Hanna Marin was mad. No, she was furious. She was mad at Emily for ditching her so that she now had to take the train back alone. She was mad at Alison for keeping so many secrets. She was mad that her best friend probably wasn't much of a friend at all. But above all, she was mad at A for trying to murder her and her friends. Enough was enough. Hanna was through being a victim. She wanted answers and would do anything to get them.
The mindset Hanna possessed as she boarded the train back to Rosewood was, admittedly, not a logical one. She tried not to think about the task at hand. She was about to engage in a heated confrontation with an unpredictable individual. She was going crazy waiting for the train to arrive in Rosewood. To pass the time, she pulled out Ezra's phone. Hanna had taken it from the roof and decided to keep it in case it came in handy. The next couple hours were spent combing the phone's content, looking for clues. Her search yielded no results. Frustrated, she threw the phone back in her purse as the train arrived at the Rosewood station. Travis was waiting to pick her up. Hanna figured that if she asked her mom, she would have had to answer too many questions.
"Hey," Travis greeted her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you so much for picking me up Travis." Hanna said. "I know it must have been a drag to come down here."
"Don't mention it. I'm happy to help," he replied. "So where do you want me to drop you off? Your house?"
"Yes, but there's somewhere I need to stop first."
Hanna gave Travis the address and soon she was outside a grotty-looking building, knocking on a plain white door.
Mona opened the door, shocked to see her former best friend.
"Hanna! I'm surprised to see you. Is something wrong?"
"We need to talk, Mona."
"Okay! Would you like to come inside? I made some fresh coo-"
"No. I want to say what I need to say right here. I know you've been lying to me."
"I don't know what you're taking abo-"
"Cut the crap Mona. I know everything. I know that our whole friendship was a lie. I know that I can't trust a word that comes out of your mouth."
"Hanna, why are you treating me like this? After all that we've been through? After all that I've done for you?! Need I remind you about the time I falsely confessed to Wilden's murder to keep your mother out of jail."
"Was this before or after the time you hit me with a car?"
Mona sighed. "There's just no end with you. You can't let go of the past. Since the lodge fire, I have done everything I possibly could to prove that we are in this together. I've given you no reason not to trust me now. I've done everything I could to make you call me your friend again."
Hanna laughed. "If you really were my friend, then you would have told me about Alison."
Mona gulped, "Alison?"
"Yes, she's alive. But something tells me you already know that."
Realization dawned in Mona's eyes. "You know..."
"Like I said before: I know everything. Why didn't you tell me that Alison was alive?" Hanna screamed. "Why would you let me think she was dead all these years? Why would you pretend to be my friend?"
"I wasn't pretending, Hanna. I am your friend."
"Stop lying to me!" Hanna shirked. "If you really were my friend, then you wouldn't have kept this from me. You know what Mona? I am through with your mind games. You are dead to me."
Hanna turned away and began to storm back to Travis's car.
"You want to know why I never told you about Alison being alive?" Mona called after her.
Hanna looked back to see tears running down Mona's cheeks.
Mona took a deep breath. "I never told you about Alison because I was scared. I was scared that you would find out that she was still alive - that once you knew the truth, you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. I've spent every day of my life since that night worrying that Alison would return and you would push me to the side like yesterday's news. I swore to myself that I would do anything to stop this from happening. That's why I adopted the A persona. To convince Alison that it would never be safe for her to return." Mona let out a breathy laugh. "Ironic isn't it? Everything I did to prevent my worst fears from coming true backfired and made them a reality."
"Mona, if you mean any of that - if you are even slightly sincere - then you need to help me now. Who stole the game from you? Who is this new A?"
"I wish I could tell you, Hanna, but I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me even if I did."
"Try me."
"It's Alison. Alison is A. She's been playing us all along."
"Unbelievable," Hanna paused. "After all this time you are still out to get her."
"W-what?" Mona stammered.
"I know Alison bullied you in Junior High, Mona, but you need to build a bridge and get over it. Alison has grown and become a better person since then. All these false accusations only prove one thing, that you are, and always will be, a petty little psycho." Hanna curled her lip in disgust. "God, you are so twisted," she spat.
"She has you fooled!" Mona yelled desperately. "She has all of you fooled! This is all a game to her. We are her puppets. Don't you see? Alison is manipulating all of us!" Mona cried. "Please, Hanna, believe me. Just believe me!"
Mona fell to her knees and wept. "Why don't you see Alison for the monster she really is?" Mona yelled.
"There is only one monster here," Hanna replied. "And I'm looking at her."
Mona was overcome with hysterics and Hanna left her sobbing on the doormat. She was about halfway to Travis's car when Ezra's phone rang. There was a new text message:
Friends come and go, but don't worry Han. I will always be here. Kisses -A
"Hanna!"
Hanna looked up, slightly started to see Detective Holbrook sauntering up the driveway.
"The police department received an anonymous tip that we could find you here. I'm going to need to bring you down the station and ask you some questions."
"About what?"
"Multiple homicides," he replied gravely.