The next day, my first stop on my way of finding new clues leads me to the police where I request to see the Detective that has worked on Christian's case.

„Miss Steele, I see you are back in town." The older man says.

„Detective Warren, it's good to see you again. Are there any news in the case of Christian Grey?" I ask and he sighs.

„Look, Miss Steele, I'm going to be very honest with you. The case is closed, we are all convinced he is dead. He was even pronounced dead..."

„What, without a body, without proof?" I gasp.

„Yes, his father is a lawyer, he has connections and he wanted to give his family closure."

„But it's not closure unless we know what has happened to Christian." I point out and he shakes his head sadly.

„You know, for a while, I was convinced that you did it, but then you started to show up here every day to ask for news. And with that, my only lead went away. The area you were at to camp is known for bear sightings. So, here is what I believe happened. The boy woke up in the middle of the night, went to pee and a bear snapped his neck and dragged him to his cave for a little feast."

„The boy has a name, his name is Christian and if a bear would have attacked him there would have been blood... you would have found the cave or bones... something... but there was absolutely nothing. You just gave up because it's convenient for you, but I'm not like that and I will never give up until I know the truth. And that is how you should think and his family too. Have a good day, Detective Warren." I snap and leave, this is pointless. He doesn't want to know what has happened to Christian, but I will find out!

And from there I have to wait because I have no more leads to follow unless Nick's Dad finds out why it has been a closed adoption.

Two days later Nick receives an E-Mail from his Dad and we all gather in the living room, while he looks through it.

„This is weird, his mother is alive." He says.

„Do you know where she lives?"

„No, but I have her name, she was born as Grace Trevelyan and married a guy named Lance Marshall when she was just seventeen years old, had the baby, Christian, before she even turned 18. He died in a car crash when Christian was just a little over a year old. Put her in a mental institution for nearly five years. I guess that's why he was put up for adoption. Wait... oh my God, Ana." He says and I want to shake him to tell him.

„What is it, talk to me!" I demand.

„Grace Trevelyan is the younger sister of Elena Trevelyan, now known as Elena Grey." He says and my mouth pops open.

„Are you sure?"

„Yes, it says they have a maternal aunt that is still alive and my Dad even managed to get her address."

„Christian never mentioned that he has family on his mother's side." I murmur, but sure enough the next morning I'm on my way to Portland where his grandaunt lives and knock at her apartment door.

„Yes?"

„Are you Mrs. Evans?"

„Why yes, and you are?"

„My name is Ana Steele, do you have time to talk, it's about your nieces Grace and Elena." I explain and she leads me into her living room where we soon sit together having tea.

„So, you want to talk about my nieces?"

„Yes, well technically it's about Christian, do you know him?"

„Oh of course, what a little darling boy he was. Gracie was so proud of him."

„Do you know why she had to give him up for adoption and why she isn't in contact with her sister?"

„Those two never saw face to face. Gracie was a little angel, while Elena was always looking out for her own benefit. They actually lived with my husband and I for a while after their parents both passed away. Gracie was sixteen and Elena had just turned eighteen. For a while, the girls really got along and then Lance came into the picture, he was a very good-looking young man, charming and hardworking to built a career for himself. He too was without parents, which I guess is what made him bond with the girls. Sadly, Elena became obsessed with him while he only had eyes for Gracie. Elena got so angry, she actually hit her sister which was why my husband told her she had to leave our home... well, and then she went off marrying Carrick Grey and forgot all about us, but not before she made a vow to make her sister regret that Lance picked Gracie over her." The older lady says sadly and I can't believe that Mrs. Grey could ever act like this.

„What happened then?"

„Lance proposed to Gracie and they got married, soon after the wedding, she got pregnant. Those two were so happy and then they had their precious little boy. Christian was such a precious little baby, he would always smile and make everyone laugh. But I guess sometimes happiness isn't meant to last. I was watching the little guy when I got the phone call that they had been in an accident. Lance died after two days and Gracie... she just couldn't take it. She had already buried both her parents at such a young age and then to lose her husband, it was too much for her to deal with. She stopped eating, speaking, in the end, we had to get her to the hospital to help her get better, but it was like she had just lost all hope. Didn't acknowledge anyone... it was heartbreaking to watch. During that time Elena came back, she seemed to be more grown up and mature... had I know what she was about to do I would have told her to just leave and never come back."

„What did she do?"

„She had just found out that she couldn't have children, so she convinced her husband that they should raise little Christian. I have no idea what kind of foul tricks her husband used, but they got the adoption through and my husband and I had no choice but to hand over the baby. When Gracie slowly got better and found out... she was screaming for her child, she went to her sister's house to beg her to give her her child back but Elena wasn't having it and in the end, even managed to have her institutionalized for nearly four more years. Gracie couldn't live with that, so when she finally got out and had exhausted every option to get her son back she just had to leave. She moved to Canada where she still lives today with her new family."

„She has more children?" I ask.

„Oh yes, she has two girls, Lilly and Sophie as well as a little boy, Caleb, with her new husband Jason. They met about fourteen years ago and married soon after that."

„Are you still in contact with her or Elena?"

„Gracie and I talk on the phone once or twice a week and she comes to visit two or three times each year, but I don't travel anymore since my husband has passed away six years ago, so I haven't been at her home in long while. As for Elena, I hope she got everything out of life she had hoped for, but I do not wish to have any contact with her and she wouldn't even admit that we are related if I tried."

„I'm sorry... do you happen to have a picture of your niece Grace and her first husband?" I ask wanting to see the people who gave life to Christian.

„Oh of course, just one second." She says and gets up to open a drawer from which she takes a photo album and looks through the pages.

„Here dear, these are Gracie, Lance and little Christian." She says and hands me the album but when I look at it I don't even look at Grace or Christian, my gaze is fixed on Christian's Dad who looks like a grown-up version of the boy I have known. It's so eery that I get the chills and suddenly I remember what Elliot told me about his fight with Christian when he told him that their mother was acting inappropriate towards him, making him uncomfortable. Elena was obsessed with Christian's Dad, that's what their aunt just told me... what if she kept this obsession and just projected it on Christian...

„Are you alright, dear?"

„Yes, of course, it's just... Christian looks a lot like his father." I murmur.

„Oh you know him?" She asks me and I nod, reach into my purse and get one of the picture of Christian I always carry with me and show it to hear.

„Just like his father... do you have a newer picture too, dear?" She asks and I feel horrible that I now have to tell her what happened.

„No, Christian... he was my best friend since I had moved to his neighborhood when I was ten years old. Six years ago, when we were on a camping trip with friends and his siblings he... he went missing. No one knows what truly happened that night, but the Greys believe he is dead."

„But you don't believe that now, do you, dear?" She asks.

„No, I can't... and if he really did die that night then the least I can do for him is to find out what happened. He doesn't deserve to remain an unsolved case, his story needs to be heard, whether he is still alive to tell it himself or through me finding out what happened the night he went missing." I say and she looks at me with a warm smile.

„That is good, you know I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Gracie after she lost Lance. Even if someone dies or just disappears from our life they are never truly gone, they are alive in our memories, where we can visit them and in our hearts where we carry them with us every day until we meet again one day. You just have to believe it." She says and I nod, but I know even this won't give me the closure or peace I need to move on with my life.

„Thank you, Mrs. Evans... I... I don't want to upset your niece, but if you think she will be able to handle this I would like for you to give her my number so she can choose to talk to me or not." I tell her, write my number down and hand it to her.

„I'll think about it and please, if you find out what happened to Christian, please let me know."

„Of course, I promise." I tell her and when I'm just about to leave she gives me the picture of Christian with his parents to give to him in case I find him alive.

While I drive back home all I can think of is that Elena and Carrick basically stole her sister's child, who then grew up to look just like the man Elena had once been obsessed with and that Christian disappeared right after he mentioned to his siblings that she was making him uncomfortable.

I know both Elliot and Mia talk about everything with their parents, so what if one of them told Carrick or Elena and they came to the camping site while we were asleep. Maybe they asked Christian to talk and things escalated... it would explain why they made sure the case was closed and why they had him pronounced dead with no evidence that he actually was dead.

It's so horrible of a thought that I hate to even go there... but now more than ever I know I just have to find out what happened the night that Christian vanished...

BTW I made a Pinterest page for this story you can find it under www dot pinterest dot com / sfanfiction / It - Happened - That - Night or simply search sfanfiction or it happened that night on Pinterest...