Chapter 1: Pilot

Emily

Emily Thorne stares at the screen of Nolan Ross's laptop in disbelief, one hand over her mouth to stop the gasp she can taste on her tongue, and the other clenched up tightly into a fist on her lap. Her eyes bore into the liquid crystal display, the actions going on in it enough to make her heart stop.

Before her are three people with secrets between them. Two of them are now dead.

Standing is a much younger version of both the Grayson's and the white haired man- who, at the time, had hair the color of ash. This scene wouldn't have been all too surprising, considering that Victoria and Conrad Grayson had many secrets with Gordon Murphy, the white haired man. But they weren't discussing the frame and murder of her father, David Clarke, this time. Instead, the words filling the small office they took refuge in now were of her other parent. Emily's mother, Kara Wilkins.

"Ems," Nolan says from beside her, his only voice above a whisper. "She is still alive."

With a quick shift of her hand, she shuts the computer, blocking off what they were saying. Slowly, a sense of fatigue sets over her whole body, causing her to wonder why. This was supposed to be good news in her ears. She wasn't orphaned after all. But why did it leave her feeling so haunted?

Standing up from the couch, Emily pushes out of the room.

"Wait, where are you-"

"I need some air!" She throws over her shoulder, cutting Nolan off. Once she is through the back doors of her beach house, Emily lets the tears release from the ducts of her eyes. Sobs of joy and pain escape her, causing her legs to carry the rest of her body away as quickly as possible. Not even Nolan could see how weak she had become that past few weeks. Emily blamed it on all the change. Her break up with Daniel, Amanda's return…But still, Nolan wouldn't understand, not while she couldn't quite understand it herself.

The wind whipped back into her face as she ran down the boardwalk, her tears streaking across her cheeks and toward her ears from the force. The heels of her feet clicked against the wooden panels beneath her in a way that immediately brought her back fifteen years.

Unlike now, there was no cold that bit at her bare arms, but instead a warm breeze that brought along the salty smell of the sea. The moon was what her father used to call a toenail, and he pulled her towards the water edge while they both giggled.

"Look," He had said, his arm stretching up far above the Hamptons. "It's a shooting star."

A ten year old Emily, who carried another name at the time, looked up in time to see a ribbon of light fly across the midnight sky. She jumped up excitedly, wanting this moment to never end.

"Make a wish, Amanda!" David Clarke cried from beside her.

Following his every word, as she always did, Emily shut her eyes tightly and made a wish. "Daddy, I wished-"

"No!" He cried, cutting her off. "If you tell me, it won't come true."

And as soon as the memory came, it was gone again. Just like the shooting star. Her body was no longer moving, and sure enough she had reached the end of the board walk. Her fingers dug into the railing as she her eyes rose up, searching for any sign of the stars. But none were shining tonight. The universe was stripped raw.

Panting from the run, Emily wonders about her mother. Where she was, how she was, who she was with. If she ever thought about her daughter. Suddenly, she shakes violently from the cold and wraps her arms around her small frame.

A queasy feeling begins in the pit of her stomach. The bones of her fingers curl into the wood sharply to steady the dizziness now consuming her mind. Intakes of air became quick and fast when she feels her throat is going to close. A few seconds later, Emily claws one hand off the railing to rest over her stomach as there is a quick jerk. She hurls herself over the banister as the day's food empties into the waves beneath.

Whipping her mouth with the back of her hand, the dizziness returns. She feels the strength of her body leave and before she knows it, the wind is whipping back at her once more, whistling in her ears. Her body lands with a distinct thump onto the beams. She tries to open her eyes, but the more she pushes, the harder it is to stay conscious.

"EMILY!" The wind calls, being carried away without any reply.

Daniel

Daniel Grayson often caught himself watching her. Even when he tried to push her out of his head, his eyes always seemed to tilt in her direction. As if after more than six months of being together, they were trained to only rest on Emily Thorne. And now…they were lost. They shouldn't be on her anymore, but he couldn't look away.

It lightened the pain slightly that while patrolling her house, Jack had not been spotted. Word on the street was Amanda Clarke was back. His attention was clearly elsewhere these days. Which brought Daniel to the question that kept him tossing and turning in bed at night; Why? Why had given the ring back? What had he done to leave her fleeing to Jack?

He needed the answer like he needed air. It was not possible to go long without it. And time was running out. He would be leaving the beach house until to go into the city, where he would be staying until early June, next week, and this…guilt he felt had to end. He could not leave without knowing the truth. Daniel needed to talk to her, though he wasn't sure when.

His mother was dead, his father was out for dinner on business, and Charlotte was in rehab. God, things had gotten so bad. It took years of blood and work to reach the top, but one wrong step could send you falling back to the bottom. Emily had been the one holding on to him as the rest of his family disappeared around him. And now she had let go to catch Jack instead, leaving Daniel completely lost.

Shaking his head angrily, his fingers curled up into fists as he climbed the grand staircase. Slowly, he made his way to his mother's observation deck. Opening the door to the outside, a gust of wind spills in, bringing goose bumps to rise up on his arms. Quickly, he shuts the door behind him and walks to the edge of the deck, ignoring how low the temperature has dropped since the summer months. His hands go on the railing in front of him and his eyes automatically go to her house. The light in the living room are on and abruptly, Emily herself runs out of the back doors.

A breath gets caught in his throat. Taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart, he searches in the house for any approaching danger. Is someone chasing her? Is Gordon Murphy back? Looking back into her house, all he sees is Nolan Ross sitting on the very edge of the couch- caught between following her or not, confusion in his eyes.

Bringing his eyes back to her, Daniel watches Emily run down the boardwalk behind her house, coming to a halt at the railing. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what she was doing. Moisture seemed to spill down her cheeks, and he wondered if she was crying. He had never seen her cry before. She stood there, her head cocked up at the sky. Then, all of a sudden she flung her heads over the railing and threw up into the bay.

He tried to look away, giving her privacy, but not in time to miss Emily wipe her mouth and then fall backwards into the beams of wood beneath. It all played out in slow motion, but he still couldn't stop himself from crying out.

"EMILY!"

He watched in horror as she didn't respond in anyway. He body was still, from what he could tell, and that was enough for Daniel to sprint through the observatory decks doors, back down the stairs, and out of the mansion to Emily's rescue.