Fight for them.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ

The fluorescent light above Lilia flickered erratically, casting harsh shadows across the small, steel table between her and Emerie. A thick pane of glass separated them, and Lilia picked up the worn phone receiver, her eyes piercing as she stared at her "assistant" on the other side.

Emerie hesitated for a moment, lifting her own receiver and swallowing hard. Lilia's gaze was ice-cold, and she leaned closer, her voice a venomous whisper.

"You need to find out everything you can about Elara," she commanded, her voice low and hard. "I'm not stopping until I have all five of them. I don't care what it takes. I will not loose another case"

Emerie nodded, though her hands were shaking slightly. "What... what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Start with whatever will make the case stronger. Dig into her weaknesses—anything that might make her and whatever lawyer she has slip. You and Hemlock need to figure out how to get me every bit of leverage." Lilia's tone left no room for hesitation.

Emerie looked down, barely daring to meet her gaze. "Yes, of course, I'll get right on it."

Lilia's lips curled into a thin, humorless smile. "Good. I've waited long enough. And when we're done, Elara won't have a leg to stand on." She leaned back, still watching Emerie through the glass, her expression unyielding, as if nothing would stop her from getting what she wanted.

Emerie stared back, her mind wandering to the woman who shared her features. Was she really going to go through with this? The weight of the decision pressed down on her, every instinct telling her to back away, but she couldn't. Not now.
                  ₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚* ੈ✩‧₊˚

Elara sat in the station, wrapping up her shift. Wesley had recovered enough to where she felt comfortable with him back in school, Carson's arm was still in a cast, but from what she had heard, Brody had backed off, he had been back for 2 days.

As she checked her phone, she noticed a message that wasn't exactly a surprise, though it was something new

Can Phee ride the bus home with your group and stay with you? I don't get off till 6.

Yeah, I don't care. Did you call it in or whatever?

Yeah.

Elara sighed, sliding the phone back into her pocket. She quickly wrapped up and headed for the car. After a quick stop at Adria's house to pick up Liv, Elara was greeted with an immediate sugar high. Adria had clearly indulged her, and now she was bouncing off the walls, or at least bouncing off the backseat.

The car was filled with high-pitched giggles and squeals. Elara glanced in the rearview mirror, spotting Olivia in her car seat, kicking her legs excitedly and babbling away in baby nonsense. Olivia was making a shushing noise that sounded more like "Ssss."

"What are you shushing, Livvy?" Elara asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

Olivia didn't answer but instead giggled, her words a mixture of syllables Elara couldn't quite make sense of. Whatever she was saying clearly seemed hilarious to her, though.

Elara smiled to herself, amused despite the chaos. She muttered under her breath, "Liv, what did Adria feed you?"

"Cutcake!" Olivia said proudly, mispronouncing "cupcake," but Elara couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips.

"Did Adria give you a cupcake?" Elara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No Sss." Olivia was quiet, her face scrunching up as she looked away, clearly trying to hide the sugary truth. Elara could only guess that Adria had told her to keep it a secret.