Like a Train Wreck - 34. Chapter 34: Handcuffs

Miracle stood in the parking lot of the marina and looked at Sterling, fiddling with an envelope with Jaemin's name on it.

"You're really going to do this?" Sterling asked.

"I don't have a choice." Miracle took a deep breath. "I don't know what will happen from here but Eric will keep his end of the deal." Miracle looked at Sterling and then slightly lifted his shirt to show him Hunters pistol tucked inside his jeans, near his hip bone. He lowered the shirt. "Just make sure that..when Jaemin gets out...he gets this." The letter was handed to Sterling.

Sterling took the letter. "Sometimes..I wish we could just go back."

Miracle smiled, his eyes glimmering in the sun light. "Yeah, it's funny, but that first day, I remember it the clearest. The good parts of it, anyway."

"I feel like we're all disappearing." Sterling said.

Miracle looked thoughtful. "You know what I told Cody once..." He stepped closer to Sterling. "I told him that I had this odd feeling that people wouldn't know. Like a finger print on the wall, like if I left it there, years later, it could still be there and..." Miracle stopped, closed his eyes and kept himself calm. "And no one would even know it was there, no one would even know I was there or who I was or what I did or what went on...and I told him that I was scared that I would be there and yet not be there."

Miracle paused in thought. "I would be like that finger print. Everyone else would have moved on but I would still be there but like a memory, it physically can't be seen or heard so in a way, I felt like everyone would disappear to and that I would get left behind." Miracle shook his head. "You're one of the last people that has to worry about getting left behind."

"Miracle, don't go." Sterling begged.

"I have to, I figure out my way, just make sure Jaemin gets out and that he gets my letter." Miracle stepped forward and grabbed Sterling's shirt, balling his hands into fists as he leaned up and softly kissed him. A small smile appeared and he turned around, heading for the docks.

Sterling opened his eyes after the kiss and watched Miracle longingly, just watching him as he walked off and then sighed as he looked down at the envelope.

Miracle stepped onto the dock and walked to the end, a sigh escaped as the memory of watching Kevin sail away flashed through his mind, he hadn't been to the marina since then and now it was going to be tarnished by this sick and twisted man. His eyes lowered to the water and he looked down at his reflection and tilted his head to the side. "

"Wish I had something to throw at you." Miracle mumbled just before hearing the sound of a helicopter and he looked up to find a rope ladder falling down towards the dock and here he had been expecting a boat of some kind. A sigh escaped and he began climbing the ladder.

Sterling looked up at the helicopter and watched Miracle climbing the ladder, this was a bit dramatic but what he worried about most was Miracle accidently falling or even worse, being shoved off when he reached the top. Now for just a second, Sterling wondered if he was being to paranoid.

Miracle was offered a hand and he looked up to see it was Eric's and he frowned, taking the man's hand as he climbed into the helicopter and sat in the bench across from him, a couple of men pulled the ladder back into the helicopter as it flew away.

"So what happens now?" Miracle asks.

"Well I make sure Jaemin is free for starters." Eric said.

"Well I knew that, I meant with us. Do I get carried away to some castle to become some captive lover?"

Eric laughed. "You watch to many movies."

Miracle shrugged. "Then what is your plan? Because that is the only way."

Eric rubbed his chin. "Honestly? I'm not quite sure yet." He laughed. "All I know is that it involves wanting you and I am sure I can use that in some way, I just have to figure out how."

Miracle simply shook his head and looked out of the window of the helicopter, the marina becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Cody asked, looking at everyone around Miracle's room.

Jaemin sat on the edge of Miracle's bed. "There is a party...I imagine they have set up shop on an island off the coast, probably some small no name island."

"Okay, so we crash the party." Jasmine grinned, leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed.

Jaemin's gaze jerked in her direction and he shook his head. "No." He took a deep breath. "These aren't like normal parties. They are like...parties and business deals slashed into one." Jaemin looked around. "The sex slaves are dressed up, forced to attend, the finest and richest of clients attend and they hope to score big deals at these parties. And if a girl goes alone, if she attends alone, they might take the opportunity to snatch her, same with a male, if he is youthful enough."

Jaemin shook his head. "The only safe way one could attend is if it were an adult male, someone who looked strong, could play off as being a potential client or buyer, even a trader and if he has a female companion with him, she is safe so long as she is with him." He shook his head. "Besides, they probably know what we all look like, who knows what Skylar filmed."

"So none of us can go and it's all doomed?" Robin shrugged, staring at Jaemin.

"No." Jaemin looked at Robin and grinned only for a second. "Throw away your faith completely? Or just don't have faith in me?" He shook his head. "I have a plan half way in motion but the safety of it depends on Jasmine."

"Me? What can I do? You said..."

"I said none of us can go." Jaemin looked over at Jasmine. "I have Erica going but to guarantee that she isn't snatched, if she is accompanied by your Dad, if he can play off being a potential client with her simply on his arm, between the two of them, they should be able to rescue Miracle."

Jasmine slowly nodded. "I..could ask." Jasmine pulled out her phone to text her Father.

"You shouldn't send Erica out there unless we have a male companion for her, a half way plan is a no way plan." Sterling looked up at Jaemin. "And how do we get them to the island anyway? No one has a boat."

"They take a party boat to get there." Jaemin answered Sterling. "And I would never send Erica out there alone."

"What if Eric gets pissed off and sends you back to jail?" Cody looks at Jaemin.

"He doesn't have any proof and the police won't even find Brad's parents credible anymore after they said they lied." Jaemin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "I never thought finding my family would be such a disappointment." He frowned.

Cody frowned and moved to sit next to Jaemin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have family, as far as I am concerned, we are all family."

Jaemin looked at Cody and a small smile appeared and he nodded. "Yeah, well the most important one to me needs to be saved."

"He said he will do it." Jasmine looked up.

Jaemin took a deep breath and looked over at Jasmine. "Tell him to wear his finest of clothes, there is a party boat departing tonight at eight. You can leave with Erica and swing by there to pick him up since you will have to go home anyway."

Jasmine nodded and started texting again.

Erica sat at the vanity, applying the blood red lipstick and the clear gloss after, already lining her lips perfectly with the black liner, the same used on her eyes on the bottom and the top and dragging both lines out in a curved design along with a light purple eye shadow. She licked her lips and stood up, she then walked over to her closet.

The black belt to her silk robe was pulled free as she allowed it to fall off and started to make a selection of several articles of clothing. First a halter top, the front of it made up of black leather, solid until just beneath the breast line where it split to reveal skin but was loosely held together by a row of criss crossing chains, the top ended an inch above her belly button where a diamond skull belly button ring resided.

The top wrapped down beneath her arms and half way around her mid section only to then stop where one chain stretched straight across the bottom from one side to the other and then the top of each side had a single chain that came down and criss crossed in the middle and connected with the bottom chain at the corners. In the middle of the crossed chains was a set of mini handcuffs, each cuff attached to the seperate chains but also interlinked and connected to each other and on the front at the top, two chains stretched out and wrapped around the back of her neck to complete the halter top.

On her lower half was a matching black leather mini skirt that hugged her thighs, a chain wrapped around her waist and through the belt loops, connected by a pad lock at the front and in the middle with white rhinestones all around the lininings of it. On her feet were a pair of black leather high heeled stilettos.

Erica reached up and pulled the claw clip out of her hair and allowed waves of blonde curles to fall down along her shoulders. A prideful grin appeared as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Craig...I'm so not Martha." She laughed and tossed the claw clip aside and made her way out of the bed room and down the hall.

Erica reached Miracle's room and the door flew open with a swift and light kick and it lightly pounded against the wall behind the door. She grinned and pressed a hand against the door frame in a slight lean. "So..." She popped a piece of pink bubble gum into her mouth. "Is Miguel coming?" She grinned.

Jasmine's eyes widened. "Miracle! Your Mom is kick ass!"

"So kick ass that you forgot he's not here?" Cody raised his eyebrows at Jasmine.

Jasmine looked down. "Oh...right. Well we got to go." Jasmine got up and looked at Robin. "You and me...she is giving us make overs. Not that I really need it...but you need some help, girl."

Robin stared at Jasmine and then looked at Erica and raised her eyebrows. "I don't need that much help..."

Erica looked at Robin, chewing the gum and grinned before shaking her head. "It's okay, it was during my days as an exotic dancer, back when I was with a dumbass stupid bastard." She frowned at the thought and then she walked to Miracle's closet mirror and looked at herself, twisting in various angles. "Still...looks very kick ass now that I think about it."

"That's what I'm saying! Every guy in this room should turn straight for that!" Jasmine grinned and started to head out of the room.

"Wow...hotness in the room." Hunter looked in from the hallway.

Jaemin looked around. "Miguel better go, that will get her snatched in a heart beat." His eyes then shifted out the door. "And I know Miracle well enough to know that he would probably find it weird that you say that about his Mom, blood or not, he still feels like you're his brother."

"Oh my god! I'm young but I'm not that young!" Erica laughed and walked out into the hall. "Besides...I'm with your fake Dad...creepy!" She ruffled Hunters hair and waved to everyone as she followed Jasmine out.

"She could get away!" Jasmine popped her head back into the room. "She has handcuffs on her!" She laughed and then turned around and ran off to catch up with Erica.

Jaemin shook his head. "Toy handcuffs..."

Cody looked up. "You think? What if they are real? I mean just because they are a little smaller...might be for weight purposes."

"The smaller and the lighter means the weaker." Jaemin grinned at Cody and shook his head. "It amuses me how she amuses you and I am sure that amuses her too."

"So this is it." Eric opened the door to a large room, luxurious at the very least with a large california king water bed with a canopy and a black see through curtain draped down around it with black satin sheets, a large seventy inch flat screen television mounted on the wall across from the bed and white marble flooring, spacious room to walk in and a large sitting area with a ceiling to floor window that over looked the ocean next to a set of french doors that lead out to a balcony where a hot tub resided, from the view it's self, it seemed as if the place and especially the balcony was floating on the water, that was how the place was built, that part of it anyway.

The included bathroom was nothing short of being just as luxurious as the room it's self with a jetted garden bath tub on an elevated pedestal and black marble flooring with splashes of white, the tub and the double sinks made of gold, the counter made of black granite. The shower was huge and made of black shower marble with splashes of white and a rain shower head, there were also what appeared to be more jets at the ceiling of the shower with the glass door and seating all around as it doubled for a steam room. And a walk in closet? That wasn't a question.

Miracle walked in, taking a look at everything, each and every detail and then nodded. "Queens chambers huh?" A forced smile was put on, one that was obviously forced and he turned towards Eric. "I can only imagine what your room is like."

"Be good and soon you won't have to imagine." Eric grinned and walked over to the table by the window and grabbed the bottle of champagne from the bucket of ice. "Here or would you like to go outside?"

Miracle watched Eric and he had to admit, all of this was a bit tempting, it was like royalty. "Outside...the floating on water effect intrigues me." Miracle walked over to the french doors and opened them, stepping down onto the cement balcony that had a long walk way of water and a water fall that came from above. Miracle looked up to see that a huge dolphin's head was built into the side of the building, just below the roof and from it's mouth the water fell into the man made stream and seemingly disappeared into the end of the balcony to which he assumed the water cycled back through the ocean.

"Like that? Eric grinned and wrapped an arm around Miracle and lead him to a table that was set up beside the flowing river, near the water fall since the balcony wasn't to big, just enough for the water fall and the small stream that ended up sending the water through the three and a half foot high pillars that surrounded the end of it to make up a protective barrier, a table and a few potted palm trees and a bridge over the stream that lead to the other side where one could lay out and tan or do any other such activities they may want.

"This is impressive." Miracle sat down and grinned. "Might not want to come to your room." Miracle looked over at Eric and grinned. "What would you think about that? I might just...." He looked around, still being able to see the skyline of New York from where they were. "Well I might just let you lap me in luxury and give nothing in return, leaving you forever hopeless yet leaving you that small penny of hope, just enough of a taste to keep it going."

Eric grinned and popped the top off the bottle of champagne and filled each glass before settling Miracle's glass on the table before him and sitting the bottle aside. "What makes you think I would let that happen? What makes you think that your worth to me wouldn't lessen over time?"

"Because that's not how it works." Miracle grinned. "You're as backwards as..." He shook his head. "Things that are new have value...but the older they get, the greater the value." He paused thoughtfully. "Of course...that's merchandise." Miracle took the glass and sipped it, licking his lips at the new taste. "People are different though, each and every one is one of a kind." His eyes shifted up to Eric. "Not to you though, you don't see individual faces, not in the work you do. You just throw people in boxes and mail them around the world, shuffling them about like...things."

Eric's eyebrows lifted. "Point...but still, with age, their value lessens."

Miracle grinned. "And so does yours." Miracle leaned forward. "No one...likes an old man."

Eric grinned at Miracle and shook his head. "I'm not there yet."

Miracle looked down at Eric's lips and then eased back. "You will be though and all your worth will be based on your money, old money, old business, old possessions, they will have become greater value than you. Why? Because that is how it works..unless you have people that actually give a fuck about you." He took another sip of the champagne. "It's actually what I think of myself, you might just end up like a finger print left behind, unseen, unknown, unremembered, uncared."

Eric stared at Miracle thoughtfully. "You see? We do have something in common then. Point proven." He grinned.

Miracle shook his head. "Except that I do have people that care...it's just sometimes I have trouble understanding why. Sometimes I think they care to much. Sometimes I question why when I shouldn't because some care so much that they make allowances for me that normalcy says is completely and utterly against everything that is normalcy."

"Like what?" Eric took a sip of his drink.

"Like Jaemin." Miracle stared down into his drink. "I had affairs on him, he didn't care, he loved me anyway, said he would never give up on me, his love is endless, all self sacrificing. What did I do to deserve that? I could sleep with you and he would forgive me." He looked up. "It's why I won't because as I told him, it's wronger than wrong."

Eric grinned thoughtfully. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Jaemin is as love starved as you are? That maybe that is why his devotion to you is so great? That you are both sick yet your sicknesses work differently, maybe he sticks to you because at the end of the day he knows that you're so desperate that you will always come back to him?" Eric paused and shook his glass around. "In fact...it could be a huge ego trip for him. Sure you fuck around but it is always him that you return to at the end of the day."

Miracle's eyes narrowed. "You don't know me...so don't act like you know how I work or that I am desperate."

"Oh but I do." Eric stated. "You do know that...you were illegally adopted out, right?" Eric looked up at Miracle. "Anyone in the real legal system wouldn't of dared to consider David as an option. Do you really think it was just a legal error in judgment that put you there?"

Miracle looked up at Eric. "What are you saying? That I was a part of...this? Your crime?" Miracle paused and sat his glass down and shook his head. "That's a fucking lie. My Mom never got a file blackmailed on her."

"That's because you were not a kidnapped child." Eric looked up at Miracle and reached out, nudging his head up by the chin. "You were given up willingly and, trust me, efforts were going to be made to ensure it didn't backfire. Thing is, your Mother disappeared when we came back to pay her the same nice little visit Paula had been given."

Miracle stared at Eric. "So the photos...the videos...they were being sold?"

Eric nodded. "My Dad was running the show prime time back then. David couldn't afford to buy you, he made a down payment and then cashed in on the merchandise to pay you off for his...own personal pleasure." Eric paused and pulled his hand away. "He never hid a thing when he was in the videos with you...I saw how he warped your brain. It's why when I found out who you were, I was interested. I had to see how you turned out but then Paula messed that all up and I had no idea you would take off to America right after." Eric laughed. "But funny we both end up here and...you end up being the adoptive son of Craig...the guy who stole Jaemin from me."

"So when he was arrested, that was when I was put in the legal system?" Miracle shifted his head away from Eric's hand.

"Yeah, only to end up with Martha...who worked for us, betrayed us and snatched Hunter and ended up with Craig, two theives...two of our children...what a bunch." Eric shook his head.

Miracle frowned at the thought. "Do you have anything to do with my Dad? Do you know where he is?"

Eric stared at Miracle and slowly took in a deep breath. "Do you really want to know that?" He paused momentarily. "You know you had an older sister, right?" Eric finished his glass of champagne. "I think you have had enough free revelations for the night. There is a party at eight, you are my guest, I expect you down there." He stood up and made his way out.

Miracle sat there, not even caring that Eric was walking off or even thinking about this party that he mentioned but rather the puzzle that Eric had left behind for him.

Erica pulls up to Brian's house and throws the car into park and presses her palm down on the horn to sound it off. "Hope he's ready." She looks over at Jasmine.

"Oh...he's ready." Jasmine said.

Erica turned around to see Miguel heading outside.

Miguel walked out the door, a pair of black leather fingerless gloves being worn with silver rings on each finger, a tight black muscle tank top on his upper frame and a black leather jacket worn over that, left undone and a pair of loose fitting black jeans with purposeful rips and shreds here and there for design and a pair of black military styled boots, black hair spiked up and a gold chain necklace worn around his neck.

Erica grinned. "Thank god he didn't take Jaemin's advice. A suit guy so would not match me." She laughed and opened the door and stepped out, along with Jasmine.

"Daddy!" Jasmine walked around to the front of the car, her eyes widened.

"I dressed for the part." Miguel said.

"More like Brian dressed you." Jasmine laughed.

"At least he matches." Erica grinned and walked over to Miguel and dangled the keys at him. "The man drives."

Miguel gave Erica a once over. "Are you single? Because if so, this job could begin a beautiful relationship."

"Cheesy!" Jasmine cringed. "You got to act better than that, Daddy!"

Erica laughed. "No...I replaced that bitch, Martha."

Miguel laughed and took the keys. "Oh, I see. You will have to tell me more about that."

"Oh I would love to, bitch was crazy." Erica spun around. "Bye, missy Jasmine." She grinned and walked to the passenger side and climbed in, pulling her seatbelt on.

Miguel grinned at Jasmine and swung the key ring around his middle finger to which he stuck up at her as he walked towards the car.

"Jack ass..." Jasmine stared at him and started laughing uncontrollably as she walked towards the house and nearly fell down but Brian came out and caught her.

Miguel got into the driver seat and pulled his seat belt on and started the car.

"Hmm...starting to think you should of went with denim." Erica looked at him. "Denim and leather...I think make a nice pair." She grinned and shook her head. "Now shut up and drive."

Miguel grinned and pulled out of the drive way and headed down the road. "So tell me the stories."

"Well for one, she had this fucking doggy gate." Erica looked around. "And...oh my god. I still don't even know why there is a doggy gate. There isn't even a dog!"

Miguel grinned. "Well what did she do with the doggy gate?"

"Well okay so we were getting drunk...and there were beer cans and bottles and crap everywhere. The kitchen was a fucking masterpiece of a master mess and poor Hunter was sitting at the dining room table looking so prim and proper doing his studies. I was in my fucking nightie, probably looked like a trailer trash hoe..."

Miguel already started laughing. "I'm sorry...keep going."

"Okay and well...Martha looked like Martha. You wouldn't even know she was drunk aside from her neurosis and her bad cooking. She was trying desperately to make a perfect dinner and I made a bowl of spaghetti and I was trying to take it into the living room and she was like...oh no, we eat in the kitchen. She had the doggy gate up trying to stop me." Erica squinted her eyes, trying to remember. "I went to climb over the damn thing and we started bitching and she grabbed the bowl of spaghetti and I think she threw it or something. I remember asking her why she did that because it was good."

Miguel started laughing like crazy by this point, his eyes were even watering as he tried to picture it all in his head.

"Yeah well then we got taught our lessons like bad little girls in sunday school because someone decided to do a drive by like we weren't in suburbia and Hunter tackled us down and saved our lives..." Erica shook her head and pulled her phone from her purse and started texting Craig. "I'm going to ask him why there is a damn doggy gate."

Miguel grinned, his cheeks were even starting to hurt. "What other stories do ya got?" He asked as he continued driving.

"Well for another, like a teenager I totally broke her no smoking policy, I opened the window." Erica rolled her eyes. "Then the second Craig booted her ass out, I chilled out in her bed room, watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre and had a cigarette." She looked up after she was done texting. "Or wait...no..." She grinned. "That was while her and Craig were still fighting, they were in the living room after Craig packed her stuff for her and walked into the living room and just threw it in a pile for her."

Miguel's smile slowly relaxed and he took a deep breath.

"So what happened to your wife?" Erica asked.

"What happened to your husband?" Miguel asked.

Erica looked out of the window. "Don't have the luxury of knowing, he slips out while I'm gone, leaves a video. Yo I'm gone to the military, be back in three months." Erica pulls out a cigarette and lights it up and takes a drag. "Never comes back. Don't know if he's dead or what...military never bothered to tell me anything." Erica looked down. "It was really perfect though...for the longest time."

Miguel frowned. "I'm sorry...sounds like he really burned you."

"Woman scorned, should get it tattooed." Erica laughed sarcastically. "So, you?"

"Jasmine's Mother, my wife...she went back to Mexico when Jasmine was real young. She just...missed her native country. I refused to go with her. I wanted the best life for our daughter and not even love could overcome what I wanted for Jasmine." Miguel explained.

Erica nodded. "That's really...noble of you, wow...kind of my story told backwards. You leave the wife for the kid...and I leave the kid...not for the husband but because I couldn't have the husband." Erica flicked her cigarette ashes out of the window. "That makes me sound like a bitch, I know but...I was young and stupid. I would take it back if I could."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Miguel looked at Erica briefly before pulling into a parking space at the marina and then he looked out at the party boat. "You can't dwell on the alternate realities, all you can do is make the best of what is."

"Yeah..." Erica looked over at Miguel and grinned. "Lets go play superman and wonder woman." She laughed and pushed the door open, releasing her seat belt and then she got out of the car and shut the door, stilettos clicking along the pavement as she moved around to the drivers side.

Miguel grinned and pressed the button to release his seat belt and pulled the keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the car, shutting the door and then he locked it, shoving the keys into his pocket before wrapping an arm around Erica's waist, tugging her closer as they headed towards the party boat.

Robin looked up from her laptop when she heard a noise from upstairs, it sounded like someone was walking around inside the church. She shut her laptop and sat it on the bed to the side. She looked over at Cody asleep on the bed across from hers, having been staying with him since his Mom went missing. A deep breath was taken and she stood up and walked out of the bed room and into the hall way.

Robin moved up the stairs and close to the door, leaning her head against it to try to see if she could hear anything. That was when she heard a light tapping sound. She made a face and eased back before reaching down to grasp the door knob and she pulled the door open and slowly headed out. "The church is closed!" She called out. "Cody...forget to lock the doors..." She mumbled.

"He always forgets to lock the doors." Kylers voice echoed over the speakers but it was a soft echo, much less dramatic than when Skylar had done it.

Robin closed her eyes. "Oh no." She froze where she was and then took a deep breath before pressing further and she walked out before the stage, to the opening of the aisle. "Kyler, I'm not in the mood to mess around!"

"Neither am I." Kyler said.

Robin spun around to find Kyler behind her, weilding a baseball bat. "Kyler...you're crazy." She started taking steps backwards. "I'll scream...Cody will hear me, he'll call the police."

Kyler grinned, swinging the bat around as he walked forward and lightly slapped the end of the bat against his other hand. "If you were going to do that, you would of done it." He looked up at her. "You know what I think?"

Robin continued to step back until she accidently bumped into the corner of a pew and reached back to grab the top corner of it and kept stumbling back. "What?"

"I think you want the attention. I mean...you have no idea why you were impregnated and if that is even what Skylar intended to happen and even when everyone found out...no one really made a big deal about it...except maybe your parents." He then quickly stepped forward.

Robin gasped and stumbled further back. "Stop it."

Kyler laughed. "Yeah...they bitched at you for an hour and now you're just Cody's watch dog because for whatever other seemingly meaningless reason, his Mom is missing. Do you know what I think, Robin? I think you want something to happen to you. And I think you want it to be meaningful and I think you want it to gain you attention. I mean Sarah got attention, Melanie did...so did Jasmine...even Skylar, the supposed bad guy. Every girl but you..."

"That sounds even more crazy. Kyler I would not wish anything bad on myself for attention. Jasmine is the one that's crazy enough to do that, shes the one that threw a fire extinguisher through a class room and assaulted a teacher with it. Hell maybe even Melanie liked attention but she wasn't insane about it, but me? No, I don't care that much about attention. In fact...I think you just want attention. No one even noticed or cared for the longest time when you disappeared."

Kyler nodded. "Possibly...but Sarah finally noticed, I really appreciate that. Very good girl, she was." His grin returned. "Well, Robin, like it or not...you are going to be the star tonight..." And then Kyler swung the bat.

Cody woke up to the sound of a half scream and looked around. "Robin?" He looked over at the other bed and then jumped out of his own and headed out into the hall way. "Robin?!" He called out and ran through the apartment, looking through every room before finally heading upstairs and into the church. "Robin?!" It was empty but what he did notice was a bat laying on the floor and blood staining the end of it.

Miracle stood in the bed room, holding the pistol in his hands and then he took a deep breath, wondering why he even brought it. What would he do if he just fired it off in the middle of a party? Or even anywhere in the house? His eyes then widened at the thought of cameras being around and then he quickly tucked it back into the waist band of his jeans, pulling his shirt down over it.

A deep breath was taken and he walked towards the french doors, seeing what appeared to be a party boat crossing the water from the city, he wondered if anyone was on it to save him. His eyes closed and his forehead pressed against the glass. "What is wrong with me? Why am I even questioning if I want to be saved?"

"Because you wonder if this will be a better life for you."

Miracle's eyes opened, he recognized that voice and yet it made no sense in any form of reality. He turned around to find the door open and Miss Carter standing there. "You...What are you doing here? How are you here? Why...what?"

"I bet I'm the last person that you expected to see." She walked further inside. "You never actually knew how long I had been at that school." She paused. "Two years..." She walked further inside and clasped her hands together.

"Two years?" Miracle stared at her. "That..." His eyes widened. "That coincides with the time Jaemin was saved."

Miss Carter nodded. "Several of the slave girls, the older ones were offered deals to avoid being thrown into the streets penniless. We were offered jobs in schools all across the north east from Maine to Ohio. Eric and his Father hoped that Jaemin would be enrolled somewhere and that he could be retrieved or if not that then he could capture Craig's son, at the time it was thought that he only had one."

"So...when it came out that I was raped...and Craig came for me, that was how I was found, that was how Eric figured out that I was the second son. You gave me away." Miracle stared at her.

"He not only figured that out but he figured out that you were the child lost, sold to David, debt not paid and lost to the legal agency." Miss Carter explained.

"Wait...so you knew all that and you put me through hell about my past?" Miracle's hands balled up into fists.

"I asked you about your parents. I knew none of that." She responded.

"What about my Dad? Eric didn't deny not knowing what happened to him. Do you know that? He said something about an older sister which I know...but what does that have to do with anything?" Miracle questioned.

Miss Carter placed a hand on Miracle's shoulder. "It was Skylar...she was your older sister. I'm her Mother..."

Miracle's eyes widened. "You...you were my Dad's girlfriend, the one Mom stole him from."

Miss Carter sarcastically grinned and shook her head, pulling her hand away. "She didn't steal anything, I walked out and I held my head up high as I did so."

Miracle looked down. "Wait...how does this work? Jaemin was a slave...I was sold like one...and now you're telling me you were one too? And Skylar was taken as Eric's pretend daughter? That's to many coincidences."

Miss Carter shook her head. "No...I wasn't a slave, I was an exception, the way I explained that was..well a little inaccurate." She turned around. "Eric came back to the house, by that point you were all gone. Your Father, you and your Mother. I had went back because after being angry for so long I wanted your Father to be a part of Skylar's life. Plus...I needed the financial help. I met Eric and we agreed that he would raise Skylar as his own and that he would take me in and he did, but I was made part of the business. He told Skylar that her Mother was a one night whore and that she was gone." She looked down and covered her mouth with her hand. "I was afraid to say otherwise because...I didn't want something bad to happen, anything...so I just let it be. I didn't know you were Erica's son, you were born after I was already gone."

"So my Dad didn't leave to go be with you again." Miracle slid down to sit on the floor. "Then what happened to him? You don't just join the military for a three month stint and then poof, gone, forgotten, off the radar!"

"Maybe Erica didn't dig." Miss Carter turned around to look at Miracle. "My name is Rachel by the way." She sighed. "And...maybe you should dig."

Erica walked into the large main room of the party boat that was crowded, mostly by wealthy looking men with few women, most looking like trophy wives. "I think we dressed wrong." Erica laughed.

"We look more like ravers..." Miguel grinned, following hand in hand with her.

"So we'll be bottom feeders, you're my manipulative greedy controlling boyfriend and I'm the gold digging wicked witch of the north east." Erica laughed. "Or I should say west...since that is technically where I am from."

"Yeah but is your status still visiting?" Miguel asked.

Erica shrugged. "Well I'm dating Craig." She walked over towards the bar and grinned at the bar tender, slipping him a twenty. "Start a tab and get me a margarita...extra salt, I hate sour." She smiled. "Oh and whatever he wants."

"I'll just have the same, though low on the salt, high on the sour." Miguel grinned at Erica.

"This is so not supposed to be fun." She grinned and laughed as she turned around and looked at the people. "I want to gamble but I so don't know how. You'd think a girl from Vegas would know."

"You don't?" Miguel looked over at her. "Well don't feel lonely, I'm just one of those job guys."

Erica laughed and then took her drink when it arrived and took a sip, making a face. "Well I know that one game, I see it in the movies and you roll the dice and you either win or you lose but I don't know what it means so I might cheer when I lose."

Miguel grinned. "So do it...pretend you're already smashing drunk. You can be the comedy!"

"Why don't you do it?" Erica looked at him. "I know snake eyes is a lose, I know that much about it." She made a face. "Maybe that's how it works, the higher the number, the more money you get." She shook her head. "Lets do slot machines..." She looked at Miguel. "Pulling on...hard things, I know how to do." She grinned suggestively at him and then laughed as she moved away from the bar and headed over to one of the slot machines.

Miguel joined her soon after with his drink and a small white cup of coins. "Okay, here you go, we're not going to be addicts."

"Why not? Addiction is fun." Erica grinned and grabbed a coin and stuck it in the machine before grabbing the lever and then she started stroking it. "Pray with me!" She grinned. "I wish for luck on good...nice...hard....things!" Then she yanked down the lever.

Miguel listened to her and then looked at her hand and laughed, taking a sip of his drink and then watched the machine spin after she pulled the lever. "Oops...no luck that time. Guess you're going to have to jack it to get the box to pop."

"Ha....funny." Erica stuck another coin in and stroked the lever. "I'll get the volcano to explode." She then yanked on the lever again.

Miguel laughed and shook his head. "You need more drink." He grabbed Erica's margarita and lifted it up towards her.

Erica took her drink and started sipping on it and then nearly choked as the machine started spitting out coins everywhere. "Oh my god! Get it! Get it!" People started staring at them as she sat her drink down and crouched down on the floor to try and catch the coins. She didn't care, she laughed with Miguel, the whole thing was fun.

From the distance and through the crowd, Jordan stood there, observing Erica and the unknown man, his cell phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, I just think you should know that the Mother is on the party boat." He paused. "The bio Mother."