Set post Charlotte hitting Alison with rock. Goes very off-canon. Charlotte is still sorta playing the game on the side of this but idk how much I'll go into that side, probably just mentions of it… It will all make sense, I swear. Kicking off with a double chapter because why not!

Charlotte ignored the screaming with a smirk on her face as she pulled the door closed. She turned the lock firmly and tested the door before she was satisfied it was secure. Too easy, she thought. She picked up her keys and headed to her car, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air letting the taste of freedom inflate her lungs.

Tonight was the night. She slid into her black, almost invisible in the dark, car and closed her eyes, silently rehearsing the plan in her head. She'd thought, perhaps, of all the things she'd done that this might be the thing to really make her nervous. But she barely felt a thing. She could feel the thrill at the edges of her mind and knew that would be sure to kick in soon.

But first she had to execute.

"First case, Jenko. Think you can handle it?"

Eddie Jenko, newly appointed detective, grinned, "Sure, what've we got?"

"Disappearance," her partner, Toni, handed her a file, "Forty three year old woman, lives alone, works in real estate. Only just reported missing but according to neighbours she's a bit of a shut in so we're not actually sure how long she's been missing. She's got no family in the area. What do you think?"

"What makes us think this is anything other than a run away?" Eddie asked, before finding her answer in the pages she was flicking through, "Ah. Signs of a struggle, traces of chloroform. Seems clumsy, doesn't it?"

"Someone in a rush… or someone who just doesn't know their stuff," Toni mused.

"She's wealthy," Eddie noted, "Could it be a hostage thing?"

"With no family?" Toni pointed out, "Who are they going to get a ransom from?"

Eddie frowned, "Is there a boyfriend? A husband? An ex? Children?"

"Divorced… we're still trying to figure out her story but it's worth looking into," Toni shrugged, "It's usually family, right?"

Eddie nodded, "That's usually the case."

Charlotte watched her newest prisoner sleep peacefully on a freshly made bed. She knew she had a few hours before the woman's body would fight off the drugs and allow her to awaken.

Charlotte bit her lip, "You'll have company soon," she whispered, "Then the fun really begins."

Charlotte hummed quietly to herself as she sat cross legged on the sofa, watching her prisoners through a floor-ceiling sheet of glass.

"Two for the price of one," she murmured, "I really thought you guys would be awake by now," she huffed impatiently, leaning back on her sofa and closing her eyes.

"Got another one for you."

Eddie looked up at the new file on her desk, "New case?"

"Could be, could be connected to our missing woman. Certainly similarities," Toni said, "I've gotta be in court today, you good on your own?"

Eddie nodded, "Sure, no sweat."

"Alright, give me a call if you get any leads," Toni instructed, "And don't forget, the simplest answer is usually the winner. Don't overcomplicate it."

Eddie smiled before turning her attention back to the file. What was so simple about two middle aged women from different districts disappearing with the same evidence left behind? There had to be a connection between the two women, surely? That was the simplest explanation. She just needed to find the connection.

"Charlie," a voice whispered, "Charlie, wake up."

Charlotte's eyelids fluttered and she rubbed them, sitting up.

She beamed, "You're awake."

Chapter 2.

"You're awake."

"Charlie, what are you doing? What is this place?"

Charlotte bit the corner of her lip, "It's a game."

"Charlotte, you need to open the door. You can't do this. Please."

"You can't just forget about me," Charlotte said quietly, "You said you'd love me always. Then you sent me away and you stopped visiting. I needed you, mommy."

Jessica stood at the glass window, "I'm right here, Charlie. Why don't you just let me out and we can talk?"

"Lie, you mean," Charlotte said quietly, "You always lie. To dad. To Ali and Jason. To me."

"I never lied to you, Charlotte," Jessica said evenly, "You know you were always my favourite."

Charlotte shook her head, "Even now you're lying… mom," she spat the last word.

Jessica paled, "Charlotte," she spoke slowly, "What am I lying about?"

Charlotte shrugged, "You can't play a game with only one player. We just have to wait for her to wake up."

"You still here?"

Eddie looked up to see Toni in the doorway. The room was dim, lit only by her desk lamp and computer screen.

'Yeah, I guess I got kind of… lost in it," she looked around the mess of papers covering the desk.

"It's late, Eddie, you should get home, get some sleep," her partner pointed out.

Eddie was looking at her computer, "I just don't understand how there can be so little information on these women, no birth records, no picture, it's almost like they don't exist."

Toni frowned, "Did you check with Witness protection?"

"Double checked," Eddie confirmed, "Prisons, health facilities from the entire state."

"Well, that explains the mountains of paper," Toni rolled her eyes, "I respect the commitment but you're not going to get anywhere unless you get some sleep, Janko."

Eddie rubbed her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I know, you're right," she stood up slowly, taking one last glance at her desk, "I'll see you in the morning."

She trudged to her car, rubbing her head. She could feel a headache coming on. It just didn't make any sense. Yet something niggled at the back of her mind. Something she was missing but couldn't get her head around. Something just out of reach.

Charlotte yawned as she headed down to the stairs to check on her guests. She heard voices floating down the hall and smirked; they were both awake. It was time.

"You should have told me, Jessica."

"As if you were in the state of mind – "

"And whose fault is that?"

"I was trying to protect her – "

"Oh, you just wanted to protect yourself, you always have – "

"Stop, both of you," Charlotte interrupted loudly, "You sound like children, well… I suppose that's not far from the nature of your relationship."

Mary's eyes widened as she looked at her daughter for the first time in years. She opened her mouth to speak but found she didn't have a clue what to say.

"Charlotte, I understand you're angry – "

"You understand?" Charlotte asked Jessica incredulously, "Really? Did your mom throw you away, not once but twice? Was she ashamed of you? Were you a dirty little secret? I thought you were my everything, mom and you just… " she gritted her teeth, determined not to become emotional, "Not to mention… you're not my mom at all."

"Don't say that," Jessica put her hand to the glass, "Of course I'm your mother. I raised you, I love you."

"You raised her because you stole her from me," Mary said quietly.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "You're no better. You let her take me. And I know you've been in and out for years and not once did you ever try to find me. You can't just put kids out into the world and expect someone else to take care of them. You can't just ditch them because they didn't turn out how you wanted them to but I'm me, a woman – "

"Charlotte, that has nothing to do with it," Mary said wide eyed, "I don't care if you're a man or a woman or whatever else you choose to be."

"Then why didn't you ever look for me?" Charlotte asked, feeling her body begin to shake but trying to supress it.

Mary faltered, "I… I was afraid," she admitted, her eyes casting to Jessica, "But I did try to check on you, Charlotte. I saw photo's of you when you were younger, with Alison and Jason but your… Jessica told me you were… dead."

Charlotte blinked slowly before looking at Jessica, "Not just dad?" she whispered, "You told her I was dead?"

Jessica shook her head, "No, Charlotte. She's lying," she kept her voice even, "I never said that. She visited once when she got out of Radley and told me that you were mine now, that she wanted nothing to do with you."

"You're unbelieveable," Mary turned to her sister angrily, "You know that's not true at all. All I ever wanted was to be with my children. It was the only thing that kept me going in that hellish place that you put me in."

"You never wanted kids," Jessica rolled her eyes, "You got into it with some orderly and practically begged me to fix your mess. As usual," she turned back to Charlotte, "You know I love you, sweetheart."

Charlotte shook her head, "I have no idea," she fought to keep her composure, "This is so fucked up. You're both fucked up."

"Charlotte," Jessica said gently, "I never lied to you, honey. I love you, Charlie and I always will. I know things were… different after what happened with Alison but I just needed time. I never stopped loving you, I promise."

Charlotte nibbled on her lip, her attention focussed solely on Jessica now, "You left me all alone."

"I know, you're right. I did and I'm sorry," Jessica placed her palm on the glass, "But we're together now. You and me against the world, like it's always been."

Charlotte moved closer to the glass, her hand twitching at her side as she watched her mom's fingers stroke the glass between them.

"God, you do it so well," Mary shook her head, glaring at her sister, "You were always so… believable," she turned to Charlotte, "Please, Charlotte. You can't believe a word she says. Please, let me tell you what really happened. The truth."

"She already knows the truth," Jessica said coldly.

Charlotte looked between the two sisters, "I can't… "

"Charlotte," Jessica said firmly, "You know me. This woman, she's a stranger to you. Why would you even think about considering a word she says?"

Charlotte lost her composure, tears springing to her eyes, "Because she's my birth mother. And you did lie about that. Omitting the truth is still a form of lying. And she's been to Radley, she knows what it's like and I just thought… " she gripped her hair and squeezed her eyes closed.

"Come on, Charlie, we've survived so far without her, haven't we?" Jessica asked.

Mary approached the glass tentatively, "Charlotte, your head hurts doesn't it?"

Charlotte opened her eyes to look at her and nodded.

"They put you on medication in there, didn't they?" Mary asked, "You need to take it, honey."

"You think I'm crazy," Charlotte turned away from both her moms.

"No, no I don't think you're crazy," Mary said quickly, "But I think if you've been on medication a long time it starts to effect your body… You can't just stop taking it. Trust me, I've tried."

"Trust you," Charlotte mumbled, "You're probably the reason I'm like this. Like mother, like daughter."

Mary flinched, "Maybe I am," she whispered, "But I'll never lie to you."

"Then why didn't you want me?" Charlotte turned back to face the glass encased room, "The truth."

Mary closed her eyes for a moment, "Charlotte, I promise you I wanted you more than anything in the world. Jessica's right, I did sleep with an orderly in Radley and that's how I got pregnant. It wasn't planned and I was scared as hell when I found out but I didn't ever want to give you up. I loved you before I even met you."

"You let her take me!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"You know what it's like in those places," Mary pleaded, "And you know Jessica was on the board. She had all the power. I didn't have a choice. I held you for less than a minute before the nurses ripped you away and they sedated me. I couldn't have fought if I'd tried. You were all I thought about for years and years."

"Bullshit," Jessica tutted, "You've made up some heroic story to make yourself feel better about all the shit you put our family through."

"Heroic?" Mary scoffed, "None of this heroic. They'd sedate me and I'd fall asleep in my own drool. I could hardly function after they electrocuted my brain every week, which from what I heard, was upon your request. Weeks would pass and I wouldn't even know. I'd wake up and not know what month it was, let alone the day. There was nothing heroic about it."

"Fine then, you're the victim and I'm the bad guy. As usual, Mary. You haven't changed since we were children," Jessica began to walk away.

"You have," Mary screeched at her, "I used to just think you were a spoilt, little bitch. Daddy's girl. The perfect one who got away with everything but you're so much more. You're a monster. Pure evil."

"I took your child and raised her because they declared you to dangerous and I'm the monster?" Jessica asked, shaking her head.

"You – "

"What do you mean you took me?" Charlotte asked, "You said you took me. I'm not some object you guys can just pass around."

Jessica sighed, "Sweetheart, that's not what I meant."

"And you knew how awful Radley was… How could you put me there?" Charlotte asked, "You knew what they did to your sister and still, you put me in there. Alone," she fought back tears, "I want to hate you. And you," she turned to Mary, "She's right. You're a stranger to me and I don't know what story is true. I've got no reason to trust you. I can't… do this."

She turned away, grinding her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, taking a few shaky breaths to compose herself before she spun around to face the twins once more.

"I thought maybe one of you could convince me who I'm meant to trust… but hell, maybe one of you can just kill the other and that'll be that," she shrugged and walked away, trudging back up the stairs.

"Charlotte, please, take the medication," Mary pleaded before her daughter was out of sight and she was left alone with her sister, "You should tell her too… unless you're too scared she'll be able to figure you out when she's thinking clearly."

Jessica merely rolled her eyes.

"If you cared about her, you'd tell her to take her medication," Mary insisted, "She listens to you."

Jessica crossed her arms, fixing her twin with an unnerving glare, "She did before you came along."

Mary tore her eyes away from her sisters and turned away, swallowing tightly. Even after all these years, there was nothing that scared her more than Jessica Dilaurentis.