TW: mentions of death, mentions of trauma.

I walked into the office, my hand holding my bag's strap and my shoes sounding slightly against the carpet like they always did. I got to my desk, my heart leaping and my eyebrows furrowing as another envelope was against the wood. I gulped harshly, my eyes wavering as once again, it had my name on it written in scrawly handwriting. The only other note that I had ever gotten had been placed on my desk four months ago now, and I never had ended up telling Peter about it. Though the recent incident of the thugs coming to the office and holding me hostage at gunpoint had led to me telling Peter anyway that I thought that something deeper was going on. I sat down and looked at the envelope, my heart thumping so harshly that I could feel the pulsating all over my body. I took a deep breath and eventually gained the courage to see what this note had to say as I picked the envelope up with shaking hands. I opened the flap and pulled the note out, my eyebrows furrowed at its contents.

09394706180. Text, DON'T call.

I gulped, my brain in two minds about whether or not I could trust the random-ass phone number from the random-ass stranger who I suspected had been the same person to give me the note about MJ. But if they were right, they knew who was behind this, and what they could be further planning. Meaning that they could help. I grabbed my phone and saved the number, my heart in my throat as I typed out a text with shaking fingers before pressing 'send'.

Y/N: Who are you?

Unknown: Can't tell you that. Can you meet today?

My eyes widened, a scoff leaving my lips as I shook my head. I had no idea who this person was, but they had another thing coming if they thought that I was going to meet them, probably alone and probably down some back alley. Hell fucking no.

Y/N: I'm not meeting you until I know who you are.

Unknown: Guess that we don't meet then. And that means that you don't find out who was behind MJ's death, and who the thugs are.

My eyes wavered and I gulped harshly at the response. Of course, there was always the chance that this was a hoax, but it felt too real, too legitimate to be someone simply trying to pull the wool over the eyes of a Queens reporter. The fact that they clearly knew Michelle by 'MJ' was enough to convince me otherwise. Which meant that I had to meet them if I wanted to get Peter and I closer to finding out who was behind this.

"Fucks' sake." I spat to myself and shook my head as I typed out another message before sending it.

Y/N: Fine. Yes, I can meet. Where and when?

Unknown: I know that you're a reporter for the Queens Daily. There's a coffee cart on the way to it. Meet me there at one.

Y/N: How will I know that it's you? I don't know you.

Unknown: You'll recognise me when you see me. Trust me.

I gulped, a pit forming in the bottom of my stomach at this whole situation. I felt nothing but uneasy, but I also knew that Peter had only just started patrolling again properly and was too busy to investigate the potentially suspicious but also maybe not link between MJ's death and my hostage situation. Which meant that it was left up to me. I sighed and put my phone down as I logged onto my computer, my eyes on my watch as I waited in dread for one o'clock to come.

I walked along the street, my heart in my throat and my stomach twisting in anxiety as I walked towards the coffee cart to meet the person who I'd been texting. And I couldn't be more nervous if I tried. My eyebrows furrowed, confusion filling my mind as I noticed her, even from this distance. Surely it can't be her, she can't be the one who knows, I thought as I approached the cart. Liz Allen spotted me as I approached, her eyes widening slightly and a large smile adorning her face as I got to her.

"Y/N, hey! Oh my god, it's been too long!" She squealed, making my eyes widen as she tightly hugged me. What the fuck was going on?

"H-hey, yeah, it's, um, good to see you too." I nodded as she pulled away. That was when I saw it. As I looked at her face, looked into her eyes, the most brief of glints appeared in her eyes, but it was there. But the glint wasn't good. The glint was pure terror.

"How have you been? You look so good." She chuckled. I gulped harshly, something not feeling right as I looked at her.

"Liz, I'm sorry, but cut the bullshit, are you the person who-."

"Yes, I can't wait, let's go!" She laughed, making my eyes widen further as she hooked her arm into mine before starting to pull me away from the coffee cart.

"Liz, are you on fucking drugs or something-."

"Shut the fuck up and follow my lead if you want any information at all." She hissed quietly into my ear as we continued to walk. I gulped and looked at her, my heart racing as she walked us towards an alleyway. I had no clue what was going on, and I didn't like it. She looked around cautiously before shoving me down the alley, making me gulp and turn around to face her.

"What the fuck is this?" I scoffed. She sighed and looked at me, the glint of terror having returned to her eyes as she stared at me.

"You're right, okay? You're a reporter, you were always smart in school, I'm sure that you've figured out by now that you're right." She nodded. My eyebrows furrowed.

"About what-."

"About the fact that it wasn't an accident and that her death was linked to what happened to you yesterday. MJ's death wasn't an accident, Y/N." She shook her head. My eyes widened, a choke leaving my lips as my heart plummeted to my feet. Of course I had started to suspect that if the thugs were linked to MJ's death, that it had been no accident, but to hear it actually said out-loud was completely different. It was heartbreaking. But then again...how did Liz know?

"How much do you know, Liz?" I asked.

"Too much to tell you before I get caught, before they find out what I was doing, who I was talking to. They always discussed how to make things easier, always talked about how to get rid of him for good but I never thought that they'd actually do it. That they'd actually kill her." She choked and shook her head, the girl's eyes wavering as a tear fell from them. My eyes widened further at her words, my mind desperately trying to process and remember everything as I stared at her.

"Liz, I need you to tell me who 'they' are, I need names-."

"I've already said way too much, okay? I'm sorry. But just know, it wasn't an accident. Whatever your gut is telling you, trust it, because you've been right so far." She nodded, my gaze widening again as she started to leave the alleyway.

"What-Liz, that can't be it-."

"I'm sorry, Y/N, I'm sorry." She shook her head before disappearing out of the end of the alleyway. I sighed and bit my lip, my hand raising to my forehead as I desperately tried to process what I'd just been told. What I'd just been told by Liz Allen, of all fucking people. That, as suspected, MJ's death hadn't been an accident, the question was why. All of the fucking questions were why. I gulped and shook my head, knowing that I had to tell Peter what I'd learned as I rushed out of the alleyway before even more bad shit happened. Because it always seemed to happen to me.

Peter stared at me, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as he stood in front of me. I nodded and bit my lip, my fingers nervously playing with themselves as I waited for his reaction.

"Just...just say that all again. Just to make sure that I know for certain what's going on and so that there's absolutely no confusion here." He scoffed and shook his head. I gulped harshly, my eyes wavering as I could already see how angry he was.

"I got a note, just after you'd moved in to say that this person knew who killed MJ and who they worked for. I didn't mention anything because you had enough on your plate, but you figured that out anyway when I got taken. Today, I got the phone number, so I texted it to go and meet them. Liz Allen was the one texting me. She told me that MJ had been murdered, that it was planned all along, but never actually said who 'they' are. But Peter, she looked fucking terrified. Whoever she was talking about, she was fearing for her life over what she told me, and she didn't even tell me that much." I scoffed and shook my head. He nodded and clenched his jaw, my boyfriend starting to pace the floor in front of me as he rubbed his hand over his chin.

"How do you know that she's telling the truth? Not to be a dick but we both know that Liz was that girl in high school who would say just about anything to get attention." He mumbled.

"I know that she was, Pete, but...I can't explain it. When I say that she looked terrified, I mean that I've never seen someone look quite so scared in my entire life, and I watched MJ die. I think that she's telling the truth." I sighed. He returned it and squeezed his eyes shut, the boy stopping pacing as he looked at me.

"Then we have a new problem, then. Because if you're right and if she's telling the truth, not only do we not know who did this, but we can assume that they're not done. They'll be coming back for more." He stated.

"Which is why we have to figure out who's behind this." I nodded. He sighed and shook his head, tears pricking his eyes as he looked at me.

"You know, babe, it was one thing to think that I'd killed MJ, to think that I was responsible for her death, but it's a whole other thing to think that she was murdered. Maybe even that me killing her was somehow orchestrated. I just-I don't know which one is worse." He scoffed and shook his head as a tear fell from his eye. But I knew that for once, it wasn't a tear of sadness. It was a tear of pure anger.

"I know, Pete, and you have a right to be so angry that you want to tear out the heart of the person who did this. Which is why we're going to figure this out. Together." I nodded, his arms curling around my waist as I rested my hands on his chest and looked up at him. He sighed and gave me a small smile.

"Yeah. We do this together." He mumbled. I nodded and returned his small smile as I leant up and gently kissed him.