"I never realized that this had been the Source," Lucy explained as they all gathered around the table the next morning. Sophie had her hair up in an extremely messy ponytail, her eyes drooping from the lack of sleep. But she was eternally grateful when George passed her a cuppa coffee to help keep her awake. She took a longing, deep gulp from her mug —  one that Lockwood's deceased sister, Jessica, had given her one year for her birthday. "I only took it because of what I was feeling. Like a connection, y'know? I never meant to steal the Source from a crime scene." 

Lucy passed the ring to Sophie, who examined it, frowning softly. Then, she felt a rather strange tingling in her fingers. Something that she'd never felt before in her entire life of being a ghost hunter. George sighed, shaking his head. 

"I still can't believe that you stole something from a crime scene, Lucy." 

"You're the one to talk, you hypocrite," Lucy answered stubbornly, arms crossed over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not the only one who steals from the scene of the crime, y'know." 

"Yeah!" Sophie defended, her arms crossed haughtily over her chest. She gave George a look. "What about that ghost skull of yours, hmm? Annabel Ward was stuck behind a wall for God knows how long without DEPRAC doing sod all." 

"She needs all of our help," Lucy jumped in eagerly. 

George raised an eyebrow, not buying it. "And what, exactly, does she expect two teenage girls to do after all this time?" 

"Solve it," said Lucy, who glanced quickly over at Sophie. The two of them seemed to have bonded together over the past couple of days since Lucy had been in Portland Row, like two peas stuck in a pod. 

"Give her the justice that she's been wanting since her murder," Sophie added, nodding to the picture of Annabel Ward, who was posing with a group of other celebrities who lived in London. 

Lockwood scoffed softly, not amused. "She's dead, girls. We can't help a ghost. We need to destroy her Source before DEPRAC finds out and let her move on." 

"George," Sophie whined pleadingly as Lucy approached him. "C'mon, George. Please. Back us up here. You love a new experiment, don't you? Why throw all this away when you can explore a new phenomena?" 

George only smirked. "Nice try, girls. But psychic connections are weak science. But you feel sorry for her, don't you? You heard her death loop. Don't you, Lucy?" 

"So, prove it," said Lucy defensively. 

"Before you destroy the ring," Sophie piped up, beating George to his decision. "Let us connect with her one last time. Yes, I wasn't there when you found her. But, like Lucy, I felt a strange connection when I held the ring in my hands not too long ago." 

"No way," Lockwood denied at once. "It's too dangerous!" 

"Says the boy who keeps doing reckless, dangerous things all the time," Sophie snipped at him in return, wheeling around on her heels. She pointed a threatening finger at him. 

George cleared his throat to quit the love-bird's arguments. "It's nearly dawn. Her spirit will be weakened." 

Both Lucy and Sophie gave George a grateful smile, glad that he was on their side. Lockwood, however, did not give up so easily. 

"No. We've only just escaped with our lives — twice, in the same night." 

"But you were unprepared, twice. This time, we'll have the right tools, so we'll do this properly," George interrupted. 

Sophie found this as her chance to move over to where George and Lucy were standing. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she gave Lockwood a very stubborn smirk. He finally gave in, much to her surprise. But she knew that he did not like the idea of his childhood best friend putting herself in further danger. 

At about nine in the morning, they trudged towards the sitting area. Both Lucy and Sophie sat on the couch. Lockwood got the equipment together. Sophie's hands shook nervously as she sat there, waiting for Annabel Ward to possess her. George, who had gone out momentarily after closing the curtains tightly together, came flouncing back in, holding the ring. He passed it to Lockwood, who gave it to Lucy in her outstretched hand. 

He smiled gently at them. But he couldn't deny the fact that he was nervous — not only for Lucy, but for his childhood best friend, Sophie Lefevre. His feelings had grown for her over the years. But he had never realized it until his sister had died, and she had been the only one to comfort him after the last person he considered as family, had died before his eyes. 

"If she takes advantage, we're right here," said Lockwood. He sounded calm and easy-going, but Sophie could sense a hint of nervousness in his voice. 

Sophie managed a smile. "We'll be fine, don't worry." 

"Put your hand over mine, Sophie," said Lucy brightly. "That way, we can both feel her presence at the same time." 

Sophie happily obliged and laced her fingers around Lucy's. She could heard voices in her head, and she found herself smiling slightly as she let her senses take control. Lucy must have felt the Annabel Ward's ghost's nervousness because she heard her coaxing the ghost to let out her feelings. 

Music eventually floated in Sophie's ears. The corners of her lips turned into a frown, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. 

"There's music playing," she declared softly. 

The story played out in Sophie's mind. She could see everything happening in her inner eye as she did her best to decipher everything that was going on. She continued to play things out in her head as pictures danced around in her brain. She finally, very slowly, got to her feet without realizing it. She had let go of Lucy's intertwined hand and had taken the Source along with her. Sophie's eyes were now scrunched closed in confusion. 

"Uh . . . ." 

"What is it, now?" she heard Lockwood ask, though his voice sounded far away. 

More voices came to her mind. She frowned. 

"He's angry," she finally murmured softly. "Jealous. Oh, and she's afraid. Again." She listened again and let out a slight laugh, surprising everyone in the room. "Yes." She reached out her hand unexpectedly, putting it on Lockwood's cheek. He let out a gasp and his voice seemed to have hitched slightly. He grabbed gently onto Sophie's wrist, though he didn't dare stop her. "He loves me — I swear it." Lockwood looked incredibly confused, suddenly trying to push Sophie gently away from him. In the background, Lucy watched with amusement flickering across her face. Sophie began to speak to Lockwood at random. "Y-You love me, don't you? He gave me this ring, he'd never hurt me. Would you?" She cupped Lockwood's face with both her hands now, ignoring the uneasiness on his face now. 

"We've got to stop this," said Lockwood at last, his voice firm and slightly scared. 

"No," George interjected, smirking slightly. He seemed to enjoy what was unfolding in front of him. He had known the Lockwood has had a crush on the girl in front of him for quite a while, now. "Let's just see what happens."

 "Look at me," said Sophie in a soft voice, trying to bring Lockwood's attention over towards her. "Look at me. Look." Suddenly, she felt pain, causing her to grimace. She found herself whimpering. "N-No! Stop it! You're hurting me! Don't!" 

"Sophie," said Lockwood anxiously. Sophie continued to fight against Lockwood's hold. 

"Look! Stop! Let me go! I can't . . . . Let me breathe! Please!" 

A chair flung towards them, and Lockwood had the sense to move both of them out of the way and set Sophie down gently on the sofa. She had finally come out of her possession, but she still clung to her best friend, shaken slightly. He had his arm around her waist protectively, though he ignored it. She had her arms around his neck, though she, too, seemed to ignore it, breathing heavily. 

"He — He choked her to death," Sophie finally whimpered.