Adelaide sat nervously in front of Sheriff Forbes, her mind racing with unanswered questions. The disappearance of Vicki had rocked the small town , leaving everyone in a state of unease. Despite the efforts of the police, there had been no sign of her anywhere.
Sheriff Forbes cleared her throat, breaking Adelaide out of her reverie. "Thank you for coming in, Adelaide," she began. Adelaide offered a small smile in return, trying to appear calm despite the turmoil inside her. "No problem," she replied softly.
The sheriff's gaze was penetrating as she started her questioning. "Where did Vicki say she was going?" she inquired. Adelaide shook her head, strands of her dark hair falling across her face. "She didn't say. I wouldn't know anyway. Matt and I are friends, but Vicki and I weren't close," she explained.
Sheriff Forbes nodded, jotting down notes in her notebook. "Did she tell your brother anything?" she pressed on. Adelaide's brow furrowed in thought. "Jeremy told me that Vicki told him she was leaving town," she revealed, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Sheriff Forbes nodded her head in approval before offering a warm smile to Adelaide. "Thank you," she said kindly. Adelaide returned the smile, expressing her gratitude, and then gracefully stood up, making her way towards Jeremy, Elena, and Jenna who were waiting by the door.
As the four of them left the police station, they noticed Stefan standing on the steps. Adelaide turned to Elena and said, "I'll meet you by the car." Elena nodded, watching her sister walk off towards Jenna and Jeremy.
After a few minutes, Elena approached the car with a troubled expression, causing Adelaide to furrow her brows in concern. With Jenna and Jeremy already in the car, Adelaide approached Elena and asked, "I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Elena simply shook her head, confirming Adelaide's fears.
Squeezing Elena's hand in reassurance, Adelaide softly said, "Let's go home." Without further delay, the sisters climbed into the car, their bond stronger than ever. The engine hummed to life as they drove off, the silent support between the sisters speaking volumes.
Jenna suddenly plopped down next to Elena and said, "You are wallowing."
"So are you," Elena mumbled.
"My wallow is legitimate," Jenna asserted. "I was dumped."
"Logan didn't deserve you," Adelaide told her aunt, trying to console her.
Jenna gave her oldest niece a small smile before she turned to Elena and exclaimed, "You didn't even get a brush-off email saying, 'I'm leaving. See ya.'"
"Wanna keep it down over there," Jeremy called out from the dining room table where he was buried in his books.
"Why?" Jenna asked, genuinely curious. "What are you doing?"
"Homework," Jeremy answered without even looking up from his writing.
Elena and Adelaide exchanged confused glances before both sisters turned to look at Jeremy, who was surprisingly buried in a pile of textbooks and papers. "Since when did you do homework?" Elena inquired, her eyebrows raised in skepticism.
Jeremy sighed, not lifting his eyes from the book in front of him. "I gotta finish this. I'm way behind, and I have a quiz tomorrow," he mumbled, his voice tinged with a hint of frustration.
Elena, Adelaide, and Jenna, who had been observing the scene, huddled together. Elena couldn't resist whispering, "Alien?"
Adelaide nodded solemnly, her eyes fixed on her brother. "Must be."
Jenna shook her head, her brow furrowed in contemplation. "Some sort of replicant, maybe?"
Jeremy, sensing their scrutiny, finally looked up from his work, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "He can hear you," he muttered, before burying himself once again in his sea of papers.
Adelaide walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand, her mind swirling with thoughts of the events that had transpired earlier that day. She was about to walk up the stairs to check on Elena when the doorbell rang, breaking her out of her reverie before she could even take a step.
Setting the glass of water down, Adelaide made her way to the door and her face immediately lit up in a smile when she saw it was Bonnie standing on the other side.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Adelaide questioned, stepping aside to let Bonnie in.
"I wanted to check on Elena," Bonnie replied, stepping into the foyer. "How is she doing?"
Adelaide hesitated for a moment, her mind racing. She had spoken to Bonnie earlier that day but had omitted the real reason for Elena's distress. She couldn't bring herself to reveal that Elena had broken it off with Stefan. Instead, she simply said, "She's a bit down, but she's hanging in there."
Bonnie nodded her head before smiling. "Come on, I want to show you guys something. I think it will make her smile."
"You can try," Adelaide said before the two of them made their way upstairs to Elena's bedroom. Adelaide knocked on Elena's door before she peeked her head through the door.
"I have a surprise for you," she said.
Elena looked up at her sister with confusion on her face as Adelaide opened the door widely.
"You up?" Bonnie questioned as she walked into the room.
"No," Elena mumbled before throwing her head back into her pillow. Bonnie tried to pull the pillow from Elena's face, but had no luck since Elena wouldn't let go.
Bonnie finally gave up and sat down on the edge of Elena's bed, frustration evident on her face. "Why haven't you called me back?" she questioned, her tone tinged with a mix of concern and annoyance.
"I'm sorry," Elena mumbled, her gaze fixated on the ceiling, avoiding Bonnie's probing eyes.
Adelaide, entered the room and laid down on the bed next to Elena. Worry creased her forehead as she asked softly, "Are you going to stay in bed forever?"
"Yep," Elena replied monotonously, showing no signs of wanting to get up or face the world outside her bedroom walls.
Bonnie sighed in exasperation before she commanded, "move over " Elena made no attempt to shift, prompting Adelaide to roll her eyes and gently move her sister so Bonnie could lay down beside her.
"I'm officially worried. What's going on?" Bonnie's voice was laced with genuine concern as she turned her attention to Elena, searching for answers in her eyes.
Elena lay on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling above her. The weight of her thoughts seemed to press down on her, making it hard to think clearly. She let out a sigh, feeling overwhelmed by the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her.
"I'm tired of thinking... of talking... I..." Elena's voice trailed off, her words dissipating into the air as she struggled to find the right words to express what she was feeling.
Bonnie, sitting nearby, could see the turmoil in Elena's eyes. She reached out a hand, offering support. "Can I get a one-line version so I can at least pretend to be helpful?" she asked gently, trying to break through Elena's spiraling thoughts.
Elena hesitated, unsure of how to condense the mess of emotions inside her into a single sentence. Before she could respond, Adelaide, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"She and Stefan broke up," Adelaide said softly, her words hanging heavy in the air.
Bonnie looked at Elena in shock. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She shook her head. "Right. Stupid question." Bonnie sighed, a hint of guilt evident in her expression. "I know I have been kind of MIA when you needed me the most. I suck."
"You wanna make it up to me?" she questioned, a spark of mischief in her eyes.
"Just remember, you asked for it," Bonnie said playfully, her voice laced with laughter.
Bonnie jumped up from Elena's bed and made her way to the open window, the soft breeze ruffling her hair. With a quick flick of her wrist, she closed the window, shutting out the sounds of the outside world. Turning back to Elena, she walked over to the bedside table and picked up a nail filer.
As Elena watched, Bonnie split open one of the pillows on the bed with a swift motion. Feathers burst out like a fluffy explosion, filling the room with their downy softness. Elena's eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a small yelp.
"Hey!" Elena exclaimed, her voice a mix of shock and amusement.
Bonnie grinned, her eyes dancing with mischief. She dumped all the feathers onto the bed, creating a sea of white fluffiness. Looking at Elena with a playful glint in her eye, she commanded, "Be patient."
Elena chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief at her friend's antics. "Okay," she mumbled, unable to contain her laughter.
Bonnie jumped back onto the bed as she looked between the Gilbert sisters, a secretive gleam in her eye. "I need to swear you to secrecy," she declared, her words hanging in the air with a sense of urgency.
Elena glanced at Adelaide, a perplexed expression on her face. "It's kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff," she mumbled, uncertain of what Bonnie was about to reveal.
"Swear," Bonnie commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Because I'm not supposed to show you this."
Adelaide exchanged a wary look with Elena before turning back to Bonnie. "We swear," she replied solemnly, a sense of curiosity building within her.
Bonnie nodded her head approvingly before leaning in closer to the sisters. "Okay, there are no open windows, right?" she inquired, her eyes darting around the room.
Adelaide glanced over at Elena's window, ensuring it was securely closed, before shaking her head. "No open windows," she confirmed.
"And there's no fan. No air conditioning," Bonnie continued, her voice dropping to a whisper as she disclosed the mysterious conditions required for her revelation.
Elena shook her head in agreement. "None," she affirmed.
Adelaide looked at Bonnie in confusion as she questioned, "What are you doing?"
"Grams just showed me this. You are gonna love this," Bonnie replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She then turned to Adelaide and Elena and asked, "Are you ready?"
The sisters nodded their heads, and Bonnie slowly lifted her hand a little from the bed. She continued to move her hand slowly, and to their astonishment, a small white feather was floating beneath her hand. The room fell silent as the sisters exchanged baffled looks.
Bonnie, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, continued to maneuver her hand around, causing the feather to dance in the air. With a sudden flick of her wrist, she let her hand fall back onto the bed, and the feather followed suit, gently descending.
Elena, breaking the silence, looked at Bonnie in utter confusion as she questioned, "What's going on?"
Bonnie, unable to contain her excitement, simply smiled at her sisters. Without a word, she lifted both of her hands slowly, and to their amazement, multiple feathers began to gravitate towards her hands, as if drawn by an invisible force.
Bonnie let her hands fall back onto the bed, and like magic, the feathers floated gracefully in the air around the room. Elena's eyes widened, and Adelaide looked on with a sense of wonder and disbelief.
"It's true, everything Grams told me," Bonnie declared, her voice tinged with awe. "It's impossible, and yet, it's true."
Adelaide was walking down the stairs, her mind preoccupied with the conversation she was about to have with Sheila. She had almost reached the front door when Elena's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Can you come with me?" Elena's tone was serious, pulling Adelaide's attention away from her own thoughts.
"Where to?" Adelaide asked, turning to face her sister who looked unusually determined.
Elena took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm going to see Stefan."
Adelaide raised an eyebrow, concern evident in her eyes. "Are you sure you're ready to see him?"
Elena nodded, her resolve unwavering. "I need to see him. To talk."
"Okay," Adelaide acquiesced, opening the front door. "Let's go."
A small smile lit up Elena's face as she reached out and held her sister's hand. "Thank you."
The two sisters stepped out of the house and made their way to the car. As Adelaide started the engine and pulled out onto the street, Elena's curiosity got the best of her.
"Where were you going before I stopped you?" Elena inquired, her eyes searching Adelaide's face.
Adelaide hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to share her inner turmoil with her sister. "Nowhere important," she finally replied, deciding to prioritize Elena's needs over her own concerns.
As they drove towards their destination, Adelaide couldn't help but think about the impending conversation with Sheila. She needed answers about why she had revealed the secret to Bonnie, despite promising Adelaide she would keep it hidden. But for now, Elena needed her, and family always came first for Adelaide.
Elena pulled up to the Salvatore boarding house, but she didn't get out yet. Adelaide looked over at her sister, noticing the hesitation on Elena's face. "Are we going in?" Adelaide questioned, slightly puzzled by Elena's behavior.
"Give me a minute," Elena replied, her eyes fixed on the old, sprawling house in front of them. Adelaide nodded impatiently, waiting for her sister to make a move.
After a few moments, Elena took a deep breath and finally opened the car door. Adelaide followed closely behind as they made their way to the imposing front door of the boarding house.
Elena hesitated for a moment before reaching out to ring the doorbell. Instead of the usual sound of footsteps approaching, someone shouted from the inside. " It´s open, come in." A female voice yelled.
Adelaide looked towards Elena with a confused expression, and Elena's face mirrored the same confusion. Pushing the door open, Adelaide began her search for Stefan. However, as she turned around, she was taken aback to find a girl standing there in nothing but a towel. The girl let out a startled yelp, "Oh my god!" She mumbled, her eyes darting between the two girls in bewilderment. "How... Oh, who... Who are you?"
"I'm Adelaide, and this is my sister, Elena," Adelaide introduced them. "And who might you be?" She inquired curiously.
"Lexi, a friend of Stefan's," the girl named Lexi replied, still clutching the towel tightly against her.
"Is he here?" Elena asked, doing her best to avert her eyes from the awkward situation.
"Stefan's in the shower right now," Lexi informed them. "Would you like to wait for him?" she proposed.
Adelaide could sense Elena's discomfort, so she promptly intervened, "No, it's alright. We should be on our way. It was nice meeting you, Lexi," she said, taking Elena's hand and leading her out of the house.
As they walked towards the car, Adelaide asked, "How are you holding up?"
Elena let out a heavy sigh, "Honestly, now I feel even worse," she confessed as they settled into the car and drove away and made their way home.
later that same day, Adelaide got out of her car and walked along the sidewalk, the cool breeze tugging at her hair. Her cell phone rang, and she fished it out of the pocket of her jeans.
"Hello," she answered, her voice slightly breathless from the brisk walk.
"What are you doing?" Caroline's voice came through the phone, filled with excitement.
"Why?" Adelaide asked, a hint of suspicion creeping into her tone as she paused in her steps.
"I need you to come to the grill, I'm having a party," Caroline said, her voice bubbly with anticipation.
Adelaide sighed, her mind racing for an excuse. "I'm not feeling good right now, Caro. I think I'll just head home and hit the hay early."
"Aw, do you need me to come over? I can bring you some soup or something," Caroline offered, genuine concern dripping from her words.
"No, no, it's fine," Adelaide replied, guilt gnawing at her stomach for lying to her friend. "I'll be okay. Let's catch up tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay, girl. Love you," Caroline said, her voice warm and caring.
"Love you too," Adelaide replied before ending the call. She shook her head as she pocketed her phone, feeling a mix of relief and guilt swirling within her. With a sigh, she continued on her way,
Adelaide walked into Civil hall, the grand old building that held secrets from centuries past. It had been quite some time since she last set foot in this historical place, and as she looked around, memories flooded back to her. She made her way up to the man sitting behind the counter, his eyes fixed on an old ledger.
"Hello," Adelaide said in a soft voice, causing the man to look up and smile warmly at her.
"What can I help you with?" he inquired, his voice soft yet authoritative.
"I would like to see some of the town's old records," Adelaide replied, a sense of anticipation in her voice.
"How old are we talking about?" the man asked, a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes.
"From around the 1800s," Adelaide answered, her eyes shining with excitement.
"I think we can do that," the man said. "If you would like to have a seat, I will find what you are looking for."
Adelaide settled herself at a nearby table, her eyes wandering around the hall filled with artifacts and documents of years gone by. Time seemed to stand still as she awaited the man's return.
After what felt like an eternity, the man reappeared, carrying a large, dusty book in his hands.
"I think this is what you need," he said as he placed the book gently on the table in front of Adelaide. "You'll need to wear these," he added, holding out a pair of white gloves.
"Thank you," Adelaide said, slipping on the gloves with care, her heart beating with anticipation.
"Come find me if you need anything else," the man said with a kind smile before disappearing into the depths of the hall, leaving Adelaide alone with the ancient book.
With a deep breath, Adelaide pulled the gloves over her hands, the soft leather cool against her skin. She hesitated for a moment, the weight of what she was about to do settling in her chest. But curiosity and a sense of destiny drove her forward, urging her to open the book and delve into the secrets that lay within.
As she turned the pages, the yellowed paper crackling with age, Adelaide felt a sense of reverence wash over her. The names of her ancestors appeared before her, each one a piece of the puzzle that was her family history. But it was the mention of Johanthan Gilbert, born in the 1800s, that piqued her interest.
Her heart raced as she searched for the names she knew so well - Stefan and Damon Salvatore. But as she flipped through the pages, her eyes widened in surprise at the revelation before her. Damon Salvatore, born on June 18, 1839, the firstborn son of Giuseppe and Lillian Salvatore. And then, Stefan Salvatore, born on November 1, 1846, alongside his twin sister Elisabeth Salvatore.
Adelaide's breath caught in her throat as she read Elisabeth's name, a name she had never heard before. The realization hit her like a bolt of lightning - could Elisabeth have been a forgotten figure in the Salvatore family history, erased from memory for reasons unknown?
But as the pages turned and the years marched on, Adelaide's hopes began to dim. There was no mention of Elisabeth Salvatore beyond the year 1946, leaving a void in her heart and a mystery unsolved. Had Elisabeth disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only whispers in the family archives?
The pieces of the puzzle swirled around Adelaide's mind, connecting dots she had never realized were there. Stefan's calling her Elisabeth, the drawings of Damon and Stefan in the box from Sheila.
Adelaide's mind was racing with thoughts. The woman from her dreams, who had whispered that it was not her time to die, lingered in the corners of her consciousness. And then there were Stefan and Damon, their faces flashing through her mind like fragments of a forgotten memory. But amidst the chaos of her thoughts, one image stood out vividly: the drawing of a blond-haired man. How did she know he was blond when it was just a sketch? She didn't know, she just felt it in her bones, in her soul. And then there was Elijah, a name that seemed to carry a weight she couldn't quite comprehend.
Overwhelmed, Adelaide closed the book that and rested her head on the cool wooden surface of the table. The room seemed to spin around her, the words on the pages blurring into a mess of incomprehensible symbols. Her head throbbed with the effort of trying to make sense of it all. Was she Elisabeth Salvatore?. Sheila had called her Elisabeth Pierce. Was she both?"
Suddenly, a vibration from her cell phone broke through the haze of her thoughts. With a sigh, she reached out and answered, her voice tired yet curious. It was Elena on the line, her voice shaking with emotion.
"He killed her," Elena whispered, the words heavy with grief.
Adelaide sat up straight, her heart pounding in her chest. "Who killed who?" she asked, confusion seeping into her voice as she clutched the book to her chest and rose from her seat. She made her way toward the counter, but Elena's next words stopped her in her tracks.
"Damon. He killed Lexi," Elena said, the words cutting through the silence like a knife.