A/N: I'm sooooooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update. But I am back and back with a vengeance! This chapter was REALLY long so I cut it into two chapters to make it shorter and more thrilling. This does kind of end with a cliffhanger but I am hoping to suck all you guys back into my imaginary newsie world with this one. Let me know what you think! Once again, SO SORRY!

Building Bridges: Chapter Seven

An hour later William watched as Rayanne emerged in a new dress and appearing much more like herself. He quickly stood up and approached her.

"Ray?" It was meant to catch her attention but came out as a question in the end, she turned to him with a slightly raised eyebrow to indicate that she had heard him.

"Are you sure you are ready for this? It's has only been one day. We are here for two weeks." He watched her closely as she started wringing her hands together and shuffling her feet.

"I want to know William. I need to know." She looked up at him earnestly and stopped all movement. "I have been waiting for this my entire life."

William sighed but smiled brightly inwardly knowing that she was accomplishing one of her life goals; discovering who her family was and what happened to them. "Well, the library is downstairs. Good luck, Rooftop."

Rayanne smiled at her new nickname and reached up to give William the best hug she had ever given in her life, which he gladly accepted and returned to her full heartedly. When they pulled apart William grinned at her before turning around and walking to the guest room. Satisfied, Rayanne continued on her way, turned around the corner and slowly descended the grand staircase before her.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the entry way as she marched to the French doors that led to the library. She placed her hand on top of the door handle and paused. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself she slowly turned the handle to reveal Mrs. Peters sitting on a couch with a book filled with pictures in her lap. She already had tissues in her hand and could be heard sniffing quietly.

"Mrs-"Rayanne stopped herself before finishing her original thought and smiled. "Mother?" Mrs. Peters inhaled sharply at the word and turned to face her daughter. Tear streaks had etched their way into her features but she smiled through her tears.

"Come here, my Dear." She patted the area next to her and scooted over a bit to make more room for her. Rayanne tip-toed to the couch and sat down as she was told. Mrs. Peters placed the photo album halfway on Rayanne's lap and halfway on her own and leafed through to a page with only one picture.

The picture was quite old and torn a bit at the edges. It was a photograph of a family, her family. She recognized her father and mother but couldn't place the children. There were four. A young boy, who must have been no older than four, stood beside his mother and in front of his father, a wide smile adorning his face. On the mother's other side stood another boy, this one appearing to be maybe six or seven, who was grinning at the camera as well. Everyone but the mother smiled warmly at the camera, she was focused on the two little girls she held in her arms. The girls seemed to be the same age and looked very similar except for their hair color, one being blonde and the other being a brunette.

Rayanne traced her fingertips across the faces as tears began to burn her eyes. She paused her fingers on one of the two girls and looked up at her mother who was watching her lovingly.

"Is that..." She didn't need to finish the question for her mother to know what she was asking. Mrs. Peters placed her hand on top of Rayanne's and smiled. She grabbed Ray's finger and looked down at the picture slowly moving her finger to point at the older of the two boys.

"That is your brother, Charles." She paused and continued moving Ray's finger until it landed on the other young boy. "Your other brother, Alexander," Her finger moved to the blonde baby girl, "Your twin sister, Cassandra," then finally to the brunette, "And you."

Rayanne felt her breath catch in her throat and she quickly jerked her head up to look at her mother. "Wha.... What... What happened to them?" It was her mother's turn to sigh.

"I am not proud of this story. But I am going to tell you even though you will not be pleased with me after this."