Hey guys!
sorry I haven't Updated in a while, I was on holidays for two weeks so I had no access to internet :( anyway, I'm going to try and get another chapter up to make up for it! :)

Issie xo

QUICK RECAP.

I picked up my phone off my bedside table and dialled the number I now knew of by heart. I didn't know what time it would be wherever she was but I knew she would answer.

"Hello… Rose? What are you doing its like 2am here? Is something wrong?"

"Hey… sorry I called so late and yeah, something is wrong… a lot of things are wrong but I might be able to fix a few of them, so I need to ask a really big favour…"

"… I need you to get me everything you can on the person who Lissa's dad was giving money to"

"Rose you know I can't do that, stuff like that is top secret."

"Sydney, this is quite literally a matter of life or death, I need you to do this for me. If you don't, well, things will never be the same or normal again! And besides, don't you owe Abe?"

"Okay, okay. No need to guilt trip me… OR bring my debt to Abe into it. And Rose, nothing to do with you is ever normal… anyway, I'll have a look for you, I'm warning you though it could be a while so in the meantime…"

She trailed of obviously unsure of what to say next. There wasn't much that Sydney could do other than get me those files, and she might not have them for a while so I started considering my other options.

I sighed

"Okay fine I'll talk to you later Sid. And please try and get those files for me!"

"I'll try, no promises though"

I heard a dial tone before I could squeeze another word in so I hung up.

I rolled over in bed and tried to sleep, emphasis on the word tried, my mind was going a million miles an hour thinking of possible places the girl or boy might be. The list was endless, how the hell was I going to narrow it down. Let me think about what I already knew;

There is an illegitimate Dragomir child

The guy in Las Vegas said that Eric Dragomir was always- wait… the guy at Vegas that's it! Lissa's dad was putting money into a bank account and I bet that it was to pay child support!

The realization hit me hard in the face; I can't believe that I had the answer right in front of me the whole time!

Finally happy that I had some sort of lead, something to go off. I wasn't going to sit around moping about how things had gone wrong any more. I was done with all of that. With being sad, about being – wrongfully might I add- put in jail, about not seeing Lissa, about Dimitri not loving me anymore, of still loving Dimitri regardless of that fact, that stupid, very significant fact. Most of all I was done waiting around for all the answers to be given to me. I'd learnt that if you wanted something in this life… you had to take care of it yourself.

I rolled over and pulled the covers up around me, I had a lead and so my mind wasn't whirring around like it had been after I'd talked to Sydney.

I sunk under the covers and slipped into a deep sleep filled with dreams of bright Las Vegas lights and the *ching ching ching* of the slot machines.

My dream then changed to a girl with pale blond hair, she looked like Lissa but there were some slight changes, she had the same jade green eyes that ran in the Dragomir family but her jaw was more pronounced, she had a smaller, button-like nose and she looked about fourteen instead of eighteen like Lissa.

Suddenly my dream changed in a swirl of colors that caused my head to hurt and then I was looking at Dimitri, he was talking to me wait it wasn't me, it was Lissa, I could see her reflection in a mirror opposite. I took in my – or rather Lissa's – surroundings they were in her suite at the royal court.

It was then that I realized that my surroundings had lost the dream-like quality. I was in Lissa's head. I had been asleep and so my defenses were down. Lissa also appeared to be arguing with Dimitri so I guess the passion of the moment had sucked me in.

"You have to tell me where she is Lissa… I need to know!" Dimitri was talking and the look in his eyes was frantic and it kind of scared me. I wonder who she was; I was suddenly feeling very bitter, Dimitri had obviously moved on already.

"You know that even if I did know Dimitri, I wouldn't tell you. It isn't safe for you or her! Don't you think if I knew I would have run away to be at her side by now? To help her? Besides, you going to see her and then pretending like nothing ever happened between you is just going to hurt her more."

Pretending like nothing ever happened? Maybe they were talking about Tasha. My heart shattered at the thought.

"You have no idea what I put her through Lissa, I can't ever hurt her like that again"

"Actually I do know, she told me everything. And you know what… she forgave you the second after you did it all. Make up your mind Dimitri, either you want her or you don't, you already know what Rose wants. You're a grown-up, make a decision"

Lissa looked like she was getting up to leave

"You don't understand, it's more complicated than that, I hurt her" Dimitri croaked out.

Lissa was suddenly very angry "It is that simple Dimitri, three little words, that's all she wanted to hear. Just like she's been telling you this whole year, she always loved you. Do you think I'm the one who changed you back? No, not really. It was all Rose; you have no idea the things she did for you… the lengths she went! It makes going to Russia look like joining a convent!"

Joy! They weren't talking about Tasha!

Lissa had calmed down a bit now "Tell me why you want to know about her Dimitri, tell me what you should have told her, and I'll see what I can do. Tell me and it's the first step towards telling her"

"Lissa… I, I lo- … I have to know if she's alright…"

Disgusted, Lissa stalked off and just as she left the room I heard Dimitri whisper "Its better this way." He continued saying it, almost as if he was willing himself to believe it…

I jolted awake.

My mind was once again whirring around, so many thoughts.

This was hopeless. Sleep was officially impossible for me. I looked at the digital clock at my bedside table. 2:30 Am. I rolled over and shoved a pillow over my head and soon, my need for sleep overtook the thoughts spinning around in my head and I drifted off, this time into a dreamless slumber.