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

A/N: Nothing makes me happier than reading your reviews, so don't forget to review!

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 14

I couldn't believe that Todd Bell had slipped from our grips. I buried my head into Brody's chest as the rain soaked through our clothes.

Brody, Nolan, Scott and I returned home where I was able to change into dry clothes and offer Brody some of the clothes that he had left in the bottom drawer of the dresser.

Just as Brody and I were about to go out of my room, I pulled him back. "About what you said earlier."

"I mean it, Ry. There is no way I'm letting you do that again. It's dangerous and there's no knowing what that Todd Bell guy could have done to you. He – he could have forced himself on you… and I could never have forgiven myself if something like that happened to you."

"It's okay Brody. I'm okay, you don't need to worry…" I kissed his cheek and snaked my arms around him. "You need to stop worrying, because it's not like you at all. Plus, I can take care of myself."

"Ry, I worry because it happened to my mum, and that's how I ended up with a little sister… I love my sister more than anything, but I can't imagine what must be going through my mum's mind."

I could feel my eyes go wide and my stomach turn as my brain processed that. "I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry." Brody gently pushed me away and headed out the room.

Stella scampered into the room and jumped up at me, resting her paws by my knee. She clearly wanted a cuddle so I lifted her up and accepted the lashings of her rough wet tongue.

"Riley, come on!" Nolan called out.

"What's wrong?" I asked, walking into their view.

"We need to think about a plan B, because Todd will be on his toes after that stunt Scott pulled." Nolan looked over to Scott with an apologetic look on his face. "Although I'm glad you did set off the fire alarm, it's put us in an awkward position."

Scott shrugged. "Not entirely… There's a chance that what Riley was wearing may have been bugged. Hey, I'm not proud of it-

I was infuriated. "You did what?! Please tell me you did not put a camera in that suit!"

"Calm down. There was a wire fitted into the suit and a camera into the mask, but as soon as we give the footage and recording to Mrs Bell, Todd will know exactly where, or more who, it came from… For all we know, the water damage to the camera may be irreversible." Scott opened up my bag – much to my dislike as he didn't ask – and took the silver suit out.

I watched eagerly as he prised a microphone and wire out of the suit's lining. Then he plucked one of the large, central sequins from the mask – the camera. "I don't really know how to feel about this…"

"Well you can think a little positively, because it means that we can tidy up some footage and start to lead Mr Bell astray more so…" Scott smiled at me slightly. "Just give me a moment, to upload it onto the laptop." He took the laptop from behind the bin drawer and plugged in the camera and microphone in order for the upload to begin.

Then there was a sharp knocking at the front door. Nolan and I looked at each other in confusion – the intercom hadn't allowed anyone in, so why or how was someone at the door already?

"I'll go and get it," I mumbled, walking away from Brody and heading towards the door. I found my gaze met by Leo's. "Nolan…"

In an instant, my uncle was standing behind me. Leo smiled as I opened the door, but I was still so hesitant. It didn't help my thoughts when I knew that he must have discharged himself from the hospital seeing as he was still wearing his hospital gown.

"Leo- does the hospital know you're here?" I asked, looking down at his feet which were scratched and bloody. "Did you walk here and climb over the wall, Leo?" Remaining calm, I held my hand out to Leo, who clearly wasn't feeling right. "Take my hand and come inside… Nolan, call the hospital, get them to inform Susie Myers the whereabouts of her son. Get the guys into the office." I helped guide Leo towards the sofa where I unfolded an old navy blanket for him to sit down on. "Are you okay, Leo?"

Leo didn't say a word – he just looked up and smiled at me. "Riley, I missed you. You didn't come and visit me since the accident, so I thought you were annoyed with me. I'm just so glad that you are alright – that you weren't in the car when I was driving." He closed his eyes and moved closer, quickly darting in for a kiss, catching my lips, but I put to a stop to it immediately.

I stood up abruptly, looking over to Nolan, and then back at Leo. "Leo, the hospital knows that you're here – they're going to be coming here soon. Your mum is on her way."

"Riley – what went wrong with us?"

I froze instantly, wondering what the answer to the question should be. "Okay, I'm telling you this because you deserve to know the truth and it's not fair for me to string you along. So before you got into the car accident, we had a little bit of an argument and- well you admitted that you slept with another woman. That really hurt me Leo, and things finished between us there and then. I got out of the car and you drove away. Leo, you tore my heart in two." I buried my hands in my face. "But, I have to be honest with you, because I've moved-"

The intercom buzzed and moments later, Susie Myers was let into the house by Nolan.

"Leo – what are you playing at?" His mother went closer to him. "Come on, you're father's waiting outside, let's get you back to the hospital…"

At the mentioning of Leo's father, Leonard, being outside, Nolan and I shot each other a look that sent shivers down my spine. The man responsible for the imprisonment of Scott and Una's mother- and baby Vinny's grandmother. Leonard Myers was outside the house. I couldn't imagine what was going through Scott's mind as he hid away in the study.

"Riley!" Susie exclaimed. "What are- how did Leo- how are you?" There was a shake in her voice, like a tremor.

"I'm fine, but Leo should be at the hospital… and I don't think it's good for him to come and see me." Even my own voice shook a little.

"Why do you say that, sweetheart?" Susie asked, clearly wondering what the problem was.

Leo looked up at his mother from the sofa. "She told me that in the accident, that I told her I had sex with someone else- someone who wasn't her…"

Susie didn't react, she just shrugged it off in a second. "Come on Leo, let's not worry about it. She's over you…"

Leo pushed his mother away, standing up. "But I love her- I love you, Riley!"

My mouth dropped in dismay. "Stop it Leo, I'm over you- I have moved on. I'm with someone else-"

"It's Scott, isn't it? Scott Peters couldn't keep his eyes off of you. He's got feelings for you, and you do for him." Leo got close to me and put his hands on my shoulders, before he snapped. "Tell me the truth!"

"Alright!" I squeaked, feeling Nolan by my side. "I'm over you because I have moved on, with someone who I know from Florida- from before I came to the Hamptons. Brody…"

"Him…?" Susie and Leo gasped together.

"Yeah," I mumbled slowly. "This isn't how I wanted you to find out Leo, I genuinely wanted to tell you once you had fully recovered from the accident."

Leo's mother pulled her son aside and nudged him towards the door. "Do not talk to my son anymore, young lady. You are nothing to me, and I am appalled by your behaviour regarding my son. If you dare talk to my son or even come near him, then I will personally knock you to the ground… I wouldn't waste my money getting someone to do it for me."

There was a silence in the house, which Nolan broke, saying, "I don't think Riley is completely to blame for the current situation… but I think it's best that you leave now."

As soon as Susie and Leo were gone, I let Brody and Scott but into the room – but my boyfriend seemed somewhat nervous with me. At first, I took no notice.

Scott looked at me with a smirk on his face. "So the cat is out of the bag. No more Riley and Leo – it's all about Brody and Riley now."

It was like he was taking the mickey out of my new relationship, which angered me.

"You know what Scott – you need to stop this, this constant need to pick at my relationship. I don't do anything like that to you and Bella. Just because I'm not with you, doesn't give you the right to- to make jokes and laugh at me and Brody…" I growled, only for Nolan to try and calm me down. "No, Nolan."

"Come on, Riley!" Scott laughed. "You jumped into bed with him the moment you broke up with Leo. It's hardly a typical romance. You two aren't going to last."

I had to stop Brody from doing anything horrible. "Don't you even think about it, Brody. He's not worth it-"

"Riley, did you not hear how Susie Myers reacted to hearing you and Brody were together? You know there's something in it, you just don't want to admit it."

"Brody, come with me- we're going to my room…" I took his hand and began to drag him away.

Scott retaliated again, "What? So that you can make love like nothing is wrong with your relationship?"

Brody may not have said a word, but I wasn't going to stay quiet anymore.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I screeched in a squeaking voice, tears of anger building in my eyes. "Stop it- go home to your pregnant girlfriend and wonder whether her baby is yours, or someone else's!"

Scott rushed towards me. "Well it's funny because I'm pretty sure that it's your ex-boyfriend that she went behind our backs with…"

What? Leo and Bella?

"What?" I whispered.

"Well it's only an assumption, but he's the only one that it could have been. Looks like you and me have more in common than you think…"

I pushed Brody back into my room whilst Nolan argued with Scott about what had just happened. "Okay, so, I will not lie to you, but I noticed what Scott said too. Susie Myers, Serena – you always found yourself getting on better with the older woman…"

"You've let him get inside your head, no, no, no. Come on, Riley. You know that I would never ever do anything to hurt you. You have got to believe me."

"I do… Brody, if I didn't believe you then I would break things off now. I don't like to mislead people and lead them on because it's happened to me so many times in the past."

"You know, we should have a date night or something. With just me and you – no one else. No Nolan, no Leo, no Todd Bell… No Scott." He said Scott's name with such a harmful spite that I was scared to confront him.

"Stop it, Brody. I just had to ask because it was a niggling feeling I had myself… Before Scott even said anything – it's only that he gave me the nudge I needed to just ask you."

"He gave you a nudge! Oh man Riley, this is our relationship! You can't be serious, can you?" Brody waited for an answer, but I couldn't give him an honest one.

"I- er, well-"

"You know what, Riley? This is utterly ridiculous! I have done absolutely- I've done nothing wrong! Scott is lying, he's just trying to come between us." Brody was showing me an angry side of him that I had never seen, but his voice grew louder and louder. "I get that you are trying to help Scott out to bring his mum to justice, because that's just the amazing person that you are, Riley! Take a step back and look at the stuff that you've allowed to happen. He misled you and withheld the fact that he knew Leo was Leonard's son. Then, you carry on dating Leo, yet Scott chose not to tell you about Bella – but he still flirts with you. He also didn't specifically tell you that Bella was his girlfriend, or about the fact that he was going to propose to her, or any of that. And at your favourite restaurant too? Oh… It doesn't stop there, he uses your relationship with Leo and then uses your friendship with Shannon. You lost your only friend to his cause. He alienated you against her, and if it weren't for me, she would have battered you and smashed your head repeatedly into the floor. And after all that, your so called best guy-friend was willing to prostitute you out for Todd Bell…" He frowned at me so hard that he could have cracked his skin.

"Stop it…" I murmured quietly. "Please."

"You know what, I'm leaving. I can't deal with your crap and inability to decide who it is you're in love with. You're supposed to be my girlfriend, yet you can't stay away from your ex-boyfriend, Leo, and you struggle to stay away from lover boy out there!"

"Don't be so childish, because that's not my fault and you know that. You're the one I want to be with. Talk to me- tell me what you want me to do?"

"I don't want jack from you. I'm gone."

Without another word, he walked out my bedroom and out the door – not even saying a word to Nolan or anything which threw me because they were so tight.

"Brody, wait!" I called out, but by the time I got to the front door, he was already gone and driving away.

There was a tightening feeling in my chest and a lump protruding from my throat from the sadness and emotions. I let out a soft wail as I dropped to the floor. An arm draped itself around me, and I turned away, but they were quicker and pulled me closer.

"Yeah, it's fine Scott, I'll take over from here. You better go home. I think you have done enough damage and meddling right now…" I heard Nolan mumble quietly. "Riley, I know that it hurts now, but it will all be okay."

"I'm just. So, so, so angry with myself for getting caught up in Scott's revenge case."

"About that- I may need your help to do a bit of digging. You're going to need to get your darkest outfit together."

"Why?" I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "What are you going to do?"

"The Hydra Corporation building was never used again after the case evolved, Leonard Myers moved his company into a new building and I want to know if he left anything behind that might come in useful."

"What about Scott?" I asked calmly.

"Like Ams and me say, he's slipping up – he's becoming ruthless and if we are all going to be able to help him, then we have to do our own digging, don't you think?" Nolan replied, squeezing me tight and kissing my forehead. "Your mum would be proud of what you're doing for Scott, and just how far you have come…"

"Thanks Uno," I said, smiling broadly.

Nolan drove us over to the old Hydra Corporation building, which like he had said, had been completely abandoned. We were standing in what I could only describe as a bad part of town. It was the sort of place on t.v shows where you could only hear a distant police siren and a lonely barking dog. The kind of place you didn't want to be alone or unable to defend yourself.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this, Riley?" Nolan asked calmly, looking me straight in the eye as he adjusted the hood of his black sweater. "Because you don't have to if you don't want to."

Something caught my eye that caused me to not give an immediate answer. It was the dimmest torch light shining across one of the windows on the higher up floors from inside. I chose to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.

There was some police tape hanging limply from the entrance which made me feel as though we were not the first ones to venture into this abandoned Hydra Corp building. It was dark and empty inside. Empty space filled the room apart from a curved reception desk.

"Where are we going?" I asked Nolan who was walking towards the elevator. "Are you sure it's a good idea to take the elevator? Who knows how long it's been since they were working…"

"Maybe you're right, but don't moan when we climb all those stairs…" Nolan said quietly, turning towards the staircase.

All I could hear was the gentle scuff of my shoes on the floor, which only made everything more eerie. It was bad enough doing something which felt potentially illegal, but when these were the circumstances, I felt worse.

"Maybe we should call Scott and let him know-"

"Ssshh!" Nolan snapped, putting his arm out to stop me and pulling me back down a couple of stairs. He pressed his fingers to his lips and looked up the stairs again.

A quiet metallic clang rang out overhead, making my heart rattle in my ribcage, but for some reason, Nolan carried on climbing the stairs. All the way up to the seventh floor out of thirteen…

The seventh floor had a key card slot to enter it. I frowned at the wall where the silver device was plastered to. Because Nolan was clearly more used to this than I was, he pulled out a credit card shaped key card and felt the need to explain.

"It's a long story – one which requires Scott swiping it from Shannon…"

"Right," I whispered, closing the door behind us.

We sidled along a few corridors, and as we went along, Nolan would coordinate our next moves using the building plans to avoid as many cameras and dead ends as possible. My uncle even went to the trouble of spraying black paint over the cameras that inconvenienced us.

"Here…" Nolan said, opening an office door and stepping inside. He didn't even explain what we were looking for.

I waited by the door and felt my stomach twist when I saw the name on the door.

Mr R. Patterson – this was Scott's dad's office. Where he was shot… Where he was murdered.

"I don't know about this, Nolan. It doesn't feel right to go into his office when I know that this is the place that a man died…"

"Well, you can just wait if you'd prefer." Nolan carried on rifling through some cabinets for anything that might be worth nabbing. He dropped a black rucksack onto the desk.

Everything looked so cleared up, but the filing cabinet that Nolan had moved on from bugged me. Something didn't look right to me. The top of it, it looked like there was an extra storage space on top of the cabinet, but it blended with it so well.

I pulled out the top drawer and felt the roof of the cabinet. It was like a canvas layer had been placed there. Using my nails, I pierced the material and a small letter package fell gently into drawer below. Without even checking it, I placed it into the rucksack and lift one strap onto my shoulder.

As I looked up at the wall, I noticed a family photo. It was of the Patterson family, and everything in it looked perfect. The photo was of Scott's graduation – he was wearing his navy robes and standing in the centre of the photo. At either side of him was his mother and sister, then his father beside his mother. In Una's arms, was the tiniest baby Vince. Although it wasn't really relevant, I couldn't help but put it in the rucksack.

"Anything else-?" Nolan asked, but he stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?"

"No, what?"

"Sssh! Someone's coming!" He waved at me to signal that I should get down.

I ducked down under the desk and tried to stop my heavy breathing. The rucksack was now digging into my bag as I waited for whoever else was in the building to pass through.

"Wait a second, did you go in here?" a soft female voice asked from the direction of the doorway.

"No, come on. It's nothing, let's get out of here…"

That voice, it was the one voice that I thought I would never hear.

It was Brody's voice.

"Yeah, you're right. For all we know, Leonard probably has people on surveillance of the building."

Then it clicked – I knew the woman's voice too. Susie Myers.

I had to bite down on my hand to stop myself from crying out in pain and shock.

"Come on Brody – let's go get out of here…" Susie said, with a giggle in her voice. "Are we ever going to get away? Florida might be good this time of year-"

"No, not Florida." Brody's reply was abrupt and I knew exactly why Florida wasn't a good idea.

Because of me. Because whenever he thought of Florida, I would bet money on it that I would be his first thought.

When Brody and Susie Myers had gone, I emerged from my hiding spot and looked at Nolan. He covered his mouth with his hand.

"I don't know what to say Riley, really, I don't… I can't even say I'm sorry because it wasn't something that I did…"

"Why? Why would he do that to me?" I sniffed, leaving my head resting on Nolan's shoulder. "I didn't think Scott was right, but he was…"

"I'm sure that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation. You have to give him the chance to explain Riley, just in case."

I felt miserable the whole entire drive home, wondering what possible explanation there could be for Brody to find himself in the Hydra Corporation building with Susie Myers, but I couldn't think of anything that sounded remotely plausible.

Scott was waiting back at the house with Stella on his lap.

"I really wish you'd stop letting yourself into my house, Scott…" Nolan said harshly. "It's too early to have discussions about Hydra."

"B-but, well… Nolan-" Scott stammered uncontrollably. "I've really messed up. Really, really badly."

I frowned at him. "What did you do?"

"I- Bella. She, I – she might know I'm not Scott Peters… She might know I'm really Scott Patterson…"

"Oh Scott," I sighed, realising that this might be a bigger issue that Scott was making out.

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = BAM BAM BAM! What are you thinking? Is it over between Brody and Riley? What's going on with Susie and Brody? Does Bella know about Scott's real identity?