Invasion

Author's Note: Thanks for still reading! Please leave a review if you'd like.

Chapter Summary: Vienna is attacked in their home, barely escaping with her life. Detective Viola is not convinced that a real crime took place.

You fell away,
What more can I say?
The feelings evolved,
I won't let it out,
I can't replace...
Your screaming face,
Feeling the sickness inside

Why won't you die?
Your blood in mine.
We'll be fine.
Then your body will be mine"

~Chester Bennington, "System"

Vienna should've been asleep, but she and Jack Adams were messaging each other on Snapchat. They weren't boyfriend or girlfriend yet, but they were exclusive. Jack was a year older than Vienna and was captain of the soccer team. They had been friends first, but then feelings began to develop. Jack wanted to take things slow, but Vienna was more than ready to start telling people that he was her boyfriend. Unlike Ethan, Vienna was dying to bring Jack around to meet the rest of her family.

Just as she sent over a message, Vienna reached over to her nightstand for her water bottle, and discovered it was empty. With a sigh, Vienna pulled herself out of bed. She regretted not filling up her water bottle before going to bed.

As she made her way into the hallway, Vienna used the light from her phone to guide her down the stairs. Given how on edge her parents were lately, Vienna didn't want to startle them awake by turning on the hallway light. She would just fill up her water bottle in the kitchen and head to bed, simple as that.

When Vienna turned on the light in the kitchen, she was met with a hooded figure wearing a white phantom mask standing by the kitchen table. In this stranger's hands was a butcher's knife. Vienna was in shock and felt her mouth go dry.

Terrified, Vienna ran. The hooded figure chased after her.

Before she could escape up the stairs, the hooded figure tackled Vienna to the ground. Vienna tried to fend off her attacker, but they were strong, trying desperately to stab Vienna. She was able to keep them from stabbing her, but Vienna couldn't fight them off alone.

The shock wearing off, Vienna found the courage to scream for help, to alert her family.

"Help! Help! Daddy, help!" Vienna screeched at the top of her lungs, praying someone would come for her.

When she heard scrambling bodies from upstairs, Vienna knew she would be saved.

Flicking on the light, Troy and Ethan bolted down the stairs, calling Vienna's name. Gabriella followed after them, while a frightened Daisy stood at the top of the stairs. When Troy saw a hooded figure standing over his daughter, he felt his blood boil.

"Get away from her!" Troy yelled. When the hooded figure saw Troy and Ethan, they got off of Vienna, dropped the knife and dashed out the front door. Gabriella scooped the crying teenager into her arms as Troy and Ethan followed the hooded figure out the front door.

"Daisy! Daisy, call 911, now!" Gabriella yelled up to her youngest daughter, as she rocked her eldest daughter in her arms. Daisy nodded obediently and went to call 911 from her cell phone.

Vienna cried into her mother's chest, like she did when she was a little girl. Gabriella's heart broke for her daughter, as she wondered if she would ever be the same after this night.

Troy and Ethan ran around the property, looking for this hooded figure. To their dismay, Vienna's attacker got away into the night. Troy cursed into the air as Ethan took his side.

"You still want to act like nothing is going on, dad?" Ethan spitefully asked. Troy turned to his son.

"We don't know what's going on right now, Ethan. Let your mother and I handle this," Troy said, trying to remain calm. Ethan wasn't having it.

"Oh yeah. I can tell you guys are handling this really well," Ethan spat. Before Troy could reprimand him, Ethan stormed off back towards the house. Troy sighed, following after him.

Right now, Vienna needed him.

Vienna sat between her parents on the couch, shaking and crying. A team of police were investigating the house, looking for anything the attacker might have left behind. Daisy and Ethan sat on the other couch, feeling helpless. Troy and Gabriella each had their arms around Vienna, trying to calm her.

"You were very brave Vienna, you fought and scared them off," Gabriella reassured Vienna, kissing her temple tenderly. Troy pulled Vienna in closer to him.

"Everything is going to be alright. We're going to get through this as a family," Troy promised. He hoped that Ethan also believed this. Vienna was hiccupping from her tears.

"I'm just so scared they'll come back," Vienna cried, her voice shaking. Ethan got up from his seat and he crouched down in front of Vienna. Ethan was probably the only one in that room who knew what Vienna was feeling.

"If they want to come back and hurt you, they'll have to go through me. Okay? Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you again," Ethan swore. He wasn't about to let some psycho rob his family of peace. Through her tears, Vienna managed a weak smile and nodded.

"Thanks Ethan," she managed.

Just then, Viola entered the room. Troy repressed a groan at seeing Viola again. She was followed in by her partner, a man who had kinder eyes than Viola.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, long time no see," Viola remarked, her tone indifferent. "This is my partner, detective Jeremy Lyle. Our team is almost done collecting evidence, but we have a few questions," Viola said, pulling her notepad and pen from her coat pocket to jot down notes. Vienna straightened up, taking hold of her parents' hands. Ethan and Daisy stood close by.

"What would you like to know?" Vienna asked, her voice shaky, but determined to be brave. Jeremy took the lead.

"Why don't we go back to the beginning, Vienna. You mind if I call you that?" Jeremy asked, his voice surprisingly soft. Vienna nodded, biting her lip. "Great. Why don't you just tell us what happened? You can stop anytime if it becomes too much."

Vienna swallowed hard, trying to compose herself. "It was just after midnight, and I went downstairs to get some water. When I walked into the kitchen and turned on the light, the stranger was there wearing a creepy white mask and holding a knife," Vienna recounted, trying to stop shaking. Gabriella rubbed her hand up and down Vienna's back.

"And then what happened?" Jeremy urged. Vienna took a deep breath.

"I panicked and I ran out of the kitchen, but they chased after me and they tackled me to the ground. They were trying to stab me, but I tried to fight them off. That was when I screamed for help and they got spooked when they saw dad and Ethan running down the stairs and they ran out the front door," Vienna recounted, trying to hold back her tears. Viola was feverishly writing down notes.

"And were you the one who called 911?" Viola asked, not looking up from her notes.

"I did, actually," Daisy piped up. Jeremy looked over at the young girl.

"Did you see the person who attacked your sister?" Jeremy asked. Daisy shook her head.

"No, I…" Daisy began before she was cut off by Viola.

"Then how did you know to call 911?" Viola asked. Daisy was taken aback by Viola's tone.

"Mom yelled up for me to call. I didn't see the person, but I saw how scared my parents and Vienna were and I did what I was told," Daisy said. Ethan squeezed Daisy's shoulder, silently telling her that she did a good job.

"And can you describe your attacker?" Viola asked, directing her eyes at Vienna.

"They were wearing black pants and gloves, a black oversized hoodie and a white phantom mask," Vienna answered, unsure of why Viola was rolling her eyes.

"And if this person decides to change their clothes in the near future, what else can you tell me? Were they white, did they have black hair, any distinguishing features?" Viola instigated. Vienna shook her head.

"I couldn't tell. It was dark and I couldn't tell through the hoodie and mask," Vienna said, getting the feeling that she did something wrong.

"That's okay Vienna, you're doing great," Jeremy tried to encourage. Viola suddenly sat herself down on the coffee table so she was face-to-face with Vienna. Her face was unreadable.

"You know, Vienna, our team is having a hard time figuring out how this intruder broke in. There isn't a broken window, or a tripped alarm system," Viola alluded. Vienna tilted her head to the side.

"How can that be?" Vienna asked. Viola tightened her lips.

"You're a very pretty girl, Vienna. Probably popular, lots of friends, maybe even a boyfriend. Am I right?" Viola badgered.

"Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Viola sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Pretty, popular, probably used to being the center of attention. What happened, Vienna? Did you tell your boyfriend you'd only go out with him if he helped stage a break in so you could get attention? Is that what happened?" Viola asked with a cruel conviction. Vienna, stunned, shook her head.

"No! I would never!" Vienna pleaded.

"What the hell kind of questions are these?" Troy demanded, unable to believe that Viola would behave this way to his 16-year-old daughter.

"I am just calling it like I see it. Celebrity children have done crazier things for their 15 minutes of fame," Viola accused. Jeremy held out his hand.

"Viola, that's not appropriate. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, we will let you know about what progress we make into our investigation. Vienna, if you remember anything else, here's my card. Feel free to call me. Good night, folks," Jeremy said, leading himself and Viola out of the mansion, along with the rest of their team.

When they heard the front door shut, Vienna jumped up from the couch and turned to her family, her desperate face full of tears.

"I didn't stage this for attention! I would never do that! Please believe me," Vienna pleaded, hiccupping from tears again. Gabriella got up from the couch and she took her daughter into her arms.

"We believe you honey. We are going to find whoever did this. We will hire a private investigator, we won't use these detectives," Gabriella assured Vienna, kissing the top of her head. Daisy came to her sister's side, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"If you don't want to be alone tonight, we can have a sleepover in my room," Daisy offered. Vienna tearfully smiled at her sister.

"I'd like that. Thanks Daisy," Vienna said as she let go of her mother and put an arm around her younger sister. The two girls headed upstairs together.

Ethan turned to his parents and sighed. He felt anxious revisiting a trauma he thought he had left behind, but if his sisters were going to get hurt, he was willing to face his past.

"So, what's the plan?" Ethan asked.

"We're going to hire a private investigator. We're not going to let this detective be in charge," Troy said, running a hand through his hair. Ethan folded his arms across his chest.

"Do you have any idea who could be behind this?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know who would do this to us," Gabriella said, taking her husband's side.

"Maybe this has something to do with Victor," Ethan said, shuddering at the mere mention of the man.

"Ethan, it's late, and we've all had a long night. Let's just go to bed," Troy said, not wanting to involve Ethan in these matters.

"No, dad! Someone broke into our house and attacked Vienna, and probably would've killed us all. We need to figure this out since these cops don't want to help us," Ethan exclaimed.

"Ethan, please. We need to be careful. Tomorrow we will figure this out as a family. For now, we all need to go to bed," Gabriella said, trying to keep things calm between Troy and Ethan.

Ethan wanted to push the moment further, but he knew that there was no use. With a dejected sigh, he turned around and walked up the stairs and into his room.

Troy and Gabriella turned to each other, each not knowing what to say. Victor was dead…so who was stalking them now?

To be continued…

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