Hey my lovely readers, just to start with I am going to put a great, big whopping apology. Before Sunday, I had absolutely no intentions to split this chapter, but as I uploaded the file and noted the final word count I realized that this would be a better chapter split. So, sorry for one more chapter before we reach the final... It may be a good thing or a bad thing having one extra chapter, but hey I know I definitely prefer editing chapters that are over 7000 words in two parts!

Sorry it's been almost a month since my last update too but it's been weird having to kick start life as a full-time student again! But, saying that I am loving studying again. I was worried how I would go after like a 3 month hibernation from any sort of classes and homework, but it's chill. Made heaps of friends already and found a non-identical clone of my personality which had been pretty awesome! Also, got my favourite coffee shop spot and lunch destinations sorted so all is well with the world of course and life is good!

*WARNING* This chapter is the closest that this story will ever come to an 'M' rating, while a 'T' is still very much applicable. Anyway, the very END of this chapter and the one that follows it deal with MATURE SELF-HARM THEMES and may prove a TRIGGER. So, if it is just not something you like to read or something that you are best off not to read, maybe just wait it out for the storm to pass. I am even happy to send out a far milder summary of this chapter and the next if you don't feel comfortable reading it but don't want to miss out, just leave a review and say that you didn't read but would like an overview :)

P.S. Thanks a million for 500+ reviews! Another milestone, woo!

Chapter 35 – Natural Justice: Part 1

Bella's POV

By the time that Will -who had brought along two of his three housemates; Rikki and Zane- arrived, the early morning sun and sunrise was only just beginning to surface for the day, bringing with it a small amount of light to illuminate the darkness that I had woken up to without my daughter.

Allie had completely vanished at some point between when I slipped into bed beside the sleeping toddler and when I woke up early, almost out of instinct, without her.

In the time between noticing her disappearance and before the others had arrived I had performed a quick, panicked search around the small make-shift house, called her father and turned the boat shed upside down in my unsuccessful attempts to find her. Every cushion was lifted, every nook and cranny was looked into, every possible and impossible place that a one-year-old could have gotten herself within those four walls was searched desperately.

"Hey, any sign of her?" Will questioned quickly, immediately joining me on my search around the small boat shed as I scoured the residence again, hoping to have missed some big clue or sign the first few times I looked, hoping that the clue would be easy and that it would immediately eradicate my panic to locate my little girl and have her where she belonged, safely back in my and Rikki eventually joined the hopeless search around the place too, slinking behind unsure what to do or say, but deep within me I knew that Allie was not here. I wanted her to be, but that hope wasn't going to be enough to miraculously teleport her there safely...

I shook my head in response to Will's question as I momentarily let my emotions out on a helpless loaf of bread that was unknowingly positioned in my warpath-way.

"Hey, calm down. I know you're worried sick, but just take a deep breath. Stressing out is only going to make it worse" Will calmly informed me, taking a hold of the top of my shoulders and momentarily stopping both of us from searching for our daughter. "Now, can you remember roughly what time and where you saw Allie last?"

I listened to Will's advice, inhaling a deep breath of air that was increasingly hard to take in as my chest rapidly tightened against my will.

"Uh, it was when I went to bed. That would've been about 11. I didn't wake up at all in the night and I can't remember her stirring or anything during the night."

He nodded and looked over to the wooden door that he, Zane and Rikki had entered from just minutes earlier.

"Okay... I'm not saying this is it, but can you remember locking the door before you went to bed last night? Do you think that Allie would be able to reach the door-handle?"

I stood on the spot momentarily, registering the question and considering what the answer to it was, as my mind was wiped clean by a mental blank at the worst possible time.

I couldn't remember if I'd already been outside this morning on my search for Allie.

I couldn't remember if I'd unbolted or easily opened the door as though it was unlocked or if I had even checked out there.

I couldn't remember whether I had locked the door in my normal routine before going to bed.

I couldn't even remember what I had to eat yesterday.

"Oh god, I don't know!" I cried, unintentionally pushing passed both Will and Rikki as I hurried outside to the small dock that I seen, walked on and sat on many, many times in the past. But as the fresh air filled my deprived lungs, it was as if I was seeing the pier from a different light... In my despair I was seeing all the dangers associated with its positioning with such a short distance from the door to the water, seeing the lack of railing and seeing the potential hazard it was for a carefree toddler.

My breath caught in the back of my throat as my stomach dropped within me from the mere thought of my daughter plunging into the water. Yes, she was a mermaid and yes, she enjoyed the water, but she is one. The deepest water she had ever swum in was highly supervised in the spa and the realization in my mind made me understand that her swimming skills would never have advanced to such a level of not knowing basic water safety made me feel weak.

"I've got to dive in there; I've got to check for her! Oh god, what if she got out during the night and fell off the edge and into the water?!" I said in the middle of my raspy panic attack to the other three who had quickly followed me silently out to the pier.

I proceeded to look down at the murky, unclear water, knowing exactly what I had to do, but being completely incapable of moving as I froze to the spot.

"No, no. You stay here... just in case" Will quickly piped up, torpedo-diving into the water immediately and before I had the chance to say otherwise.

I held my breath as I waited and waited and waited, watching the water intently for what felt like hours as the bubbles and surface of the water settled from Will's impromptu entrance into them. My reflexes were so slow that it took a few seconds to register someone's arms were around me, holding me supportively and moving my head away from the view of the water surrounding the pier.

I'd assumed it was Rikki, my friend, holding me but it was only as I looked over towards the house that I realized through the process of elimination that I was wrong. Rikki cowered as far away from the water and as close to the walls of the house as possible on the phone as I heard her waiting momentarily between speaking 'yes' and 'emergency' into the device.

"You're so cold... And so white. I've never seen anyone look this pale before. Do you want me to get you a jacket or something?" Zane questioned in a low tone as he held me within his warmer, comforting arms for the first time. I shook my head within his arms in response to his question.

"No. I don't care" I mumbled quickly as I listened out for the tell-tale splashes of Will surfacing from the marine search. A search that -if I am right in fearing the worst-, I never really wanted to know the answer and result to...

While Will's diving experience was helpful in the fact that he could quickly search a large area underwater, efficiently, without requiring breathes of oxygen, I cursed the fact that he was such an experienced diver for the fact that the painful minutes dragged on slowly.

Standing there in such a panicked state over the loss of my daughter I envisioned trips to the morgue and funeral homes as my eyes welled up helplessly from the mere thought of losing the most important and precious person in my life. The little girl who I am responsible for, who I feared that I had failed at looking after...

I felt as though I was going to vomit, I felt as though I was going to collapse, I felt as though I was going to breakdown, I felt as though I was not coping, until I heard the nearby splash of water and gasp of inhaling fresh air.

I quickly looked down to the water as Will swam over to the pier, climbing back up to our level, looking more rattled and anxious than what he had before he dived in.

"It is pretty murky down there, but there's no sign of her, thankfully."

While I could breathe a sigh of relief that my daughter hadn't helplessly fallen to the bottom of the water which was a scenario that I couldn't even allow into my mind for more than a moment at a time to unsettle me, it still didn't answer the question I was desperate to know and to do everything and anything in my power to fix in order to get my little girl back safely.

"The only other thing I can think of that could answer where Allie might be is Daniel... Would he have snuck in and taken her? Have you given him any information or heard any reason for him to know where you are?" Rikki suggested quietly, sending my thoughts into overdrive and prompting the sensation of my stomach plunging from deep within me all over again.

"Hell... Dan never even crossed my mind. Of course. This is his way of getting back at me for leaving, for rejecting the proposal..." I replied, answering Rikki's question and thinking aloud while managing to unintentionally reveal way too much information all in one hit as I rushed off the pier and away from the boat house to the road and civilization of the city that I had escaped from in the suburban oasis.

"Bella! Stop! The proposal? What proposal?! Just stop for a second would you?!" Rikki yelled as she ran after me, latching onto my arm with a great enough force to stop me walking all the way to Daniel's apartment without a second thought.

I sighed after being forced into stopping and stood on the spot, considering how I could tackle Rikki's question as easily and quickly as possible when I was aching to get away and get to my ex-boyfriend's apartment with the high hope of redeeming Allie.

"That isn't important now, Rikki. I just want my little girl back" I replied lacking any real information and detail, with a sigh of frustration. My short answer back to one of my best friend's was what I hoped would be seen as an indicator of my mood and tolerance that was wearing extremely thin after the emotionally draining morning.

As Rikki opened her mouth, I could immediately tell that nags and words of retaliation would spill out of it, had it not been for Will speaking first.

"Okay, let's just focus on what we're going to do now. Zane, how about you stay here just in case, seeing as she went missing from here so there's still a chance somehow that she hasn't gone far. Rikki, do you know enough details about Allie and her disappearance to go to the police station and report Allie as missing? You probably know more than I do about her, so then I'll take Bella to Dan's. Any problems with that?"

There were two head-shakes and an audible 'no' from myself and the other two as Will posed the question to the three of us, while I was far more desperate to just get moving and put the plans into action. Every second spent loitering around, waiting and not doing anything, my heart ached for the well-being and safety of my daughter who was always in the back of my mind...

As Will's car pulled up to the very familiar set of apartments, the car had barely slowed to stationary before I jumped out of the passenger's seat door, racing inside to the ground floor elevator with Will hurrying behind me before it sealed shut, taking us up to fourth level far too slowly.

Fortunately, the nauseatingly slow elevator ride was counteracted somewhat as I heard the message alert tone from my phone buried deep within my pocket, completely forgotten about.

Rikki Chadwick
Reported A. police trying to get in contact with Dan ATM. Let me know if you have any success. We'll find her Bells xo

"Any news?" Will asked from beside me, looking over to me with glance at my mobile device's screen as the elevator pinged and the doors slowly, but finally opened to our destination.

"Just Rikki, nothing new" I stated quickly, rushing down passed the doors that all looked the same until I reached the one of particular interest. I still had my house key since leaving Daniel, but as I held the small silver object up to the lock, I knew there was a chance that Daniel may have arranged to have the locks changed, that I wouldn't be able to access the rooms that I ached to enter, knowing that pounding on the door to open up may be completely unfruitful.

Now it had all come down to the moment of truth.

My breath lodged itself in the back of my throat, along with the lump of nervousness that I could not swallow. I slid the key in, turning it, all the while not changing the state of the locked door at all. I jiggled the key, desperately, pounding on it with my palm until a sensation of relief flooded across me.

The door opened.

I ran inside, more nervous, more excited and with more blood pumping in that moment when I opened the further door to view the rest of the living, dining and kitchen open-spaced area.

That was when I saw my little pink bundle in the living area, wearing the same owl-patterned pyjamas that I had dressed her and put her to bed in, after her father had bathed her for the first time ever the night before.

Allie was just sitting there obliviously, cross-legged, in her own little baby paradise as she munched on her favourite biscuits; one in each hand, while somehow cuddling her favourite teddy that I hadn't realized had been taken with her which was tucked in her arm as she watched the new episodes of shows she would watch daily on the ABC kid's channel.

My stomach dropped, in a very different thrill of excitement compared to the weighed down feeling of nervousness I had experienced earlier. I felt like I had been winded, with a complete inability to breathe, move and do anything for a few moments as I froze at the door before the feel-good adrenaline rush kicked in. Tears were pouring down my face as I hurried across the room, lifting Allie up and into my arms.

"Oh, baby girl..." I mumbled into my daughter as I held her tighter, treasuring her more and making the most of the opportunity to kiss and snuggle her far more than I had in a long time.

Eventually, I pulled myself away from the tight embrace I held Allie in as she started to wriggle and become restless within my arms, oblivious to the drama and my emotional turmoil of the day. I quickly looked over Allie, examining her for any sign or reason to believe that she had been mistreated or injured. Thankfully my examination resulted in the conclusion that she appeared the exact same as she had when I last saw her.

"Is she okay? And are you okay?" Will quietly questioned as I finished my brief examination.

I nodded, clutching Allie closely to me and smothering her in another load of hugs and kisses until she got restless.

"Do you mind taking her? There's someone else I need to see while I'm here... I'm going to kill him."

Will opened his arms as I reluctantly passed him our daughter, while I knew I needed to address my ex-boyfriend, but all that I wanted to do is be with Allie.

"Just stay here, maybe call the others and tell them we've got her" I informed Will as I backed away from him and Allie to search the remainder of the house until I found what I was looking for, raising my voice as I yelled out my intentions for my ex to hear, wherever he was in the house.

"It's all over, you hear me? Daniel?! Where the hell are you?! Dan?! Get out here and sort this out!"

I raided the first few rooms where the doors broke away from the hallway of the house leading to the individual rooms scanning the former spare room, the study, Allie's old room and the bathroom before I reached my former bedroom.

Just when I thought that today had reached its peak, that the worst was over and that it would all be downhill from here, I was delivered another shocking blow as I looked into the bedroom, immediately startled by the sight of what was happening in the room.

Daniel was standing on the corner post of the wooden four poster canopy bed.

He looked ready to drop and ready for the rope to tighten fatally from his hanging weight.

Not for the first time today, my stomach sickeningly plummeted within me, taking my breath away and winding me in one hit. I felt frozen to the spot, scared to move a muscle as I stood there, taking in the sight before me along with the enormous implications of what I do or do not do over the next few minutes.

Dan's life is in my hands... It is completely up to me to save him. The person who honestly, a part of justice within me felt as though I had no reason to save.

Instead of walking off and ignoring the dire cry for help, I wordlessly examined the setup. The most noticeable object was the noose around my ex-boyfriend's neck which the taut rope looped around one of the four posts that almost reached the roof of the solid-wood bed.

I came to an instant and frightening understanding of the fact that if Daniel fell –on accident or purpose- and if his feet left the security of the ledge on the end of the bed that the bed would not be moving anywhere. I knew as well as Daniel did what the result would be and exactly what would happen. It is up to me to make sure that that did not happen.

"Wh-what are you doing Dan? Please don't do this. I am begging you, please, just get down from there" I choked as I scanned the room further, for anything else that would either help or hinder my self-appointed counselling task. The search I conducted as I stayed standing on the spot concluded with the fact that nothing is sitting around which would cut off the rope from where it hung faster than the rope would cut off Daniel's wind tube within his throat if he fell or jumped...

So. Allie's safe, Dan is not so much. Thought's, feelings, anything? I'm just prepping myself and zipping myself up in my flame-proof suit to prepare for the reviews and opinions... Be nice?

On a side note, I felt really sad editing this in light of the news of Charlotte Dawson (RIP xo) over the weekend. So sad. It's horrible that the online bullies won again and claimed another victim :( No one deserves any bullying in anyway shape or form...

Don't forget, my lovely loyal ones, to send in a review to keep your spot in my list of being able to receive your choice of character's POV (AKA one third of a chapter!) well in advance to it being posted and shared with the rest of the FanFiction universe! Plus, the more reviews, the less time you have to wait for an update..

Next chapter: Dan's fate is sealed and revealed.