A/N: hey everyone! i know i should be working on in the dark, but this was just begging to be written! this is based off revenge with claire as the main protagonist. claire is going to take westchester by storm. this is just the prologue so it might be a bit confusing. it goes more into detail in the next chapter, which is coming up right away! the year being 2015 is taken from the fact that the clique books started in 2004 when they were all 12-13, so 11 years from that! anyways, hope you likey!

Prologue

"We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged."
― Heinrich Heine

2003
(Claire – 11)

Claire knew her parents thought that she was too young to understand, but Claire herself disagreed. She had always been smarter than the average child and it certainly didn't help that they weren't exactly subtle about everything. The laugh lines on her father's face were being replaced with worry lines. Her mother, who had always expressed how much she enjoyed being stay-at-home mom, had started to scour newspapers for work ads. They were whispering of selling the Toyota at dinnertime and arguing loudly about bills at night when they thought she was in bed.

Claire didn't care about any of that though. She didn't care that she stopped getting money for school lunch and instead started getting packed food from home. She didn't even mind that she hadn't gotten any new clothes since Christmas.

No, what Claire cared about was that her parents never greeted or sent her off with a hug and a kiss when she left for school or when she came back anymore. They barely ever smiled anymore. And worse of all, they didn't kiss each other anymore.

Claire couldn't even remember the last time they talked about something other than work or bills or money.

She knew that most kids probably hated seeing their parents together. Normal kids probably freaked out when their parents hugged or kissed in front of them, but Claire had grown up with the most loving family.

The fact that she couldn't remember seeing them do anything loving for weeks made Claire think the worst.

Were they going to get a divorce? Claire thought to herself as laid in bed, clutching her blankets in fear. What would she do if her parents divorced? Where would she go? Whom would she go with? What would happen to the house? What would happen to her? What about school? And what about her friends?

Their yelling at night got louder and the silences at dinner got longer and Claire stayed awake at night listening to them argue until she passed out from exhaustion.

And then... everything changed one night, with a phone call during dinner.

Jay was smiling throughout the call, his classic belly laugh brightening up the house. The sound had Claire giggling in her seat and soon, even Judi was grinning. When the call ended, Claire was picked up from her chair by her dad and swung around. Her relief at some semblance of the past belied her confusion.

"Six figures," Jay cried, planting Claire on her feet and sweeping Judi up next. "Six figures, Judi!"

Judi laughed in disbelief, tears in her eyes, as her husband swung her around. Claire bound over to the kitchen counter and turned on the radio. Dinner was forgotten as they all danced and laughed and shouted in joy.

Claire, who had been pretending to be clueless the whole time had to ask, "What's going on, dad?"

"I got a job at my old friend William Block's company!" Jay cried, still showering Judi's delighted face with kisses. The happiness and the laughter was contagious, and Claire couldn't help laughing along with her parents.

"We're moving to Westchester, baby!" Jay shouted in joy.

Claire wanted to cry from relief. Her parents were laughing and crying and dancing and Claire just knew they weren't going to split up anymore. Her family was going to stay a family and she just knew, at that moment, that everything would be okay.

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2015
(Claire – 23)

Claire Lyons stared down at the newspaper in her hands. She wanted to remember everything, every detail, about this moment: the texture of the compressed paper, the bitter smell of the ink, the feel of her heart beating steadily in her chest. Her hands even shook a little as she lowered the newspaper onto the hotel bed. The cover of the New York Times stared innocently up at the hotel ceiling with no regard to the fact that it had just changed Claire's life forever.

HEIRS TO BHC – DERRICK HARRINGTON AND MASSIE BLOCK ENGAGED

Claire closed her eyes and took deep breath to center herself. She reached into her bedside table and rifled through her bag looking for her scissors. Claire lifted the newspaper again and painstaking cut out the article with great care. The frozen faces of her past classmates stared at her from the front of the large property of the Harrington Estate and Claire felt a flash of rage zing through her. Her mind only cleared when she returned to her task.

The article removed, Claire tossed the rest of the paper away carelessly. She would pursue it later. The blonde hopped off onto the ground and reached under her bed for her suitcase. Popping it open and shoving her clothes out of the way, Claire clicked open the secret compartment and pulled out an old leather-bound scrapbook. Claire set it onto the bed and flipped it open to the first page.

It had been a long time since she had looked at the scrapbook from the very beginning. Closing her eyes, Claire slid her hand along the lamented pages of her lifeline. When she was finally ready, she opened her eyes and stared down at the assortment of articles and pictures.

Various photos her father, Jay Lyons, stared back at her. Formal photos of him at a press conference. A shot of him being escorted off by the FBI. A photo of him hiding his face as he exited the courtroom. An article with his mug shot. Claire had read it all, despite her mother furious reactions, and more importantly, Claire had held onto it all.

It had been a while since she went through everything, so Claire blinked back tears as she stared at her father's face. She hated that these were the only photos that she had of him left. She hated that these were her most prominent memories of him.

Claire could remember how he had pushed her on the swings, higher and higher, until she was breathless with fear. Claire could remember how he tucked her into bed at night and the way he kissed her forehead before ruffling her fringe. The way he roared their family motto and the way he flipped his pancakes onto her plate. The way he always raised his eyebrows and winked at her behind her mother to let her know he was on her side.

Claire had no photos of those things. None. Worst of all, Claire did not even have a single photo of the two of them together.

All she had left to her... was this scrapbook. A compilation of all her research. Claire felt so frustrated she couldn't go on all the way to the end, her main motivation. Instead, she skipped to the most recent blank page and slid in the latest article announcing Massie and Derrick's engagement. Smoothing out the page, Claire shut the book. Clutching her scrapbook to her chest, the blonde flopped back onto her hotel bed and considered it.

It had taken her five years to compile it all, five years of thorough research, five years of careful planning. She had hoped for a little more time, but this was the sign that she had been waiting for. There was nothing left to wait for. It was time.

Time for her return.

Time for her revenge.

And when she was done, all of Westchester would burn. The lives that had destroyed hers would be begging her for mercy.

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A/N: short prologue, more coming soon!