Chapter 12

A/n: Sorry for the delay. I had a really bad case of Viral Gastroenteritis and was MIA for awhile. But I'm back and better now. On with the story!

People were scattered everywhere as she ran through the lobby toward the elevator, onlookers, residents, wondering what had caused the commotion at nearly one o' clock in the morning. The turnaround in front of the luxury apartment complex was filled with ambulances and cop cars. She gasped when the elevator doors open, more residents loitering in the halls in their pajamas, confused and questioning looks on their faces.

She sprinted quickly towards Darien's old place, her legs like jell-o as they pounded against the floor. Immediately she pressed open the unlocked door and entered to find Darien sitting on the couch, his hair messily askew, a look of unabashed shock and fear painted across his face.

"Ma'am you can't be here," said a burly officer looking toward her.

"She's my partner, I called her," said Darien, his throat dry, a look of worry etched into his features. The police exchanged a look.

"Then we may need a statement from her too," said the man, signaling for her to join them. Quickly she joined Darien on the couch, lacing her fingers with his.

"I'm Officer Cuthbert this Detective Liu-"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand why the police are involved."

"It's protocol, when a seemingly healthy person is found dead its procedure to investigate."

"Does that mean we're suspects?" asked Serena.

"Not necessarily. The body has already been taken for an autopsy, until we determine whether this was accidental or not, nobody's a suspect."

"But since you found her, we will need a statement from you son, and be as exact as possible," said the Detective.

Darien took a breath. "Uh, she called me at about 11:30. She was upset about something she found in my file cabinet-"

"Which was?"

"The new deed to mine and Serena's house."

Detective Liu frowned. "Were you at some point involved with the deceased?"

"Yes, a while ago. We broke up months before I moved back to Japan. She followed me here, claiming that she was pregnant and the baby was mine. A little more than a week ago she was in a car accident and miscarried. I brought her back here so that I could look after her while she recuperated."

"I see. So she called you upset tonight?"

"Yes. I had made it clear that I had no intention on pursuing a relationship with her and had been seeing Serena since before she came back to Japan. After the death of the baby, she became severely depressed and I decided to not to tell her that Serena and I had purchased a house together because it might upset her more. But she went through my things tonight and found the paperwork and called me upset about it. I left the new house and came back here to check on her. I got here at about 12:20 and found her laying on the floor in my study. I called 911 and performed CPR but couldn't revive her. The paramedics arrived and I called Serena. By the time I got here her body hadn't gone into rigor mortis and was still warm. I thought I could revive her…but…I couldn't…"

"Would Lily have any reason for suicide?"

"Her baby just died and I told her we had no future together," said Darien bitterly, guilt creeping up on him. "I'd say so."

The Detective and Officer exchanged a look. "Miss…"

"Tsukino, Serena Tsukino."

"Miss Tsukino, did you have any contact with Ms. Mardot?"

"Yes, once, at the mall. I ran into Darien and Lily shopping for baby clothes. We didn't speak though and I left the mall shortly thereafter. Other than that we haven't had any contact."

"I see," said Detective Liu. "Well I suppose that's all we need for now. We'll contact you if we had any more questions. Don't leave the country."

Darien nodded, his eyes narrowing as a police officer exited his study with a small Ziploc bag enclosing an open bottle of pills. The pills that he had prescribed to Lily for her depression.

He woke to her breathing, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, her bangs scattered across her head, small strands of gold resting against porcelain skin. The sunlight was peeking through the sheer curtains, bathing the wooden floors in an earthy glow. He looked over to the clock; it was barely nine. He didn't want his insomnia to wake her, so he gently rolled from the bed and stretched, surveying the room quietly.

He couldn't sleep in his old penthouse; after the police had questioned them they had left, leaving Serena's car there and making the one hour drive to their new home in silence. Serena had offered to drive, but he promptly said no. He needed his thoughts to be occupied by something other than the knowledge that Lily was dead.

He let out a breath, slow and ragged as he padded toward the bedroom door and out into the hallway. Slowly he descended the stairwell, his bare feet cold against the floor as he came to sit in the nearly empty family room and where he sat on the couch and rested his head against the brown leather sofa. He stared into the nothingness, his eyes falling upon toffee colored bare walls, his mind a frenzy of worry and grief. Had Lily killed herself? Had it been because of him? Because of all the pain he caused her? Had she used the pills he had given her to take her own life? He shut his eyes roughly, squeezing them together until all the light was pushed away by darkness.

That was how Serena found him, hunched over the sofa, his eyes shut, his face a mask of unavoidable pain. He flinched when he felt her fingers brush against his shoulder and opened his eyes to see the look of concern emanating from her.

"I didn't want to wake you," he said.

"You should have. What time did you wake up?"

He glanced at the wall clock. "I don't know. An hour ago."

She sighed. "I can't believe any of this is happening."

"Yeah…I hate to think…that she killed herself. And it was because of me."

"It was not because of you…it was…a lot of things. Starting with the death of your baby, which had nothing do with either of us."

"I should have had her hospitalized, after she slit her wrist."

"I don't mean to give less gravity to her actions, but I know a lot of people who have done that. It's not always suicide, sometimes, it's escapism."

"But this time it wasn't, she wanted to die-"

"We don't know that. It could have been anything. I know she was young, but heart attacks, strokes, other illness' you didn't know about…it could have been anything that killed her."

He put his head in his hands. "She just wanted a family…that's all she wanted. And now she'll never have the chance to have the one thing she wanted most."

Serena frowned. What could she say to ease his pain? She understood the guilt, the regret he was feeling and she knew that only time could take his pain away. So she sat with him, in the quiet, in the stillness of the morning, until the sound of playing children pervaded the silence, until the chirping of birds filled the air. She turned to him and kissed his cheek, her fingers coming to stroke his forehead, his arms, her lips falling from his face, to the soft skin of his exposed neck. The kisses were soft, feathery strokes of her lips that tickled and filled his belly with the soft nudge of desire. His eyes closed and he groaned, his breathing louder as she moved towards him, straddling him on the couch, her white, terry cloth robe falling to the floor behind her.

She looked down into his eyes, closing her own and moving to the cover his mouth with hers. Her lips moved gently, hungrily, her tongue dancing with his as she ground herself against him, a slight moan passing his lips as he tugged her nightgown over shoulders, exposing her bare breasts to the elements. Goosebumps formed on her skin as the cold hit her nude chest. His hands came to cup her breasts, expert thumbs and fingers flicking and pinching at her nipples until he covered the swollen buds with his lips, pulling and suckling with his tongue as her body arched into him, small moans coming from her.

He grabbed her by the waist and lowered her to the ground, hooking his fingers around under her yellow underwear as she lifted her bottom to allow him to pull them off. Quickly he removed his own barriers and covered her with himself, easing is member inside of her until he was encapsulated by her wet warmth. All thoughts of last night melted away to the furthest corners of his mind and he let himself get lost inside her. He moved gently as first, small little thrusts as she squirmed and groaned beneath him, until the raw need for release seized him. He maneuvered her legs until they rested above his shoulders and repositioned himself above her, letting himself sink into her with deep thrust after thrust, the very end of him reaching so deep inside of her. He groaned loudly, his hips pounding into her as she cried out over and over, until her body shuddered with release, her nails gripping and clawing at his back, the sting of pain intensifying his pleasure until he buried himself in her neck and cried out his release, his seed flooding her womb until his shuddering came to a halt.

He looked down to her, her cheeks rosy, a satisfied smile on her face and he kissed her gently, long, languid kisses against her lips until he rested his head against her chest, closing his eyes and reveling in the feeling of being so closely connected to her until memories of last night's events flooded back.

"She's moved you know," said Dante, smoothing his long blonde ponytail before looking to Seiya. "Some house in the Lakeshore District."

"By herself?" asked Seiya, staring uninterestedly at the man before him.

"No, with Doctor Chiba."

"When?"

"About three days ago, the day Lily died."

"I see…do you have an address?"

"I do, sir. Do you intend on paying her a visit?"

"No, not necessary. Weeks from now she'll be living in that empty villa alone and I'll swoop in to pick up the pieces."

"What are you planning on doing, sir?"

Seiya chuckled. "Nothing. I'm going to sit back and watch. There's nothing in this world sweeter than victory, Dante. Nothing."

It had been nearly a month since Lily's death and subsequent funeral and Darien was finally starting to feel like himself again. It had been a difficult week shortly after her death. He had to contact her friends and the distant relatives that he did know about. One week after her death and autopsy, they buried her that the Juban Cemetery. Darien had flown her close friends out and put them up in a hotel so they could properly mourn. Surprisingly none of them blamed him; Lily's departure from New York had been quite the surprise for them and so had the news of her pregnancy. They had said their tearful goodbyes to Lily and whispered sentiments of comfort to Darien prior to their departure. Every day after that for him got easier, every day the guilt lessened, the regret dissipated.

"Breakfast is ready," said Serena from the bottom of the stairwell. He smiled and adjusted his tie before walking down the stairs into the kitchen. There she was, standing in front of the stove, an airy pink nightgown the only thing covering her body. "Morning."

"Morning," he said, kissing her on the cheek as she handed him a plate of blueberry waffles, eggs and bacon. "You keep waking me up with these kinds of breakfasts, I'll be fat in no time."

Serena chuckled. "I guess you'll just have to work those calories off with me when you come home tonight then," she said, giving him a look.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" he asked, setting the plate down and kissing her neck. "And that if you keep talking like that, that you're going to make me late for work again?"

"I didn't make you late for anything," she said, closing her eyes and leaning her body against him as she continued to kiss down her shoulders. "No one told you to do me on the kitchen counter yesterday morning."

"No one told you to come down and cook wearing nothing but lace panties."

She laughed. "Good point," she said, elbowing him gently in the ribs. "But you can't be late again, so go eat your breakfast."

He smirked before playfully swatting her backside and grabbing his plate. He moved to place a spoonful of eggs in his mouth when the doorbell chimed. "You expecting someone?" he asked, putting his napkin down on the table.

"No. Yesterday one of our neighbors came over to borrow a cup of flour and then an hour later some milk for her three year old. Maybe it's someone else that wants to borrow our groceries. I'll get it."

"No in that you won't," he said, eyeing her outfit.

She rolled her eyes before throwing on her robe. "Of course darling," she said, kissing his head before walking out of the kitchen, through the formal dining room and to the door. She twisted the knob and gasped slightly, surprised by who was glaring at her from the threshold.

"Detective Charlie Liu," said the Asian man, flashing his badge and frowning at the young blonde. "Is Darien Chiba here?"

"Yes," she said, looking to find Officer Cuthbert and four other officers behind him.

"What's this about?"

"We need to speak to him."

Serena was just about to motion for them to come in when Darien appeared behind her, a confused expression upon his face. "Can I help you officer?"

"Yes, you can," said the detective pushing past Serena and grabbing Darien around the shoulder. Quickly Officer Cuthbert came in and pressed Darien into the wall, placing metal cuff upon his wrists.

"What are you doing?" yelled Serena as a female officer came and pulled her away from her boyfriend.

"Darien Chiba, you are under arrest for the murder of Lillian Mardot. You have the right to remain silent," said the detective, fastening the cuffs closed, "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been said to you?"

"What? Let him go, he hasn't done anything!" cried Serena, trying to get towards Darien as the female police officer acted as a barricade.

"It's okay, Serena, call Robert Barnes, he's my attorney," said Darien as they pushed him out of the door. "It'll be okay, just call him."

Serena watched, horrified as the officers led him away, put him into the back of the police car and sped away.

Serena sat quietly, her fingers drumming against the table, her hands running through her hair, an exasperated sigh passing her lips. She looked to the north corner in the room and her heart broke as they led him toward her, the orange jumpsuit clinging to his body, the chains rattling as he trudged toward her, his look stern and fearful.

He sat before her and she touched the glass before picking up the phone to her right and watching as he did the same.

She sniffed. "Are you alright? I mean…obviously you're not alright. Did they hurt you?" she asked, tears falling from her cheeks.

"I'm okay," he said, his voice monotone. "They didn't hurt me."

"It's been two days, they wouldn't let me see you…they wouldn't tell me anything. I had to find out from the news. Why would they think you poisoned Lily?"

Darien sighed. "Her toxicology report confirmed high levels of Cyanide in her system. The pill bottle that they extracted from the penthouse had anti-depressants laced with Cyanide."

"So?"

"So I prescribed those pills to her." Serena quieted for a moment, her heart beating painfully. "They found my fingerprints on the bottle, Lily's and one more person they are trying to identify. It's probably the pharmacist," he said, watching her silently, waiting for her to say something, anything. "Serena, I didn't do it, I don't know how Cyanide got in there. They're tracing my bank records to see where I purchased it from."

Her lips quivered. "Of course you didn't do it," she said, her voice sounding strange to even her. "I don't…how is this possible?"

"I don't know. They did an investigation in the hospital. They had the lab test every brand of antidepressant we keep in the pharmacy. Lily's bottle was the only one that had traces of Cyanide in it."

Serena's chest twitched. "Someone did this on purpose! Who would want to have you arrested?"

Darien chuckled. "Three guesses."

The blonde leaned in, dropping her voice an octave. "You think Seiya is behind this?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Serena shook her head. "No, Seiya may be a lot of things but he is not…not a murderer. He wouldn't kill Lily! He doesn't even know her-"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Robert and Raye are building a case for my trial. Witnesses from a restaurant called Christabelle's came forward when the police started investigating saying that Seiya brought her into the restaurant months ago. He came through the back entrance and was seated in a private area. He said they had lunch and then left the restaurant separately. Why would she be talking to Seiya? It doesn't make sense."

Serena searched her mind for the answer. Why would Seiya be talking to Lily? "Serena don't confront him…"

"What? I wasn't-"

"I know you. If he did kill Lily and is framing me for it who knows what he'll do to you. Do me a favor okay, take Andrew home with you, pack a bag and stay with Raye-"

"Why?"

"Because all of this has to be about you. He told you that you would regret leaving him. Maybe this is what he meant."

Serena sighed before she took another sip of her tea. "I can't believe this is happening," she said, her eyes raising and falling to the faces of her friends. "This is my fault. If I would have never been involved with Seiya in the first place Darien wouldn't be rotting in prison right now!"

"You cannot blame yourself. We all thought Seiya was a skeevy little bastard but no one expected for him to be a murderer," said Raye. "And Darien is innocent. Robert and I just need to find a way to prove that. Luckily Darien's fingerprints aren't on the pills and we're trying to get the hospital to release video footage of the pharmacy. We have evidence that Darien called the Pharmacy around ten o' clock that night to place the prescription order from his cell phone record. But there is no record of the prescription being placed in the computer system and the pharmacist on duty has been out of the country for the last two weeks. Her name is Clarissa Andrews, but no one can seem to find her, her daughter, or her husband. She took a leave of absence about three days after Lily died."

"She's obviously the missing piece of the puzzle, then," said Serena, biting her lip.

"If Seiya is behind this, maybe he put her somewhere…" said Lita, her eyes squinting in concentration.

"Maybe he killed her," Mina mumbled.

"Let's hope it hasn't gotten to that. Raye what information do you have on Clarissa?"

"Not much. She did her graduate program in Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she grew up. She's out here on a Visa."

Amy frowned. "I have a friend who works down at the US Embassy-"

"And by friend Amy means Greg," said Mina, smirking.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Maybe he can look up whether or not she applied for an Exit Visa."

Raye nodded. "Can you call him now to find out?"

"I can try," said Amy, grabbing her phone and stepping out of the room.

"I know that look on your face, Serena," said Raye. "Don't get involved in this."

"Don't get involved? I'm already involved!"

"I mean do not confront Seiya. Darien is in jail right now and he's more worried that Seiya might attack you or something than he is about himself," said Raye. "I know you want to help, I know you want this to be over but getting yourself hurt or killed isn't going to help. Promise me you won't go to him."

Serena huffed. "I promise, okay."

"Good, I'm going to see Robert tomorrow. Darien's trial's in three weeks. We'll have his case built. I promise."

"How is she?" asked Darien, his hands clasped together on the table before him.

"You should be more worried about yourself," said Robert.

"She's fine," said Raye, interceding. "She's worried, but she's okay."

"Has she talked to him?" asked Darien.

"No, she's stayed away, just like you asked."

"Good. And the private investigation team?"

Bob chuckled. "You're lucky you're rich, you know that? These guys you hired do some damn good leg work," he said, rifling through a stack of papers. "Clarissa Andrews didn't need an exit Visa to leave Japan and if it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't have found her."

"I guess they were worth the 2.5 I had to drop to get them," said Darien.

"Well if it means ensuring your freedom then yes, they were well worth it. It turns out Mrs. Andrews, maiden name Douglass, was spotted by your guys off the coast of Montenegro on a boat in a middle of the Adriatic Sea. Apparently she won a three month trip from a sweepstakes she apparently didn't remember entering from an organization that was founded a little less than a month ago. She's been in different spots around the world every week for the past month, on a boat, in the middle of the ocean where phone calls and internet usage are being monitored by the captain. Captain's name is Pierre Crusoe; he's been on Seiya's payroll for the last twelve years. He's being paid by Seiya from an offshore account stationed somewhere in Monte Carlo."

"And she just up and took her family on a trip that she didn't even remember signing up for?" Darien asked.

Raye scoffed. "If you were part of the working middle class and you were offered a three month trip to the most lucrative and exclusive ports in the world would you ask questions?" she asked.

"I guess not."

"We told her about your predicament and have arranged a private jet to fly her in the day before the trial. We have submitted her as a witness to the judge and she approved her to testify. Your men are keeping watch over her and we expect that Seiya doesn't suspect a thing," said Bob.

"And we need to keep it that way. According to her, she gave the prescription to Dr. Manheim Forrester, who offered to fill the prescription himself. That morning it was ready for pick up and you came and got it around nine. We had the Forensics team run the bottle for the third set of prints and had them search the hospitals database for the match. It turns out the good doctor left one traceable print on the bottom of the container. We're having another team of private investigators tracing his bank accounts to see exactly how he got hold of the cyanide and another running his prints with security organizations all over the world," said Raye.

"We have reason to believe that Forrester may not be who he says he is," said Bob.

"Why not?"

"A contact in the KGB archives office has information on a man named Joseph Manheim Romanoff," said Raye.

"So?"

"This Mr. Romanoff killed his young wife and mistress eighteen years ago with Cyanide. There were some prints let at the scene but by the time they had a warrant Romanoff had fled the country and hadn't been seen since. There might be a possibility that our Forrester and this Romanoff maybe the same person."

Darien's mouth was agape. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. I've had lunch with that son a bitch more times than I can count."

"Well clearly, if Forrester and Romanoff are the same person, then he's learned to be quite the con artist," said Raye.

"I don't believe this," said Darien his mind wrapping around the idea that his colleague might have been a murderer and had also been an accomplice in him being framed for murder.

"Believe it, and we wouldn't have found it out had it not been for your team. No wonder the rich never go to jail," said Robert smirking.

"And that may be the one thing Seiya underestimated. You may not flaunt your wealth, but you have just as much reach and resources as he does. Now we're on equal playing field."

"How are you feeling?" asked Serena as she stared at Darien through the reinforced glass.

"Nervous…ready for it to be over. The trial is tomorrow and then we'll know for sure what I have to look forward to."

Serena nodded. "I'm so sorry for all of this."

Darien frowned. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"If Seiya is involved in this then I do."

"If Seiya was involved in this than so was Lily which means I would be just as much to blame as you are," Darien said. "Look at me Serena."

The blonde's eyes flew up to meet his face. "I love you, regardless of what they decide tomorrow. I will always love you."

Serena smiled sadly, a tear trickling down the side of her face. "I love you too. No matter what."