PART ONE

Three Months Later

France

Mona twirled her hair as she watched her mysterious French lover walk out into the night. He still didn't understand her need for privacy or her obsession that lay beneath the floorboards of her tiny doll shop. But he was just a toy to her, a fling of the country of love, a boy that did not mind getting a little dirty for her.

Mona sighed heavily, but then felt a giddy excitement as she headed to the bunker beneath to play with her dolls. Even after months, she was not tired of playing with them. She could not shake the satisfaction of the perfect revenge—turning the puppet masters into puppets, winning the game, and being the one to give the girls their happily ever after. The only dissatisfaction in her life was the lingering what if she left behind in Rosewood. It was that the man who just left was not—her heart nearly cracked as she thought of his name—Mike.

But Mike was gone, and Rosewood was finally behind her. Never again would she feel unsafe or unwanted. She was in control now, and she never had to go back to that dangerous and judgmental place. And that… that was worth it to her. With a smile on her face, she opened the basement bunker to her favorite safe space, and was ready to give her dolls a witty hello, but instead she was greeted with shocking fear and despair.

The bunker room was empty. Her dolls were not only missing, but the display glass was shattered. Her surveillance must have been hacked, for the alarms did not ring. But that was not the most worrisome part. No, what glared at Mona in thick red letters above the shattered glass was a message:

They are my dolls, bitch, and they always have been. –A

Which dolls did the message refer to? The girls? Mary and Alex Drake? Upon closer inspection, Mona noticed that the glass was smashed inward with a blunt object strong enough to break the bullet proof surface, and the doors opened from outward. Someone found them and took them. They did not escape on their own.

But who? Who keeps stealing the game from her?

Rosewood, a week after Mona's discovery

Spencer was writing diligently at her desk in Hastings & Hastings when her mother walked by with a coffee and a stack of files a mile long. She smiled at Veronica Hastings sincerely, loving spending each day working with her adopted mother. And Veronica especially needed Spencer now, having divorced her father and with Melissa still living exclusively overseas. Although her sister was finally coming home again to visit after her abrupt leave following Aria's wedding three months prior. The family bond was as strong as ever between Spencer, Veronica, and Melissa. Their relationships with Peter Hastings were still somewhat rocky, but Spencer knew that she could not ice out her father forever.

It was precisely these reasons that Spencer never brought up her surprise twin sister, the one that Mary Drake kept secret and sold to get out of Radley. She did not want to risk splitting up her family even more. Day by day, she continued to live as if there was not another her out in the world, somewhere. Yet, she always felt a twinge of guilt when she allowed herself to think of Alex—despite all that she had done. Now that her life was no longer in danger, Spencer had given much of Alex's actions thought and she did not necessarily blame Alex for everything she did. She could not imagine how alone she must have felt or how envious she must have been.

But all was said and done, and Spencer was not going to complain about the newfound peace in her life. Somewhere, deep down, she knew it was strange that Mona called 911 and there was no follow-up investigation, but Spencer knew better than to ask questions, especially since past Spencer found nothing but trouble and pain when she asked too many questions. It was time to lay down her Nancy Drew persona and to finally be happy.

And with Alison and Emily's wedding coming up and Aria returning from her rather long honeymoon, Spencer had a big, busy, and happy schedule to uphold.

The school bell was a sound of relief for Alison. Normally, Alison loved her job, but since the high school mean girl, Addison Derringer, had gone missing, the hallways were nothing but whispers and gossip around her. Most students theorized that Alison had gotten rid of Addison because of their classroom feuds before the teenager went missing. Alison shrugged those off just as she did any other comment about her and her past, but she could not shake the déjà vu feeling that sank her stomach each time someone mentioned the missing girl. It didn't help that she had been asked to Rosewood Police Department for routine interviews following the missing person report, but Mrs. Hastings and Spencer were confident the police wouldn't find any connections between Alison and Addison, especially because of Addison's poor relations with most of the Rosewood High faculty.

Still, most school days were longer than Alison remembered them back when she was a student. She closed her bags and gathered her things, a small bubble of excitement building in her chest as she headed out to meet Emily in the parking lot. They were going to pick up their girls from day care and take them for a wedding cake taste tester. So long as the twins got along, of course.

Home sweet Rosewood, Aria thought as she stepped out of the cab warily. Ezra was not far behind her, already grabbing their hefty luggage out of the trunk. They had a lot of work set out for them now that they were home. The producers for the movie based on Then and Now wanted to meet to make the final edits with their input. Aria still felt strange giving input about writing from Nicole's perspective, but she remembered that she had Ezra's ring on her finger and Nicole did not.

Ezra dropped the luggage on the curb in front of The Brew, glancing up at their apartment. He grinned at Aria, sun tanned from their trip, and said, "I'm happy we stayed a week longer in Italy. Good thing we didn't have a cat, though."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Spencer promised she would look after the apartment and The Brew."

Ezra's eyebrows went up. His tone was skeptical and whimsical as he replied, "Oh, I know. She said she'd look after it on top of working as a paralegal at Hastings & Hastings, going to law school full time, juggling a parental divorce, running a brand new re-opened motel, and somehow still helping Toby and Jason with their philanthropy when the time comes."

Aria laughed, the sound of her giggles practically bouncing in the air, as she said, "That's Spence for you—always the overachiever. Now come on, string bean, let's get these bags inside before we run into someone we know."

Aria went to grab a bag, but she was halted by Ezra pulling her in for a trademark kiss. Always a romantic, she thought, tasting Ezra on her lips. Home sweet Rosewood, indeed.

Hanna belched loudly, the sound bouncing throughout the loft. Caleb snorted and rolled over, still napping peacefully. Hanna glanced at him before turning back to her fashion sketchbook. Both of them working from home was great and all, but Hanna was starting to crave some more privacy. Or at least someone else's face. She was hormonal, hungry, gassy, and overall just too pregnant to put up with one person 24/7. And that was just three months in. She couldn't imagine what it would be like at nine months—or how big she would be. Just remembering how Alison had to wear flats and sneakers for the last three months terrified Hanna. Could she really sacrifice heels?

Surprisingly, Hanna's phone began to ring. With Mona living on another continent, Spencer being Spencer, Aria honeymooning, and Alison and Emily taking care of two trouble twins, Hanna thought her social life was done with. Even Lucas wasn't answering any of her desperate calls. Then again, Lucas and she had unresolved issues since he told her his entire investments and life choices were all worth risking for her.

Hoisting herself up, Hanna ducked into the bathroom after seeing the caller ID. She was hoping not to wake up Caleb. Shocked a little, she picked up and said, "Mona?"

From the other line, Mona spoke, "I'm coming to Rosewood. I already know better than to ask if I can stay with you. But I figured I'd let you know. Not that you would tell the girls anyway, right?"

Hanna knew the words were intended to be bitter, but she also knew that Mona didn't sound right. She sounded afraid and hesitant—unsure of herself and where she stood. Her best friend senses tingling, Hanna asked, "Mona, are you in trouble?"

Mona didn't say anything for a moment. Then, she quickly asked, "Do you think Spencer would have reservations about letting me stay at the Lost Woods?"

Hanna shrugged before realizing she had to give a verbal response. "I don't know," she said into the phone, "Isn't it up to Ali, too?"

"Oh, honey. We both know Ali hasn't been head of the group in a long time. She tried to regain that throne and all it brought her was a jail cell, remember," Mona snickered from the other end, "Whatever. I just called you to say I was coming. I didn't want to cause any marital issues like last time."

Before Hanna could say anything in response, Mona hung up the phone on her. Hanna rolled her eyes and muttered, "Always overdramatic Mona."

Emily still couldn't believe that Alison was going to marry her. After all these years, all those girlfriends, she finally got the one girl she knew she couldn't live without. I mean, she tried living without her. It was awful. The only girl who got even close to being almost as good as Ali was Maya, but it hurt too much to think about her. It hurt more than thinking about Paige leaving Rosewood because of her choice to love Ali.

And here Ali came, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders and her blue eyes shining in the afternoon. Her engagement ring glinted in the sun as her bags swung back and forth with her walk. Her face lit up when she saw Emily at the car, a smile uplifting her rosy cheeks. Emily's eyes widened as warmth spread through her chest.

"Hello, gorgeous," Ali greeted her, dropping her bags and wrapping her arms around Emily. She touched her lips to Emily's softly and briskly before stepping back and saying, "Thank you for cancelling swim practice to come eat cake with me."

"I figured you and the girls and wedding cake by yourself didn't sound like the best of combinations," Emily grinned shyly as they progressed to the car.

"I would have had to pack like ten outfits for both Lily and Grace," Ali laughed. The sound was like heaven to Emily's ears. Alison was finally happy. After all these years, she was serene, peaceful, not a mean streak left.

She was the center of Emily's world.

For the most part, everything was dimly lit when Alex opened her eyes. A week ago, she was in Mona's dollhouse. Now, she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she and her mum were still together. The room they were in was poorly lit. It was definitely underground, but it was not nearly as nice as Mona's underground French bunker or Charlotte's dollhouse on the videos. There were some beds and a few lights. A small, plain bathroom branched off the room. Food arrived once a day at roughly the same time each day.

Alex was even more uncomfortable here. At least with Mona, she was given more clothes and things to do. Here, all she had was her mum and daydreams about what it would be like to not be Alex Drake. Living in her own head was her worst nightmare, sometimes.

Mary had gone from taking care of her to being incredibly silent. She was reserved, withdrawn. It made Alex even more queasy than before when she was forced to talk with her mum. She knew her mum still hadn't forgiven her for knocking her out and trying to kill her twin sister.

She just didn't understand, Alex thought angrily, Spencer had it so much better. She knew her anger towards Spencer was misguided, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't fair. It never would be.

She was never given a chance, thanks to her mum and the Hastings. But she couldn't make herself properly hold a grudge against her mum, either. She was all the family she had left now.

If only. If only that bitch Mona hadn't killed Charlotte. None of this would have happened.

Alex vowed that if she got out of the hole she was in, she would take care of Mona and Spencer once and for all.