⚠️Warning: Mentions of abuse, gore and death in this chapter. If affected, please read with caution. ⚠️

~~~~~

*Chris*

As if two shocking news reports wasn't enough for us, we suddenly get hit with another the next morning that made everyone's skin crawl.

The moment Kylie called me in hysterics and told me what happened, I had to call Michael to help get her out of there once police finished getting information.

Thankfully, Shelby was out of town visiting family, but is flying over here as soon as possible.

Gaia was flying in later tonight and staying with us.

We currently sat in the conference room of the lodge waiting for confirmation, everyone nervous.

Briar was about on her way into having another episode, and her health recently has also been worrying me especially.

Just this morning she got sick after she ate breakfast, and has been fatigued on the way over here. I'm scared its something serious, and all the recent stress is not good for her at all.

It wasn't long until Master Coleman, TJ and Carter walked in, followed by Ricky and one of our private investigators.

"Well?" I asked.

Ricky sighed as he looked over at us as we waited.

"Positive ID..... It was Devin all right...." he said. "What's left of him that is..."

We all sighed in shock as we processed the news.

Someone left Devin's severed head on Kylie's porch yesterday....

"What's left of his body was found in a junkyard in San Diego..... Apparently,  he's been reported missing for a while now....." Carter said. "Cause of death appears to be a gunshot wound to the head, execution style, but he was roughed up really bad before that, as the coroner found signs of prolonged torture.... I-I rather not get into the details, but.... Its pretty bad........"

"Fucking hell....." Justin said in disbelief.

"The thing that caught our attention, though..... Was what was carved on Devin's forehead......" The investigator said as he opened a file he held. "Just.... Brace yourselves...."

With that, he held up a photograph, and we all stared in horror.

It was a close up of Devin's forehead, and all across it was one word carved into it:

MAYA

"Oh my god...." Jaime said in horror as a few of us looked away in shock.

Briar whimpered as she covered her mouth in horror, having me hold her.

"Galvin.... He did that...." Briar said, horrified as she cried. "I know it..."

"If we had to take a guess, he had Devin tortured most likely for information about you, given that he used to be in the band," TJ said.

"But why do that to Kylie?!" Jaime snapped. "She broke up with Devin when he was kicked out of the band and even moved away from him."

"True, but she's still his ex-girlfriend," Balz said. "Add to that, she was a victim of domestic abuse, just like Briar was. Galvin probably just had to do some research and decided Kylie was the one who can recieve this kind of message, since it would get our attention."

"And now he is on the loose...."Galvin Jones is also been placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List, reward being $100,000.... The authorities are going to charge him with the murder of Maya Haner, and if they find proof, they'll also charge him for the recent murder of this Devin Sola," Master Coleman added.

"Not like anyone would miss him, though," Vinny mumbled.

"Vinny," Jaime scolded.

"What, its true," he argued. "Devin was an asshole and a perv! He hurt Kylie, he was being weird with our younger fans, he was a creep to our girlfriends, like, do I need to go on here?"

"I hate to say it but he's right," Balz said with a sigh. "As much as I don't like speaking ill of the dead, not many people are really going to sympathize or mourn for Devin after everything he's done.... Hell, he'd have probablyhurt Briar, too, if he ever had met her."

"Management still wants us to make some statement, fuck even knows why," I scoffed, leading to Briar holding my hand.

"Wait a minute, but Devin had nothing to do with Maya Haner, even less with Briar Rose, they never even met," Ryan said.

"Just.... Just please tell us Kylie's okay," Briar begged, making me put my arm around her.

"She is.... After police questioned her, she got picked up by Michael and are in Las Vegas right now, he's gonna help get her here," TJ said. "Aside from being freaked out by this, she's safe. Shelby's also on a flight over here soon."

"This is making me sick," Vinny grumbled nervously.

"Okay moving on, what about the human remains they say are Maya?" Ryan asked. "Any information on that."

"Yes..... We needed a quiet place with limited ears to discuss this," the investigator said as he held up a file.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Vinny asked. "Why are they saying the body they found is Maya Haner? I mean, its impossible..... R-Right?"

"Well, yes and no," the private investigator said.

"Okay, you know what, I officially hate that saying," Ryan grumbled, Talitha quietly scolding him.

"Let us explain.... We did some poking around, and there were some discrepancies that were coincidentally a match to Maya... Or, Briar Rose if you will," Master Coleman said. said.

"Coincidentally?" I asked, confused.

He held up the reconstruction picture they obtained, along with a picture of Maya Haner.

"This is the verified reconstruction from the coroner's forensics artist," TJ said. "The one that matched with Maya Haner's missing person's file on the official database."

We looked at it closely and sure enough, I can see why they are convinced.

"The reconstruction does look a lot like Briar," Shae said. "Well... Maya.... You know, before the surgeries and stuff...."

"Its actually scary.... They look practically identical....." Talitha said with a frown before looking at Briar. "Maybe its just someone who happens to look a lot like Maya? I mean, billions of people on Earth, there's gotta be at least one or two people that look exactly just like Maya put there."

"Maybe, yeah, but what are the chances of your own doppleganger being found dead like this?" Ricky said. "Especially given the circumstances."

"No dentals to confirm or match....." Carter added.

"Seems odd to just go by the reconstruction alone," Shae added. "What about DNA?"

"Yeah, uhh.... That's where things get tricky," TJ added as he handed Ricky first a paper.

Ricky looked through it before frowning.

"Wait, but..... Hold on, this woman only had a 50% match to Maya Haner?" Ricky asked, reading the report and looking up at them.

"Wait, so its wasn't a complete match to Maya?" I said. "How is that possible? That's gotta be a major debunking....."

"So, its not Maya, but it is?" Vinny asked.

"That's just it..... Its why DNA came up inconclusive even though this looks exactly like Maya Haner, even her height and weight was very close to Maya's last reported medical statistics....." Carter added. "Everything so far points to a 80% chance of this girl being Maya Haner, down to even the isotopes testing.... The other percentage tells a different story though...."

"I-I don't understand," Briar said

"Allow me to explain it from the forensic report from the Smithsonian," the private explained, looking at the report.

We were all quiet as he read through it.

"Isotopes testing they did states someone who was born in New Mexico, but grew up northern Oklahoma," Ricky read.

"Its said that the circus was in New Mexico when they found and adopted Mayalina Makris," Carter stated. "Oklahoma City was where the adoption to Nikolas and Viviana Makris was finalized."

"Precisely.... Now, its hard to tell if this woman was ever in Florida at all, given the conditions and little evidence after the arts and crafts they did with the bones, however, scientists did manage to find faint traces of a desert soil, specifically a mix only found in the deserts of Phoenix, Arizona."

"Phoenix?" Talitha asked.

"Where the circus train wreck happened..... Also where I lived before the system shipped me to Florida.... To soon live with the Haner's a year after...." Briar sighed softly.

"Also which according to the police report from the taxidermist from Texas, is where he confessed he found the remains while looking for supplies," TJ said. "Buried past some mile marker off Route 66...."

"He finds human bones buried on he side of the road and decides instead of calling police to just use them for an arts and crafts project?" Balz scoffed angrily.

We frowned as Balz was clearly not happy hearing about this. As someone who runs an oddities parlor, I can imagine this hits a little close to home for him.

"Another thing the coroner noticed was evidence of specific remodeling in this woman's pelvis indicating she had given birth before," the private investigator

"Well, yeah, just like Briar...." Vinny added.

"N-No, I..." Briar said, then sighed sadly. "I miscarried before I could even reach 2 months..... The fetus was about the size of a grape.... T-There was no way....."

I reached over and held her close, letting her lean her head on my shoulder.

"This type of remodeling, however, indicates someone who had already carried a baby to full term and gave birth......." the private investigator said.

"What about age? How old was this girl?" Justin asked, holding up the facial reconstruction.

"To say shes at least 20 is too much.... Rough estimate is 18, maybe less...." Master Colemam said as he read the report.

"Maya disappeared around that age..." Justin said.

"Yes, but the time of death came back inconclusive..... Due to bleaching and damage it was hard to sampe an exact date during carbon dating, but a rough estimate from our end and more thorough testing..... This girl died between 20-30 years ago..... Not less than 10 years ago....."

We all looked in shock and in silence.

"Wait, what? No, Maya disappeared almost just 10 years ago, how could.... No, that can't be right," AJ said.

"So, what are you saying? That this is some Maya clone that died almost 30 years ago when the real Maya was, like, a baby or something?" Vinny asked. "How the hell?"

"We actually did have a hypothesis that could explain who this girl is...." Carter explained. "Which I think you can all probably guess is the only explanation, given the evidence...."

We all tried to think, when Jaime suddenly gasped.

"Wait... The partial match, she-she had given birth... the state connections..... My god, are.... Are you saying this woman is..... Briar Rose's biological mother!?"

We all froze and went quiet, looking at the report in horror.

Briar was the one who looked shock and confused.

"Wait, w-what?" she asked, her voice almsot gone from shock.

"Its.... Its a possibility....." Carter said.

I looked at Briar in shock.

"O-Oh my god..." Briar said in shock.

"H-How is this possible?" Balz asked.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Chris asked in shock.

"Its the only way to explain the partial match, and why the facial reconstruction is more leaned on Maya....." Master Coleman said. "If I had to guess, Mrs. Cerulli... You grew up to look exactly like your mother......"

They showed us the reconstruction of the skull again, along with Maya Haner's photograph.

We all examined them closely.

"I agree..... Its almost identical to Maya, but I do see a few differences..... The nose is a little different....." Shae said.

"Hold on, there is no known knowledge whatsoever of Maya Haner's biological parents, though," Carter argued. "Only that they abandoned her as a newborn in a tiger's cage, most likely with the intent to get rid of her, reasons unknown, yet she somehow got lucky and instead of getting eating, she got lucky and was nursed by a tiger....!!"

We all looked at him quietly, only for him to realize his outburst.

"U-Uhh... I'm so sorry..... I don't know what came over me," he said, sitting down. "This is just a lot...."

"No one blames you.... Its a major plot twist, it almost seems unreal," Ryan said. "Maya Haner's biological mother all of a sudden appearing after all these years.... Its insane..."

Briar let out a shaky breath and stood up.

"I-I need some air," she said, quietly stepping out of the room. "Excuse me..."

"Briar...." I called out, but she walked out quickly.

I got up to go after her before TJ stopped me.

"Dude, wait.... Just give her a minute..... Trust me, this is most definitely a lot for her to process right now....." he said.

I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair. "Its way too much, she only just started processing her past and trying to heal, now all of a sudden they really are saying she's dead, but in reality, by some one in a billion chance, its her biological mother's body, who apparently had her face and everything!? Fuck's sake, what the hell kind of chances are those, TJ?!"

He sighed, pursing his lips. "I-I don't know....."

"What do we do about this, then?" Justin said. "I-I mean.... If this really is Briar's biological mother, what the hell even happened to her to end up looking like she went through a woodchipper and then as some decoration in an illegal taxidermy shop the next state over?"

"Justin!" Shae scolded.

"I'm sorry, babe, but none of this makes any sense!" he said sternly. "Who even was she?"

"He's right, it doesn't make sense.... It just opens more questions than answers," Ricky said. "From what we know, this woman was the same age at her death as Maya was when she disappeared.... Hence why it seems like its a coincidence, but they didn't take into consideration when she died, because of everything the taxidermy shop did to the bones that even obscure carbon dating.... That's why the results were mostly inconclusive until it was retested....."

"Reports also indicate some stab woulds on her ribs...." Carter said as he looked through the reports.

"So then, she was killed, probably not long after she gave birth to Maya....." Talitha said. "Possibly even after Maya was abandoned...."

"Okay but then if this is obviously someone else, then why are they saying its Maya Haner?" Vinny asked.

"My guess? To finally close the case," Ricky said. "Its been more than 7 years, chaos is brewing again because of it, and all of a sudden this girl with Maya's face is found dead," Ricky said. 

"Fuck...." AJ sighed.

We were all quiet as we processed it all.

"Maybe Justin's right.... I mean... Maybe it's better to let this woman be Maya...." Ryan sighed.

We all looked at him.

"If they close this case, then we're in the clear.... Briar and Chris can live in peace, same for all of us, this dude goes to jail for killing Maya, or just backs off completely in order to not get any attention or suspicion..... It could be a chance to move on...." Ryan added. "To finally put an end to all the safe houses and paranoia."

"Maybe, but then what happens to Briar's biological mother?" Shae asked. "I mean, she had to have had some sort of family sonewhere, right? Someone has to be missing her....."

" We'll be looking into that, but...." Carter said. "Honestly, its all up to Briar Rose how to proceed with everything...."

We looked at each other worriedly.

"Let me go check on her," Jaime said, standing up.

"Mind if I join?" Ricky asked.

"Sure," She said, and they both walked out.

I sighed, brushing my fingers through my hair.

This is all so much to process....

*Briar Rose*

I stepped outside and paced around a bit, trying to catch my breath.

How is this possible?

How can this be?

I gulped and tried to calm myself as I paced back and forth.

My biological mother? The woman who most likely left a defenseless newborn baby in a tiger's cage one night, as if wanting her dead more than anything else, all of a sudden is found and identified??

Yet she's been identified as.... Me???

Even crazier is.... How much I looked like her.....

I swayed a bit as I held on to a nearby post, feeling the world starting to get blurry.

I let out a shakey sob as I suddenly felt my stomach churning out of no where and before I knew it I threw up in the bushes nearby.

I groaned as I tried to get it together.

Damn it.... Not again....

I recovered a little bit once I felt it stop, but then frowned.....

This doesn't feel right..... Wait..... I've been here before.....

I sighed as I stood up straight, but then I realized something and gasped as my blood went cold.

Wait..... No..... No no no no......

"Briar," a voice said and I turned to see Ricky and Jaime walk out and towards me.

"Are you alright?" Jaime asked me.

I sniffled and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, but sighed.

"I-I don't know what to think.... How is this even possible? I mean.... My biological mother?" I said, trying to process it.

"Y-You never knew anything, or thought to look for your biological family?" Ricky asked.

"Well, yeah, years ago, but.... I figured there was nothing worth finding....." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest and looking down.

They looked at me worriedly.

"I did always wonder, but.... I was abandoned, literally left for dead.... Tiger food..... Maybe by her, maybe by my biological father, hell maybe both, who really knows....." I said.

They listened as I sighed.

"Eitherway, I had my parents, though..... The people who raised me," I added. "Who... Who taught me to walk a tight rope when I was just 3 years old..... Who let me ride elephants for as long as I can remember..... Who taught me how to dance and sing and perform on silks and hoops and trapeze bars high above..... Then the ones who took me in, gave me a new home after I lost one, who loved me, encouraged me to train until I became a prodigy...... The ones who almost turned this little orphaned carnie into a future Olympian...."

They frowned as I rambled, taking a deep breath.

"Look, we'll figure this out...." Ricky said consolingly. "We can have the investigator try and figure out who she could have been, we can even try looking into girls who disappeared around the time and area that you were left in...."

I took a deep breath.

"Wha...... What even was her name....? Who was she??" I mumbled. "What could have happened to her to end up as a fucking prop Ed Gein would have in his house!?"

They frowned and looked at me.

"Also, what about my biological father?! Is he also dead, or..... Is he the one who did that to my biological mother? God, there-there's too many questions now......" I said, feeling myself panicking a bit.

Jaime walked over and hugged me as I processed everything.

"What now? I mean.... Everyone thinks I'm dead now..." I said. "For real dead, I mean.... They all think those are my bones...... They think her face is mine, and....."

"Bri...." Jaime frowned as she looked at me.

"I..... I looked so much like her..... Exactly like her..... How does someone not notice that she's gone?" I mumbled. "I mean, she had to have had parents, right? My biological grandparents, are they even still alive?? Friends??? Someone must have missed her, at least one single person out there.... Right??"

Ricky frowned and sighed. "Well.... If anything, as Justin mentioned.... This can be a good thing, because if she's dead then that means all suspicion of you is gone...."

I looked at him in shock, but then sighed.

"True, but.... Then she looses her true identity...." I sighed. "How is that fair?"

He pursed pursed lips, and nodded. "Fuck, you're right..."

"God.... What was even her name?" I said. "Who did this to her, and.... Why?"

"You need answers, I'm guessing.... We can find those answers if you want, we will respect that, same for Chris and the others..... However, and I now you aren't going to like me saying this, but your have to make the difficult choice of letting her take your place as Maya Haner....." Ricky said.

My eyes widen as I look at him.

"Look at the facts.... The whole world is looking for Maya, dead or alive, and the top hunter has a target on you no matter what anyone tells him... The FBI just found a match so close to Maya that its pretty scary, and they are willing to accept that the girl they found smashed to bone bits is you, and see how to pin it on Jones, the main suspect, which can assure him prison time no matter how many judges try to write him little recommendation letters......"

I looked at Ricky in shock as his words set in.

What scared me is how they made sense..... He's right.....

"Letting your biological mother take your place rids any suspicion from you..... You'd be safe, same for Chris, and this can all be over....." he said. "You, him, and all of us can live in peace....."

I looked at her sadly.

"Then let's try this...... As harsh as this may sound....." he said, taking a step closer. ".... Maya...."

I gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. Jaime look at him in shock and surprise.

"Ricky..." Jaime mumbled at him in shock.

"You had to make hard decisions when on the run with Tony and Lance.... Even going as far as to change your name and even your face.... Well now take this as a new plan, one I'm sure even they would tell you is the only way to help assure your safety at any and all costs....." he said.

I gulped as I felt my heart crack a little.

"I know you're tired of making all these difficult decisions and sacrifices for survival, but right now for your sake and Chris's, you need to make one more.... This one can determine how things can be from now on for you and to mislead those who were on to you.... Including Jones...." she said.

I frowned, feeling tears fall, then sniffled and took a deep breath, nodding.

"You're right.... I need answers, but right now my biological mother's body could get me out of this ongoing situation, and ensure everyone's safety a lot more....." I said. "Devin was already killed because they thought he was involved.... No more people need to die because of it...."

She nodded as she held my hands.

"Whatever the reason was for abandoning me in a tiger's cage is, at the end of the day, this is the least she can do to make it up to me for everything......." I said. "However, I still want to know who she is and who killed her....."

They nodded in understanding.

"Then let's head back inside and talk about it," Ricky assured.

I nodded as I followed then.

As we went to talk inside however, suddenly I felt exhausted and stopped, groaning in pain as I held my head.

"Briar? Are you okay?" Jaime asked, sounding muffled for some reason.

"She doesn't look too good," Ricky's voice said.

I tried to speak before suddenly feeling bile coming up again.

Oh no...

I quickly spun to throw up in the bushes nearby again.

"Oh god!" Jaime shouted as she rushed over. "Bri!! Are you okay?!"

"I-I don't......" I said once I stopped, but then my vision started to blur.

"Whoa, whoa, BRIAR-!"

That was all I heard Ricky shout as I felt my body fall and it all went black.

Please..... No.....

***

*Chris*

I sat by Briar's bedside as we were in the ER, waiting for bloodwork results, letting her rest as they gave her an IV to help with dehydration and nausea.

Jaime came in screaming that Briar fainted outside after she threw up, and suddenly wasn't responding, so we rushed her to the emergency room.

They thought she was just dehydrated, but still ran some blood work and are seeing if they need to run a CT or something.

I then hear a groan and look to see she was waking up, immediately going to her side.

"Shhh, hey, its okay..... Easy...." I whispered as her eyes slowly opened.

"Chris...." she mumbled.

"Hey.... We're at the ER..... You were out for a bit, but doctors said you should be okay now....." I assured her, holding her hand.

She sighed softly and gripped my hand as the curtain then parted, revealing a doctor with a clipboard.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cerulli, I apologize for the wait," he said. "Labs were a little backed up."

"I-Its fine," Chris assured. "So, what happened to her? Is she okay?"

"Your wife is perfectly fine, and we found out why she was experiencing so much nausea and fainting spells."

We looked at him as he smiled politely at us before speaking.

"You're pregnant, Mrs. Cerulli."

~~~~~~

First update of 2025! 🥳

Figured the first story update of the year from me should have some major surprises. 🫢🫢

What do you guys think so far?

Also, hoping this year I can focus on my writing more, and maybe even have a new story up soon. 🤞🏻

Thank you all for reading! 🌻💚

🎹 Currently in Sapph's playlist:

Sidewalks & Skeletons
"Goth"

♡~ sapphire.