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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄

────── ★★★ ──────

When Everly walked into Roni's the morning after getting a message from Regina, the first thing she saw was Henry and Ella talking at one of the tables. A small smile instantly appeared on the Thorne woman's face at the sight of the happiness on theirs. But when her eyes landed on the unreadable expression on Regina's face, all her positive emotions faded as quickly as they came. The former Evil Queen just stared intently at the couple, completely unaware of the Purest Heart making her way toward the counter. It wasn't until Everly sat down on a stool that Regina turned her attention toward the younger woman.

"Is everything alright, Roni?" the blonde woman questioned, earning a somewhat annoyed look from the Mills woman before she leaned on the counter to get a bit closer to the Purest Heart.

"No need to keep up the facade, Everly. I remember everything," Regina responded, causing the Thorne woman's eyes to slightly widen as she continued to stare at the brunette standing in front of her.

Just as Everly was about to ask how the former Evil Queen got her memories back in a land without magic, she felt a new presence next to her. When she turned her attention toward the newcomer, the Purest Heart found Drizella sitting on the stool closest to her with her eyes glued to Henry and Ella.

"They seem happy," the Tremaine woman stated as she watched the couple laugh on the other side of the room before she turned to fully face Regina.

"What are you doing here?" the Mills woman questioned while Everly took a long sip of her water to avoid their awkward encounter.

"Just checking to make sure you're doing your job because those two are getting closer every day," Drizella stated after looking back at Henry and Ella before her eyes fell on the blonde woman sitting next to her, "I see you've recruited Everly to help you."

"What are you talking-"

"Oh, cut the act. I've known you were awake the moment we arrived here," the Tramine woman interrupted the Purest Heart before she completely ignored Everly's shocked expression and turned her attention back to Regina, "we can't have those two get close because if the curse breaks, the people you love get hurt. So, I'd say you've got your work cut out for you."

Silence surrounded the three women for a moment longer as they watched the happy couple for a moment longer. It wasn't long before Drizella sent Everly and Regina one last smug smirk then she left the building. As soon as the younger brunette was gone, the Purest Heart turned around to face the former Evil Queen. "What did she mean by 'the people you love will get hurt?'"

"Don't worry about it," Regina responded before she went back to serving drinks and cleaning glasses.

A wave of irritation washed over the blonde woman as she watched the brunette go about her work like nothing happened. Before a complete thought could run through her head, Everly reached across the counter and grabbed Regina's wrist. This caused the Mills woman to stop her actions and turn her attention back to Everly.

"First of all, you texted me that we had a problem so obviously you need my help," the Purest Heart stated after she released her grip around the former Evil Queen and sat back down in her stool, "second of all, Drizella is threatening my family too so don't think I'll just stand aside and-"

"Alright, I get it," Regina responded as she leaned against the back counter before letting out a small sigh. Everly's eyes stayed glued to the woman in front of her while the latter thought long and hard about her next words before she finally opened her mouth to speak. "There's something that happened before Drizella cast the Curse to encourage me to stop it from breaking."

"And that is?"

"If the Curse breaks, Henry dies."

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An hour passed since Regina told Everly everything about the Curse's failsafe and the latter still couldn't find the words to say. A million thoughts ran through her head as she used her finger to spin the straw around in her water glass. It wasn't long before she began to compare Drizella and Peter Pan, which only made chills run throughout her body when she realized how similar they were.

Another ten minutes passed before the Thorne girl finished her drink. After sending a small smile Regina's way and giving the woman her word that she would help her figure everything out, Everly turned to leave. Just as she was about to reach the door that led out to the streets of Hyperion Heights, her attention was drawn to two familiar figures looking over a pile of papers on the patio.

Everly just stared at Hook and Sam as they continued as they dug through their files while a longing feeling began to settle over her. With everything that was going on, the Purest Heart would give anything just to talk to her brother again and figure things out together like they usually did. The Thorne girl longed for the feeling of familiarity in Hyperion Heights and Sam was probably the person she missed talking to the most other than Felix.

After letting out a long sigh, Everly grabbed two cups of water from a smirking Regina passing by her then she walked outside. Neither of the men noticed her approach them as they continued to quietly discuss the information on the sheets in front of them. It wasn't until the Purest Heart placed the glasses in front of them that they finally looked up to meet her eyes.

"It looked like you two could use some water," Everly said in an awkward tone that made her silently curse herself while her eyes lingered on Sam for a second longer before she looked over at Hook, "what are you two doing out here anyway? It's a lot warmer inside."

"Some work. I, uh, had to get out of the office for a while," the raven-haired man explained before he sent a somewhat annoyed look toward the blonde man sitting next to him, "and Braxton decided to join me."

"If I didn't come with you, you would've gone crazy," Sam retaliated then he looked back up at Everly, "he's been working on this case since we joined the force."

"That long, huh."

"Yes, it's been a while but I feel like I'm so close. I can almost touch it," Hook defended himself while his eyes continued to scan over the papers in front of him, "it's just, I can't put the pieces together to find her."

"Well, maybe I can help," the Throne woman said while trying to hide the desperation in her voice as she sat down in the chair across from them. The immediate response she received from the two men was confused looks before the smile on Everly's face slightly grew. "I probably know the people around here better than you think. I like walking around and interacting with them a lot more than either of you do. I also know the perfect person to see when you're trying to get information on someone."

As soon as the Purest Heart finished speaking, Hook's eyes grew to the size of small planets then he got to his feet and started gathering his papers. Sam watched with confusion in his eyes as his partner shoved the files into his bag before slinging it over his shoulder and heading toward the door. When the Wish Realm pirate realized he wasn't being followed, he glanced back at the two blondes with a small smirk on his face.

"Well, are you two coming or not?"

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Everly sat in the backseat of Hook's car as they drove through the streets of Hyperion Heights toward their next destination. The Purest Heart's eyes were glued to the window as they went by Felix's shop and Austin's restaurant before they passed Will walking Knight with Katherine. Due to the Thorne woman being lost in her own little world, she was completely oblivious to Sam watching her through the mirror.

Just like Everly, Sam was stuck in his own world at that moment. But his world was trapped in the mind of Braxton Whitney. As he stared at the woman in the backseat, he tried to piece together why he was always drawn to the Throne woman whenever she was around. He wanted to know why he had an unexplainable need to protect her and keep her away from dangerous situations. He knew it wasn't romantic but he also knew there was a connection between him and Everly that he couldn't decipher. And it drove him crazy.

Both of their trains of thought were interrupted by the car coming to a stop. The three of them got out of the vehicle without saying a word before they made their way over to the blonde girl selling watches. As soon as Alice spotted the trio walking toward her, the smile on her face fell and she sent her customer away. The blue-eyed girl let out a small sigh as she tossed a watch back into her suitcase before she slammed it shut and spun around to meet the newcomers.

"Hello, Detective," Alice greeted the raven-haired man with a somewhat forced smile on her face while ignoring his two associates.

"I need your help. The advice you gave me yesterday actually pointed me in the right direction for once," Hook explained to the blonde girl before he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small notebook, "so...if you could take a look in here and tell me if anything jumps out at you."

Alice sent the man a small nod in response before taking the journal from him. The three of them watched as the blue-eyed girl flipped through and scanned over the pages of the small book with a blank expression on her face.

"I've never seen any of this before," the blonde girl told them as she continued to look through the journal before she let out a small scoff, "but I do know her story. Bad home life. Parents who didn't care. I don't think this girl was taken."

"You think she's a runaway?" Sam questioned while Everly stood between the two men in silence and watched Hook take the book back from Alice.

"I went down that road, talked to the kids in the street. No one knows her," the Jones man explained with a hint of defeat in his voice.

"Trust me, people like that don't talk to people like you," Alice stated with the first genuine smile on her face since the trio arrived.

"So, you'll help us then?"

"Didn't say that."

"Oh, she'll help us," Everly declared with her arms crossed over her chest as the blonde girl turned her attention toward the woman, "because we would much rather have you help out than write you up for selling stolen watches."

"We do hate paperwork," Sam added with a smirk while Hook just stared at them with an impressed look on his face.

"Alright then. Help is on the way," Alice sighed without taking her curious eyes off of the Thorne woman, "meet me in the park in two hours. And bring a sandwich."

"Marmalade?"

"Sounds delicious," the blonde girl told Hook as the smile on her face grew before she went to grab her suitcase, "I do hope I can find her for you, Detective. Seems you need this as much as Eloise does."

Before anyone could say another word, Alice turned and began walking away from the group of three. None of them moved as they watched the girl until she was out of sight then they made their way back to the vehicle. Everly stood on the sidewalk as she watched the two men open the car before they sent her confused looks when she didn't move to open hers.

"Sunshine Market is just a block away from here. I can go pick up the sandwich and meet you at the park," she explained to the two men, only to receive nods in response from them before they drove away.

As soon as they were out of sight, Everly turned around and headed toward another person her heart had been wanting to see since Cassie woke up from the Curse.

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