Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Can't wait to see what you think of this chapter, it's definitely so much fun to write!

Note for all chapters: I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

Chapter 11

Once Jack clipped Carl's booster seat into place, we were ready to go. I agreed to drive to where I suspected that Amanda might have gone to. My little ski chalet just north of the Hamptons. It was a place that Jack wouldn't have originally known about, so it seemed like a plausible idea. As I drove along the main highway, every now and again, I would glance up in the mirror to see Carl poking his tongue out at me before giggling in the most adorable high pitch- thus confusing Nolan and Jack.

"You two need to stop looking so miserable – it'll be alright," I said, trying to make them feel more at ease.

Neither Nolan, or Jack said anything to me.

"Where'd she go?" Carl asked, staring at his dad for an answer.

"I don't know, little man. That's what I hope we're going to find out." Jack's hand reached out and caressed his son's head, gently stroking his hair.

My hands slid around the steering wheel as I drove down a narrower road. Driving along the narrow road always worried me and made me hope to never encounter a car along it.

"Riley…" Nolan said in a worrying tone.

"I see it," I snapped, sharply pressing the brakes as a large black sedan came shooting up the road, heading straight towards us. "What do I do?"

"Reverse!"

I did exactly as Nolan asked, but there was no where near enough time or space for me to get out of the way. So I went for plan B.

The roadside ditch.

My little car jumped and dipped, just missed by the massive car that shot past. In my chest, my ribcage was thumping from my heartbeat. That was close, way too close.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked. "Because that was way too close-"

"Get out of the car!" a muffled shout startled me.

As I turned my head, I nearly leapt across the car into Nolan. Standing on the outside of the car was a figure wearing a balaclava with a gun in his hand. I was glad that it wasn't a scary clown mask – because that would have terrified Carl beyond belief.

"Get out of the car!"

"Nolan?" I asked, seeking some kind of reassurance, thinking that he must have been in similar kinds of situations.

"Don't try and drive off, Riley- we're solidly stuck in this ditch." Nolan tried to reassure me, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear. "You'll be okay."

I opened the car door and slowly planted one foot on the floor.

"That's right, slowly, no big movements, or face the consequences."

There was no way that I was going to let this guy hurt Nolan, Jack or Carl. These were important people to both me and Amanda. I had to risk doing something. My mind was cast back to when I first trained with Scott and he fell in the water. Use their strengths against them. The guy didn't look so confident, I could see his hands shaking as he held onto the gun.

"What's the message?" I asked.

"What? Message- I- uh, there isn't a message. I wasn't given one."

I swung my leg through the air and caught the guy in the stomach. In a split second, he doubled over and I threw myself at him. We clattered along the dirty road and wrestled with one another.

"Who sent you here?"

"No one- I've been instructed to say it was no one…" He growled, gritting his teeth.

I know that voice- I know it… Where have I heard that voice before?

"Riley!" Jack called out and making me roll off the guy. He instantly managed to get the gun out of the young man's hands and had them on their front. Jack gripped their hands together even as the guy winced.

"Careful Jack… You're hurting him." I gently nudged Jack, bringing him back round. "I need to ask him some questions, get him in the car. There's some cable ties in the boot…"

Jack and Nolan looked at me with a confused expression.

Rolling my eyes, I opened the boot slowly. "You can never be too careful. Let's just appreciate the fact that I have them."

I fastened a cable tie around the guy's wrists and even though it wasn't advisable, we moved Carl into the passenger seat and put the two men in the back, sandwiching our attempted kidnapped.

"Where are you going?" Nolan asked.

"Back to where I made my investment…" I said calmly, pressing the gas hard and rolling over the bank onto the road again. "It's not far."

We sped along the road at such a fast rate because I didn't want to give the chance to meet another car. Turning the car further down the beaten track, I pulled up on the drive of my little ski chalet.

"Here we are – part of where the money my mother gave me went…"

Everyone piled into the house- I left Carl playing with some old toys that I had brought up from Florida in my room so that he wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Okay, let's see who we're talking to..." I said, lifting the black knitted balaclava from under the guy's chin and off his head. "Luke!"

"You know this guy?" Nolan asked, looking back and forth between myself and Luke.

"Yeah- he, he lives in the Hamptons… I've seen him around. First time I saw him, he was busking, and it was good. The music was good and I gave him some money- more than he was expecting from the look on his face. Luke has even performed- sang at the hotel. Not the Beach Club, but the Old Forks Inn, or wherever it is called. I don't understand. What- what are you doing here?"

"I'm not saying anything to you…" Luke swore, before hanging his head down.

"Come on kid-" Jack said, but I had to stop him.

"No, no Jack – let me handle this," I interrupted calmly, pulling a chair up to sit opposite Luke. "Why were you brought into this, Luke? Who bought you out?"

"Nobody did anything to me." He frowned at me as he lifted his head.

"We both know that's wrong…" My foot rested against seat of his chair, right between Luke's legs. "Come on Luke- give me a name."

Luke suddenly turned jittery and he couldn't keep still, so I knew I was getting somewhere with him.

"It's a shame really, I thought we were going to be friends, but now that you've been swayed to pull a stunt like this – and when I was in such a rush to find a friend. You picked the wrong time, Luke." Angered, I shot my leg out straight and put some strength in it.

The chair fell back.

Nolan was first to react and grabbed me before I attacked Luke. "Woah Riley, calm down…"

"No, he knows he can give us a name. We can offer better than what he's being offered." I ripped away from Nolan, straddling Luke and gently holding my arm up against his neck. "Tell me the name, Luke – I'm not playing games! Back off Jack!" I added when I saw him about to pull me off.

"Okay, okay." Luke coughed.

Instantly, I realised what I was doing. "Oh my god… Luke, I'm so sorry." Evil butterflies slammed the walls of my stomach. "This isn't me." I backed away, knocking over a photo frame and seeing the one of me, Nolan and Scott falling to the floor.

The glass cover shattered and I flew from the sight in a flurry of panic. Run. Run to the lake. That's what I did. At the lake, I breathed heavily, doubled over with my hands resting on my knees.

"Amanda…"

She was sitting down on the stones near the waterfront.

"Amanda?" I asked again, sitting down beside her.

Then we both said the same thing.

"I need to talk to you…"

It was such a surreal moment and the silence between us made me believe that we had a strong bond because of Nolan, despite having never really known each other very long.

"I'll go first…" I decided quickly. "Leo was in a car accident. We were on our way to the Labour Day Party and he admitted that he had slept with another woman. I couldn't stand the dishonesty, so I broke up with him… Then, at the party, I got with Brody, and I mean that I got with Brody. We slept together and I know that I did that sounds so hypocritical, but I was mad and Brody was being so kind, caring and just showing me so much affection that I went for it. Brody is someone who has made me so happy. When I was with Leo, it felt so forced and put on – something wasn't right but, but with Brody, it's different. I don't know what to do."

Amanda looked over at me. "You just have to be careful. I've been there before, and I can sympathise with you, but Leo deserves to know the true – that's the one thing I wish I had done all those years ago."

I smiled. "Thanks Amanda – you know, everyone's worried about you. What are you running from?" My hand brushed hers. "You can tell me – I won't say a word."

"It's nothing, I just need some time… A new baby is one thing, but there's a lot of history. Jack and I originally had a surrogate arranged, yet when it came to giving up the baby, our surrogate changed her mind and refused to hand it over. So I took matters into my own hands and with surgeries to fix old scars and some egg donors. The doctors told me it was the slimmest change to conceive a child. When I realised that I was pregnant, I couldn't have been happier, but I still worry that I'll lose the baby. Because then it would all be my fault-"

"No… it's wouldn't be your fault Amanda – just like Jack said. These things happen all the time. Everything happens for a reason, but you've got a second chance and a guy who is utterly devoted to you. This baby is at the centre of everything. You're going to make the most protective and caring mother around, just like mine."

"It isn't always that easy… You'll understand when you're older, and doesn't you're old enough, because you are barely twenty years old." Amanda shrugged it off.

Something was bothering me, and I had to know if Amanda knew anything about it. "Amanda- what is Club Cat's Eye?"

"Scott told you about that?"

I wanted to say yes so that Amanda accidently told me, but she was smarter than that. "No… Nolan said if I wanted to know more about Scott and how he plays people, then I should ask him about Club Cat's Eye."

"You want to know? Because once you know, it's going to be difficult for you to help understand why Scott is the way that he is…"

"Please tell me Amanda."

"Believe me Riley, I want to tell you, but you have to hear it from Scott, because he's linked to it in one way or another. He's the one you need to hear it from." Amanda smiled gently, for the first time. "You know, you're a good person and everything will turn out just fine for you. Hopefully with fewer deaths. So what happened with the intern – Shannon Fisher?"

"Well, I gave Scott some intel that I gained from Shannon- she was a closeted lesbian with an anonymous blog. He created a post with a little bit of my assistance, and he released it at the Labour Day party – but because of Brody, I never really saw it. Then the next morning, Shannon came to the house and started attacking me because I was the only one she had told and I outed her. I denied it. When she started attacking me…" My hand showed her the cut on above my eyebrow. "She told me that Leonard Myers and someone she was with blackmailed her to misrepresent Trinity Patterson. Brody intervened and then she put two and two together. I begged her not to tell Leo, but now I feel like I owe her."

"You should be honest with Leo - he should know that there is no you and him, before he finds out from somebody else- like Shannon." Amanda went back to hugging her knees. "How is Scott?"

"I don't actually know. I haven't seen or spoken to him in a while… Not that you'll want to know, but Bella admitted that Scott might not actually be the father of her baby. I can't even imagine what must be going through his head. All I can do is be there for him."

"Be careful though, Riley. He's use you if he can- that's why he didn't reveal that Leo was in fact Leonard's son."

"I want to do something for you, Amanda… Can you agree to accept what I'm about to offer you?"

"That depends on what you are about to offer me. But you will only get an honest answer once you have asked the question."

"Will you accept the ski chalet as a temporary home for you, Jack and Carl? It's not right that the three of you should live on a cramp boat. I can move my stuff out of the room – you can furnish it with whatever you like. It's can be your temporary home if you want it…" I held her hands gently in mine. "Let me do something for you after all of the help you gave Nolan. Please accept, and please come back- there's something you ought to know about. You'll know what to do."

Amanda got up to her feet with a little of my help. "Maybe suggest it to Jack and see what he thinks, and you can tell me what's happened on the way back."

"Okay – so Jack and Carl came to the house wanting to know if we had seen you. That guy is utterly devoted to you, and I had a feeling that you'd be hiding up at my little chalet because Nolan and Jack wouldn't know about it. Only Scott knows and Jack doesn't know him so it was down to me, so I drove towards here, but a car ran us off the road and into a ditch. Then this guy in a balaclava ordered me out of the car, he had a gun. Long story short, the guy is at the house and I know who he is. Luke. He's a small time musician in the Hamptons."

Amanda seemed uncertain. "If you want to know who sent him, then you're going to have to admit that he might not give you an answer."

"I know but I'm scared, when I tried interrogating him, I turned into something I'm not proud of."

"You showed your hidden self. All of the darker emotions you bury down occasionally resurface for a moment. It's all about controlling it."

"But Amanda, I nearly suffocated the guy. I was so aggressive in the way I spoke to Jack and Nolan that I feel absolutely mortified…"

We reached the side door to the chalet where I let myself in. Unlike all the scenarios I had played in my head for what the next minute might be like, Luke was still in the chalet, tied to a chair.

"Amanda…" Jack rushed to her side. "Where have you been- no, that doesn't matter. You're okay."

She smiled and squeezed Jack's arm. "I'm fine," she started before turning to me and Nolan. "Who are the possibilities for his employer?"

"Well I suppose it would have to be Leonard Myers," Nolan said, stroking his chin slowly.

I shook my head. "No, it's not him… Let's discuss this in the next room…" I was conscious of the fact that we were mentioning particular names and when we had already openly let Luke into the chalet, it seemed like the best opportunity to be extra careful. "Come on." When the kitchen door was closed, I continued. "It wouldn't have been him, because he doesn't know about Scott and Hydra. What if it were Arnie- sent to scare me out of the way…"

Amanda looked at me in a way that said she didn't know who Arnie was, so I darted my eyes over to Nolan.

"Riley, you're going to have to stop blaming everything on Arnie – especially when he has nothing to do with it."

"Well who then, Nolan? You're not going to start telling me that you think Scott might be responsible, are you?" I frowned at him as I tried to make my point.

"I wouldn't immediately put him to it, but it wasn't Arnie, okay?"

"How do you know?" I asked exasperated.

"Because I just do, okay?" Nolan was already squaring up to me, just inches away.

Amanda put herself between us, gently pushing Nolan away saying, "It's okay Nolan, Riley is only looking out for you. Is there anyone else that might want to hurt you or get you to do something for them?"

"Well if we're saying it's anyone – we could say Jordan Campbell… Or even Shannon, but I'm clutching at straws…" I murmured.

"Let me say that it wasn't Campbell, Shannon or Myers." Amanda glared at Luke in a stern wave, crouching in front of him with her hands resting on the chair. "One more time – Scott or Arnie…"

There was a minute of silence – where I assumed Amanda was trying to determine which of the two guys it was – I just hoped that it was really Arnie, because it sounded so unlike Scott.

"Arnie did it, Nolan…" Amanda looked over at my uncles with an apologetic look on her face.

"Stop talking…" Nolan muttered slowly. "You know, I'm getting sick and tired of you- the pair of you- just bad mouthing Arnie. Just because he produced a slightly altered article about Trinity Patterson, you think it must have been his fault that this kid came after us. It wasn't him- it… it must have been Scott – that's the only explanation."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Nolan, please, listen to Amanda- you know that she wouldn't lie to you-"

"Maybe she's jealous. Maybe you're jealous that you didn't find happiness as quickly as I did…"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" I mumbled. "Because I'm the happiest person for you because of Arnie – I know all about your past… but you clearly say that you choose Arnie over me, and I don't think I can stay in a house where the homeowner chooses to keep him in the house. Don't worry. I'll be moving out in the next week. Nolan, I care about you way too much to let you be blind sighted like this. Arnie beat you senseless- you needed life threatening surgery because of him, yet you let him back into the house that you, and me, and even Stella live at. Stop being blinded by your relationship please. Nolan, you won't get any family. I'm the only one left. Please…"

"Go… go on, you move out." Nolan turned away from me.

There was a cracking sound as my heart split inside my ribcage. He was breaking my heart through his naivety and inability to just listen to what me and everyone around him would say.

"Okay…" I whispered, zipping up mu denim jacket before walking out the door.

"Riley- wait!" Amanda called out from the doorway with Luke by her side. "You better take him home."

"He doesn't deserve my help…" I sneered at Luke. "There should be a bullet in his skull for the stunt he pulled."

"Don't be so quick to think ill of Luke just yet – he's willing to help you." Amanda pushed Luke forwards. "Arnie really did send Luke, so you just need to think how you are going to show Nolan, and I accept your offer- Jack and I will look after the chalet for you. Everything will be okay, Riley, but you need to take care of yourself." She held out her hand to me. "You know where to come if you ever need a hand."

"Of course…" I shook Amanda's hand before turning towards Luke. "In the car, now."

Luke climbed into the passenger seat and it was then that I realised that what I was about to do was taking a lot of trust, it made me worry a little at first, because it was totally not what I wanted to do, but I had to – so that I could prove to Nolan that Arnie wasn't the one that he should be with.

"Okay Luke, you need to start talking to me, and start telling me everything…"

Luke shook his head. "No, I'm not telling you anything."

My foot slammed on the brake and Luke just about managed to brace himself against the dashboard. "I'm the one driving Luke," I started, locking the doors with the switch on the driver side door. "So if you want to survive the next hour, then I seriously need you to start talking."

Silence. Dead silence.

"Luke!" I shouted, making him flinch a little. "Tell me!"

"Alright, alright!" he squeaked back. "This guy- he approached me and told me that if I threatened some girl in the Hamptons, that he would help me out career-wise. When I asked who he was, he told me a name and said Arnie… He gave me a gun and told me to try not to use it. It wasn't something I was willing to do- but I was just so desperate to become a professional musician that this is what I end up doing in order to get there."

I continued driving. "And has Arnie been in touch with you recently- or was it just that one time?"

"No- he came to me loads of times. He gave me a little money too, and well, we spent a lot of time together…"

Little cogs in my brain were clicking as things began to fall into place. "You mean, you and him-"

"Luke, are you-" I had to ask, just to make sure.

"Yes, I'm gay Riley." Luke ruffled his hair up a little. "Most people say that that's the first thing that people notice about me."

"Well the first thing I noticed about you was the gun you had pointed in my face so, forgive me for not noticing straight away. So you and Arnie were- you guys were kind of like an item, right?"

"Sure, I guess you could call it that. He was, he was special to me, but now from what I understand, he's also seeing that guy Nolan that you live with… Now, I feel stupid for allowing Arnie to make me believe that I was the one for him." Luke's fingers dug into his jeans as the car powered on down the road, back onto the highway towards the Hamptons. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm going to meet up with my friend who can help me to organise how we are going to show Nolan what Arnie is really like… Because I've been waiting for an opportunity to prove to Nolan just what Arnie is like."

I showed up at Scott's house and was glad that Bella was not around, because I haven't seen her since we went to the nightclub together. Not that I wanted to – she didn't want me in Scott's life- she didn't even want me at their wedding. Obviously she felt threatened, but that was only my jealous perception…

"Riley – where have you been? It's been weeks… The last time I saw you was at the Labour Day Party, and even then, you disappeared earlier, but I exposed Shannon's orientation. We've got her for the moment, though I'm not finished with her."

"Yeah," I murmured, pointing over at my car with my thumb. "This kid's got an interesting story about Arnie. Scott, I really need your help… I- I- I'm moving out of Nolan's house. Part of me cannot stay in a house where my uncle would rather have someone who beat him senseless in the house, over me- his…" I was so close to saying his niece, but I had to stop myself, because no one was allowed to know anything about my family or my real identity. Instead, I continued to tell Scott about Luke and what he did – and how Arnie was linked to Luke. "Please help me protect Nolan, Scott."

"Alright, don't worry- everything will be fine…" He pulled me close, hugging me so tightly and resting a hand on the back of my head. "You know I'd do anything to help you."

Inside Scott and Bella's beach side house, it was furnished entirely by Bella- none of it screamed out Scott. Apart from one or two photos and canvased artwork. I even walked past a gold frame which was home to Bella's magazine article and the photoshoot that accompanied it.

"She's a real self-loving kind of person, isn't she?" I whispered, hoping that Scott wouldn't hear. "Sorry- I didn't mean that…"

Scott looked at me in an apologetic way. "I'm sorry about Leo – the crash, I mean…"

I felt a blow to the stomach. Wait. How? How did Scott know? "We broke up – for real this time. Last time. I can't keep getting my hear broken from all the things that he's done to me. It's not right, it wasn't right."

He smiled at me softly, before turning his attention onto Luke. "So Luke, how can you help us?" Scott and Luke continued to talk about what they could do.

We were going to have to go in and go hard. It was decided that Luke would be in the house to simply confront Arnie and explain everything to Nolan, but something happened after this decision where I just couldn't shake off the feeling that it was important.

Scott got a phone call and answered the phone, he walked out the conservatory doors, but I could just make out most of this conversation. "I thought we said not to use this number… Okay, that's fine, but do you have what I need?... Right, the code is Aphrodite. Tonight. The club… Don't worry, everything will be perfect. Right, cool…Bye…" He disconnected the call and came back inside. "We better go over to Nolan's now – it's time to expose Arnie to Nolan for the final time."

"Yeah, I'll drive us there…" I felt like if I drove us there, then I would be able to find out more about this phone conversation that Scott had – because I just knew that it was to do with Club Cat's Eye, and I wanted to know what was so unusual and why Scott was so involved in it. So by driving, he would be forced to ask me to drive him somewhere, or so I expected.

Scott and I waited by the pool – sat on the marble like wall that lined the outside of the house. Stella sat protectively at our feet, I no longer felt nervous about having her outside by the pool after Brody and I helped to train her to swim. I had to stay outside for some fresh air and Scott joined me and we waited in silence. We let the minutes tick by until Arnie and Nolan returned home. At least they returned home together. Luke was sat down on the white sofa when my uncle and his boyfriend returned.

"I should go inside…" I mumbled quickly to Scott. "You stay out here- out of sight with Stella."

"Be careful." Scott led Stella away as I stepped into the house and pushed the sliding doors to.

Nolan was glancing back and forth between Luke and Arnie. "What is talking about, Arn?"

My uncle's boyfriend stuttered and stammered as he tried to find a good answer. "I- No- Nolan, he's lying. This kid's obviously lying. I would never ever do anything that would hurt you. Nothing…"

Luke gasped, "That's exactly what you said to me – is that just your go to line?"

"Come on Nolan, let's be real. Would I really ask you to marry me if I was having it on with some kid down the road?" Arnie took a hold of Nolan's hand. "I love you, Nolan."

This was news to me. "You asked him to marry you?" I frowned at Arnie, and then looked to Nolan. "And you said yes, didn't you? Didn't you!?"

"Of course I did, Riley. I love him." Nolan was so calm and collected that I worried even more about him. "Serious."

"Even after you were hospitalised by Arnie? Even after you've just found out that he threatened my life? Even once you've realised that Arnie was still shacking up with some kid from the Hamptons, you still want to marry him?"

"Riley, you wouldn't understand, so stop judging me…" Nolan looked at Arnie with such a love and affection, that it only made everything feel worse. "I guess… I think- I forgive, forgive him for it."

"You aren't so certain about that Nolan. If you have any doubts whatsoever, then you wouldn't do this to me. Nolan, you misrepresented Mrs Patterson in a single newspaper article and dragged her good name through the dirt and-" I had gotten a little carried away and spouted out about Scott's mother.

"Nolan, what is she on about?" Arnie folded his arms and watched us both closely. "Why does she know about that, Nolan?" His grip tightened considerably around my uncle's wrist. "Answer me!" he shouted.

"Stop it – you're hurting him!" I lunged forwards, but a sharp shove from Arnie's free hand pushing me back and I tumbled over the sofa.

Luke just about caught me and helped me back onto my feet.

"Let go of him Arnie please – I'll do anything if you just let go!" I yelled, hoping that Scott would hear that the situation was heating up considerably. Without caring about being hurt again, I walked around the sofa towards Nolan and Arnie, but this time, it was my uncle who stopped me. "Nolan."

"I'm sorry Riley…" Nolan walked over to the door with Arnie – part of me couldn't really tell who was leading who.

"Don't try and follow us, kid." Arnie pushed Nolan further out of the door, out of my vision. "See you later."

"No- Nolan!" I called out. "I won't let you-"

Then I was facing the end of a barrel. The barrel of a gun.

"Go back inside."

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Another chapter out of the way, and it's a much longer chapter than I normally do – not that I really keep track of how long they are! And I hope that you liked what I added in, Star – thank you for your reviews so far!