She was happy that this was all over. She could finally go home and sleep.

"Ahhh, sleep," she thought. There was nothing in the world that sounded better than that.

But little did Amelia Renson know that what happened over the past few days was going to change her life forever.

Chapter 1

Four days earlier

Amelia woke to the same nightmare as she had that whole week. But this time instead of her mother's body covered in blood, it was her own. Amelia's mother had been brutally murdered the day before, and so far the police haven't got any suspects. It haunted her that her mother's killed was still out there and could kill again.

But Amelia wasn't going to let her mother's killer be all she thinks about that day. It was Tuesday, her first day of high school in New York City. Amelia knew that her mother would never let a thought like that ruin her first day of high school.

Amelia was an average freshman girl. She wasn't too tall, but she wasn't the smallest. She had an A+ average, but she wasn't the type of girl to brag about it. She had her handful of friends, who she would talk to about her 3 year old brother and who was going out with who. She was mostly quiet otherwise, only talking to a teacher when she had to. All in all her life at school was just fine. But the same can't be said for her life at home.

Michael, her 3 year old brother, was, well, something. He was the total opposite of his big sister and more. He was always getting into fights at day care and at home. He could never sit still or be quiet. When every Amelia asked her mother why he was such a trouble maker, she would always answer "Don't worry, he'll grow out of it."

As for her father, well, she never knew him. He left when she was an infant. So really, Michael was her half-brother. Her step father was realitively nice. But he always would come home drunk or high, making him the person to avoid. Some nights when it was really bad, he would always try to hit Amelia or her mother. That was when Amelia's mother would put her husband on the street for the night. But in the morning he would be standing at the front door, pleading for her to let him in. And because she was such a nice person, she would let him in.

But anyways, this Tuesday morning her step father was no where to be found. That made Amelia happy. "Today I only have to deal with Michael," she muttered to herself.

She dressed quickly, putting on the blouse that her mother gave her and a pair of jeans. Then she went on a man-hunt to get Michael into his shirt and pants. And as usual, he gave her a huge fit, saying that he didn't have to go to school. After about 10 minutes, Amelia had enough. She screamed at him, "Mother wouldn't be pleased with you! You could never behave when she was alive! Please behave for her now!"

When he heard what she said, he went silent. He then took the clothes out of her hand and went to his room. Amelia knew that what she said hurt him.

When he came out, Amelia had already packed his lunch and had his coat in her hand. He took the coat and lunch, and then they both walked in silence out the door of the apartment.

Meanwhile, in the 16th precinct, Detective Olivia Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler just called in two uniformed cops to pick up the latest victim's children from their schools. They had just gotten the call of the rape and murder of a young women yesterday night, and thought that it would be a better idea to pick up her kids in the morning, rather then getting them out of their beds.