The Elites

The Devil Within

"Won't see me closing in
I'm gonna make you suffer
This hell you put me in
I'm underneath your skin"

"The Devil Within" – Digital Daggers

"This is serious" Hunter tells me in a serious tone. "We have to go to the police, Juliet, if Susan and Andrew really did kidnap a baby and then find out we know we are screwed!" Hunter's right, I should have listened to Scarlet when she said this was dangerous, no wonder she didn't want to be involved.

"What's the point in going to the police? Susan and Andrew will bribe them into keeping quiet. All going to the police will achieve is letting Susan and Andrew know we're onto them" I point out, I'm full of anger right now but I know that the rich can get away with things, this shouldn't be how the world works but it is.

"Well, what the fuck do we do?" Hunter asks, locking the car doors. She hasn't started the car yet, neither of us are in a position to drive right now. "What if we go to Melissa and William?"

How would I explain all this to William and Melissa? Susan is Melissa's best friend, would Melissa believe me? Wait a second, I have an idea. "We just need to go to Hope's brother" I tell Hunter, a thought forming.

"None of them will know" Hunter replies, rolling her eyes slightly. I'm not talking about Logan, Mason, or Salvatore. If Hope really was kidnapped at birth, then Reed turning up and asking for money doesn't make any sense.

"The guy, Reed, who attacked Hope is apparently her biological brother. Susan must have lied to us which means that Reed could know something" I explain to Hunter. I quickly grab my phone and start searching through Hope's Instagram followers, would Reed follow her? I grin as I find Reed's profile. Hunter glances at my phone screen, looking curious.

"He was out for lunch with a friend ten minutes ago, let's go find him" Hunter decides; and she starts driving. I have no idea what we're going to find out, but I hope we manage to find Reed, he has to know something. Susan didn't just randomly decide to make up that Hope had a biological brother, he has to be involved.

"We need to solve this before Andrew finds out, he could easily cause another accident" I say, my heart racing. Now I have no idea what the Flynn parents are capable of, I always thought Susan was cold and a horrible mother, but I never imagined any of this.

"How could Melissa have investigated Hope and not found any of this out? She either knows or she's shit at her job" Hunter replies, causing my heart to sink. Hunter is right, Melissa is good at her job which means Melissa must have some idea.

Did Melissa know this entire time? When she first met Hope, was she aware that the baby in front of her wasn't legally adopted? I have to believe she didn't know because her keeping this a secret for so many years sickens me.

"This will ruin Hope's life" I say to Hunter, if the police find her, she'll be taken from her family and her birth parents will get custody of her. Her brothers will lose their parents and their big sister, nobody deserves this. Andrew and Susan have fucked up so many people's lives.

"We don't have a choice" Hunter replies, glancing over at me. "Her real parents could have spent her whole life wondering if their daughter is alive and if she'll ever come home." I can't imagine how they'd feel, I could not imagine having no idea if someone I loved was alive or dead. They've spent so long wondering if they'll ever see Hope again. I wonder if they're still hoping one day their child will come home.

"I know, I just feel bad for Hope and her brothers" I tell Hunter, we can't sit back and do nothing but I just can't imagine how Hope will feel when all this comes out. Hope's been through so much and it feels like something bad is always happening to her.

"Me too" Hunter says quietly. I wish I could tell Hope about this but she'll tell her parents who will assure her that I'm crazy and making things up. I can't tell Hope something this serious and expect her to sit back and do nothing.

"Reed better know something that can help us" I sigh, the sooner this is over with, the better. I don't know how long I can keep something this big from Hope, but I must. I have no idea what Susan and Andrew would do if Hope confronted them and told them what I know.

"He will, Susan didn't just pick his name out of the air, he has to be somewhat involved with the Flynn family" Hunter replies, glancing behind her before switching lanes. I hope Hunter is right, but it doesn't mean that Reed will tell us anything.

"Do you think maybe there was a reason he attacked Hope? Maybe it wasn't because he was homophobic" I suggest to Hunter, I just feel like everything is connected somehow, I don't think anything bad that has happened to Hope is random.

"Susan wouldn't get someone to beat up her kid, what would that get her? Besides, I doubt she wanted the police having anything to do with Hope if she illegally adopted her" Hunter points out. Susan must have been horrified when the police had to find out who kidnapped Hope and Eleanor, so many secrets could have been dug up.

"If they caused my dad's accident, it will crush Melissa" I say, my heart sinking. I have to believe Melissa doesn't know about this, we're talking about her brother, she couldn't have sit back and let Andrew kill him. I don't know what Melissa knows but she isn't evil.

"How are we getting Reed to tell us anything?" Hunter asks me, we're going to have to blackmail him.

"We pretend we have evidence tying him to all this and say we'll have him arrested unless he tells us" I say firmly, we have to do whatever it takes. Andrew and Susan have crossed so many lines, surely I can cross just one to get the information I need.

"That's blackmail, Juliet, this isn't worth anything if you're going to lose yourself in the process" Hunter advises me, looking worried. Susan and Andrew will probably do whatever it takes to keep themselves in the clear, I have to be willing to do the same.

"Andrew got my dad killed! We have to do whatever it takes to get justice, are we in agreement?" I ask, maybe the only way to defeat a monster is to become the bigger monster. I can't do this if I won't cross any lines, that will ensure Susan and Andrew are able to get rid of evidence and make sure we end up with no proof.

Hunter bites her lip, I can tell a large part of her wants to say no. I need Hunter in order to do this, I can't do it alone. Scarlet was right, I need Hunter more than ever right now.

"Whatever it takes" Hunter says, sounding unsure. A part of me feels guilty for making Hunter do something she doesn't want to do, but I need to get justice for my parents. "Even if we find out Melissa knew?"

I have no idea if I really believe Melissa knows everything, but I can't imagine that Susan and Andrew covered their tracks so well that Melissa didn't find anything when she looked into Hope. I love Melissa, but if she knew everything this entire time, then she has to deal with the consequences. This is all too much, nobody deserves to get away with any of this.

"Everyone involved needs to face the consequences" I decide, hoping Melissa and William aren't two of those people.