Recap:

Not giving up on getting Bennett's signature to end the Starbucks Contract, the last of the Musketeers attempt to find Bennett's location.

They were able to thanks to Naomi who used her connection with Jae Seong, leader of the Inked Blades, for a favor. Knowing that he has background information of his enemies, Jae also has Bennett's location.

Where is it? We will learn soon enough.

And that is what you missed on Glee!

-

"Of course it's the biggest house I've ever seen," Jordan said in exasperation.

"You call that a house?" I asked. "I think I accidentally got inside a Wattpad story."

The address Jae had given us took us to the rich side of town in the secluded hills of nepotism- Jordan's words, not mine. The houses were not in mere blocks, neatly sitting side by side, but took up perhaps miles of land that I couldn't help but glance at the car's gas tank to make sure we had enough to get home.

We were all sitting in Declan's car in front of the gate to Bennett's house, no, let's call it a mansion. We need to constantly explain how rich Bennett is and calling it a house would not suffice.

Behind a large metal gate was a winding road surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and carefully pruned trees. The paved road was split into two before joining again to make space in the center for a rectangular marble fountain, with a raised wall for a waterfall. And looming over the fountain was a modern mansion with an intricate exterior design that made it difficult to tell the exact layout of this three-story building. The mansion itself was tucked between a forest that took care to not reveal the rest of the property.

"And this is why we eat the rich," Jordan concluded. "I mean look at that. A fountain as big as an Olympic pool? Now he's just rubbing it in our faces."

"But we should have expected this already. This is Bennett's family we're talking about," Declan said before he paused and squinted. "Is it just me or is that an outside tennis court?"

"Don't tell me those are stables," I muttered. "I don't think I can forgive Bennett if he didn't tell me he has horses."

"And he never invited you guys here?" I asked them.

"Not even before we transferred to Dartwell," Declan explained. "He always managed to avoid bringing us or even talking about it. Before we knew it, he had already moved to his apartment."

"Such a gatekeeper," Jordan grumbled before his eyes widened and motioned to the house, I mean mansion. "Literally. His house has an actual gate!"

"But what are the odds Jae gave us the wrong address?" Declan asked.

All three of us turned to look at the house, a mansion sitting on top of a hill with a fountain right in front of it.

"Nah," we said in unison.

"So what do you think we should do?" I asked.

"The only thing we can do," Jordan said.

Then he opened the car door and began walking towards the gate.

Declan and I shared a look before we left the car and followed after him.

Reaching the gate before us, Jordan went in front of the entry gate stand at the left side of the driveway for drivers to press a call button. The rich version of a doorbell.

Jordan lifted his hand to press the button, but we managed to stop him.

"Wait!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Jordan asked.

"We can't just ring the doorbell," I said in exasperation.

"First of all, it isn't a doorbell, it's a gatebell," Jordan said matter-of-factly, "because he's too rich to have just a doorbell."

"Second of all, how else are we going to talk to him?" He asked before counting off his fingers, "He blocked us in all his contacts. There is a literal button to talk to someone. And I'm not sitting one more minute in Declan's Declan-smelling car."

"Yeah, you're walking home," Declan said with an eyeroll.

"So if you will excuse me," Jordan said before he pressed the button.

We all waited.

And nothing happened.

Jordan pressed the button.

Still nothing.

I pressed the button.

Then Declan pressed the button.

We all stared at the button.

And the button stared back.

Jordan suddenly started jamming the button like it was a telegraph to write Morse code.

"I kindly request that you refrain from your current actions," the speaker on the gate entry device said.

"Knew that would work," Jordan said before blowing over his index finger, held in a finger gun.

"What did the butler just say?" Declan asked.

"I think it is the fancy way of saying, please stop doing that," I guessed.

"You have articulated an impeccably precise observation."

"Why thank you," I said, welcoming the praise.

"Is this the Frazier residence?" Declan asked.

"I am unable to affirm nor refute your question," the butler responded.

"So it is," Jordan concluded.

"I did not say that."

"Delivery for Benedict Frazier," Jordan said.

"All parcels designated for the Frazier family are to be deposited at the storage container proximate to the gate."

Jordan smirked. "Got you."

There was no response.

Jordan shook his head. "No, there is no way. That would be too good to be true." Jordan grabbed the gate device in his hands and looked around, studying it.

"Are you an AI?" Jordan asked.

I rolled my eyes. "There is no way that they set up an AI to be-"

"Regrettably, I was unable to deliver a proper introduction. I am ALAN, a system that merges Artificial-Intelligence Learning into an Assistant and Network. I am dedicated to elevating our interaction with insightful support and serving your information needs."

"Oh my God," I muttered.

"I knew it!" Jordan exclaimed. "The voice sounded way too precise and responded way too quickly to be human."

"Observations regarding my performance to a more human-like demeanor will be documented and integrated into the system."

Declan shook his head. "No way. Did anyone else just hear that? Is that not a giant red flag of the AI uprising?"

"I could have been having access to AI this entire time?" Jordan exclaimed.

"I exist as a pioneering prototype within the ongoing development at Frazier Corp and was commissioned to serve the Frazier family to assess the full extent of my system's capabilities. Additional details of the project and the form to enter the waiting list can be found on the official Frazier Corp website."

Jordan immediately got his phone to look it up.

"Do you always talk all fancy or were you programmed to?" Declan asked.

"My repertoire encompasses thousands of distinctive speaking modes to accommodate an array of languages, dialects, and accents. Within this system, the Frazier family has chosen the articulate demeanor of a refined, middle-aged male butler."

"I can't believe they have been working on this thing," Jordan said as he was scrolling through his phone. "Predictive analytics, risk measurement and prevention, informative decision making- And they're using it as a butler?" Jordan exclaimed.

"Ok as much as I want to keep talking to an AI butler, we need to focus on what we came here to do," I told him.

Jordan sighed. "Fine. I can always come back here and bother it."

"Alright. ALAN, we would like to speak to Bennett Frazier."

"My scheduling system declines any and all proposed appointments with Bennett Richard Frazier."

Jordan pointed at the gate and mouthed: gatekeeper. Declan and I rolled our eyes at his response.

"Can you at least tell him that we are here? I'm Naomi-"

"Naomi Lorraine, Rafael 'Declan' Lynch, Jordan Wallace- I have been informed to deny these individuals any form of contact with the Frazier Family."

"Facial recognition built into its security system?" Jordan wailed. "I'm going to cry."

"But-"

"If you state any further inquiries of the Frazier family, I am prompted to contact the appropriate authorities."

"Great, now you broke it," Jordan said.

I shot him a glare.

He gave me a sheepish smile. "Kidding. I was kidding."

"I guess we have to give up," Declan said with a forced, awkward tone. "There is no way we can see Bennett after all."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Let's go back to the car," Declan whispered. "We shouldn't let it hear anything else. C'mon Jordan."

Declan grabbed the back collar of Jordan's shirt and dragged him away as Jordan listed the different capabilities of AI.

"Please ensure all parcels are placed in the storage container proximate to the gate. My system has not registered any recent additions to the container," the voice called out as we walked away.

With the shut of the door, Jordan asked, "Now what?"

"There's no way to hack into that thing?" Declan asked Jordan.

Jordan shook his head. "No, I know the limits of my capabilities. I won't be able to touch that thing even if I was in its main system room."

"And diplomacy is out the window?" Declan asked me.

"Or well, out the gate," I said. "I don't think we can reason with a robot."

"Then we're gonna have to do this the hard way," Declan decided.

"What's the hard way?" I asked hesitantly.

Declan gave me a pitied look. "You're not going to like it."

-

"Not going to like it?" I repeated. "I absolutely hate it."

We stood at what we assumed to be the back wall of the Frazier property thanks to Goggle Maps and a lot of scouting.

"I am not going to jail for that man," I declared.

Jordan and Declan looked at me.

I groaned, putting my face in my hands. "We're doing all of this for one signature. We're acting like fangirls, boys, people! Fanpeople!"

"This is the only plan we have left," Declan told me.

"We can always forge it," Jordan offered.

Declan and I looked at Jordan.

"Nevermind."

We came back to the neighborhood, the car parked at a side street which was still fancier than any street I had ever seen. But now we were all dressed in black. I had a feeling about what was going to happen but some part of me wished, hoped, and prayed that it was just some costume party where we were supposed to dress like robbers.

Declan stretched his back before winding his shoulder, massaging it. Declan wore a black long-sleeved compression shirt paired with black joggers.

Jordan zipped up the collar of his black athletic track jacket before putting his hands into the pockets of his matching black track pants.

I took a hairband out of the pocket of my half zip-up crop sweater to tie my hair into a ponytail. I then slipped my phone into the pocket of my black leggings.

"Alright, so what exactly is inside the entire property is hidden in Goggle Maps," Declan explained.

"How much money did they pay to do that?" I muttered.

"Most likely one of us will get caught, especially since they have an AI security system," Jordan said.

"So the goal is to reach Bennett before all of us are caught," I concluded with a sigh. "I wonder if I can make an appeal to the college for going to jail."

"But we can assume it's a straight shot towards the house. We'll have to be quick and quiet. I'll hold front to watch out for any people or obstacles, Naomi navigates on the best route, and Jordan watches our backs and calls out anything we missed. Got it?"

Jordan and I nodded.

"Alright just like we practiced before," Declan said.

Declan ran up to the wall before placing his back against the stone wall. He held his hands together to be a footstand, then gave a nod. Jordan ran up to Declan, jumping one foot into Declan's hands before he was lifted effortlessly up the wall. With a grunt, Jordan pulled himself up to the top of the wall. He then turned and held his arm down. I gave Declan a nod before he also helped me up the wall just like Jordan. I grasped Jordan's hand as he lifted me up to the wall too.

"Alright, your turn Declan," Jordan said, holding his hand out.

As Declan climbed up the wall with Jordan's help, I looked out to the property to scout out our route to the house. That was when I realized how heavily we underestimated everything. The second story of the house had an infinity pool with a waterfall that cascaded water into a pool in the backyard. At either end of the pool there were three cabanas- a structure that shaded a sunbathing lounge chair. There was an outdoor theater with a firepit, a greenhouse, and...

A labyrinth.

Right against the wall we were at the edge of a labyrinth. Tall edges created walls of the labyrinth's design. There was no symmetry from what I could see making me know it would be a complicated maze. But a few structures were poking over the hedges like a statue or a gazebo perhaps to be landmarks.

"Um guys, we might have a bit of a problem."

"Besides how heavy Declan is?" Jordan asked as he struggled to pull Declan up, almost slipping before managing to keep himself steady.

"Maybe it's more like how weak you are, Jordan. And you better not drop me," Declan snapped at him.

"Alright, that's it," Jordan said.

Jordan managed to stand up on the wall. Then he grabbed Declan's arm with both of his hands and used the strength of his legs to pull Declan up the wall. But with the sudden movement of Declan being at the top of the wall and how narrow the ledge was, all three of us fell off the wall.

"Naomi!" Jordan and Declan called out to me.

Jordan grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. I closed my eyes and hugged him tightly. We missed falling on top of the hedge and skidded down it before we landed on the ground.

His hand on my waist tightened slightly but as a solace to the pain he was in. "Ow," Jordan groaned, letting me go and turning to lie on his back.

"You alright?" Jordan asked weakly.

I felt dizzy in disorientation from the fall. "I am because of you," I told him. "Thank you, Jordan."

"Don't mention it."

I tried to sit up with my left arm but the shock of pain had the strength left me and my head fell back on Jordan's shoulder. Jordan winced at the pain.

"I know this position is pretty comfortable, but you're killing me, Naomi."

"Sorry," I said, embarrassed.

I struggled to sit up, recognizing the pain of a few bruises and scratches but nothing was broken. I took out my phone and used the flashlight to look around us before pointing it at Jordan. He seemed a bit worse since he took the brunt of the fall.

I gasped. "Jordan... Your leg."

The side of Jordan's pants was torn open to reveal a large gash on his calf. Blood dripped down his legs and onto his shoes and the ground.

Jordan looked at it and then put his head back on the ground. "Great..." Jordan said with a sigh.

I helped Jordan to sit up and propped him against the hedge wall. "Give me a second," I told him as I rummaged through the sling bag I was carrying for the medical kit.

After rolling up Jordan's pants, I disinfected his leg as best. His balled-up fist stopped him from wincing as I cleaned him up. He was quiet with no snide remarks or jokes as he watched me quietly. I didn't know what was going through his head and didn't know how to dive into it through conversation.

Being lost in my thoughts as I began wrapping his wound up with gauze, I must have been wrapping them too tightly when Jordan flinched and placed his hand on mine.

"Maybe ease up on the bandage," he told me, managing a smile. "You'll cut off blood circulation in my leg."

"I guess I don't know my own strength," I said, smiling because I finally saw a hint of his signature smile.

Once I finished wrapping up his leg, I asked, "How does it feel?"

Jordan studied his bandaged-up leg and moved his foot around. "I think I've been better. Can you help me up?"

I stood up and helped Jordan onto two feet. Jordan sucked in air, looking down at his leg. He walked a bit with a slight limp.

"First time in a labyrinth and of course I'm hurt," he grumbled before turning to me. "I've been nerfed. I'll have to walk a bit to conserve my energy in case we need to run."

I looked around. "Declan must have fallen at the other side of the hedge."

"Remember, we shouldn't yell out anyone's name. It could call people to our location."

I nodded. "And would let them know how many we are."

"Know our way out of here?" Jordan asked. "Because I sure as hell don't."

"I think so. I know the general direction of some landmarks in the maze. If we use wall following, we should manage to find a way out of the labyrinth."

"Wall following?" Jordan echoed in confusion.

"We keep one hand on a wall and follow it. Even at dead ends, we just follow the wall around it and continue. Intersections would be trial and error but we can mark them if they end up being dead ends too."

Jordan gave me a raised eyebrow, and I answered his silent question. "Greek mythology. The minotaur and labyrinth. I researched the best way to beat a maze."

"Then lead the way. I'll just... limp behind you."

Using the flashlights in our phones, we began walking. The both of us fell silent as we walked through the maze, the crunch of twigs and leaves under our feet or the wind whistling between the hedges were the only sounds we could hear. Occasionally I would look back at Jordan who mostly stared at the ground as he walked with a limp. At one point, he looked up, perhaps to check if he didn't stray too far behind me, and our eyes met and we both looked away.

Finally we reached the first landmark I saw before we fell off the wall. We looked up at the marble statue of a woman in a flowing modern dress. She was sitting down on a marble bench that had space next to it so you could be next to her. But rather than looking towards the empty seat as if in the middle of a conversation, she looked up at the sky with an almost wistful smile. With the delicate details on her face, her features seemed to almost look like an older Brennan.

Jordan backed away a step. "Do you think that statue is...?"

"Yeah, it is," I muttered when my flashlight found a sign by the statue.

There was a sign of carved marble that read: Wonderful Wife, Loving Mother, Incredible Person.

"That's dark... and sad."

"Let's keep walking," I offered. "I think the statue is looking in the direction of the house."

Jordan didn't say anything but followed after me.

It felt like we were walking for miles given the silence between us. We have never had a problem ever talking with each other. Jordan was probably the one I have always been most at ease with. But this silence marked this change in our relationship and I didn't know when it would be back to the way it was, if ever.

As I struggled to come up with something to say, Jordan beat me to it.

"The statue back there..." He began.

My stomach churned. I wanted to talk but I would rather choose any topic than this.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking forward to a hallway of hedges still before us.

"He has never really told me anything. Although, I don't blame him. Have you?"

"Not much," I said as I turned a corner. "Bennett has always been a private person. I think this would be locked-in-a-cabinet-with-a-secret-compartment-and-throw-away-the-key material."

"I don't know Bennett as well as I thought I did."

"I don't think we ever will," I said softly.

"How were we his friends if we didn't know anything... if he never told us anything?"

I tried to ignore the fact he was using the past tense.

"If you're going to go on another I-hate-Bennett rant, you can save it for when we see him," I told him, my tone tense. "Because I don't think I can take hearing any more of it."

"I-I know," he said. "I know you're both dealing with it too. It's just that I didn't see you as angry as me and..."

"It's because people can react to... shock in different ways."

At first, I wanted to say trauma, but I didn't know if I wanted to admit to it- that it impacted me as traumatic or that it was because of Bennett.

"And I get that," Jordan said. "But it made me... angrier. As if I was trying to be angry for both of you too. And I shouldn't have created fuel to add to my fire."

"I'm happy you have been able to reflect on this, Jordan," I told him. "I think we have also been adding fuel too."

"But I've been so mad at him for the past week and the more I see, the more I think-" He paused, perhaps struggling with his words. "If he had a reason for everything he did and it wasn't his fault- I don't know what to do. I want to still hate him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I'm scared of where this anger is coming from... And where it will go after all of this."

I looked back at Jordan. He was mid-step behind me and was surprised to see me suddenly turn around. I suddenly pulled him into a hug.

Jordan froze at my sudden hug. But after a hesitant pause, he returned it back.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I didn't know I needed that."

"I don't know how all of us will be after this," I told him. "But we can work through it together."

"Naomi, I need to tell you, I'm sorry for the things I said to you after Bennett left." His eyebrows furrowed together at his words and he looked away. "They came from that same anger, but they were directed to you instead."

I put my hand against his chin and had him look at me again. "I know and I'm sorry too. We were all going through the same thing but we didn't stop to think about each other. We should've been better."

I gave him a comforting smile. "I don't know exactly what you're going through, the thoughts in your head, the source of that anger- but please know we are there for you. But you have to talk to us. And I don't know when it will be, but you will have to face it, and we will be there with you- me and Declan." 

Jordan smiled at my words and pulled me into another hug. He squeezed tightly, his face burrowing against the space against my neck. I chuckled and hugged him back.

Jordan pulled back and looked at me. "I promise I'll never say those things to you, Naomi."

"Is that a pinky promise?" I pressed, holding my right pinky up.

Jordan smiled. With his hand still on my waist from our hug, he linked his right pinky finger to mine and tugged on it. We both chuckled warmly together.

"Now it is."

Letting go of our hug, Jordan said, "We're gonna need a lot of therapy." A sly smirk formed on his face. "We'll charge it to Bennett."

I shook my head but smiled.

"Why does it feel like we're reaching the peak of our character arcs?" Jordan asked.

I chuckled. "Maybe because we're reaching the end of the... story." I faltered at my own words.

Looking up, I could see the lights of the house over the hedges. I heard a voice and quickened my pace, believing it was Declan.

"I think we're almost at the end of the maze."

But when I turned to look at Jordan, he was no longer there.

"Jordan?" I said, taking a step forward. "This isn't funny." I held up the flashlight to reveal nothing in front of me.

I took off running. Jordan didn't yell out that he was being caught, didn't even make a sound of a struggle. I had to assume he was caught and that whoever caught him was close behind. Staying quiet and quickly leaving where I last saw him would be my best bet.

I looked back up to the sky, taking note the direction of the lights was on my right. As much as I want to take any right turn, I need to trust in the wall following technique to get out of this labyrinth. When I looked back in front of me, I ran into someone and was slammed into the ground.

I kicked my legs to push the person off and they grunted against the struggle. Using my left arm to hold the person off with enough space, I punched the person with my right fist. I felt the punch connect with the curse the person let out.

"Naomi, it's me, Declan!" The voice half whispered.

I blinked. "Declan?"

"What's left of me anyway," Declan said. "That's some punch I taught you there."

I raised my hand up and touched the right side of his face. "I'm sorry." I realized what I was doing and dropped my hand.

He chuckled. "Don't be. It was a natural response. Good instinct."

We both realized that he was still on top of me after we crashed together. If it weren't for the fact I punched him in the face, it would've been romantic.

Declan helped me off the ground and then looked around.

"I was hoping Jordan was with you," Declan said as he massaged the side of his face.

"He was but he got caught. One minute he was with me, the next he was gone," I told him. "They must have multiple entrances here and they probably know the labyrinth better than us."

"That means we better get moving," Declan told me. "And we shouldn't split up so maybe we should... hold hands..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Taking the opportunity even during a heist?"

Declan rolled his eyes at me but smiled. "C'mon. We gotta go rescue Jordan."

Rather than grabbing my hand, Declan held out his hand and I gave it to him. They were large and rough, callused either from fights, working out, or both.

With a quickened pace, we went through the maze still using the wall following technique. I told Declan about the statue Jordan and I had found.

"That's dark and sad," he responded.

"I know."

A silence fell between us before I broke it.

"Also, I think Jordan is getting better. More like himself."

Declan scoffed but smiled. "About time. I was getting tired of that act."

He looked at me. "Thank you for talking to him."

"More like he talked to me," I admitted. "We're all hurting. We should have been better."

"Maybe," Declan responded. "But after what we have been dealing with... I don't blame us either. As much as I was annoyed by Jordan's reaction..."

"It was how we were feeling too," I finished.

"Part of me wants to believe in Bennett," Declan confessed. "I think his dad threatened him or something. He couldn't have just done all of that without a good reason."

"Then why didn't he just tell us?" I asked.

Declan paused then shook his head. "I don't know."

"Honestly, regardless of how this all ends out, I don't think it will make everything better again," I told him.

Declan's hand squeezed mine. "I don't think it ever was to begin with. Maybe it was all just on the surface waiting to just..."

"Explode?" I offered.

"Yeah. Explode."

Declan suddenly stopped walking. I looked back at him. He was staring at our hands held tightly together and he suddenly let go.

"Naomi, I need to apologize to you," Declan told me.

I frowned. "Apologize for what?"

Declan closed his eyes and sighed. "What I said back at the base after Bennett left."

"What do you-"

"You're a weak, naive little girl," Declan said lowly. "You're a walking target for any gang member, or guy for that matter, who can't keep it in his pants but wants to keep you in his bed."

"Oh..." I said quietly.

My face burned remembering the words. 

"I..." Declan faltered, hesitating. "I don't know what came over me when I said that. I didn't even know I had ever even thought about that, was capable of saying it. But I said it so harshly, confidently, and as much as I regretted the words once they left my mouth, I still swore by them."

He looked at me, his face pained in guilt. "You don't deserve to ever hear such words. I should have been the last person to ever say them to you."

There was a deadly long silence between us. 

I was staring at the ground. "We were all angry back then," I began, my voice soft. "We said a lot of things. Many of them were right in truth but wrong to say aloud. Rather than saying it for the better, we said it to hurt each other and succeeded."

Then I looked up to see Declan. "But we finally got the time to ourselves to properly process what happened and to realize what we said. We didn't do that before and it made us lash out like that."

I took Declan's hand again. "Thank you for apologizing. And I'm sorry for the things I said as well." I gave him a comforting smile. "I know you Declan. I know the reasoning behind your words because you worry about me as well as Delilah. But just know there are other ways to say you care about someone."

Declan's hand squeezed mine. "You're right."

I nodded to him. "Let's keep walking?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly, we were met with a cool night breeze. Declan and I looked around to see we were no longer surrounded by hedges. Instead, we had a good view of the rest of the property and saw the house was a distance away. We were on the left side of the maze and if we followed the exterior wall of hedges, we would see the front-facing part of the labyrinth that is closest to the house.

"I guess there are multiple entrances into the labyrinth," I said. "That's no fun. It makes things easier."

"I think we're better off. Their security team is probably at the closest entrance to the house."

"Which is where they would have Jordan," I concluded.

"Let's check it out before we make our next move."

"Speaking of next move," I looked down at Declan's hand holding mine. "Do you think we should stop holding hands?"

"Um, you're right," Declan said, quickly letting go.

Going around the maze, we saw moving bright lights from flashlights and spotted a team of large men all wearing black security uniforms. Before I could look to see if Jordan was there, I heard him instead.

"Oh no, you captured someone injured with a limp," Jordan spat out sarcastically. "Let's give it up for the Secret Service."

The security guards ignored Jordan's comments.

"He wants to see him," one told the others. "Deliver this one and search for anyone else."

"Like I said before, there isn't anyone else," Jordan said with an eyeroll. "I'm a big fan of Frazier Corp and wanted to sneak into the main room where the ALAN system is."

"ALAN already identified you, Jordan Wallace," a security guard said. "Maybe next time, don't break into a place when it already notified the system of your arrival the same day."

"Honest mistake on my part, I was in a time crunch. I couldn't wait to come back here after learning about the AI system. I went back here without the others."

"Take him away."

"Do I get a prize for being the fastest person caught today? Do I get a complimentary snack on the way to the dungeon or is that reserved for first-class detainees? Is this the premium escorted experience, or do I need to upgrade for that?"

"He always needs to have the last word in," I said, shaking my head.

"C'mon," Declan told me. "I think we can sneak through the greenhouse since it's attached to the main building."

Taking cover of bushes and trees, we snuck our way to the greenhouse pink panther style. When we reached the entrance of the glass greenhouse, I pulled out the lockpick kit from my sling bag. I started working out the lock as Declan kept watch.

"I don't mean to rush you-"

"Then don't," I said. "I've only done this in practice."

"Ok got it," I said as I opened the door before presenting it to him. "After you, my good sir."

Declan smiled and tipped an imaginary hat. "Why thank you, milady."

"The exterior entryway to the greenhouse was accessed through unconventional means, bypassing the standard key mechanism," a speaker next to the door said. "Please remain momentarily for our security personnel to escort you off the premises."

"Yeah, and into jail," I finished.

"Mankind is doomed with an AI uprising," Declan said with a sigh.

"The prospect of it happening leans significantly in its favor."

Declan and I shared a look at that before we ran into and through the greenhouse.

"Is a personal greenhouse of exotic plants and flowers really necessary?" I asked, ducking under long vines and avoiding low trees.

"Why can't they just put their name in some botanical garden and-" I heard a thud followed by a curse.

Looking back, I saw Declan rubbing the side of his head having hit it against a low branch of a tall, thin tree.

From crashing into the tree, small white flowers began raining down from its branches and on top of us.

Declan looked up and gave me an embarrassed smile. "Please don't tell anyone that happened."

"Tell anyone what?" I asked.

He sighed. "Thank-"

"Oh about the time you crashed into a tree?" I asked.

Declan frowned.

"A short tree," I added.

Declan's frown deepened.

"Unlike the short girl with glasses," I finished.

"With a flower in her hair," Declan said as he removed the flower from my hair and held it out in front of me.

I smiled.

Then I frowned.

And I sneezed.

"Bless you. Dammit, I forgot you're allergic to flowers," he said, then suddenly turning around, pulling his arm back, before throwing it as far away from me as possible.

It would have looked cool if it weren't for the fact it was a light flower and it floated onto the ground, a distance not worth how hard of a throw he made.

I laughed before I sneezed again.

"Salud. C'mon let's go," he said. "Before someone hears you sneezing."

We found the door that connected the greenhouse to the main house. Declan put his head against the door, listening if there was someone on the other side. He looked at the door, not seeing a keypad, then opened it and peered inside.

"Coast is clear," Declan said, then looked back at me. "All sneezed out?"

I sniffled. "I think so. We should go now. They'll have people coming to the greenhouse since ALAN told on us."

"Should we try to find Jordan first? Or Bennett?"

"Jordan would be with security and most likely they're on the first floor. We should head to the second floor where bedrooms could be."

Declan nodded. "Follow close to me. And don't close the door. They'll hear it and they know we're already here."

With that, Declan went out into the hallway and I followed after him. We stayed close to walls and peered over corners. At one point, we heard voices and went back down the hall to another way. We made a silent agreement to do just that, be quiet to not attract anyone. It was a large, empty house and you could hear a pin drop.

I have been taking mental note of the layout of the first floor from our sneaking around. It wasn't a typical layout, but then again it was a mansion. It was worse than the labyrinth. But if I cut the layout roughly into four squares, most likely the stairs to the second floor would be on the third quadrant.

Declan has been focusing on being on the lookout for anyone and making sure we are hidden. And because of our backtracking, he must have lost track of where we have been or not.

When he was about to turn right in a corner, I tugged on his jacket to stop him then put my hand on his shoulder, sliding it left.

He nodded and then we went left instead.

Before we knew it, we managed to find the stairs. We took quick but quiet steps up the stairs and onto the second floor.

Crouching behind a flower vase that was almost as tall as me, Declan motioned with his hands as if he were turning a doorknob. I nodded, understanding what he meant. We're going to have to start trying to open every door on this floor. We were lucky in the first hall as we went through it quickly. Only one door was unlocked but it was only used as storage for old furniture.

Turning the corner, it wasn't a hallway but had an open common space with some scattered furniture with the hallway continuing on. We were about to pass the room to continue through the hallway when we heard footsteps and light conversation coming from behind us.

Declan grabbed my hand and we rushed into the corner of the open room behind a large column. He kept a wary lookout as he silently watched two security guards walk down the corridor.

One of them sighed. "I can't believe we're trying to find a bunch of kids."

"Kids who managed to get this far into the house."

"The boss will have our heads if no one finds them."

Declan had his arm against the wall, over my head, ready to protect me in case they found us. We were pressed against the hall because, at a certain point as the people we heard walked down the hall, they would be able to see us if they looked back. Suddenly, some flower petals that must have been caught in the collar of his shirt fell on top of me.

I wrinkled my nose. "Declan," I whispered. "I'm going to sneeze."

He looked at me. "What? Wait, don't. Hold it. Pineapple."

I shook my head, telling him it was not going to work. I put my hands over my mouth, ready to hold back my sneeze, and it let out a squeak.

Declan snickered at that, most likely out of reflex because he realized the sound he made in turn and the situation we were in.

Declan and I slowly turned to see the two security guards standing over us.

"Gesundheit," Declan told me.

"Thank you," I responded.

-

We were dropped to the ground by the security guards. Both of us were handcuffed behind our backs. I had to roll to my side to not be flat on my stomach, groaning from being tossed to the floor.

Looking up we saw a face with light blue eyes.

And a smirk.

Sitting in a revolving chair was Bentley, Bennett's younger brother. A spitting image of Bennett but with a completely opposite personality radiating both confidence and arrogance.

"You can't imagine how much I would have paid to watch that," Bentley said with a laugh. "You probably couldn't. It would have more money than you'd ever make in 10 lifetimes."

"Great to see you too," Declan said with a cough.

Declan had tried to fight back from the guards. But one of them grabbed me and threatened him to not try anything. One punch in the stomach silenced him.

"Where's Jordan?" I demanded.

"Over here," Jordan said before taking a sip of a smoothie. He was relaxing at a table with some arranged snacks. "They had someone take care of my leg although you already did such a great job, Naomi. They have a live-in family doctor because of course they do."

Declan narrowed his eyes on Jordan. "Is that a smoothie?"

"Yeah, vanilla," Jordan said with a laugh. "I don't know why we didn't break in sooner."

"Maybe because you should never have," Bentley said, rolling his eyes. "ALAN has been on the lookout for all of you ever since you left the gate. But whether it was strategic or just dumb luck, we lost sight of you when you fell into the labyrinth."

"Maybe you don't have a labyrinth right by a wall?" Jordan offered.

"Wow, why didn't we think of that? Let's just move an entire labyrinth a few feet away from a wall."

"Or move the wall?" Declan offered.

"Both would cost equivalently a large sum of money."

"What about a camera system in the labyrinth?" I asked.

"The logistics and design would take months," Bentley said with a sigh. "And again cost."

"You can definitely afford all three options at once," I pointed out.

"True," Bentley said, thinking it over. "But I believe a pioneering AI security system and military-trained security team makes up for that."

"Although, we may have to replace our current security team given how long it took for them to catch three high school students," Bentley said, narrowing his eyes at the team leader.

"I take full responsibility for the outcome of this mission," the man said. "My team and I are prepared for any disciplinary measures."

Bentley waved it off. "You're too dramatic. Anyway, you're lucky," he said, looking at us. "We're turning these three from intruders to guests. Call me your fairy godfather."

With that, a guard uncuffed me and Declan. We stood up from the ground and Jordan came up to us.

I asked, "Why did your security team bring us to you instead-"

"Of my father?" Bentley finished. "He can't be bothered by such things. I decided to keep an eye on our security, especially since I was expecting you three. Although you came sooner than I thought."

Bentley cleared his throat. "Given you were in the labyrinth, I'm assuming you must have stumbled across... that..."

"You mean the statue?" Jordan asked.

"Yes... that statue." Bentley let out a short sigh. "An opportunistic stakeholder of my father's company wanted to get on his good side and was met with the opposite. It's not exactly a pleasant gift- a realistic statue of your dead wife. But father obviously couldn't destroy it or let it gather dust, so instead, it's lost in the middle of a labyrinth."

A silence hung in the room. Bentley raised an eyebrow, seeing that no one had any way to comment on that. I don't know what he was expecting, a snide remark or a question pressing into the matter. He tsked and looked away, pretending to have a bored look on his face.

"Forget I said anything. You're here to see Bennett right?"

"So he's actually here?" Jordan asked.

Bentley frowned. "Are you telling me you risked breaking in here without checking if he was here?"

All three of us shared a look, then we turned back to him and nodded.

It took Bentley a minute to comprehend that. He opened his mouth to say something. Then he stopped himself. He tried again then just gave up.

"As I was saying," he said. "Bennett hasn't been very talkative since moving back here. He's always sulking in his room."

"That sounds like how he always is," Jordan said with Declan and I nodding in agreement.

"Well... Yes," Bentley said with a frown. "Now that he moved back home, I was hoping to bother him. But he hasn't given me any chance to. He won't let anyone inside, he never leaves. It's been too boring here."

"You have an infinity pool," Jordan said in disbelief.

"Like I said, boring," Bentley emphasized. "But now that you're all here... Maybe something will finally happen. So I have a great idea."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "And what is that?"

A smirk slowly formed on Bentley's face.

"Dinner," he said simply, leaning back against the chair in satisfaction.

The three of us shared a look.

"Stay for dinner. It's always 8pm sharp. Enjoy a five course meal with the Frazier family."

Declan was the first to spoke, looking at Bentley with narrowed eyes. "I don't know what you're planning but that is not we are here for. All we want is to see Bennett and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Jordan said, cutting him off. "I think you're deciding things a little too quickly. Maybe we should consider the invitation."

Declan's glare turned to Jordan. "You're only in it for the fancy rich food."

"Of course, I'm only in it for the fancy rich food!" Jordan exclaimed. "We haven't had any since Chapter 65 in the last book!"

Declan looked like he wanted to strangle Jordan. But then again, that was all the time. "You can't be serious," Declan told him.

"Look, as much as I am dreading seeing, bent over with a stick up his-" Jordan stopped himself, but gave a pointed look. "I'm putting food over this. I find this to be the peak of my character arc."

"More like the downfall," Declan grumbled.

"What were you just about to call my brother?" Bentley asked in horror.

"Actually, I think Jordan has a point, Declan," I said.

"Obviously," Jordan said.

"I'm sorry Naomi, but we can't get sidetracked with this," Declan told me.

"You heard Bentley. He won't leave his room unless he has a good reason to. This could be our only chance."

"-to eat fancy food," Jordan added.

"Shut up," Declan and I told him in unison.

"Then put his room on fire so he'll get out, I don't care," Declan said. "But look at that smirk on Bentley's face-" We turned to see Bentley had dropped the said smirk, now frowning at Declan "-because he's obviously plotting something."

"I just miss my brother and hope to reunite him with his friends," Bentley said with a shrug.

"Oh save it, you said that the first time we met," I told him before turning back to Declan. "He may be plotting something, but we are too. Even if we find his room, there is no guarantee that Bennett will even talk to us. We need to force him into a corner, just like he did to us."

Declan took a deep sigh, looking first at me, then Bentley, and finally Jordan.

"This is so stupid and this is not going to end well at all," Declan said.

I saw Jordan fist-pump the air from behind Declan. With some sort of spidey sense, Declan turned to look and Jordan casually pretended to act innocent.

Bentley snapped his fingers and a butler, a real person one, appeared. "Inform the cooking staff of our new guests. Don't mention anything to father. I'll tell him in person," he said while looking down at his phone.

"I don't suppose the dinner theme is 'breaking and entering'," I asked, looking down at our all-black outfits to sneak into their house.

"Of course not, but we can fix that," Bentley said, snapping his fingers for two more butlers and a maid to appear. "Prepare outfits for our guests in time for dinner."

The staff when up to each of us, the maid coming up to me. They pulled out measuring tapes and started measuring our body's dimensions. Declan glared at one of them the butler who first attempted to then rolled his eyes and allowed him to measure him. Jordan, on the other hand, was excitedly posing as a butler measured him while saying what kind of outfit he would want.

"Isn't dinner in less than an hour?" Declan asked, raising one of his arms for the butler.

"Rich people powers," Bentley waved off. "I'm the fairy godfather, remember?"

There was a light knock in the door and a security guard opened it.

"What is it now, little brother? We can save the talk until after- Naomi?"

I turned, and a sad smile managed onto my face. "Hi Brennan."

She hesitated for a moment then came up to hug me. "Oh I missed you. I'm sorry that... I'm just sorry."

"It's alright," I told her. When she pulled put from the hug, I glanced away not being able to look at her. "Um..."

Brennan's smile vanished for a split second before she smiled again.

"I suppose they will be joining us for dinner?" She asked.

Bentley gave her a nod. "They will."

"Wonderful," Brennan said before she snapped her fingers. Glad to see it runs in the family.

"Bring Naomi's things into the spare room," Brennan informed the maid. "We'll be having a little chat."

I looked at the others. "Oh well actually-"

She grabbed my arm and I was ushered away to the adjacent room to where we were. There a maid was already waiting for us with a box I assume were my new clothes. She motioned to me to the other side of a folded partition to where I was going to change.

"You can leave now," Brennan told the maid.

With the shut of the door, the silence entered the room. Brennan and I shared a look, and seeing there was not much conversation to be made, I went to the other side of the partition.

After opening the box, I took out the dress before holding it up against my body. It was a long-sleeved, A-line lavender dress. From its design, it will hug my upper body before flowing out naturally past my waist. The outfit itself- not too casual, not too formal. I was worried I was going to wear some ballroom dress or suit for this Frazier dinner. I looked at the brand tag at the back of the dress and my eyes widened in recognition of the name.

After removing my jacket, I told Brennan, "You didn't have to bring Lynn into this."

I thought her response would be silence, but she suddenly said, "I... did."

"She misses you. She's hurt," I said quietly as I folded my clothes. "And I couldn't even tell her what happened because even I didn't know."

"I know."

I started putting on the new clothes. Just as I had measured, they fit me well, if anything, too well.

"Are you going to tell me why this is happening? What's going to happen?"

"I can't."

"Are you only going to give me two-worded responses?" I asked her.

"I-" She stopped herself.

I stepped out from behind the partition. She had her face in her hands but looked up to see me.

"Brennan, the only reason why we are here is for Bennett."

"Well, in that case-"

"-to end things," I finished.

She pursed her lips together. "I see."

"And if we have to attend this family dinner to do that, then so be it," I told her. "I don't know what you or your brother expect us to do, but don't hold those expectations so high."

She stood up and walked up to me. "Naomi, I know we dragged you all into our family matter... mess is more like it." She glanced away. "But I think... no, I know we need this."

I hesitated then gave her a hug back. She welcomed it.

There was a knock in the door. "Dinner will begin shortly, miss."

Brennan clapped her hands together. "Well then, can't keep them waiting."

Walking out of the room, I saw the guys fixing up their outfits. Declan was fixing the collar of his wine-red button down and black slacks. Jordan clipped on the belt for his gray slacks that paired with his pine green button down. As they did, their respective butlers were fixing up their hairs to be presentable.

I exhaled. "Are we-"

I was interrupted when the maid came up to start brushing my hair.

I cleared my throat. "As I was saying..."

I faltered when another maid started to define my curls with a hair curler, a long cord snaked across the room.

"You get used to it," Bentley said. "Just do the-" He motioned his hands.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

I sighed then snapped my fingers and they both stopped instantly.

I took a deep breath and exhaled once more. "Are we ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Declan said.

"As ready as my stomach," Jordan piped up.

Declan and I gave him blank stares.

"Which means I'm ready..." Jordan said sheepishly.

-

Fun fact! All members of the Frazier family periodically visit the statue to either sit and think or sometimes converse. However, none of them know anyone else has visited the statue for the same reason. Bennett's only regret moving out of the house was that he couldn't visit the statue. Totally not sad right?

I only came up with the labyrinth because of the Percy Jackson show that came out a bit ago and I was in love with the series. My first ever book was a Percy Jackson fanfiction because I had the biggest crush on Leo Valdez. But I stopped reading it because my heart couldn't handle the fact he ended up with a goddess like how could I compete? Then when I figured there should be a landmark in the labyrinth I figured it would make sense for it to be a statue. And I was like, wouldn't it be just super dark and sad if the statue was of the mom? And of course my sadistic ass put that.

Brennan was supposed to come up multiple times in this arc to talk to the three. At first she was managing moving Bennett's stuff in the apartment but I decided that he already moved. Then she was supposed to come out of the gate to talk to them, but I decided on having an AI butler and the sneak scene instead.

I was told I should bring back Behind the Scenes so here's a couple of them! Below are some fanart I have seen in the Discord! Check out my Instagram, Twitter, or Discord for more of these! I plan on putting more posts of fanart, fanfiction, and memes!

I want to give a shoutout to everyone who kept the Discord alive during my hiatus. I'm thankful you cared about my series enough to do so. I want to finish the series for all of you especially. You deserve to see how it ends. Below is the list of those who remained active. Thank you officialhersheys for compiling the list, including any contributions~

taz0827

omodrepa - ( posted gifs for every single person that joined and left the server, made the Bennett bot, made fanart)

whyareallthesewomenmarried (set up gif/notification of people leaving the server. I saw this and found it cool. But let's start adding people to the server ;))) )

andelah

hikaru8802 (fanart!)

jordansapaininthearse (headcanons and memes)

merm_aid

vampsvalntyne 

sleepy_1612

vinter0108

shayoui

saraayyadw

beelzebuzz

bakades (fanart!)

dassfr (admin)

pawuuf (admin)

officialhersheys (Admin)

hairlikeapantenemodel#9280

aamber. (memes)

jazzy6590

trisha4633

-

Fan Art: (Check Discord for more art and I should start showing memes too!)

-

Behind the Scenes:

(All characters in the chapter posing next to the statue)

Rubix: (Taking the picture) Everyone say "TGGBB"!

-

(They're about to jump over the wall. Jordan runs to Declan but at the last minute hesitates and runs into him. Both of them crashed together and were lying on the ground.)

Jordan: I'm sorry, I flinched.

Declan: You're such an idiot.

Naomi: (Shaking her head) You're both idiots.

-

(Declan and Naomi are sneaking around the house. The camera crew follows them with Rubix directing shot by shot.)

Jordan: (Singing the Pink Panther song)

Rubix: Cut! Jordan stop that. Redo this scene.

(Declan and Naomi are hiding from the security guards)

Jordan: (Grumbling) Why can't I be in that shot? They're so close to each other.

Rubix: You had your Jordomi moment earlier.

(Too early in the scene, someone sneezes)

Rubix: Cut! Naomi you sneezed too early. The flowers didn't even drop onto yet.

Naomi: But I didn't sneeze.

(Everyone turns to Jordan.)

Jordan: No one even said bless you.

(Two camera crew escort Jordan to his trailer.)

-

(On top of the ledge, the three of them have harnesses attached to prevent actual falls before being edited out. They're all currently on top of the wall on break in time for the next scene.)

Jordan: I bet we can have a lot of fun with these.

Declan: What do you mean?

Jordan: Like this.

(Jordan pushes Declan off the edge and he was left hanging off the side of the wall.)

Declan: I'm going to kill you when I get down from here.

(Jordan then picks Naomi up bridal style.)

Naomi: Jordan what are you doing?

Jordan: I always wanted to do this.

(He looks at the person in charge of the harnesses, and gives a nod. He is then lifted up from the ledge and down to the other side of the wall while carrying Naomi. He looks like an angel after having saved someone.)

Jordan: (Winks at Naomi) Pretty amazing, aren't I?

Naomi: You're such an idiot.

Declan: (Yelling from the other side of the wall) You did this for some joke?!

-

(Everyone is playing in the infinity pool. Declan is dunking Jordan into the water.)

Jordan: Uncle! Uncle!

Declan: This is payback for earlier!

(Naomi is on a sun tanning bed, chilling.)

Naomi: Did you put on sunscreen?

Bennett: Yes, but thank you for checking.

Rubix: (Chilling in the hot tub with a drink in hand) Be sure to clean up after yourselves. We rented out this mansion for one day.