Isabelle's POV

I practically had to drag Alec up the hill and back inside. I towed him into the house and down the hall to mine and Simon's room. Magnus was taking a nap in his and Alec's room and I thought it would be a good idea to have a little privacy. Simon showed up a few minutes later. Alec had this crazy look in his eye, it was unnerving. Simon had this demented semi-confused semi-in thought look on his face. Alec was sitting at the desk chair, he had spun it around and was straddling it backwards, with his arms crossed over the back of the chair and his head resting on his crossed arms. He was facing the bed. Simon and I both sat on the bed, but not next to each other. I sat up against the headboard with my knees bent up in front of me and my arms wrapped around my knees. Simon sat at the foot of the bed, with his legs draped over the edge.

"So what happened out there?" Simon asked looking in Alec's direction. Alec shot him a glare. I took a deep breath

"I should probably bring you both up to speed…" I started by telling them about Jace waking up with Seelie in his room this morning, then I told them about Clary and Sebastian. Alec's fists and jaw clenched and unclenched while I talked. He also made a number of irritated noises. His face shifted from torment to anger to concern and back again. Simon seemed to be absorbing everything I said with much less reaction than I would have expected. After I finished talking about what happened earlier, I backtracked and went over what Clary said happened last night, specifically the parts about Jace. I told them about the party and about Clary seeing Jace kissing and holding Seelie. I told them how Clary had seen Sebastian right before she left and gave him a message to tell everybody, of course nobody remembers Sebastian telling them a message. She said Sebastian was fine and hadn't been drinking that much because he planned to drive back to the cottage. I went over anything and everything I could remember that Clary had told me. There was a long pause after I had finished.

"I can't believe Jace." Alec muttered. Simon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Yeah…Well…I'm more concerned with Sebastian right now…I think that we're missing something." I looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Alec snapped. We ended up in a big discussion about all the little things that Simon thought were out of place. First we were all in agreement that it wasn't only Jace that couldn't remember last night. Alec, Magnus, Simon and I all seemed to gaps in our memory of the night.

"Anybody talk to Maia or Jordan today? See if they're having the same issue." I furrowed my eyebrows at Simon.

"They didn't bring you back?" He shook his head.

"No, I looked for them, but never found them, and then they never showed up at the car." He shrugged.

"They came back here with Magnus and Alec. I shouldn't have just left a note for you. Sorry. I should have text Jordan or something letting him know you didn't have a phone and he was your ride back. They didn't know and so they accidentally left you there, but they went back to find you." Simon glared at me. I rolled my eyes. It was just a mix-up. I got up and walked across the room to get my cell and sent Maia a quick text letting her know Simon was back.

"So how did you get home?" Simon half shrugged.

"Sebastian." Alec looked at him skeptically and I just furrowed my eyebrows.

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"He happened to show up. I didn't know about all this crap. He brought me home and left again." Simon shrugged. Alec nodded slowly still looking at Simon suspiciously.

"Anyway, at least five of us, counting Jace, feel like we lost part of last night…" Simon continued with a number of other points he felt were out of place; the fact we all seemed to end up passed out at Kaelies, except Jace, Sebastian, and Seelie made it back here somehow. The big question there was, how Jace and Seelie even got here if there weren't any extra cars in the driveway. Simon questioned the fact that at one point in the evening he ran into Jordan, and Jordan said he was on his last beer and he planned on heading out within the hour, yet he ended up sleeping at Kaelie's with everybody else. Simon was suspicious that Kaelie could have stooped so low as to drug us. He brought up the fact that Alec hasn't smoked for over a year, yet he ended up smoking last night, but Alec doesn't even remember that. Simon was definitely leaning heavy on the speculation that Kaelie and Sebastian were in cahoots and planned this big elaborate set-up together. When Simon had finished, Alec took a deep breath.

"So you think Sebastian and Kaelie did all of this?" Alec said softly. His expression looked less angry and more concerned. Simon half shrugged.

"I definitely think Sebastian had to have helped with some of the leg work. I think Kaelie was involved for sure too, Seelie warned us she was up to something. It adds up." I nodded.

"I hear what you're saying Simon. I understand by what you heard and saw by the lake the other night, it appears Sebastian had the opportunity to have sex with Clary at that time if he wanted to, but I'm still concerned that Sebastian was actually trying to rape Clary this morning and not just scare her. He could have just decided he changed his mind and now he wanted her and he didn't before. Some guys just seem to want what they can't have." Simon nodded.

"I really don't know Izzy. If you think he's that dangerous, you should definitely call the police. Let them sort this out. I don't like him and I don't trust him, but the verdicts still out what I think his motivation for this morning was." I took an exasperated breath.

"Ok. I'll talk to Aline. Ray's a cop. If Sebastian's doing shit like this, I imagine Aline isn't going to be happy at all. Maybe she can get Ray involved or something. I'll talk to Clary again too. I don't want to just not call the cops on Sebastian because Clary said she didn't want me to, but if she won't press charges, there isn't much I can do. Minimally I think it's time for Sebastian to find somewhere else to crash." Alec and Simon were adamantly in agreement with me.

"What are we going to do about Jace?" Alec asked.

"Nothing. Let him and Clary sort this out. It's really not our place to get involved." Alec shot Simon a glare.

"What? Maybe it's because Jace isn't my brother that I'm giving him more credit than he deserves, but I really think there isn't a single part of him that doesn't love Clary. I know I could never be drunk or drugged enough to deliberately have sex with anybody but Izzy." Alec shot Simon a glare, but Simon just ignored him.

"I'm not saying Jace didn't have sex with Seelie, I just think if he did; it wasn't a choice he made intentionally. Maybe with that red hair, he thought she was Clary, I don't know. Maybe I'm way out in left field here. I do think Jace was drugged, I think we all were, and either Seelie physically manipulated him into having sex with her, which would suggest Seelie isn't who we think she is, and I don't know if any of us are willing to go that far out on a limb, or I think she was drugged too and left in Jace's room with him to make it look like they slept together. I honestly don't think Jace did this to himself. I think we're not giving him enough credit." I knew Simon had been helping Jace out lately, he was sending Jace text messages earlier this week as to Clary's whereabouts. I questioned Simon about it and he kind of brushed me off, but right now this all sounded very suspicious to me. Alec doesn't know Simon like I do, but there were several faces Simon made while he was talking. I felt like he was calculating our reactions. When I was telling my story, he kept his composure way too well, he didn't seem as surprised or upset as I expected. He reacted like somebody that had heard the story already. I gave Simon a skeptical look. I had a feeling he wasn't telling us something. Alec rubbed his hands over his face shaking his head. He made an exasperated breath.

"So. Sebastian drove you home?" I asked heavily. Simon's face shifted quickly to almost a panicked expression. Bingo. He knew I knew he was holding back. He gave me a slight shake of the head, a warning look. He swallowed hard and composed himself.

"Yeah." He said lightly. Alec looked up.

"He say anything to you in the car?" I asked. Simon shook his head.

"No. Not really. I asked him what happened to his face and he said he was in a fight, but didn't go into detail. We never talk, so I didn't think much about it. I was tired and hung over anyway, so I just closed my eyes and rested. Before I knew it we were back and he didn't even say anything when he let me out of the car, he just took off. Yeah, we didn't really talk." Simon rattled off rather quickly. Alec was looking at Simon and nodding. The way Alec was sitting, I was pretty sure I was out of his peripheral vision. I looked at Simon. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly and shook my head slowly as I closed my eyes exaggeratedly and opened them again. I knew he wasn't telling the truth. He always talks fast when he's completely lying. I had a feeling his hypothesis he just told us, had a lot more truth to it than he was letting on. He seemed to be able to point out every oddity. I wanted to know what he knew. Simon was looking uncomfortable and Alec looked over at me as I started to nod and smile.

"Just wondering." I said lightly.

"…Yeah I agree with Simon. We should probably try to confront Sebastian, see if he knows anything. Maybe we should give Jace a break, I know he's devastated right now, this is really hard on him." Alec glared at me as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're concerned with how hard this is on Jace?...I think it's time for Jace to go home. Or Clary. Or maybe everybody I'm not sure." He said shaking his head.

"Come on Alec. I think you made your point outside. You're mad at Jace, he betrayed you. I get it. Seriously though, this is between Jace and Clary right now. You need to stay out of it. You're really overstepping here. I see what Magnus gets so frustrated about, you totally smother her." He glared daggers at me.

"Don't look at me like that. You want to be concerned about something? Be concerned about Sebastian. You want to help Clary? Let her and Jace figure this out themselves. Relationships have their ups and downs, you work through the bad and you get stronger. You know he's madly in love with her. He's never been like this before. If he was set-up, you know how horribly tragic that would be. Even if he didn't get set-up, he knows he screwed up. I think that's crystal clear to him. He made a tremendous mistake that he must feel an overwhelming quantity of guilt over. If he loses Clary, I don't think he'll ever recover. I'm sure he's suffering right now. They were crazy in love just yesterday Alec. They were both completely sure they wanted to be together, not a doubt in the world. Clary was talking to me about moving closer to him, possibly seeing if he wanted to get an apartment together. They wanted to be together constantly, they weren't even having sex and they wanted to sleep in the same bed together every night. They were noticeably better together; everybody could see that they were. They both looked healthier, well rested, and happier."

"Ever since the accident, Clary hasn't been sleeping well. Up until a week ago I was beginning to think she would have permanent bags under her eyes. I always thought Jace's face just happened to look that way; a little like he was in pain all the time. Now, there's a smile that always touches their lips, a twinkle of affection that never leaves their eyes, and a bounce in their step like a weight has been lifted off of them. It was like they were one soul that had been separated into two bodies and they've finally found their other half. They thrive together. Jace is impulsive and rash, but it suits him; though he seems to be rubbing off on Clary lately. With the way things were going I would have definitely started a pool sooner than later as to when they'd get engaged." Alec's face fell dramatically and paled considerably. Without another word he jumped up and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Simon and I looked at each other.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked. Simon shrugged.

"You tend to know just the right thing to say to make a person feel utterly horrible Izzy." I glared at him.

"Speaking of knowing just what to say. Who fed you all that bullshit you just regurgitated?" He took a deep breath. He walked over to the door and locked it. He walked back to the bed and sat right next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rubbed his back gently. He took a deep breath and then he started to spill the beans.


Jace's POV

I sat outside for a long time after Simon went inside. I knew I couldn't just rush to Clary. She was upset and I needed to give her a little time. I was also afraid Alec was being serious when he told me I'd never see Clary again if I went to her. Maybe if I gave her a little space she'd come to me. Not that I really believed that. I needed to find out what happened. I needed to talk to Seelie, confront Kaelie, and try to beat any information Sebastian had out of him. I couldn't just ignore that he was the only one that seemed to be able to drive back last night and that Seelie and I just magically got here. Sebastian knew something. I would contact every single person that went to that party if I had to and figure out whatever I could. Maybe I could piece everything together if I talked to enough people. I was tired though, so tired and I knew I needed to lie down for a little. I just needed to let my mind and my body crash and really soak up what was going on.

I got up off the ground and picked up Clary's purse. I walked back in the house and put her purse on the table in the kitchen, she'd find it. I walked down the hall and hesitated in front of my door. I didn't want to walk in. I was exhausted and drained. There wasn't anymore I could take right now. I woke up with Seelie in my bed, I completely betrayed Clary's trust in me; Clary was attacked by Sebastian and I wasn't there to protect her, I couldn't even comfort her now; I betrayed Alec's trust in me, jeopardized Clary's trust in Alec. Now, now I had to face the music.

I turned the handle of my doorknob and I opened the door slowly, as though I was afraid something was physically on the other side waiting to attack me. I opened the door and saw Alec sitting on my bed. He looked exhausted and very sad. My bed was made, not the way I left it. There was a white blanket and white sheets. I would have smiled if I had the energy or any happiness left in me right now. Alec looked down at the bed and smoothed his hand across the blanket.

"I thought you'd want the linins changed." He said softly. I nodded slowly as I walked over to the bed and stood in front of him. He looked back up at me, searching my face. After a moment he stood up and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. Not that Alec and I are prone to hugging, but I wrapped my arms around him.

"Me too." I said softly. We just stood there for a minute. Neither one saying anything. I just needed to be reminded I wasn't alone right now. This was what Alec was talking about the other day. She isn't like you or Izzy. She's not family alright. She doesn't have to forgive me for everything I say or do; she doesn't have to love me anyway. I won't give her any reason to hate me. I can't lose her Jace." Though I would always have Alec and Izzy in my life, and they would love me unconditionally no matter how stupid I was or how much I betrayed their trust, Clary didn't have to. Clary was free to stop loving me, free to hate me, free to leave me. Clary could be lost. Suddenly all those times that Alec acted crazy because he said he was afraid of losing Clary, they didn't seem so absurd right now. The thought of truly losing her was the scariest thing I could think of. Without another word Alec and I broke away from each other. Alec walked out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him. I walked over to my bureau and took my keys and wallet out of my pocket and put them in my top bureau drawer. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and hooked it up to my phone charger. I sat on my bed and surveyed my room.

There were certain things that bothered me. I have a place for everything. My room is perfectly organized. I don't throw clothes on the floor or kick my shoes off; my room doesn't look lived in. I like a sterile looking environment. I looked at my clothes strewn across the room. If I came back alone last night and undressed myself and went to bed, I would have put everything in its place, the flip flops would be in the closet, the clothes in the hamper, the wallet and keys in the bureau, the cell hooked up to the charger. If I came back completely wasted, I would have crashed entirely in what I was wearing. It didn't add up. In the heat of the moment I might throw my clothes around the room. Though, if I was conscious at all, the first thing I do when I get in my room, a mechanical reaction more than a thought out reaction, I put my keys, my wallet, and my phone away. This morning I had to dig my keys, wallet, and phone out of the shorts I wore last night, which may seem insignificant, but it bothered me. Of course there is a first for everything. Though, if I really did have sex with Seelie, it didn't explain why I had my boxers on this morning. Again it's small, but when I have sex with a girl, unless I'm high tailing it out of there afterwards, I don't put any of my clothes back on, not even my boxers. If I was so wasted I couldn't put my shit away, why would I do something so odd like put my boxers back on. I was pretty sure I didn't have sex last night and almost as sure that I didn't undress myself last night.

I stood up and the first thing I did was pick up my flip flops off the floor and put them in the closet. I picked up the clothes I wore last night and put them in the hamper. I was so tired I could only hold on to my suspicions so long. I glanced at the clock; it was just before 11:00. I hadn't eaten yet today, but I didn't think I could stomach food right now. I was too tired anyway. Clary's face kept burning into my mind. Her sad, disappointed face. I laid down on the bed, thankful Alec had changed the linins, and I took one of my pillows and wrapped my arms around it and held it tight to my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to find enough peace to fall asleep.


Clary's POV

I left my room to go find Izzy. I just needed to talk to her right now. I walked down the hall to her and Simon's bedroom and could hear their voices through the door.

"So maybe that bad vibe I've been getting from Seelie was for a reason. Maybe that poisonous apple doesn't fall far from the tree…What are we suppose to do now?" Izzy questioned.

"I don't know. I just know this is all a big scheme. Maybe we should just call the cops on Sebastian and everybody should just go home." Simon said.

"You think I'm going to let a couple of skanks run me out of town?" Izzy snapped.

"Izzy they're menaces, and whether or not Sebastian's telling the truth, I'm really worried about this other guy. This Jonathan Morgenstern he was talking about. If this guy is who Sebastian says he is. This could get really serious. The guy-" I didn't wait to hear what else Simon was saying.

I quickly and quietly hurried back to my room. I didn't want to hear anymore right now. What I really needed right now was to find out what Jonathan Morgenstern's part was in all this, because as far as I knew, my brother has been dead for twenty years. I knew what I was going to do. I was going to see Valentine; I was going to see my father.

I stood there watching the service as though I were watching a movie, as though it wasn't real. I had been through this all two days ago at Luke's funeral, though I still had hope at his funeral. I was devastated when Luke died, but I prayed my mother might still pull through. Now my mother was gone too, and so was any hope I had.

The sky was gray and it was lightly drizzling out. It was as though God was crying with all the other mourners. I couldn't quite concentrate on the words or their implication. I could feel Alec's hand in mine, Simon holding my other. Izzy stood slightly behind me stroking my hair softly. Maia stood next to her rubbing my back gently. I was still in shock. The tears that burned my eyes had refused to fall. I noticed absentmindedly as those that came to pay their respects slowly left, a hand on my back, a hug, a kiss on my cheek, a gentle squeeze of my shoulder, followed by words of sympathy meant to comfort and sooth. Alec, Simon, Izzy, and Maia stayed as all the others seemed to go. When there were no other mourners, I asked Alec, Simon, Izzy, and Maia to wait in the car. I wanted a few minutes alone to say goodbye to my mother. With some protest from Alec and Simon, Izzy and Maia ushered the boys away and told me to take as much time as I needed.

With the absence of the soft chatter and the reassuring gestures, like a sudden weight, it hit me. She was gone. She was gone and Luke was gone and I was alone. I dropped to my knees on the wet April ground. I placed a hand on the front of my mother's gravestone and wept. I would never see her face again, never see her smile when she was happy, never feel the comforting embrace of her arms around me, never see the excitement in her eyes when she painted, and never hear her laugh at one of Luke's jokes. I would never tell her I loved her again, never tell her how much she meant to me, what a great mother she was, I would never get to say goodbye. When I felt I was all alone, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I had felt so many gestures of comfort that I didn't even look to see who was with me. For several moments I knelt there and cried in silence, with a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"She was a remarkable woman. She will be greatly missed." The voice was very distinguished and unfamiliar. I looked over my shoulder. There stood a tall, well built man with a black suit and a black fedora. Another man stood slightly behind holding an umbrella up for the distinguished man. His face and chin were strong, and his eyes were dark brown, almost black; they looked hard, but not entirely unfriendly, just not welcoming either. They seemed to be searching my face as much as I was searching his. It was as though a picture had come to life. I had seen photographs of my father, but I had never met him.

My mother said they divorced due to irreconcilable differences. She told me many stories about him. I knew where he lived, and I was told if I ever wished to seek him out she would not be hurt by the action. However, he was not overly affectionate, and she feared I may not be greeted with a warm reception if I ever met him. She also admitted that he never knew of my existence. She warned me that he was an extremely powerful man, that was accustomed be being treated with the utmost respect.

I didn't know too much about my father. I mainly saw photographs of him and heard pieces of stories. I knew how he proposed, what their wedding day was like, and a few other stories here or there. When I was almost sixteen my mother and Luke were engaged. We ended up moving to Luke's apartment. During the move my mother took several very old boxes out of storage. A couple of the boxes were from before I was born. My mother sat me down to tell me stories she felt I was finally old enough to hear.

She spoke of the secretive man my father was, she wondered if he was really the man she thought he was. He seemed to live two
lives. The life she was aware of, and a life she knew nothing about.

A year after my mother married my father they had a son, Jonathan Valentine Morgenstern. When Jonathan was five months old, on Christmas Eve, he was kidnapped. My parents were at a Christmas Eve party and had left Jonathan in the care of his nanny. When they returned home the nanny and two domestic employees were dead and Jonathan was gone. Valentine became furious. He became obsessed with finding Jonathan and ranted and raved that he knew his enemies had taken him. He threatened that he would find those responsible and kill them. He would not only kill those responsible, but also their entire family. My mother became frightened at my father's outbursts. She became petrified that not only was he serious, but that he wasn't the man she thought he was at all. Upon learning that she was expecting again a week later, she decided not to tell her husband. She decided she wanted to get as far away from him as she could and she felt it would be better if he never know about the baby. She feared he'd never let her leave if he knew she was pregnant, and she feared the man he truly was. She applied for a legal divorce and surprisingly with the stress and the frustration of the recent loss of Jonathan, my father complied. He felt my mother was stricken by the loss of her baby, and held him on some level responsible. He did not disagree, and he respected her wishes to leave him. Though he was excessively rich, she refused to take a cent of his money. She took her clothes, some personal items, and a few mementos of Jonathan when she left my father. She didn't want to feel she was in debt to him in any way; she left all of her jewelry and any items that had value. She took only a few boxes of things that would fit in her car. She felt a tremendous amount of guilt about leaving him knowing she was expecting and she couldn't bear the thought of knowing he was providing for her when she on some level was betraying him. She had no proof of her hunches that he lived a secret corrupt life, but having lost one child, she wouldn't risk losing a second. She stayed in the area for two months to see if the police could find Jonathan, but without any leads, she fled before it was noticeable that she was expecting. She had been very close to Luke even before she ever married my father. When she told Luke of her concerns and that she planned to disappear, he said he wanted to go with her and help her with the baby. Not knowing at the time he was completely in love with her, she was all too grateful of his offer and she accepted it. She had no living family, and she was soon to be a single mother, she knew she could really use a close friend.

Her and Luke left, she changed her name and she never contacted my father again. She had always questioned her decision to leave my father. She wondered if she was acting irrationally and was just overwhelmed at the time with the depression of losing her child. Though my father was always respectful and reasonable with my mother, she felt she knew not the type of person he was. He seemed to shower her with gifts and protect her fiercely, and she found that touching, but she found in time that the gifts were not the same as affection and the protection, though noble, may be more due to necessity of his lifestyle than shear level of his adoration.

After my mother left my father, she found herself often wondering about him. My father was a very well known business man. From time to time, my mother would see stories in the paper regarding him or one of his companies. A year after Jonathan went missing, my mother came across an article titled The Morgenstern Baby Kidnapping. The article was an editorial on the one year anniversary of the kidnapping. Having fled the area without leaving any contact information, my mother was no longer aware of what happened to the case of her baby after she left. The article recapped all of the information around the kidnapping, including going over the case of the man finally charged and convicted of the kidnapping, Alexei de Quincey. Though Jonathan's body was never recovered, with de Quincey's testimony, it was determined that Jonathan was dead. Alexei de Quincey was found dead in his jail cell two days after he was imprisoned, an apparent suicide. My mother was very suspicious that this man's death was not actually a suicide.

Ten years ago, my mother came across an article regarding a terrible tragedy. On Christmas Eve, at a large estate that was not far from where my mother and father once lived, there was a massive fire. The large home belonged to a very prominent businessman, Mr. Axel Mortmain. My mother had remembered the man's name by chance. He had been somewhat of a competitor of my father's in business. The fire claimed the lives of 18 family members and 6 domestic employees; including Mr. Mortmain, his wife, his four children, his 11 grandchildren, and his mother. In effect, the fire wiped out the entire Mortmain family. My mother was beside herself, she couldn't prove that the fire was in any way connected to my father, but she had a strong inclination that it was. My mother still had the article written on the one year anniversary of Jonathan's disappearance, and the company Mr. de Quincey worked for, was one of Mr. Mortmain's. She found it terribly unsettling that the fire occurred on Christmas Eve, the same day 10 years after Jonathan went missing. She never forgot the way my father threatened he would kill not only those responsible for Jonathan's kidnapping, but their entire family.

When I was fifteen, she told me all of this. With all I had learned of this man over the years, I had chosen to live my life without him in it. Though my mother had changed her name and moved, my father maintained a permanent residence in Chicago where he had once lived with my mother. I always knew exactly where my father lived if I ever choose to meet him. Right after we moved in with Luke, my mother had come across an announcement in the paper stating that my father had moved. He had acquired a large estate in upstate New York, which was apparently something of a tourist attraction it was so ornate and impressive. My mother feared him living just 4 hours away, and was concerned that he may already know where she lives, but after the first month went by without a word from him, she started to relax. My mother was always suspicious my father was far from the man she thought he was, but she really had no evidence to prove it. When my mother talked about her concerns, I always wondered if she was just being overly paranoid.

"You look just like her, do you know that? Just like Jocelyn." He said gently. His tone seemed not as formal as before, but still not entirely kind. I had stared back at this man in disbelief, unable to find a single word to say to him. I was drained, and broken hearted; I couldn't process the overwhelming shock of actually coming face to face with my father for the first time.

"What is your name child?" He gazed down at me.

"Clarissa, Clarissa Adele Fray." I had found myself almost without volition saying my name, but not my legal name, not the name I had used for the last two years, but the name I had used for the sixteen preceding.

"Morgenstern." He corrected lightly.

"You are a Morgenstern. I can see it in your face. Your jaw line, your cheekbones."

"I know." I said just above a whisper. He seemed to smile ever so slightly.

"I never knew I had a daughter." He said softly with feeling. He took his gloved hand and gently stroked my hair once. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box.

"When I proposed to your mother I could not choose an engagement ring to give her. I knew any ring would pale in comparison to her beauty. I asked your mother to marry me by giving her my family ring, the Morgenstern family ring. After she accepted, she placed the ring upon a chain and wore it around her neck. She wore it always until the day she left. We soon after went to a jewelry store and I let her pick out whichever engagement ring she wanted, but it was the ring that she wore as a necklace that she seemed most sentimental towards…I would not have recognized her obituary except for the simple detail that a picture was included. She never told me she changed her name or where she moved. I had intended to put the ring in the casket with her, bury her with a small memento of myself, but I felt perhaps I was being selfish…I would very much like you to have this." He handed me the small box he had been holding. I took it reflexively, but didn't open it.

"Thank you." I said softly. He nodded, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

"I should very much wish to have the opportunity to get to know you some day. If you should ever feel the same Clarissa, don't hesitate to seek me out." Without so much as another word he turned and walked away.

I changed into the most conservative outfit I could find. I put on a full length, white, wrap cover-up dress. It was flowy and not too fitted. It had shirtsleeves, and a modest v-neck front. The way the dress wrapped gave a hint of style. I put on my white strappy wedge sandals, which had enough of a heel to completely bring the dress off the ground. I threw on a pair of simple cubic zirconium stud earrings. I dug into my bureau drawer and pulled out the small box with my mother's ring in it. I had always kept the ring my father gave me close, but I never brought myself to put it on.

The ring was a man's ring, much too large to fit on my mother's fingers, let alone mine. The ring was solid silver and thick. It had a very elegant raised M on the band with a number of different size raised stars around the band. There were slightly engraved swirls around the stars, as if to symbolize the night sky. Morgenstern means morning star. I pulled the chain and the ring from the box and clasped it around my neck. My hand reached for the ring and held it just for a moment as I remembered when my father gave it to me.

I quickly Googled the address for the Morgenstern Estate. I grabbed a notepad and scribbled a note, just saying when I left and when I planned on being back. I was giving myself two hours. It was going to be almost a thirty minute drive, that would give me an hour there. I had loaned my cell to Will at the hospital and I didn't want anybody to panic, but I didn't want to leave a detailed note as to where I was going either. I was an adult and I was getting sick of having to always answer to everybody as to my whereabouts. I live alone for crying out loud. Plus, I hadn't told anybody about seeing my father at the funeral. I put the note on my bureau. I looked up at myself in the mirror. I had been crying most of the morning, so I looked pretty blotchy.

I knew I had to find my purse. I vaguely remembered leaving it in Jace's car. I just prayed it wasn't in Jace's bedroom, or if it was, I prayed he wasn't awake. I scurried out of my room and glanced in the kitchen first. Thank God, my purse was on the table, and there was nobody around. I grabbed my black clutch and rushed back in my room. I quickly threw the contents into the biggest purse I could find. I needed space. I wasn't concerned with going to see my father, it was getting from point A to point B right now that made me a little nervous. If I was wrong about Sebastian, I wanted to be prepared this time. I knew Jordan and Maia went back to Kaelie's house to look for Simon, but I wasn't sure if they were back yet, I prayed they weren't. I grabbed my make-up bag and snuck out of my room. I locked the door behind me. I could pick the lock when I got back, and I hoped it would buy me a little time. Of course if anybody walked outside they'd notice my car gone, but if they just tried to open the door to my room, they'd think I was in there.

I opened Jordan and Maia's room a crack and glanced in. It was empty. I quickly went in their room and shut the door behind me. I didn't have a lot of time and I didn't know if I was going to find what I was looking for. I started with the nightstand. I walked over and opened the drawers, I pushed the contents around. Nothing. I went over to the bureau, I opened all the drawers quickly, pushing clothes out of the way as I went. Nothing. Dammit. I looked around the room. Where the hell does Jordan keep his gun? I worried he could have brought it with him last night, but I knew he would never leave it in his glove box, Maia mentioned that at one point the night we went out to the club. I couldn't believe he would have a gun on him while he was drinking either. They did stop here briefly to drop Alec and Magnus off, I just hoped it was brief enough that he wouldn't have grabbed his gun.

I tried to think. If I had a gun I'd want it as close to me as possible. I went back to the nightstand. The nightstand had two drawers, but it was also raised about 4 inches off the ground. I felt underneath it, like I've seen in movies. Nothing. I felt along the back of the nightstand. Bingo. My hand brushed over a bulky foreign object. I pulled the nightstand away from the wall, luckily the gun was only attached by Velcro. Nice gun safe Jordan. I shook my head. A couple months back, just before the accident, Maia had wanted to take an NRA gun safety course. Dating a guy that was a cop she felt she wanted to be smart when it came to guns. I told her I thought it sounded interesting and went through the 4 hour course with her. It had been a couple months back, but I felt I remembered pretty well what I had learned. Jordan's gun was a small, lightweight .357 Magnum revolver. This didn't look like the kind of guns cops usually carried, so I figured absentmindedly his work issued gun was at home. I pretty much only remembered a few gun types from the course, but this was one I actually got to shoot. It was really light, so I knew that meant it would have a lot of kickback if I fired it. I released the cylinder, and dumped out the 5 rounds. They were all new. I put the rounds back in the gun. I remembered firing this gun in the course, it wasn't easy, it had a decent trigger pull, I was just hoping that if I needed to fire it, I'd have enough adrenaline coursing through my veins that I wouldn't even notice the trigger pull. I quickly threw the gun in my purse, put the nightstand back in place and snuck back out of their room.

I hustled down the hall and into the bathroom. I threw my hair up in a scrunchy and quickly washed my face. I spritzed myself with one of Izzy's perfumes, grabbed a brush and a bottle of moose, and bee lined for the front door. I could do my hair and make-up on the side of the road somewhere. I didn't want to waste any more time and risk somebody catching me sneaking out of the house, especially now that I was sneaking out of the house with a concealed weapon that didn't belong to me, which I didn't hold a permit to carry. I bee lined to the door and got into my car and took off.