Kai jumps out of the car and looks at me, fear clear in his eyes.

I get that he's afraid, so am I if I'm being honest, but we got into this mess because of his mistakes. Because of his betrayal.

So I straighten my back and turn towards the compound. The parking lot is filled with cars, so I guess there must be a lot of people already.

'Does this mean you forgive me?' Kai mumbles as he moves to my side of the car. I look at him and blink. Once. Twice. No.

We make our way inside, through the bright halls, towards the meeting room where there's a lot of talking.

Vincenzo, Marco, Brandon, Julius, Bernardo, Samuel, Carmen, Leyla, Naomi, Hugo. They're all here.

And a few faces that I've never seen before.

At the head of the table sits Rio, listening to something Vincenzo is saying. And Neveah.

She's seated on the other side of the table, far away from Rio, which is obviously bothering her since no one is listening to a thing she has to say.

She looks tired and worse than when I last saw her, with Hunter, but she's determined to get her friend back.

And that's the only reason why I'm here.

To help get Cataleya back.

But Neveah needs medical care. I might have some pills that will help with her pain and maybe I should do a check-up?

'Took you long enough.' Rio sneers, not even looking at us as we walk further into the room.

My heart is racing like crazy, but I nod and smile at Neveah, before looking back at Rio.

He's still not looking at me and glares at Neveah instead.

'Everyone out.' And they do. Most of them.

Marco, Brandon, and Neveah stay put, leaving a few open seats closer to Rio.

I take a seat next to Neveah and watch when Kai moves closer to Rio. They need to talk anyways and I don't think Rio will kill him in here.

'Celine I need you to run a check on Neveah.' Rio commands. Kai's eyes shoot to mine and I pray that he keeps his mouth shut.

But of course, he doesn't.

'No apology first?' Shut up...

Kai knows what happened. Because I told him. But I also told him to stay away from me.

And he couldn't. He kept coming by, knocking on my door every damn day. But I never let him in.

Until today.

Because Rio needed to talk to him. Because we need to get Cataleya back.

Rio's lips slowly curl up and he turns his glare towards Kai. 'You should watch your tone.'

'I don't mind.' I say, wanting them to stop fighting over something so stupid.

I didn't expect Rio to apologize for what he did, especially after his outburst yesterday.

'What happened?' Neveah asks as she grabs my hand. 'She caught feeling for a traitor, that's what happened.' Rio sneers, making me roll my eyes.

'You basically forced me to get to know him and he was the only one who checked on me after you gassed me, so don't you fucking dare.' Neveah gasps for air, before turning her gaze towards Rio. 'You did what?!'

He rolls his eyes and looks at Marco for help, but apparently, he didn't know either.

'You told us she left because she needed a break.' Brandon says, trying to figure out how all of this happened. 'You fucking gassed her?!' Neveah shouts, almost jumping to her feet.

'You're worse than I thought! She could've died and you-' 'Why did you lie about that?' Everyone starts asking questions and it's driving Rio insane.

'All of you, shut the fuck up!' Rio shouts, making everyone go quiet in less than a second. 'I did what I did because I had to. Now let's focus on getting Cataleya back.'

'No, I asked you a question-' 'He's right. Let's get her back.' I interfere before Neveah explodes on him.

'First of all, no. He does not get to get away with what he did,' He already did... I'm just glad that the baby is okay. 'Second, he doesn't get to boss you around after what he did. And third, you shouldn't be working too much.'

I roll my eyes at her excuse, knowing what she's hinting towards.

'I'm not disabled.' She chuckles, before turning to Rio. 'Fine, she can look at my body. But we'll talk later. Also, don't talk to Marcello until I get back.'

'I already told you, you're not coming with me to that meeting.' Rio groans, jumping to his feet.

Everyone else get's up and I slowly follow behind since my belly is slowing me down.

'And I already told you that I'm helping.' Marco and Brandon head to the front door and walk to the cars parked outside, while Rio turns to Neveah and rolls his eyes.

'You want to help?' She nods and waits for him to tell her what she can do. 'Fine. Make a list of people that you remember.' What?

'I need names, faces, ages, families, anything.' He lists, turning back to the door. 'I'm not-' 'That's all your good for so do it!' He rushes to the car and jumps in, leaving Neveah, Kai, and me at the front door.

He barely talked to Kai. But I think that will come later.

'How can he be so rude!?' She shouts, turning to us. I shrug and pull her outside, so we can go to the hospital. 'Let's get you checked up.'

She wants to follow Rio but knows that he won't get any happier with that. So instead, she follows me to the car and goes to the backseat, while Kai drives us to the hospital.

I tell him to stay in the car, so Neveah and I can talk, and he does.

He does everything I say, he has been doing that ever since I got back. Everything but the one thing I need him to do. Leave.

Neveah and I get to a private room with all the things we need. I take some blood samples and send them to the laboratory, before taking some scans of her body.

Everything is sent to the other doctors, so they can file it for me.

'What happened between you two?' She asks as I shine a bright light into her left eye, 'Like how did it come to this.' She gently pricks my belly and chuckles. 'I'm one of the special ones that still have their periods apparently. Because I have three more months to go.'

Both her eyes open wide and I can't help but laugh a little. 'What?!' I nod and move to her right eye. 'How come you didn't have a belly yet.' 'I have no idea. It just happened so suddenly.'

There's no medical explanation for what happened, but it happened. I'm pregnant and I didn't know it until Rio gassed me.

'I felt nauseous after I got to Paris, and at first, I thought it was the gas but it wasn't. I started noticing that I couldn't fit into my clothes and then it clicked.' I explain. It all happened so fast.

'So you and Kai stayed together?' She asks, tilting her head a little. 'No.' I immediately say, feeling a little offended that she thinks I was still with him.

'Then how did you know where to find him?' She blinks because of the bright light in her eyes and opens them for me again. 'He comes by every day, begging for forgiveness at my door. And since we needed him to get to Hunter, I finally let him in.'

'So you forgave him?' She sheepishly asks, looking at me as she awaits my answer. 'No. And it will take me a while, maybe I'll never forgive him. But I didn't.'

I still have to tell him about the pregnancy in the first place, I mean, it's not as if he hasn't noticed yet, he even asked and I simply ignored him. Maybe he already knows?

It would make sense if he did, but he's too stupid to put the pieces together, too hungry for forgiveness to realize. So we could use that as an advantage.

'Enough about me. Tell me about you.' Neveah frowns and looks at me as if I'm talking complete bullshit.

'What happened, how did they get you out?' She sighs deeply and shakes her head. 'It's a long story.' 'We have to wait until your files get back from the lab, so we have some time.'

'I don't know how many days passed since you left, but Hunter didn't like the lack of action.' Because Rio didn't care anymore. 'So he came up with the idea to exchange Leya for me. And I didn't think Rio was going through with it, but...'

'Leon.' I put the pieces together myself.

He always said that he would do anything to protect Neveah, and he did. 'But why did-' 'He thought she had a tracker, which, apparently, she doesn't?'

Shit. If I would've chipped her, they would've had her back by now. Shit.

'Rio told me not to and he wouldn't let me tell you because-' She chuckles and jumps onto her feet, slightly wincing because of the movement. 'I'm so sorry.'

'Everything is so different now.' She whispers as she looks out of the window. 'What do you mean?'

I know that everything is different, Leya isn't here and neither is Leon, I'm pregnant with the guy that betrayed us, and Rio is more eager than ever. But I don't think she's talking about any of that.

'Neveah, what did they do to you?' I ask, slowly walking over to her. She takes a shaky breath and slowly turns around. 'Did they-' 'No. Adrian wouldn't let them touch me like that.'

But he would... 'Neveah-' 'It's fine. I'm fine. Adrian didn't do much to me, I promise.' She says. As if that makes it any better. 'He still did something.'

She nods and walks back to her seat. 'I'll manage, trust me.' The fact that she sounds so convincing, makes my heart speed up. 'You don't have to act around me, Neveah.'

'I'm not acting, it's just...' She takes another deep breath and closes her eyes for a while, before turning back to me. 'Before Tiago left, he touched me. Not in the way Adrian did, but he- It was just- I don't know.' She mumbles, panicking a little.

Leon would never force her to do anything she didn't want to, but something happened. 'What did he do?'

'He hugged me. And that felt... Wrong?' Oh. 'It didn't feel wrong, but it felt... I don't know? Disgusting?' She continues.

Tears form in the corner of her eyes and I wish I kept my mouth shut. But I know she has to talk to someone about this, and I don't think it will be Rio.

'Not that he felt disgusting, he felt perfect. But I feel disgusting.' I tilt my head a little, trying to hold back my own tears. I know exactly how she feels. 'I feel disgusting and used and unworthy of being held the way he held me. And I-' 'Neveah stop.'

She looks at me and blinks, before shaking her head. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking to you about any of this.'

'Don't feel like your disgusting or used or unworthy, you are worth everything. Adrian is the disgusting one. Not you.' Neveah tries to smile, but the spark doesn't reach her eyes yet. 'I felt like throwing up when Tiago first touched me, and I still feel bad for it.' She admits, looking at her nails.

'After you left, they locked me in another room. I don't remember much, but I remember this. Hunter got angry because I didn't know anything about Downridge? And he killed... He killed Manuela.'

What?

Manuela. The sweet old lady that took care of us all the time. She's gone.

'Does Rio know?' I ask, wiping a tear away. She shrugs and wipes her tears away as well, before looking at me again. 'I'm not sure, but I'm not telling him until he's letting me help.'

Does he know?

'I'll never forget that day.' She trembles, before turning to the door. Noelle walks in with a stack of papers. 'Here you go.' 'Thank you.'

And she's gone again, just like that.

'We should head back, so I can look at everything at home and-' Neveah shakes her head and grabs my hand. 'Let's get our nails done first, maybe I'll feel less disgusting.' She chimes, pulling me up to head out.

'I don't think it's a smart idea to waste time on nails-' 'I still have to make that list, and this buys me more time!' She groans as she pulls me into the elevator.

Ah. the list of names Rio wanted her to make.

She hasn't done shit for it yet.

'Fine.' So we get our nails done and talk a bit more about all that happened. I explain to her how Kai tried to get on my good side again.

By sending me flowers every day, letting me know that he's sorry by shouting apologies at my front door.

After we get our nails done, we head back to Rio's place. The house I first met the girls in.

'Took you long enough, he's waiting for you in the dining room.' Marco states, brushing past us to his car. Kai follows us inside and stays in the hall. 'Shout if you need anything.'

'You better get in here, now.' Rio growls from the dining room. I roll my eyes and turn to the door. Neveah smiles and opens the door, before waving at Rio with her new nails. 'Look how pretty.'

He glares at her and rolls his eyes, before downing another drink. 'You're telling me, that I've been waiting for three hours, just for you two to get your fucking nails done?' He asks, ready to yell at us already.

'Apparently, I thought you said we were only good for remembering names?' Neveah is walking on a very thin line right now.

But she does not seem to care. Just like always.

The only difference now is, Tiago isn't here. He won't be able to save her now.

'She made the list, so we did what you asked.' I say, making him look at me with all the anger he has. 'Every second counts and all you did was-' 'We did what you asked, now stop being a bitch and tell us what's next.'

'Give me the list of names first.' I look at Neveah, since she has it, and watch as she crosses her arms across her chest. 'First, you're going to tell us how the meeting with Marcello went.'

Rio takes a deep breath, making me flinch because that normally means he's about to explode, and stares at Neveah.

If looks could kill, she would've been dead and buried deep into the ground.

'Listen up North.' He starts, slowly getting up from his chair. 'The only reason you're alive right now is because I need you to help me get Valentina back. But you're making it hard for me to not slit your throat right now, so I'll say it one more time. Give me. The fucking list.'

We both gulp, but somehow she still has some confidence left. 'Not until you let me help.'

'You'll be helping by handing me that list.' He sneers, slowly inching closer. 'Just give it to him.'

'No, not until he's going to let me help more. It's not fair that I have to sit on the sidelines while he does all this shit, that will probably get us into more trouble.' She says, facing me.

'I think Rio knows what he's doing.' She shakes her head and turns back to Rio, who is almost close enough to reach out to her. 'He suggested to burn down every harbor in France.' Oh...

That's not the smartest move, but at least they would know where she would be. If she made it out alive.

'At least I'm coming up with ideas!' Rio sneers, leaning against the big table.

He looks tired, which he probably is, and he deserves it. After everything he did. Not to me, but Cataleya.

He didn't want to admit his feelings to her when he had the chance and he knows that there might be a chance that he never gets to tell her how he feels.

Even if she makes it out alive, there might be a chance he's not going to tell her.

Because then she'll know. Then everyone will know what she means to him.

And that terrifies him.

'That's because you're not letting me help!' Neveah shouts back at him, making him groan again. He's ready to throw a chair at her and I wonder what's stopping him.

If this was Leon or Marco or Brandon or me, had I not been pregnant, he would've thrown that chair minutes ago.

'Please, stop fighting!' I shout, making both of them turn to me. Kai rushes into the room, probably because he heard me shouting, and looks at Rio. 'Everything okay?'

'Oh look, if it isn't the traitor.' Rio sneers, stepping closer to Kai. 'He has every right to be worried since you almost got Celine killed last time!'

And all of Rio's anger turns to Neveah again. It's as if she wants to get herself killed.

He takes the last two steps, slithers his hand to the back of her neck, and pulls her face up. 'As soon as we get Valentina back, I'll fucking kill you.' His voice is dark and deep.

It wasn't just a threat. It was a promise.

When we get Leya back, she's done. Dead.

'If you get her back.' Again. I told Kai to keep his mouth shut before we got here. I know I did, and he told me he would. But here he is, digging his own fucking grave.

Both Neveah and Rio slowly turn to Kai, and I almost step back out of fear. They're going to end him. 'Kai, I'm going to kill you if you say something like that again. Understood?' Neveah chimes as if she's not talking about murdering him.

He rolls his eyes and takes a step forward, basically handing Rio a gun to kill him. 'Hunter won't let her go.'

Not a gun. A knife. So that he can die a slow and painful death.

'I'm not leaving him a choice, where is he?' Rio steps forward, close enough to grab Kai. Shit.

'Who? Hunter?' No... Fucking Santa Claus. Idiot.

'Yes. And you will help them if you want me to forgive you.' Kai looks at me with wide eyes and, as soon as he realizes what's going on, he chuckles. 'So that's why you let me in, today out of all days.'

'Yes.' He wants to step towards me, but Neveah steps in front of him and shakes her head. I'm glad that she does because I don't want him near me.

Not while we have this conversation.

'So you're going to use me?' I laugh escapes my lips and I don't even bother hiding it. 'As if you didn't use me.'

He lowers his gaze, knowing I'm right.

'Do not think for a second that I'll ever forget what you did. You are the reason all of this is happening, so I suggest you do all you can to help us fix this mess.' I wait for him to look at me, but he doesn't. He's too scared to look at any of us, at me.

'Look at me when I'm talking to you.' Neveah's lips curl up and Kai slowly looks up at me. Finally meeting my gaze again. 'If I do this, will you finally forgive me?'

Rio chuckles and leans on the table again, looking at me, waiting for me to answer. 'Maybe.'

'Then I won't do it.' He's really being a pain in my ass... 'You will.'

'No, I won't. If you're not even-' 'You will if you want to be a part of your child's life.' He stops and looks at me, clear shock on his face.

'It's mine?' He points at my belly and looks at the others, before ending at me. 'That's our child?'

I nod and take a deep breath, suddenly feeling the urge to wrap my arms around my stomach to protect it from any harm.

'So, as I said, you'll help. Otherwise, I'll make sure you stay out of its life until you die.' I state, looking at him.

I watch as doubt takes over. Then fear and then anticipation. All in less than a minute. 'Okay.'

A breath of relief escapes, not only from my mouth but Neveah's as well.

'I'll ask again, where is Hunter?' Rio asks, straightening his back. He's so done with all of this shit.

'I don't know, he didn't tell me that this is what he planned on doing.' He admits. I can tell that Rio doesn't buy it and neither do I.

'How do we know you're not lying?' Kai looks at Neveah and rolls his eyes. 'Because I am not risking not being in my child's life for Hunter.'

Rio nods and sighs deeply. 'I hope that I won't regret this, but if you hear anything, you tell me. Okay?' I nod, even though that message was meant for Kai.

'North, you should get to bed. Tomorrow morning we'll have another meeting with Marcello.' Her face lights up, she's finally able to help, and he's letting her. Finally.

I follow her into the hall, with Kai trailing after me.

'You can call me if you need anything, okay?' She nods and smiles at me. 'Thank you, don't be a stranger okay?'

'I won't.' I whisper, looking at Kai who's already heading towards his car. 'Take care, we'll talk soon.'

I hug Neveah before following Kai to the car. As soon as I get in, I start reading through the papers on Neveah. 'Take me home.'

'I have so many questions.' I glare at him and blink once, just once, before he starts the car and I turn back to the papers. Silence.

The first two are not as important, basic things about her strong bones and shit. But on the third page, I notice that the injuries start.

A few words pop-out, entorse à la cheville, I noticed that she was struggling with walking the longer we walked, brûlé S, the burned S on her shoulder didn't get infected, thank god! And some cuts and bruises on her arms and legs.

But none of them stick out like the last one.

Fausse-couche.

Shit.

No. No. No.

'When will we see them again?' I ask, slightly panicking. Kai stops at a red light and looks at me with a grin on his face. 'Not for a while, thank god. They're thinking about-' 'Turn the car around.'

He frowns, but doesn't do as I say and stays put. 'What's going on?' 'Just get back to Neveah! Now!'

She'll break. She'll break if she finds out, but she deserves to know.

'Celine, what's going on?' Why can't he just listen, for once? 'Turn this fucking car around, right now!'

'Okay! Stop stressing!' He makes a U-turn and starts racing back to the house.

As soon as the car comes to a stop, I jump out of the car and rush to the door, banging on it like a complete idiot.

She needs to know, she deserves to know.

'Neveah!' Kai rushes after me and tries to calm me down, but I don't get why.

This is urgent. She needs to know.

'Celine, what's going on, why are you crying?' Am I? I didn't even notice and to be honest, I don't care. 'I need to tell her!'

The door finally opens and Brandon stares at me strangely. 'Girl, it's late what are you-' He trails off when he sees my state and gets pushed aside by Rio.

'What's going on?' He asks a little annoyed to see me. 'Where's Neveah?' I ask while stepping into the house.

'I'm right here.' Marco and Brandon step aside, letting Neveah get closer to me. 'What's going on, is everything okay?'

My throat shuts and I grab onto her, trying to get the words out because she deserves to know. 'Celine-' I shove Kai away and keep my eyes on Neveah.

'I'm so sorry.' I cry, trying to brace her for the news that will break her. 'What-'

'You had a miscarriage.'

As soon as she hears the words coming out of my mouth, as soon as she processes what I just said, she steps back and keeps her eyes on me, almost bumping into Rio.

'What?' She asks breathlessly. All I do is nod because I know she heard what I said, and saying it again will only hurt her more. 'No.'

I hear Marco mumbling some prayers, before seeing him do one of those crosses on his chest and looking at Neveah.

'North-' Even Rio sounds concerned. 'But you said-' 'I know.' I whisper, wiping my tears.

I feel so bad for her and I shouldn't be crying, she's the one who should be crying. But she's not accepting it.

Not yet at least.

'The tests came out negative and you had sex with Leon before they left, you weren't that far along but still...' She was pregnant.

And that fact crushes her.

Tears stream down her cheeks and she shakes her head. 'Please, tell me you're lying.'

She looks at me, begging me to tell her that I'm wrong, that this is some sick joke or something. But deep down she knows. She knows that I'm not.

'Please.' Tears roll down my cheeks as well and I want to hold her in my arms, but she steps away from me. 'No. No. No. No. No.'

The one thing they wanted more than anything in the world.

They could've had it. Leon and Neveah could have had a baby in the future.

But thanks to Hunter and Adrian that failed.

'Now is not the time- And he didn't- No!' She starts rambling about everything going through her mind and I feel so sorry for her.

Everyone looks at her as she continues to ramble and cry and shout. Shit.

After ten minutes, she suddenly stops. Making all of us look at her to see if she's okay, but no one says a word. No one, except. Brandon.

'Neveah-' 'Don't'She sneers, looking up at him with teary eyes. 'Please, don't.'

He nods and still steps closer to her, slowly reaching out to hold her tight. She lets it all happen, she lets him hold her as she tries to keep in her tears. As if she's slowly going numb.

My hands wrap around my stomach and I instantly feel bad, but I can't stop it.

I can't fathom the thought of losing my child, let alone if I hadn't known yet. And Leon.

He doesn't know yet. And he wanted one so bad.

'Neveah, you have to tell Leon.' She takes a deep breath, before tearing up again. 'Can w-we please just get he-her back first?' The pain in her voice is killing me.

I won't be able to stay strong much longer.

'You need to tell him.' Brandon repeats, moving a few strands of hair out of her face.

He's good at this. Better than I'll be right now. He's really calming her down. 'He needs to hear it from you.'

'No. I c-can't tell him.' She's afraid of what he might do, how broken he might get because of this. 'North, you're the one he needs to hear it from.'

We all turn to Rio and almost gasp for air at the calmness in his voice. He never talks to anyone like this, let alone to Neveah.

'No- It's too-' 'Tell him when we get Valentina back.' What? We all gasp for air, except for them.

'What? Are you insane? That's-' 'It's the best way, he'll get here as fast as he can and won't leave her side, we don't have time to linger around.' You fucking piece of-

'He's right.' Someone whispers. I can't tell who it is, because it's so soft and almost inaudible, but I realize it's Neveah when she looks at me.

'We have to get Leya back first.' She continues, slowly trying to break free from Brandon's hug.

'Neveah, it's not fair towards Leon. He deserves to know.' I try, but the look in her eye says enough.

The exact same as Rio when he already has his mind made up. 'He'll know.' She mumbles, trying to smile at me to convince me that she'll tell him eventually.

'Let me tell him.' I sigh, not liking the effect Rio's having on her already, but she seems determined. 'I'll tell him, just... Just give me some time, okay?'

Until they get Leya back, which may take days, weeks, months even!

But I agree.

She's the one who should tell him.

So I'll let her tell him. I'll let her tell him when she thinks is right.

'If he ever asks, I'll tell him. I'm not going to lie to him.' She takes a deep breath and nods, slowly turning back to Rio. 'We should go to bed, tomorrow is a big day.'

She's going to cry herself to sleep, I can tell. 'Goodnight.' She hugs me tightly before heading up the stairs, towards her room.

'We should go.' Kai mumbles as he tries to sneak out the door. But Rio notices and shakes his head, slowly turning back to me. 'Come to the meeting tomorrow morning.'

What? 'She can't-' 'I wasn't talking to you.' He sneers at Kai, before looking at me again.

For Neveah.

He wants me to be there for her. And I will. So I nod and take a deep breath, trying to swallow my tears.

'I'll be there.' He nods and turns to Kai. 'We'll talk tomorrow as well, and don't even think about running.'

'I wasn't-' 'You better tell me all you know, because if you're of no use, I'll lock you up until that kid is old enough to understand why I locked you up. Understood?' Threats.

Again. Terrifying, hurtful threats towards our child.

'Rio, you can not-' Marco and Brandon both turn the other way, while Rio slowly turns back to me. 'I can and I will. I'll see you in the morning.'

----

A/N: Hey guys! As you all might have noticed, it took me a while to finish a chapter. I feel like it will happen more often.

For anyone wanting to know why, I just started a new school (Idk how to explain it but it's something like college I think?) so I really have to adjust to that... It's hella chaotic and harder than I thought it would be, but I think I'll manage... So sorry if the chapter take a little longer, I barely have any time left!

But also, thanks for checking up on me, and thanks for all the love this story is getting. It means so much to me and AAHHHHHHHH!!!

Tell me what you think will happen to all of them?

Don't forget to vote and comment! I love you guys so much and I really appreciate every single one of you!!!!!!

I'll see you in the next chapter and I hope you have a nice day!!!!