Unravelling

Author's Note: As always, please keep reading and reviewing!

Chapter Summary: Troy and Gabriella argue about how to deal with their stalker problem. Troy gets another letter.

Oh, father tell me, do we get what we deserve?
Oh, we get what we deserve

And way down we go
Oh, way down we go
Say, way down we go
Way down we go

~ KALEO, "Way Down We Go"

Ethan took Vienna and Daisy for a drive to visit their Uncle Zeke, Aunt Sharpay and their kids the morning after the incident. Vienna was still shaken by what happened, and Ethan and Daisy banded together to distract her. Their Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke had a son named Levi that was Daisy's age and a daughter named Betty that was two years younger, and they were like the Bolton kids' cousins.

Troy sat at the kitchen table, his cup of coffee untouched. He felt like he was 27-years-old again, afraid every day that Victor was going to kill his family to have Gabriella all to himself. He was 43 now, and those fears of the past resurfaced.

Except Victor was dead, so who was doing this to his family?

Troy was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Gabriella walk into the kitchen until she took a seat beside him. Gabriella leaned over and planted a kiss on her husband's cheek, sensing his worry.

"How are you holding up?" Gabriella asked, looping her arm through her husband's. Troy sighed, and Gabriella knew the answer.

"It's happening again, Gabriella. And this time, we don't know who is after us, or what they want," Troy said, his voice full of anxiety. Gabriella took his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze.

"We got through this before, and we can do it again," Gabriella reminded Troy. He managed a weak smile as he leaned over and kissed Gabriella. Troy pressed his forehead against Gabriella's.

"You and I can get through anything. But I'm still worried," Troy admitted softly. Gabriella brought a hand up to her husband's face and caressed his cheek.

"I think we need to consider the fact that we're going to have to investigate this on our own. After last night, I don't trust Detective Viola to be the most helpful," Gabriella said. Troy cocked an eyebrow at Gabriella's tone.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella sighed as she took both of Troy's hands into hers. She had the look on her face that she always had when she was going to suggest she and Troy do something that he may not necessarily agree with.

"Troy, Victor is dead. So, we know he's not behind this. We know that he had followers that were arrested, too. But who's to say that he didn't have other followers that we never knew about?" Gabriella began. Troy bit his lip, horrified at the thought.

"If Victor had other followers, why would they just be coming back around now? Why not 15 years ago when he was arrested, or when he was sentenced to death?" Troy reasoned. Gabriella shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, and I think it's important that we find out for sure," Gabriella said, trailing off. She knew that Troy would have some issues with what she was about to suggest.

"And how would we go about figuring that out?" Troy asked, already suspicious. Gabriella bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"We need to visit Tess in prison and ask," Gabriella said bluntly. Troy clenched his jaw at the mention of Tess.

Troy hadn't seen Tess since her trial, and Troy promised himself that it would be the last time he would ever see her. For Troy, Tess was almost worse than Victor. She had been his friend since university, had been the fiancée of one of his best friends, and then betrayed Troy by conspiring to kill them all. And then she shot and killed Phil, her fiancé and Troy's friend, who did try to right his wrongs. Troy was shaking his head.

"Absolutely not," Troy said, his voice firm. Gabriella wasn't entirely shocked by his reaction.

"Troy, just hear me out. She was a follower of Victor's. She would know if there were others that we never knew about. Maybe even some that were in Victor's cult, and then left before we could find out about them. She can help us," Gabriella explained, trying to get Troy to see reason. But he looked aghast.

"Help us? Have you forgotten that Tess helped Victor try to kill us? Tried to kill our son? Do you not remember how she and Phil kidnapped you and Ethan, starved you in a cold basement and then tried to drown you both? Or Phil? Remember him? She shot him dead when he had our four-year-old son in his arms," Troy said, his voice raising. Gabriella didn't falter.

"Of course, I remember, Troy. Do you think I would ever forget? But we won. She is in prison, we are not. And if she can help us figure out who this could be, then I am willing to see her," Gabriella said. Troy shook his head and got up from his seat, needing to pace.

"Even so, how do you know she'll even tell you the truth? Even if she does tell you who it is, she could always tip off whoever this person is that we're onto them and do something to the kids. After last night, I am not taking a chance," Troy hollered. Gabriella stood before her husband, grabbing his shoulders to make him look at her.

"I would never put the kids at risk. This could help us protect them. Please Troy, I need your support on this," Gabriella pleaded, begged. But Troy was shaking his head.

"No. I do not have your back on this. I almost lost you and the kids once before, and I am not going to risk it again," Troy shouted, but his heart was on fire. Gabriella could feel her eyes moisten.

"Troy, please," She quietly pleaded.

"No. We are going to get the private investigator to figure this out. I have to go, I have a press conference to do," Troy said, storming out in a hurry.

Gabriella stood in their kitchen, in a dazed state. She hugged herself and took a deep breath.

If Troy wasn't going to join her, Gabriella would arrange a prison visit with Tess on her own.

The argument he had with Gabriella hung over Troy's head during the entire press conference he did that afternoon.

Chad instructed the members of the press to not ask Troy any questions about why the cops were called to his house in the middle of the night, and to only ask him questions about his upcoming movie. Delilah sat beside Troy, answering questions like rapid fire.

"Thanks for coming out today folks, we will see you all at the premiere," Chad announced, ending the conference. Troy and Delilah were escorted away to the lounge.

Once in the lounge, Troy sat on one of the couches, and pulled out his phone. He didn't have any messages from Gabriella. He wasn't expecting a message from her. He knew his wife well enough to know that she would need some time to cool off before talking to him again. He did have text messages from his kids sending him pictures of themselves hanging out with Sharpay, Zeke and their kids saying hello that made him smile.

"You did great out there," Delilah said as she sat too close to Troy on the couch. Troy forced a smile and tried to shift away from her.

"Thanks, it all just comes second nature to me now," Troy said, trying not to encourage any flirtatious behaviour from Delilah. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"You still have to teach me how to be such a pro talking to the press, acting is still so new to me," Delilah said with a giggle, leaning into Troy. He held a hand out.

"Delilah, you tend to get too close to me. My wife gets uncomfortable when you get this close to me," Troy said. Delilah raised her eyebrows and bit the inside of her cheek.

"You know, contrary to what the media is trying to portray, I actually really admire Gabriella. I look up to her and want to learn from her," Delilah said, but Troy had a hard time trying to figure out if she was being sincere or not.

"Regardless, I am really going to need you to stop with the touchy behaviour during this press tour," Troy remained firm.

Delilah pursed her lips, trying not to be offended. She tucked a hair behind her ear. "I heard about your incident last night, I'm sorry that happened. It must've been scary," Delilah said. Troy sighed and took a sip from his water bottle.

"It wasn't as scary for me as it was for my kids, I can tell you that," Troy said, haunted by the image of Vienna pinned to the ground by a stranger.

"You know, my aunt is a detective. Her name is Viola. She's like a mother to me. I can give her a call and she can look into this for you. It won't be a problem at all," Delilah offered, oblivious to the fact that Viola had victim blamed the Boltons. Troy wouldn't tell Delilah this about her aunt, though.

"Thanks Delilah. We've got it covered," Troy responded.

Chad walked into the lounge, with a familiar somber face that made Troy tense up. Chad nervously licked his lips.

"Delilah, do you mind giving Troy and I some privacy?" Chad asked, trying to keep his voice steady. Taken aback, but unwilling to question, Delilah simply nodded.

"Uh, sure. I have to call my aunt, anyways," Delilah said, hastily grabbing her purse and scurrying out of the room.

Once Delilah was out of the room, Chad clenched his jaw and he fished something out of his pocket. Troy could see that it was an envelope. No, another letter.

"Someone left this with the receptionist here. It's addressed to you," Chad said, regretfully handing the letter over to Troy.

Troy wasted no time opening the envelope, his heart racing. Would he ever know peace? The letter was folded several times and he unfolded it as quickly as he could. When he read the contents of the letter, Troy felt his breath hitch.

Troy,

Eventful night, huh? It was so nice to meet you, even if it was brief. Pretty daughter you got there. She sure does look like her mother; you're going to have to do a better job at keeping the creeps away from her. I'll get right down to it –– I am planning another attack. And this time, I've learned from my mistakes and won't expose myself and leave any survivors. But I am willing to negotiate. If you keep Gabriella from walking in the Versace show next week, I will leave you and your family alone, for good. If she makes an appearance, there will be consequences. Choose wisely."

To be continued…

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