"Miss, we've arrived."

Her eyes flickered to meet his gaze that were peering at her through the rearview mirror. Aurora looked towards the mirror and sure enough, they were parked right out the front of the steps leading to her house.


Aurora puffed out a deep breath and muttered a 'thank-you' before grabbing the door handle and pushing it open. She stepped out, one leg after the other and gently swung the door shut. She tucked her phone into her purse before rushing up the stairs, her heels making a clicking sound with each step she took.

She'd been avoiding staying at home ever since Evan got back and so far, she'd succeeded in returning either mid-dinner or when everyone was asleep. Whenever her father asked, she would blame it on the upcoming arts convention. He believed her each time.

But today, she seemed to have run out of luck because lounging on one of the couches in the living room was...


"Mom?" She sputtered in surprise, blinking in disbelief.

Miriam Rochester swiveled to face her, her face looked paler than usual and there were dark bags underneath her eyes. Aurora was startled by her mother's appearance and drew closer to the woman,


"Mom?" She called again, softly this time, "Are you-What are you doing down here?"

Ever since she'd come down with a cold last week, Miriam had been locked up in her room refusing to see or speak to anyone other than her father and Rosa. Aurora found it weird but shrugged it off, crediting it to her usual strange ways.

Her mother grinned in a way that reminded her of a Cheshire cat, "I came down to watch some TV, are you back from school already?"

She nodded wordlessly, still blinking at her mother.

"Are you well now? You're not sick again?" She moved to touch her but Miriam drew away quickly, shooting up to her feet and scaring Aurora.

"You need to work hard and get that position, Aurora. We can't simply let some lowlife snatch it away from you," Miriam seemed to be muttering to herself more to anyone and that caused her to frown in concern.

She took a step forward, peering at her mother suspiciously, "Mom?"

Miriam jumped as though she'd been electrocuted and when she stared at Aurora, icy terror flooded her veins.

This was not her mother. Her mother was always composed with coiffed hair and a smouldering gaze that was usually accompanied with a devilish grin, this woman was the exact opposite. Her eyes were wide and frenzied, her face was white as snow, it was only the neatness of her auburn locks that assured Aurora of who she was.

What had happened to her mother?

"You have to be my perfect little girl, do you understand, Aurora?" Miriam cooed, grabbing her hand, "You'll become a great ballerina and then go ahead to inherit your father's company. You'll marry the Traynor boy and then go on to give me perfect little grandchildren. You'll do that, won't you?"

Something in her mother's gaze made Aurora bob her head along in agreement to Miriam's words. Her mother's lips stretched and she pulled her, causing Aurora to sqeaul in surprise.

Her hand caressed the back over head and she cooed, "Yes, your life will be just as I've planned it. Nothing can go wrong."

She remained frozen like a stick in her mother's embrace. Her mind raced with a thousand questions, each one more jarring than the last. What in the world had happened to her mother?

After she was able to wriggle out of Miriam's hold, with much help from some of the maids, she retired back to her room and locked the door. She was about to crash on her bed when her ringtone suddenly pierced the air,

"Who is it again?" She grumbled and answered the call without checking who the caller was, "Hello?"

There was nothing but silence for a beat before a response came, "You sound happy to hear from me."

"Ryan?" She pulled the device away from her ear and sure enough, Ryan's name was glowing on the screen, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you."

He made a clicking sound, "What's wrong? You sound upset."

He didn't even know half of it. She blew out a weary breath and fell back on her bed, shutting her eyes,

"It's my mom, I think something is bothering her," She trailed off, bothering was too light of a word to use, "Anyways, have you gotten any update? It's been two days already."

He chuckled softly and she heard a rustling sound before he continued, "Yes, ma'am, I'm well aware of how many hours have passed but mind you, spying is not as easy as it seems."

"So you have nothing?"

"On the contrary..."

"Ryan!" She grumbled and he only guffawed at her expense, "What is it?"

He cleared his throat, "Your brother visited the pharmacy, twice in a day."

The pharmacy?

Her brows furrowed together, why would he need to go to the pharmacy? If he was sick then she didn't know of it. But the last time they saw, he didn't look sick in the slightest.

Her throat itched again and she scratched at the spot, "What did he purchase?"

"I have no idea but I was able to get some photos, I just sent them to you."

Her phone chimed and she withdrew it from her ear, placed the device on speaker and tapped at the new message icon. Her confusion only deepened when she saw the green and white pack in his hand, Evan was checking out at the counter and the only item in his hold was the drug.

"Were you able to get a closer look?"

Ryan sighed before muttering, "No, it would be too obvious, don't you think?" He huffed and she heard a swishing sound, "Besides, my guy, Holmes said it felt like your brother was onto him so he had to keep his distance and pretend to be interested in multivitamins."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

She peered at the image but the letterings on the pack was too blur for her to get a read on. Aurora cursed inwardly, running her fingers through her hair,

"So what do you plan on doing?"

She glanced one more time at the image, "I have to find out what kind of drug he purchased."

Ryan hummed, "That makes sense, I'll tell Holmes to keep trailing him."

Aurora's chest warmed, it felt good to know that she wasn't in this alone and somehow, Ryan gave her a sense of reassurance.

"Ryan?" She called gently and he hummed in response, "Thank you."

He fell silent and she thought he would disregard her appreciation but when his low chuckled reverberated from the speakers of her phone, she smiled,

"Don't thank me, flower," He drawled in a low tone, "You should start thinking of a way to express your gratitude better."

The way he spoke sounded suggestive enough and she chuckled. Aurora couldn't find it in herself to be offended because a tiny part of her wanted to show him her gratitude in that manner too.

"How about tonight?" She whispered, making her voice as breathy as possible.

He groaned, the sound a sweet lull to her ears, "Alright, flower. You've got yourself a date."

Aurora grinned, even when the line ended, she couldn't wipe away the smile on her face. She was going to have to pick out what to wear tonight but before that,

She had to visit the pharmacy.