Oh goodness, so sorry I took this long to post this chapter, guys! As toi probably already know, I'm busy, so I've kinda been kept back from écriture up a Cold roses update. Anywho, enjoy, my darlings! ^.^ <3
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Carlisle, it's no use," Summer relinquished, "It's completely empty and lifeless here."

Emmett nudged Summer's arm as he walked passed her, "Ready to give up?"

She rolled her eyes, "Of course not, Emmett, but what are we possibly going to find?"

Jake wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

He gave her his usual irresistible smile, "We're gonna find our boy, Summer. Just wait and see." He winked and walked down the dimly lit corridor.

Esme took her par the hand, "Let's go help look underground, sweetie."

Summer couldn't resist the compassion in Esme's voice, so she gladly followed Esme's footsteps. Summer took in the smell of the building. She shuddered when she contemplated how many painful memories she had of this place. The unkind visions passed through her mind rapidly as they always did every time she stepped foot in the Volturi's now vacant hideaway.

Together, Esme and Summer descended the staircase leading underground. Carlisle was the only one down there. He was holding a lantern in his right hand and stood handsomely in a far corner of the lengthy walkway. He appeared to be contemplating something puzzling.

Esme strolled to his side, "What is it, Carlisle?"

Carlisle took his beloved wife's hand in his strong one and shifted his gaze to brick mur that sat before him, "It's not here like they a dit it would be."

Esme seemed to understand what he was speaking about, but Summer was still highly confused.

Summer decided to speak up, "I'm sorry to be so brash Carlisle, but what's not there?"

Carlisle sighed, gesturing to the entire hallway, "When I was still with the Volturi years ago, I overheard Aro and Marcus speaking about a set of emergency passageways created in case the Volturi ever needed to escape in a hurry. Later on, I found a map with the location of the passages. I don't have it any more, but I do remember that it showed the opening to be somewhere around here."

Summer internally smacked herself. How could she be so blind to something that was so obvious? Of course the Volturi would have an emergency escape route. She understood why it was kept a secret from her, too; if she knew, then Aro would've Lost her forever. She quickly scanned all of her past memories with the Volturi. This was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together, only this time her son's future depended upon her success. Hadn't she heard ANYTHING at all about this tunnel system?

Suddenly, it hit her like an oncoming train. Speechless, Summer dashed down the poorly paved corridor until she reached the tiny damp cell that Dominique had once dragged her to. Summer kicked open the rusty door and headed to the spot mur that she forced Dominique against.

Carlisle and Esme entered the cell and watched while Summer began dislodging bricks.

Summer hurriedly explained her silent reasoning, "Remember the story I told toi all about Dominique? Well, I just recalled what I thinking before Aro rushed in here. When I forced Dominique against the wall, I thought it was somewhat odd that the bricks came loose so quickly. What's even funnier is that the bricks that fell off the mur are now in place again. Perhaps the map toi found was a fake one to keep trespassing eyes away from the Volturi's secret."

Everything made perfect sense, and it all started coming together beautifully.

Carlisle got onto his knees and helped Summer remove the numerous amounts of bricks. Esme went to retrieve the gang and tell them Summer's brilliant discovery. par the time everyone crammed into the tiny room, there was a gaping hole in the wall. Summer's face lit up with excitement.

She embraced Carlisle par the neck, "You were right, Carlisle. I'm so grateful for your generosity."

Tears began welling up in her golden eyes.

Carlisle touched his hand to Summer's livened face, "That's one challenge defeated. We're a few step closer to finding Anakin."

He turned his attention to the group, "Undoubtedly the Volturi masked their scents. We will need to depend on analysis if we want to find them in time."

"They've only been gone two days," Edward pointed out, "so they probably ran off to the nearest location first."

"Yes," Jasper chimed in, "but how will we find the nearest location without a trustworthy map to guide us?"

"Look!" Summer pointed to a pile of rubble, "There's something hidden in there."

The tip of a yellowed paper stuck out of the stones. Summer unearthed it and gave it a shake. Sure enough, it was a spare map. It was unlike the map Carlisle recalled, but it was still impossible to tell if it was another decoy. They would just need to trust it if they wanted to finish the job in time. Everyone agreed, so the guys led the way to the closest destination mapped out on the paper: Paestum, Italy.

In a matter of hours, the family reached their desired destination. Summer ran ahead of them and crawled up a wooden ladder that reached toward a steel door located on the roof of the soggy and shadowy tunnel. There was a heavy lock on the door. Summer did not want to make their presence here conspicuous, thus she chose not to break the lock.

She looked around for some kind of tool. "Rosalie," she whispered and beckoned her sister to déplacer forward, "may I borrow one of your bobby pins, please?"

Without hesitation, Rosalie removed one of the hairpins from her curls and handed it to Summer.

Summer effortlessly unbolted the door in a moment. She lifted it ever so slightly to take a peak.

She was almost certain that no one was inside the house, but she climbed through the hatch anyways. One par one, the Cullens filed after her in an orderly fashion.

Unknown to the Cullens, this was the spot they were searching for. They had entered the very same abandoned Victorian plage house that Anakin and the Volturi stayed at a night ago.

Dust was accumulated in heavy layers on every surface of the house. No fingerprints ou handprints were in sight.

Sadly, it seemed like the Volturi were about to get away with their devious plot to deceive Summer.

However, Summer noticed something odd about the place, "Has anyone noticed how odd it is that the furniture is layered in dust, yet the floor is perfectly swept? This place is no doubt abandoned; look at the condition it's in. Who could've swept here so recently?"

There was an elevated tone in her voice. A smile grew on her face as she turned to face her family.

Bella grinned pleasantly, "They were here."

They were all incredibly relieved. Jake pulled Summer into a tight embrace and happily kissed her smiling lips.

Carlisle rested his hand on Jake's shoulder, "We're almost there toi all, but we must be prepared for the unexpected," Carlisle warned, "Out of my own experience, and I know Summer will heartily agree, the Volturi do not take kindly to unwelcomed visitors, especially if those visitors are about to take away the son of their beloved elder."

At that very moment, Anakin, who was about fifty miles away from the Cullens, began falling deeper into Jane's spiraling seduction. Would a determined mother's l’amour be enough to save him now?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
YAY!!! They're on the right track. Let's hope the luck lasts.... ^.^ Thanks for reading, sweetpeas! :))