"You ready to leave this place?"

"Most definitely," I answered without hesitation and Breton chuckled in response.

After being in this hospital for eleven days, including the time I was unconscious, I was more than ready to go home and get to see the outside world in general. This was the longest time in my time I had not been in contact with the outside world. Even when I was in the orphanage I always spent half the day outside in the courtyard and when living in the streets I usually wandered around the alleys and streets.

Nicandro only called me once during this past week, and only called two days after the court trial, which I had obviously heard the news by then. His family and especially him had a lot of internal matters to settle and handling the pressure from news outlets all over the world since the trial was a historic event, so I didn't want to bother him by calling him. But that doesn't mean I didn't miss him.

Breton came to visit me every day, stayed here on some nights and for those nights which he didn't stay, I assure him multiple time that I'll be fine on my own. Sha and Sherwyn also came by to pass me the assignments from school and make sure I'm all caught up. Ms Zhang also came by to check in on me and did a recap on what was taught in class which I was thankful for. With mid-year exams coming up next week, even though everyone understands if I didn't do well, I wanted to do well for feeling some good in my life right now. I even had a lesson with my very expensive tutor, Ms Hardgrove here in my hospital room.

Peter also called in to check up on how I was doing and we also had a mini catch up on the things happening in our life the past few months. He told me he was splitting his time between two jobs; he helps out Marlene at Adequate Dining serving food sometimes and on the side, he does firewall configurations for small companies.

However, one person I was hoping to have contacted me but didn't was Leah. She did send me a text when I regained consciousness that she would come to visit me as we've gone quite close during the past few months. I was going to give her a call to check in on her dealing with losing someone she loved but backed out as I didn't think I would do a good job at it since it was the same person who was the reason I ended up in the hospital.

So now I was back in my room, sitting on my bed after taking a shower, studying for exams next week and waiting on Breton to call for dinner. I did offer to help but of course, he didn't want me to accidentally overexert myself and end up reopening my stab wound again.

Sha: Yooo does anyone have geog water cycle chapter notes??

Zach: Yep, but I'm outside rn

(2) I can send u when I get back

Sherwyn: Not you losing your notes days b4 the exam

Sha: Shut up

Sherwyn: Meanie

Me: Here u go [PDF Attachment]

Sha: Thankuuuu!!

(2) U da best

Zach: Damn Tiana fast game

Me: Only becuz I'm studying geo rn and have my notes with me haha

"Dinner is ready!" I heard Breton's voice from the kitchen. Before I made it to the kitchen, I had already inhaled the aroma from the food and my mouth watered from that. During the few months in Singapore, Breton and I had rarely gone out for dinner because I was staying under the radar, and plus I much preferred his cooking anyway.

"Smells amazing, as always," I commented. He even had violin instrumental music playing in the background which I had to realise was his favourite thing to listen to. I went over to his laptop to change the music.

"Always changing my music, aren't you?" He teased.

I gave him a sly grin before changing my expression to a serious one. "But seriously, I don't know how you listen to that without feeling sleepy. You even listen to that when you're driving."

"It's soothing to the mind," he retorted, pointing the big spoon which he was using to scoop the mushroom soup into the bowls at me.

I chuckled. "Oh god, you're really getting old aren't you?"

"I'm turning fifty soon, give me a break will you?" He exasperated in a joking tone which got a laugh from the both of us.

"Whatever you say, old man." I could see at the corner of my peripheral him rolling his eyes at me before going back to what he was doing previously.

I went to YouTube and press on an one-hour alternative music video as I thought that matched the mood the most. As I closed the tab, I noticed the many folders Breton had on his home screen to keep everything organised.

A.O, Y.P, H.L, O.S, L.J, I.S, K.U

"Alright, let's dig into it." My mouth had started to water from the delicious meal in front of me as I sat down at the dining table.

Then the doorbell rang.

Wonder who could that be at eight in the evening.

"Are you expecting anyone?" I asked Breton.

"No..." His face showed the same confusion as mine. "I'll get it."

As Breton was walking to the door, my mind started coming up with possible scenarios, all of which were negative.

What if it's the police? What if they knew that I lied about the incident with Helena? Or worse, Felon? He could be coming here to kill me; to tie up loose ends once and for all, as well as to get revenge for Helena as he probably thinks that I killed her.

"Hi, sorry for showing up unannounced. Just wanted to make sure everything was alright with Tiana."

Leah.

She was here after being radio silent for the past week. Breton said the last he saw her was at her mom's funeral this week.

"Yeah, she's back home and settling in fine. Would you like to join us for dinner? We have enough for one more person."

I waited for a few seconds of hesitation from her before she replied, "That would be nice, thank you."

As she came in and Breton closed the door behind her, we made eye contact. This is the first time we saw each other since that night. I could feel the tension rising and stood up and greet her to hopefully ease it. But I hadn't mentioned what happened, so there was still this elephant in the room.

We then sat down at the dining table, while Breton is in the kitchen getting Leah's food. Thankfully he didn't take long as I wasn't able to start the conversation. It would be ignorant to talk about regular things other than the incident. Other than Leah commenting Breton on his cooking and me agreeing, the whole meal has been silent. The three of us managed to finish the food on our plates in less than ten minutes as it was to avoid talking; continuously stuffing food in our mouth to achieve that.

But sooner or later, the glass broke.

"Tiana, I'm so sorry for what happened to you, I just-"

I quickly cut her off, "Leah this isn't your fault."

"Yes it is!" I could see her feeling overwhelmed by everything that has happened. "What happened to you and my mom is not okay! Whoever did that can't just get away with it. There has to be accountability! Which is what I've been doing the past few days, trying to find the killer and hopefully able to move on from this."

Trying to find the killer. She's digging into this.

"No, you can't." I simply stated.

She frowned at me, trying to come up with a reason why I would say that. "Why not? Don't you want whoever hurt you to be put away?"

I sighed. "It's not that simple."

And I don't have the power to do so. If the police and government resources can't achieve that, how can I?

She seemed to be at a loss of words trying to grasp this. "Uh then explain to me, because I don't get what could be at stake-"

"Our lives." I cut her off unexpectedly. I hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. I trust her to be smart enough after knowing what she was really dealing with, she would drop this. "This isn't just one man or one group that's part of this. This is a whole organisation, a very dangerous organisation."

"A-a whole organisation? What organisation is this? Why would my mum have anything to do with this?" All her questions started following out which reminded me of when I first met Viktor last year and was feeling the exact same way.

"You know who's Felon?" My voice came out shaky when saying that name. I can also hear Breton intake a sharp breath.

"Yeah, I've heard that name on the news. He took over the Madrid castle and revealed himself to be the King of Spain's biological son right?" She answered while trying to piece how that has anything to do with what happened to her mom and me.

I nodded my head. "He's an international drug lord so he has his own organisation so he can operate worldwide. What most people don't know is that the reason why he is able to expand his organisation quickly is by killing off competitors. One of the biggest competitors he has to eliminate were... my parents."

Leah's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your biological parents? But I thought you said you didn't know what happened to them?"

"I lied. I didn't want to involve you in all that, having knowledge of these kinds of information can get you killed." my mind drifted to the numerous times where my life was in danger.

She gathered her thoughts before speaking again. "So that's what happened to my mom?"

I inhaled a deep breath. I'm about to tell Leah her mom wasn't a good person and Breton the woman he loves used him. "I found out that my biological parents died in a plane crash which Felon orchestrated. Helena was part of it as well."

"What the hell?" Leah stood up from the chair defensively and raised her voice. "How dare you make up all this! What you're saying makes no sense!"

"Leah-" I tried to get her to calm down but she was too worked up. I looked over to Breton, who had a stiffened expression on his face, meaning he probably connected the dots together that Helena was the one who stabbed me.

"That's bullshit! There's no reason for her to stab you, unlike the other way around." She snapped.

"What reason could I have to want to hurt your mom?" I defended myself.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you were only pretending to like my mom and me. When in reality you hated that the both of us were coming into the family as you were afraid that you were going to lose Breton once that happens." I could feel the anger and grief radiating off her as she said that. I don't blame her for thinking this though. This sounded way more plausible than a conspiracy about an organisation of an international drug lord.

How I wish it was as nonsensical as it sounds.

"Leah, how about you listen to the whole thing first before taking your stand? I know this is a difficult time for you, but I think you know Tiana well enough to know that she wouldn't say all this without a proper explanation." Breton spoke up, thankfully. I saw that Leah has a mental debate for a few seconds before sitting back down and stay silent, which I took as a sign for me to continue.

"The reason why Helena helped Felon with his plan was to get revenge on my parents. That's because she was engaged to my father; they were in love. I don't know what happened but the outcome was that Helena didn't get to be with the man she loved."

The room was quiet for a minute as both of them took in their realisation. Breton's destroyed expression made me feel guilty. If we didn't know each other, Helena wouldn't have used him and I could've saved him a heartbreak. Leah's previously sceptical expression has turned into an emotional one. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she turned away from me, unable to believe that her mom did a bad thing.

"She stabbed you... didn't she?" Her voice breaking as she said that.

"Yes." My voice came out soft.

"Excuse me," Breton said as he stood up from his chair and didn't look at either one of us as he made his way up the stairs. I didn't go after him as I thought that alone time is what he needed for tonight, I'll talk to him tomorrow.

Leah sniffled. "Tiana, I'm so sorry. Never would I thought she could do something like this. "

"This isn't your fault, Leah. Even after what she did, she didn't deserve to die." I said that, truly meaning it. I seem to understand how strong the drive for revenge is after seeing how it impacted Viktor and Felon.

She looked at me with grateful eyes that I chose understanding instead of anger towards her mom. "I take it you don't know who killed her then?"

"No. There was someone else in the house after I lost consciousness, and I can't think of anyone who would do that." Leah nodded and went lost in her thoughts again. I can only relate to how she was feeling; dealing with your parent's death not knowing is grieving is right.

"I wanted to ask you about a thing actually." I interrupted her thoughts.

She looked back up at me, "What is it?"

"Would you be willing to take a DNA test?"