Chapter 1: Pilot

A young woman walked into her apartment building, fiddling with her purse to find her keys as she spoke with her friend on the phone between her shoulder and her ear.

"I swear John, I'm fine." She laughed. "I just walked into the building, I'm just pissed off at myself for not bringing a smaller bag, make it easier to find my damn keys." She found them, making a gleeful noise. "No, I'll call you tomorrow." She rounded the stairwell, leading to her apartment.

Outside her door, she saw two men waiting there for her. One was dressed in a suit, the other in police blues. "Hey, John, stay on the line a second." She whispered into her phone before approaching them. Her friend agreed, and she walked down the hallway.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" She tried to sound unthreatened. Truth be told, her hear was in her stomach, and her mind was turning. Did something happen to her brother? Her mom? What the hell could have happened?

"Ms. Matthews?" The gentleman in the suit asked. She nodded, still unsure as to where in the world this conversation could go. "My name is Detective Sloan with the Virginia State Police Department." He explained as she neared closer to her door. He exposed her badge to her, and she was able to tell that this gentleman was telling the truth. She lifted the phone to her ear, and told John that she was okay and hung up before continuing the conversation.

"What can I do for you?" She asked trying to push her intensely dark brown hair out of her face and stay calm.

"It's about your father." The detective said with stress evident in his voice. "He's escaped from prison."

"That's impossible." She nearly laughed looking between the detective and the officer. "He's in a maximum security prison. How in the world could he get out?"

"You know how vicious he could be. He killed four guards, and it seems as though he impersonated another to leave." Sloan scratched his head, irritated with how the woman was not even remotely concerned about the situation. "He's gone, Eleonora. He's out in the open."

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Eleonora opened the door to her apartment, and let the officers in. "Has Ryan Hardy been notified?" She asked turning on the lights, and tossing her coat and bag on the table next to the front door.

"They're trying to reach him now."

"And Claire and Joey?"

"We have officers with them in Richmond." Sloan looked around just to make sure the area was secure. "We would like to bring you there, make sure you're all safe."

Eleonora nodded, and her dog came running out of her bedroom to greet her. She pet the dog's head, and her stress levels began to soar.

"I… Um, I have to pack a bag." She said and the detective stopped her. She nodded, knowing that he was going to want to check her room, just in case someone was in the apartment. He returned a moment later, and gave her the go ahead to pack a bag. She dashed inside, and pulled her phone out of her pocket again.

"Claire?!" She asked genuinely surprised that her step mother was even awake.

"Nora! Oh, thank God you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm with a detective now. How are you? Is Joey okay?" She began to stuff clothes into the duffel bag recklessly.

"We're fine. We have people in the house. Joey's asleep, and we're all okay." Both women sighed in relief at the revel that they were both safe.

"Do you mind if I come join you?"

"Of course you can!" Claire responded nearly shocked that she would think that coming home would be a bad idea.

"I just don't want to cause too much trouble."

"It's not you that's the trouble. I want you home."

"Thanks mom." The young girl smiled, looking at her bag, assuming that it was well packed. "Um, what about Cy?" She remembered that her dog was somewhere in the apartment, most likely staring down the unknown men.

"Bring him. Joy will love to see him."

"I'm sure he will." She smiled, despite the situation. Her family was back together, even in the roughest of times. "I'll see you when I get there."

"Be careful Nora."

"Be safe." They hung up, and the detective and the officer helped her and Cyclops, her dog, into their vehicle. She texted her boss and her friends to let them know that she was going home for a family emergency. She emailed some of her professors to alert them of her whereabouts and why she was not going to be in class the next day.

She was almost finished with her training, and some of her professors had known who she was, but for the most part, she kept her past as dark of a secret as she could make it. Even her closest friends didn't know exactly who she was. She didn't want the cliché of having a serial killer for a father, fuel her ambition to work with the FBI to follow her through her entire career. Eleonora Matthews was born Eleonora Carroll. She is twenty four years old, and nearing her graduation from Quantico. She is Joe Carroll's oldest daughter, and she has been trying to get past the years where she found out that her father was the serial killer who killed his students.

Eleonora tried to wait patiently until she got back to Richmond, but her constant foot twitching, she could tell was irritating her escorts. Cyclops laid his head into her lap, knowing that she was nervous, and she pet his head thankfully, just hoping that the entire ordeal would blow over quickly.

It was nearing five am when they approached the Matthew's residence. She was exhausted, and ready to sleep, but also ready to see her mom and brother. She hopped out of the car, and Cyclops followed her loyally as the officer got her bag for her. She thanked him as they were let into the house by Marshall's standing guard at the house.

Eleonora found Claire sleeping on the couch, waiting for her to arrive. She approached her and gently shook her awake.

"Mom." She tried to sound sweetly for her. Claire jumped and panicked until she realized that Eleonora was sitting in front of her. "Sorry."

"No, that's okay." Claire said hugging the young woman in front of her. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Nowhere else I'd rather be." She tried to make this reunion light. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Claire sighed, and brought her hand through Eleonora's hair. "How are you?"

"Exhausted." She sighed as they settled into the couch, relaxing that they were all together, all safe. "Have you heard from Ryan?"

Claire shook her head, but pulled Eleonora up off the couch by her hand. She brought her to her room, and she sat, waiting as Claire dug a document out of her closet. Eleonora found it odd to be back in her previous home. She lived with Claire briefly before she went to college, and returned when she was on break, but never spend more than a few weeks at the house at one time. She always felt like she was infringing on Claire's space. After all, she wasn't actually her daughter, just a burden on Claire, and a constant reminder that her husband was a murderer. Why would she want her around longer than she needed?

"I got a letter from Joe a few weeks ago." Claire said bringing it to Eleonora who was sitting on her bed. "He knows what happened between me and Ryan." Eleonora took the letter and read it.

"How the hell does he know this?" She questioned in fear. He had been on the inside of a prison ward for eight years. Ryan and Claire's affair was nearly nine years old.

"I'm not sure." Claire bit her fingernail. "You haven't gone to see him, have you?"

"Of course not!" She explained shocked that she would even think of that possibility. "I only saw him the once. I never went back."

"I just…" Claire sighed relieved. "I just needed to hear you say that." Eleonora nodded, and squeezed her step mother's hand.

"I'm sorry this is happening."

"It is not your fault." She squeezed her hand with just as much care. "But I'd bet that you're exhausted."

"Terribly exhausted." Eleonora laughed lightly and she hugged Claire good night, before getting her bag from the kitchen and heading to her guest room. She changed, had Cyclops in his crate, and found sleep only a while later.

Eleonora was in a college classroom, listening to the explanation that Poe's work centered on the idea that death is equated with beauty. The professor was writing on the board, and he explained

"The death of a beautiful woman, is the most beautiful experience ever." He turned to see her, and she tried to scream. The man dressed in a two piece suit was her father, instead of chalk in his hand, it was a knife, and he smiled menacingly at her.

"Eleonora, you should know by now. This is the way this has to be." He told her, and drove the knife into her stomach.

Eleonora woke with a jolt, and heard Cy rumble on the floor next to her, concerned about his owner's well-being. She sighed, realizing that she was safe in her step mom's house. Rolling out of bed, she dressed casually in jeans and a cardigan, preparing herself for human interaction.

"ELE!" She heard Joey screaming as he ran down the hallway at the sight of her. She smiled at the sight of her little brother, and knelt to let him tackle her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!" He was so excited to see her and she laughed as he wiggled out of her grasp.

"I got here last night, very very late at night."

"Are you here because of dad?" Surprised at Joey's question, she looked to Denise, Joey's nanny, whom Eleonora has known for nearly two years.

"I wasn't entirely sure what to say." Eleonora smiled sweetly at the woman and nodded to Joey.

"Yeah. I'm here because of dad."

"Will you be here for a while?"

"Yeah, I'll be here until we figure out what is going on."

"Are you going back to Virginia after?"

"I have to. But, I promise, that when this is all over, you can come over and we'll make a weekend out do."

"Really?!" Joey was so excited to hear that he would get to see his sister for an extended period of time.

"Pinky swear."

"Ms. Matthews?" A suited Marshall asked as he approached the group.

"Yes?" She asked standing and Joey stood at her side.

"Detective Connor would like to ask you a few questions." Eleonora nodded and turned back to Joey.

"Denise is going to tell me if you've been being good, and maybe later we could go for ice cream if the men say its okay."

"He's always good." Denise smiled at her.

"Thank you." Eleonora smiled at Denise, and she followed the Marshall to the living room where Claire was patiently trying to evade the questions. Eleonora knew that Claire was going to wait for Ryan to get there, so she knew that she could be a little more cooperative with the detectives. She was introduced to another detective, and she already knew that she was not going to get all of their names right.

"When was the last time you had spoken to your father?" A female detective asked her patiently. Eleonora poured them a round of coffees and they sat at the coffee bar.

"I last spoke to Joe when I went to visit him seven years ago."

"You haven't written or called?"

"Not once." She sighed spinning the stirrer in her coffee. "I didn't have the desire to contact him only because of what he had done."

"May I ask why?"

"He was killing women only a few years older than I was at the time. It scared me to think that I might have possibly been one of the targets."

"But now, you're going to be an FBI agent?"

"Yes. I graduate in a few weeks."

"Is he aware?"

"Well, I haven't told him." She shrugged. "Have you gotten his visitor log yet?"

"No, we haven't. But there are agents at the facility right now talking to visitors about their experience with him." Eleonora nodded and sipped at her coffee again.

"Have you spoken to anyone recently, who may have hinted that they were speaking with him?"

"No. I have done a very good job at consealing the fact that he is my father. I honestly wouldn't know if they had spoken to him." The detective asked a few more questions and she went and joined Claire in her room. Together, they waited until later that afternoon when Ryan came to the house.

"Are you going to be okay?" Eleonora asked Claire once they found out that he was coming.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Eleonora looked at her with concern, and Claire took a deep breath. "It's been eight years Ele. I couldn't dwell on that for the rest of my life."

"I know. But I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Ele." She warned with a laugh. Ryan entered the kitchen a moment later, and seeing the two women together again was almost surreal to him.

"Mr. Hardy." Eleonora smiled seeing him.

"How many years did we go through this?" He tried to joke with the young woman. "It's Ryan."

"Old habit's die hard." She shrugged. And he nodded at her.

"Ms. Matthews, we have some questions for you two." The second agent behind Ryan asked. Eleonora and Claire made eye contact with each other, and Eleonora nodded to her, knowing that she would take Ms. Abrasive.

"I'd like to speak with Ryan alone." Claire explained and the agent was about to object and Eleonora steped up to the plate.

"What is your name?" She asked the detective, blocking the entrance way.

"Agent Jennifer Mason. And you are?"

"Eleonora Matthews." She held her hand out to the agent. The agent, realizing her mistake, she shook the woman's hand and they walked away as Ryan and Claire exited to speak in another room.

Eleonora gave Mason the same answers that she gave the other detective. She wasn't exsactly happy to be dealing with this particular agent, but there wasn't much she could do to get rid of her. She was finally finished and they sat in the kitchen as Denise cooked something for Joey. Eleonora poured him a glass of juice and noticed that he was staring at Agent Mason. She sighed annoyed as she all but ran out of the kitchen. All three family members looked to each other and shared a quiet giggle as they assumed that she was not very good with people, let alone children.

Ryan left soon after, and the house grew quiet once more. Joey and Denise went to play with Cyclops, as Claire went to work on some of her lecture things, and Eleonora began to work on some paperwork that she would need to finish up. It was late when Claire was coming back upstairs after speaking with some detectives, and was going to say good night to Joey.

"JOEY?!" She shouted and Eleonora ran out of her bedroom, looking into Joey's room. The bed was made, and untouched. Joey was gone. "JOEY? HONEY, WHERE ARE YOU?" Claire screamed running through the house.

"DENISE?!" Eleonora screamed, running to the girls room. She burst through the door, and saw that her room was untouched as well. "Fuck." She cried chasing Claire downstairs as she heard her screaming for her son and his nanny.

"They're both gone!" Eleonora cried as they met in the kitchen.

"WHERE'S MY SON?!" Claire cried as Eleonora pulled Claire into her grip and they fell to the floor. Eleonora tried to process what as going on as Claire was screaming in her arms and every agent was running through the house, trying to find Joey.

Joe Carroll was out in the open, Joey was missing, and Eleonora had no idea what was going on anymore.