I'm utterly gobsmacked as I realise who I'm sitting next to. While Will is off searching for something he probably won't find, I've managed to have an extremely awkward conversation with a member of the Carter family. A member of a possible terrorist organization.

Adam sits there, sensing my utter shock, because he leans back a little. "What? Heard of me before?"

"No!" I nearly shout, making him flinch slightly. "No, not at all. Just thinking that you have...a really nice name?"

Luckily, he laughs, the tension in the room slowly fading away with my worries. "Thanks, I guess. So Sydney's ditched you as well, then?"

"Yeah, she invited me, but I don't really see the point of me being here, to be honest. It hasn't been much fun." I tell him, choosing my words carefully.

Likewise with Mr. Moreau, I'm worried that he'll be able to see through me, and I don't want that. I need him to trust me, so I can get more information.

He purses his lips. "Yeah, Sydney's parents can be a little too demanding of her sometimes. I'm sure she'd rather spend this with you, but speaking to all these people is something she needs to do."

"Why?" I ask a little intrusively. Adam doesn't seem to be bothered by my behaviour, so I make the split decision to jump into what I'm here for.

If he's annoyed, he doesn't show it, shrugging slightly. "I dunno, her parents and mine have this big thing happening, but I'm not really sure what it is. It's all very secretive, they're recruiting and firing people all the time. This one guy - I think Daniel or something was his name - got fired because he accidently told someone the wrong date. That was it, yet he was fired instantly."

My eyes widen, making sure to look up the name Daniel for further reference. He could be a good witness. "Damn. That's pretty harsh."

"Exactly." He says, agreeing. He yawns as the conversation dies down a little. "So you haven't met Olivia then?"

"No."

He stretches. "She's Sydney's cousin. Very long, dark hair, tall, brown eyes. They look pretty similar, to be honest. Except Olivia is older than her."

It surprises me that Sydney has a cousin that seems to be close to her, whom she hasn't mentioned. Obviously Sydney and I aren't that close, but the fact that Adam is surprised I haven't met her, shows that she's obviously important to Sydney.

"I'm going to get a drink, want to come?" He asks, standing up and offering a hand.

Before he told me his name, I would have declined, but now I'm eager to get this information out of him. That, and I think Will might be looking for me.

Taking his hand, I let him pull me up, only he tugs a little too hard and I'm sent into his chest. He grabs me close in an attempt to stabilize us.

At that very moment, Sydney and Will walk in, shortly followed by a girl I can only guess is Olivia. And all their eyes zoom in on Adam and I, in our close proximity.

"Oh, hey. We've been looking for you everywhere!" Sydney says, taking no notice of what has just occurred.

Will, however, seems to be wearing a face of clear annoyance. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I pulled her up a little too hard." Adam tells him, offering his hand to shake, like he did with me previously. "Adam Carter."

Will doesn't shake his hand. "Jake."

"And this," Says Sydney, breaking apart the growing testosterone in the room. "Is my cousin Olivia!"

Olivia quite clearly looks as Adam described her to be. She has long, dark brown hair, pointed eyebrows, small lips and chestnut eyes. Like Sydney, she shares her high cheekbones, effortlessly straight posture and obvious hair colour. However, she is much taller, seeming to look over our heads rather than at our faces.

Sydney points at me, showing Olivia who I am. "This is the lovely Mia."

I expect Olivia to smile, or even grimace like people usually do when they meet me - but she just stands there, her eyes wide and her mouth parted. No words are uttered from her mouth, rather like a slowly deteriorating statue watching life pass by: staring at me, eyes roaming my face desperately, feet grounded.

Everyone else in the room shares the same look of confusion. Why is Olivia - someone who has never once met me in her life - acting as though she's seen me in some kind of past life?

"Liv?" Sydney questions, touching Olivia softly with her hand. "What's wrong?"

But Olivia doesn't answer, because she's fled the room, not even looking behind her shoulder.

"I don't like Adam." Will tells me as we sit in the main room, listening to a speech that Sydney's father is saying. Normally I'd tune in - but it's only about personal anecdotes that I don't understand. Plus, it's being recorded anyway.

I roll my eyes. "You don't have to. All we need is information. You don't have to be all buddy-buddy with him."

"Well you two sure looked a lot like that when I came in earlier. In fact, it looked like more than that." He tightens his jaw, staring at the back of Adam's head with a vicious look in his eye. It doesn't suit him - I much prefer his laugh; when his white, straight teeth pop out for show.

"Oh stop." I scold, hitting him lightly on the arm. Nobody seems to be noticing our bickering, everyone too absorbed in the Moreau's speech to understand. "You're just jealous."

He scoffs. "I am not."

"Yes, you are."

Like a two-year-old, he pouts adorably, but stays silent nonetheless, beginning to focus more on the speech.

"...flewn by hasn't it!" Mr Moreau is saying, stood still, holding his untouched glass of champagne in one hand. "My, what a wonderful group of people to be working with for such a long duration of time. Through this business, I've been able to raise my beautiful daughter Sydney - and maintain a stable home with the love of my life, Aurelie. And for that, I am exceedingly grateful." He clears his throat, sending glances to Sydney and her mother, who are standing behind him, looking painfully happy. He continues. "But life must go on - and with life comes change. As some of you may know, I have gathered you all today to inform you that I will be relinquishing the title of CEO. I know, I know. Believe me, I am dismayed to be leaving you all. Not just leaving this wonderful company we have made together, but also leaving a place I have grown to call home. My mind has moved somewhere else - but my heart will always remain, here at Arkinton Intel."

A round of applause fills the humming air of silence with a fake tone, similar to that of a recorded track. The audience seems satisfied, but the faces they share are so repetitive that I fear I'm seeing double.

Sydney moves from her stock position, signalling everyone else to resume conversation. She heads in our direction - which is unusual considering we have hardly spoken to her at all today.

"I'm so sorry." She apologizes, scrunching her hands up into fists by her sides as she stands with us. "Gosh, I feel like such a bad friend. I didn't realise that I would be doing all this and-"

"Seriously, don't worry." I tell her, putting my hands on her shoulders. She relaxes slightly, but I notice from her darting eyes and frown lines that stress is still at the forefront of her mind.

Will nods. "It's not been too bad, in all honesty. I mean, obviously, Mia's made a new friend."

I slap his shoulder, scowling deeply. He knows my 'new friend' was only made for our investigation, yet he's making into such a big deal. "Oh, fuck off."

"Oh, yeah, Adam - where did he go?" She looks around, her hair flicking out behind her. "And Olivia! I'm so sorry about earlier, I have no idea what got into her head."

"It's fine, honestly. Maybe she thought I was someone else."

Will clears his throat. "Well, I think we should go. Don't want to bother you anymore, Sydney."

"I understand. It's not the best place to be on a Sunday. Wait - I want you to meet my parents first - I'm sure they'll love both of you." She grabs both of our hands and drags us towards her parents, who are standing next to each other, talking secretively.

Sydney lets us go and calls them, making sure that they should stop their conversation. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted you to meet my friends. They are both new at Winsor Dalton."

"Both new? That is strange, I must say." Aurelie, Sydney's mother says, tilting her head as if trying to figure us out.

Mr. Moreau frowns. "Yes. I haven't heard of either of you. What are your names?"

"Mia Evans and Jake Adderson." I tell them quietly, reciting the words out of my mind as if they're lines from a play.

Will looks as equally pale as I feel. "Pleased to meet you."

"And you're friends with our Sydney?" Mr. Moreau asks. His eyes analyse us, most likely calculating our flaws within every second of silence.

"Yeah, she's uh- she's really made us feel comfortable." I croak, feeling hot under my collar. It's extremely difficult to act a certain way in front of two people that are currently the topic of a mass police investigation. "We're glad we met her."

"I should hope so." Aurelie says. Her voice sounds stern and confident - with an air of superiority, matching the way her chin is held slightly raised. "Why don't you two come for dinner after school one day? I'm sure we could arrange it with Winsor Dalton - we would take you in a car and bring you back within the curfew timings."

Sydney's eyes sparkle, but she turns to us, confirming that we'd want to go. "That sounds great, mother. Guys? What do you think?"

"I'd love to, thanks, Mrs. Moreau." Will says, seeming more enthused than I feel inside.

I force a smile. "That would be wonderful."

It's surprisingly quiet on the way home. Sydney stayed behind, seeing as the party still wasn't over by the time we left. So, it's just Will and I, sitting on the bus, gloomily watching the world go by through the foggy windows.

I bump his shoulder with mine. "What's up?"

"Nothing." He says, sighing, He rests his head on the window, eyes staring out into the chair in front. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

He smirks half-heartedly at my invasiveness, but remains unenthused. "What's going on with this whole thing. It's so complicated. What if we're being lead in a completely different direction?"

"I dunno, Will. The Moreaus seem pretty guilty." I argue, thinking about how everything the Moreaus are doing is linking up to our suspections. The 'big' event. The secretive nature of the whole thing. They're up to something.

"I'm not saying that they aren't guilty." He says, turning to look at me. His turquoise eyes pierce into mine, as if searching inside. "I just feel like it's a bigger picture. That there's something we're missing."

I remain silent after that. We're both too emotionally and physically exhausted after this weekend to keep the conversation going, so we merely wait until the journey ends.

By the time we reach school, dinner is nearly ready. Starting to head to the main hall, our bellies aching with hunger, we pass through the hallways, wanting nothing but to sit down. Only, a speaker calls out and asks for us both to go to the head master's office.

Will and I share a look. We've been at this school for just over a month, and we've never met the headmaster. Sure, I've heard about him and know that he's both Maddy's dad and my fathers friend, but I've never actually held a conversation with him.

Hell, I don't even know what he looks like.

After speaking to a couple of people in an attempt to find out the location of his office, we're directed through a small series of corridors, and up a narrow spiral staircase that reminds me of harry potter.

Will's hand knocks with uncertainty as we reach his door, while his teeth stretch the skin on his bottom lip, body rigid and waiting for conformation to enter.

"Come in." A deep voice says, sounding distant and unfocussed.

I open the door, walking in tentatively, afraid of what the headmaster will be like. He knows about us, obviously, otherwise we would not have been allowed in without paying the fees. This gives me a little hope, I think as I walk and take one of the seats offered, knowing that I won't have to put on an act.

The headmaster is a tall, lean man with russet hair, save for the small infection of grey hairs that seem to be spreading through his roots. His eyes, like Maddy's, are the colour of the grass outside, clear and bright with knowledge, and he greets us with a friendly smile, knotting his hands together on his desk.

"I'm Mr. Arlington - Mia, Jake, welcome." He gives us a knowing look, raising his bushy eyebrows. "Or should I say, Will and Viola? What could you prefer?"

Will shrugs nonchalantly. "I guess I prefer Will."

"Yes. I thought that might be the case. Getting a bit tiring using another name?"

Both Will and I laugh and nod forcefully, sensing the awkward tension rising in the room. The piercing sounds of silence seem to be stabbing into our ears, making us seem further and further away from comfort.

The room that we sit in is reasonably welcoming: it includes great bookshelves filled with various forms of literature, draws that are filled with overflowing sheets and bricks aligning every wall - the only light source being a soft, painless light that shines in the back corner. "So - how is it all going? This whole...undercover process."

"Not too bad." Will tells him, keeping intact with the rules that we were told to follow: don't let anyone know any of the details - simply respond and remain attentive.

"I'm sorry for being intrusive." Mr Arlington replies, sensing Will's constrictive tone. He rubs his face with his hands and sighs deeply, before turning his face back up and pursing his lips. "I know it's not my business, I just feel awful about not meeting you sooner. What with all the paperwork I had to do for the police force - and making sure you were both safe and okay."

I smile reassuringly at him. He seems nice enough - I had forgotten about how much he must have done to secure our safety and security. "It's okay. This is a lovely school, Mr. Arlington."

He turns his stare on me, face changing with a deep frown and a look of recognition as if he'd only just noticed my presence. His eyes study my face kindly, eyebrows releasing after a short moment. "Thank you. Viola - I feel as though I've seen you before. I mean, obviously I've seen your photo, due to being both an old friend of your fathers and seeing your application for this school, but your face...it reminds me of someone. Not your father. Someone else."

"Really? Maybe you've mistaken me for someone else." I tell him, a feeling of dread settling in my chest. I can feel Will's questioning eyes turn on me, trying to find my face, which is hidden behind my locks of hair.

Mr. Arlington shakes his head. "No. I've definitely seen someone like you somewhere. Do you have any-"

"No." I say loudly, cutting him off. In all honesty, I shock myself. The levels of confidence in my voice are high, higher than I anticipated they would be.

"Wait! Yes, that's it!" His eyes light up, and he clicks two large fingers in the air together. "You have a sister, don't you? Vera, isn't it? A lovely bright girl. She applied to this school in her adolescent years - but never came. Why is that?"

My mouth goes dry at the sound of her name. It seems like everything stops - and I'm transported back to the past: short, flashes of white, blond hair, a cackling laugh as soft fingers take my hand and lull me to sleep; a large, toothy smile sent in my direction as those blue eyes stare into mine.

Happiness filled in her heart, light in every step, kindness with every touch-

And then-

Nothing.

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Authors note: I just dropped a bomb on you guys EEK!

Keep reading! The next chapter gets better!!!

Love you as always

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