Maz, I think I've been abducted.

They no longer knew how many times they had listened to Rey's voice, but one thing was certain. Ben recording his conversation with a completely oblivious Rey had been the best thing he could have ever done. After her last words, although muffled, a fight could be heard between her and most likely the one who abducted her.

"What's a Maz?" asked Kaydel, being the only one brave enough to put an end to the awkward silence in the Solo's living room. Rose handed her a cup of lavender and orange tea, then joined her on the sofa, but not before leaving another cup for Ben, though none for Finn, as she was trying her best to ignore his presence and the jealousy she was still feeling seeing him hold hands with Poe. She had no idea how Kaydel was fine seeing them together, but she could guess that her most recent experiences with Ben's doppelganger were still too fresh to care about an ex.

"Our auntie," answered Finn staring outside the window. "She took us in when we were kids and later became our official legal guardian."

"And why did she say her name?" she tried to find a logical reason behind Rey's cry for help. "She knew that Ben was the one on the phone."

"Maybe she panicked and called out her name like when you pray to saints?"

Rose snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Stop it," mouthed Finn realizing on his own that his theory was ridiculous, but she wasn't looking at him anyway.

"Does it sound like him?" Rose asked Kaydel, whose face was still disfigured from all the bruises and swelling.

"I don't know," she shrugged sighing with disappointment, then took a sip. "It could be, but I didn't freaking noticed that he was a stranger, let alone recognise his grunts and mumbling."

"But who could he be?" interfered Poe. "It's difficult now to establish when he was around the town because anyone could have mistaken him for Ben, but he must have had an involvement in your lives or at least in Rey's past. There was a time when he didn't look like Ben and he was present in Rey's life… unless he just happened to see her on the streets once and immediately started obsessing over her."

"We don't know if it's about Rey. He had three victims we know of so far and they all look alike."

Kaydel flinched at Finn's observation, then looked at the silent pensive Ben Solo sinking in the teal armchair.

"Margaret Shay died when Rey was already gone, but she had been abused for some time," said Luke drinking from his flask now that he was forced to sit on the bench for a while. "My theory is that she had been in his possession for a long time and he killed her only when he became sure that he could have Rey. Then he disposed of Rey and focused on getting Kaydel, but almost killed Kaydel and took Rey back, wearing Ben's face. His obsession is with Rey. The rest were just…"

Kaydel looked at him with her big eyes, begging him to keep his mouth shut for now.

"Lookalikes."

Everyone remained silent for a few moments, staring at Luke's files spread all over the coffee table, between cups of coffee and tea and biscuits.

"She said she was home," Ben finally opened his mouth, making the others look at him with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

"If she was not aware at first that he was not you, then what was this home? He lied to her about moving to another place or he had his own copy of this house?" asked Rose pressing once more the play button for everyone to listen to the recording again. Indeed, Rey had mentioned being home and then she told 'Maz' that she had been abducted.

"I'm home… Maz," murmured Kaydel now reading the transcript. "It's a distraction! She's home. How many homes did Rey have? This one, the Organa house, the one… where she used to live when she was a child and Maz's home."

Everyone looked at her in shock until Luke laughed.

"You're a smart cookie, aren't you?" he patted her on the back and she cringed. Luke cleared his throat and uttered an apology, then turned to Finn. "Do you remember to whom did you sell the house?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, still in disbelief that Rey could have been so close the entire time. He approached the group and sat down on the teal armchair as soon as Ben got up and took Finn's place by the window. He reached for Poe, who joined him to keep him safe from Rose's deadly gaze, then he cleared his throat and spoke on a rather uncertain tone.

"Umm… Bradley or something like that. Last name was Huxley, I think. He was the father of a kid Maz took care of. He bought it as a gift for his son."

"Brendol Hux?" Rose finally addressed him ignoring her initial reaction of making fun of the possibility of someone naming his son Bradley Huxley.

"I guess?" he shrugged.

Luke leaned in taking a piece of paper and a pen.

"You know him, Rosie?"

The young woman shook her head.

"No. But Phasma is married to a Brendol Hux. He is too young to have a kid who would have been brought up by Maz and I think he is a junior anyway."

"BJ Hux!" exclaimed Kaydel putting down her cup. "I know him! He is a plastic surgeon and his father is a former general and his mother is a socialite."

"Does he have a brother?" asked Luke scribbling on his piece of paper.

Kaydel pursed her lips trying to remember.

"Two? No! Three brothers and a sister. Umm… Bernie, Bertram and Bertolt, and the sister is in high school so I don't know her."

The old man nodded then looked at Finn, pointing with the pen at the names written down.

"Do you recognize any of those names?"

Finn shrugged shaking his head, feeling completely useless and on the verge of a breakdown. Fortunately, Kaydel took over the discussion once more. He had no idea why she was so involved and interested to solve that mystery. Well… both she and Rey had been the victims of the same man, but still… had he been in her shoes, he would have run away as soon and as far as possible.

"He also has a half-brother, who is a neurosurgeon," she added shifting her weight on the other leg. "I saw him once at a party. Quite a cutie. I think his name was Armin?"

"Armie?" narrowed Finn his eyes.

"Perhaps."

"There was an Armie," he spoke with sudden enthusiasm. "A tall skinny kid with cooper hair. He used to bully Rey. He even pushed her once from the cherry tree, leaving her with a scar she still has."

"Armie as in Armitage Hux?" spoke Rose slowly. "Because I think I've heard that name before. Mr Skywalker, isn't that the boy who broke Ben's nose when Mrs Leia left him Maz's care? I remember she once showed him to me in a group photo. It was when she told me the story about why Ben has those… abandonment issues."

Luke pressed the pen against his chin with a grin.

"Hmmm… I know that name from somewhere else. He was one of the brats involved in those car races that made Ben go on the wrong path in college and… accidentally kill Han in that crash."

They all looked at each other. It couldn't have been that easy. The police hadn't managed to find any connections when Rey first disappeared. They couldn't have just figured out the entire mystery only by sitting in a living room and sipping tea. However…

Poe tapped his fingers on the table, skimming through the papers which established Maz's home as an empty old house occasionally rented to old residents who were in town just for a short time, then he spoke on a serious tone.

"I'm not saying we should accuse someone on just speculations, but isn't it odd that this man has been involved with both Rey and Ben throughout their entire lives? And somehow, based on Luke's investigation, there has never been anything suggesting Rey visiting a doctor, yet she somehow ended up having a very complicated surgery, one requiring a lot of time to recover from, right when she was missing and under the name of a girl looking just like her? A girl abused in the same way Kaydel here was abused by a man pretending to be Ben Solo?"

Luke applauded them and got up grabbing his phone and texting some of his most trustworthy friends.

"We're like a Scooby gang," smiled Finn all excited.

"Yeah, but you're Scrappy," rolled Rose her eyes.

"Kids," interfered Luke staring at the window. "Where's my boy?"

They all had been so caught up in putting together all the puzzle pieces that they had never noticed Ben leaving. There was no point in even suggesting that he was still in the house.

"He can't be far. He has no car an-"

"Luke," whispered Kaydel checking her purse. "My car keys are gone." She ran to the door and opened it while gently pushing Bee away to keep her from running outside. "And my car is gone too."

/|\

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Armitage Hux chuckled showing how much of a good job his brother had done, despite not being a perfect one considering that it was not yet complete.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked dropping the act, the accent and the husky voice.

Rey pulled her legs to sit in the lotus position and tried to control her temper. It was not in her advantage to lash out at him and make him hurt her again.

"I saw the fruit on the wallpaper. You were the orange because of your hair and when I remembered you bullying me, I also remembered your other distinct features… and name. So I just wondered what were the odds for my childhood bully and my doctor to both have red-orange hair and the same fucking name," she pursed her lips then continued rather amused. "And then there was your phone number. I saw it in Kaydel's phone under Ben's name and I remembered reading it on the business card you gave before you kidnapped me. I would say that it was an amateur move, but it was in my advantage after all."

He said nothing, just grinning and making her uncomfortable with the similarities between him and Ben. She was used to those dark eyes burning her flesh when Ben was full of passion, but he was not Ben and the difference between his eyes and the empty ones in front of her was that this time it felt as if staring at a corpse or at least a living dead.

"What on Earth is wrong with you?" she shook her head too tired to find any reason in his actions.

"A lot, I guess?" he chuckled again running his fingers through his hair.

"Why do you look like Ben?"

"Surgery and a bit of makeup."

"I asked why ."

"For you. silly girl. It was all for you. Why did you think I let you go?"

Rey furrowed touching her front teeth with the tip of her tongue. So she hadn't escaped. Of course, it would have been rather impossible to walk that much on foot wearing nothing but a sheer dress and no shoes in January. He planted there to be found, knowing very well that Luke was still looking for her.

"So why did you? Let me go, I mean."

"Didn't you say you remember everything?"

Rey gave him a deadly stare and pursed her lips. Despite her memory being back, the time between her meltdown and her return was still a mystery. It was as if it didn't exist.

"Fine," he sighed. "After you insisted on seeing your baby and I brought her to you…"

Rey got on her knees and raised her hand to slap him, but he immediately caught her by the arm, squeezing hard, just like he did that night when he caused her to go into premature labour.

"As I was saying," he continued forcing her to return to her seat. "I foolishly expected you to be mature and cry, but you know… get used to the idea and get over it. However, you had a meltdown. I understood you while you were recovering after the surgery because it was not your fault that you could barely move and speak, but this time you did it to yourself. You spent weeks just crying and staring at the ceiling. I knew I wanted my perfect docile doll, but you were getting so boring and annoying, refusing to do anything but feel sorry for yourself. So I had to sacrifice my own happiness and give up all we had built together to send you back to him. You blocking your memories after the meltdown was a pain for a while because I had to wait for too long for you and him to finally… accomplish your mission. As if it wasn't stressful enough to know that you could recover your memories anytime soon and that you were once again in his arms."

Rey shook her head.

"I still don't get it."

"Oh, Rey," he grunted. "You're so smart sometimes and then you manage to surprise me with your idiocy. The baby . I normally don't believe anyone should put their hopes in a child. Those tiny critters don't bring anyone happiness, regardless of how much people lie to themselves. A child won't heal your wounds, make your life better or give it a purpose and it most certainly not be your second chance at anything."

The way he was looking at her was making her feel uncomfortable and guilty for her own obsessive love for her dead babies and the constant need for someone to fill the void in her heart.

"But I love you so much, Rey. If a baby is what it takes for you to be happy, then you should have one."

She exhaled loudly. Of course… he saw buying the pregnancy test. He even said it himself that he knew about her being pregnant. That was the reason why she was back in that cage.

She looked at him, for a moment not acknowledging the differences between him and her actual husband and accidentally giving herself a false sense of security. Even though she didn't want to give him any ideas, she still had to ask.

"How come you didn't get me pregnant yourself?"

"I don't ever want my blood in the veins of another. I hate being a Hux and I would hate raising another one. This is why you should finally understand how much I love you. I chose to let you back in his arms for you to get your baby and I became Kylo Ren to make the both of us happy. You can finally be with someone stable and loving and I can be someone I choose to be, not someone who I am destined to be by blood."

Rey chuckled amused by his ridiculous, yet tragic perspective of the world and himself. Had he not been a monster responsible for the death of her daughter, maybe she could have forgiven him. But he killed her soul, so he deserved nothing but the same pain he had caused her.

"And now we can finally be together."

"But I'm not pregnant."

He tilted his head with a mad look in his eyes, then he giggled.

"I found your positive pregnancy test in the bag, sweetheart. You don't fool me."

But she had never taken that pregnancy test and the discomfort she felt was the one typical of any other period. If he found a pregnancy test in the same bag she found Kaydel's phone and a wallet that was most likely hers as well, then… Rey closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Ben had been home cooking for her while Kylo Ren was dating Kaydel that day. And if she had mistaken him for her real husband, then Kaydel must have too.

"It's not mine," she admitted shrugging. "Sorry. You should have waited more. Or at least you should have used protection."

Hux pondered her words for a moment, then he got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door and leaving it unlocked. Maybe it was a test, but she was not going to waste that opportunity. She waited for a couple of minutes to make sure that he was not coming back, but also not for too long, just in case he was still planning to return, then she escaped the bunker. The door happened to be right behind the mirror she had played in front of so many times. However, knowing what she had endured for three years, that house was now defiled, any corner meant to bring back a happy memory only leaving a bitter taste in her mouth and a feeling of emptiness.

The windows were nailed down and the back door was locked, making her childhood home a more of a prison. Still remembering which floorboards used to make the lesser noise, she gently snuck to the front door, which was locked as well. Finn and she used to hide a key somewhere behind the wallpaper between the door and the window, but that was years before and all the locks must have been changed. However, driven by nostalgia, she still dug her nails in the crepe pink and alabaster white wallpaper, finding the key where they had left it after their last escapade. She licked her lips and put the key in the lock, turning it without any expectations. It came as a shock when she heard the door getting unlocked with each turn, and then, with a last click, opening. Smiling, she slowly opened it, but as soon as the first creaking sound echoed through the entire hallway, she felt Hux's claws on her neck, pulling her back in her cage.

"It's rude to leave without saying goodbye and to refuse someone's invitation to tea. Come on, my love! Maz has taught you better than this."

He threw her on one of the chairs in the kitchen, then he sat on the chair in front of her, playing with a box of matches, the same brand Maz used to buy. All the kids were so excited when one of the boxes was already empty and they could add it to the collection for when they made advent calendars. The year when there were the most children in the house, Maz bought entire boxes so that each one of them could have a calendar, but she also taught them how to make houses from the matches in order to not waste them. Too bad she knew a certain someone who set every house on fire just out of envy.

"Why me?" she asked accepting his cup of tea and sniffing it. There was an odd smell in the kitchen, but it apparently had nothing to do with the mint tea. "You had Margaret, so then why me?"

Hux pinched his bearded chin with a pensive look on his face, then exhaled and looked at her as if her question reached his ears much later than when it was initially asked.

"I saw you a couple of years ago at my graduation party. I didn't recognize you at first, because I never cared about you as a child. I simply hated you for how much Maz loved you and how you and that other guy were her children, whereas the rest of us were not. She adopted you, but she let my father take me right before turning eighteen. I was the product of an affair and he took me from my birth mother and threw me in here for my entire childhood, then took me back only to dictate my adulthood as well. So I realised that I had to punish the one who rejected me and made me who I am. Therefore, one day, while you were away, I went to pay a visit to auntie Maz."

"You didn't…" her voice cracked.

"Oh, yes. I did," he smiled proudly. "All it took was a pillow and she went to sleep for forever."

Rey had foolishly believed that nothing could have shocked her after remembering holding her baby's skeleton, but the tears streaming down her face were the proof that she had never got over Maz's death.

"Then I saw you weeping over her corpse and you were so beautiful. I asked my father to buy the house with the sole purpose of offering it to you. You needed a home now that you were penniless and Finn ditched you for college and fame. But my useless father waited too long to have the papers ready and you moved in with him . You started dating him . You were sleeping with him . So I decided that I had to make him snap for you to see his real face… That's when I killed her. It was as if fate brought her to me. The moment I hit the gas and saw her body fly like Mary freakin Poppins…" he laughed ignoring Rey's tears.

"Mrs Leia? You killed Ben's mom to get him and me to break up?"

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes. "But it only made your bond stronger. Maybe I should have killed him , but I was so sad that I ended up too depressed to care anymore. I tried to forget you… until my nephew's birthday party. I was miserable as usual, having to play pretend as usual that I'm the cool uncle… but then you came. You were so sweet and gentle, the epitome of perfection with one single flaw. You were married to Ben Solo this time."

He paused for a moment, then he rubbed his eyes.

"I once broke his nose when his mom dropped him here for some time," he laughed. "He was such a whiny brat. But in college, I made a man out of him. I saw his anger and potential and used it to my advantage… until the idiot killed his father in a crash and his uncle ruined our fun and my source of income, forcing me to go back to med school. So you must understand my anger and frustration when I saw someone like you with someone like him. He was defiling you!"

He slammed his fist on the table then got up to fill up Rey's cup once more.

"Then I asked my sister-in-law about you and she told me how much of a good girl you were. Perhaps too good. But you'd still attended some of her wicked parties with him and I knew that even the purest white can be stained by the filthiest black. So I tried to forget you once again by using Margaret. She was an orphan as well and she looked a lot like you. I thought I could change her, fix her and make her get rid of her past, but once a crack addict whore, forever a crack addict whore."

Rey pursed her lips remembering how child-like she was when she first saw her and how brave she was the second time. Poor Margaret deserved better.

"What have you done to her?"

"What do you think?" he snorted and Rey let out a loud whimper. "I had you so I needn't her anymore. She was a lost cause anyway. She even failed me dead, because the police were not fooled for too long. I presumed that they would find out that she's not you, but it all happened too soon. And you know why?" he pointed at her. "That damned tattoo. But I got rid of it."

Rey gulped remembering being held down and having her tattoo burned off with a lighter.

"Anyway… my plan was never to kidnap you, Rey. But when fate brought you back to me, I saw it as the sign I had been asking for. You told me about your desire… that plan of yours to leave for three years. Then you kept blabbering about your husband when you were the one fucking dying, Rey! Who would put someone else's feelings above their own imminent death? Well… someone like my perfect little Rey. So I knew that with the right words, I could have convinced you to come with me. I saw the way you were looking at me, Rey. You had that tiny spark inside your heart that would have burnt down your love for him and replace it with a better healthier love… for me."

So her flirting had caused all of these after all?

No! she shook her head. She would not tolerate him blaming her for his obsession and sick mind. Maybe she shouldn't have flirted as a married woman, but that didn't excuse him kidnapping her and killing her baby and poor Margaret and… even sleeping with a naive Kaydel.

"Then you told me about your pregnancy and you were so desperate to have that baby," he continued his story. "Even worse, you were now going to stay with him for good now. Have your little family for a while and then die and let him enjoy everything you've worked for, keeping your baby as a living reminder of who you once were and then replace you with someone else… like Kaydel. He didn't deserve any of those things, Rey, so I had to take you back home."

"That's why you seduced Kaydel?"

"Pretty much. She was so desperate for affection, poor thing. I'm sure she would have jumped in Solo's arms and bed at the first smile. I knew her from before. She was just a shallow party girl, but with Margaret gone, I needed someone to help me with my… urges and with my plan of getting you back. But of course, she had to ruin everything, so I had to hurry up. It was plain luck that I found you exactly where I dropped you off three months ago."

"But how the hell were you even expecting your plan to work? You got her pregnant around the time the real Ben had barely seen her. They both had different accounts. They would have figured it out."

"Love, you did my job for me. You kept fucking up with Solo and with that plan of yours being known by most people, no one would have believed you this time. You said it yourself. If your return hadn't been satisfying, you would have left again. This time, no police were going to be involved and a bitter Solo would have finally married an already in love Kaydel. But she had to disobey me and I knew either of you could have suspected something. She ruined my plan, so I couldn't leave her to figure out as you said. That's why I killed her too."

"You killed Kaydel?"

"Actually, Ben Solo did," he grinned. "He's probably already in jail."

"But he's innocent and… Gosh, she was carrying your child!"

"Well… I've told you my opinion on children. Though now that I know you're not pregnant after all, maybe I can reconsider that little suggestion of yours. After all, if you were willing to stay with Solo just because of your daughter, then you won't leave me as long as I give you what you want. Though, maybe I should have kept the first one and not abandon her in the trash can and save myself a lot of time."

Rey stared at him utterly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Your precious baby," he chuckled. "She was still breathing when I wrapped her in that blanket you made. If the cold, hunger and filth didn't kill her, then maybe a dog ate her."

"Bu-but the bones?"

"Margaret's. Honestly, that little boy looked better as a skeleton than when it was born. Never allow a teen sleeping around for drug money to have a child. It's waste o-"

Rey slammed her fists on the table and got up quickly, ignoring her weak knees and the sudden dizziness.

"Are you saying that my daughter was alive and you killed her on purpose?"

"Technically, I didn't. I just didn't bother keeping her alive. I had to punish you after what you've done, Rey."

Her vision was getting blurry and her head was exploding with anger. It was impossible for that sweet charming doctor to be such a vile heartless creature. It was impossible for her tiny daughter to have been robbed of her life just out of spite.

"I hate you…" she growled feeling her legs growing weaker. "Wha-what…"

"You'll learn to love me again and more than you've ever loved Solo," she heard him push the chair and get up. "The sedative should have kicked in by now."

Did he drug her again? And was that gas she was smelling?

"We'll leave this place soon and we'll start our new life far away from here. Don't worry, my love. I'll make the past burns down."

Rey stumbled out of the kitchen, hoping to reach the front door, but only tripped over the rug in the small hallway by the stairs. She saw the mirror leading to the bunker and stopped for a moment. She didn't want to go back there. Not now that the front door opened with a long screeching sound.

"What are you doing here?" she heard his voice. Maybe there was someone who could help her. Maybe someone heard their screams or smelt the gas.

"Where's Rey? What have you done to her?"

Ben?

She got back on her feet, but the moment she turned around, her mind finally went blank and shut itself down. Her body fell down the stairs leading to the bunker and the last thing she felt was the floor shaking underneath her and the heatwave and cloud of smoke swallowing her.

/|\

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"Are there any more people inside?"

"We found three more. Two are impossible to identify. The other is severely burnt, but he's still alive."

Ben!

Rey pushed the paramedic's hand and tried to rip off the oxygen mask, but the taller woman forced her to stay still. After the fall, she had woken up coughing and craving fresh air. Someone carried her out to the ambulance while the firefighters were fighting to keep Maz's house from setting fire to the entire neighbourhood. According to the paramedics, she had no major injury, just a couple of bruises and a superficial bump from the fall, but they were not sure how much smoke or gas she had inhaled, so they were still going to take her to the hospital. But she couldn't leave not knowing what was the price of her freedom.

"It's Luke Skywalker," she heard another voice among the people running up and down the entire place.

Oh, Luke… she teared up. She had been mistaken about him being Ben's biological father, but he sure acted like one ever since his mom and dad died. And maybe she had never had an uncle, or at least not after her parents' death in that fire, but at least he became hers. And now he was fighting for his life after almost dying in a fire too.

She closed her eyes feeling dead inside. She had once told Ben that she was feeling cursed… and she was. She was still refusing to take any blame for Hux's madness, but that didn't change much about the misery she was drowning in. She made her way in Ben's life and she ruined it for him and his entire family.

"It's raining," remarked the paramedic tending her grazed forehead. She looked behind her at the rain washing away the gigantic piles of ashes and her eyes went wide and mouth opened in a silent exclamation. Was that a ghost or was her nightmare not over yet. She watched the man leave Kaydel's side - what was she even doing there? - and heading towards her. She gulped nervously and stood still, staring at him, until he was close enough to see the small details giving away his identity. His clothes were slightly burned and so was his skin, though rather superficially. He had a bandaged wound on his forehead and had soot all over his face.

"Rey," he whispered with a serene and loving look on his face and ran to her. Rey finally ripped off her mask and pushed away the paramedic, running in his arms. She cupped his face looking at the tiny scratches on his face and the scar she had grown to love.

"You're alive and you took me out," she cried. "You saved me. You found me."

And as a last grand gesture before getting pulled back inside the ambulance for a trip to the hospital, she kissed him.