A Shot in the Dark 🏹 Oliver Queen

FOUR.

Tommy turned into the long driveway of the Queen Family mansion. The courtyard was so green it looked like it had been painted. The shrubbery was meticulously maintained and a fountain drew attention to the grandeur of the landscaping.

The Queen's mansion was built of grey stone and resembled a palace. The building had several floors and if she recalled correctly, some forty rooms. The property was something from a painting. Zoey found it hard to imagine anyone other than royalty living here, but when she thought about it, she remembered royalty was essentially what the Queens were in Starling City.

Peeking out from behind the manor, a small cottage had been carefully maintained. It was a stone cottage that was dwarfed by the mansion, but when peered at individually, it was a beautiful house. Ivy tangled up the side and black shutters hung from the windows.

The inside of the house had once been painted a warm beige. The sofa and chairs were a soft green velvet and the wooden furniture was all a dark, rich mahogany. There was a wide brick fireplace that could make the entire house feel warm and the kitchen resembled that of a Tuscan villa.

The cottage might have been small, but to Zoey, it has always been a castle. At least, it was when she'd lived there with her father. It'd been half a decade since her small family occupied the house so there was no telling what the interior looked like now. The new head of security might have covered the walls with taxidermy deer heads, or weird paintings of fruits and vegetables. Maybe it was all centerfolds from porno magazines.

"This place hasn't changed a bit." Zoey commented as she gazed through the windshield up at the many turrets of the mansion.

"Yeah, Moira got a bit... particular after Oliver and Robert disappeared. She kept everything the exact same as the day they left. A maid accidentally broke a vase once while they were dusting. She fired the maid, and then rather than just putting a different vase there, she had an exact replica of the broken one made to replace it."

"Well that sounds absolutely psychotic so therefore, it also sounds exactly like Moira Queen.

"Oh, come on. Her son and husband had just died. She was just grieving in her own way. Moira Queen has done a lot of things wrong, but missing her family? She got that one right." Tommy said and Zoey felt a pang of guilt. Maybe she needed to give Moira more grace than she did. It was just difficult when all she had seen was Moira's self-serving side. In Zoey's eyes, Moira saw everyone as pawns. "You ready to go in?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Zoey said flatly.

Walking through the front doors into the lavish parlor of the home felt much like stepping into the belly of the beast. An elaborate crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and gold sconces decorated the room, light reflecting off of the fresh polish of the wood-paneled walls. The wainscoting was a warm colored wood, maybe cherry.

A round table on a Persian rug in the middle of the room boasted a dozen gold frames circled around a large vase of fresh flowers. Each displayed a different picture: an eight-year-old Thea on the back of a thoroughbred horse in a helmet and equestrian boots, Moira in the hospital holding her new baby daughter with her ten-year-old son next to her, Robert with his arm around Moira in front of their newly purchased boat dubbed the "Queen's Gambit."

"Miss Stiller!" Zoey was distracted from examining the ornate decorations and photos in the room as a woman with dark hair in a black and white uniform appeared in the parlor. There was a welcoming smile on her face and she rushed towards Zoey with open arms.

"Raisa!" She greeted excitedly, hugging her tightly. When they separated, Raisa took Zoey's hands in hers, stroking her knuckles with her thumbs.

"You're just as beautiful as I remembered! I've missed you, sweet girl!" she gushed and gave her hands a little squeeze.