Btw this articolo is dedicated to all those who commentato on my domanda for it! :D thanks guyz!


Part One - Silence


1
The Murder in Falling Haven
“I had never spoken a word in my life, and wasn’t planning to try. successivo thing I knew, someone took the chance to away from me.”

“Hello, Lucas!” cried Beverly Claims, the village washerwoman. “Going back to the mansion with your daughter, I see?” Lucas Raymond smiled serenely at Beverly.
“Yes, Beverly,” he detto happily. “We’ve just received word that my dear Uncle Charles had died the precedente Tuesday.” Beverly’s round and composed face turned serious.
“I’m sorry,” she detto solemnly. “If there’s anything I can do…?” Lucas laughed. His daughter, a small, dark-haired girl no older than five, clung tightly to her father’s hand, shivering against the crisp autumn air.
“No, no, Beverly,” detto Lucas sweetly. “Thank te for asking, but we’ll be out of Falling Haven for a while. We’re going to the big city for a few days.”
“Have a sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza trip!” called Beverly politely, as Lucas and his daughter started down the road again. A slender and beautiful woman at the edge of the road was hanging up the wash.
“Hello, Maryse,” detto Lucas, pecking his wife on the cheek.
“Lucas!” she gasped. “It can’t possibly be time already! Have te got our things?”
“I’ve got them packed inside the mansion, dear,” he detto simply. “Come, Lorene.” Lorene pulled her cappotto più firmly around her middle and, still holding on for dear life to Lucas’s hand, she followed him inside.
“Help me out here, darling,” detto Lucas, handing her a small paper bag filled with a large stack of documents. Lorene’s arms shook with the effort of carrying it but she made absolutely sure not to drop it.
“Must te wear that filthy thing?” Maryse asked in exasperation, when Lucas slipped on an old coat. Lucas pulled it tighter around his torso and gave Maryse a corpulento, birra di malto look.
“Yes,” detto Lucas firmly, slipping his hand into Lorene’s again and striding out the door holding a large suitcase. “It was my uncle’s.” Maryse’s mouth thinned into a repulsed line but she detto nothing più about it.
“Come, Lorene,” she said, also taking her daughter’s free hand. “We’ll see if we can get Carriage Seven.” Lorene detto nothing. Luckily, Carriage Seven skidded to a halt in front of them, and the happy family clambered in. Lorene liked Carriage Seven because it was the newest one, without broken wheels o doors hanging off their hinges, and because it was her favourite colour. Most of the sideboards were a light, lavender colour, but in some spots it was dusted light rosa o ashen blue, and Lorene spent most of the trip running her fingers along the walls. Occasionally, Lorene would glance up at the driver. He was tall and dark, with very angry eyes and a stony look full of malice. Lorene shivered. His eyes were empty and made her think of eternal, dark tunnels.
“Excuse me, driver,” detto Maryse queasily, who suddenly noticed they were heading in the completely wrong direction. “This is not the right way—”
“Terribly sorry,” he said, in a menacing, angry voice. “But I’m afraid I have to make some sacrifices.” Maryse and Lucas blinked. Before anyone knew it, the man hurled himself to the side as Carriage Seven began hurtling toward a jagged cliff. Maryse and Lucas screamed. Lorene felt a pair of thin hands roughly shoved her sideways. Just as the carriage ran off the edge of the cliff, Lorene tumbled out of the carriage and landed with a loud thump on the snow, the hail pounding on her face. She screamed as two long white hands closed around her wrist.
“You are going the same way as your parents, little brat,” he snarled, and then immediately froze as a thundering voice shouted, “Take your hands off that girl!” Lorene jerked her hand out of the murderer’s hand and sprinted in the opposite direction, colliding with something smooth. Without even bothering to look at what it was, she threw her arms around it and began sobbing. Lorene could hear the killer’s frantic footsteps running away, and felt a warm hand on her back.
“It’s okay now,” detto a cheerfully deep voice. “He’s gone now.” Lorene sniffled and looked up. The face of an older boy, maybe about thirteen, was smiling sweetly down at her. He bore no clothes except for a pair of black leather pants and black-soled boots. Lorene gazed up at him with her mouth hanging open stupidly.
“He’s gone now,” he repeated, his smile widening. “But… so are a few other people.” He glanced sadly at the cliff where Lorene’s parents had gone over.
“Come with me, please,” he said. Lorene stuck out her arms and the teenager, grinning in amusement, picked her up and carried her off. Her eyes began to slide shut, and she glimpsed an enormous mansion before drifting off.

Lorene woke curled on a squishy sofa, underneath a silky smooth blanket. Angry voices were sounding from the successivo room.
“Hiro, te could have died out there!” detto a woman’s voice furiously. “You’re telling me that you, a teenager, confronted a murderer? And te weren’t even wearing your coat!”
“I told you, mom,” detto the teenager’s voice, the one Lorene recognized as the boy who’d saved her life. “Some man just killed Maryse and Lucas Raymond! I have their daughter in the living room right now, and she would have gone the same way as Maryse and Lucas if I hadn’t have been there!” There was silence, and then a long sigh.
“I’m glad te saved the daughter,” detto the woman’s voice. “But that’s no excuse for your reckless behaviour. This man could have killed you.” Hiro strode in the doorway and rolled his eyes over his shoulder.
“Take a pill, mom,” detto Hiro in a bored voice. “I’m not dead, am I? No. So stop complaining.” Hiro turned his head and looked in astonishment at Lorene. She shrank back into the couch, wondering if she’d done something wrong. A young woman came from behind Hiro, her look just as stunned as Hiro’s. Hiro, on the other hand, smiled happily and said, “Oh look, she’s awake now.” Lorene wished she could sink through the sofa out of sight. The lady smiled too.
“She’s beautiful!” the woman gushed, stepping into the room. “Oh Lord, she’s gorgeous!” Hiro raised his eyebrows at his mother, grinning widely.
“Take a pill,” he repeated, fighting down a laugh. A muscular man walked in, holding a baby in his arms.
“What’s going on, Celina?” he asked, in an extremely deep voice. Celina swept back her fair, golden hair and detto quietly, “Jacob, this is Maryse and Lucas’s daughter.” Hiro stepped forward.
“Dad, Maryse and Lucas were killed today,” detto Hiro seriously, and Lorene watched in awe as Jacob’s happy smile slid off his face rather hastily and he glanced for a moment at a picture on the tavolo beside Lorene. She looked at it too. It was a wedding picture of Maryse and Lucas. Celina was standing in a beautiful rosa dress and was smiling happily, Hiro looked no older than four and was grinning with absolute delight, and Jacob was beaming with pleasure, his muscles bulging from underneath his tuxedo. Lorene’s hand reached out to her parents’ figures, wondering where they were and why there were strange people looking at her.
“We will take te in, then,” detto Jacob, sliding the picture out of Lorene’s reach. She kept her hand outstretched toward the picture, staring at it longingly. Jacob took her outstretched hand, and she finally lowered her arm.
“What’s your name?” he asked kindly, smiling down at her. Lorene opened her mouth but no sound came out. Hiro stepped up.
“This is Lorene Raymond,” he said, glancing at Lorene, who had turned her wide brown eyes on him instead. Lorene suddenly held out her hand toward the baby in Jacob’s arms. They all watched in astonishment as the baby, who was laughing happily, closed its hand around Lorene’s tiny finger.
“Lorene Avery,” whispered Celina.
“Pardon me?” Hiro asked, turning to his mother. Celina blinked at Lorene, who was staring in amazement at the baby, who didn’t seem to want to let go of her finger.
“It does have a nice ring to it, don’t te think?” she detto quietly. “Lorene Avery.” Hiro’s jaw dropped and a smile started to creep onto his face.
“You mean… te mean we can keep her?” he asked in surprise, now grinning from ear to ear. “You really and truly mean it?” Celina beamed at her new daughter.
“Of course,” she detto cheerfully. Lorene turned her gaze to Celina, and, sliding her finger out of the laughing baby’s fist, she held out her arms just like she’d done to Hiro. Looking on the verge of tears now, Celina swept Lorene up and squeezed her.
“Come on, Lorene,” she detto softly. “We’ll get te and Becca something to eat.” Jacob obediently followed Celina into the kitchen. Hiro beamed and thanked himself for rescuing Lorene Raymond. This was definitely destiny.





2
Eleven Years Later
“So here I was, eleven years later, without a single word able to escape from my lips. But that was just the beginning of my problems.”

Eleven years later, Lorene Avery was a quiet young teen. She continued to live in the Avery mansion; although she made sure she repaid them properly. She did the cooking, the cleaning, and the laundry, even the shopping. Sometimes someone from the village asked Lorene to do a favour for them, and would pay her for her services. But her main job was playing with Becca, who was now eleven years old, and tutoring Ruko, Celina and Jacob’s three-year-old son, about the alphabet.
“Um… J?” Ruko guessed when Lorene held up a building block with the letter ‘L’ on it. She shook her head and smiled encouragingly, pointing at the vacant spazio between the ‘K’ and the ‘M’.
“Oh, L!” he cried in happiness, and proudly shoved it into its rightful place, so that it formed a long line of block letters in the order of the alphabet. Lorene beamed at him just as Becca skipped in and sang, “Lorene! Come and play!” Lorene got up and shook her head, pointing at the clock. Becca glanced at it, which read six-thirty.
“Ooh, can I help make supper, Lorene?” she asked. Ruko leapt forward, crying, “Me too! Me too!” Lorene smiled and nodded, and Becca and Ruko let out a cry of happiness and followed Lorene into the kitchen. Celina bounded into the cucina a while later, her nose in the air.
“Mm… I smell some of Lorene’s amazing soup!” she detto happily, skipping over to Lorene and looking over her shoulder. A moment later Jacob came strolling in, looking pleased.
“It’s Tuesday, people!” he detto cheerfully. “Soup day!”
“Is that la minestra, zuppa I smell?” detto Hiro’s voice to unisciti in with the other chants of ‘Soup! Soup! Soup!’ and everyone linked arms and started doing a sort of jig as he walked into the room. Lorene beamed at Hiro, and he beamed back.
“You bet!” giggled Becca, waving a spoon at him. “Ruko and I helped make it!” Ruko clumsily ladled the la minestra, zuppa into everyone’s bowl, spilling some of it along the sides of the bowls (but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He looked like he was having the time of his life).
“Oh god, this is great!” Celina gushed.
“Delicious,” agreed Jacob, slurping his soup.
“Yum!” laughed Ruko, clanging his spoon against the side of his bowl in complete delight. Lorene smiled at everybody, wondering what she did to deserve their kindness. After dinner, Becca and Ruko helped clean up and Lorene stuck her hands in the sink full of dirty dishes and began scrubbing at them.
“Excuse me,” detto Celina promptly, sticking her hands into the soapy water, causing Lorene to stumble away from the sink. When Celina noticed the questioning look Lorene was giving her, she smiled calmly and said, “You’ve done enough today.” Lorene, unable to say anything in her defence, shrugged, gave Celina a grateful smile and bumped into Jacob on her way into the hall.
“Celina kicked te out, did she?” Jacob smiled, and Lorene grinned and shrugged again. “Need something to do?” She nodded. Jacob jerked his head in the direction of Ruko’s bedroom.
“Ruko’s waiting for you,’ he grinned. “Mind tucking him in?” Lorene beamed and skipped into Ruko’s room.

“Lorene!” Celina gasped the successivo morning, bounding into the room. Lorene looked up from the pile of dirt she was sweeping with a wooden scopa confusedly.
“We’re… completely… out… of… bread!” she choked, holding her stomach and leaning against the bacheca to try and catch her breath. “Can… te get… some more?” Lorene nodded, set the scopa in the cupboard and pulled down her silky blue traveling cloak.
“Where are te going, Lorene?” asked Becca, emerging with Ruko in her arms. “Can we come?” Lorene buttoned the fastening around her neck and nodded, pushing open the door. It was rush ora at that time, so Lorene, Ruko and Becca had a hard time pushing their way through the crowd and stumbling into the deserted bakery. The trio had fun picking out the bread, and Ruko ended up getting a free slice of pane for telling the baker that she had the best pane negozio in the world. Lorene turned around and bumped into somebody. She immediately glanced up into the man’s face, and felt her jaw drop. This man was extremely beautiful, as though gods had carved his face. His pin-straight hair was a light brown streaked with gold, and fell just below his ears. His cheeks reddened becomingly and his gaze lingered for a few secondi before dropping embarrassedly to the floor. Another man behind him appeared beside him mysteriously, grinning più confidently than the other man. Lorene gaped as this man put a hand on the other’s shoulder.
“Sorry about that,” he said, grinning. He and the other one were exactly alike. The only way Lorene told them apart was da one’s huge grin and the other’s flushed and embarrassed expression. Lorene grinned apologetically, wishing she could reply. She glanced at Becca, who grabbed her arm with her free hand (the other was supporting Ruko in her arms) and pulled her out of the shop, throwing a, “No problem, it was my fault!” over her shoulder.
“Oh god, did te see how attractive those two men were?” Becca gushed to Lorene, who couldn’t get the men’s faces out of her mind. They were identical, but in other ways different.
“They were looking at you, Lorene!” Ruko cried through a mouthful of bread, and he and Becca erupted into loud giggles, causing many passer-bys to stare incredulously. Lorene shrugged and strode through the Avery mansion gates.
“Do te have the bread?” Celina asked, as Lorene plopped the bag of pane on the countertop. She nodded and Celina breathed a sigh of relief, as though it had been worrying her the entire time Lorene, Becca and Ruko were gone. That night Lorene had a strange dream.
Lorene was standing in a darkened room, unable to see anything whatsoever. Walking blindly through the utter darkness, she jumped as a faint glow emitted from further ahead. Lorene walked over to it. The first thing she saw was a man standing successivo to a tall mirror. His hair was straight and brown, streaked with gold, and his expression was confident and his smile was wide. As Lorene approached this angelic figure, she saw from the mysterious faint glow what seemed to be his reflection in the mirror. His reflection stared at the floor in embarrassment.

Becca and Ruko did not stop badgering Lorene the successivo week. They wanted to ask around for the two twin men. Lorene stoutly refused with firm shakes of the head and returned to her cleaning. But one time, Lorene had to go out to help Beverly Claims, the old washerwoman, hang out her laundry. Becca stayed and helped, and gleefully spotted the two twins over Lorene’s shoulder as Beverly happily thanked Lorene for the help.
“Look,” smiled the confident twin, pointing toward the old washerwoman’s house. The shy one glanced up.
“Why are te mostrare me Beverly Claims?” he asked quietly. The confident one rolled his eyes and detto in exasperation, “Not Beverly, te dunce. The one beside her. Recognize her at all?” The shy one was about to answer, “No,” but his jaw dropped and his lone word stuck in his throat. There was the girl from the bakery, her long mahogany hair cascading to her waist. She was beautiful, very beautiful, and she was smiling peacefully at Beverly. He shook his head to try and clear his suddenly fuzzy mind.
“So what?” he mumbled almost inaudibly, trying to continue his journey. “She’s just a girl I collided with in the bakery.” Both he and his brother knew his words were empty. The confident one was staring and grinning as though hypnotized.
“Yeah,” he detto stupidly and breathlessly, grinning far too widely, suddenly feeling like he was floating. “A really beautiful, sexy girl…” The shy one snorted and had to drag his brother away from the scene. Becca, who was watching the brothers argue the whole time (“Aw come on, I want to stay and see her a bit more!” “She’s not something te goggle at like at the zoo!”) giggled and turned her attention back to Lorene and Beverly, an enthralled smile on her face.
“I do appreciate the favours te do for me, Lorene,” Beverly was saying happily, her face flushed from excitement, making her look a great deal like a snow maid. “If only Maryse and Lucas were—” Beverly froze, but the names of Lorene’s parent didn’t bother Lorene at all. Her kind smile never faltered, and Becca smiled happily at Lorene, thinking to herself, Lorene is the greatest. The whole trip back Becca didn’t speak a word to Lorene, but walked in unreserved silence with a small smile on her mouth, thinking about the twins and laughing in her mind about how Lorene had trapped them with an unbreakable spell without realizing she had in the first place.


3
secondo Encounter
“The meeting with the twin angeli was just my first. I was completely unaware that we would become più familiar with each other than we already were…”

Lorene was cleaning two of the guest chambers, with the help of Ruko and Becca. Becca dusted the dressers while Lorene made the beds and Ruko sat on the pillows and watched them.
“Hey, why do te think mom wants us to clean the guest rooms?” Becca asked, stepping onto a sgabello to get a particularly hard to reach place. Lorene replied with a shrug, grabbed a scopa and began to sweep the floors.
“Maybe Uncle George is coming from the big city!” Ruko laughed, falling off the heap of pillows. Becca laughed too and scooped him up.
“Maybe,” she said, plopping him down on the end tavolo beside the bed. “Or maybe they’re going to hold someone hostage for ransom!” Lorene gave Becca a sceptical look, causing Becca to double over in a fit of giggles.
‘No, I don’t think that’s right,” she choked, grabbing a rag and starting to wipe the glass doors leading to the balcony. “Other than that I’ve got nothing.” Lorene shrugged again.
“Hmm… mom detto she’d announce the reason why we’re cleaning the rooms after dinner,” detto Becca thoughtfully, leaning on the doorframe dreamily. “I can’t wait…” She turned to Ruko, still perched up on the end table.
“Hey Ruko, is today Thursday?” Becca asked. Ruko thought hard for a minuto and nodded.
“Yes, sister,” he detto seriously, and then beamed. “It’s Caesar insalata night!” Lorene dropped the scopa immediately and dashed through the door.
“Hey, wait!” Becca called, going after her. “Wait, I want to help make cena too! Besides, it’s only six o’clock!” Lorene didn’t listen. She dashed into the cucina and threw open the icebox. Celina came rushing in nearly four secondi later.
“Wait, Lorene, I’ll do it!” she said. “Please just keep cleaning the guest rooms!” Lorene shook her head vehemently and Becca came dashing in.
“Mom, we’ll get it done quickly, okay?” she said. “Besides, were finished the guest rooms anyway. And why exactly did we have to clean them in the first place?” Celina smiled mischievously.
“No reason,” she said. “Just wait until after dinner, alright? I’ll tell te then.” For the successivo twenty minuti Becca helped prepare the insalata and ate in utter silence. Hiro was the only one, other than Celina and Jacob, who seemed to know what was going on. He ignored the questioning and annoyed looks Becca gave him all through dinner. Lorene, on the other hand, continued to stare at her plate the whole time. Finally, Celina called the household into the living room. She made quite a deal of pouring each and everyone of them a glass of water before sitting down and speaking.
“Your father and I received a message from someone in Falling Haven,” Celina detto quietly. “A man named William will be going into the city, and he needs us to house two boys for around a year. They’re both seventeen, so they’ll be able to get their own homes soon. But for now, let’s just all get along and welcome them the best we can.” Becca glanced at Lorene, smiling, and Lorene gave her a sceptical look.
“Becca, don’t even think about it,” detto Jacob sharply. “You’re eleven years old.” Becca gave her father an innocent look and detto sweetly, “Whatever do te mean, father?” Jacob rolled his eyes and Hiro shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from doubling over. Lorene didn’t know whether to laugh o not and compromised da taking an extra large gulp of water and choking on it.
“Anyway,” detto Celina, shooting Becca a fleeting look. “We’re going surprised to have a small celebration to welcome them properly!”
“When are they coming?” Ruko asked, spilling his water down his front when he tried to take an overlarge gulp of water.
“Tomorrow,” Hiro cut in. “So we’re going to have to work harder than ever.” Everyone glanced at Lorene, who did so much already they were surprised she didn’t do anything except blink at them curiously.
“I’ll do the dusting!” Becca said, jumping up and racing into the closet to look for the duster.
“I’ll do the windows,” detto Hiro quickly, bustling off.
“Lorene, will te help me with cake?” Celina asked, sliding off the sofa. Lorene nodded and followed her into the kitchen. Trouble struck nearly five minuti later, when Celina stuck her head in the pantry for the flour.
“Oh no!” she moaned. “We’re completely out of flour!” Lorene automatically pulled her traveling mantello and buttoned it up.
“Lorene, it’s pouring out there!” Celina exclaimed, shaking her head. Lorene just flashed a small smile and shut the door behind her, pulling up her cappuccio when the rain came pounding on superiore, in alto of her head. Surprisingly, the town square was bustling with people holding umbrellas over their heads. Lorene found herself being pushed around through the crowd, the rain making loud splattering noises on the pavement. Lorene suddenly stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a faint, desperate voice crying through the crowd. Turning around, Lorene finally spotted someone familiar stumbling through the crowd, holding something wrapped up in a blanket. It was one of the twins, and judging da the exasperation in his voice and the sadness in his bright hazel eyes it was the shy one she’d bumped into. Lorene couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t wearing a cloak.
“Excuse me,” he detto in desperation. “Sorry… pardon me… please, excuse me…” Lorene started towards him, but at that moment he slipped on the wet pavement and the blanketed something tumbled out of his hands, sending its contents plunking into the puddles. One of them landed at Lorene’s feet. She kneeled down, picked it up and gasped. It was a beautifully painted picture of a jagged cliff, with a sandy spiaggia and a sparkling ocean successivo to it. A low, soft moan was heard from beside Lorene, and it made her look up.
“They’ll all be ruined!” the boy gasped, scrambling to pick up the already half-soaked paintings that were being trodden on da passer-bys. “Please, be careful—” Lorene, feeling angry that the other bystanders weren’t even helpful enough to stop stepping on them, knelt down beside the frantic boy and began silently picking up the paintings and piling them on superiore, in alto of her lap. It took this man a while to notice someone was helping him; amazed anyone would even bother to help pick up his paintings, he turned to the side to thank this person but ended up dropping his jaw to the ground. The girl he had bumped into in the negozio had found him again. Lorene carefully wrapped up the paintings in the silky blanket again and handed it back to him, blinking calmly. The boy continued to gape, but nearly choked when Lorene took part of her silky blue mantello and covered his freezing body with it. They walked in complete silence, the shy boy keeping his face hidden da his streaky-brown hair. When they got to a small wooden house, the other twin was waiting worriedly on the porch, shouting out his brother’s name.
“HUNTER!” he screeched, when Lorene and the boy holding the paintings were flooded da light from a porch light. “What the hell do te think you’re doing?” Hunter’s already flushed face went even redder.
“I… I wanted everyone to see them…” he mumbled, pushing his paintings out of view.
“Jesus, Hunter, it’s pouring rain out there!” his brother breathed in exasperation, almost shoving him out of the rain. Lorene smiled uncertainly at the two of them. One was più parental than the other. The parental one turned around and smiled.
“We’ve met before!” he said. He took her hand and brushed his lips against it. “My name is Edmund Jackson. Thank te for bringing my brother home. May I ask what your name is?” Lorene’s smile immediately faded, regret seeping through her insides. She touched her throat, flashed a quick smile and hurried into the darkness.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Edmund cried, but somehow, Lorene had disappeared.

“Oh, you’re finally back!” Celina gasped, when Lorene entered the room sopping wet and clutching the flour. “I was beginning to worry something had happened to you.” Lorene smiled, shrugged and plunked the flour on the countertop.
“No, te went all the way out in pouring rain just to fetch a lousy bag of flour,” detto Celina firmly, when Lorene reached for the recipe. “You go take a hot bath and then go to sleep.” Lorene sighed, set the recipe down again and obediently slipped out of the cucina and into the bathroom. She let the water run into the tub, watching the swirls of steam rise as though they had hypnotized her. Then she slipped inside. As Lorene soaked, she gazed distantly at the water-tap, thinking hard. The twins’ names had been Hunter and Edmund Jackson… Hunter had been the shyest one, with the incredible artistic talent, the sad hazel eyes and the defeated sort of look. Edmund was the one who was the più parental, matured sort of person, with a più confident personality and possibly no talent at all. Lorene continued to imagine the painting she had seen of the jagged cliff. It had definitely been beautiful, and Lorene could practically taste the salt in the air and feel the mist… Lorene closed her eyes and sighed, her breath fumbling the swirls of steam rising from the hot water. As she drained the bathtub and dressed for night, she continued to picture Hunter’s face in her mind. That was the secondo night in a row she dreamed of the mirrored boys with the different expressions.

“But, William,” detto Edmund exasperatedly. “I still don’t understand.”
“I wouldn’t expect te to,” detto William coldly, turning to Hunter, who merely nodded. “I heard te went out last night—” Hunter flushed “—without a coat, on superiore, in alto of that. Tell me, what was the name of the lady who took te home?”
“She… she didn’t say,” Hunter mumbled. “In fact, she didn’t say anything at all.” William grinned maliciously.
“Yes, I didn’t think so,” he muttered, and then turned back to Edmund and answered his question. “I am going into the city to collect a bit of… ah… inheritance. That is why te will be staying at the mansion I have chosen. Do te understand?”
“Yes William,” Hunter and Edmund chorused.




4
Closer than Ever
“Hunter Jackson had caught my attention like no other boy I’d met. Little did I know his life wasn’t full of only good surprises…”

“TODAY’S THE DAY!” Celina shrieked suddenly at six in the morning, when everyone was stumbling out of their rooms, bleary-eyed and pyjama-clad. “COME ON EVERYBODY, WILLIAM’S COMING AT EIGHT O’CLOCK!”
“Mom…” detto Becca hoarsely, rubbing her eyes. “By eight o’clock, te mean at night, right? And te do know te woke all of us up at six o’clock on a Saturday, right?” Celina shot her daughter a glare, which made her recoil slightly.
“That’s how much time it’s going to take to get everything ready,” she detto firmly. “And da the way, Lorene got up at four o’clock to start helping out,” she added as an afterthought. Becca swept back her hair and whispered exhaustedly, “Yeah, but that’s, like, Lorene’s thing. Not mine.”
“Make it your thing,” Celina scowled, and then left Becca to frown grumpily at the floor and moodily grab a mop. The cleaning did, indeed, take all day. Hiro swept every floor in the mansion, while Becca scrubbed and dusted the walls, Lorene made all the foods and Celina and Jacob cleaned the tables, windows, ornaments and countertops. Pretty soon, it was nearly six-thirty. Celina’s hair was sticking up in places and her cheeks were flushed; Jacob was panting as though he’d just run a marathon; Lorene was frantically sprinting through the house to check if anything had been misplaced; Becca was carefully re-dusting everything just in case Celina found a speck and went berserk; Ruko was munching happily on a chocolate-chip cookie being no help whatsoever and Hiro kept sitting down on the couch, jumping up, straightening the cushion on which he’d sat on and then sitting down again, only to repeat the entire procedure numerous times.
“Any carriages?” Celina asked worriedly, when Lorene immediately checked. Lorene shook her head and climbed down off the windowpane. Jacob put a hand on Celina’s shoulder when she sighed heavily.
“It’s early, Celina,” he detto gently, embracing her. “They’ll be here. Don’t worry.” Lorene and Becca glanced at each other, smiling, and followed Hiro out the door. Becca and Lorene sat down on either side of him.
“What’s the matter, Hiro?” Becca detto in a singsong voice. Hiro grinned at her wearily and then turned his attention to Lorene.
“I can’t believe you’re so awake, te know,” Hiro breathed, his head drooping onto Lorene’s shoulder (Becca giggled). “Mom’s going on about how te wake up at five o’clock every single day.” Lorene shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t occupied da Hiro’s head, as if to say, “It’s not much, te know.”
“Hiro’s right, Lorene,” Becca detto seriously. “That’s extremely crazy. Are te sure you’re not from outer space?” Lorene grinned and laughed. Hiro strained his ears to listen for any sound she might have been making, but sadly, her laugh was entirely silent.
“Come on, big guy,” Becca said, taking Hiro’s hand while Lorene put a comforting arm around his shoulder. “Let’s get te inside; it’s freezing out here.”
“It’s mid-September,” Hiro mumbled, smiling in thanks at Lorene. “It’s supposed to be like that. And it was a blizzard when I went out for Lorene all those years ago.”
“And mom went ballistic, right?” Becca laughed, pushing the door open. “You didn’t even have a camicia on!” Hiro smiled almost apologetically.
“I wasn’t cold,” he said, and immediately shivered when he stepped gratefully from the cold outdoors into the warmed house.
“Did te see any carriages?” Celina asked hopefully, but Lorene, Becca and Hiro shook their heads and plopped down on the couch.
“Then te should seriously get your eyes checked, people,” detto Jacob peering through the curtains. Celina gasped.
“Really?” she cried, wringing her hands in horror. Jacob nodded, looking as though he wished he were lying. Celina gave a tiny scream and ran out of the room, no doubt going to check to see if her hair was all right. Becca ran in after her to see whether o not her mother had tripped due to extreme nervousness. Jacob stupidly tried to whirl around and race into the living room but ended up sprinting into a solid wall. Hiro and Lorene looked at each other, both bearing expressions that clearly said, ‘What the hell is going on?’ The doorbell rang. Lorene reached for the handle but Celina ran in, half-screaming, “I’ll get it!” Lorene bustled out of the cucina dragging Hiro with her, suddenly remembering she left the cake in the oven.
“Hello,” detto Celina warmly, beaming at three silhouettes submerged da darkness. “Won’t te come in?”
“Yes, thank you,” detto a surly, deep, cold voice. Becca shivered behind Celina’s back and three people followed her mother and her father into the sitting room. Celina shot a look at Becca clearly telling her to get Lorene and Hiro over there immediately. Becca dashed away into the cucina and hissed, “You guys, get your butts out here!”
“But… the cake…” Hiro attempted to explain.
“Worry about the cake later!” Becca hissed, beckoning with her hand for the two of them to unisciti the group. Lorene and Hiro obediently left the cake to cool and began play fighting as they walked to the sitting room together, laughing. As they walked into the sitting room, arguing over the argument (“I so got you,” Hiro was saying, while Lorene grinned and shook her head vigorously in disagreement) five pairs of eyes turned onto them. The first thing Lorene saw when she entered was something astonishing. The two twin boys were staring back at her in complete amazement. She would have stared back as well, were it not for the person sitting successivo to the shyer twin.
“Well, well, well,” detto Maryse and Lucas’ killer, smiling in a sort of malevolent way. “Lorene Raymond. Now this is a surprise.” Lorene backed up some fast she hit the bacheca with a loud thump, clearly horrified.
“Lorene, this is William Braxton,” detto Celina worriedly, but Lorene paid no attention to her; she was too busy trying to flatten herself to the bacheca as he approached. Hiro stepped in front of Lorene, glaring angrily at William.
“What the hell are te doing here?” he snarled.
“Such bad manners!” detto William airily, with obvious fake astonishment. Celina shot Hiro and Lorene a look that she usually reserved for Becca when she was caught smuggling biscotti, cookie from the jar.
“Won’t te unisciti us for dinner?” Jacob asked politely. William inclined his head slightly into a sort of half-nod.
“Of course, thank you,” he said. “But it must be quick, for I must leave soon.”
“If te don’t mind me asking, where are te going?” Becca asked. William stood swiftly.
“I must take a long journey to the city,” he detto simply. The two twin boys rose with him as William introduced them.
“This is Hunter and Edmund Jackson,” he said, pointing each of them out. “My adopted sons.”
“Pleased to meet you,” they both chorused obediently. Edmund detto it confidently; Hunter stared with flushed cheeks at the floor the entire time. Hiro was in the corner clinging for dear life onto Lorene, as if he expected William to lunge himself at Lorene and attempt to strangle her.
“Quite,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes at William, who tried to look innocent but ended up just looking amused. “Lorene and I… Lorene and I will go get dinner.” He half-dragged Lorene out of the room. Edmund turned to Celina and said, “Excuse me, if this offends you, but may te tell me why the young lady is so quiet?”
“Lorene doesn’t speak,” detto Jacob quietly. “She never has.”
“That’s sad,” detto Hunter randomly, and when all eyes turned on him his gaze dropped back to the floor again. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Hiro was trying (and failing) to calm Lorene down. She was shaking violently from head to toe, her breath harsh and ragged.
“Lorene, think of it this way,” Hiro was telling her. “William can’t possibly get to te now, because da nine o’clock tonight I’d have told all of Falling Haven. And they have no choice but to believe me, because I was there the night Maryse and Lucas d—” He stopped talking rather abruptly as somebody entered the room.
“Um… mom says to get into the dining room,” detto Becca hesitantly. “Or… o she’ll ground you,” she added quietly.
“She can’t ground me, I’m twenty-four!” he cried, and Lorene smiled a little. Taking Hiro’s hand, she smiled as if to say, “It’s fine.” He caved in and said, sighing, “Alright. But if William even looks at te I’m breaking his neck.” Becca laughed and detto amusedly, “Please don’t go killing anybody in this mansion, because I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“What if te held him down, and I’d hit him?” Hiro suggested, grinning. “And we’ll say te had nothing to do with it?”
“Is this hypothetical?”
“You could kind of say that.”
“Hiro!”
Hiro laughed at Becca’s astonishment and said, “Fine, I won’t kill anybody. I’ll just beat the crap out of him.” Lorene raised her eyebrows at him and he immediately doubled over as the trio entered the room. Once again, two pairs of identically hazel eyes and one pair of cold black ones found their way onto Lorene again. Hiro took his sede, sedile between William and Edmund, glaring at William as he did so. Lorene hesitantly slid into a sede, sedile between William and Hunter, who looked as though he wished she could have sat anywhere but successivo to him. Lorene crossed her arms and stared at her plate rather firmly. William turned to her and opened his mouth to speak.
“Do te have something to say, Sir William?” asked Hiro loudly. Lorene giggled from behind her hand. William turned to Hiro with a repulsive look on his face, and hissed, “Yes, but for the young lady.” He turned back to Lorene and detto quietly, “Miss Lorene, as I believe te are called—” Lorene glanced at him and slowly edged away from him. “—I require a word with you. Would te please mostra me to a private room?” Lorene stood up so quickly her chair nearly toppled over, and then walked out of the dining room, William right on her tail. He shut the door with a loud bang.
“I didn’t call te into this room to kill you,” he snarled at her. Lorene shrank back into the wall, shivering. “I requested te to… ah, let’s see… ask a favour of you.” He pulled out a shiny, silver coltello and ran his thumb across the blade, stroking it almost lovingly.
“The Hiro boy was the teenager who nearly revealed me the night I shoved your worthless parents off the cliff,” William quoted harshly. “And he’s obviously going to try and reveal me once I leave. te will refuse if they ask about me. Do te understand?” Lorene shook her head vigorously, and then flinched as William lunged at her, pushed her into the bacheca and pressed the blade to her throat.
“Then I suppose I’ll just have to kill you,” he hissed. “You and all the others. Starting with the young lad who almost revealed me that night.” Lorene, who was trying and failing to push William off of her, gulped and nodded. He stepped back, slipped the coltello into his sleeve and leered at her triumphantly.
“Very good,” he detto darkly, grinning. “We understand each other. te will not tell anyone — I mean, of course, mostra anyone — what we have been speaking about.” William held the door for her with mock politeness just as Hunter craned his neck to see where his adoptive father had gone. All he saw was the beautiful, voiceless girl stay behind as William passed her and left the door half-ajar. Hunter got a clear view when Lorene clutched her sides, sank to the floor and promptly started trembling uncontrollably, a look of absolute horror on her face.
What the hell did William say to her? Hunter thought incredulously. The terrified expression on her stunning face seemed to be burned into his mind. Hunter suddenly felt somebody’s gaze upon him, and saw that it was Hiro. Hiro was staring firmly at him, his eyes boring into Hunters. Hunter’s mouth dropped open as Hiro tore his gaze away, stood up from his chair and walked through the door. Hunter watched as Hiro bent down beside Lorene and pressed her comfortingly into his chest.
“Hey Hunter, what’re te staring at?” Edmund asked him. Hunter ripped his gaze away from Lorene and Hiro and detto quickly, “N-nothing.”

After dinner, William left.
“Won’t te stay for the party?” insisted Celina.
“I’m afraid not, madam,” William detto tenaciously, bowing over her hand and baciare it. “I must catch the successivo carriage to the city. Goodbye and thank te for the hospitality and housing my sons.”
“It’s no trouble,” detto Jacob happily. “Have a sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza trip!” As William made his way towards the door he tipped his hat in Lorene’s direction and sneered, “Goodbye, and remember our little secret.” Lorene shuddered. Both Hunter and Edmund noticed, but when Edmund opened his mouth to say something Hunter jabbed him in the ribs and detto in a hushed voice, “No Ed, leave it alone.” He had heard what William had muttered to her and was trying extremely hard to interpret what it meant.


5
Party
“I couldn’t believe the person who had slaughtered my parents appeared at my home with the twins. I wondered if they were as evil as he was.”

Lorene stayed da the window, watching William’s carriage get pulled away out of sight.
“Come on,” urged Hiro, placing one hand on her elbow and another on her hip. “Come on, Lorene. He’s gone.” Lorene allowed him to avvolgere his arms around her waist and steer her into the kitchen.
“Way to go, guys,” detto Becca, pointing at the flat cake. “The whipped cream on the cake shrunk.”
“Hey, you’re the one who told us to get our butts into the dining room instead of looking after the cake,” detto Hiro lightly.
“No, I told te to worry about the cake later,” detto Becca impatiently. “And now it’s time to worry.”
“Nobody’s going to eat this anyway,” Hiro breathed. “Let’s just shove it in the icebox.” Becca shrugged and said, “Works for me.” They carefully placed the cake in the icebox and slid into the living room, where everyone was gathering. Edmund sank down into a squishy poltrona successivo to Jacob and Ruko, Hunter nervously slid into a dining room chair, Lorene and Hiro sank down into the sofa successivo to Hunter and Celina and Becca joined them. Hunter felt his face go red when Lorene placed her hand on the sofa’s armrest, only inches from where his own hand was.
“So, tell us a bit about yourself,” Celina detto after handing everybody a glass of water (juice for Ruko). Hunter shrank into his chair and, knowing full well his brother wasn’t about to say anything anytime soon, Edmund spoke up.
“Our parents were killed nearly twelve years ago,” he said. “They were ran off the edge of the cliff on the outskirts of town da a carriage driver.” There was an immense crash of shattered glass. Everyone eyes fell on Lorene, who was holding glass shards in her bloodied hand. Her eyes were wide with terror and her gaze was on Edmund, who despite Lorene’s injury couldn’t help but enjoy her stare. Hiro slid his palm underneath the back of her hand and said, “Come on, we’ll disinfect this.” Hiro led her to the bathroom and ran her hand under cold water. One large cut was across her palm, from the side of her hand to the tip of her thumb.
“William killed their parents as well,” snarled Hiro. “Isn’t it a small world?” Lorene made no inclination of having heard him. Hiro’s annoyed look softened as he bandaged her hand.
“Maybe that Edmund guy is lying, and William’s just sent the two of them here as spies,” he detto bitterly. Lorene immediately jerked out of her trance and shook her head vigorously, placing both of her hands on his chest.
“You don’t think so?” Hiro asked. “How do te know?” Lorene smiled up at him and placed her hands on her heart, her eyes clearly stating, They’re too nice to be spies. “
“Alright then, if te say so,” he sighed. “Let’s get back to the so called ‘party’ before mom grounds me. Whether I’m twenty-four o not.” As they made their way down the hall Hiro also added triumphantly, “And then we can expose William for what he is!” Lorene stopped short almost a meter away from the doorway, with Hiro already in the room.
“Okay people, listen up please,” Hiro detto loudly. “Lorene and I have something to tell you.” Hiro turned around and spotted Lorene still not in the room.
“Come on, silly,” he beckoned. Lorene hesitated before sliding into the room beside him. Hiro returned his attention to the people in the living room.
“Edmund,” he resumed. “You detto that your parents were killed da a man who ran them off the cliff with a carriage, right?”
“That’s right,” detto Edmund calmly, as if his parents’ murder didn’t bother him the slightest. Hiro straightened his shoulders and said, “Then te and Lorene’s family both have a connection.”
“What?” gasped Hunter. All eyes glanced at him again and he went beet red and sank into the chair even further.
“Lorene’s family was killed the same way yours was,” explained Celina quietly.
“Yeah, and I was able to see who it was,” Hiro detto loudly. “And it also just happened to be your ‘guardian’.” There was an extended period in which Becca gasped, Hunter glanced up from the floor, Edmund looked plainly offended, Celina and Jacob both looked absolutely shocked, Lorene sank further out of the room and Ruko dropped the Cioccolato chip cookie onto the ground and promptly started crying.
“That’s absolutely absurd!” detto Edmund, affronted. “William may seem dark, but he truly is a good person.”
“I have proof,” detto Hiro firmly. “I was there when Lorene’s parents were killed, and I saw William try to kill Lorene.” The part Lorene had been dreading came. Hiro turned around, looking expectantly at her, and then said, “Lorene can tell you, right Lorene?”
“Lorene, your parents were killed the same way as ours?” Edmund demanded. Lorene nodded.
“And it was William who did it, right?” Hiro asked, earning himself a glare from Edmund. Lorene sucked in breath, clenched her fists tightly… and shook her head no.
“What?” Hiro choked out. Lorene avoided his gaze and stared at the floor instead. Edmund grinned triumphantly and said, “You see? Even she says it’s not William.” Lorene noticed the betrayal that crossed Hiro’s face at Edmund’s words. He spun around at stormed out of the room. Lorene did something she’d never done to anyone before; she turned and glared at Edmund before desperately running out after Hiro. Hunter stifled a laugh at the stupid astonishment that crossed his brother’s face. In the meantime Hiro was halfway down the hall when Lorene tried to grab his wrist. Hiro yanked his arm back and fumed, “What the hell was that, Lorene? te know that it was William, but te completely deny it!” Lorene reached for his hand again, but he stopped suddenly so that Lorene ran into his back.
“Oh my God,” Hiro gasped, whirling around and hugging her. “He threatened te in that room, didn’t you?” Lorene nodded into his chest.
The others were now mostrare Hunter and Edmund to their rooms while apologizing for Hiro’s behaviour as if he were simply a six-year-old child.
“It’s no problem, madam,” detto Edmund charmingly. Hunter stayed entirely silent the entire time. He couldn’t help but notice, as he passed a certain room, however, he noticed Lorene, happy and smiling, practically encased in the arms of an already slumbering Hiro.