The next couple of days went by in a haze for Emma. Oliver had decided not to bring up the subject unless she did. He wasn't home on most days, being away from the lair had given him ample time to tend to Queen Consolidated business that had piled up and he felt as though the days went by too fast. For Emma, it was just the opposite, the days were dragging and she found herself on several occasions picking up her mobile phone to call Malcolm but always changed her mind before going through with the call. She had so many questions but she didn't know how to formulate them. She was also very tired as her nights were short and she had a mix of dreams and nightmares. It was if Malcolm's dark side and her light side were in a constant battle in her head and heart.

When Oliver woke up that morning, he woke up to an empty bed. He sighed. He hated seeing her like this and he knew it was eating her up inside. He left the room and found Emma sitting in the sofa with a cup of hot cocoa. He kissed her forehead and sat down next to her.

"Another bad night"?

She said nothing but simply nodded then took a sip from her mug.

"I think you need to do something to get your mind off things. Why don't we go out to dinner tonight? We could invite Felicity and John, Thea and Roy and why not Tommy and Laurel"?

She smiled weakly. "Basically, a family reunion".

He hadn't thought of it upon bringing up the idea but she was right. She would find herself in the company of her brother and sister without them even knowing it. He hadn't told anyone and he knew that if Malcolm had said anything to either one of them, that they would have reached out to Emma by now. He, at least appreciated that about Malcom, he wasn't throwing Emma under a bus, he was giving her time to come to terms with the truth.

"We can just go with John and Felicity if you prefer. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight".

She shrugged. "Don't beat yourself up. I have no issue with being their sister, I guess it's more him being my father that I'm having a hard time coming to terms with. Besides, we might as well announce it at dinner, it will make for an interesting conversation or a very awkward silence".

He leaned in and kissed her. "Both Tommy and Thea are lucky to have you as a sister".

He stood. "I'm going to call them and extend the invitation".

Emma in turn stood. "I'm going to whip up some breakfast".

When he joined her in the kitchen ten minutes later, she was finishing to cook scrambled eggs, bacon and make toast.

"Ok, we're on for tonight at 8 at Casa Paco. John and I have some business to tend to, so why don't you meet us there with Felicity"?

She smiled as she sat down at the kitchen table. "That's a good idea. I miss Felicity. Being on radio silence this past week or so has been hard".

He sat down and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean".

After they had finished breakfast he got dressed and left for the office.

"Sir"?

Slade looked up. "What is it"?

"I know you have everything in place and wanted to wait awhile longer but we've just intercepted a couple of phone calls that Oliver Queen has given and I think we may have a window of opportunity now".

"I'm listening", he said as he rubbed his chin.

"He's booked a table for eight tonight at Casa Paco for a party of eight and has invited all those you are interested in".

"You don't say. Now that is what I call an amazing coincidence. You are right that this is the perfect moment to put my plan into play. Get your men ready. I want synchronized interactions at 6PM tonight. You know what to do after that. Let me know when you are in place, I'll take everything from there".

The guy nodded and left the room. Slade took a sip of his whiskey and smiled. "Tonight Shado, I will avenge your death and make Oliver suffer"!

At ten to eight, John and Oliver walked into Casa Paco.

"Good evening, can I help you"? asked the hostess.

"Yes, we have a reservation at eight for a party of eight".

"Can I have your name"?

"Queen".

The hostess looked at her book. "Yes of course Mister Queen. You are the first two guests to arrive. Would you like to sit at the table or wait at the bar"?

He looked at John as he motioned to the bar. John nodded. "We'll wait at the bar, they won't be long".

The hostess nodded. "Let me know when you are ready then".

They headed for the bar as Oliver took out his phone to see if he had any messages from Emma but there were none. He looked at John.

"It's not like Emma to not be early".

"Ah, don't worry. When I spoke to Felicity late afternoon, she was going to shower, get ready and head over to your place. I'm sure they lost track of time. They're probably chatting up a storm. It's been hard on Felicity not to see or talk to Emma every day".

"I know it's the same for Emma and you're right, I'm sure they covered a lot of ground".

They were half-way through their drinks when Oliver's phone rang.

"Hey Tommy, where are you guys"?

"Well that's the thing. Is Laurel at the restaurant? She's not picking up her phone and she's not home, so I'm wondering if I again wasn't paying attention and we were supposed to meet at the restaurant".

Oliver had a look around the bar and the restaurant. "No, she's not here. Hold on a minute".

He looked at John. "Tommy can't find Laurel and she's not answering her phone". He paused for a moment. "Laurel's missing, Felicity and Emma aren't here either. Tell me I'm overreacting when I tell you I feel something is off here".

John's eyes narrowed as he took his phone. He first tried Felicity then Emma and neither one of them answered. He looked at Oliver. "I'd love to tell you that you're wrong, but I'm not getting a good vibe".

Oliver closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Tommy? Check the apartment for anything strange and meet us back at the lair in thirty minutes".

"What's going on Oliver"?

"I don't know. But something is going down"! he said as he hung up the phone.

He and John walked outside and had one last quick look around to make sure that they didn't see Emma and Felicity.

"Let's head home and meet back at HQ. I really want to believe Emma will be home but I highly doubt it and if I'm right, it's going to be along night"!

Just as they were about to go separate ways, Roy came running towards them. "We've got a problem"!

He stopped and pulled something out of his pocket. "I think Thea's in trouble. I found this on the floor near the front door when I came in".

Oliver took what Roy had in his hand and studied it very quickly. "It's a tranquilizer arrow, very much like mine".

"Merlyn"! grumbled John.

Oliver shook his head. "No, I don't think he would do this to Thea. But there's only one way of finding out".

He took his phone and texted Malcolm to meet him at the lair ASAP. He then looked at John. "I don't think we need to go check on our end. My theory is that we'll find the same evidence. Going there will only make us lose time on starting our investigations and whoever it is, they will get in contact with us".

"How can you be so sure"? asked Roy.

"Because, they wanted us to know, otherwise they wouldn't have left this behind".

As they were headed downtown to the club, they explained the rest of the situation to Roy.

Tommy arrived at the club and headed downstairs, surprised to see his father. "Dad? What are you doing here"?

"What are you doing here"?

Before either one could answer, Oliver, John and Roy came down. Oliver walked over to Malcolm and pointed the tranquilizer arrow at him.

"Tell me you have got nothing to do with this"?

Malcolm looked at the arrow. "No, I've never seen that arrow before. And what are you talking about"?

"Laurel, Felicity, Thea and Emma have disappeared and I have the impression that you are somehow linked to this"!

"Why the hell would you say that"? he said angrily.

Oliver shook his head at Malcolm's surprise. "First of all, because when I first told you that they had disappeared, you didn't seem the slightest bit surprised and secondly because your two daughters are missing. Take your pick"!

There was a long silence as what Oliver said sunk in to Roy, John and Tommy.

Tommy looked from Oliver to Malcolm who were staring each other down. "Dad? What is Oliver talking about"?

"Nothing".

"Wait, don't nothing me alright. Oliver just said two daughters, not one. What are you not telling me"!

Malcolm turned to look at Tommy. "I didn't want you to learn about it this way but I don't have much of a choice now do I"? he said after throwing Oliver a look of reprobation.

"Emma is my daughter".

Tommy blinked a couple of times as Roy and John looked at Oliver.

"Emma is my age… that means that you had an affair….".

"Now's not the time Tommy to talk about this. We have more pressing matters, like getting your fiancé and your sisters back safe and sound".

Even though Tommy was pissed as hell, in regards to what he had just learned, he knew his father was right.

Oliver looked at Malcolm. "Now, you want to let me in on what you know? This is the danger you were trying to warn Emma about isn't it? Who is it? Who is behind all of this"?

Malcolm's eyes wandered behind Oliver. "I don't need to tell you".

"And why is that"?

"Because his face just popped up on your screen"!

The remaining of them turned around.

Oliver clenched his fists. "Slade"!