After a few more days of rest, I was able to get out of the house. It was a Monday, my return to work being the first thing I did.
Lance and Hilton asked how I was, but I still hasn't forgiven them after they had arrested Oliver without consulting me first with hardly any evidence. What they had done was wrong and gave both Oliver and his family bad publicity they didn't need. And I wanted no part in Lance and Hilton's team if this was what they did.
Every time the two heard the slightest thing about the Hood, they would do everything in their power to catch him out. They never succeeded though, their arrogance clouding their judgement. I almost felt like I wanted to leave the SCPD, their stupidity getting on my nerves. I understood the vigilante's motives, his cause; a mere few years before the Hood, I was roaming the streets with Ted Grant and my two friends Isaac and Elliot, fighting for justice and solving the city's problems.
What I didn't understand was why Hilton and Lance were so hung up on finding the vigilante. It wasn't like he was an antihero; he was helping the people of the city and his acts of justice benefitted Starling, regardless of whether he was using right or wrong measures to do so. And I wasn't going to let two stubborn police officers bring him down.
But how was I supposed to do that exactly?
---
'Your dad is so focused on finding that vigilante,' I laughed. 'He's always telling us all to 'catch that son of a bitch'.'
I imitated Lance perfectly, making my audience laugh in sync.
'Wow,' Laurel commented almost in a comedic gasp.
'Does he still think I'm 'that vigilante'?' Oliver joined in with a smirk.
'I hope not,' I chuckled. 'But you never know - he really does not like you.'
'Well I for one never thought you were that guy,' Tommy commented, pretending to be sincere. 'You are Oliver Queen, after all.'
'I'll just go and get us some drinks,' I announced, standing from my seat.
Oliver followed me, taking our used glasses into the kitchen.
'Ollie,' I smiled. 'You don't need to help me, I'm fine getting everything on my own.'
'But this is my house,' he pointed out.
'And I also live here,' I told him. 'Still. I probably should get an apartment of my own again.'
'Detective Lance told me that your old apartment's ready for you to move back into,' Oliver remembered timely.
'I'm not sure if I could go back to that place,' I shook my head with a shiver. 'Too much happened there. The breakup. The arrest. Marcus'-'
Seeing that I was becoming distressed, Oliver placed his hand on my arm to steady me, reassuring me with his presence. It was as though I was looking at a completely different person than the rich kid from Starling, my feelings turning on their head.
My pulse accelerated faster my the second, each breath becoming heavier and my cheeks feeling hotter. Oliver was my friend and nothing else, yet it didn't feel like that in that moment. And then I glanced at his shirt pocket.
A small, rectangular card was tucked inside, the bright lights of the kitchen giving me the aid of sight. I could just make out the word 'Laneace' under the fabric, making me jump suddenly.
'Aria?' Oliver asked me in concern at my quick mood change. 'Are you okay?'
'What- what do you have in your pocket?' I asked him quickly, not bothered about how crazy I probably sounded.
'A business card,' Oliver said plainly, slightly confused with my behaviour.
As he took the card out into the open, I spied the name elegantly plastered across it.
Molly Laneace was back.
'Where did you get it from?' I asked in deep curiosity.
'I found it in the lounge,' Oliver told me. 'Is something wrong? You're acting... Weird.'
'I'm quite alright,' I dismissed quickly.
Taking the card from the spot on the worktop where Oliver had placed, I read it in a greater depth in order to try to find out just who, or what, Molly Laneace was. The only information provided was a telephone number, which I noted down in record speed as Oliver poured the drinks.
'Does your... Mum know anything about this Laneace?' I asked, trying to sound as inconspicuous as possible.
'My mom did have some woman round earlier whilst you were at work,' Oliver remembered, nodding his head slightly. 'I'm sure she'll be happy to answer any questions you have. But, why are you so hung up about this... Molly?'
'It's to do with a- a case I'm working on,' I fibbed innocently. 'Nothing you need to worry about, Ollie.'
'Okay,' he said, nonplussed, before taking the drinks into the lounge.
---
'Moira,' I smiled as I passed her on the corridor later that evening. 'How are you?'
'I'm fine, Aria, thanks for asking,' she answered quickly. 'How are you?'
'I'm good, thanks,' I said, using the awkward small talk to try not to break the silence. 'Anyway, so I was wondering, I saw these cards on the coffee table in the lounge and I wanted to ask you if you had misplaced them there; after all, I never see business cards just lying around in this house.'
'Ah, she must have forgotten to take them with her,' Moira assumed.
'Just, out of... Curiosity... Who is this... Molly Laneace?' I prolonged our conversation. 'I feel like I've heard her name somewhere.'
'No one you should be worried about, dear,' Moira smiled reassuringly.
'Please,' I persisted. 'It's for a recent case at the SCPD.'
'I guess it won't hurt to tell you,' Moira shrugged heavily. 'She's a... Private Investigator. That's all.'
'Is everything okay?' I asked, suddenly concerned about the Queens.
'We're fine,' Moira reassured me. 'There's nothing to worry about, dear.'
But I knew there was.
'Alright,' she backtracked, guessing I wasn't going to leave the subject alone until I knew the truth. 'It was about that... Vigilance. I didn't want to tell you because I thought it had all died down between you and the officers at the SCPD, but now it seems that not only the police are interested in that hooded hero of ours.'
'But why did she come here to ask you?' I persevered. 'And, if you don't mind me asking, why you, Moira?'
'I'm not completely sure,' Moira told me wholeheartedly. 'Somehow she thought I was involved. But I had nothing to say to her about the subject.'
If Moira did have nothing to say about the matter, then why would Laneace ask her about it? I was missing large chunks of this puzzle, and all this information left me with was confusion.
But what I didn't realise was that I was closer than ever to finding out Molly Laneace and the Vigilante's true identities.
---
'Hey,' I heard a voice, silencing my thoughts as I tapped my pen on my desk at the SCPD.
'Tommy?' I asked in surprise as I spun round to find him. 'How can I help?'
'We still need that dinner with my father,' he proposed, rolling his eyes. 'Tonight. 7:30. Don't be late.'
'You seem happy,' I raised an eyebrow. 'What's gotten into you?'
'I might be getting somewhere with Laurel, finally,' he grinned in elation. 'I'm hosting a CNRI event for her.'
'That's... Great,' I smiled hastily.
For some strange reason, I felt a envious sensation; a longing for Tommy to talk about me like he did about Laurel. But we would never be like we were again, our bond too weak for such relations. And now Tommy and Laurel had each other, their bridges not broken and hearts as one.
And I had no one.
'Are you okay?' Tommy asked me politely, noticing my slight upset.
'I'm fine,' I shook my head to temporarily forget about my feelings.
'Anyway,' Tommy moved on, the uneasy tension between us growing by the second. 'My dad still wants us to go to that fancy restaurant with him to 'strengthen our ties' or some other dramatic crap. And, like I said, tonight.'
'I thought your father would know I have a busy schedule,' I joked to lighten the mood, causing Tommy's mouth to break into a chuckle. 'I'll be there. And I think I'll walk this time, just to be on the safe side.'
'See you then.'
The meal was, well, awkward, to say the least.
Malcolm was trying his best to be polite and relatable, but it just didn't work. Maybe it was that, becuase our previous experiences, I had wanted to stay away from him as much as possible, but it was also obvious that we had lost the few bonds we used to have. And I was more reserved with Tommy after him telling me all about his and Laurel's relationship.
Part of me still longed for a relationship that could never be rekindled, and I was trying so hard to destroy it.
And if I still loved Tommy, then what of Oliver?
'Aria Coleman?' Another voice withdrew me from my thoughts, this time from a woman.
'Hello?' I inquisitively replied, wondering who the shaking young girl before me was.
Her eyes had a scared shine to them, as though she was petrified of something or someone. I wanted the help her, I really did, but I didn't know what to say. Maybe I could've changed her fate of I had been insightful enough.
'Miss Laneace sends her respects,' she trembled. 'She says she knows who you really are. And she's watching you.'
The girl fell to the floor, a knife dug deep in her back. Screams erupted from around me, my forensics team calling officers for help.
Molly Laneace was ruthless. And she knew something about me. Was it my past that she knew, or something I had yet to find out? Was she just a cruel human being, or a time traveller like The Reverse Flash? I needed to find this woman and stop her before she took any other lives in my name.
But, unbeknown to me, I was going to have to wait a little bit longer until I could do that. And that there would be many complications along the way.