Aria’s P.O.V.

Jace left the next Saturday.

I was sad to see him go. He really hadn’t stayed as long as I had hoped, but I understood that he had a job to get back to, and I knew he felt like he was a burden, though he was anything but.

The airport was especially loud that Saturday morning. Jace looked tired from getting up so early. I had managed to pull myself together with a bit of makeup. After Jace checked in, he took ahold of his hand luggage and came straight over to me, enfulging me in his arms. He smelled nice, quite familiar. I would miss him more than I had even imagined.

“Text me or call if you need anything,” he told me, pulling away to look me in the eye. “Don’t hesitate if you ever need to talk about anything. I’m here for you. Even if I am halfway across the world, I’m only one Facetime call away.”

“Same goes for you, Jace.” I punched his arm lightly.

Giving me one last hug, he turned around and made his way to the security area. I let out a loud sigh and watched him until he became blended into the sea of people. There was still so much Jace and I hadn’t managed to talk about. Something had always been in the way. If only we had had more time to talk everything out.

---

Niall’s arms were wrapped around my waist from behind me as we stood in the kitchen, the laptop sitting on the counter, searching up anything we could find about a certain woman by the name of Scarlett Lubianco. Niall’s chin rested on my right shoulder as he looked at the laptop screen with me. His breath fanned my neck ever so slightly, causing goosebumps to involuntarily form on my skin. It was a bit hard to concentrate with his occasionally long kisses to my neck, and the soft tickling to my waist.

“Here’s her obituary.” I informed, clicking on a link. It took me to a website that was devoted to publishing obituaries of just about every dead person in the state of California.

Name: Scarlett Renee Lubianco, 16

1987-2003

[A/N: These dates aren’t accurate according to the ages of my characters, so don’t even bother doing the math!]

Scarlett Renee Lubianco, beloved daughter of Alice and Seth Lubianco, biological daughter of Susan and Alan Grace, loving sister of Aria Mirabella Lubianco. She will be missed my many, and loved forever.

Born on April 13, 1987 in Sacremento, California, she was raised by Alice and Seth Lubianco, soon accompanied by her younger sister, Aria.

She attended River Oaks High School and was in her junior year before attempting and succeeding in suicide. She was found dead in a car crash in late November of 2003.

Paramedics found Lubianco dead, her face almost completely wrecked for the impact of the crash.

“Scarlett was a great girl,” Source, Amber Knight, tell us. “Also upbeat and very charismatic.”
She loved art and scrapbooking. She had a very great hand for small children.

Stoneson Funeral Home was responsible for funeral arrangements.


“Okay,” Niall exhaled carefully. “So apparently your psychopath sister isn’t even your blood related sister. And apparently her face was so ruined from the car crash that detectives practically had the guess that it was her. And they also happened to interview Amber fucking Knight, who was killed by Scarlet’s stepfather.”

“Damn,” I muttered, running my hands through my hair. “I always knew there was no possible explain for being related to a fucktard like her.”

“Wait, Aria.” Niall turned me around so we faced each other. He looked like he had just realized something all too important. “If Scarlet is still alive, then that means that the whole suicide-car accident thing is all bullshit. She must have faked her own death, you know, used someone else who probably was willing to die for Scarlett. She must have made sure that there would be a car crash. Hell, she probably knew the person that crashed the car the ‘she’ was in.”
I gulped, realizing Niall’s theory was completely possible.

“I can’t believe she’s adopted.” I whispered, staring at Niall. “What if I am, too?”

“I don’t know,” Niall shook his head, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. “I’m not sure about anything.”

I took a deep breath and turned back to the laptop, copying and pasting the names of Scarlett’s so called biological parents. More than a million search results came up about Susan Grace and Alan Grace. Susan and Alan. Weird.

“Wait, hold on,” Niall put a hand on my shoulder. “Go back up.”

I did as he said ,scrolling back up the Google results list slowly. He pointed to a link and that’s when I noticed exactly what he was talking about.

“Alan Grace: Reaching The Top of the Business, How Wife Susan Grace Influenced It All.”

I clicked on the link and began reading out loud.

Lately, the business area of Oklahoma has been rising to great levels due to the newly promoted manager of Gracedale Companies. Alan Grace generously took the time to write us into his hectic schedule, and spilled to us his amazing secret to conquering the business zone of Oklahoma. Grace, 48, told the Insider Magazine that it takes more than charisma and determination to get to his place.

“My wife, Susan, has helped me through a lot of it.” he told Insider. “She’s always the bright smile I can come home to. Quite a few years ago I was in a very bad place because I couldn’t support something that I truly cared for, but my wife helped me get through it. She encouraged me to quit my job as a secretary at a local building for Aerospace Dynamics and it was a wonderful choice I made, switching careers. I’ve come so far after such a rough patch in my life, and I can’t think of anyone more important to thank than my beautiful wife.”

Interviewers went deeper to try and discover exactly what caused such a rough patch in Grace’s life, but he refused to give any information away. However, we assume this could mean the loss of a child, or someone that he truly loved. Whichever it is, Alan Grace will be appreciated in the Oklahoma business industry for years to come.

His main office is stationed at the Gracedale companies in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He has over 250 employees working for his business, and has hired over 120 security guards outside the headquarters of Gracedale Companies. Alan Grace’s popularity is growing to the extremes, and by the looks of it, he may soon be hitting national television.

“So, your adoptive sisters father is a millionaire.” Niall concluded after I read out the entire article. “And something tells me that it’s Scarlett than Alan and Susan couldn’t provide for. Maybe he was in a rough financial patch or something.”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s not really specific at all.”

“Maybe we could try and contact Alan. I bet he wants to know about his missing daughter.” Sarcasm dripped for Niall’s voice. “Shes such a wonderful person ,after all.”

“No actually that’s a good idea.” I scrolled further down the page and found contact information of Alan Grace’s companies. “Look. We can try to set up a conference with him or something. It’s worth a shot.”

“Flying all the way down to Oklahoma to talk to some desperate dude?” Niall snorted. “I think not.”

“Come on, Niall.” I turned back around so I could look him in the eye. “He’s probably wondering if his daughter is doing okay. And we can give him that information. He can give us information, too. Anything that can get us closer to the truth, we need to take a chance and go for it. We’re running out of time.”

NIall stared at me, my glare staying firm and hard on him. Eventually he gave in like I knew he would. Niall knew when I was determined to do something, I wouldn’t give up. And I was more than determined to find Alan Grace.

“I guess you're right.” Niall sighed, knowing there was no way out. I needed to get my way this time. “Should we bring the kids with us?”

“Do you think it would be safe for them to come with us?”

“I don’t know.” Niall answered honestly. “Suppose we asked Harry and Corryn to take care of them for a while?”

“I don’t know about that. They’re both really busy with their wedding just around the corner. Maybe we can ask Louis and Eleanor.”

After a shit load of explaining to our fellow friends, Louis and Eleanor agreed to take care of Nate and Nicolette while Niall and I jet off to Oklahoma. Louis and l had been there for Niall and I when my father kidnapped me a few years ago. They knew the kind of struggle that Niall and I were going through yet again, and because of that, they didn’t ask for too much of an explanation. Not to mention the countless times I had helped El with Will and Valerie when the were infants. We’d all been there for eachother, and Eleanor would be understanding of our situation. Better yet, it was safe to say that she owed me.

---

Niall’s P.O.V.

“I can’t!” I yelled into the phone for the one hundredth time that night. Paul had called me, nearly demanding that I be at rehearsals in two days. He was already disappointed in me for not attending the latter part of press tour, and to skip a full world tour fou him was a crazy idea.

“Niall, you can’t be serious!” Paul sighed, clearly frustrated. “You and the rest of the boys have been playing gigs and practicing and rehearsing so much to get ready for this tour, and now you tell us you refuse to attend the tour? What the hell is the point in that?”

“You don’t fucking understand, Paul.” I gripped my hair as I tried to resist punching a wall. “My family is in danger. There are literally people targetting my kids and my wife every second of every day.”

“Niall, it’s probably some silly joke,” Paul huffed loudly. “You’re being ridic-”

“I’m ridiculous?” My temper rose at his words. “You weren’t there when a bullet shot right past my son’s ear. You weren’t there when my daughter was hospitalized after someone tried to break in through her motherfucking window! You weren’t there when someone shot my neighbor in the leg to find the location of my children! So don’t go calling me crazy when you know nothing!”

“Think about everyone you’re letting down.” Paul’s voice softened, but still held a firm ground. “You have millions of fans who have been waiting months and years to see you perform. Think of the lads. Imagine how they’ll react. They will be heartbroken. Vocals will have to be changed. Songs will be taken out of the tour listing. Everything will be a disaster, and you will have all the guilt.”

“The only time I will feel guilt is when I come home from tour to find my wife and my children dead.” I spat into the telephone.”Nothing is more important to me than my family. I feel sorry for the fans who’ve been waiting to see me, but they would understand if they’re real fans. And the lads will understand if they really are my friends.”

“You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing, Paul. Trust, I’ve thought over this more than you can imagine.”
“Maybe you can sleep on it and wake up with some sense tomorrow. What do you say?”

“The only thing I will wake up with tomorrow is a sense of relief that my family and I have survived through another night.”

I hung up before Paul could respond.

Collapsing into my chair, I let out a loud groan and tried to get a grip. The phone conversation itself had pushed my limits to the extreme. It bothered me how Paul and the rest of management were so persistent on making me go on tour, even when they were aware that I had too much going on at home. Sometimes, my job really did suck.

I couldn’t fathom what went through their brains. Did they honestly believe I would ditch my pregnant wife and kids while windows were breaking every second for a seven month tour? If management did, they were absolutely insane. And who did Paul think he was, trying to guilt me into coming on tour? God, everything pissed me off.

A calming hand set its place on my shoulder, the soothing touch lowering my temper instantly. I spun my chair around and gently grabbed the familiar waist of my wife, sitting her down on my desk. I rose from my chair and stood between her legs, trying to control my breathing. I was still beyond furious, even with Aria’s presence.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, trying to get me to look at her. She cupped my cheeks and held my face up, a sad smile on her full pink lips. “Take a deep breath.”

“Just kiss me,” I begged through an exhale, immediately moving my face towards hers to find her lips. Our lips met with a heavy force, Aria’s lips moving skillfully against mine. Kissing Aria took me to another world ,away from the hellhole that we lived in. She let out a soft moan as my tongue entered her mouth, sliding over hers gently. Aria slid further onto my desk, surely crumple a few possible important documents while doing so. I tugged on her bottom lip teasingly, provoking a louder moan from the back of her throat. Smirking against Aria’s lips, I grabbed her torso, pushing our bodies together with a groan. Aria let out a small giggle, not quite realizing how sexy she sounded. Her small giggle only made me want her more.

As my lips trailed down the side of Aria’s neck, I spot her toes curling at the sensation she seemed to be feeling. Being able to make her feel that made me more that satisfied. Hearing her soft moans escape her perfect lips was even better. Feeling her nails run up and down my arms as I sucked on her sweet spot, profanities spilling from her mouth was more than enough.

My fingers slid under her top, eager to get it off. She raised her arms up so the top came off easily, letting me pull her in for another chaste kiss. Soon, my shirt was off, too, my eyes scanning the doorknob in order to make sure it was locked. Her fingernails trailed down my chest, making me shiver. It was so hard to control myself around her, because the little things I noticed about her drove me nuts. Take for example, the way her hands still shook as she unbuttoned my pants. Or the way she would blow the hair out of her face then resume to biting her lip and she pulled the pant zipper down. Or the way she gulped and looked up at me through her incredibly long eyelashes, her blue orbs strikingly bright in the moment. I noticed her breaths shorten when I reached back to unclasp her bra, a shy smile playing on her lips. Her cheeks were a rosey pink, complimenting the color of her lips.

Aria was the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on, and the way she could take my mind off anything proved just that. It wasn’t the sex that made me calm. It was the way she never fully got over her insecurities causing her cheeks to redden every time I touched her. It was the way she laid her hands on mine as I kissed her stomach, letting me know she cared for our baby girl inside her just as much as I did. It was just everything.

But most of all, it was the way she assured me as I picked her up and walked her to the sofa in my office, that I wasn’t making the wrong choice. Because she was there. She saw the blood. She shed tears. She was up on sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling with her hand intertwined with mine. She was there through all the past pain, and all the pain to come. She knew what my reasons were, and she understood that those reasons were good.

She understood me.

And that is why I could not leave her, or our kids. Because if I left, I would be risking the life of not only my children, but also the life of the only person who truly, fully, completely understood inside and out. She was too much of a good thing to lose.

---

The steam of our heated moment filled my office, Aria’s hair fanned out on my chest as she rested on top of me. I held her hands in mine, smiling as I admired the color of her nails. It was honestly a good color choice. I ran my fingers over her knuckles, kissing them lightly. Aria smiled, poking my cheek when I teasingly started picking the nail polish off.

“I spent alot of time on that, you know.” she sassed, pulling her hands away from me to hide them. I grinned and held her tighter, kissing her hair softly. The way too familiar scent of strawberries and vanilla filled my nose. I remembered the first time I had ever kissed Aria’s hair and been able to smell that scent, nearly six years ago. I didn’t know what “amazing” smelled like until I smelled her hair. Once, I had tried to wash my own hair with it, but Aria caught me and teased me about it for nearly two months.

“It’s alot to risk.” Aria spoke, flipping over so our bare chests were touching. “Choosing not to go on tour. I understand why you were so mad with management. I would’ve been mad, too. They could at least trusted you in your decision.”

“I know.” I sighed. “It’s like they think I wasn’t troubled in making the decision. Don’t they know that it’s killing me to know that millions of people are going to be let down because of me? It hurts me so much, but I have my priorities.”

“Can I go slap Paul in the face?” Aria asked, her blue eyes wide and serious. “He really does deserve it.”

“Nah,” I chuckled, holding her close. “He just pull a few karate tricks and have you tied to a wall in seconds. Trust me, if he wasn’t capable of doing so, I’d let you punch him a million times.”

“What?” Aria raised her eyebrows. “”You don’t have any faith in me?”

“‘Course I do,” I laughed. “But Paul Higgins had a shitload of muscle.”

Aria sat up and sat halfway on my stomach, halfway on my pelvis. She raised her arm up and folded it, trying to flex her non-existing biceps. “I have muscle, too.” She declared, a crazy adorable grin on her face. She tried to flex further, waiting for my feedback.

“Babe, you don’t have biceps.” I broke it to her plain and simple, not being able to hold back a smirk.

“Do too!” Aria flexed again, trying as hard as could.

“They’re not just gonna sprout out in five seconds, Ari.” I snorted.

“No, feel it!” She grabbed my hand and placed it on her biceps, flexing again. I honestly only felt the smallest bit of movement. I squeezed her upper arm playfully, watching her grin turn into a playful pout.

“Guess I’m going to have to start weight-lifting.” Aria shrugged casually, lying down on me again. “Right after I eat the leftover half of the icecream tub and the full regular sized pizzed that I plan on ordering. Oh, and you can’t forget the chocolate.”

“That’s my girl,” I laughed, tickling her sides until she practically begged for me to stop.

---

Aria’s P.O.V.

On our way to the airport we stopped by Louis and Eleanor’s place to drop the kids off. Nicolette was over ecstatic when she learned that she would be spending a week with Will, the boy I assumed she was practically in love with. Nate and Valerie got along well, even though she was a couple of years older. They were both quiet kids, so it worked out nicely.

“So you’re telling me that you have a sister who isn’t really your sister and she had a father in Oklahoma who is a millionaire?” Louis summarized everything I had managed to tell him.

“Pretty much.” Niall answered for the both of us.

“That’s crazy.” Eleanor muttered. “This feels like some insane episode of CSI, only much, much worse.”

“Terrifying is an understatement.” I spoke softly, my voice catching in my throat. “We need to figure out everything we can about Scarlett, and we need to do it fast. Whoever she’s working with knows our every damn move. They probably even know that were heading for Oklahoma right this second.”

“We really appreciate you guys stepping in for us.” Niall informed with gratefulness in his voice. “It’s a very dangerous thing to do, to get involved with us, and the fact that you agreed to this is more than enough.”

“We’ve always got your back, mate.” Louis slapped Niall’s shoulder in a brotherly manner. “Just a call away.”

Niall and I both smiled sincerely at his words. Louis and Eleanor would never understand just how thankful we were to have them.

We only stayed at their house for a short time, considering that we were on a time limit to get on our plane. Niall drove fast, determined to get to the airport on time. We got through check in rather quick, and Niall arranged for special security checks right by the boarding area. A couple of security guards trailed behind us, just in case anyone decided the start a mob.

Thankfully, no one even noticed Niall and I walking hurriedly through the airport. It was a miracle.

As I sat on the plane with Niall at my side, I couldn’t help but wonder why Scarlett would waste all her time playing this stupid game. I couldn’t fathom a good enough reason for her to torture my family. What was she so angry about. Why was she doing this to me and my family?
I was beyond nervous to face her parents, when all along I had thought we shared the same parents. My whole childhood had been full of lies, pointing me on the wrong path. wondered if my fathers wrath of me was somehow connected to all of this, as if somehow, this was all part of a huge puzzle. It seemed that every time I felt like I was finally getting somewhere, I learned something else that brought me right back to square one, and I didn’t enjoy that at all.

Hopefully this conversation with Scarlett’s parents would get me to square two.

Notes

Tow weeks since I last updated.... Sorry for being late. Atleast I didn't stall for a whole month like last time :P Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It definetely revealed a bit more about Scarlet and her background. Theres much more to come in the next few chapters. Thanks for hanging tight!!!

So:
-school's almost out
-eight days of school left
-my birthday was yesterday :)
-i ate alot of cake
-i got alot of presents
-Scarlet is a butthole
-Aria is strong
-Paul has very large biceps
-Niall's going to die in the next chapter.
-i ate pizza for lunch
-i'm obsessed with one direction.

HAHA DID U GUYS CATCH IT. JUST KIDDING. HE WONT DIE.
or lets cross our fingers he wont, shall we? ..........