A/N: Hello fellow readers…again,
Yes, I am back with a sequel to my other National Treasure story El Dorado: City of Gold. Before reading this please read the first one! You won't understand this unless you read the first. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go if I did do a sequel but I think this was a good idea. I don't know you tell me. I'm still making some adjustments but the first chapter is finally done. Enjoy the story and please review!!
Disclaimer: All National Treasure references belong to Disney. Characters that are not from National Treasure are licensed to me. Thank you.
It has been three months since we last heard of our National Treasure team. It has been three long and tough three months for the team to deal with, especially for two of the four, but we'll get back to that later for now let's check in on the two who are doing the best.
Ben and Abigail sat in their living room both thinking about those three months ago. That was the last time they were all together. Everything seemed to be looking up for the team, even for Betsy. How could things change so quickly?
Nothing changed for this couple though. They were still in love and still scheduled to get married in seven months. Before things went wild, Betsy had helped Abigail pick out her wedding gown which was still on reserve at the dress shop. Both Ben and Abigail had picked the perfect location, the White House. Of course no better place for two American History loving citizens to have their wedding. Everything seemed fine until Betsy started behaving in a strange way. She stopped answering her brother's calls; she stopped all contact with the team except for Riley who she lived with. Ben never saw his sister; it was like life went back to the way it was before the Colombia adventure.
Riley began to call Ben more often for advice with his sister but most of the stuff, Ben didn't have answers for. Apparently things got worse because this morning Betsy had packed her things and left. Riley was not there to stop her since he was out. Riley had called Ben panicked that Betsy was gone. After calling his parents, Ben had found out Betsy had gone to California to finish her studies there. Ben knew he didn't know the whole story and neither did Abigail.
The couple sighed.
"What are we going to do, Ben?" Abigail asked quietly, "What could have possibly made Betsy leave?"
"I don't know," Ben answered truthfully absentmindedly stroking Abigail's arm with his knuckles. "It doesn't make any sense. Her whole behavior these past months doesn't make sense."
"That's just it, what could have happened? It just doesn't make sense for her to just get up and leave. Not even Riley could have messed things up that badly," Abigail said. But how little did she know.
Riley sat eating a television dinner in front of his, what a surprise, television. Well he was mostly staring down at his dinner while the television remained on. He couldn't eat just the thought of it was enough to make him sick to his stomach. Why couldn't he just keep his big mouth shut? Just because she turned 20 does not mean that she was ready to move forward.
When Riley and Betsy moved in together it wasn't that they shared a bed or anything or even a room. They just shared the house. Yes they continued to see each other but that was it. Betsy had begun to act suspicious the moment they had come back from Colombia. Betsy would spend hours on the computer and hours on the phone. The only time she ever came out of her office was to eat, sleep and go to school. She even stopped going to school. When Riley tried to talk to her she would dodge the question. Riley didn't want to think badly of it but he was beginning to think she was cheating on him.
He began to see less and less of her. She would never pick up her phone and never come home until late at night and would leave early in the morning. Riley didn't know what to do so he called Ben and Abigail but none had answers. Finally the night before she left, he stayed up until she got home, which now he wished he hadn't. She walked through the door and saw Riley sitting on the couch. She smiled tiredly but stayed by the door.
"Hey what are you still doing up?" She asked holding back a yawn.
"Waiting for you, we need to talk," Riley said and instantly Betsy's face looked panicked.
"About what," she asked.
"About where you're going everyday," he said deciding to get right to the point.
"It's nothing you have to worry about Riley," Betsy said quietly looking down almost ashamed.
"No apparently it is. This is really hurting us Betsy, I mean, I rarely see you, I never talk to you, how are we supposed to keep this together?" Riley said angrily.
"It's nothing Riley, just leave it alone," Betsy was beginning to get annoyed.
"How am I supposed to trust you?" Riley asked and Betsy was no longer annoyed but infuriated.
"Trust me? What exactly do you think I'm doing Riley?"
"Well I don't know Betsy like I said I never see you and I don't know why you're getting mad when I'm the one that's being left in the dark here," Riley pointed out.
"There are just some things that I need to do before I can go any further with this relationship," Betsy said looking down again.
"Like what," Riley asked trying to figure out what was happening.
"I don't want to talk anymore," she said flatly.
"Like what Betsy," Riley said taking a step closer.
"I said I don't want to talk about it."
They went back and forth like this for a good couple of minutes before Riley said something he wishes desperately he could take back.
"Well if you don't want to talk about it with me than maybe that means you no longer want to see me so fine," he said climbing up the stairs.
"No, no Riley please," Betsy began to beg but Riley never turned around.
"You don't see me as it is so how is this going to make a difference."
That statement was the last thing he ever said to Betsy. The next morning he went out to buy a coffee and by the time he got back, all of her things were gone and so was she.
She was so far away now, but somehow she seemed just as far when she was still living with him. Whatever Betsy was doing he hopes it makes her happy.
"C'mon Riley it would be good for you," Ben said over the phone to Riley.
Patrick and Emily had gone on a cruise for vacation and were coming back. Riley was hesitant on going since he didn't exactly know what Emily or Patrick thought of him now. He knew it would be awkward but in the end he still agreed to go since Ben always got his way.
The trio was on their way in silence. Abigail wasn't sure what to talk about. Everything she wanted to say could bring back memories of Betsy and Abigail did not want to do that. Riley on the other hand was getting more and more anxious with every nervous look Abby threw at him. He could see her from the corner of his eye even though she didn't know that. Ben could almost slice the tension with a knife. He was in the same position as Abby only he also got emotional with talk of his sister. He didn't know what made her leave. Abigail sighed once again for the tenth time and Riley had had enough.
"Just say what you need to say Abby," Riley breathed frustrated. Abigail looked back at him with an innocent face. Riley rolled his eyes before saying, "I could see you through the passenger side mirror." Abigail smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry Riley. I just don't want to talk about anything that might…you know," Abby said cautiously.
"Its fine Abby, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about anything," Riley sighed looking back out the window.
"So you're okay?" Abby asked looking at him hard to see if there was any hint of emotion. Riley sighed and stroked something that was in his front jacket pocket.
"Yeah, just fine," he said not taking his eyes away from the window.
Abigail was about to press on when Ben slammed on the breaks and the car skidded to a stop in front of a burning home. The group was rooted to their seats none of them knowing what to do. Firemen and the ambulance were already there, Emily and Patrick standing by. Ben raced out of the car followed by Abigail and Riley.
"Mom, Dad you okay," Ben asked as he came to a stop in front of his distraught mother and blank father.
"We're fine Ben," Patrick Gates said looking on as his house burned.
"How did this happen," Abigail asked.
"We don't know. When we got home the firemen were already here. We don't even know how long the house has been burning," Patrick answered his wife holding on to him tighter.
"Do the neighbors know how it started," Abigail asked Riley standing silently behind her.
"No the fireman said that they won't know until the fire has been put out," Patrick answered again this time almost angrily.
The group looked on sadly as years of family memories burned to the ground.
Emily and Patrick slept in Ben and Abigail's guest room. They were to stay there until the house was restored. According to the firemen, the house had been set on fire. There were traces of gasoline and fire starting liquid inside the house. The family was stumped. Who would do that? They didn't have any enemies from what they knew. If they did, they were either in prison or dead.
Ben and Patrick went to the post office to pick up Patrick and Emily's mail from the week they were gone. The mail was mostly junk mail and bills but there was one letter that stuck out to them. It was a big envelope addressed to 'The Gates Family: Elizabeth Ross Gates' with no return address. On the way home, Patrick realized that the folder was not sealed only clasped shut. He waited until they got back to Ben's to open the folder.
"Dad do you think it's okay if we open Betsy's mail like this," Ben asked as he watched his father pause for a second.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her and it's addressed to all of us. It only concerns her," Patrick said resuming his prying. Once getting the folder unclasped he turned it over and out fell an old, wrinkled piece of paper folded four times, then three newer sheets of paper; two with typing on them, the other with handwriting. Patrick skimmed through the first piece of paper as Riley, Abigail and Emily joined them.
"What is that Patrick," Emily asked watching her husband's eyebrows arch in a surprised fashion.
"It's a letter concerning Betsy," Ben answered watching his father intently. This statement caught everyone's attention.
"It's a letter from the adopting agency. It says here that Betsy had requested information from them…about her biological family," Patrick revealed as he held onto the letter. The other three occupants in the room were silent as Patrick picked up the other letter. "It's a copy."
"A copy? A copy of what," Ben asked looking over his father's shoulder. It only took Ben a few minutes to realize what it was. "A will?"
"Her biological father's will to be exact," Patrick said. Emily moved forward to look at the paper as well. Emily took the paper out of Patrick's hands as Ben stepped around his father to see what the paper was with handwriting on it. Ben was silent for a few minutes as he read over the letter. The other occupants didn't realize anything as Ben looked at the paper in shock. Stepping around the group once more, Ben retrieved the old folded paper from the table. He carefully unfolded the slip of paper and he saw exactly what he was expecting. It didn't take long for Ben to put two and two together.
"I know who burned down the house," Ben said not bothering to look away from the slips of paper in his hands. Patrick however looked up at his son questionably.
"What?" he asked.
"What did you say Ben," Emily asked.
"I know who burned down the house," Ben repeated this time looking up at the stunned group.
"Well," Abigail said impatiently waiting for Ben to continue but what came out of Ben's mouth was nothing the group was expecting.
"Pirates," he answered simply holding up the final letter Betsy's father wrote dated three days prior.
