For days Arabella couldn't believe that she was going to one day perform on stage at the Royal Albert Hall. No matter how many times Sherlock assured her that he had been serious when he revealed his gift to her, it never seemed to sink in. It simply seemed to be something that was absolutely too good to be true. To finally sing the songs she wanted to sing on stage seemed like something she would never be able to do, but thanks to Sherlock she was going to be able to do this. All of their friends were both astounded and overwhelmingly excited for Arabella when they heard the news. Her upcoming concert was an event they were all looking forward to with eagerness.

When the New Year had passed, Arabella was put in touch with different individuals at the Albert Hall to begin planning the concert. Additionally, she began to work with her brand new voice teacher, Claire, who was a former opera singer. Claire was very impressed with Arabella's voice and was eager to help her train. It had been years since Arabella had formal training with a voice instructor, to begin taking lessons once more made her very happy, believing she would be able to expand on her talent. With Claire's assistance, she was able to select the perfect song selections for her concert so she could begin rehearsing them right away. Her concert had been scheduled for a few months from then, plenty of time to prepare for the big event.

Arabella's life had been taking all the right turns for the better. After all of the horrors she had experienced for months leading up to her abduction, she felt she was long overdue for some good things in her life. Having Sherlock in her life was the best thing of all, he had been the one who set her life on a far better path. She knew that her life would never be perfect or that things would be positive, but she hoped that things would remain this way for a long time. All she wanted was to forget all of those negative events.

But nothing in life is certain.

One evening she lay upon her bed dressed in her pajamas and her robe and was simply reading various pieces of sheet music, allowing the notes to play the music in her mind. Still in the midst of planning her program for the concert she was trying to decide on other selections for the evening which showed off her entire range. During this time Arabella finally decided to take a small break from her task, her eyes looking up from the notes and to her dresser across from her bed where she had various framed photos on display. Many of them were recent ones of her and her friends there in London, but one of her and Sherlock was very central.

All except for one photograph was recent. A single photo, taken not long before his death, was of Nathan and Arabella looking very happy. Gazing upon the photo, Arabella sighed and felt a twinge of heartache. Of all the people who would not be there when Arabella made her debut, it was the father who raised her on his own and supported her talent from the very beginning. Knowing this was painful for her, it truly wasn't her father's time, someone else decided it for him instead of letting him live a long life. A man so greedy and evil arranged it all.

Then it hit her.

Rick had been responsible for planning the murder...but he had someone else commit the crime instead. But who? He said he had that he sent someone to do it, but to basically ask someone to murder another, it would have had to have been someone Rick knew and who would have been a willing candidate. The move she thought about it the clearer the likely person became a result.

With this new development taking over her attention, Arabella could not ignore it. Despite the fact that it was later in the evening, she simply had to address this with Sherlock. Putting the sheet music aside, Arabella left her flat and ran up to the flat upstairs where she found him reclining in his chair and reading. He had not yet changed into his pajamas, he still wore his outfit from that day along with his deep red robe.

Noticing the new presence in his flat caused Sherlock to look up from the text of the book to see his girlfriend enter the flat, the sight of her expression captured his attention immediately. The sense of urgency and concern within her lovely features made him ignore his current activity and shift his full concentration on her. More and more he found that whenever her features conveyed emotions and feelings which were not positive he would become concerned and had to know why she was upset. Before he never concerned himself with this subject, but with her it became an important matter. Setting his book aside he sat up a bit.

"Arabella? What is it?" he asked curiously.

She lightly bit her lower lip, still trying to process this subject through her mind. "Sherlock...my case isn't over."

He tilted his head slightly not understanding what she meant. "We discovered who had been behind the plots to threaten and kidnap you. What could we have possibly missed?"

"Another aspect entirely," she declared. "There is one murderer unaccounted for."

"Murderer?" he questioned. "Logan was Heather's murderer, he even confessed to it. Your mother was found guilty of killing her previous husbands, and Rick confessed to arranging your father's murder. What's left?"

"Yes, Rick arranged it, but we have no idea who the actual killer is."

Sherlock realized what she was getting at. "I see your point. Unfortunately Rick is deceased and when I last spoke with Captain Graham, there was nothing at the house which gave us evidence to point a finger at the killer."

She swallowed a bit. "I think I may know who he sent, and he is alive and currently in custody."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're speaking of Todd, aren't you?"

Nodding, she approached him before kneeling beside him. "I normally saw him around breakfast time, but the day my father died I never saw him. He claimed that he had overslept and had no time to stop for breakfast before class. The only time I saw him was later on that day around the time Rick was there. He may have been telling the truth, but now seeing how Rick had been behind it all I'm not too sure I can trust him. I need to know for sure."

"What can I do?" he asked.

Lightly biting down on her lower lip she gathered her words. "I'd like him to be questioned...I need to know if he had any involvement in his murder."

Sherlock nodded and stroked her cheek. "I'll contact Lestrade in the morning."

Her eyes drooped slightly in content of the gentle touch on her cheek, even more in relief knowing he intended to pursue this new lead in the morning with Lestrade. Clearly he too found it to be an idea worth investigating, if it wasn't he would have probably dismissed it. Slightly turning her head she placed a light kiss upon his palm. How she loved this man.

"Thank you," she replied as she looked back at him.

True to his word, Sherlock called Lestrade in the morning. Arabella sat on the sofa with her jacket in her arms in Sherlock's flat while he made this call, waiting for his word that Lestrade was on board with this idea. Instead of just waiting for him to let them know what the result of the interrogation, she was set on going to the prison where Todd was being held and being there to hear the words come forth from his mouth. Whether or not he actually had any involvement in her father's murder, she felt that she should be there to hear those words spoken. At first Sherlock raised his concerns about this, thinking it might not be best for her to hear the confession, but Arabella convinced him that she needed to hear it herself. It was the last bit of closure she would need in order to move on.

Upon finishing the call, Sherlock slipped his phone into his jacket pocket before turning his attention to Arabella.

"Alright, we can head down and Lestrade will meet us there," he announced.

Instantly she stood up and slipped on her jacket, more than ready to get this done with. "Good."

Grabbing his coat and scarf and putting them on, the couple left the flat and soon got into a taxi. The ride there was quiet, Sherlock looked over at his girlfriend who sat beside him. Her expression spoke of anxiety and determination as well. She had been so set on being there when Todd was questioned needing to hear him say it, but he could tell that she was a bit anxious as to what he would say. What if he wasn't the murderer? That would mean that his killer was still unknown and still out there, leading to a possible new case. Of course Sherlock wouldn't mind taking on another case to solve a five year old murder, and it would be for the woman he loved in order to put her fears to rest. However, he actually was hoping that Todd would confess and that this entire matter would be put to rest. Instead of chasing down another criminal, he knew it would be better for Arabella to know that her father's killer was behind bars and would never harm her in any way again.

Reaching over the short amount of distance between them, Sherlock took hold of her hand, his grip was firm but he was gentle as he stroked the skin. He wanted to reassure her that he was there for her. In response, she wrapped her delicate fingers around his own.

For Arabella this was going to be difficult. No matter what Todd's answer was, it would have an effect on her, but she had to know the truth. She knew that with Sherlock by her side she could face this, he had been there for her from the beginning and she had survived the most horrible of events, but in the end her captors and those who were threats to her had been found out and placed in prison. This one last thing would be far easier to get through. At least she hoped.

Arriving at the prison, Sherlock and Arabella met up with Lestrade. He had arranged to question Todd while the two observed unseen behind a one-way mirror, which was what Arabella hoped for. She didn't want to be face to face with her ex-boyfriend, she just wanted to hear his words. Soon she and Sherlock were within the adjacent room from where they were able to look out into the room before them. Already Todd had been brought into the interrogation room where he awaited Lestrade to arrive and question him. The mere sight of him made Arabella shiver slightly. Despite the fact that he was in prison and unable to harm her, just being able to see him in that room made her uncomfortable and very grateful that there was a wall in between them.

Sherlock turned toward her. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, keeping her eyes fixated on Todd. "Yes. I'm ready."

The couple watched as Lestrade sat down in front of Todd, who barely acknowledged the detective inspector's presence. Instead he was simply staring off into space, barely answering when he was spoken to.

"Why are you here, Inspector?" Todd snapped. "I've already told you and the authorities everything, so what is it this time?"

Lestrade's gaze narrowed slightly in response to Todd's attitude. "Murder."

Todd's brow furrowed. "Heather's death was Logan's doing, not mine."

"Oh no, I'm not talking about her murder. I am referring one that took place five years ago."

His brow furrowed even more. "Five years ago? That was my final year of college, I never took part in any such crime."

Lestrade leaned back a bit in his chair. "Really? Then I guess you wouldn't mind my asking a few questions. Where were you on the morning of April 10th of that year?"

Todd shrugged. "How should I know? It was five years ago. Why should that date matter anyway?"

"Well I would advise you to start remembering, because that was the day that Nathan Stevens was found dead."

The attitudinal expression on Todd's face began to crumble, sure enough the mentioning of Arabella's father shifted the atmosphere a little. Watching his expression closely, Arabella waited to hear what he would say next.

"Nathan Stevens? He died from an asthma attack, he wasn't murdered," Todd claimed.

"No, he had help. He may have been suffering from his asthma, but someone helped him along in order to ensure that he died. Now I'll ask you again, where were you that morning?"

"That morning I was where any college student would be. I was in my bed until my alarm went off, had breakfast and went to class," he finally replied.

That response caused Arabella's arms to crawl with goosebumps. "He's lying," she whispered.

Sherlock nodded once, saying nothing but observing every single detail writing themselves out across Todd's face. Everything pointed to falsehoods, but they needed his confession.

"Nice try," Lestrade responded. "I'm not buying it."

"Oh yeah? Well you weren't there so how would you know?" Todd snapped.

"I have a witness who can attest that what you're telling me is a lie."

Todd's attention seemed to come alive when he heard that statement. "A witness?" he said before his lips slowly curled into a smirk. "Of course."

Lestrade raised an eyebrow. "Of course what?"

Todd lightly chuckled and shook his head. "She's here, isn't she?"

"Who?"

"She's the reason you're here, the reason this is being resurrected from the grave. Oh she would want to know."

His eyes snapped toward the one-way mirror, he seemed to gaze right at Arabella even though he could not see her. She looked right back at him feeling a bit uneasy now that he seemed to know that she was there.

"Arabella, my dear," Todd called out. "Why don't you ask me yourself? Why have someone else do it for you? Are you afraid of the truth?"

"You're talking to a bloody mirror," Lestrade said trying to keep Todd focused. "She's not here."

Ignoring the detective inspector, Todd continued. "Well let me tell you something, darling. Your father's death was not instant, it was slow and painful. You should have seen how he crawled along the floor, barely able to breathe and pleading for his life. Yes, I was there. Rick entrusted me with the task of removing the obstacle which was grossly in the way of your chance at fame, and it was one I certainly was happy to partake in. I never laid a hand on him, but I kept his phone and medicine away from him and made sure he would not survive."

Arabella stood petrified in place as if her body had instantly become stone, her eyes refused to blink. Never did she anticipate him to give such a manner of confession. Her horrible gut feeling that Todd had been the one involved in her father's murder had been right, but the way he conveyed this truth became quite unbearable. He was twisting an invisible dagger into her heart, manipulating her emotions and doing everything he could to get under her skin and cause a reaction. It wasn't long before her limbs began to slightly tremble as her anger and shock began to rise.

Sherlock turned his attention to his girlfriend and observed the uneasiness she was feeling. Seeing her this way concerned him, while she had said that she could handle the truth regarding the crime, he could tell that this was becoming more than she could bear.

"Arabella," he whispered, trying to break her attention away from the cruel man she watched.

Todd's words were invading Arabella's mind, almost blocking out everything around her, even the sound of Sherlock's voice. She barely even noticed when he placed his hands on her shoulders as he tried to get her attention once more.

Even Lestrade was completely taken aback from the nature of this confession. "Alright, Todd. That's enough."

"Oh no, Inspector. I have more to say to her," Todd retorted.

"She isn't here!" he insisted. "You're telling me all of this!"

He kept staring down the mirror. "Had you simply accepted the offer in the first place instead of being swayed by your father's opinion, you would still have him alive today. But no, instead you nearly gave it all up and he was taken away from you," he said shaking his head. "Such a pity."

Now her reactions were growing. Besides the trembling, Arabella began to feel a terrible churning in her stomach which intensified rapidly, her normally pale skin drained in what light amount of color it contained almost making her appear ghostly. His words were going beyond the point of getting under her skin, they were making her feel sick.

"And to think," he continued with a smirk. "That afternoon you found solace the arms of the very man who assisted in killing your father, even went as far as to date him for months."

That was the last thing that sent her over the edge.

Her hand flew to her mouth as the churning in her stomach became full fledged nausea. Escaping Sherlock's hold upon her, she ran out of the room and straight for the restroom just a few doors down the hall. Inside she collapsed and hunched over a toilet before she vomited. Everything Todd said in his confession had affected her so much that she had become physically ill. Now knowing that he had been there when her father lay dying on the floor and then he comforted her as if he had done nothing...it just made her feel so disgusted. Dear God it hurt, she felt so horribly betrayed and misled. This the finale to the masquerade, no more secrets were hidden, everyone had been unmasked, the curtain had fallen.

When her body finished purging the contents of her stomach, Arabella felt slightly better but her heart ached terribly. Stray tears fell down her cheeks, she could do absolutely nothing to hold them back. Softly crying a little her mind became flooded with questions. How could she have not known all of this? How could she have been so blind? Why did she allow herself to take the singing career? All of these questions and several more continued to bombard her mind, just making her feel even worse.

It took several minutes for her to regain the will and strength to stand once more, her legs felt a bit shaky after becoming ill, but she managed to walk out of the stall to the sink. Her reflection showed just how ghostly pale her complexion had become, her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were red. She also had an awful acidic taste in her mouth, at that moment she only had a small remedy. Turning on the water she cupped her hand beneath the rushing water, she brought the water to her lips before swishing the water in her mouth and spitting it out. It would have to do until she could get home and brush her teeth.

Finally she left the restroom and found Sherlock waiting for her in the hallway. The sight of her immediately made him realize that she was unwell and needed to head home. Without needing her to explain, he put his arm around her and began escorting her out.

"I've already spoken to Lestrade, there is no chance that Todd will ever get out of prison. You don't have to worry, Arabella," he said in a voice only she could hear.

Unable to find any words to reply, she simply nodded in response. All of her vocabulary had been stolen from her, she couldn't even think of any words within her mind. Everything she had heard completely rendered her speechless, never before had she experienced such an occurrence of this magnitude.

Soon she found herself in a taxi with Sherlock and heading back to Baker Street. The duration of the ride should have seemed rather quick since the distance between the two locations was not that far, however for her it felt as if it were lasting much longer. Her concept of time had been completely disregarded, her mind simply could not process anything at that time. Everything just seemed utterly blank, the only thing she could will herself to do was to fight to keep the memory of Todd's horrible words from replaying over and over again. That had been done too many times already. Sitting at Sherlock's side she kept her head resting upon his shoulder as he kept his arm around her. Undoubtedly the coming hours of that day would be difficult to handle, maybe even the next couple days.

When they arrived, Sherlock promptly took her down to 221C. He handed her a set of her pajamas telling her to change as she would need to rest. Nodding in response she took the clothes into her bathroom and slipped into them. She also took this time to wash her face to rid her skin of the tear stains, and also brushed her teeth to effectively remove the awful taste which still lingered. Those simple acts were very helpful.

Walking out of her bathroom she found that Sherlock had turned back the covers on her bed for her so she could slip in.

"Are you heading upstairs now?" she asked as she got into bed.

He shook his head. "No, not after what just happened to you. You're not well, Arabella. What kind of man would I be if I left you alone?" he said as he sat on the bed beside her.

She sighed. "I'm...fine."

"If you were fine you would not have reacted so emotionally, and you would not have become sick," he pointed out.

Arabella knew there was no downplaying her situation with him, he could always see through any fabrication. Instead she rested her head on his chest, suddenly needing affectionate contact between them. Sherlock had no objections to this, he wrapped his arms around her and lovingly stroked the back of her head, his fingers combing through her auburn strands.

"Thank you," she voiced after some minutes of silence passed between them.

"What for?" he asked.

"For being here," she replied. "And for allowing me to get my final answers."

Sherlock nodded. "I'm sure that was not how you expected to receive them."

"No, it wasn't. But I did get them, so I can finally move on. Now...I just have to go on living knowing the truth and why my father died."

Something in the tone she used caught his attention, forcing him to turn and look down upon her. "Don't you dare believe what Todd told you when he placed blame on you for your father's death and making it sound like a punishment. That was not your fault, even if you accepted there is no guarantee that your father would have been spared."

She knew he was right. Todd was the one to blame, not her. All he was trying to do was get to her and make her feel worse.

"I know," she said quietly. "I just wish I had seen all of this sooner. I wish that I hadn't been so blind."

"Darling, they knew when to approach you. They had to put you in a vulnerable state to get you to accept their offer, giving you something that would seemingly give you a better life when you felt you had nothing else left. This was all elaborately planned, just as you said it was a masquerade."

Nodding slowly she cuddled closer to him. "At least it's all over now. It will probably take time for me to accept all of this and move on completely, but I know I will," she said before raising her head to look in his eyes. "I came to you only asking that you help me find out who was threatening my life, but you gave me far more than I anticipated. I appreciate everything you did for me, Sherlock. I only have my freedom back because of you, and I have love back in my life too."

Sherlock's lips hinted the emergence of a smile when she said that, more so when he noticed the hint of a smile on her lips, the first one she exhibited all day.

"I am glad that you got what you were looking for, and that I could help you through this. In return you gave me more than a case, never could I have anticipated finding love. But I am happy that I found it with you."

Sharing a loving kiss with him for a few precious moments, Arabella then returned her head to its place on his chest as he continued to stroke her hair and help her to relax. At least she was not alone anymore, she now had a very hopeful feeling that she would be able to get over everything she had learned and dealt with recently much faster knowing that Sherlock was there for her and loved her very much. He would continue to stay with her throughout the coming hours making sure that she was okay and keeping her in loving arms.

Hey everyone! I know, this update is quite overdue, my apologies. Unfortunately in the past few weeks things have become quite hectic, besides work I have several things I am juggling right now so writing has been hard to manage. At this point I am probably going to be ending this story in a couple chapters so that it has an ending and I don't just leave it hanging. I know I had mentioned that I had plans to have lots more occur, but right now I feel that I have to bring this story to a close sooner than later. Maybe I will do a continuation later, but that is uncertain but I will keep you all informed. I have already begun writing the next chapter so I hope to post that one sooner than this one was, I will do my best. Thank you so much to everyone who commented on this story, I greatly appreciate your reviews and hearing from all of you! And thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story, I really appreciate it! :)