Kismet

by snowballs

The death of Paige's parents caused the decline of the relationship between Emily and Paige. Overcome by her loss, Paige leaves Rosewood to search for answers while Emily, guilt-ridden for her indirect role in Paige's loss, struggles to come to terms with her decision. Paige's unexpected return dredges up old wounds and feelings, forcing them to confront the issues between them.

14. Zugzwang

DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters belong to others. Characters in this fanfic except for a few belong to PLL. Some events were borrowed from the storyline of the PLL TV series. I never read the books and mostly focus on PAILY stuff when watching PLL so I have no clear idea about 'A' and their motives for torturing the Liars. That said, the motives of the 'A'-team in this fanfic are entirely of my own creation.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the lengthy version of what this fanfic is about, please refer to the Author's Note in the first two chapters.

~Thank you for the continued support and appreciation of the story through all of your reactions and reviews.~

~Story's nearing its end! It's going to be done the day 3b starts, meaning I'm posting the final chapter in just a few days.~

Rachel Manlop: Thanks for your PM. Had to search what you meant by a Mary Sue though LOL! I'm not very familiar with fanfic/writing terms since this is the first story I've actually written. BTW thanks for that drawing! I really liked it!~

---

Chapter 14: Zugzwang

"I knew it like destiny, and at the same time, I knew it as choice." – Jeanette Winterson

Tara opened her eyes slowly, slightly disoriented. Her head was pounding and her neck felt sore but other than that she felt fine. Trying to adjust to her surroundings, she slowly raised her head and looked around her. What the fuck?! Except for the light provided by the moon, everything around her was bathed in darkness. Add to that the gentle swaying and the repeated sound of water lapping on the sides of the boat; the hint of saltiness in the air and she knew she was at sea. She tried to move but realized her hands and feet were tied. Now she remembered how she got there. The sound of footsteps coming from the forward end of the boat made her look towards the direction of the bow.

"Finally you're awake. I was starting to get bored staring at you." Paige said as she stood in front of the bound girl, studying Tara closely.

"Untie me." Tara ordered menacingly.

Paige smirked. "Or what?" She asked as she took a small step back. "I don't think you're in a position to order me around Nathalie."

She watched as Tara's eyes widened for a split-second, taken by surprise that Paige knew her real identity, before the other girl broke into a sneer.

"So you finally found out the truth. Took you long enough. Congratulations. You're not as stupid as I thought you were." Tara said, the malice evident in her voice. She looked down at the rope that bound her wrists, crisscrossed one on top of the other before looking at Paige again. "Or maybe you're more stupid than I give you credit for." She said as she began to struggle against the binding, the rope surprisingly gliding against her skin.

Paige smiled in amusement as the other girl tried to hide her discomfort. "I don't think so. See, I think you're not going anywhere. At least not anytime soon. You're tied up pretty good." She said, not bothering to hide her satisfaction at the other girl's situation.

"What do you want bitch?!" Tara spat out disdainfully.

Paige sat down on the marine beanbag she positioned earlier a good distance away in front of Tara, leaning forward so she could be heard clearly. "To talk. That's all. I just want to talk without any interruptions. Without you people trying to kill us every chance you get." She said frankly before glancing at her watch. "We've got plenty of time since I told your sister she needed to find me before I get to the cops." Paige revealed as she let her eyes wander in the vast darkness surrounding them towards the direction of what she presumed was the marina. She turned her attention back to Tara. "I'm pretty sure right now your sister and Jason are busy scouring the town looking for us. Well actually, for you and for this." She quickly corrected herself as she held up for the other girl to see the brown folder she was holding the entire time she and Tara were talking.

"But you don't plan on going to the cops at all, do you?" Tara asked, her eyes narrowed into slits as she studied closely the girl sitting in front of her.

Paige scoffed. "Me? Please. Look around you." She said as she gestured to the seemingly infinite darkness surrounding them. "I told her I was going to the cops and the next thing I do is head for the open waters? Come on. Even you know that that's just stupid. Besides. I just abducted you. Not to mention stole this boat. I think right now it's both in our best interest that the cops are left out of this." Paige said reassuringly.

Tara finally leaned back in her seat. "So what do you want?" She asked coolly, her mind racing as she began to think of ways she can get out of her current predicament.

Paige smiled. "Like I said. I want to talk. I want you to tell me everything. No lies or I will call the cops and hand them this." She said as she held up the folder once again. "I will gladly do the time if it means I get to spend it with you three." Paige said seriously.

Tara stared at the folder Paige held in her hand. "And if I tell you everything? What happens after?" She asked suspiciously. "How do I even know that's the original file?"

Paige shrugged. "You don't. I guess you just have to trust me." She said, not taking the bait in case the other girl planned on getting the upper hand. "If you managed to satisfy my curiosity; if you gave me the answers to my questions, we'll head back to the marina. I'll untie you and give you this file, and then we'll go our separate ways. Forget this night ever happened." Paige explained.

Tara snickered. "Why the hell would I agree to do that?" She asked in disbelief.

"Because even though we're on completely different sides of this thing, the truth is we all just want to be left alone." Paige said exasperatedly. "I want to move forward with Emily. And this file is the only reason why you people are still wasting your time watching our every move. I give you this and we can all just move forward with our lives." She said, waving the folder in the air wildly.

"Maybe so. But I personally don't like loose ends. I want to tie them into neat, pretty, little bows." Tara said callously.

Paige met Tara's cold stare unwaveringly. "After tonight I have no desire to bother you people. I just want to move past everything. I swear I will not bother you three if you don't bother us." She said forcefully.

"Why should I believe you?" Tara asked, skeptical.

"Because one, I really want this thing to end tonight. And two, I seriously don't care a rat's ass about getting justice for Ali. That girl made my life a living hell for years." Paige stated, adding a tinge of disdain in her voice to be convincing.

Tara chuckled. "You were one of her victims too, huh?" She said, thoroughly amused at the new revelation. "Well you may not care about getting justice for her, but you care about getting justice for your parents' deaths." She said, stating the obvious.

Paige nodded her head. "I do. Or at least I did. But after everything that's happened I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it. My folks wouldn't want me to get justice for them if it means sacrificing other people's lives along the way. Not to mention ruin mine." She said quietly. She sat in silence for a moment, letting the other girl study her closely. She finally opened her mouth to speak. "So. Do we have a deal? Tell me the truth, no lies and I set you free and give you the file."

When Tara still refused to accept her proposition, Paige decided to reveal her trump card. "Okay. I'll sweeten the pot. I'll set you free, give you the file and the footage as well." She said, forcing herself not to grin when she saw the look of confusion that crossed Tara's features.

"What footage?" Tara asked cautiously.

Paige finally grinned. "I guess we have a deal then." She said, placing the folder she held in her hand behind her before leaning her back on the beanbag, effectively hiding it from view.

"My sister's going to kill you once she finds you." Tara stated ominously.

Paige shrugged. "They'd have to figure out where I'm hiding first." She said casually.

Something clicked in Tara's mind. That's it. The answer to her predicament. "So just to be clear. You won't return to land unless I tell you everything." She said, intent on making sure that they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Paige nodded her head in affirmation, oblivious to the strategy Tara formulated just now. "Yes. But remember. No lies." She said, raising her index finger for emphasis.

Tara smirked inwardly. You're dead. And if I'm right, so is Emily. I just need to buy them some time. "Fine. Let's talk." She said gamely.

---

"That was close." Hanna said, the relief evident in her voice as she made a U-turn at the last minute and headed back the way they came.

Beside her, on the passenger seat of the SUV, Aria took a deep breath and finally relaxed her shoulders. "Yeah. Paige was cutting it way too close." She said as she turned to look at Spencer and Dani who were seated at the back of the vehicle. The two girls seemed pretty shaken up with the last minute turnaround as well.

"Where are we headed now?" Dani asked urgently.

Spencer turned her attention to the girl seated beside her. "Back to Rosewood. We need to work fast." She said firmly.

"Let's just hope Paige can keep them at sea long enough for us to find everything we need." Aria said nervously before turning in her seat to face front.

"Where to first?" Hanna asked, looking at Spencer in the rearview mirror.

Spencer thought for a minute before making a decision. "CeCe's boutique. Let's see if we can find Ali's notebook there." She said firmly.

Dani raised her hand. "Yeah, about that. I have a question. Do any of you know how to pick a lock? We might have to pick a lot of locks tonight." She said warily.

"I do. It's one of my many hidden talents. I've got this." Spencer said reassuringly.

"And alarms? Do you know how to get past those too?" Aria asked, one eyebrow raised in surprise at her friend's recent revelation about her lock-picking ability.

"Oh that's my forte. I can bypass any alarm." Dani said confidently.

"Okay another question. What happens if we find what we're looking for? Do we take it or leave it as it is for the cops to find?" Hanna asked, risking another quick look at her friends.

Spencer shrugged. "Depends. Let's just take things as they come." She said before they spent the rest of the ride in complete silence.

---

Emily struggled to get some circulation in her hands, fighting back tears as the rope cut deeper into her skin. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, looking at Jason and CeCe helplessly.

Jason took his eyes off the passing scenery and turned his attention to his captive. "We have no choice. Alison ruined our lives. We're just trying to get it back." He explained quietly.

Emily stared at him incredulously. "By sacrificing more lives?! We don't care about any of this. We just want to be left alone. You don't need to resort to anymore violence. You can just leave Rosewood. We won't say anything." She said pleadingly.

CeCe stared at Emily in the rearview mirror. "Oh but I don't like that plan. I want to leave this place knowing no one will think of what happened to Ali ever again. We need to tie loose ends." She said callously.

"But we're not a threat. We never were." Emily said, meeting CeCe's cold stare.

"Tell that to Pigskin." CeCe spat out furiously.

Emily felt herself explode in anger. "Stop calling her that! Her name's Paige! And the only reason she's even in this mess was because you people pulled her in in the first place!" She exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that she was a hostage as she raised her voice at them.

CeCe sneered. "Oh wake up, Emily. I didn't pull her in. The day Nick McCullers agreed to hide the file for Christopher York was the day he signed his daughter's death warrant. All we had to do was make sure your girlfriend knows it too." She explained impassively.

"Please. Just let us go. We don't want any part of this." Emily implored as she looked at Jason once again but her plea fell on deaf ears.

"Begging won't help Emily. Your girlfriend just abducted my sister. Let's find them first. Once I see Thea and the file maybe I'll consider letting you go." CeCe said cagily as she focused her attention back on the road.

"And Paige?" Emily asked hoarsely as she willed her pulse to stop racing. She somehow knew the answer to her question but she couldn't help but ask it anyway.

CeCe met Emily's terrified eyes in the rearview mirror once again and smiled eerily. "Well I think it's about time Pigskin joined her parents in the afterlife don't you think? I mean, I think it's only fair since she already got to spend time with you." She said the words with such finality that for the rest of the ride to the marina, the only sound audible in the car were Emily's quiet sobs.

---

"What do you want to know? I'm feeling really chatty tonight." Tara said casually as she met the unwavering stare of the girl seated in front of her.

"Everything. Start from the beginning. Start with how Alison and CeCe met." Paige said, keen to get to the bottom of things.

Tara snorted derisively. "You mean Alison and Lucy." She corrected emphatically. "You people seriously have no idea of the secrets that girl kept. Alison always knew who Lucille was. I created 'CeCe Drake' after Ali died and before Lucy had to leave this god-awful town because your best friend's father couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"How did you two end up living here from France anyway?" Paige asked, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chest as a cold breeze blew past them.

"Living? Please. I'm barely surviving here." Tara said disdainfully. "But to answer your question would mean to tell you about our life in France and I don't think we're actually friends to start sharing stuff like that. But I'll tell you this. You people don't know anything about Lucy. You see her as the person who killed her own sister and made your lives miserable all these years. But she's my savior." She declared unwaveringly. "She had the greatest life in France and she is the best sister anyone could ever ask for. She didn't even want to meet her real parents. They gave her up so she gave up on them. Only seems fair, right? But because of her desire to protect me, she pretended she needed to meet them. She told our parents that she wanted to meet the people who gave her up. Just to let them know that she doesn't have any ill feelings towards them and that she understood."

"So they came to the States. Your father purchased that house in the East Hamptons and a year later the DiLaurentises spent a summer there without their children knowing that it was really because Kenneth and Jessica were meeting Lucille." Paige said, confirming her theory as to how the two families orchestrated the encounter.

"Oh, so you did your homework. I was beginning to think this talk was going to be one-sided." Tara said, slightly impressed. "Yes. That's what happened. Before they came to the States our parents called Jessica and said Luce wanted to meet them in person. They planned it so that Luce's younger siblings wouldn't find out. Neither party wanted to reveal Luce's existence. So they decided to have no contact for a year to make it seem like my parents and Luce have been living in the Hamptons before their meeting and that it was purely coincidental that the DiLaurentises happened to rent the house near theirs. It seemed a good idea back then but there was something they failed to take into consideration. They shouldn't have waited a year to meet. Because Jason was already spending his summers there with his friends." Tara revealed ruefully.

"Let me guess. He and Lucille already met." Paige said indifferently. She knew she was supposed to feel sympathy. Maybe she would. If only these people didn't make it their life's mission to ruin other people's lives because of what happened. It was hard to feel sorry for the people who have caused them so much suffering all these years.

"Yeah." Tara confirmed. "A few days after my family arrived in the East Hamptons Jason and Luce met and without realizing they were closely related, entered into a relationship. When they found out the truth it was too late." She said quietly.

"Because they were already in love." Paige said sarcastically.

Tara felt her blood boil in anger. "Don't say it like it's some disgusting thing." She said warningly. "We may have done some wrong things in your concept of morality but that doesn't mean we aren't capable of love."

"So how did Alison find out?" Paige asked, choosing to ignore Tara's ire.

Tara shook her head resentfully. "Someone should have told that girl to stop going through other people's stuff. It could have saved her life." She said coldly. "She was rummaging through her dad's things when she came across a photo of a baby. She thought it was her so she took it. When Luce and her real parents finally met they told her that she has two younger siblings but she agreed that they didn't need to know her existence since she had no desire to be a part of their lives. She didn't even bother to know their names." Tara revealed before pausing to rest for a bit. All this talking was making her parched.

"So how did Alison and Lucille meet?" Paige asked anxiously.

Tara rolled her eyes. "Would you be patient? I'm getting there." She reprimanded Paige before continuing. "Out of sheer boredom, Alison came over one day and introduced herself without revealing her last name. They got along surprisingly well and Luce taught Ali how to make people bend to her will. But Luce had one rule. Never try to manipulate her. And for a while Ali followed that rule. Then the truth came out unexpectedly. Alison saw the exact photo she found in Kenneth's things in Luce's room. She put two and two together and confronted her parents. They told her the truth and the next day Alison told Luce that she knows and that it's perfect because she always wanted to have an older sister." Tara said as she began to strain against the ropes that bound her, trying to get some circulation in her hands and feet.

"Until Ali discovered that Jason and Luce were involved romantically and she started to blackmail them." Paige guessed, ignoring the other girl's discomfort.

Tara chuckled. "Wrong. That girl refused to accept hush money at first. She didn't blackmail them. Luce and Jason were the ones who offered to pay her in exchange for her silence. But Ali decided to ask for more than just money from them. She started asking for favors. Little by little Ali began to manipulate Luce and my sister didn't like it one bit. So she began to send Ali anonymous threats telling her to mind her own business or she'll regret it. That's when Ali decided to start pestering me." She said contemptuously.

"You were the person she kept calling in France, thinking you could help her." Paige said, realization dawning on her as one by one the puzzle pieces began to fit.

Tara smirked. "Bingo. Ali knew it was either Luce or Jason sending her those threats through childish means but she had no way to prove it since Luce covered her tracks well." She said gleefully.

"But how did she know about you?" Paige asked quizzically.

"Luce told her awhile back about me. When their problems started Ali decided to give me a call, thinking I could talk some sense into Luce. She was actually the one who told me she and Luce were related." Tara said casually. "She told me how she discovered their connection."

"You got her to trust you." Paige said in disbelief.

Tara grinned proudly. "Impressive, right? Thousands of miles away and I got the bitch to trust me more than she trusted her friends." She said arrogantly. "I'm a far better manipulator than Ali. Even far better than Luce actually. So in a manner of speaking, yes. I got her to trust me. But my loyalty lies with Luce. Not with her sister who I barely know. I told Luce that Ali had been calling me and we decided to work it to our advantage. I got her to tell me everything about her life. Including her friends. She thought I was helping her with her problems with Luce. She was starting to get scared. The seemingly anonymous threats Luce have been sending her were working. She still had no proof that it was Luce's doing and with how she's been poking her nose in other people's business there was probably a line for people who wanted her dead. I tried to convince her to just let things be since Luce was bound to get tired of Jason anyway but Ali was impatient. She wanted them to end things on her say-so and that fueled Luce's anger even more." Tara said calmly.

"How did things escalate to murder?" Paige asked, barely able to hide her shock at how callous these people were.

"It began when my parents decided to return to France. Luce wanted to leave with them because she knew I was in danger without her around but I knew she didn't want to leave Jason behind so I told her not to worry. That I could take care of myself. So she decided to move to Rosewood to be closer to Jason even if Alison was still interfering with their relationship." Tara said as she shifted in her seat.

"And Kenneth and Jessica never found out the truth?" Paige asked dubiously.

Tara shook her head. "Not at first. Although when they did found out it was too late." She clarified quickly. "Alison decided to follow Luce and Jason to a motel on the outskirts of Rosewood and filmed them. For those two that was the last straw. When Ali told them to breakup or the video goes public Luce tried to take it from her and a fight ensued. I guess you know what happened next." Tara said wryly.

Paige furrowed her brows in confusion. "No. I don't." She said, knowing how important it was for the other girl to say the next words and not her.

Tara rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Luce killed Ali and Jason buried the body." She said dismissively. "They immediately went to Kenneth and Jessica and told them what they did saying it was an accident and that they panicked."

"Then what? They just let Luce and Jason ride off into the sunset without taking responsibility for what they did?" Paige asked incredulously.

"Don't be stupid. Of course they were furious. But until you find yourself in that same situation, you can't pass judgment on them." Tara said quietly. "Luce knew how the minds of these people worked and she used that to her advantage. She knew they felt guilty for giving her up and that losing a child is hard but losing all of them? That is something she knew would be devastating to any parent. So she found a way for those two to blame themselves for what happened. She fed on their guilt and it worked. They decided to keep the matter a secret. They pretended that Alison went missing, filed a missing persons report, put up flyers asking for her whereabouts, and even offered reward money for anyone with reliable information. It worked for a year." She admitted offhandedly.

"Until Ali's body was discovered and Dani's father found the blood evidence." Paige reminded the girl bitterly.

"You people had to go and mess up things." Tara said scornfully. "When Jessica called her the first time saying Christopher found evidence that could link Ali's murder to her, Luce decided it wasn't safe to keep existing as Lucille. So I created 'CeCe Drake'. She knew it was only a matter of time before Christopher's conscience got the better of him though so she and Jason decided to watch Ali's friends closely. Find out if Ali told them anything and if they were a threat." She stated casually.

"They started a deranged club for the people Ali have wronged and used them as pawns to further your twisted cause." Paige said with quiet rage as she forced herself to calm down when she remembered all the times Emily's life was put in danger.

Tara shrugged. "Their purpose was to make Ali's friends so focused on keeping their own secrets that they would forget Ali's. But along the way they started to have their own reasons. They saw what they're doing as a means to punish Ali's friends for standing by and letting their manipulative friend have her way. Can't say I blame them, but Luce and Jason decided they've become liabilities, so they had to go." She said indifferently.

"Then Dani's father decided to come forward and you people decided it was time to ruin more lives." Paige said coldly.

"One day Jessica called Luce and told her she and Jason needed to leave Rosewood because Christopher York couldn't keep his trap shut anymore." Tara explained. "Luce agreed to leave but not without making sure everyone in Ali's life would pay for what she did. Including Mr. York. Luce decided to be more aggressive than she already was and asked me to find out what I can about him. Turns out he wasn't always known as Christopher York." She said arrogantly.

Paige shook her head in disbelief. "You did all of these, went to all this trouble to protect a secret that is morally wrong to begin with. You people destroyed so many lives just to make sure that no one ever finds out. A secret like that isn't worth any of this." She said with barely restrained anger.

"This isn't about the secret. This was never about the secret. At least not for me. This is about my sister's life. Her once perfect life that you people destroyed!" Tara exclaimed scornfully. "She left France to protect me and I was just gladly returning the favor when she called and said she and Jason killed Ali because of that bitch's refusal to take hush money in exchange for keeping her mouth shut about their relationship."

"Protecting you? From what?" Paige asked, confused.

"Like I said before this conversation began, we're not friends. You're not privy to that information." Tara said snidely.

"Well you two have a twisted sense of loyalty and family. Most of all love. Alison may be a lot of things but unlike you people, she has a limit. She actually knows when something is morally wrong and her own siblings killed and buried her for trying to do the right thing. How can it not disgust you? They're half siblings! It's wrong! Even Ali understood that. All the money in the world couldn't make it right for her so they killed her. For having a conscience. How could you not see that?" Paige asked despairingly.

"Because there are far worst things in this wretched world than loving your own brother!" Tara's unrestrained fury took Paige by surprise. "You don't know me Paige. You don't know anything about my life. I am telling you there are far worst things. Their relationship is consensual. They're not hurting anyone." She said, barely able to control her resentment.

"Yeah. Until Alison found out. Right? They didn't hurt anyone until someone asked them to stop. Killing Ali and my parents. That's not hurting anyone? Torturing Emily and her friends for years? Ruining Dani's life? Almost killing her?" Paige rambled on, refusing to back down.

"You were all collateral damage because Ali interfered. Every single one of you is paying for her mistakes." Tara stated unemotionally before breaking into an eerie smile. "And Paige, who ever said we planned on killing your parents that night?" She asked chillingly.

"What?" Paige asked, her breath catching in her throat. This was something she didn't know.

Tara grinned at Paige spitefully. "You were supposed to die. Not your parents. You."

---

"Let's just hope we have better luck here." Spencer whispered behind her as she led the way inside CeCe Drake's house, careful not to make any unnecessary sounds.

"Hey! How many times do we have to tell you? No flashlights!" Hanna said urgently, moving fast to seize the flashlight from Dani when she saw the other girl take it out of one of the pockets of her cargo capri pants.

Dani groaned. "Oh come on. I'm practically blind here." She said pleadingly.

"No kidding. You just grabbed my ass." Spencer said wryly before moving farther into the house, careful not to bump into anything.

Dani felt her face flush with embarrassment. "Sorry. I was aiming for your hand." She said apologetically before she raised her arms in front of her and tried to follow the sound of Spencer's voice.

Suddenly, a loud thunk from somewhere inside the room made the three girls look towards the direction of Aria. Amidst their 'sssh!' the girls heard Aria groan. "Son of a..." They heard Aria exclaim in pain. "Okay. Let's just stand for a minute in the dark. Try to adjust our eyes." Aria said as she rubbed her forehead, giving up all pretenses that she's not having any trouble seeing in the dark like Dani after she accidentally walked face-first in front of a display case.

"We don't have time for that." Spencer whispered urgently.

"Yes, we do." Dani said as she turned to look towards the direction of where she assumed Spencer was standing. "It's either we make time or we'll end up doing time. Your choice."

Spencer finally answered after a beat. "Fine. But we have to split up to cover more ground. Two of us go ahead and search upstairs, the other two start searching down here." She said as she moved closer to where her friends stood.

"I'm going with Hanna." Aria said hastily.

"And I get the ass grabber. Great." Spencer muttered under her breath.

"Hey that wasn't intentional!" Dani exclaimed indignantly.

"I was kidding." Spencer said lightly. "But just to be on the safe side tell me ahead of time if you need to hold my hand or something." She added, a hint of amusement evident in her voice.

"I can see fine now thank you very much." Dani retorted, still extremely embarrassed about the whole thing. She wasn't used to spending so much time with Emily's friends and grabbing Spencer's ass in the dark by mistake wasn't helping ease her discomfort.

"Keep your voices down!" Hanna reprimanded direly.

"Han, there're no houses for miles near this one. It's like straight out of a slasher film. No one's going to hear us." Aria said as she looked around, her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness as well.

"We can't be too safe. Let's just take precautions, okay? A lot is riding on what we're doing. The others are counting on us." Hanna whispered as she returned Dani's flashlight. "Especially Paige."

"And we're counting on Paige." Aria said anxiously.

"True. But unlike us soon she's going to be with three people who are capable of murder and she has only one means of escape. If something goes wrong..." Dani felt her throat constrict, unable to finish her thought. "She's completely surrounded by water. There's nowhere to run. So let's just do our part." Dani said quietly, suddenly remembering the gravity of the situation.

"You and Hanna search upstairs." Spencer said to Aria after a beat. "Dani and I will start searching down here." She said as she stole a quick glance at the somber girl standing beside her.

"After you." Aria said as she let Hanna walk past her before following the other girl towards the direction of the stairs.

"Come on." Spencer said, touching the other girl's arm gently to try and shake Dani out of her daze. "Don't worry. Paige is going to be fine." She said reassuringly.

"I'm not just worried about Paige." Dani admitted hoarsely.

"I know." Spencer said, giving the girl a small smile. "They're all going to be fine. I'm sure of it."

As she turned her back to Dani to start looking around, Spencer willed herself to believe the words she just uttered as well.

---

"Why? What did I ever do to you people?" Paige asked, unable to believe what Tara just said.

Tara shrugged. "Nothing. Your death was supposed to serve as a lesson to those around you. One they will never forget." She explained nonchalantly. "But we underestimated Emily's love for you that's why you survived the fire. I guess fate had other plans for you two that night. Emily interfered and I had to improvise. I thought to myself; why not kill the lot of you instead? No loose ends. But then your parents died and you and Emily managed to survive. For a while I was pissed." Tara admitted. "I was seriously pissed. I didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. But then I watched how you two fell apart after what happened and I realized things turned out better than expected."

"Are you that miserable that you take pleasure in seeing other people suffer?" Paige asked incredulously.

"No. Just you. I like seeing you suffer." Tara corrected bitterly. "It was better to see you pay for the sin of your father and watch you try to pick up the pieces of what was once your life after the havoc we caused." She said callously.

"Sin? What sin?" Paige asked, baffled.

"Nick McCullers shouldn't have gotten involved. The moment he accepted the file Christopher York entrusted to him, you were as good as dead." Tara explained.

"What, you weren't contented with driving Dani's family out of Rosewood, you people decided to ruin mine?" Paige asked, barely able to contain her rage.

"Hey. Don't blame me. Just when I thought it was all over, Lucy called and asked me to come to Rosewood to take care of the problem once and for all. But with the way things turned out, I really wish Luce called me sooner because seeing you and Emily fall apart after the tragedy wasn't near as fun as knowing what you two were like before the accident. Seeing your downfall from the pedestal these people put you on was more gratifying than tearing apart your relationship after the accident. I really meant it when I told Emily I wish I was here to see your glory days." Tara said, a hint of malice evident in her voice.

"Why?" Paige asked hoarsely.

"Because watching you two fall apart, waiting for the right time to swoop in, was the best part of my stay here in Rosewood. I was thrilled the night I saw you two having a romantic dinner at the marina. That meant Emily finally decided to stop playing Push and Pull with you and me and chose to get back together with you instead by coming clean about everything. For the past two weeks you two granted my wish. I got to see a glimpse of what you two were like before we ruined everything for you in the past. And now I want nothing more than to see you two fall apart once again." Tara said snidely.

"Why are you so intent on punishing us?" Paige asked, trying to understand how someone could hold so much resentment that the only way for them to experience happiness is through the misery of others.

Tara grinned. "Because I want you people to feel what it's like to have someone interfere with your happiness just so they could have their way. I want you people to feel as helpless and angered as Luce felt when Ali tried to control her life." She said spitefully.

"Your sister was anything but helpless. You people make it seem like you were victims in all of this when you've done nothing but ruin our lives. Whose plan was it to abduct me the night of the engagement party?" Paige asked as she struggled to forget the terror she felt the night she was forcibly taken in front of Emily's house.

"Mine." Tara said arrogantly as she struggled to raise her hand despite being tied up.

Paige nodded her head. Tara's answer confirmed what she suspected. "Let me guess. You wanted Jason and Luce to set the plan into motion before you arrived the next day." She said, taking another stab at the truth.

"How did you know that?" Tara asked, genuinely surprised.

Paige grinned. "I've got footage of this boat on Kenneth's slip the entire day I was missing. You three are on it. And I'm pretty sure I am too because I spent the entire day getting high on that bed thanks to you." She said resentfully as she jutted her thumb behind her towards the direction of the deck below.

"You're lying. Luce assured me they tapped into the feeds of all the establishments near Kenneth's slip." Tara spat out, her voice never betraying the anxiety she suddenly felt.

"Oh they did." Paige said reassuringly. "Caleb had a hard time finding this particular footage because he got it from the only establishment that wasn't on land. You people are so full of yourselves you forgot that the boat occupying the slip next to Kenneth's was a floating bar. I guess they forgot to tap into the feeds of that particular establishment." She boasted. Paige smiled inwardly when she saw a flash of fear cross Tara's features. "Don't worry. I said I'll let you have it after we get back to the marina. But first I need you to continue the story of what happened that day." She said, eager to continue their conversation.

"Well since you have the footage, you're probably just confirming some of the theories you have about that day." Tara said flippantly, not willing to show Paige how restless she has become. "Once I arrived I looked after you while Luce and Jason went to your house to search for the file."

"And by 'looked after' you meant injecting me with all those drugs." Paige said, needing Tara to admit to drugging her.

"Yes. I mean, I needed to pass the time and you were unrestrained. I can't risk you waking up." Tara reasoned out.

"The entire time you were alone with me or at all?" Paige asked.

"What?" Tara asked, playing dumb.

"Something you people also missed. The drugs in my system after the accident. It showed up on my blood work when I was admitted." Paige explained. "The amount of drugs you injected me with almost caused me to overdose so I'm pretty sure you didn't want me to wake up at all." She said, answering her own question.

"Not really. I mean, I figured since you're going to die in the boat fire anyway, if you overdosed before the fire it wouldn't have made any difference." Tara admitted.

"You're the one who texted Emily earlier that day." Paige said matter-of-factly.

Tara rolled her eyes. "Well duh. Like I said, you're the only one who was supposed to die. We needed to get her out of the way. Luce and Jason made sure Emily won't be able to join the game later that night." She explained patiently.

"By sabotaging her car and stealing her bike." Paige said, remembering what Emily told her about what happened that day.

Tara nodded. "Her only means of transportation. Or so I thought. I forgot that girlfriend of yours can walk so when night came she still found a way to start looking for you." She said, torn between feeling impressed and disgusted by just how much Emily loves Paige. "I've seen lots of girls throw fits when they get stood up by their dates so naturally I expected Emily to throw one when you didn't show up, not go out into the pouring rain and start looking for you."

Paige smiled. "Well like I told you when we first talked, she's extraordinary. Emily isn't like other girls. She's one of a kind and her love for me made her realize that something was wrong when I failed to show up." She said proudly. "What did you do to her car?" Paige asked, curious to know how they managed to disable her girlfriend's car without anyone noticing.

Tara scoffed. "Caleb and Dani aren't the only ones with the technological know-how. I'm smarter and faster than them combined when it comes to dabbling with electronics. One time I accidentally made a subpar EMP and discovered it can cause objects with computers to short-circuit, like cars. All Luce had to do was place it near your girlfriend's car and the damage is done." She said condescendingly.

"And her bike?" Paige asked.

"Jason took it and stowed it in his boat which he then kept all these years in his father's storage space." Tara revealed dismissively.

"Then when I left Rosewood he pretended he went sailing for two years. His alibi the entire time he and your sister were following me." Paige said, confirming Emily's suspicions. "Luce pretended to attend a fashion school in Milan for a year when I stopped visiting Emily."

"Very good." Tara said sarcastically.

"The night of the fire this boat left the slip around 9:30 then came back a few minutes later. Where did it go?" Paige asked, needing to hear Tara confess to what the footage failed to capture.

"Well like you said, you spent the entire day getting high on this boat thanks to me. We had to transfer your deadweight body to the Kismet before I set it on fire. The quickest way would be to move this boat to Jason's slip which happened to be beside your dad's, and then we transferred you. Jason left while I stayed behind to start the fire. I barely navigated this boat out of Jason's slip when I saw your parents and Emily arrive. They were too early so I called Luce, docked this thing then left the marina." Tara explained as she shifted in her seat.

"How did you start the fire? The investigators didn't find any sign of foul play." Paige said, leaning forward to hear Tara's answer when the wind picked up.

Tara sighed exasperatedly. "Of course they won't. I'm not some amateur. At first I wanted to pour gasoline all over the place, make it look like there was a leak. But that's just messy and I didn't want to smell of gasoline after so I caused an electrical fire instead since it is the most common cause of boat fires. And it worked. I mean, you even got the insurance money to prove it so I guess you could say you actually owe me." She said, smirking.

"I never touched that money. You can have all of it. I don't want any part of this mess you caused." Paige said stonily.

"What, you think they'd find out it was deliberate? Please. They wouldn't be able to prove it. Insurance fraud should be the least of your worries right now. But back then I figured you could use it. You know. For the funeral." Tara said callously.

Paige wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug look on Tara's face but she forced herself to keep her rage in check. "You planned that game with my folks when you couldn't find the file that morning." She said, going back to the events that happened earlier that day.

"Yeah." Tara said, waiting for Paige to ask her question.

"But you told Luce and Jason to abduct me once I left Emily's house. Why didn't my parents look for me when I didn't come home? They knew I wanted to say goodbye to them before they left for Scranton." Paige said, trying to get as much answers as she can.

Tara smiled. "Jason took care of that. He answered a text from your folks when they asked where you were. They thought you changed your mind and decided to spend the night at Emily's." She said offhandedly. When she saw the pain in Paige's eyes, she smirked. "Oh don't be so glum. Don't worry. They understood. It's not like the last few moments of their lives they thought Emily was more important than them. They weren't mad. I mean, Jason made sure that in your reply you promised you'd be there when they arrive that night." Tara explained before looking like she remembered something. "Oh but then you weren't. You went out for a run. Oops. I guess you do have a reason to look so glum."

Paige decided to ignore the other girl's attempt to get a rise out of her. "What do you mean I went for a run?" She asked, desperate to learn more about what happened the day she went missing.

"Well how do you think we got them to start looking for you? We can't just tell them we took you. We needed them to have a place to start looking. That's how you control the game." Tara clarified, speaking slowly. "Luce forged a note from you saying you went for a run at the track and field stadium. Though since your parents arrived late they have no idea of the exact time you left that note for them. But it didn't matter because we just needed them to think that that was the last place you went to before you were taken. So naturally they would check there first." She said, leaning back in her seat, refusing to let Paige see how uncomfortable she's becoming.

"And Jason was there to tell them where to look next." Paige said, making a wild guess.

"Gold star! Yes. He was there. He gave them the next place they could look for you before he went back to the marina to help me transfer you to the Kismet. After that I told Jason to meet Luce at your house to search for the file." Tara said, wondering how long she had to keep the conversation going before her sister and Jason arrive. She was starting to get impatient.

"And while they searched my house you stood in the middle of the road and caused us to crash to buy them more time." Paige said, not bothering to hide the rage she felt this time.

Tara smiled eerily. "I did trigger your memories the night I saw you and Emily didn't I?" She said, extremely pleased.

Paige nodded. "You did. I've been meaning to thank you for that. I've been dying to recall what happened that day." She said, meeting Tara's gaze head on.

"You and me both." Tara said sinisterly.

---

"What's this place?" Emily asked as Paige slowly led her to the edge of a bluff overlooking the marina.

Paige turned around to face Emily and smiled softly. "This." She said as she moved to stand beside her girlfriend to look at the incredible view before them. "Was supposed to be my surprise the day I went missing." She admitted sadly. "Because of the accident we seem to have forgotten why that day was so important for us. In all the frenzy we forgot that we were celebrating two occasions that day. Our 3rd anniversary and the first day of our life as an engaged couple." Paige said quietly.

Emily took her eyes off the horizon to look at her girlfriend. "I never forgot." She said, giving Paige a soft smile.

Paige felt her heart soar. "Well I have a confession to make." She said timidly.

"What is it?" Emily asked as they moved to sit on the grass but not before Paige took off her jacket for Emily to sit on.

Paige took a deep breath and held Emily's hand in hers. "I've been carrying around that ring since our freshman year in college." She said quietly as she stared into her girlfriend's eyes. "And ever since that night at the hospital, before the start of our freshman year, when I realized I wanted to marry you, I've been trying to find the right time to pop the question. I really planned to propose to you the day before our 3rd anniversary. I wanted to start our 3rd year together as your fiancée." Paige said as she gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind Emily's ear.

She briefly took her eyes off her girlfriend to look at the setting sun in the horizon. "If the accident didn't happen, this would have been my surprise for you that night. This piece of land is breathtaking at night. My parents gave it to us as their engagement and wedding present and I've been so excited to show this land to you but I never got the chance." Paige said sadly.

"But we're here now." Emily said quietly as she gently nudged Paige, trying to lighten the mood. "That's all that matters." She said reassuringly as she leaned her head on Paige's shoulder.

They sat in comforting silence for a while before Emily spoke up. "This moment is perfect." She said as they continued to watch the sun set. Emily swallowed hard before turning her head to face Paige. "I'm really scared." She whispered hoarsely in Paige's ear, struggling to fight back her tears.

Paige moved her arm to wrap it around Emily's waist before kissing her girlfriend softly on the head. "I know. Me too." She admitted quietly. She took her eyes off the horizon to look at the girl beside her. "But no matter what happens tonight, I want you to know that I will always, always, always love you." Paige said fervently.

Emily moved to hug Paige tight, terrified to let her go. "Always have?" She asked breathlessly, closing her eyes as she memorized the feel of Paige's body against hers. "Always will." Paige whispered softly in her ear.

88888

Emily was jolted out of her reverie when she felt Jason nudge her all of a sudden.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, seemingly worried.

Emily scoffed. "My hands and feet are tied up and I'm in a car with two people who have a twisted sense of love. No. I'm not okay." She said coldly.

Jason roughly cut the rope binding Emily's feet as CeCe parked the car near the docks. "You better check your attitude or we'll deliver your lifeless body at Paige's feet." Jason said warningly.

"I guess we're going sailing tonight." CeCe said, amused. "Pigskin is making it easy for me to take care of this particular loose end." She said as she turned to look at Emily and Jason.

Jason strained to see outside the windshield and saw that the Temptress wasn't docked in its slip. Meeting CeCe's meaningful stare, he quickly took off his jacket and placed it over Emily's hands to hide the fact that her hands were tied up before gripping Emily's arm tightly. "Make one wrong move and I'll make sure that Paige gets to see you bleed to death right before her very eyes." He whispered menacingly before opening the door and getting out of the car first, practically dragging Emily after him. "Start walking." Jason ordered callously as he put his arm around Emily's shoulders casually and forced her to follow CeCe towards the direction of the Charles I.

---

"Find anything?" Dani asked quietly as she made her way towards Spencer.

Spencer shook her head. "All I've got so far are takeout menus and unpaid bills. What about you?" She asked, closing the drawer she was rummaging before turning her attention to Dani.

"I'll trade your takeout menus and unpaid bills for this homemade porn courtesy of Ali." Dani said, not the least bit amused.

"What?" Spencer asked, confused.

Dani held up a mini DVD for Spencer to see. "This was on the player when I messed with the TV." She said wryly.

"What's in this?" Spencer asked as she took the disc from Dani.

"CeCe and Jason getting it on in some sleazy-looking motel." Dani said, forcing the image out of her mind. "You don't know how much I wish my amnesia would return right now." She muttered under her breath.

"How do you know Ali filmed it?" Spencer asked as she followed Dani to the front of the house.

Dani picked up the DVD case from the coffee table and showed it to Spencer. "Ali has a habit of scrawling her name on her belongings doesn't she?" She asked wryly. "The handwriting's the same with the notebook I found. That video was probably the last straw for those two. Ali showed that to them and threatened to expose them unless they paid her more."

Spencer nodded. "There's nothing else in here?" She asked as she looked around the room while returning the DVD in its case.

"Nope. Let's head upstairs. Maybe those two are having better luck than us." Dani said as she walked past Spencer and took the steps two at a time.

When they finally reached the landing, they followed the sound of hushed voices down the end of the hall and entered what they assumed was CeCe's bedroom.

"Any luck in here?" Spencer asked anxiously. They were running out of time and they still haven't gathered enough evidence they can take to the cops.

"Try lots." Hanna said as she gestured for them to come closer to the bed.

"What did you guys find?" Aria asked, momentarily taking her eyes off the various photos and printouts they placed on the bed to look at Spencer and Dani.

Spencer held up the mini DVD Dani found. "This. According to Dani it's homemade porn starring CeCe and Jason courtesy of Ali. I decided to take her word for it. The last thing I need right now is to see my half-brother screw his half-sister." She said dejectedly. "You two?"

"Well for starters, we found the notebook." Hanna said as she reached for the thin, black object lying in the middle of all the mess on the bed.

"And these." Aria said, gesturing towards the photos and printouts scattered in front of them.

Spencer and Dani leaned closer towards the bed, straining to see in the darkness. "Those are..." Dani said, her eyes widening when she saw what the photos and printouts contained.

"Yeah. I think this is the part where we decide what to do next. Do we take these or leave it behind?" Hanna asked uncertainly.

"If we take these it could affect the case against them, right?" Aria asked, looking at Spencer.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. Keeping it could weaken the evidence. We need proof that these people have been harassing us for years. If we take it, our secrets remain secrets but..."

"It could mean the case will weaken against them." Hanna finished, conflicted.

"Yeah. So what do we do?" Spencer asked, looking at the other girls for their say in the matter. "We need a unanimous decision and we're running out of time."

"Leave it." Dani said firmly.

Hanna looked at Dani in shock. "Dani. Yours and Caleb is the most damaging. If this comes to light you and Caleb could go to jail." She said, trying to change the other girl's mind.

"Then let's just take the evidence against them and leave ours behind." Aria suggested.

"No." Dani said, shaking her head vehemently.

"What?" Spencer exclaimed, unable to believe Dani decided to be stubborn now.

"It's not fair that your secrets will be exposed while ours remain hidden." Dani explained, looking at all of them.

"Well ours isn't exactly as grave as yours." Aria said urgently.

"Still. Leave it. It's time I face the consequences of my actions." Dani said firmly.

Spencer looked at Dani for a brief moment. "Fine. Let's leave everything where we found them." She said, making the decision for Aria and Hanna.

"Including the notebook?" Hanna asked reluctantly.

"Yeah. We have to. Otherwise we can be charged with breaking and entering. Maybe burglary too." Spencer said helplessly.

Aria let out a sigh. "This sucks." She declared. "We finally found some evidence but because we have to play by the rules we can't take any of these to the cops."

Hanna bit her lower lip before deciding to speak up. "Not necessarily. I have an idea but we have to work fast. We need to split up. You two head over to the marina." She said to Spencer and Dani.

"What about you guys?" Spencer asked, confused.

"We're going to have to deviate from the plan a little." Hanna said hesitantly.

"Why?" Dani asked as her eyes wandered to the mess on the bed.

Hanna took a deep breath. "These are strong evidences and I think we all agree that if we won't get in trouble with the law, we'll take these to the cops directly." She explained. "We're running out of time and I don't know why none of us realized it sooner but we can't take any of the evidence we gather tonight directly to the cops if we obtained it by picking locks and bypassing alarms. If we want to get a warrant tonight, we need the help of a cop who doesn't like playing by the rules." She said quickly. "At least not too much."

"What do you mean?" Aria asked quizzically.

"I mean I'm taking these evidences to Wilden and hope he finds a way to work it to his advantage. He's been dying for a promotion. I think he'll want to help us with this one." Hanna said as she began to gather the mess into a neat pile.

"So we're not leaving these behind?" Aria asked as she began helping Hanna clean up the mess.

"No. We're taking them. Whatever evidence we find we take. I'll make sure Wilden helps us get that warrant." Hanna said determinedly.

Spencer suddenly spurred into action, grabbing some photos and printouts as well. "Are you sure about that?" She asked hesitantly.

Hanna nodded. "Yeah. He's been on this case for years. I'm sure he's willing to bend a few rules if it means getting to close it." She said as she collected the papers Aria and Spencer handed to her.

"Okay. We'll drop you guys off at the precinct then we'll head to the marina." Spencer said as she led the way out of the room.

---

Tara stared at Paige unflinching. "When I saw the car go over the cliff, I didn't know whether to feel disappointed that I didn't get the chance to play with Emily or relieved because I wouldn't have to stick around more than I already have. After Luce and Jason got the file we headed home thinking it's finally over but then we got word that you and Emily survived. I would have gone straight to the hospital to finish the job but then Luce realized the file they got from your dad's safe was another copy. Our job wasn't done. She told me to be patient and let you mourn for a while because Luce knew you weren't one to just let things go. Sooner or later you'd want to find out what really happened that night. I'm glad I listened to her because I saw firsthand how self-destructive you can be. You managed to alienate the one person who probably understood what you were going through the most. So thank you." She said, smiling in amusement.

"For what?" Paige asked hoarsely.

"For proving Luce right. For being you." Tara said sincerely. "If not for your guilt and self-destructive nature our plan wouldn't have worked. You played your part really well. We were counting on you to seek out Dani because at the back of your mind you knew she held the answers to some of your questions."

"And my leaving gave you the opening you needed to ingratiate yourself in Emily's life." Paige stated stonily.

Tara grinned. "Right again. Luce taught me how to push the right buttons when it came to Emily and with her help I managed to keep you two apart. I knew the right moment to kiss your girlfriend because of how confused and neglected she felt after you completely shut her out. I knew how she would react when someone she knew saw us together so I made it a point to cross paths with Luce while she was in town following you. I knew you were watching from the shadows when I kissed Emily the night of her birthday and I knew you were on your way to see her the night after she confessed to you about the cheating." She said, shifting in her seat as she strained to listen to the sounds around her.

"All of those just so you could ingratiate yourself in our lives." Paige said incredulously.

"No. Not entirely. It was also to make you suffer more than you already have." Tara explained.

"What?" Paige asked, baffled.

"We knew you wouldn't do anything when you saw me with her because you're the type of person who would rather suffer on her own than drag Emily down with you. So I sabotaged her car for the second time, and then tampered with the clutch gear of mine just so I could walk her home. As for Emily, she isn't one to turn down an offer after she asked me for a ride home. Especially if she thought that I lived across town and I went out of my way to take her home. She thinks turning me down would make her look bad. So you see, everything else in our plan happened because you people played your parts really well. But I gotta ask, you weren't done searching for answers so what made you come back?" Tara asked curiously.

"Not what. Who. I came back for Emily." Paige said quietly.

"Of course." Tara said, rolling her eyes. "What, you realized you couldn't stay away?"

Paige leaned closer to Tara. "I would have stayed away if it meant she gets to move forward with her life. But when I saw the footage I realized Emily was in danger and that you have been playing her all along." She said, controlling her rage.

"Because you were watching us from the shadows until the day you entrusted her to me." Tara said giddily. "I can just imagine the rage gnawing at you from inside when you realized just how close I've managed to get to Emily. And closer still because of your selflessness. But I had no intention of hurting her. At least not yet. As long as you stayed away she was safe. Your return endangered her and her friends because you coming back to Rosewood meant you found out something and we were willing to do whatever it took to find out what it was." She said menacingly.

"You don't need to convince me. You almost killed Dani when you pushed her down the stairs." Paige said, the anger seeping in her voice when she remembered Dani's blood on her hands.

"It wasn't my fault that the girl lost her footing when I took the notebook she had with her." Tara said, refusing to admit she pushed Dani on purpose.

"How did you find out where we were anyway?" Paige asked, trying to confirm Emily's theory.

Tara grinned maliciously. "You know, you and Dani's pillow talk was boring as hell. No wonder you two didn't last. You can't shut up long enough to pay attention to your girlfriend properly." She said, amused. "I actually feel sorry for Dani. If I wasn't so hell-bent on making your lives miserable I would have made a play for her. Satisfied her the way you couldn't. I will make her body bend in ways you can't even begin to imagine. Do things to her you can't even pronounce. She's exactly my type. But we both know she isn't yours because you were lying next to that fine piece of ass and you didn't even try to make a move. You didn't even try to get to second base. The entire time I was listening in I was trying not to fall asleep. It was 'Emily this, Emily that'. Dani must really love you for her to lie beside you and listen to you whine and moan about Emily when all she wanted for you to do was fuck her. If she did that to me? Kept whining and moaning about you? I would have stabbed her to death in her sleep." Tara said with conviction.

"Then thank god you're not her type." Paige said, clenching her hands into fists. "Stop talking about Dani that way." She said warningly.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know how I knew you went to that house. You said you want me to tell you everything, no lies. I'm just keeping my end of the deal here." Tara said innocently, thoroughly pleased she got a rise out of Paige just now. She sniggered. "Are you absolutely certain you're with the right girl? Because if I'm not mistaken I think just now you were actually jealous. I mean, we've been talking for what, more than 30 minutes and this is the first time you actually warned me to stop talking. So ask yourself why you're so mad that I want to fuck the brains out of your best friend over and over and over again." Tara goaded.

In one fluid motion, Paige was on top of Tara, grabbing the girl by the throat. "Stop talking about Dani that way or I will throw you overboard." She said menacingly, momentarily forgetting to keep her rage in check. "And don't you dare start talking about Emily that way or I will stab you before throwing you overboard just to make sure the sharks will feast on you." Paige said ominously, making it clear to Tara she wasn't with the wrong girl.

For the first time since they began their conversation, Tara actually felt terrified of Paige. She got a glimpse of the rage the other girl was trying hard to control and realized Paige will not hesitate to kill her if she pushed too far. She needed to stay alive before Luce and Jason got to her so she decided to tone it down a little.

"Fine." Tara managed to choke out, gasping for air when Paige finally released her grip on Tara's throat.

Swallowing hard, Tara continued when Paige sat down on the beanbag once again. "The room Emily and I shared had a floor to ceiling wall made of glass and it fronted the beach so I had perfect view of your little moment with Emily after everyone went back to the house. After I saw you leave Emily in tears I waited until you were inside the room you shared with Dani then I stood by your bedroom door, listening in on your conversations. When Emily finally came back from the beach, I thought about returning to our room but luckily, Emily decided to sleep on the couch instead so I was able to overhear your conversation about the little excursion you three planned on taking that morning." She explained.

"How did you get to the house so fast?" Paige asked, trying to calm down, aware that Tara was a little shaken up after what she just did. "Emily said she watched you board the bus back to Rosewood."

"I did. But I got off on the next stop. Luce and Jason were waiting for me. They drove me to the house and I snuck in while you and Caleb were talking at the back about some potted plant. I went upstairs and saw Dani scanning the notebook from one of the bathrooms. I texted Luce and she told me to get it by any means necessary when I described what it looked like." Tara explained, craning her neck. It still felt sore from when Paige put her in a chokehold earlier and the other girl grabbing her by the throat just now didn't exactly make things better.

"Then you hid in one of the rooms near the stairs and waited until Dani's back was turned to you, slipped out of the room, grabbed the notebook and pushed her down the stairs." Paige continued, the anger seeping in her voice.

"Yeah. But like I said, it wasn't my fault the girl lost her footing." Tara insisted, still refusing to admit to what she did. "After she fell I hid again and waited until the coast was clear before I left through the back. Luce was waiting there for me."

"And Jason?" Paige asked despite knowing the answer to her question.

"Luce dropped him off at the hospital when I texted her to let her know about what happened." Tara answered. "She knew from how I handled the situation that Dani's injuries weren't fatal so she left Jason to keep tabs on your best friend's condition. When we found out she had retrograde amnesia we knew it was only a matter of time before she remembered what happened." She shifted in her seat before leaning forward. "How's Dani doing by the way? Did she remember faster than you?"

"She did." Paige said, nodding her head.

"Well it doesn't matter. That notebook didn't reveal anything. Luce and Jason are not in there." Tara said dismissively.

Paige chuckled. "For someone who claims to be smarter than Caleb and Dani combined, you're an idiot if you didn't see what Dani did because their names were in there. She just needed Spencer's help to figure it out." She said proudly.

"Irrelevant. You won't find the notebook anyway. We destroyed it." Tara declared nonchalantly.

Paige's eyes narrowed into slits. "I call your bluff." She said coolly.

---

Hanna and Aria nervously opened the doors to the precinct, quickly looking around the room for one particular face they've been so accustomed to seeing for years ever since 'A' began to torture them. "Hanna Marin. What brings you to this neck of the woods?" At the sound of Wilden's disbelieving voice, Hanna and Aria turned around just in time to see the entrance door close behind the detective as he entered the precinct.

"Aren't you and your friends allergic to this place?" He asked as he walked towards them.

Hanna fought the urge to give a sarcastic remark knowing they need to convince the guy to help them. "No time for chitchat. I need your help. We need your help." She said as she looked at Aria before looking at Wilden once again.

"What's this about?" The detective asked warily.

"The murder of Alison DiLaurentis and Nick and Olivia McCullers." Hanna whispered urgently.

Wilden shook his head impatiently and walked past them. "I don't have time for this." He said as he made his way towards his desk.

Hanna and Aria hurriedly followed after him. "Here. Take a look at this. Please." Aria said as she handed over Paige's medical record the night of the accident when she was admitted to the hospital.

Wilden grudgingly took the folder and opened it to see the contents. He looked up at them after a beat. "Where did you get this? Did you steal this from the hospital?" He asked in a low voice as he waved the folder at them.

"Look. We came to you because we know you can help us." Hanna said, indirectly answering the detective's question.

"Help how?" Wilden asked, curious.

Hanna stole a quick look at Aria before speaking again. "We've got several evidences against them. But it might not be admissible in court if they found out how we obtained it." She said quietly.

"So you need my help for what exactly?" Wilden asked, returning the folder to Aria and placing his hands on the sides of his waist.

"Use your underhanded ways to find a loophole in the system. Please." Hanna asked urgently.

"Why would I agree to help you?" Wilden asked, seemingly amused at their helplessness.

"Because this is the only case you haven't solved yet. And we know you're dying to get to the bottom of this." Hanna explained impatiently. When Wilden still seemed hesitant to help them, she continued. "Look. We promise the people responsible for these deaths will deliver to you themselves the piece of evidence you've been missing all these years." She said, crossing her fingers behind her back.

Wilden studied them with narrowed eyes before finally extending a hand out. "Fine. I'll take a look at what you have so far. Then I'll decide if it's worth my time."

---

"I really can't thank you enough Mark." Spencer said as she and Dani walked hurriedly to try and catch up to the sandy-haired marina employee making his way towards the storage area.

Mark shook his head dismissively and turned around to look at them, allowing the two girls to finally catch up to him. "Consider this payment for that paper you wrote for me. I got a B+ by the way. Which is always better than a C-." He said, giving them a grin.

Spencer smiled back. "Well after this consider us even." She said as she watched Mark pull out the keyboard of the computer in front of him.

"So. What do you need to find out?" He asked as he looked expectantly between Dani and Spencer, his fingers poised to begin typing.

"I just want to know if my half-brother stored his boat here for some time." Spencer said nonchalantly. "Jason DiLaurentis."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, sure. I can find that out for you. Hold on a sec." He said before he began typing Jason's name on the search box. A few seconds later and he shook his head. "Sorry Hastings. There's no record of him here." He said, looking up at Spencer apologetically.

"Are you sure?" Dani asked anxiously.

"Yeah. He doesn't have a space here." Mark said, turning the computer screen a little to face them. "See? Never owned, never leased." He said as he pointed to the names listed on the screen.

"Yeah but his dad has one." Dani said slowly when she saw Kenneth DiLaurentis' name on the list.

Mark turned his attention back to the screen. "Oh. Yeah."

"Kenneth DiLaurentis sold his boat years ago Mark. He's been subletting his slip at the marina because he doesn't have any use for it. Why would he still have a storage space?" Spencer asked thoughtfully.

"Well it's not uncommon really. Some people who own storage spaces here, if they can afford it, keep paying for the unit just in case they decide to purchase another boat." Mark explained.

"Still. It can't hurt if we check it out, right?" Spencer asked uncertainly.

"I don't know Hastings. I don't want to get in trouble. I really need this job." Mark said ruefully.

"Please? It's really important. I'll make it worth your while." Spencer offered.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked, confused.

"I'll do your written reports for one semester." Spencer blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

Mark raised his eyebrows in surprise. "All of them?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah."

"No grades less than a B+." Mark negotiated.

"You got it." Spencer said, extending a hand for Mark to shake.

Mark took it and shook it firmly. "You got yourself a deal then." He said before releasing Spencer's hand and taking out a key card from the desk drawer. "Follow me."

Mark led the way as they navigated the rows of storage units, stopping once a while as he checked the numbers painted on the walls. He finally stopped in front of a storage unit and slid the key card on the panel beside it, overriding the system. He pushed a button and they stood in tense silence as they waited for the rolling door to rise just high enough for them to slip underneath it.

"Hey. What's that?" Spencer asked once they were inside the spacious unit. From a distance, she could barely make out an object at the far side of the room.

Dani squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness once again. "What?" She asked before deciding to use her flashlight this time.

"That." Spencer said as she pointed towards the object.

Dani swung her flashlight towards the direction Spencer was pointing, the beam of light reflecting back to them once it hit the object. She moved the flashlight a little for them to be able to see the object clearly. "Is that a bike?" She asked as they began to move towards it.

"Not just any bike. It's Emily's bike." Spencer said in disbelief.

"Your friend Emily's?" Mark asked, confused as to why it seemed like it was such a big deal for the two girls to see a bike inside the unit.

"Yeah. It's been missing for more than two years." Spencer explained.

"Well how did it get in here?" Mark asked as he turned to look at Spencer and Dani.

"I have a vague idea." Spencer said quietly, sharing a meaningful look with Dani. She turned her attention to Mark. "Listen. Thank you. We'll come back again later." Spencer said as she and Dani began to quickly make their way towards the direction they came from.

"No problem. Just don't get me in trouble okay?" Mark said nervously.

"Yeah." Spencer promised. "Thanks Mark." She said as she took out her phone to make a call, following Dani and Mark as they hurriedly made their way back to the marina.

---

Emily slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the darkness of her room. Turning to her side, she expected to see Paige sleeping beside her, but she was surprised to see an empty space instead. Getting up, she rubbed her eyes sleepily before turning to her bedside table to turn on the lamp. The room was suddenly bathed with a dim yellow light.

"Hey." Paige said softly, mildly surprised by the sudden brightness of the room. She had been sitting in the dark for some time now, the moon's glow her only source of light.

Emily looked towards the direction of Paige's voice and saw that her girlfriend was seated on the windowseat. "Hey." She said before taking a quick look at the clock on her bedside table. "What are you doing up? It's two in the morning. Bad dream?" Emily asked worriedly as she stood up to join Paige.

Paige shook her head. "No. I just couldn't sleep." She admitted. "My mind's been in overdrive ever since Tara triggered my memory earlier."

Emily smiled at Paige sympathetically. She moved to sit beside her girlfriend when she noticed that the space beside Paige was cluttered with the letters she wrote. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. "Well reading my letters won't help you take your mind off Tara." Emily said quietly. "If anything, it's just going to make you think about her more."

"No. It won't." Paige said reassuringly.

"Then why are you reading those?" Emily asked, feeling exposed.

"I was watching you sleep and I had this sudden urge to read what you wrote to me." Paige explained gently.

"Why?" Emily asked, her eyes traveling to the letters once again.

Paige chuckled. "Well you did write these to me. What am I supposed to do with seven hundred twenty-one letters?" She asked teasingly.

"Keep it. Like a memento. Or a souvenir." Emily suggested, wishing Paige would stop reading her letters.

"What? And not find out what you wrote in all of these?" Paige asked, gesturing to the open letters on the seat beside her and to the ones still on the tin box she placed on the chair in front of her.

"Well read it when I'm not around. It's embarrassing." Emily admitted quietly.

Paige smiled at her girlfriend reassuringly. "No. It's not. They're heartbreakingly beautiful, Em. Just like you." She said quietly. When Emily still looked uncomfortable, Paige gathered the open letters beside her and placed it on the window ledge.

Taking a deep breath, she held out her hand. "Come here." Paige said, gently pulling Emily to sit beside her. "I will read each of these letters. And once I'm done I will read it again. And again, and again. Until I've committed to memory the things you said. This stuff is pretty incredible." She said, utterly amazed.

"Why's that?" Emily asked nervously.

Paige held up the letter she was reading to show it to her girlfriend. "This right here is your heart, Em. This is what your heart is truly made of." She put down the letter and caressed Emily's cheek softly. "I was right about you all along. From the moment I fell for you. I was right." Paige said, staring at Emily in awe. "About your strength, your courage, your beauty. I was right about your goodness and the love you are capable of giving."

She tucked a strand of hair behind Emily's ear before stroking the other girl's earlobe. "I am so lucky to have you in my life Emily Fields." Paige confessed, her voice catching in her throat. "And that you chose to give that love to me. You never gave up on us. You never stopped. Even when things got rough between us you never stopped. So I will read those letters everyday. Because your letters are a constant reminder of why it will always be you Em. I need you." She said fervently. She took an unopened letter and held it up for Emily to see. "This is the reason why it will never work out with anyone else. I know without a doubt that we are meant to be. My future lies with you." Paige said solemnly.

Emily felt tears of happiness well from her eyes. "Even if reading that means I keep telling you about the kiss?" She asked breathlessly.

Paige smiled softly. "You may keep telling me about the kiss but the important thing is the fact that you're telling me. Your honesty. Sooner or later it won't be about the kiss anymore but your courage to tell me about it. The pain of reading those words will soon be overshadowed by the astounding truth that you surrendered each time you wrote those words to me. Without even knowing you were doing it." She said, the pride and love she felt for Emily evident in her voice.

Emily rewarded Paige with a dazzling smile. "Well in that case..."

"What?" Paige asked, confused when she felt Emily shove her gently.

"Move over." Emily whispered, taking and opening the letter Paige held in her hand before snuggling next to her girlfriend. "Dearest Paige..." She began as Paige kissed her head softly.

"I love you." Paige whispered fiercely in Emily's ear.

Emily looked up at Paige, touching her girlfriend's cheek gently as she gave Paige a lingering kiss.

88888

"Am I boring you or something?" Tara asked impatiently, raising her voice to be heard against the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat.

Paige took her eyes off the worn-out photo of her and Emily and pocketed it, briefly staring at the darkness surrounding them before turning around to face Tara. "What?" She asked as she walked over to where Tara was seated, annoyed that the bound girl jolted her out of her reverie.

"I asked if I was boring you." Tara repeated. Paige seemed done asking her questions and she can't let the other girl head back to the marina just yet. Not when she knew Luce and Jason were on their way. She needed to buy them more time. "Just now it's like you were in a trance or something. I told you everything. It's time you tell me what I want to know." She said haughtily.

Paige sat down on the beanbag once again. "Fine. What do you want to know?" She asked, meeting Tara's gaze.

"Where did you get the file?" Tara asked curiously.

Paige gave the girl a smug look. "My dad's safety deposit box." She said casually.

"How? We followed you. You went in and out of the bank with nothing on you." Tara said, impatient to know how the other girl managed to take the file without them seeing.

Paige chuckled. "That was the point. You people kept on following me. I knew that and I used that against you. I actually went there to grant access to Hanna's mom. She already took the file out of the box but I had to make things legal. I didn't want to get her in trouble so I went there under the pretense of applying for a loan and Ashley slipped in between the forms I filled up the actual forms I needed to sign." She explained dismissively.

"So how did it get from Ashley to you?" Tara asked, disinterested to learn the answer to her question when her ears suddenly perked up. It was faint. But she heard it. "Listen, while you answer my question do you mind getting me some water in the fridge below deck? We've been talking nonstop and I'm parched." She said quickly.

Paige shrugged and stood up, taking the file with her before she headed below deck. "Ashley gave it to Hanna. Another person you never watched carefully, and then Hanna gave it to Caleb, two people whose interaction you people wouldn't find suspicious since they see each other all the time. Caleb then gave the file to me." Paige explained, raising her voice for Tara to hear as she opened the fridge.

"How?" Tara asked, raising her voice as well. She needed to keep Paige preoccupied as the sound got closer.

"You'll learn soon enough." Paige said as she got a bottle of water from the fridge and closed the door. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on the mirrored closet door a few steps away from the stairs. "I think this chat is over. Don't you? What say you we head back to land and we go our separate ways, pretend this night never happened?" She asked as she began to make her way above deck.

"I don't think so. I think we're headed back to land and this is the end for you." Tara said arrogantly.

"We?" Paige repeated, confused. She looked up just in time to see the Charles I approach the Temptress when she let her gaze wander past Tara.

"Found you." CeCe said in greeting, the deadly gleam in her eyes unmistakable in the darkness surrounding them.

---

"How you holding up?" Dani asked hesitantly as she moved to stand beside Spencer, both girls taking in the view of the marina below them.

Spencer shrugged. "Okay. I guess. I mean it's hard. Knowing what Jason did. What they put me and my friends through all these years just to keep their secret. But after tonight things will be over for good. Hopefully." She said, not looking at the girl standing beside her.

Dani took her eyes off the horizon and looked at Spencer. "I have to admit, I'm surprised. You seem to be taking things really well." She said, impressed.

Spencer gave Dani a wry smile. "Yeah well I got used to finding out people around me have secrets so dark they're willing to do anything to protect it. To be honest, the only people I trust right now are my friends." She admitted quietly.

"And Caleb and Paige of course." Dani added, turning her attention back to the horizon.

Spencer gently elbowed the girl standing beside her. "I trust you too." She said lightly.

Dani laughed. "You don't have to say that. I won't be offended if you don't trust me. You haven't known me that long." She said understandingly, crossing her arms in front of her chest when a cold wind blew past them.

Spencer turned to face the girl standing beside her. "Dani, if there's one thing I learned in the past few months that we've spent trying to get to the bottom of things, it's that knowing someone all your life isn't a guarantee that you can trust them. We may not have known each other that long but I've seen how much you love Paige. You letting her go so she and Emily can be together again convinced me of where your loyalty lies." She said reassuringly. "And the others may not have noticed it but I know how much you're struggling right now to find a way to save your friendship with Paige. I just want you to know that I'm your friend too. And it sounds cliché but it does get better."

Dani felt her throat constrict. "Thanks. I guess I needed to hear that. It's been fun hanging out with all of you." She said softly.

"So once all of this is over, you think you could live here again?" Spencer asked, turning her attention to the marina below them.

"Honestly, I don't know. A part of me missed this place." Dani admitted.

Spencer glanced at Dani. "But?"

"There's nothing for me here anymore." She said sadly.

"What are you talking about? Paige is still here. And you've made some new friends, formed new bonds. I think you should try living here again once all of this blows over." Spencer encouraged.

"I'll think about it." Dani said noncommittally. "You think Hanna and Aria convinced this Wilden person to help us?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I hope so. Otherwise we just ruined our chance of sending these people to jail." Spencer said anxiously.

"Aren't they supposed to be here by now?" Dani asked, checking the time on her watch.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I tried calling but they're not answering their phones. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. Maybe they just got held up at the precinct." She said, trying to keep the concern out of her voice.

"But they're showing him all the evidence we got so far, right? Proof that those people have been at this for quite some time?" Dani asked restlessly.

Spencer bit her bottom lip. "Uh, not exactly." She said slowly.

Dani turned to face her. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"I mean I took these." Spencer admitted as she produced from inside the sleeves of her button-up blouse several rolled up sheets of paper. She handed it to Dani wordlessly.

Dani's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the contents of the papers. "Spencer." She uttered in disbelief, looking up at the girl standing in front of her.

"I couldn't let you go to jail." Spencer explained hastily.

"This isn't right." Dani argued.

"The statute of limitations where the accident happened is up in a week. Between then and now they need to go through a lot of evidence. They would've missed those anyway." Spencer reasoned out, meeting Dani's stubbornness head-on. When the other girl opened her mouth to speak, Spencer hurriedly interrupted her. "Look, you did what you could when you hit that woman. You immediately called 911 and I'm sure you would've gone back if your life wasn't in danger. But she was in the wrong too. I know it sounds terrible but she shouldn't have crossed the street when the light was green."

"She was probably in a hurry to get home." Dani said, trying to defend the actions of the woman she accidentally ran over.

"Or she was about to commit a crime and you saved someone else's life that night. We don't exactly know what happened and we probably never will. I just think you shouldn't serve time for something that wasn't entirely your fault especially when you have a legitimate reason for leaving the scene." Spencer insisted.

Dani stared at the papers she held in her hands. "I don't know what to say." She said quietly.

"You don't have to say anything." Spencer said reassuringly.

They stood in comforting silence once again before Spencer spoke up.

"Seriously. Don't. I mean you can't. This has to stay between us." Spencer said emphatically.

Dani laughed lightly. "My lips are sealed." She promised.

---

Paige watched in stunned silence as CeCe brought the Charles I closer to the Temptress. Snapping out of her daze, she quickly moved towards Tara and forced the other girl to stand up, moving her out of CeCe's reach.

"Game over, Pigskin." CeCe said menacingly.

"What are you doing here?" Paige asked, struggling to get the words out.

CeCe feigned confusion at Paige's question. "Well I was under the impression that we were playing a game. I believe your exact words were 'Find me'. So I'm here. I found you. And I didn't come empty-handed of course. I brought someone to join us. A guest of honor, if you will." She said, grinning eagerly as she moved to the side to show the two people seated behind her.

Paige looked past CeCe and felt her blood run cold when she saw Jason roughly grab a gagged Emily by the hair, the girl's hands and feet tied up. She fought the urge to lunge at Jason when she saw him press the knife to Emily's neck so hard Paige actually saw the blood from where she was standing.

"How did you find me?" Paige asked, never taking her eyes off Emily, studying her girlfriend carefully.

CeCe sniggered. "It has been a while since you've sailed haven't you? You seem to have forgotten that boats have GPS signals nowadays. Gotta love them technology." She said arrogantly. When she saw Paige's defeated look, she smiled eerily. "I don't like wasting precious time so now that our little game of Hide and Seek has ended, I'd like to jump to another game. It's called Chess and you, my dear, are already in zugzwang." CeCe declared smugly.

"Zugzwang?" Paige asked, baffled.

CeCe scoffed. "You've never heard of the term 'zugzwang' Pigskin? If you play chess, you'd know what it means. I'd recommend that you start playing but we both know this is the end of the line for you. So I'll give you a little knowledge. In chess, a player whose turn it is to move who has no move that does not worsen his position is said to be in zugzwang. Every move would make his position worse, and he would be better off if he could pass and not move. Kinda like you. You've got no moves left. Give me the file and my sister and then we'll give you back Emily. I want to avoid increasing the body count but there're two of us and only one of you. You know how easy it is for Jason to get to you while I kill your beloved Emily in front of your eyes." She said ominously.

Paige swallowed hard, her mind working fast to try and even the playing field. "I'll destroy the file. That's what you wanted all along right? I'll destroy the file and then I'll give you Tara in exchange for Em." She said hoarsely.

CeCe let out a derisive laugh. "Nice try. I want my sister and the file. You know Emily is worth more than those two combined. At least to you. I'll destroy the evidence myself. I'm running out of patience Pigskin." She said as she began to move towards a terrified Emily, taking the knife from Jason.

When Jason stood up and began to move towards her, Paige admitted defeat. "Okay, okay. I'll release Tara and then I'll give her the file. Just, don't hurt Emily. Untie her." She pleaded.

"How about I just remove the gag?" CeCe asked, ripping the duct tape off Emily's mouth so fast the other girl cried out in pain. "Now untie my sister." She ordered coldly.

Paige fought back her tears of anger when she saw how much pain Emily was in. Pushing Tara to sit on the marine beanbag, she began to loosen the rope binding Tara's feet together.

"Paige, don't. Don't let them get that file." Emily said pleadingly.

"Shut up!" CeCe commanded, striking Emily across the cheek.

The resounding slap CeCe gave Emily made Paige look up abruptly. "Please stop hurting her." Paige begged, unable to fight back her tears this time.

"Then be a good girl and untie my sister faster." CeCe ordered. "Or Jason is going to do it for you and I guarantee you're going to wish you untied her yourself."

"Paige it's not worth it. I'm not worth it. You're doing this for your parents. Don't choose me again." Emily begged.

"I can't not choose you, Em." Paige confessed brokenly as she continued to untie Tara's feet.

"Yes Emily. Don't you get it? She will always choose you. That's why her parents are so disappointed right now. Because you're weak Pigskin! You can't even avenge them because of your love for Emily!" CeCe spat out, moving in front of Emily to watch Paige untie her sister.

Noticing CeCe and Jason's attention were on Paige and Tara, Emily slowly began to move towards the side. The water lapping at the sides of the boat provided the perfect cover as the gentle swaying of the vessel against the waves helped disguise Emily's progress. When she was near enough the edge, she spoke up.

"I can't let you do this Paige. Not again." Emily said apologetically.

Paige stopped loosening the rope that bound Tara's hands and looked up to see what Emily was planning to do. This is the reason why it will never work out with anyone else. "Emily." Paige said warningly, her blood running cold.

"I'm so, so sorry. But this is the only way. I love you." Emily said in between sobs.

We're meant to be. "Em." Paige said hoarsely, her pulse racing.

Emily looked at CeCe and Jason. "I won't let you use me as a bargaining chip." She said stonily, acting fast before either of her captors could react.

My future lies with you. "Em!" Paige yelled in horror as she watched Emily throw herself overboard, instantly disappearing into the pitch-black sea. The file and Tara immediately forgotten, Paige swiftly dove into the cold, black water in an effort to save a tightly bound Emily.