. This Secret Sibling Society of Rosewood is beginning to get tiresome.” Alison shook her head. “Charlotte was one thing. I understand how she turned out the way she is. My mom threw her in a mental institution and gaslit me and Jason into believing she wasn’t real.” She paused and then thought about something. “My parents raised a psychopath, a pervert, and a manipulative bitch.”

“Ali, you’re not…”

“Don’t try to sugarcoat my hateful shrew tendencies. I know I’m not the poster child for a good human. I know who I am. Just as sure as I know who you are. But we are who we are because of and in spite of our parents. And I just can’t help but think about whoever Charlotte has helping her. What kind of messed up parents raise a psychopath capable of slicing off body parts and using human flesh for a bonfire?”

“Shitty parents.” Emily paused a beat. “Or deadbeats who weren’t around. Or dead parents.”

“Yeah, well, we both know a thing or two about the Dead Parents Society, but at least your dad was a decent man.”

“Dead Parents Society. Woo.” Emily made a half-hearted whirling motion with her finger and rolled her eyes.

“Sorry. That came out wrong.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to fall apart any time someone mentions my dad being gone.” Emily chewed on her lip. “I mean…it does kind of sting to think about how Charlotte and her minions decided to burn Ezra to death on my lawn…of all places. It reminds me too much of what my dad’s last moments were like. Hearing those noises on the video A sent us…” She clenched her jaw. “That felt personal.”

“Because they’re trying to rattle you.”

“Well it worked.” Emily admitted. “I’ve been all over the place since my dad died. And that drudged up some feelings I’d locked away in a box in my brain.”

“I’m here for you.” Alison reached for her hand, her sentiments echoing what Caleb had told Hanna in the elevator.

“I know.” Emily smiled sweetly. “You always are. Even in the midst of everything going on with your sister…I want you to know that I recognize what you do for me. And I also don’t want you to forget that I’m here for you, too.”

“That’s more than I can say for anyone related to me by blood.” Alison muttered. “I’m pretty sure the liquid that flows through my veins is venomous to people outside my family.”

“I must be immune.” Emily leaned forward and pecked her lips.

Just as Alison was leaning into it Emily’s phone sprang to life, startling them both.

She looked at the phone and saw her mom’s face peering back at her. She was showing off one of her plants in the contact photo.

“Hey mom…” She answered.

“Emily.” She sounded quiet…defeated. But it was nothing like the agony that had been in her voice when she’d called Emily about Wayne. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news…”

“Yeah.” Emily glanced at Alison. The news had been sent to them directly via their stalker. “We heard.”

“It’s Ezra.” She was in disbelief. “I just don’t understand any of this. Why him? And why our house? What was he doing there? Were you still in contact with him?”

“No.”

It wasn’t technically a lie. Ezra had been the one to reach out about all the information he’d gathered. It had been the last decent thing he’d ever done.

“For once I’m glad you’re so far away. With what happened to Toby and now this thing with Ezra…it feels dangerous here.”

It IS dangerous there. Emily bit her tongue.

“Are you still staying with Ashley and Ted?” There was strength in numbers.

“No. I came home last night. The cops have cleared the crime scene.”

Emily closed her eyes, trying not to think about the last crime scene in her yard.

Maya.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.” She tried not to let on that there was more going on than her mother knew. “Are you being hounded by the media?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t talk to them if they come around.”

“You sound like Veronica Hastings.” Her mother laughed softly. “She already called and offered me advice.”

Spencer’s doing, no doubt.

Emily made a mental note to thank Spencer for making sure her mom was taken care of.

She spent fifteen minutes calming her mother down and she thought she was doing a pretty good job of it until their call was coming to an end.

Her mom got very quiet.

There was a breath, a thoughtful pause,

“Emmy, you’d tell me if something more was going on, wouldn’t you? This all feels like de ja vu. From back when you were in high school. If you’re in trouble again don’t shut me out…”

Emily had done her best to shelter her mom from the worst of the discrepancies and the darkness and lies, more-so since her dad died. She thought about how Alison had told her earlier that sometimes lies were easier than the truth.

“We’re fine.” The lie came out smooth, and it irked her how easy it was to lie to her mom.

After a few more minutes and a few more reassurances she was able to get her mother off the phone.

Alison had rejoined Caleb and Hanna and they were trading theories about how to identify the mystery DNA.

“What if we could find pictures of Teddy? Maybe we could do an age-progression photo. See if there is anyone who might bear a family resemblance. A face we might recognize.” Alison suggested.

“We’ve tried. The kid is practically a ghost…” Hanna paused and let her words sink in. She grimaced when she realized how young Teddy had been when he died. “My bad. Poor choice of words.”

“What she means is that there is very little information about him and his family available. The news wasn’t so bloodthirsty and greedy back then. They apparently had decorum when kids died.” Caleb’s tone was a mixture of irritation and relief.

“Or his family fought to keep everything private. It would explain why they bolted shortly after he died. But that doesn’t explain why they buried him in Rosewood.” Alison trailed her finger against the board.

“Maybe the foundation that paid for it made that one of the stipulations.” Caleb guessed.

“So someone local wanted to be able to visit?” Hanna asked.

“It could also be that his parents weren’t planning to leave at first. Death and burials happen so fast. Sometimes grieving families are numb and in a state of shock when those decisions are made.” Emily leaned against the door frame, thinking about how many people she cared about were buried in Rosewood.

“And there are a lot of ghouls just in it for the drama. Plus the death investigation…” Alison spun towards Caleb. “You were able to find Jason with that little digital backdoor into the police department.”

“Yeah…” Caleb cocked a brow in uncertainty.

“There would have to be a police record of Teddy’s death, right?” Alison’s eyes were hopeful.

“Not everything is digitized. And it would be redacted because it involves minors.”

“Not if we ask the right people. Toby still has friends in the department. It’s worth a shot.” Alison pushed.

“For the record, when Spencer asks whose idea it was to pull Toby away from his physical therapy and his recovery I’m telling her it was all you.” Caleb pointed at the blonde.

“I’ll take the hit. She’ll just bitch at me for a little bit, but then I’ll take her out for drinks and she’ll forget why she was mad at me.” Alison grinned.

“Solid plan.” Hanna snorted.

Caleb sent Toby an encrypted message set to delete after he read it…so Spencer wouldn’t see it. After a few minutes Toby had texted back that he would make some calls and see if he could get the report.

They went back to observing the clue board, quietly mulling over something they might have missed.

Emily’s eyes were drawn to the fresh sticky note. It was right above the unknown DNA profile. She dug through her memories of the Dollhouse, focusing on the brightly colored gloves that she remembered.

latex allergy?

A loud thrumming vibration cut through the silence.

Emily’s phone bounced to life on the table. She looked at the caller ID and her heart sank.

“Aria.” Emily nodded towards her phone.

“Shit.” Alison bit her lip. “I’m not ready.”

“Don’t know if we could ever be ready to tell someone their ex-stalker predator teacher was set on fire.” Hanna moved away from the clue board and over to where Emily was standing.

Emily slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.

“Hey Aria. I’m here with Alison, Caleb, and Hanna.” She saw Caleb moving towards them out of the corner of her eye.

“Is Spencer okay?” Aria didn’t miss the exemption of Spencer’s name.

“She’s fine. She’s with Toby.” Hanna replied.

“Hey, Hanna. I tried calling you.”

Hanna pulled her phone out of her pajama pocket and frowned.

“Shit. Sorry. I had it set to Do Not Disturb because I was supposed to be at the spa.”

“I got your SOS.” Aria sounded out of breath. “I’m so sorry. Our flight was delayed and then diverted and then delayed again. I slept the entire flight to England and just remembered to turn my phone off airplane mode. I got all of your messages. Is everyone okay?”

Hanna nervously fiddled with the drawstring on her pajama pants.

“We’re okay.” Emily’s voice was calm and reassuring.

Alison wasn’t sure how she managed to retain her smooth tone, but she admired her for it.

“Oh thank God.”

“Have you seen the news? Or been online?” Alison asked.

“No.”

“Is Liam with you?”

“Yes. We’re at the hotel.” There was a tremor of anxiety in her tone. “Why? What happened? You guys are scaring me.”

Hanna, Alison, and Emily all peered at one another as they quietly tried to decide who should tell her…and how.

Hanna put her palms up and shook her head. Spencer had just reamed her out for not being tactful.

Alison raised her brows in a questioning manner as she had a silent conversation with Emily.

Emily nodded. She knew it needed to be her.

“They uh…they identified the body outside my house.” Sympathy oozed out of the brunette. “I’m really sorry, but it was Ezra.”

There was a surprised cry on the other end of the line and then total silence. It sounded like the call had gone dead.

“Aria?” Emily asked.

“Yeah.” Her voice sounded distant and tinny. “I’m here.”

“Are you okay?”

“I…I don’t know.” She replied. “I’m processing.” Another pause. “Are they sure?”

“They are. They took Jason into custody…”

“Jason did this?!” She huffed in shock.

“No. No, he’s being framed. We’re still trying to figure everything out.”

“I don’t understand.” There was a hitch in her throat.

“What’s going on?” They heard Liam in the background.

There was a muffled noise and quiet voices as she explained it to him.

“I’m putting you on speaker,” Aria said.

There was shuffling on her end of the line. Then the sound of Argos whining.

“Can you guys hear me?” Liam asked.

“Yeah.” Emily replied.

“Em? I’ve got a message from A.” Aria swallowed hard. “It’s some kind of video…”

“Don’t watch it.” Emily quickly cut her off.

“Okay.” She didn’t seem to know what to say.

“Spencer advised me to shutter my socials for the time being. You might need to do the same. I know that’ll be hard because of your book tour, but it’s probably for the best.” Alison said softly, trying not to rattle her.

“Why?” Aria asked. “As far as I know no one outside of us knows about me and Ezra…” She stalled when she said his name, a hiccup of a cry threatening to come out.

No one said a word. Despite the fact that he had been a predator, he had conditioned Aria to love him when she was younger. Those feelings were complex…and they didn’t just go away because she wanted them to. She didn’t love him anymore, but she would always have a connection to him…even though she didn’t want to. All she wanted to do was move forward with her life. But she knew she had a lot of healing to do before she could get over the past.

“People will make the connection. People talk on socials. Kids from high school who always suspected he preyed on you will probably come out of the woodwork. People you haven’t seen or talked to in years will suddenly act like they know every sordid detail of your life back then.” Alison tried to soften the blow, but she knew it would be hard to hear.

“None of that matters to me.” Aria sniffled. She didn’t want to be sad about his death, but grief flowed through her anyway. “I never did forgive him,” she admitted. “But I didn’t want him dead. Not like this.”

Alison could relate. Her creep of a brother was sitting in prison. She hadn’t forgiven him either, but she didn’t want him to be hurt.

“It’s hard to separate the beast from the person you thought they were.” Alison took Emily’s phone from her, taking the lead in the conversation. “Loving someone who doesn’t deserve it hurts. They take a piece of your heart that you can’t ever get back.”

“Yeah.” Aria sighed, pausing again to gather her thoughts. “Guys, I’m…” She swallowed. “I’ll be okay. I just need to process it.”

“Just let us know how to help.” Emily leaned towards the phone.

“Do you know why Charlotte went after him?” Aria asked. “It’s not like any of us are still close to him. I haven’t heard from him in years.”

Emily, Alison, Caleb, and Hanna all glanced at each other. Aria was in the dark about everything Ezra had sent to them. They’d been trying to protect her. But Charlotte and her team had forced their hand.

“We have some stuff we need to talk to you about.” Emily cleared her throat.

They walked her through Eddie Lamb’s visit…and who had sent Eddie.

They told her that Ezra had sent them a bunch of files to investigate. That Wes’s life had been threatened. That there was another Fitzgerald out there. They explained the shell corporation pretending to be a charity. They told her everything.

She had listened quietly, asking minimal questions.

They knew she was still in shock.

After they had finished explaining Aria nodded absentmindedly, forgetting that they couldn’t see her nonverbal cues.

All they could hear was the dog’s whining increasing in volume, concerned about Aria’s pain. Animals could always sense it. He anxiously pawed at her leg.

“Aria, honey?” It was Liam who broke the silence.

When she didn’t reply he sighed and took the phone off speaker.

“I’m fine.” They heard her in the background as she reached down to reassure her dog with a pat on the head.

“She’s not fine.” Emily sighed. “It hasn’t hit her yet. She’s going to crash.”

“I know. I’m not going anywhere.” There was a pause and then, “Do you think we should postpone the book tour?”

“No,” Aria said just as it was echoed by Emily,

“No.”

“It’s highly unlikely that Charlotte has someone with international reach.” Alison cut in. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but so far everything that’s happened has happened on US soil.”

“That we know about.” Hanna said quietly.

Emily shot her a cutting look.

“You’re probably safer traveling.” Alison tried not to think about what else was in store for them.

“Except maybe in Europe.” Caleb muttered under his breath as he traced a finger over the DNA profile on the board.

He hadn’t said it loud enough for Aria and Liam to hear, but Alison, Emily, and Hanna silently agreed.

Alison assumed Charlotte’s international reach was limited, but she didn’t take into account that the people who were helping her had no problems traveling…at least to California. They didn’t realize that the danger was already on their doorstop.

“What should I do?” he asked. “What can I do to help?”

“Just keep her safe. Do not let her out of your sight.” Alison verbalized it like it was an order.

“I will.” He didn’t argue.

“Listen, I know you didn’t exactly sign up for this. I’m sorry you and Aria are being dragged into my family’s mess.” Alison picked at her thumbnail.

“I signed up for a life with the woman I love and that entails everything that comes along with it. You guys are family to her. That makes you family to me. If there is anything you need from me just ask. I’ll be there.” He assured them.

Alison felt tears welling in her eyes. After everything Aria had been through she had found a good partner to spend the rest of her life with. It was all Alison wanted for all of her friends.

“I’m sorry about your brother, Alison,” Liam said.

His kindness ripped something open inside of Alison’s chest. It’s not like Jason deserved sympathy from the people in his life that he had wronged, but it was nice that people cared enough about her to say something.

The reception cut out for a split second as another call came into Aria’s cell.

“Oh, um…our publisher is calling us.” Liam looked at the phone.

“Probably heard the news.” Aria was close enough to the phone for them to hear her clearly again. “We have to take this.” She had gathered her emotions enough to talk to them again. “Thank you for bringing me into the loop about all of this.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t have better news to share.” Emily apologized.

“Story of our lives.” Her tone was still shaky. “I love you guys.”

“We love you, too.” Hanna was the first to respond.

They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Emily put her phone down.

“That was intense.” Caleb scrubbed his fingers through his hair.

“Thank you for taking the lead, Em.” Hanna breathed a sigh of relief. “I would have botched the hell out of that. As it is, Spencer seems to think I’m allergic to tact.”

Alison said something in response, but Emily didn’t hear what it was.

The room around her started to spin.

Hanna’s words, ”I’m allergic” had stirred the brunette’s mind to life.

Her eyes shot to the clue board, landing on the new bright pink sticky note on the board.

latex allergy?

A memory from years ago came to the surface. Not pink or purple gloves, but a deep blue.

Then the thought she’d had earlier: Charlotte liked to play with them. Someone else was studying them.

She closed her eyes to get lost in the memory.

She knew it was the missing piece.

The thrumming of a machine.

The feeling of being trapped…in the bed…by wires.

A conversation happening just outside of her consciousness.

The feeling of being drugged.

Her eyes opening to a blurry sight.

A bright light.

A dark room.

A distant voice becoming clearer,

“Does she have any allergies to any medications or to latex?”

“Not according to her chart.” This voice more familiar.

The scene started clearing.

Her entire body ached.

“It hurts.” She muttered.

“Push more sucralfate and up the PPIs. Call me when her labs are done.”

“She’s awake…”

“Doesn’t matter. She’ll be out again soon. I’ve got more important matters to attend to.”

The sound of flat soled shoes hitting linoleum.

She blinked.

Not the Dollhouse.

A hospital.

“Sorry about him.” Foreign blue rainbows swirled into her sight. After a few seconds she was able to focus enough to recognize them as hand-shaped.

Gloves.

Blue gloves.

“He has the most dreadful bedside manner. He’s allergic to sensitivity.” The voice was calm and smooth. “I know you’re not allergic to latex, but I opted for the latex-free anyway.”

The fingers near her face wriggled.

“I prefer them. Latex irritates my skin. I get that from my dad’s side of the family.” She felt the gloves against her arm, checking her IV. “You’ve had quite the fright, but it doesn’t look to be anything serious. Most likely an ulcer. Hurts like the dickens, but it won’t kill you. Your mum is on her way. She’ll be here soon. You just rest.”

Something warm flowed through her IV port and she felt the pain melting away.

She relaxed into the bed, her eyes drooping closed.

But not before she saw a familiar face.

He looked like he was floating over her, a gentle smile on his lips.

“There you are. You’ll be alright.” He traced his gloved index finger down to her wrist and held it against her pulse.

She would later feel that same sensation in the exact same way a year later…but not in the hospital.

In the Dollhouse.

“He was in the hospital.” Emily didn’t realize she was talking out loud until she saw three sets of eyes shoot to her in confusion.

“Huh?” Hanna looked at Alison and Caleb to see if they knew who she was talking to.

“I know who was there.” Emily quickly marched towards the clue board.

“Where?” Alison quickly followed.

“In the Dollhouse.” She grabbed the sticky note and held it up like it would explain everything.

Caleb was the first one to realize what had happened.

“You remembered something.” His eyes brightened in curiosity.

“Yes. In the hospital when I had an ulcer. The doctor was a real douchebag.”

“Wasn’t Wren your doctor?” Hanna asked.

“No.” Emily felt a hint of true satisfaction. It was the first time she’d felt it in a long time. “He was the intern.”

Alison looked between the two of them. She hadn’t been around for that, so she didn’t know much about it.

“What color were Wren’s gloves when he stitched you up after we were trapped in Noel’s cabin and you got that gash on your leg?” Emily asked, needing confirmation…needing to know that her memory wasn’t playing tricks on her.

Hanna stared at her, her eyes going between the sticky note in Emily’s hand and the brunette’s expectant gaze.

“I…” She bit her lip. “I don’t know. I can’t remember. Maybe green?”

“Also usually latex free.” Emily nodded.

“You think Sara was telling the truth about Wren’s involvement?” Alison finally connected the dots.

They had been going back and forth about whether Wren could be part of Charlotte’s A-team for a while, but they didn’t have any concrete proof. And Caleb hadn’t been able to find anything suspicious on him. Once they had found out about James, everything else had been put on the backburner.

“When I was in the hospital with my ulcer I remember him saying he had a sensitivity to latex. He was wearing latex-free gloves.” Emily waved the sticky note in the air, completely aware that she sounded like a maniac. “Whoever was helping Charlotte in the Dollhouse had medical knowledge and also wore latex-free gloves.”

“We should tell Spencer to ask Melissa if he used condoms when they had sex.” Hanna suggested with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

“Ew.” Alison’s lip curled in disgust.

“What? Condoms have latex.” Hanna pointed out.

“So do banana peels. You could have gone with that. Now I’m picturing his nasty child-chasing wang all red and angry with hives.” Alison dry heaved.

“That would be an appropriate punishment for being a pedo in my opinion.” Hanna shrugged.

“Latex allergies are fairly uncommon.” Emily thought about those blue gloves in the hospital room. Then she pictured the pink and purple gloves in the Dollhouse. “Why would Charlotte have them in the Dollhouse? Does she have a latex allergy?” She looked at Alison.

“That girl went through boys and condoms like they were candy. So I’m going to say no.”

“And Sara didn’t have one either.” Emily said. “I helped her with a Lab class when she was trying to catch up on her school studies. I saw her wear regular rubber gloves at least a dozen times. So that leaves us with James and Wren. And Wren said he had a sensitivity to latex when I was in the hospital.”

Alison, Caleb, and Hanna took a few moments to absorb the information. It’s not like it was coming out of nowhere. They’d been suspicious of Wren, but had nothing to go on.

“He did integrate himself back into our lives.” Caleb pulled up something on his laptop. Much like Spencer, he kept notes. “He sought Spencer out about her mother’s healthcare platform. And Aria ran into him at The Grille when she was in Rosewood visiting her family. And we all saw him at your dad’s funeral, Em…” His voice was considerably softer when he looked up at her.

“I should have let Toby punch him.” Emily was seething in anger.

She entered a search in her texts for Wren’s name and scrolled through the conversation she’d had with Toby about Wren being in the graveyard.

Weirdo went to the graveyard and ate in his car and then went to visit someone buried there.

“Bud and I both assumed he was visiting a patient when he was going to the graveyard.” Emily looked up from her phone. “But when Alison and I called Rosewood General they told us he didn’t work there.”

“Spencer said that he might be at another hospital.” Alison nodded. “Caleb, you said you couldn’t find his medical transcripts, right?”

“Right. Because of his dual citizenship. Getting transcripts from different countries is very difficult.”

“As difficult as it is to get information about offshore bank accounts?” Emily asked as she stared at the research Ezra had sent them. “We know that Ezra went to Europe shortly before he died. And we know according to Melissa that the last time she talked to Wren he thought he was being followed. Ezra referred to whoever was driving the car that almost hit him as his brother. What if that’s what he discovered that got him killed? What if we were right about Ezra’s father and Wren’s mother having an affair? It could be why the bank account was set up as a fake foundation. Perfect way to launder money for an illegitimate child.”

“How would that tie in with Teddy?” Alison asked, gazing at the DNA profiles.

“The affair could have been going on for a while. Ezra’s father could have easily gotten Wren’s mother pregnant more than once. Teddy could have been Wren’s brother. It would give him motive to team up with Charlotte. He knows Jessica and Mary had something to do with Teddy’s death. It would also explain who Wren is visiting in the graveyard. His baby brother.”

“Wren is from England though. And Teddy died here.” Hanna studied the clue board.

“No, Wren has an English accent and has lived in Europe. Teddy’s family disappeared not long after he died. No record of them here in the states after they vanished…” Emily explained.

“A name change.” Caleb could see where Emily was leading them. “Easy enough to pull off given they knew the right people. Kim to Kingston.”

The light in the room suddenly seemed brighter.

A faucet of information was flowing.

“Oh my God.” Hanna gasped. She faced Caleb. “Remember how I said that the Children’s King Stonewall Foundation sounded familiar?”

She pointed to the name, first to King, then to Stonewall. Then she covered up the last five letters in Stonewall, leaving the name “Kingston.”

“It can’t be coincidence, right?” Hanna asked.

“I thought the same thing!” Alison exclaimed. “I knew that name seemed familiar.”

“Oh, that’s clever.” Caleb pulled up the notes he had on the foundation. “That’s very clever. I bet the reason I could never find medical credentials on Wren is because I was looking under his name instead of Theodore Kim. There is a Theodore Kim who has credentials that checked out. He was on the list that Jason gave us of Charlotte’s doctors. I wonder if he assumed Theodore as an identity.”

“How could he get away with that for so long? Eddie said Wren was kind of a creep. Surely if Eddie noticed his behavior at Radley…then his other coworkers would have noticed. Someone higher up. Wouldn’t someone have looked him up? He was in and out of all kinds of medical facilities using a dead child’s name, but going by Wren Kingston. That’s a pretty big oversight.” Alison shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s actually not that uncommon to go by a different name when working with the public. They might have had one name on paper and he opted to go by the Kingston identity instead.” Caleb peered at Theodore Kim’s credentials. “I don’t have anything about pre-med for Theodore, but I have his med school credentials from when he received his PhD. He couldn’t have gotten that without pre-med. He transferred from somewhere else. But he was under 18…which is odd. That would have put him in pre-med at 14 years old. Maybe 16 if he was advanced. The dates don’t add up. I knew I was missing something when I looked that up.”

“That makes sense if he was using Theodore’s identity this entire time. Teddy was younger than him.” Emily read the notes over Caleb’s shoulder. “And if that charity was a shell corporation where Ezra’s dad was sending money then Wren would have had the money to get all the fake documentation he’d need to become Theodore Kim…or use him as an alias.”

“And that money could have been used to help build a bunker, too.” Hanna shivered.

“Has it been him this whole time?” Alison’s voice came out a whisper. “Is that the connection Ezra found when he asked Eddie for Mary Drake’s records and Theodore Kim’s records from that Radley transfer that never happened?”

“It would explain why your mom scrubbed the file. She knew Teddy was dead. Someone was messing with her.” Emily nodded.

“Not someone. Wren.” The blonde’s face was turning a deep shade of crimson.

This dated back longer than they’d realized. Maybe Wren was the reason her mom had been so paranoid and angry when she was raising her and Jason. She thought about that little boy in the Batman mask on the playground who had bullied her and Charlotte.

“My mom says your mom is poison.”

“Is not!” Alison had pouted.

“She’s a bad lady. And that means you’re bad, too.”

Her mother had been arguing with that little boy’s mother shortly before Jason had started throwing punches to protect Charlotte and Alison.

After the fight was over there had been an icy exchange between the two women.

“We should be going.” The boy’s mother caught Jessica’s gaze of fury.

“Yes, you should.” There seemed to be a duplicitous meaning in her mother’s tone.

Her mom had seemed shaken by that incident.

Had that little boy been Wren?

“All this time we’ve been looking for Wren Kingston or Theodore Kim.” An idea popped into Emily’s head. “Caleb, what happens if you put out a search for Wren Kim?”

Caleb’s fingers flew across his laptop keyboard, tapping away. The screen started to refresh and everyone held their breath.

Dozens of files popped up on screen. Every single one of them was locked.

“Everything is sealed.” Caleb scrolled through with his touchpad.

“What does that mean?” Hanna asked.

“Some of them are sealed legitimately because he was a minor. The others would have required inside help from the station.” Caleb looked up at the girls.

“Which is where James must come in.” Emily made the connection. “Having help in the police department and help in the medical field gives Charlotte everything she needs to play her perverse games.”

They had been sitting on the answer the entire time.

“Occam’s razor.” Caleb muttered.

“What?” Hanna asked.

“The simplest explanation is usually the right one.” Emily glanced at the clue board. “He’s been in our lives since this started. He pushed his way into Spencer’s life. And he used her to gain our trust. He sat by my bedside in the hospital. He stitched you up.” She nodded towards Hanna. “He nursed our wounds. He was in Radley with Mona and Charlotte. He made us think he was on our side. But he’s been playing us.”

If their theory was correct that meant that he had been the one after them since the very beginning. And they had no idea where he was.

“Spencer could be in danger if he’s in Rosewood.” Emily felt her stomach churning.

“And he’s got roots in Europe, so Aria and Liam could be in danger, too.” Alison’s eyes widened.

They grabbed their phones, Emily hitting her speed dial for Spencer while Alison did the same for Aria.

Their eyes were drawn back to the computer.

Everything they needed to confirm their suspicions was right at their fingertips. They just needed to unlock the files to be sure. The puzzle was rapidly falling into place. They were putting the pieces together, a picture that would reveal the truth.

But what they didn’t know was that they were too late. There was already a plan in motion. And there was nothing they could do to stop it.

A/N: This chapter was a tough one to edit because of the length and the content. Any time I am working on any kind of reveal I have to make sure it is done to my inner critic’s liking. And she’s a tough sell.

There is a lot to digest in this one. Jason’s arrest. Alison spiraling. Emily and Hanna having wicked PTSD. Pam’s concern. The girls breaking the news about Ezra’s death to Aria. The revelation about Teddy and Wren.

Do we think they’re finally on the right track? Or are they careening off the track and heading straight for disaster?