Angelo could barely keep his eyes close with all the ringing. His phone had been ringing for hours and he didn't care to even bother to know who it was.

He had had a long night

One of the longest he had ever had and boy did he love it. He and Anna had gone on and on till three AM so he was sure six hours of sleep was barely enough rest. He was exhausted, they both were.

Angelo opened his eyes, he had to. Whatever it was had to be important. There was no other reason anyone would call his phone without bothering to take a break. He was still so sleepy. He sat up slowly and then reached for his phone. Anna placed a pillow over her ears to block the sound from going in, all that ringing gave her a headache. She turned to her other side.

"Hello." Angelo rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Mike?" He exhaled. Angelo frowned at the sound of Micheal's voice, but at the same time, he was worried with how frightened he was and somehow, all that sleep was gone from his eyes. He rubbed his forehead.

"Wait, wait slow down." He tried to calm him, "what do you mean they found Dad's body?"

Anna opened her eyes.

She wanted to listen, she had to listen.

"I don't - I don't understand. That's not possible, Dad's body was buried at the cemetery. We were all there, we saw it, you saw it."

Anna sat up slowly

"Uh-" Angelo turned to the small table clock just to be sure he got the time right. "Okay, I'd be right there."

He hung up quickly and jumped off the bed grabbing his shorts.

"Is everything okay?" She watched him put it on quickly.

"I'm not sure." He looked at her "Micheal just called. Something about some fishermen finding a body in the river. A body in my dad's clothes and shoes, a body that looks like It might be my Dad's ."

"What? Angelo how is that possible? Your father was buried at the morgue. We were all there."

"That's the point. This body just showed up out of nowhere and it's got the attention of the press, they think we might have buried the wrong person."

"That's not possible."

Angelo exhaled

"I know." Angelo grabbed his shirt "that's why I've got to get there."

"I'm coming with you." Anna grabbed her dress from the floor

"Hey," Angelo walked closer to her. "I don't think it's a good idea." He told her. "there are going to be a lot of people there, people like mother."

Anna inhaled

"I can handle her Angelo. I want to be there, with you." Angelo exhaled. She sounded convincing, and convinced.

"I'm coming ."

Anna wasn't listening to anything he said. Resisting her request, and fighting her against it didn't look like a fight Angelo was going to win. She didn't even let him say yes or no, she hurried into the bathroom clinging on to the sheets.

************************************************

The helicopter hovered around the scene.
Angelo could see a lot of people, a lot of reporters surrounding the area. There were a lot of forensic scientists and the police were there too. Anna stood right close to him, trying to pull her dress together on their way to the crowd since wind from the blades from the helicopter were pretty determined to rip them apart.

"Good day Mr Trusk."

Angelo nodded at the policeman guarding the river boarder. He could see Juliana and Micheal standing right behind the tapes. He could also see the covered body on the stretcher. Angelo made sure Anna was inside just as soon as he got in too

"Good morning mother." He gave Juliana a kiss on her cheek. "Micheal." They exchanged nods.

"Mother-" Anna tried to say right before Juliana looked away, pretending like she didn't see her. Anna exhaled, Juliana was the least of her problems at that moment, the smell from the rotting corpse was a majority of it. Anna covered her nose quickly and turned away before she threw up all over the place.

Angelo turned to the policeman standing there

"What's the situation here officer?" He turned to the corpse on the stretcher

"A couple of fishermen called in this morning. They had found this box," the policeman pointed at the large opened box at the bank of the river.

"And found a body in the box. A body that has been identified as your father's. From what we've observed it looks like the body has been cold for over two years."

"Two years? I'm sure this is some kind of mistake."
Angelo glared at the stretcher. "Dad was buried at the morgue six months ago."

"We have already requested for a DNA test as permitted by your mother. We can only be sure of whatever this is in three day, only then can we say for sure what we are looking at. We'd also be conducting an autopsy based on the results of the test."

Angelo paused for a while.

"Can I?" He wanted to see for himself. If what they were saying was true, if that was really his Dad, he was going to know somehow. He had to. Everyone stepped back as a man in a safety suit pulled the zipper of the bag slowly down the face of the corpse. Angelo and the rest turned in disgust. The smell coming from the corpse was really really unpleasant. He took a minute than managed to look

It was almost unrecognizable but Angelo could see it. He could almost see his father, he looked away quickly as the man zipped it back up .

"Take it away please ."
The policeman ordered the men and they wheeled the stretcher away slowly from the crime scene.

"We would also be needing your permission to dig up the other body if the results of the DNA tests come back positive. It would help us a big deal in our investigation."

"Do whatever you have to officer." He nodded

"Please excuse me."

Angelo turned to Anna, she was just as confused and dumbfounded as he was, or was she more than him? How was it possible? How was any of it possible?

************************************************
Two days later.

"The result of the DNA test."

Angelo stared at the detective sitting right across him with his hands stretching an envelope to him. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to take it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was in that report. He could feel Anna's warm hands wrap his arm gently.

He turned to Juliana, she was waiting for him to take it,  Micheal too. They all stared at him. It was almost like Angelo was responsible for all of them, of course he was. He was the older son and the supposedly head of the family. He reached for it.

"It's okay." Anna whispered to him.
She could tell how scared he was just by the way his arm shook slightly under the sleeves of his shirt. She needed him to know she was there for him even if she could feel Juliana's piercing glare on the both of them.

He took a deep breath and got out a piece of paper from within. His eyes glued to it as he opened it slowly. Anna could feel his arm get cold while he looked into it

"May I?"

The detective interrupted politely. "Just like the other tests we carried out before, this one is positive Mr Trusk, the body found in the river is your father's."

"God." Micheal exclaimed in a whisper

"H-how is this even possible?" Angelo had to ask "it doesn't make any sense. I was with dad the day he died, we buried his body. If he died two years ago then who did we bury?"

He turned to the man in a cheap suit.
"I don't remember my father having a twin."

"I asked a few men to dig up your father's grave."
Everyone turned to Juliana. She was the only one in the room that didn't seem surprised by the news, her and the detective. It was like she already knew

"What?" Angelo asked

"Mum, I thought we already agreed to wait till after the results of the DNA test."

"I couldn't wait." She added "I had my doubts and I sorted it out. There's no one in that coffin, there's no one there."

"What?"

"What do you mean there's no one there mum? We all saw him , you saw him too." Micheal turned to the family doctor who was also at the meeting,

"W-well-" the doctor started

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Angelo glared at him "is someone trying to mess with us?"

"Could this be one of Trusk's competitors? To create some diversion? A scandal?" Micheal asked

"Why would any of  them pull off something like this? It's not even funny."

"With all due respect, I don't think this is an outside job Mr Trusk."

Angelo slowly turned to the doctor

"From both the autopsy and forensic reports we've gotten so far, your father died two years ago. There's no gun shot wound , or signs of struggle. It's almost as if he died naturally, probably from a heart attack."

"Heart attack?" Micheal scoffed "Dad never had a heart attack. His sugar and blood levels were perfect as of two years ago."

"But he did have cancer." The doctor continued "at least that was what the reports on all his previous tests said."

"According to your mother, the clothes found on the body were exactly the clothes he wore for a conference at Beijing two years ago." The detective added

"I still remember those cufflinks. I got them for him the week before." Juliana started "I made him wear them, he thought it was too loud."

They turned to Juliana

"And then when he arrived two days later it wasn't on him anymore. He said he had lost it at the airport but I should have known- I just thought he hated it."

"No," Angelo added "This was definitely a murder case. I mean bodies don't magically appear, whoever killed my father, did so to get something from him. There's no other explanation to any of this, especially the part where we all ate dinner together six months ago except-"
Angelo paused. He held his breath as soon as he realized his next choice of words-

"Magic." Micheal Added

"Atians."
Everyone turned to Juliana again.

"There's only one kind of people powerful enough to try something like this." She had her eyes glued to Anna who was still trying to wrap her head around everything. Anna blinked twice, trying to understand the situation. She glared at her . She could feel her heart skip a beat.

"Atians?" Micheal scoffed "mum, how is that even possible? Atians don't have control of their powers. The NSS made sure of that."

"I'd have believed that as of last week."

Angelo turned to the doctor

"W-What do you know about this doctor? Do you think the Atians did this?"

"I-I mean-" he swallowed hard "I mean recently, we've discovered that these bracelets given to Atians don't fully control them anymore. A few of them could access their powers for a short period of time as seen in the case of your-"

He turned to Anna. He swallowed his words

"But Mr Trusk, two years is a long time to suppress the bracelet. This is only possible by an Atian that doesn't have a bracelet."

"God, hearing this makes me shiver." Micheal rubbed his arms together "this is so creepy."

"It's obvious one of them did this Angelo." Juliana continued, her eyes glaring at Anna.

"These Atians are only known for one thing, destruction. Whoever did this had to be someone close to our family, someone with an Agenda to own everything your father and I have labored hard for."

Angelo traced her gaze, it led him right to Anna.

"My husband's murderer might be sitting in this very room."

Anna frowned just as he exhaled weakly. It was ridiculous.

"Mum-"
Angelo knew exactly where she was driving at

"It's no coincidence Angelo." Juliana turned to him "Your father never liked her. When Andre brought her home two years ago and introduced her to us as his girlfriend, your father was against it."

Angelo slowly turned to Anna.
How come he never knew this part of the story

"And then weeks later he started buttering up to her. It made me so angry. At first I thought she had seduced him and she was just sleeping with him, or manipulating him. I even had to keep a close eye on them both. And then Andre died and he didn't let her go. It was like he wasn't even upset, like he didn't care. It was like I mourned my son alone. I wondered why he still let her stay with us, why he spent so much time with her up until the day he gave her the company this family worked so hard for. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it but it all makes so much sense now. My husband would have never given her Trusk industries, not the man I married ."

Micheal scoffed

"Mum, you're not really considering-"

"Think about it Angelo." Juliana could recognize the surprise look on Angelo's face. It was almost as if her words were making sense
" you know I'm right."

Anna stared at him. What was that? Did he really believe that? All that nonsense?

"It's not true Angelo. I'd never hurt your father and you know it. I don't know anything about this."

"Of course you'd deny it."

Anna turned to Juliana

"I'm not denying anything. I don't know what is going on here. I'm just as surprised as all of you, the same way I was on the day the will was read."

Anna turned to Angelo. She quickly reached for his hands,

"You have to believe me Angelo. I didn't do it."

She looked into his eyes earnestly, she needed him to say something. She needed him to believe her

"I believe her." Angelo announced before he turned back to them

"What?"

Juliana glared at him as he slowly turned back to Juliana, taking Anna's hand

"Mum, lets not be quick to throw stones or blame anyone yet. For all we know this could be the work of our competitors. They could have planned all of this and made a clone for dad all this while. Anna could be a victim just like all of us."

"Or she could be a murderer." Juliana added
"Open your eyes Angelo. Don't be blinded by her schemes and manipulations. She did this."

"And where is your proof?"

Juliana scoffed. She couldn't believe it

"If Anna said she didn't do it then she didn't do it." He turned to Anna "at least that's what I choose to believe."

"Angelo." Micheal started "mum's right. All this seem connected. It can't just be a coincidence, Anna is a big suspect"

"And so are you and everyone else in this room ."

Silence

"What are you even -"

"Come on Mike, we all know the company is all you and mother ever really cared about. I saw you both the day dad died. It was like you couldn't just wait for him to be buried so you could call his lawyer."

"No, that was different."

"Was it?" Angelo asked him "because from what I remembered, you both were happy he was dead and you couldn't wait to get your hands on all he left behind."

"You're really going to take her side?"

"I saw this coming." Juliana interrupted smirking sarcastically. "I should have made you sign those divorce papers. Just like your brother , this lady has you wrapped around her fingers. She's controlling you and you can't even see it."

"No one is controlling me mother."
Angelo said  "And I already told you, I'm not going to sign those papers because I'm not getting divorced to my wife."

Juliana scoffed

"There has got to be a reasonable explanation for all of this and I'd get to the bottom of it. I'm going to find out who Is responsible for this and I'm going to hunt them down and wish they hadn't."

"You should start with your precious wife-"

"And until I do, no one blames Anna for this. She's a part of this family too and deserves to be treated like one. Most importantly, she is my wife and this is our home. As long as you're both in it, you both are going to respect her and treat her as such. "

Juliana scoffed. She stood slowly from the chair and pushed it away from the dining table

"This is sickening." Juliana snorted "I can't stand the both of you, a stupid son and his murderous wife." She turned to Anna "I am going to get to the bottom of this and I am going to fight to get back what you have stolen from my family. And once I'm done showing everyone what kind of a person you are and what kind of beasts the rest of you are, I am going to destroy you and feed you to the sharks like you did my husband."

Angelo exhaled, rolling his eyes. He saw it coming

"Mother-"

"I'm going to make you wish you stayed back at that hole you used to live in, I'm going to bring down a storm on your world that you have never seen before, I'm going to erase you and everyone else that tries to stop me. No matter who it is."

Anna exhaled.
She was so used to Juliana's threats that adding one more to the list didn't scare her at all. She already had so much to be worried about

"I'd make you wish you stayed back at that base. Just wait and see."

Angelo rubbed his forehead. That was so tiring. Hearing those exact same words over and over again hurt his ears.

She grabbed her purse

"Come on Michael, lets go."

Michael got up too just as she turned to leave. Of course he'd follow her. He followed her everywhere.

"Angelo, I strongly suggest you let the police help you with this." The detective said "if you really want to get to the bottom of this, you cannot do this on your own. Whoever that is responsible for this would be watching."

Angelo exhaled

"Doctor Barnes!"

Juliana yelled his name from the door. The doctor got up quickly.

"I guess I have to get going now." He got up and stretched his hand for a shake. Angelo took it "if you ever need anything."

Angelo nodded

He knew he could count on his father's doctor anytime .

"Mrs Trusk ," he turned to Anna

"Thank you doctor," Anna forced a smile on her face

She felt Angelo reach for her arms while she watched the doctor walk away from the dining room. She turned to Angelo slowly

He was trying so hard to be strong, to act like his world wasn't almost falling apart. She exhaled, rubbing his arms slowly while he placed his head on her shoulders

Anna shut her eyes
She needed answers and she needed one quickly.
She knew exactly where to get some