The first thing I notice as soon as I enter the House of Mirrors is the silence. There's nobody here. My heart races loudly as I carefully make my way past the mirrors. It's quite unnerving as I see myself reflected back a million different shapes and sizes.

The silence is interrupted by a buzzing sound. I almost jump out of my skin as I search around for the source. Of course, it's coming from my pocket.

"Hello?" I answer as silently as I can.

"V, where are you right now? Give me your exact location right now." Dante demands urgently.

"Uh...I'm at Navy Pier in the House of Mirrors." I hold my phone with my shoulder as I keep walking around. I almost run into the mirrors at least three times. I wonder where Jacob is.

"Navy Pier?" Dante repeats.

"Yes, Navy Pier." I confirm.

There is a ton of background noises coming from Dante's side. I pause until he responds, "You need to get the hell out of there. Now."

"I came here with Jacob. I need to look for him. Why do I have to leave right now?"

"Always with the questions! You don't get it. You have to leave there right this second!" Dante raises his voice in urgency.

"But Jacob and I got separated because these group of men suddenly attacked us out of nowhere. I don't know if it's the Acerbi Family, but I didn't wait to ask questions..." I begin.

"GODDAMN IT. LEAVE THE DAMN PLACE NOW!" When Dante says it that way, I immediately leave the place, though I realize he still didn't answer my question.

"As soon as you leave, jump into the ocean." He orders as I sprint out of the place.

"Wait, really? It's cold and what if there are sharp rocks down there?" I hesitate on the edge of the drop. By now, the city lights are shining beautifully and the pier is lit up quite dazzlingly. I don't have a fear of heights but I do not like the prospect of jumping right into a sharp rock.

"Vivianna, for the last time-" Leo seems to take the phone from Dante and shouts, "You need-"

He's cut off halfway as something nearby explodes.

Literally, something near the House of Mirrors goes KABOOM.

And then a heat wave pushes me off the ledge and down into the water. To clarify, imagine someone punching you in the back but their hand is on fire. Well, it's not pleasant.

I am thrown upside down towards the water. Luckily, there are no rocks where I plunge through. There is quite a sting as I hit the water. Some other things fall into the water around me. I clench my teeth as the salt water really stings my back.

Coming up from the water, I look up at the pier.

Fire is everywhere. It's spreading all over the place. I watch in horror as some people scream and cry in pain as they run off the pier in hopes of dousing the flames on their bodies. A couple people covered in flames fall into the ocean. I try to swim under the pier or as deep underwater as I can as a bunch of building and other odds and ends come hurling at the water. A bunch of building parts hit the spot where I was just at.

I don't know how long this whole dodgeball round takes, but when everything dies down I am exhausted. I swallowed quite a bit of water. Plus, my eyes sting from the salt. Turning towards land, I frown as the distance seems farther than it should be.

I swim tiredly to land. Eventually, I get to the sand and lay on my back, shivering and heaving haggardly.

I look at what remains of Navy Pier. All of it is still on fire. I can faintly hear a rush of alarms coming from the many firetrucks, polices, and ambulances heading towards this direction.

I really don't want to get up from the sand, though I am very uncomfortable in the chilly weather and soaked clothes. I wonder if Jacob is alright, if he made it out before the explosion.

I wish I knew how Dante knew where I was, or most importantly, knew there would be an explosion. I assume this was a bomb of some kind. I briefly wonder whether the news will label it as a gas leak or terrorist attack; either explanation has been used before.

I hold my breath as I see flashlights and hear voices coming from above.

I close my eyes and give a small prayer.

"Found her." I squint through the beam of light directed right at my face.

"Geez, you're shining the light straight into her eyes you dimwit." Someone comments.

"Dante, is that you?" I say, but my throat is a bit dry from all the salt water I drank.

"Yes ma'am, we need to get you out of here." Dante and some other people lift me up gently. I wobble a lot as I try to stand on my feet. Dante carries some of my weight onto his side as he puts my arm around his shoulders.

"Aw fuck. Look at her back." Leo mentions as he directs the flashlight beam onto my right shoulder.

"Damn..." I think Tony gives a low whistle.

"What?" I lift my head up and try to look behind me. I see some small glass shards on my right shoulder. That explains the mother trucking stings I felt.

"You have glass shards all over your back. Luckily, they are tiny. Nothing huge." Leo states. "Might leave some light, small scars..."

"Ah, my scar collection always welcome new additions." I reply sarcastically.

"Ah, Dante," I look in his direction. "How'd you know about the explosion?"

He shares a serious look with my brothers. "Jacob called us on his burner cell. He left the call open. Anyways, there was a discussion going on. I think Jacob was caught and taken hostage, but he left the line open, unbeknownst to his captives. We don't know where Jacob was brought, but the captives were on a break and discussing some bomb they left in the House of Mirrors. It would be a surprise for some girl. We assumed this girl would be you. Luckily, we got to you in time because the bomb was supposed to go off two minutes after you entered."

"Who are they? What do they want with Jacob? Is Jacob alright? Do you know where he is?" I fire the questions one after the other.

"We know they aren't tied with the Acerbi Family because they don't do business this way. We have nothing on Jacob, nothing whatsoever." Leo shakes his head and sighs.

A phone rings suddenly. All eyes glance toward Leo, who takes out the phone and answers it. There's a bunch of nods and words of confirmation before Leo hangs up.

"We just got some fucking great news." He grins widely. "We need to head home fast, but I'll explain on the way."

*****

"Alfredo Acerbi has been arrested." Leo states. "Him and several other people, of which i shall not name names."

"Wait, how?" I gasp in shock.

"With the help of someone we know, we managed to find enough evidence for all the illegal activities the Acerbi Family has been involved in." Dante grins chillingly.

"Like...? And who helped you guys?" I ask.

"That damn trafficking business he has going on. All the undercover agents Dad put in always ended up dead. The corrupt cops never did a damn thing. We finally managed to grab some dirt because of the last fight we had. The computer drive you got was encrypted, but someone helped us decode and decrypt the file. And damn, we hit the motherfucking motherload." Tony looks like Christmas came early.

"Skylar helped you." I state as fact. I just know he was the one who helped, though the question is why? He did not have any reason to help our Family, especially after his own blood relative died because of me. I thought he was pissed at me and everyone related to me. He still won't answer my calls or texts. Then again, my last few phones have all been destroyed in various ways.

"Yes, he did." Dante nods, but his eyes show that he knows the tension between Sky and me. I don't know how he knows.

"Wait, undercover agents?" I pause. "Dad put undercover agents? I thought he never heard of the Acerbi Family until after the families started to fall." I glare at them suspiciously.

"Dad knew of the Acerbi Family, but they were just a minor family back then. It was just another Family that was crumbling under a dying Boss. Alfredo succeeded his grandfather shortly after his death. Then, Alfredo successfully infiltrated the different Families with those manipulative skills he had. I don't want to say it, but that bastard is pretty damn slick. He managed to increase the Acerbi power slowly, biding his time patiently." Tony explains.

"Dad isn't stupid. He always knew about the Acerbi, but he didn't completely prepare for everything. He didn't expect a lot of things, of which all of us have seen and experienced." Dante continues.

"Anyways, these undercover agents, by now you must have figured it out, were Jacob's parents." Leo finishes. And no, I actually didn't figure that out. Those words shock me.

"Jacob received a little gift from his parents that had a file related to the Acerbi family. This file was only found incidentally after we got the drive that you got."

"Does Jacob know all this?" I interrupt.

"Actually, we have no idea. I have reason to assume he does not." Leo responds.

"Wait, so did the Acerbi family murder his parents?" I try to piece all the puzzles together.

"Not directly, no..." Leo replies.

"Then who did?" I ask in frustration.

"We don't know exactly." Dante says.

"You must have some idea at least..." I try to get an answer from one of them.

"Oh, we are here. Let's get you treated." Dante brings me to our infirmary.

Dr. Andrea looks up from her patient at our entrance. I don't miss the look of disapproval and worry on her face as she sees my current state.



"Hi Dr. Andrea," I begin a bit peevishly.



"What have you done now?" She clucks her tongue at me.



"It wasn't me. I swear. Some bomb went off and I-" I start to explain.



"Now, stop right there. I honestly don't want to hear anything more than that right now." She frowns and walks around me.



Dante helps me onto a stretcher. I sit there patiently as Dr. Andrea begins to clean my back and cut my shirt off.



"Boys, you can go do whatever you need to do. Your sister is in good hands," she shooes them all away. I wish they could stay and answer my questions. This sounds too good to be true. Alfredo Acerbi in jail...but for how long?



"This will sting a bit." Dr. Andrea warns me as she holds onto my shoulder. I wince as she starts taking out the glass and other materials embedded in my back.



"That's the last of it." Dr. Andrea says after a while. She drops the last piece of glass onto the tray next to me. There is quite a bit of stuff on there, and it was all inside my back? Gross.



"Am I ready to go?" I start to get off the stretcher. She immediately pushes me back onto the stretcher.



"No." She takes a bandage and starts wrapping my back.



"Now can I go?" I ask once more when she finishes bandaging.



"No." She rolls her eyes at me! "You're as impatient as your mother."



"Well, I —"



"Now, you may go." She says as soon as she does a full physical examination of me. I do not hesitant to leave the room and head towards my brother in my father's office.



"Tell me more about Acerbi's arrest." I say as soon as I spot them.



"The CIA and FBI are handling his affairs." My dad says as he comes into his office. We nod in respect towards him out of habit.



"That's it. That's all you're going to tell me?"



"That's all you need to know. There is enough evidence against him to hold him there for the rest of his miserable life without bail. He will be imprisoned in a secure facility. You do not need to know more than that." He finishes with a finality that leaves me hesitant to ask any questions.



"So that's it." I whisper before leaving the room.



This doesn't feel finished. The matter seems far from finished. Jacob's parents died protecting secrets inside a thumb drive. This thumb drive just happened to include stuff about the Acerbi Family. Yet, their death is still shrouded in mystery.



Then, we have Jacob. Nobody has told me what has happened to him. I assume he is still taken hostage by the people who tried to blow me up. Were they connected to the entire Family business?



I mean, I am glad that Acerbi and his associates are jailed and gone for good. Still, I actually feel confused. I don't know what to do. I felt like my sole purpose was to bring down the bastard while protecting the Skeleton Key. Yet, my parents threw the damn Key into the vault, so it's basically destroyed. Now, Acerbi is behind bars so I don't know what to do.



I feel cheated somehow. This wasn't supposed to end this cleanly. I always thought criminals never stayed behind bars, never got caught. I guess I could always delve into Jacob's situation. Still, all this Family business has totally taken control over my life I don't know what my next step is.



"You okay?" Dante knocks on my door. I look up from my bed and say, "I guess."



"What's up?" I direct my attention on him.



"We need to discuss what happened with Jacob. I'm sure you're wracking your head thinking about him right now."



"Yes, I am." I nod.



"He told us to tell you he is fine. He has business to handle. From the fighting we overheard on the phone, he is definitely fine." Dante says. "I know this doesn't really help much, but at least you know he is alive and well."



"There's no way of contacting him? What is he died after the explosion?"



"About that...he called us once more after the explosion. The dude has some stuff to figure out. Though I am a bit pissed he left you without saying goodbye, he has his reasons. I just don't make any promises I won't beat the shit out of him the next time I see him. He didn't even bother talking to you face to face when you guys were so close." Dante shakes his head distastefully.



"So that's it." I sigh. "Thanks Dante." I nod as he leaves my room.



By this moment, I am tired over this long battle. This has dragged on long enough as is.



I roll gently to the other side of my bed and open my bedside drawer. I take out the picture frame of Sky, Pearl, and me when we first met. I really should talk to them. It's been a while. I have so much to say, and after losing the twins, I realize that I might not get to say it.



Ah, the twins...my lips quiver as my eyes tear up. I have not been sleeping well ever since their deaths. The image still haunts my mind.



I stand up and resolve to take charge of my life. I am going to talk to Sky and Pearl. I am also going to hunt down Jacob.

———

A/N

I'm thinking of changing the title to either: Blood Bound OR the Skeleton Key

Or Alfredo Sauce (; jkjk.

Haha lemme know which one you guys want!!!!!!!

And who has watched Tomorrowland or Pitch Perfect 2? I did! I thought the trailer for Tomorrowland raised my expectations a lot, so it was ok. Pitch Perfect was cute :) how did you guys like it?

Also, I have decided that in a couple chapters I will be ending this story D: I am not sure the exact number of chapters, but it will probably end by the end of June or middle of June!!!!!

OOH edit:

I know, I know this wasn't the best chapter ever but I'll do better to meet and exceed your expectations! <3

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