"Seth, come on in. Thanks for coming."

As Roman stepped aside to allow Seth to enter, Seth silently admitted he was impressed with Roman's house. The house itself set on several acres of immaculately manicured green lawns. Built of stone and brick, the massive house had a sense of permanency and strength.

Seth was willing to bet there was one hell of a large pool in the back. Then he peeked into an open door to his right and gave a low whistle.

Roman followed Seth's gaze, then smirked as Seth slowly walked into the library.

"Nice," Seth said in an admiring voice. Then he grinned over his shoulder at Roman. "Cool looking bookcases."

Roman laughed. "Glad you like them. Especially since you've got their twins." He motioned down the hall. "Let's go to my office."

As the two men walked down the hall, they saw another man leaving a room, balancing a plate and a large mug of coffee. Hearing them coming, the man turned and smiled. "I'll be in my office."

Roman nodded. "Seth Rollins. Chris Jericho. I think you met at Seth's bookstore, but Naomi dragged you off before I could make the introductions."

Jericho chuckled. "Well, I didn't want to get swatted on the back of my head." He saw Seth's puzzled expression and explained. "That's Naomi's favorite way of dealing with her husband and brother-in-law." When Seth slowly grinned, he turned back to Roman. "I should have that report finished by the end of the day."

"We'll go over everything tomorrow unless something critical turns up," Roman decided.

Jericho nodded. "Nice meeting you again," he said to Seth as he walked down the long hallway.

Seth followed Roman into a nearby office and looked around in appreciation.

"Have a seat," Roman invited as he closed the doors.

Seth chose to sit on the couch, then smiled as Roman joined him. He saw the lines of stress on the other man's forehead and leaned forward to put a hand on Roman's knee. "What's the problem?" he gently asked.

Roman sighed. "When Mox's birth parents showed up after years of being out of the picture, I got…suspicious. His mother became a drug addict and abandoned them when he was seven, leaving him alone with a father with alcohol and gambling addictions…and who probably beat him as well."

"Jesus," Seth muttered. "After all that, why did they come back?"

Roman leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. "I automatically assumed they'd heard Mox got a settlement from the City and were trying to get money from him." He slowly smiled. "Mox would've burned all the money before he'd give Jack a penny."

"But he's got a soft spot for his mother?" Seth guessed.

Roman hesitated then shrugged. "He seems…conflicted about her. My opinion? He wants to believe she's changed…that he can trust her. But he doesn't think he can." He snorted. "And Leah's very good at playing the helpless female sympathy card."

Seth's dark eyes narrowed. "You had them checked out."

Roman nodded. "Very thoroughly. My father checked on them when Mox and I became friends and he started living part-time with us. When Jack and Leah showed up again, I had them checked as deeply as I could. I know where each of them have been since they left Davenport, mostly through their criminal records. There are gaps where they could've hooked up again as they claimed to Mox."

"But you don't believe it," Seth guessed.

Roman shook his head. "Not for a second." He took a deep breath. "But I found out Mox was born in Chicago and moved here when he was four. I also found out he had a younger sister named Marie who died at the age of 10 months from a heart defect."

Seth gasped. "Younger sister," he nearly whispered. "He keeps referring to Nikki as a younger sister." His eyes found Roman's. "He doesn't remember…Marie, does he?"

Roman shook his head. "He wasn't two years old when she died."

"Why tell him now?" Seth asked.

"Better it come from me than Leah," Roman answered. "It's too coincidental they showed up just as Mox is going to testify at a trial. It's going to be hard as hell for him to relive everything that happened to him in that hellhole of a prison. I can't prove it, but my gut tells me that's why they're back. To sabotage Mox's testimony somehow." He saw Seth's dark eyes unfocus and waited.

"That's what we were missing," Seth muttered. "Money if they could get it. But somebody's paying them to mess with Mox…throw him off balance…make him vulnerable on the witness stand…be confused about details…make him look unstable and untrustworthy…"

Roman smiled. Seth's thinking process was enjoyable to watch…as long as it wasn't turned against him or the Bloodline.

Seth's head tilted to one side. "Jack's murder was to put more pressure on him…make Leah a sympathetic figure…needing his help and protection…then threaten Leah?...no, there's no guarantee he'd refuse to testify or skewer his testimony for her…" He dark eyes suddenly focused on Roman with laser intensity. "You think Leah will tell him about his sister."

Roman nodded, impressed with Seth's deduction. "I warned her at Jack's funeral not to upset Mox by dredging up the past. I don't think that will stop her, but at least she got fair warning." He waited for Seth to comment about that, but the younger man simply nodded in silence. Then he quietly spoke, "What can I do to help?"

Roman slowly relaxed. "I'm going to call Mox and ask him to come home…that we need to talk. He always comes in the back door so I'd like you to wait in the library where he won't see you. I don't want Mox to think he's getting double-teamed. He's going to explode at me, if for no other reason than that I'm not going to let him to go off to Leah in a maddened rage. I'll leave it to your discretion as to when to come in." When Seth nodded in agreement, he got to his feet. "Jericho's the only one left in the house. I got everyone else out so we wouldn't be disturbed. He'll come only if I call for him."

"How long will it take Mox to get here?" Seth asked as Roman picked up his phone.

"The way he drives and once I ask him to come home now? Depends on if some cop pulls him over for speeding," Roman answered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Roman?!" Mox called as he walked past the dining room. He automatically glanced into the office that Jericho and Black shared. He saw Jericho glance up at him, then focus back on his computer screen.

"He's in his office," Jericho replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mox quickly walk away. He heard Mox's footsteps on the wooden floor and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "This isn't going to be pretty," he muttered under his breath.

"Roman?" Mox stood in the open doorway of Roman's office. "What's wrong?" He saw the stressed expression on his brother's face and slowly entered the office. "Something happen to Galina? Little Princess?"

"No, they're fine," Roman assured him.

"You get bad news from the doctor?" Mox forced his hands to unclench.

"No, nothing like that."

"For God's sake, Roman!" Mox grumbled. "Stop scarin' me like that!"

Roman wearily smiled. "I'm sorry. Can you please sit down?"

Mox's blue eyes narrowed at the gentle tone in Roman's voice, then threw himself into one of the chairs opposite Roman's desk.

Roman took a deep breath. "This isn't…easy for me. So have a little patience, okay?" He briefly smiled when Mox held up his hands in silent agreement. "What's the first thing you can remember?"

"What?" Mox looked genuinely confused.

Roman's fingers tapped almost silently on his desk. "My earliest memory is my first day of kindergarten. I don't remember anything actually about being there, but I remember being in the back seat of Dad's car and Mom crying. I was so excited to be going to kindergarten, but Mom was crying about "losing her baby" which I didn't understand because I wasn't a baby."

Mox snickered.

"I remember looking out the window, trying to figure out which building was the school and hearing Dad telling her she couldn't keep me at home for my entire life," Roman recalled. He paused, then continued. "What's your earliest memory?"

Mox scratched his jaw and frowned. "I dunno. Never really thought about it." He saw Roman was patiently waiting and shrugged. "I guess…I guess it was a bridge we were crossing…driving across. I remember looking down at the water. I dunno if it was a river or something else. I just remember seeing the water." He shrugged again. "Don't know how old I was."

"When we became friends, Dad did some checking…on you and your family," Roman hesitantly began. He was surprised when Mox laughed.

"That's what's bothering you?" Mox snorted. "I was a dirty street rat from a lousy home and had nothing. You were a good kid from a good home. I'm not surprised that your Dad checked me out. Of course, he'd want to know what kind of kid you were bringing home with you."

"Yeah, well…when you told me Jack and Leah had come back and the story they told you, I had them really checked out," Roman explained. "Dad's investigation stopped when you came to live with us. I wanted to see if the story they told you checked out."

Mox shrugged. "Did it?"

"Sorta. There were gaps in the timeline when they could've hooked up together like they claimed," Roman admitted. "But nothing to prove it either."

Mox leaned forward. "Roman, I really don't care," he softly spoke. "I know I was kinda in a tailspin at first and…"

"Did you know you were born in Chicago?"

"Chicago?" Mox's blue eyes widened. "No…I always thought I was born here." His brow furrowed. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen my birth certificate."

Roman silently opened a folder and handed a piece of paper to him.

Mox took it and stared down at his birth certificate. "Huh…do I want to know how you got hold of this?" he joked.

Roman shrugged. "You were four years old when you moved to Davenport. I've no idea why here, but I do know Jack was running from gambling debts in Chicago."

"Like that's a surprise," Mox grunted as he put his birth certificate on Roman's desk.

"Yeah," Roman sighed. "I found out something else. You had a younger sister."

"No, I never…" Mox hesitated. "Had?"

"Her name was Marie Denise Moxley," Roman quietly spoke. "She was born just after your first birthday and died ten months later. She was born with a heart defect." He took the remaining two items from the folder on his desk and handed them to Mox. "This is her picture from her obituary."

Mox's hand shook as he reached forward. He stared down into the face of the infant child for several seconds. "The doctors…couldn't help her?" he murmured.

Roman silently damned both Jack and Leah. "I couldn't find any medical records for her."

"They let her die?" Mox hissed. He glanced at the obituary, not realizing he'd gotten to his feet. 'Burial arrangements being handled by The Greater Chicago Children's Charity.' His fist tightened on the paper as the picture of his sister fell to the floor. "They buried her in some hole in the ground provided by a charity?" he growled.

"A good charity," Roman assured him as he also stood. "Run by good people who treated her with respect."

"Why didn't they take her to a doctor?" Mox furiously demanded. "Even if there wasn't any money…somebody would've helped her!" When Roman didn't answer, Mox cynically smiled. "No money. Jack gambled it all…gambled rather than take his daughter to a doctor." He angrily threw the obituary onto Roman's desk. "Leah could've done something," he again growled. "She's gonna tell me why she didn't…why she let her daughter… why she let my baby sister just die!"

"Mox, don't!" Roman warned, coming around from behind the desk.

"No, Roman! You're not going to stop me!" Mox shouted over his shoulder. "I'll beat the truth out of her Goddamn lying mouth if I have to!" He walked towards the door, vaguely aware of someone moving in front of the open doorway to stop him. Then he heard someone roaring from behind him.

"JONATHAN DEAN MOXLEY!"

Stunned, Mox spun around. "Sika?" he gasped…just before everything went black.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'JONATHAN DEAN MOXLEY! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, BOY?!'

Fifteen-year old Mox cringed and covered his face. He'd screwed up…just like he always knew he would. Sika was furious with him, and he should be. He hadn't meant to tell Patricia she wasn't his mother and couldn't tell him what to do…not in that tone of voice. But he'd let his Goddammed temper get the best of him. He was so mad at Old Lady Parker that he'd run out of school and all the way home…except it wasn't his home anymore…not after disrespecting Patricia. He'd yelled he was dropping out of school, and all Patricia had said was that he couldn't do that because he wasn't old enough. Sika was going to throw him out, and he deserved it. He was no-good…just like Old Lady Parker said he was…they'd been good to him and he'd…

'Sika! Don't you dare yell at this boy like that! Can't you see he's already upset?' Patricia snapped at her husband as she gently tried to pull Mox's hands from his face. 'Baby, it's okay. Look at me…look at me, Jon.'

Mox slowly lowered his hands, aware of the tears starting to run down his face.

'Oh, baby, I'm not mad,' Patricia crooned as she gently walked them backwards to the couch. 'And Sika's not mad either.' Over Mox's bent head, she threw her husband a silent glare daring him to contradict her.

Sika threw up his hands in disgust.

'Sit here with me, baby.' Patricia maneuvered them so they were sitting on the couch. 'Whatever it is, Jon, we'll fix it.'

'I'm sorry!' Mox blurted out. 'So sorry…never meant that…ever! Can't fix this!'

'Of course, we can.' Patricia wiped tears from his face. 'Calm down for me.' She wrapped her arms around him and guided his head to her shoulder. 'Just rest here with me.' She began to hum softly under her breath.

Sika was startled to hear the front door slam and walked toward the hallway only to be almost run over by his panting son.

Roman saw Mox being held in Patricia's arms and heaved a sigh of relief. 'Thank God,' he muttered. 'I was hoping this is where he ran to.'

'Would you like to tell me what's going on?' Sika demanded. Before Roman could answer, he continued, 'Mox comes flying in here yelling about dropping out of school then disrespecting your mother!'

'Sika,' Patricia warned in a low voice.

'My fault,' Mox groaned. 'I'm no-good…just like she said.'

'Who said that, baby?" Patricia softly asked.

"Old Lady Parker,' Roman angrily growled. 'Our English teacher.'

'That's how you refer to your teacher?' Sika snapped.

'Dad, she's a bitch,' Roman defiantly answered. 'I've seen kids coming out of her classroom in tears. I've heard kids begging their parents to get them out of her class.'

Sika sighed and rubbed his chin. 'Start from the beginning.'

Roman took a deep breath. 'Every year in every one of her classes, she picks her favorites. They get straight A's no matter how little work they do. She also picks the ones she does like. If they're lucky, they get D's. Most get F's. The rest of the class usually get C's and maybe a couple of B's.'

Sika glanced at the couch where Mox was calming down. 'And she doesn't like Mox?'

'Not from day one,' Roman nodded. 'He works his ass off in that class, and she fails him…every time. Then announces to the class that an F is too good for a worthless piece of crap like him.'

Sika narrowed his eyes. 'Are those her words or yours?'

Roman met his father's eyes. 'Today she handed back mid-terms. I got a C and Mox got an F. She said, and I quote, Dad, that Jon Moxley is a failure and always will be a failure. He'll never amount to anything good and will probably go to prison for the rest of his life unless he winds up drunk and dying in the gutter.' He pulled his backpack from his shoulder and opened it. 'I grabbed his test paper when he ran out of the room. Compare his to mine and see for yourself if she isn't deliberately failing him. And I didn't deserve the C either.'

As Roman was digging in his backpack for the papers, Sika asked, 'If this has been going on for years, why hasn't the principal done anything about it?'

'Skinner?' Roman snorted. 'Once he found out that Old Lady Parker is the sister of the School Board President, he just ignores the problems and brushes off any of the complaints.' He handed the test papers to his father. 'You know John Rollins…who owns the bookstore where we can go to study? His nephew has Old Lady Parker for first period. Mr. Rollins has complained about her as well. Call and talk to him if you don't believe me!'

'Roman, please lower your voice,' Patricia quietly ordered.

'Sorry…so sorry…you've been good to me and I…I really am no good!' Mox sobbed.

'Now, you listen to me, Jon Moxley,' Patrician firmly spoke. 'Whatever that woman said is a lie. I've never lied to you and never will. And I say you are a good boy. And you're going to be successful at whatever you choose to do.' She lightly kissed his forehead and cuddled his head against her shoulder. She then looked up at her husband and angrily hissed. 'Fix this. I mean it. No one is going to talk to Jon like that. I don't care if she's won Teacher of the Year award for the last twenty years.'

Sika nodded once. 'Write Roman an excuse note for his leaving school.' He looked at his son. 'You go back to school and don't say anything.'

'Yes, sir,' Roman nodded as his father left the living room.

'Roman, give me your notebook and pen,' Patricia requested. When Mox muttered something when she shifted position, she kissed the top of his head. 'I'm not going anywhere, Jon. I just need to write a note for Roman.' Taking the pen her son handed her, she wrote: 'Please excuse Roman's sudden departure from school. There was a family emergency. Thank you. Patricia Reigns.'

She handed the notebook and pen back to her son and smiled at him. 'You did right to come after him. If he hadn't been here, we would've needed to start looking for him. Now go get a sandwich because you're going to miss lunch at school.' She saw his worried look and smiled. 'We'll be okay. Bring Jon's other schoolwork home with you.'

As Roman walked towards the kitchen, he heard his father's voice coming from the office. He stopped and deliberately listened. 'So, you didn't get any satisfaction from Principal Skinner either, hmmm? Do you have time for me to come over? I'd like to compare your nephew's papers with the ones I have from Roman and Mox. Then I'm calling Professor Dennison at the Community College and have him look at those papers. If he says that she's not grading them correctly, I'll take the matter to Bob Clarke. Yes, I know he's Mrs. Parker' brother. But once I put the fear of God into him, he won't sacrifice himself to save her. Fine, I'll be there shortly.'

Roman quickly walked past the office to the kitchen, but he wasn't surprised when Sika joined him. 'Roman, why didn't you tell us Mox was having this problem? That you were having this problem?'

'I promised Mox I wouldn't say anything,' Roman explained. 'And I couldn't tell you I was having the problem without breaking my promise to him.'

'Hmmm…Alright, I understand that. A promise made is a promise to be kept. We've taught you that all your life,' Sika slowly spoke. 'But you shouldn't make a promise if it might hurt someone.' He held up his hand. 'I know that's hard to understand, but look at it this way. Your promise to Mox helped create this situation. Had your mother and I known of it earlier, we could've done something to keep things from getting to this point.' He saw Roman slowly nod in understanding. 'Both you boys are young, and this is something that's learned through experience. You both need to be more careful about your promises.'

'Yes, sir,' Roman quietly spoke. 'How much trouble is Mox in?'

Sika sighed. 'That's between him and me.' He indicated the sandwich Roman had been fixing. 'Eat your lunch and get back to school.' He turned to walk out of the kitchen. 'And stop eavesdropping.'

Sika found Patricia and Mox still sitting on the couch. Mox's eyes were closed, but he appeared to have calmed down. Sika sighed and knelt in front of them. He was aware of the silent warning in his wife's eyes as he quietly spoke, 'Mox, look at me.'

Slowly Mox opened his eyes, and Sika saw the fear in them. Not fear of Sika, but fear of the sentence he was afraid would be pronounced on him. 'First, you made Roman promise not to tell us about this problem. If we'd known, we could've kept things from getting to this point. I've told Roman this, and now I'm telling you. This is something that's learned from experience, so learn from this experience. Be more careful about the promises you ask for and make. Do you understand?' When Mox silently nodded, he continued.

'Second, I know Roman said this woman picks her favorites and those she's going to fail. But I need from you, your solemn word, that you weren't late to her class, didn't shoot off your mouth or act up.'

'I didn't do anything,' Mox firmly answered. 'I was never late…never said a word. Please don't punish Roman for keeping his promise.'

'I'm not punishing Roman,' Sika answered. 'But I expect you both to do better. And I accept your word you did nothing against this teacher.' He saw relief in Mox's eyes and held up his hand. 'Third, you have got to learn to control that temper of yours. This isn't the first time you've blown up. Stop letting things build up inside you until all you can to is explode. If something's bothering you, tell us; and we'll work it out.'

Mox's eyes dropped. 'I didn't want to bother you,' he mumbled.

Patricia patted Mox's shoulder. 'You're not a bother to us, Jon. You never have been. We're not going to think less of you if you come to us with a problem.' When Mox nodded, she smiled at him.

'One more thing.'

Mox slowly looked at Sika, hearing the change of tone in his voice.

'We love you, Mox. But I will not tolerate you disrespecting Patricia again. Or me. I know you and Roman will have problems occasionally, and I expect you both to work them out. And if not, bring those problems to us. But I never want to hear that kind of disrespect from you again. Do you understand?'

'Yes, sir,' Mox whispered. 'I'm so sorry.'

Patricia felt Mox begin to tremble in her arms and shot her husband a warning look. 'Your promise is all we need to hear.'

Sika nodded and stood. 'I might not be home for dinner.'

One week later, Old Lady Parker and Principal Skinner both retired 'for reasons of health'. Three months later, Bob Clarke was voted out as President of the School Board.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mox? Drink this. C'mon, take a few sips."

Mox opened his eyes to see Roman kneeling in front of him, holding out an open bottle of water. As he reached for it, his hand shook.

"Here, let me so it doesn't spill." Roman put the bottle to Mox's mouth.

Mox took a few sips then tried to push the bottle away.

"I know you don't like cold water, but you need a few more sips." Roman firmly kept the bottle in place. "You kinda went into shock or something on us." He saw Mox wearily close his eyes as he drank and looked over his shoulder. He silently nodded at Jericho who'd brought the water to him.

Jericho silently nodded in return and quietly walked away.

Finally, Mox was able to push the bottle away. "Enough," he muttered. "You…you sounded so much like Sika. He yelled at me once…the day I ran home from school and…disrespected your mother."

"I remember that day," Roman half-smiled. "Old Lady Parker pushed it one time too many."

"Oh, God, that woman."

Hearing another voice and suddenly aware of an arm around his shoulder, Mox turned his head and saw Seth sitting next to him. "What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.

"My backup," Roman grinned. "In case you got past me." He saw Mox's eyes cloud over. "You know I couldn't let you go to her like that," he gently added.

"Old Lady Parker hated my guts," Seth recalled. "Between her and the bullies, that first year of high school sucked." He slyly smiled at Roman. "I got the impression that you and Uncle John got her out of there."

"My impression, too," Roman chuckled as he studied his brother. "Doing better? Back with us?"

Mox silently nodded. "Where's her picture? Did I damage it?"

"It's right here." Seth reached next to him and handed Mox the picture. "She reminds me of you, you know."

"How would you know that?" There was only confusion behind the words.

"Her eyes are the same shape as yours," Seth quietly pointed out. "Same forehead. And I bet when her face filled out, her chin would be just like yours. I see a lot of you in her face."

"I don't remember her," Mox mumbled. "My baby sister, and I don't remember! WHY DON'T I REMEMBER HER?!"

"Because you were barely a toddler," Roman firmly answered. "Nobody remembers back to when we weren't even two years old."

"And it's not your fault that no one mentioned her," Seth added.

"They should have. Instead, they left her alone in a graveyard in Chicago. Abandoned," Mox bitterly snarled. 'Just like they abandoned me.'

"Mox, look at me," Roman firmly ordered. When Mox's blue eyes met his, he quietly explained. "Dad bought a lot of plots in the cemetery where he and Mom are buried. That's why no one's buried around them. If you want, I'll have Marie brought here from Chicago and buried next to them. All you have to do is sign the paperwork." He didn't mention that the paperwork stated that both Marie's parents were dead and her brother was her official next of kin. He knew no one at the Chicago charity would check on that…especially with the hefty donation to their organization as a gesture of appreciation.

"You'd do that?" Mox whispered.

"You're my brother. Marie's your sister. That makes her my sister, too."

Mox slowly nodded. "I'll sign. Do it. Please." He hesitated, then continued, "Could you put her next to your Mom?"

"Absolutely," Roman promised. "Mom would like that."

"And…and…when it's time, me next to…Marie?" Mox relaxed when Roman nodded. "But I don't want Leah knowing about it or being there."

"She won't be," Roman vowed to his brother.

Mox heard a sniff and looked at Seth in surprise. "Why are you crying?" he asked.

Seth's watery dark eyes met his. "Because my friend and hope-to-be-brother-in-law is hurting so bad."

Mox leaned his forehead against Seth's then pulled him into a fierce embrace. He wasn't surprised when Roman's arms wrapped around both of them.

Roman rested his head on Mox's shoulder and stared over Seth's bowed head at the wall…and began to make plans.