"Are you sure you're okay?" Dimitri asked as he placed the hot chocolate in my hands.

I took it from him, grateful for the kind gesture. "Not entirely sure. I guess I just needed a friend and Lissa was out for some reason. So, I came here. Though, I am sorry I woke you up. I forget that you do night classes so you sleep while Viv is at school."

He sat down next to me and said "Its fine. I'm glad you know you can come and talk to me when something is troubling you. Do you mind me asking what it is that's troubling you?"

I looked down at my hot chocolate and bit my lip. I didn't really want to talk to him about this but I figured out something very quickly. "It's my mom. I… needed her help with something and it turns out that she is still the same person that walked out on me twenty years ago. Well, I guess she is anyway."

"She didn't want to be a parent. She missed out. Believe me when I say I understand what you're feeling." He said and I moved closer to him so that I was resting my head on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" I asked and waited to hear what Dimitri knew about his father. I knew he would open up to me about his father if I told him about my mom. It was natural for people like him to try and comfort someone, even if I really didn't need it.

"My three sisters and I all share a father. He and my mother were never actually married due to the Ivashkov family business but he liked her. He beat her for thirteen years of my life in front of me and my sisters. One day, I grew tired of it and hit him back. I was expecting him to leave but then he wanted me in the business, whatever it was. I would only find out if I started working for him. I refused and we've hated each other ever since. He started hanging around Vivienne a lot when she was born but one day, when Noleen was around, he acted almost nervous around her. She told him to never come around us again and after that day she asked me if I wanted to move to America. She'd always had a bit of a fascination for this place but we weren't even through unpacking when she was killed." He stopped for a minute and I moved so that I could look into his deep brown eyes. They showed anger, guilt, and, above all, grief. "Vivienne had just turned four. She'll be six soon and she has the maturity and understanding of a grown woman. She's seen and been through so much in such a short amount of time. I often wonder if she's had her childhood completely stolen from her."

I sat the hot chocolate down on the counter and let his hands rest in mine as I waited for him to look at me. "Dimitri." I finally said, my voice softer than even I had ever heard. "She's been through a lot, yes. She is being raised in love and as long as that continues, she's going to turn out fine. Noleen dying was a tragedy but at least she has you. She loves you. As for the childhood, she wouldn't crawl up in your lap and let you read her stories if she were that mature."

He laughed then and I couldn't help but laugh with him. I felt a bit of relief as I found that Dimitri didn't know anything about his father's business but I knew that Noleen knowing was what got her killed. Dimitri's refusal to join his father's business was what had gotten his name on my assignment list.

He'd had a bad feeling about the business and tried to protect his daughter only to have his own life stolen from him. I felt my heart clench at the realization that if this turned out badly, Vivienne would immediately go to Randall. She'd be raised the rest of her life to be cruel and uncaring, something that wasn't easily changed.

I looked at him now and could see all too clearly how my life was going to fall apart when he found out the truth. I knew one thing for sure though. I had to find out who killed Noleen. I had to find out who'd been driving the car that hit her. I wasn't about to waste time with this either.

I stood up and grabbed the keys to my bike before turning to Dimitri. "I guess I'd better let you get back to sleep. Thanks for the talk."

"I think we both needed it." He said and stood up to walk me to the door of his apartment.

I put my hand on the doorknob but not before he put his hand on my arm. "Roza." He said, a question in his eyes.

He lifted his hand to my cheek and placed his free hand on my other before leaning down and letting his lips brush over mine. I felt my heart take off in that moment and the world felt almost right. I let go of the doorknob and let my hands wrap around his neck as his dropped to my waist, pulling me closer to him as he did so.

He deepened the kiss and I enjoyed the taste of his mouth against mine. It was something I would remember for the rest of my life but I knew it couldn't last forever. Regardless of this fact, I let him press me between him and the door as he continued to kiss me.

I broke the kiss as my phone buzzed and I pulled it from my pocket to see that it was a message from Lissa. I placed a quick kiss on his lips before saying "Lissa's home now."

He nodded and I left then without a goodbye. I made my way down to my bike and hopped in before making the drive out to the old abandon prison. I needed to talk to Mia. If anyone would know about the person who killed Noleen, it would be her. My only other option was Robert and that damn sure wasn't going to happen.

I walked directly to her area as I came in and saw that the area was almost completely empty. Her blonde ringlets were hanging around her face as usual and she smiled when she saw me, her bright blue eyes light with happiness. It was these qualities that made her so lethal. Like Lissa, she looked like a damsel in distress.

"Mia. I need a favor." I told her and she flipped her hair in a playful bitch manner.

"What can I do for you, my sweet?" she asked and I couldn't but laugh at the sugary tone she used.

I sat down in the chair beside her and said "I need to know who killed Noleen Belikova."

Her face fell then and I felt knots form in my stomach. The look she had was as if she'd been slapped or cursed at for everything she was worth. I felt guilty because of this but now that I knew that she knew, I couldn't let it go.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that." she said softly and buried her face in her hands. "No one is supposed to know."

"Mia." I tried to give her a bit of comfort by keeping my voice calm and enduring despite the urgency I now felt. "Who was it?"

Tears slowly began to slide down her face and she said "You know the person pretty well. At least, you did."

I waited for a moment before asking "Who was it?"

"Andre."

***So the truth is coming out everyone! You heard it! Andre killed Noleen! How is Rose going to feel about this. Why don't Lissa and her family know? R&R and thank you for reading! Have a great day!