"I thought you said I would have F.P boy by now."

Tall Boy was getting sick and tired of being blamed for this shit, "Once again Jughead isn't going to use as his lawyer when he already has the rich bitch one Blossom gave him."

It wasn't even a fight; the Blossom lawyer had fancy suits and ties, and the bitch actually poked some holes in the prosecution case, so why the hell would Jones fire her for Penny Mother-fucking Peabody?

He won't. Especially not when the trial was set to start in the New Year. "Anyway if F.P found out I brought his boy to see you, he's going to-"

"You should worry less about what F.P might do to you than what I will do to you if you don't sort out this mess." She threatened, getting out of her chair and backing Tall Boy into the file cabinet. "I know where all your bodies I buried, so I'll give you a week. One week before I grab my shovel and start digging."

"Pen-"

"Shh, shh, shh" she soothed until Tall Boy stopped talking. "You have a week, so use it. You are meant to be the new king, right? Then get those little Serpents Jones likes hanging out with and let them bring him here. Bring him into the fold, it can't be nice for him to be on the outside looking in, make him a God damn Serpent already then order him here. Or better yet, kidnap him, I don't care, but you will find a way for Jones and I to have a meeting." Penny whispered slowly rubbing her hands up and down Tall Boy's arm, it wasn't relaxing him like she thought.

Tall Boy maybe stupid in a lot of ways, but he was smart in one, the man could sense danger, and the snake charmer was at her most dangerous when she was 'playing nice'. It wasn't even a surprise when the woman brandished out a knife and slashed him across his stomach, luckily it was one of those paper-thin cut a bit of gauze and bandage will sort him right.

"Use that Sweet Pea kid, I just got him off bogus resisting arrest case and stopped him from going to juvie, he owes me one."

x.x.x.x

Hiram knew that there was no easy way to break the news to Veronica without hurting her so he'd just called her into his office as she walked past. If he waited until she came back from her last day of school he'd be accused of hiding the truth (once again). "Mija, come in."

The frown on Veronica's face showed that she knew something was already amiss before he could broach the subject Veronica stumbled right into what he wanted to talk about.

"Where's mum? I can't find her." It wasn't exactly a case of finding her, it was more like her mum wasn't at the breakfast table like she was meant to be.

"New York, she left last night."

"She left?"

"I'm sorry" Hiram apologised trying to ease some of the hurt Veronica must be feeling with Hermione's decision to leave.

"No, she didn't" After everything that's been going on Veronica refused to believe that her mum simply up and left.

A quick but thorough search of the bedroom revealed missing pieces of clothes and the fact that all Veronica's call went straight to voicemail lent credence to what her dad was saying.

Her mum had left.

"I'm so sorry, Mija," Hiram repeated once Veronica walked back in. She was abjectly more dejected than when she left. "She said that she needed some time away, to think."

Veronica didn't believe for one second that her mum would just abandon her like this, not with everything that was going on. Even if she had wanted to go to New York she would have taken Veronica with her, it was the last day of school, Veronica could have missed it. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. This week has been really hard on your mum, she wants some space to get her head on straight. She'll be back before the party." Hiram informed hoping that it provided some type of consolation. The Lodge's New Year eve party was only ten days away.

"This is all you fault." She hissed hating her father that bit more, it wasn't enough that he'd made her a social outcast, but he had to drive the one person who was experiencing the same thing out as well.

Hiram kept his cool against Veronica's mood swings. The current relationship between father and daughter could only be described as strained. There were instances in the past week when Veronica manages to overcome her hatred, disappointment and anger in her dad to have a friendly conversation with him. These conversations usually came after Hiram made some type of effort to get to know Veronica's boyfriend or best friend, but overall she still hadn't forgiven her for not telling her about Isabelle. Veronica also hadn't forgiven Hiram for abandoning Isabelle either and as far as he could tell she hadn't forgiven him for turning the spare room into a place for a sister either.

He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. "I didn't tell her to go, in fact, I encouraged her to stay, and she didn't want to."

Hiram sighed as Veronica snatched her purse off the coffee table and stormed off to school. While the situation with Veronica remained unpleasant, it paled in comparison with his current situation with his mum and his wife.

Actually, Hermione deciding to leave might work in his favour, a full ten days without her might just be the thing to get Veronica onside.

x.x.x.x

Time passed quickly and yet, at the same time, Izzy felt as if she was struggling through molasses. Her therapist (Melissa) said it was normal that Izzy was 'processing'; apparently, a lot had happened in the last month, so it was okay to feel a bit discombobulated.

Focusing on anything else just felt like a waste of time, at best, it was a distraction from achieving her real goal, which was to find any and every information about Hiram Tate.

The man claiming to be her dad. The man Pop claimed to be her dad, the man who Izzy was ninety-percent sure was her father. There was always room for doubt, a margin of error if you will.

She'd gone back home, dug through her mum's things in the attic and the garage, the only two places that remained untouched were Pop's and Cheryl's bedrooms, everything else in that house had been fair game.

Timing the search with Pop's annual check-up did manage to give Izzy a bit of time to really look, but the only thing she found connecting Hiram to her mum, to herself was a prom picture. Apart from that everything else had been scrubbed, there was no trace of Hiram Lodge ever knowing Sharon Tate, ever fathering an Isabelle Tate.

It would seem like an odd thing, but clearly her mum and Pop (and everyone else involved) had taken a 'salt the earth' approach when it came to Hiram.

The man's name wasn't even on Izzy's birth certificate, and she had looked, opened the home safe to double-check on the off chance his name had appeared despite the last thousand times she had checked.

Since the house turned out to be a dead-end she had to move on, Izzy consumed everything else out there about her supposed dad/ sperm donor. The internet was a great place to start, Hiram was part of the elite, the rich, not quite the one percent but not exactly the other ninety-nine percent. As such, the man had a lot of articles written about him; most of them were pre-arrest, pre-prison, pre-trial and pre-embezzlement but it allowed her to know the type of businessman Hiram was, which in turn meant she could make a few guesses about the kind of man he was.

The internet was only one source of information, Izzy's other two main sources came from Alice Copper and Jughead. Alice had taken Izzy's green light of writing an expose and turned it into a dissertation on Hiram Lodge.

Alice released article after article after article about Hiram, the term journalistic integrity didn't apply to Hiram or any of the Lodges for that matter.

Alice appeared to have an even bigger vendetta against Hiram than in town.

Hiram couldn't even pay off Fred's medical bill without Alice writing about how the man was trying to 'buy his way into being a good person' and 'trying to pull the wool over Riverdale's eyes in a bid to endear himself to the town.' And on and on she went, even Veronica couldn't escape the front page news Alice had done a rather amazing compare and comparison between the 'two daughters of the devil' it was a whole nature versus nurture type of thing.

Veronica was painted as the spoilt, entitled brat with various mentions about the girl's 'disconnect to everyday life' and references about the fact that Veronica 'wears high-end designer clothing to school.'

In comparison, Alice started laying the groundwork for Izzy's interview and the (maybe) reveal that she was the 'Angel of Riverdale' by calling Izzy' salt of the earth', 'angelic' and 'pillar of the community'.

Izzy could appreciate it in a detached 'at least she's not dragging me sort of way.' Plus she was absolved of any feelings of guilt, Izzy had only asked Alice to write ONE article about the secret that was kept from her, anything Alice did after was Alice's own choice.

Hell, even the article Izzy had commissioned was also Alice's own choice, every single letter, word and sentence was written by Alice, the only influence Izzy had was by demanding that Pop also be blamed.

While Alice provided valuable insight on Hiram's day-to-day life and what he was like as a teenager (kid called Jaime Luna), Jughead provided info on what Hiram was like in prison.

Okay, F.P provided the info, but since Izzy refused to speak to anyone who knew about Hiram and kept it a secret from her F.P had to tell Jug for Jug to repeat the information to her. It was basically a game of Chinese whispers except Jug would never lose any detail, the Hiram bombshell was too important for him to do that.

With the amount of information, she was gathering Izzy barely slept, it was yet another reason she kept losing track of time. She was like the maths geek the week before the decathlon, all hopped up on coffee, twitchy and obsessed with her goal.

Time had no discernible meaning any more; Izzy couldn't tell you if a day or a month had passed since she found out about Hiram, she only knew she was surviving because of Jughead. She didn't starve to death because Jug made sandwiches, he also brought her some of Pop homemade meals, but Izzy ignored that fact that Pop was clearly cooking for her and proceeded to stuff her face whenever she got too hungry. (There was no point in cutting off her nose to spite her face, especially when the food was that good.)

Izzy didn't stink the trailer out because Jug would force her into the bathroom and shut the door until she started the shower.

Izzy didn't die from caffeine overdose because Jug, kept on swapping her drinks to decaf once her left eye started twitching.

Izzy didn't miss her daily therapy appointment because Jughead kept reminding her every day.

Izzy didn't have to spend time reassure people that 'she was okay' because Jughead did it for her, she had a vague recollection of Josie coming to visit... or maybe it was Mel... or Cheryl.

You know what... it could have been Midge; either way, someone came to the trailer to check up on Izzy and Jughead had taken the time to explain the state of his house. Izzy had low-key stolen a whiteboard from school so she could have visual, written proof of all the information she knew about Hiram, she couldn't remember doing it, but the evidence was undeniable. There was a whiteboard with Property of Riverdale High stamped into its corner in the middle of their living room that didn't use to be there.

Honestly, no one else could have succeeded in accomplishing half of the things Jughead had managed to do, Izzy's mood wasn't what you would call stable, but Jughead took it all in stride, and he didn't handle Izzy with kid gloves which everyone else would have and continued to do.

Jughead allowed Izzy to fall through her 'rabbit hole of obsession' knowing she would eventually find her way back out. This wasn't the first time Izzy had ignored the wider world until she figured out how to handle things, and it was hardly going to be the last time.

Would it be nice to have her open up, yes. But that wasn't who Izzy was, she needed to try to sort thing out herself before asking for help.

Luckily, Hiram being Izzy's parent all the excuse she needed for any distracted behaviour at school. Almost everyone fell into one of two categories – either they kept their distance while staring and whispering, or they went out of their way to socialise with her, being overly friendly until they found a moment to ask an invasive question.

Most questions directed at her were ignored but when Jessica had found a way to ask about her mum Izzy found a way to push the bitch down a flight of stairs.

It had technically been three steps high, so it really was a gross exaggeration and didn't merit Izzy being suspended, especially as it was the last day of school. It had actually been the last two hours of the school year, it barely amounted to a slap on the wrist.

Come January fifth Izzy would be returning to Riverdale High with everyone else, the only thing Principal Weatherbee had accomplished was letting Izzy out of school a few hours early.

Adults really didn't think things through.

After a week (or who knows how long) of collecting evidence, Izzy was no closer to having an answer than when she started. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but visiting Jamie Luna's/ Hiram Lodge's childhood home didn't reveal the answer.

Interviewing the man's neighbour didn't reveal the answer.

Getting Cheryl and Reggie to start an argument between the cheerleaders and bulldog so Izzy could sneak into his the school records to find out what type of student Jamie/Hiram was didn't hold the answer. That had actually been a stupid plan which somehow ended up with Izzy kissing Reggie.

Whatever answer, Izzy was looking for wasn't in the past. It certainly wasn't in the graveyard where she found herself.

Although the graveyard doesn't hold any answers, Izzy had found a semblance of peace here. The dead didn't expect answers from her, they weren't waiting on her to react. They didn't whisper behind her back or expect her to blow her lid, and most importantly the dead didn't offer their opinion on what Izzy should do or reel off a quaint little anecdote about someone Izzy was related to.

Izzy found more peace here among the dead than anywhere in Riverdale, and that was disturbing. Even therapy wasn't helping; not because Melissa wasn't good, but because she had to offer her opinion.

Melissa was paid to sit and listen then offer her professional assessment, and Izzy just wanted one person in her life who wouldn't do that.

Every single person in her life had failed on that front, they all had something to say that they thought would help her process. While that was nice and appreciated Izzy just wanted someone who would sit, listen and not offer their opinion.

x.x.x.x

Jughead forced himself to put his phone away and concentrate on what Veronica was saying.

They all convened at the Pembrooke to celebrate the last day of school.

The five had initially planned to go to Pop's, but since Veronica was a social pariah as of late, their plans had to be amended.

Mr A needed a quiet house that afternoon ruling out the Andrew's.

Mrs Copper refused to allow Veronica into her house, and Kevin didn't want to open his home for a casual hang; his dad had started bringing some files from the station, and everything was still meant to be confidential.

Unfortunately for Jughead that only left the Pembrooke as the next possible location; even if he had felt like opening up his home for the others (which he didn't), he didn't want to blindside Izzy by having Veronica in the trailer.

He also didn't want Veronica to see everything they had gathered on Hiram Lodge, she may not like her dad at the moment, but Veronica was still a daddy's girl.

Jughead tuned in just in time to hear Veronica about the wider impact of Alice's articles.

"And now not only has my Abuela cut my dad out of her will, but she also plans on flying down to meet Izzy, and nothing anyone says can convince her otherwise."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Betty declared trying to put a positive spin on things. The entire situation was a mess, not only had the town split up between Team Tate or Team Lodge their group had as well.

While Betty supported Team Tate in principle because what Mr Lodge did to both Pop's daughter and Izzy was horrible, Betty found herself on Team Lodge. It wasn't because Veronica was her best friend, it Betty was in the same boat as Veronica, the only difference was no one knew that her mum had also abandoned a child and gone on to raise a whole new family.

While her mum may fuelled the flames of animosity against the Lodges, the fire still existed without her input. People generally hated the Lodges, Ethel had thrown a drink in Veronica's face just two days ago.

"Of course it will," Veronica sighed shaking her head, "Izzy hasn't talked to Pop all week, there is no way she ready for my grandmother. Abuela doesn't know how to do nothing, she'll come in and suck as all into this crazy whirl-wind then leave again."

Kevin chose not to mention the fact that Veronica was literally describing a hurricane like the nickname Izzy had. Maybe Izzy got her temperament from her dad side of the family, "Betty is right, Izzy has handled all of this really well. Apart from the whole pushing Jessica down the stairs thing," he waved off, "She's basically ignored everyone and gone on with her life. She might do the same when your grandmother arrives."

Whatever the result, Kevin wanted a front-row seat to that event.

Veronica shook her head before taking a large sip of the top-shelf whiskey her dad kept in his office. She was the only one drinking anything alcoholic, everyone else had decided not to partake and settled for their water and juices "I still can't believe she left like that, to New York of all places."

"Wait, I thought you said-"

"I did." New York wasn't going to be a safe haven for anyone, of course, the groundbreaking news about Hiram Lodge's other daughter had reached the upper stratosphere of the New York elites.

Hours after Alice's article, old frenemies from New York were already reaching out offering their' condolences'. Veronica had to delete all her social media accounts once the trolling and jokes reached an unbearable level. "I guess anything is better than staying in Riverdale waiting for Abuela to descend, she's also furious with my mum for letting dad abandon Izzy and Ms Tate. Abuela probably hates my mum more than my dad, which is so unfair."

"But, isn't Hermione complicit with what your dad did?" Jughead questioned, he was still trying to figure out the Lodge family dynamic. Hermione wasn't a shrinking violet within a matter of weeks she'd gone from working as a waitress to owning a part of Andrews construction.

This week had been very long and tasking, between making sure Izzy didn't end up killing herself through sheer neglect. Going to visit his dad in jail every other day and working with the lawyers to come up with a decent defence, Jughead had no energy left to control the tone of his voice. His question came out harsher than he had intended, and before he could even apologise or explain Archie was already jumping down his throat.

"You know what Jughead, we all know that you are team Izzy but it would be really nice if you didn't insult the Lodges while sitting in their living room." Archie couldn't even add eating their food because, for the first time in his life, Jughead had refrained from eating.

"I didn't mean it like that, I was just asking a question." From the look, everyone was giving him they at least believe him, all except one.

"It's fine Archie," Veronica said, calming him down, she didn't take offence to the question, and it wasn't the first time she heard it. "Yeah, mum knew about Sharon and what happened with the twins… She knew everything."

The casual mood took a sudden downturn, and no one knew what else they could talk about, "So what's everyone's plans for Christmas?" Kevin asked. It was the first safe, natural question that came to mind.

x.x.x.x

Izzy spent a few more minutes staring at her mums grave recalling the last time she'd visited was when Pop had his heart attack. This wasn't a place she liked visiting often, she wasn't the type of person who could talk to the dead, and she rarely found comfort remembering what her mum was like because her mum would never be like that again.

Izzy refocused her mind to the reason why she was here. She needed a solution, a way forward, she needed to get unstuck. She'd just spent a week digging into the past with no satisfactory result, and she wasn't about to spend another week like this. The present was ... precarious there were too many moving pieces and emotions to contend with and the future, that wasn't certain with a serial killer.

Ultimately Izzy's problem was with Hiram Lodge and him being here in town, it was with that God damn statement about wanting to get to know her.

The decision on what to do next was taken out of her hand when she heard the sound of crunching snow as someone came up the path. "The dead don't care about the affairs of the living." Shady man spoke having probably assumed Izzy had been talking to her mum instead of just staring at the gravestone.

"You take one more step towards me, and I'm calling the Sheriff's department and having you arrested for stalking." That was another thing, Toni had revealed that she had her friend (the guy with the neck tattoo) follow Izzy and take pictures. A week of neck tattoo guy stalking Izzy showed that Shady man was still stalking Izzy, luckily neck tattoo or Sweet Pea as he liked to be called had taken multiple pictures so Izzy had potential blackmail material. At the very least, she had enough evidence to get a restraining order.

"Hello Isabelle," Shady man chuckled finding her threats amusing. "Here, I thought she might like these, and you might need this." Shady man placed the flowers down on the grave before handing Izzy a pair of leather gloves.

"What do you want?" Izzy questioned pulling the gloves on, without saying a single word of thanks.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. This week has been a lot for you," Andre informed, he could feel a small smile creep onto his face at the scowl he received in return.

Andre wouldn't consider himself to be impartial when it came to the situation; his job as the Lodge family capo was to ensure the family's continued survival and the best way to do that was to bring Isabelle into the fold. "I think it's time for a sit down with your dad."

Izzy didn't bother correcting Shady man on the 'dad' comment because she agreed, it was time to have a sit down with Hiram and get her answers.

Writer's Notes/Thoughts:

Sorry for being so late with this chapter but it's here now, hopefully the length will make up for it. There is a lot going on in this chapter like with Hermione; what is this woman doing in New York? Do we trust her? Is she really in New York to begin with.

2) Can I get a hand of applause for Jughead and Izzy. First Jughead, the guy is a trooper making sure that he's there for his friends and that she survives her journey down the rabbit hole.

3) Izzy deserves her applause apart from a little tyre slash and pushing ONE girl down some stairs (only three steps high mind you) Izzy on the whole has kept to herself and not gotten involved in anything. She even goes to therapy now.

4) It's interesting to see the cracks/tension between Jughead and Archie because of the whole Team Tate/ Team Lodge thing happening in town. It make sense that Archie is team Lodge after all Hiram just paid for his dad medical bill and has been friendly towards him plus Veronica is his girlfriend so he is on her side.

- If there's any one else's point of view you want to see let me know. I'll try to update the next chapter in under two weeks time.