My whole focus was on Edgar kneeling on the ground in front of me, his gaze so hypnotizing, I couldn't tear myself away until a sudden movement in my peripheral vision had me swivel my head around, startling me. I straightened up, slowly raising my eyes until I meet my father´s hard stare, signaling him with a slowly shook my head to stay back.

"He`s mine."

For a second, I thought he would argue, demanding for me to step back but despite the obvious surprise written on his face the only thing he did was nod at me, a small gesture of trust, of respect, that filled my chest with pride. Stepping back, he silenced my mother´s outrage with one flick of his hand, a small glint of satisfaction flitting over his face as if this was just what he was waiting for.

Turning around again, back towards my price, I ignored the murmurs resonating from around me, stemming either from me talking or my father backing up, the whole pit filled with whispers bouncing off the stone walls, duplicating, cutting each other off.

Cocking my head, all the sounds faded into the background as I took him in from head to toe, searching for any weakness, burning them into my memory, comparing this version with the man that haunted my nightmares.

Edgar had definitely lost weight since I saw him last, the tension lines in his face more prominent, his usual put together presence now disheveled, the years of constant hiding worn him off. His ripped clothes were already stained red, his cheek turning purple, lip busted, blood running down his chin.

Dauntless hadn't exactly warmly welcomed him into the heart of our compound.

Satisfied with the pitiful sight in front of me, I started smirking, just a small almost imperceptible curling of my lip, the knowledge that he was completely at my non-existent mercy plunging my brain into euphoria. But he didn't seem to realize that he was as good as dead, that there was no way he would go out of this as the winner.

Or so I thought.

"She speaks!" Edgar exclaimed, the enthusiastic smile on his face almost genuine-seeming to the ones that didn't know him. He acted as if he was seeing a long lost friend, a relative, instead of the girl the almost tortured to death.

But I did. I knew best that this was his worst, a wolf in sheep skin, obscuring his atrocities with a happiness that rivaled one of a classified psychopath. To be honest, I´m convinced he fell into that category. "How proud that makes me! To see you conquer your fears. So, how´s life, initiation treating you well?"

Chuckling humorlessly, I just shook my head at him, not knowing if his madness should amuse or disturb me. It was clear as day that he basked in the attention he was getting, kneeling in the middle of the crowd of hundreds of dauntless, his behavior almost staged.

"Cut the bullshit, Edgar."

The smile on his face fell, tone reprimanding as he addressed me with a stern but soft expression. "That´s no way to talk to your elder now, is it? You should…"

Before he could finish yet another word, my fist met his abdomen and he doubled over, wheezing in pain as all air left his body, sending him to the floor, hands still bound behind his back. Spluttering, trying to catch his breath he panted but when he looked up, his eyes sparkled with fury-inducing amusement.

"You will not ever again tell me what to do. Do you understand?" I spoke quietly, almost bending over him as he watched me, sizing me up with renewed interest. As if he hadn't expected me to retaliate as if I was still the girl four years ago.

"Of course, princess." He bowed his head slightly in a sign of respect that was almost

mocking. Narrowing my eyes at him, I took a step back lightly starting to pace in front of him, biting my lip, contemplating what to do now.

But Edgar beat me to the punch.

"So, since we´re all gathered here today, a crowd of such magnitude" Edgar spoke up after a moment, addressing the whole pit as if they were gathered here solely for him as if this was his big stage, his grand finale. Well, at least one thing was sure: a finale it would be.

"we should talk about a few things. Your little gem here surely hasn't told you everything now, did she? About her time with us." He turned towards my father, whose face stayed stoic, the only outward response to such taunting an almost unnoticeable twitch of his hand. His desire to hit something must have almost been as bad as mine.

"How about we play a game?" Edgar suddenly called out, his eyes glued to my form, ignoring the malevolent expression slowly creeping upon my father´s face. "We could call it… secrets. We all have to have at least one interesting one, right? Why don´t I start?"

Shaking my head at the absurdity of this situation, I absent-mindedly searched in the crowd around me for something specific, striding towards the person with long steps when I found my target. The young man was dressed in the typical patrol uniform, combat pants, and a bulletproof jacket, most likely only now getting home from a long day at the fence.

His eyes widened as I marched towards him, gripped the gun from its holster on his belt in one fluid motion before strolling back into the middle of the circle. Taking a wide stance in front of him I pulled the barrel back, before letting it go with a loud snap that echoed through the whole pit.

Everyone grew quiet.

Taking off the safety, checking if everything was at its rightful place, I smiled at my uncle as if I´d just realized he´d stopped talking.

"Oh, don´t mind me." Waving the gun through the air, I gave him a saccharine smile. "You were saying?"

Edgar narrowed his eyes, zeroing in on the gun his expression turning morbidly interested, head snapping up to stare at something behind me. Lazily turning into the same direction, I saw that my mother had taken several steps in my direction just to be stopped by my father grabbing her arm, preventing her from coming closer.

"Eric, stop this madness!" She hissed at him, eyes glinting dangerously as she tried to pull out of his grasp. The crowd behind her stirred, parting as a figure pushed through, a breathless Tobias arriving, stopping abruptly, dumbstruck by the scene playing out in front of him.

"If I´m not mistaken," Piped up a voice from behind me, effectively steering the attention away from my mother and back to the man kneeling on the floor, a satisfied smile on his face. "our little family reunion is finally complete."

"What do you mean, family?" Tobias stepped forward, searching my mother´s gaze who looked as confused as he did before slowly turning white, face contorted in shock as if she´d just went through an epiphany. As if she found the answer to a question she had been searching for years.

"What he tries to say," I spoke up, unwilling to let Edgar dominate and steer the conversation into whichever direction he desired, no doubt with the intention to torture us all a little more. After all, it seemed as if destroying the lives of others was his only goal in life. "is that he is the bastard child of Evelyn Johnson, back from his exile to avenge her death." An outraged murmur went through the crowd, people starting to shout, my parents freezing in various stages of shock, horror, my mother clasping her hands in front of her mouth while Theo just furrowed her brows.

"If you ask me, it´s quite stupid honestly. She died because of a sepsis, not because my father put a bullet in her head." Having watched their reactions, Edgar´s head whipped towards me when I spoke up, jaw clenching, anger flitting through his eyes, his gaze scorching.

"Which he should have, she deserved it."

From listening to him for over three months, I knew his weak spots just like he did mine, exploiting them slowly with the utmost care to get the biggest possible reaction. So, when he lunged forward, trying to tackle me with his chest, hands still bound behind his back I merely took a step to the side, watching disinterestedly as the two guards struggled with him for a moment before pulling him back into his positions, roughly pressing him down onto two knees again.

Baring his teeth, Edgar tried to get his composure back but the small slip of his mask gave me unexplainable satisfaction, knowing that for once I had managed to get under his skin. That was until his artificial smirk turned malevolent, ill-natured but so real.

"While we´re on the subject of bastard children, how´s your…"

The rest of his sentence got lost in the sound of a gunshot ringing through the air, the bullet drilling itself into the floor, less than an inch from his leg. Edgar barely jumped, having anticipated my sudden move while the guard on his right tripled over, the whole crowd recoiling a few steps, the echo resonating loudly.

"Careful."

Ignoring my warning, Edgar just tssked at me, reprimanding like one would a child, interestedly observing the hole in the floor. "I thought we were here to clear the air, you know how tedious a family feud can be." He mocked his carefully composed mask back in place. "Shooting someone isn´t the way to do that, dear."

"Really? But it´s so much fun." Imitating his tone, I took a step forward, gun hanging idly by my side, my tone a stark contrast to the way I lazily held my body. "I should put a bullet in your head right here, right now, but I´m not that merciful. You deserve to understand what the word suffering means like no one else here."

"God," Shaking his head, Edgar fixed me with his gaze, suddenly serious as he started spitting words at me. "how I wish I would have gotten my hands on you." He smiled a bitter smile. "In fact, I almost did. But that boy-toy of yours had to ruin it in the last possible moment." Scrunching up his face, he seemed genuinely disappointed. "And all just because you had the audacity to shot that one man that was responsible for your abduction. That wasn´t nice Lexi. I even had a surprise waiting for you, it still is."

Ignoring the evil glint flashing through his eyes, I chuckled humorlessly shaking my head, trying to hide the small thrill of fear trickling down my spine. So that was his goal when they attacked us on the patrol.

If they really wanted to capture me again than Dante had saved my life. I had to physically refrain myself from searching for him in the crowd, instead staring Edgar down, not even addressing his words.

"Remind me, why am I even listening to you? Everything´s coming out of your mouth is either batshit crazy or total bullshit. What makes you think that I´m not going to get bored and decide to get rid of you?"

"Because you don´t have it in you to just shoot me." Edgar´s reply was smug as he leaned back on his heels, posture relaxed.

"I think you might be overestimating my character." With a flick of my wrist, I fired a bullet right into his kneecap. Edgar's howl of pain and the echo of the gunshot rang through the room, several people flinching as he fell to the floor. Watching him indifferently, I gestured for the stony-faced guard to come forward and do something against the man lying there winding, bleeding. "Put a bandage over it or something. I don´t want him passing out before I´m finished."

While they pulled him up, wrapping a pressure bandage around the wound, I pulled the magazine out, eyeing is closely before pushing it back in making sure another bullet was in the chamber. Each one held fifteen rounds and the magazine was full, meaning I had another thirteen bullets at my disposal.

Looking up, Edgar was once again kneeling at my feet, grimacing as he tried his hardest to keep pressure off the hurt leg, jaw clenched as he glared at me. "Tell me, princess," He hissed, full of malicious intent, breathing hard. "How does it feel to pay the price for your family´s mistakes, for your father´s ill-doings?"

Meeting dad´s gaze, I gave him a comforting smile, lightly shaking my head. Maybe it was his fault, not killing Evelyn and the lot of her rogues when he had the chance but I knew he refrained from doing so for my mother, not being able to tear her apart like that – her husband killing her own mother.

Maybe for once, he should have put his faction before his blood, erasing the threat that ultimately came back to haunt us all, almost destroying everything he had built for us, for his family, for his faction.

Maybe then things would be different, maybe not.

But no matter how his decisions reflected on my life, I could never resent my own father for trying to do the right thing – because in the end that´s all that counts.

Family.

"I´d rather pay for mistakes that are not my own and learn from the wrongs of their past than to let their misled ideals lead me onto a road of madness I can´t get away from ever again because it ultimately destroyed my humanity. I won´t be like you."

Edgar's eyes snapped up to mine, his expression making it clear he wanted to object me but before he could, I went on.

"You know, there is a word for killing you own father, patricide, even for killing your brother, fratricide," Letting my gaze wander to the glass ceiling, I scrunched my face up in concentration, trying to remember all the right words and their pronunciations. "mariticide for husband, matricide for killing your mother. Then there is prolicide, the act of killing your own child and of course nepoticide for killing your nephew or niece, something you almost managed to achieve. All derived from the ancient language Latin, of course.

But you know which word I´ve always searching for?" Slowly lowering my eyes until I met his, I tapped the barrel of the gun against my temple, stare unyielding. "It´s avunculicide."

"As if you´d ever have the guts to kill me." Edgar gritted out, scrunching up his face as the lack of concentration on his side put him off balance, his weight shifting onto his wounded knee, blood slowly soaking the white fabric of the bandage.

"If that one bullet didn't convince you yet, I have a lot more to offer." I suggestively tapped the trigger.

"That may be, but every place you will aim for will not be life-threatening! Why can´t you see that you just don´t have it in you!" He bellowed, fists clenching at his side.

"And why the hell not?" I shot right back, voice so sharp it could cut glass, his refusal to acknowledge my capability of hurting him irritating beyond everything I ever felt.

"Because you´re just a little girl!" "Edgar spit at me, every one of his accusation driving the knife a little further into my chest, every forceful word accompanied by another stab into my chest. "A girl that lost her voice because someone hurt her, a girl that couldn't tell her parents the uncensored truth, that thinks it´s appropriate to fool around with her instructor, that thinks she´s strong just because there´s a gun in her hand.

A girl that is too weak to kill the child she didn't want, forcing members of her own family to keep her secret from the ones closest to her.

Just a weak, little girl."

The world around me froze and I stopped breathing, a ringing in my ears keeping me from registering the shock on people´s face´s around us, the incredulity on my father´s face, my sister finally connecting the dots, while Tobias was as still as a statue.

It hadn't been just my secret to keep.

Now, there was no trace of pain on Edgars face, only triumph, an incredible smugness that he had managed to lay every single one of my secret bare in front of my whole faction, everything I had kept to myself for the last four years now public knowledge to be gossiped about and ridiculed in the most humiliating ways.

But he wasn't finished yet shattering my world, turning my whole existence into a lie with only one sentence, words strung together that made sense on their own, but combined?

Combined they had the power to wreck me like nothing else ever could.

„And naming her after him, Sam." Letting out a deep breath, Edgar shook his head, every minuscule twitch of his body carefully acted out, a performer preparing for his grand finale, but this time it was I who would perish. "A touching gesture, some sort of tribute I think? Sweet, but so unnecessary considering he is still very much alive. Though, maybe not for long anymore."

"What?" It was just a breath, a silent way of asking for him to repeat it, to repeat the words who felt like an arrow going straight through my chest, burning their way into my soul, making me question everything I ever knew.

That was until I realized what he was trying to do when his words lost all meaning to me.

A figure stepping out of the crowd had me look up and I met Uriah´s brown eyes, his expression mirroring mine a few seconds away, unbelieving, not really daring to but oh-so-hopeful.

Letting out a deep breath, I slowly shook my head, hating to crush the first glimmer of hope he must have felt since they found me bound in the basement, the only thing I could do then as well as now was shaking my head when they asked about Sam, my tears telling them everything they needed to know.

They did not ask again.

Turning back towards Edgar, I let my anger overtake for the first time this evening, gripping the gun so tightly my knuckles turned white, the fury rising in my chest making it almost impossible to breathe. "Don´t fucking lie to me!" I shouted, aiming straight at his head, hands shaking.

"Oh, but I´m not." The bright smile stretching his face in half, the evil glint in his eyes had me seeing red and before I realized what I was doing he was on his back, my knee pressed into his chest, the barrel of the gun against the underside of his jaw.

"I saw him die! You were the one who killed him!" Steel pressing into skin, Edgar wasn't fazed of his impending death, the gun shifting in my hand when he started to laugh at me.

My weight on his ribs made it impossible for his lungs to fully expand but he did not start chuckling, even when he wheezed for air.

"What you thought to see, little girl, was the boy being injected with the death serum but tell me, where would we have gotten it?" Blinking rapidly, I tried to follow his line of thought, asking myself what was hinting at. "Erudite is almost as well guarded as dauntless itself, even a lot more cameras. But abnegation on the other hand…" His laugh turned into a cough. "No one noticed the little vial of memory serum missing from the secret stash that is still hidden in Marcus Eaton´s house. No one even bothered to check it since then." Turning his head towards my pale mother, close to passing out with a hand clasped over her heart he shot her a wolfish grin. "Tell your dad I said thanks!"

Fed up with his taunting I grabbed his jaw with one hand, banging his head against the floor, ignoring the groan of pain as I hissed at him. "Shut the fuck up!"

Pushing myself up, away from him, eyes tightly closed I tried to regain my composure but the violent beating of my heart and the tightening in my chest made it impossible to concentrate on anything but his words ghosting through my mind. Gritting my jaw, I swiveled around just as Edgar came back to his knees, the gun aimed between his eyes. "I don´t believe you!"

"Lexi." My father´s voice came from behind me, careful, a warning but I didn't let him speak, my heated gaze bring into his cold, calculating one.

"He´s lying!" I shouted, my whole body shaking with suppressed rage. Digging my fingernails into my palm, I tried to level my breathing, jaw-gritting.

"Fine." Edgar rolled his eyes as if I annoyed him, turning towards my father who had slowly come closer, approaching me like a wild animal. "Tell us, oh mighty leader, how does on who has been given the death serum die?"

We both looked at him, the dread in my guts steadily growing, eyes pleading for him to tell me what I wanted, what I needed to hear. Dad was hesitant to reply, refusing to obey Edgar´s orders but when he finally spoke, his voice was strong, emotionless.
"They go quietly. Once the serum is inside the bloodstream it takes less than a minute to stop the heart." He blinked once, quietly adding. "It´s a peaceful death."

Closing my eyes, I let out a shattering breath, remembering how Sam had writhed on the floor, face contorted in pain for minutes until he finally stopped moving, his groans of pain forever ingrained in my mind. Lost in my flashback, back again in that cold concrete room I almost didn't hear Edgar.

"And what about the memory serum?"

"It takes a few minutes in which the subject is under immense pain." Father's voice was strong, cutting through the tense air. "They feel it burning through their veins, deleting everything they once were. In some way, it´s worse than death."

Stumbling back, I pressed my cheek against my shoulder, eyes clenched tightly, trying to hold back a sob. I refused to let my tormentor, the man who single-handedly destroyed my life, watch me break apart right in front of him. I would never give him such satisfaction.

With clenched fists, I tried to level my breathing but with every heaving of my chest the devastation that threatened to sweep me away got replaced with white-hot rage surging through my veins and I raised my eyes, gaze burning with unattainable hatred as a lone tear made its way down my cheek.

Raising the gun, my whole body vibrated with fury but my hand was steady as I pulled the trigger, a bullet drilling itself into his body with every step I took towards him. The first one hit his other kneecap, the second his left shoulder, then his right.

Lastly aiming it at the spot between his eyes, my finger´s gazed the trigger, pushing down just as a hand came out of nowhere, pushing my arms upward and the bullet went astray flying into the air hitting stone instead of its intended target.

Crying out in frustration, I tried to get away, to end Edgar´s life once and for all but the same hands who had taken the satisfaction away from me, taken my price away from my now pried the gun out of my hands, arms slinging themselves tightly around my torso as it hit the floor.

"Lexi, stop!" Any other time Dante´s voice would have soothed me, seducing me to do anything he wanted but in that moment, I couldn't help but despise him for without his interference, Edgar would have gotten what he deserved. He would be dead.

"Let me go!" He grabbed my wrists, pinning them to my chest rendering me immobile but even his steel grip didn't stop me from trying to get away from him, around us all hell breaking loose. Members were no longer standing still but hurrying around, someone kneeling next to Edgar, putting pressure on his wound, trying to still the bleeding while all I wanted was for him to die. "He deserves it!"

"He does but if you kill him now you will never know where Sam is." His word had me freezing, his chin coming to rest on my shoulder as my struggles ceased, realizing what I had almost done.

"Get her out of here!" My father yelled as he too stormed towards the prisoner, my brother in tow, faces steely not betraying a single emotion. Tugging me into his side, Dante pulled me through the mass of outraged dauntless running around, higher rankings shouting orders, pushing soldiers into directions. They readied themselves for war, while my face was buried deep in Dante´s shoulder, wanting nothing more than to hide away from the world, to disappear instead of facing the giant clusterfuck my life had become.

The factionless had taken something, someone, away from us over four years ago – and it was time for us to get him back.

Pushing open the door of my father's office, I stormed inside leaving it for Dante to close it behind him, hand lingering on the knob as he watched me pace through the small room, slowly losing my mind. Raking my fingers through my hair, I angrily brushed the tears away that refused to be kept hidden turning away from Dante to not let him see my shame.

But a pair of arms slung themselves around my midsection, pulling me back into his chest and this time, I melted into his embrace when ten minutes earlier I had wanted nothing more than to break them. He had prevented me from making the biggest mistake of my life, killing the only person who could bring my best friend back.

Turning around, I buried my head in his chest, clinging to him like never before, his presence the last constant in my world that was falling apart around me.

"How could I´ve been so stupid, Dante? How could I not see…?" I choked out, voice muffled against the fabric of his sweatshirt, a sob cutting the sentence short.

"Hey, stop it." Gently lifting my chin, he brushed a tear from my cheek, leaning in to kiss my nose, his lips trailing up to rest against my forehead. "There was no way you could have known he would do something like this. Edgar knew exactly what he was doing. That´s why I´m not sure what his endgame is…" He trailed off slowly, thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Sniffling, I raised my head to look at him, his face contorted in confusion, blurred through the tears.

"I mean," Dante started, choosing his words carefully. "he was captured while trying to get into the compound through the old ventilation system which practically no one knows about, only a selected few. The only reason they caught him was because a patrol officer spotted two factionless lingering around the perimeter and contacted the control room, the men in there ultimately seeing him coming out of a duct.

But why would he come here… and all on his own, with no back-up?"

"He said something about… Sam not going to live for much longer." I managed to get out, his name choking alone me up. "He was trying to make us fall for his games. That´s what he likes to do."

"You mean like announcing that Sam is still alive right before killing him?" Dante asked incredulously, his arms tightening even more around me as I nodded.

"Exactly." Taking a step away from him, I let myself fall onto the chair in front of dad´s desk, legs refusing to carry my weight anymore. Burying my head in hands, I let out a shaky breath, wishing I could just crawl back under the covers of my bed and hide. "No matter what he says about Sam´s whereabouts he´ll lie. It could be a trap, if we go to the wrong location Sam will die but if we don´t go he´ll die anyway. There is no way we can win this."

"Lexi." Kneeling in front of the chair, Dante laid both hands on my cheeks, bringing his forehead against mine. "We´ll get him back somehow, I promise." Giving me a smile that ensured me he´d keep what he promised, Dante caressed my face, his face suddenly falling slightly as a thought crossed his mind. "But if it´s true if they really gave him the memory serum then you should prepare yourself that he might not be how you remember him. He might not remember any of you."

"I know." Was all I answered, closing my eyes reveling in the comfort his hands brought me, the chasm inside threatening to swallow me whole. Rubbing my cheek against his, I gave him a light kiss before leaning my head back against his.

That´s how my family found us as they came storming inside over ten minutes later, the mood changing, getting more intense with each second. We both jumped in surprise as the door slammed against the wall, only Dante´s grip preventing me from slipping off the chair as I swiveled around.

Dad was the first coming in, his agitated expression darkening further when he spotted the two of us, followed by Theo who raised his eyebrows, being shoved out of the way by Harper, Tobias, and mom who closed the door softly behind her.

Narrowing his eyes at Dante, dad took a threatening step forward.

"Get your hands off my daughter!"

"Dad!" Jumping up, I positioned myself in front of Dante just as my mother grabbed his arm, keeping him from making a mistake. He tried shaking her off, eyes narrowed into slits, glaring at Dante but she just pushed him away, holding him back from coming closer. "Eric!"

Placing one hand on his chest, mom waited until she was sure he would reign himself in before swiveling around, pulling me into her arms, hands placed on either side of my face as she kissed my forehead. "Oh, my baby girl…"

Tearing up slightly, I buried my head in her shoulder, her scent comforting and familiar, easing the anxiety steadily rising in my chest. "Mom…" Smoothing down my hair, she held me tightly for a few moments, her calm presence a stark contrast to dad´s anger.

"Why didn't you tell us about him?" Mom asked tentatively, causing me to pull away, looking into her eyes.

"The fact that Edgar is the child of Evelyn means nothing, mom." I was pleading for her to understand, to put herself in my shoes. Her face softened as she looked at me, pressing another kiss to my hair. "I told you everything important, I swear, but knowing he´s your half-brother would have only brought you grief. There was nothing to gain from that kind of information."

"Of course, there would have been!" My father bellowed, his teeth gritted so hard I was afraid they would break. "We could have –"

"What could you have done differently, dad?" I interrupted him, standing up straighter as his scorching gaze found mine. "You already did everything you possibly could, knowing would have just driven you mad, feeling guilty for something you had no control over. But dad…" My voice grew quiet, urgency rising. "if Sam is still alive, we have to find him."

"Don´t worry about it." He brushed me off, slightly turning away to look at Theo. "We have everything under control."

"What do you mean 'you have everything under control'?" I asked sharply, his off-handedly demeanor disconcerting as if he didn't plan to include me in whatever plot he had come up with. "You don´t know Edgar, he´s playing a game with all of us and someone is helping him!"

"And you have no idea about tactic or how to act in battle, so don´t tell me what to do!" He countered, his hard voice echoing through the room, annoyance rising at my open defiance. "And who the hell would help him? No one´s that stupid."

I opened my mouth to yell that I didn´t have the slightest idea, I just knew, but the quiet reply from behind me had me freeze, the contrast to our raised voices, to the heated argument throwing me out the loop.

"Jeanine Matthews." Dante spoke, calm and collected, standing up to my father who swiveled around to glare at him, fists balling at his side.

"Really, Jeanine?" My father spoke with distaste, tone dripping with sarcasm, treating Dante as if his opinion was a waste of time. "And why do you think the leader of erudite should help a bunch of factionless?"

"Because they can get her what she´s been searching for the last twenty-five years."

"And what would that be?" Dad grew more agitated with each word that came out of Dante´s mouth, his sheer presence a thorn in his side.

"The perfect divergent." Dante looked down, shuffling his feet before his gaze came to rest at me, concerned. I took a step towards him, stretching out my hand which he immediately took, pulling me closer. For a moment, I got lost in his eyes asking myself how I could have missed the pain behind them, well-guarded and closely hidden but still so powerful, so fresh.

I got lost in our own world until my father snorted loudly, my head snapping up to glare at him, anger rising as he dismissed what happened to Dante with one move of his hand.

"Those fucking rumors again." Shaking his head, he turned towards my mother and uncle, searching for agreement but they were both staring at us, staring at Dante with new-found understanding in their eyes.

"You know," Mom started carefully, looking up at her husband that was towering over her, his eyebrows raising high. "there was a time you thought the rumors about Marcus weren't true, either."

Narrowing his eyes at her, my father gritted his jaw, cogs starting to turn in his head while my siblings and I stared at our mother, confusion evident in our faces but she didn't care to elaborate. They stared at each other for a long time and then something happened that was rare, my father gave in, turning to Dante, even more, pissed when he caught sight of our intertwined hands.

"So, if Jeanine really tested divergents in her lab then why would she target Lexi out of everyone?"

"Because of the results of her aptitude test." Dante answered quietly, the grip on my hand tightening as he subconsciously squeezed, realizing he had just exposed another one of my secrets.

"Because of her results?" My father suddenly started chuckling humorlessly, the bitterness in his eyes strong enough to scorch me as his eyes narrowed in at me. "And what was it?" Before I could even answer, he shook his head incredulous, pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes shut tightly. "Tell me," He started again, voice low and dangerous. "exactly how many secrets have you been hiding from all of us?"

Gulping heavily, I looked down at my boots, shrugging my shoulders, acting nonchalant as if those secrets meant nothing to me. But the tightening in my chest, flat breathing and racing gave my anxiety away. "My results were inconclusive, the nose who administered the test said he never saw something quite like it and asked me if I would accompany him to Jeanine. I didn't and that was it…"

"So, she has a motive, great. I will look into it tomorrow." Was my father´s harsh reply as he whipped out his phone, who had pinged, signaling a message had come in. Furrowing his brow, he tipped a fast reply before tucking it back into his pocket, fixing his burning stare on me. I flinched back from his intensity, almost stumbling into Dante who stretched out his arm, placing his hand on the small of my back.

"We´re moving out in ten, the trucks are ready. But before I leave, without you, I want you to tell me what Edgar meant as he said you didn't kill the child."

Blinking rapidly, I opened my mouth, searching for words that seemed to have abandoned me, my mind empty as the panic seized up my chest, heart almost jumping out of my chest. Gripping the fabric of Dante´s shirt to keep me upright, I buried my fingernails in his skin, not able to stop. "I…"

I couldn't get anything more out, starting to shake under his unyielding gaze but my mother stepping into his sight of line cut our eye contact off and I deflated into Dante´s chest, just as my mother placed her hands on my father´s.

Looking up into his eyes she muttered the words that almost made my heart stop.

"Sam is our granddaughter, Eric."

My father went rigid under her touch, head whipping from her to me to Tobias, face turning a deep shade of red, his voice frosty when he finally spoke after several moments of dead quiet, addressing his wife. "You knew?"

"I saw her in the woods when I visited them in amity and I pieced it together. Maybe I should have said something but it was not my secret to tell." Mom admitted quietly, eyes lowering, flinching under his hard stare.

"And yet you didn't." The force behind his words made his voice tremble as he took a step away from her, eyes narrowing in at Tobias who had stayed quiet throughout the whole ordeal, only now taking a step forward as if he had to protect his sister. "You!"

Taking two quick steps forward, dad grabbed his brother-in-law by his collar, throwing him against the wall, head hitting stone with a painful smack. "You helped my fourteen-year-old daughter to bring an abnormality into the world that should have never existed! How dare you?!"

"How dare you!" I shouted at him, the venom in my voice letting the whole room freeze, my father´s fingers only inches away from his neck. Using his distraction, Tobias pushed him off while I marched forward, finger raised in his face, hissing, an unexplainable rage rising in my chest. "Don´t you dare talk about her like that!"

"It´s the truth!" He shouted back, my hand twitching, for the first time ever I wanted nothing more than to hit my own father.

"It. Is. Not." Pronouncing each word carefully, my jaw started shaking as I looked into the eyes of the man I had never fully understood but always admired. But his careless chosen words had hurt me more than any hit ever could. "You just don´t understand. Without Sam, I would no longer be here."

Holding eye contact, I saw the exact second he realized what my words meant, eyes darkening. Clenching his jaw, he didn't reply, staying completely silent for a few moments before he shook his head, marching over to the door, pulling his arm away when my mother went to grab him.

"Eric!"

"Don´t." Was all he said, ignoring her silent plea, with one hand gesturing for Theo to follow him. Tobias did too but was ignored and I had the feeling it would be like that for a long time.

As soon as they were out the door, leaving it wide open Harper came over to pull me in her arms but I shook my head too tense, too on edge to let anyone hug me.

Looking around, my gaze landed on my mother and I called her name. She didn't hear.

"Mom." I called for her a second time when she didn't react instantly, absentmindedly staring at the door where her husband had left in a fit of rage. "Where are they going?"

Sighing she turned around, face falling as she took me in, arms crossed tightly, hugging myself. "Edgar said they have Sam hidden in the basement of one of their houses close to the abnegation sector. They´re moving out in a few minutes, don´t worry."

"But mom…" Furrowing my brow, I racked my brain for another basement they had held us hostage in apart from the one in the candor district and one somewhere behind erudite. Other from that they had taken us mostly higher up or into bungalows designed to withstand bombings, mostly only for a few days. In the three months, I had been abducted, we had changed locations frequently to avoid the dauntless patrols raiding abandoned buildings, being drugged for every transport. I vaguely reminded being carried through underground tunnels at one point, never knowing where exactly we came from and where we were going, the haze making everything unclear.

Suddenly, I knew what seemed so wrong with this whole statement, with this whole situation.

"Mom, weren´t the basements near abnegation filled after the trial which banned Evelyn to avoid other factionless settling in so close to them? Didn't dad mention that after I came back?"

"Honey," Mom sighed a little exasperated, her mind obviously still on my father and his reaction to the news. "Don´t worry, they will find him." Giving me a smile that was supposed to be soothing but only managed to rile me up more she turned towards Dante. "Can you please look after her while we figure this mess out?"

Not even waiting until he replied, mom just grabbed Harper´s arm and pulled her out of the door leaving me and Dante alone in the abandoned office.

Turning towards him with a pleading expression, I couldn't even start talking before he started to shake his head, expression soft but unyielding. I instantly knew what he would say, his words quenching every last ounce of hope I still carried within me. "Definitely not, Lexi. No way."

"Dante…" Still shaking his head, he pulled me closer caressing my face, thumb grazing over the skin on my neck. "Please."

"I won´t let you leave, I´m sorry."

Closing my eyes, I buried my face in his chest for a moment, nodding defeated when I pulled back. "Okay." My reply was meek, voice void of every hope to get him to change his mind.

Rubbing my eyes furiously before massaging my temples, I scrunched my face up. Dante immediately took my face back into his hand, expression concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I replied, looking up at him in pain. "Just a headache."

"Come on." He slung his arms around my mid, pulling me out of the door. "I have pills at home."

"You mean that amity stuff?" I scoffed, wincing with every step I took. "That never works with normal headaches, least of all with a migraine. Can I get something from the infirmary? Their pills always help."

Contemplating for a second, Dante shrugged his shoulders and started leading me towards the infirmary through quiet, almost abandoned floors. We only met a few members along the way and those were too busy hurrying around to pay us much attention but I knew it wouldn't last long. By tomorrow everyone would know everything and the happenings of today would be all that they´re talking about.

"Just because you idiots made us run while drunk. I always get a headache from liquor." I scowled at him as he started chuckling, posture for the first time relaxed as I lightly pushed him away.

"You're just a lightweight." He joked, ruffling my hair as we arrived at the threshold. A nurse at the front desk waved me through and I gave Dante a kiss, telling him to wait while I went to ask the doctor for a prescription which could take a few minutes since he was stitching up a drunk who fell off a flight of stairs, or so I was told.

Giving him a small, pained smile I disappeared into one of the treatments room, making sure he saw how slowly I was walking as if each and every step rattled my hurting brain even more. Leaving the door slightly ajar, I hurried over to the medication table, rummaging through it until I found what I was searching for. Pulling out two of the vials and one syringe, I went back to the door, watching how Dante and the nurse made pleasant conversation, waiting until his back was turned to me before stealthily and on quiet feet leaving the room, steps widening the further I got away from him.

Even though my heart started to hurt, begging me to return to him, I quickened my pace until I was almost sprinting through the corridors, knowing full well that I only had a ten to fifteen minutes' head start – until the doctor, or a nurse, would discover that the room I should be in was empty and the hunt would begin.

My first stop was the abandoned dorms, all dauntless born somewhere away in the compound and I pulled my clothes off hurriedly, replacing them with the uniform I had worn yesterday and thankfully brought here to wash it later. Tugging the laces of my boots inside so they wouldn't bother me, I fastened the strap of the gun holster, my loot from the infirmary firmly stored in the pocket of my jacket, ready to use. Just like the knife tugged in my pants, the engraving driving me to betray the person closest to me to save the one whose spot he had taken.

Because that´s what Dante was by now, my person.

It was already ten pm, the disaster of a family meeting having taken much longer than I thought it had, my outburst that left Edgar with four bullet wounds already over an hour and a half away, enough time for the med team to stitch him up and throw him into the holding cells. Raking my thoughts for an idea how to get in there without being seen and captured I ran head first into a person, landing on top of him as we fell to the floor in a heap of limbs.

"Fucking hell." A familiar voice grumbled and my head snapped up, taking in the person who had taken my elbow to the guts.

Rob was scrunching his face up, clearly in pain but mine lit up, the first glimmer of hope in this dark night of mine. It seemed as if fate had given me the perfect opportunity to execute my plan. Grabbing his arm harshly, Rob looked up at me startled and annoyed until he recognized me, eyes turning wide.

"Lexi!" He exclaimed, letting me pull him upright, steadying with a hand on his elbow as he watched me with newfound respect – or maybe it was fright. "What the hell is going on? The whole faction is being mobilized, there are soldiers in full gear running around like headless chicken – it looks as if we´re going to war!"

Not bothering to answer any of his questions, I shook him lightly until he stopped rambling before looking deep into his eyes, trying to convince him how urgent my situation was, what price would be to pay if I should not succeed.

"Rob, I need your help."

Okay, I know I´m a horrible person :D How do you like my little twist? :D

I´m so thrilled to finally be able to write what I´ve wanted ever since the beginning… I know this chapter was intense, a lot of talk & the next chapter won´t be any different just a lot more action.. The hunt begins..

I will start writing that one soon, this one took a lot of time & a lot of editing to make it (hopefully) perfect so it could take a few days but it will be worth it!

Thank you for reading & everyone who reviewed! :)