A/N: Hello all, it's me! Back early by popular demand! As always, reviews give me life and words can't describe how much I love hearing your thoughts, theories and opinions. Tell me what you like, what you don't, what you want more of, what confuses you – tell me anything at all, I just love feedback!

With that being said, enjoy this first chapter. This story is going to be ten chapters long and there will be flashforwards at the beginning and end of every chapter until Chapter 5. See if you can figure out what's going on...

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the TV series Revenge.

September 4, 2017 9:00 am

Labor Day

Southampton, New York

The moment Nolan's eyes flew open that morning, his mind was already racing a mile a minute.

There are defining moments which change the courses of our lives.

He looked over to the other side of the bed and found Olivia fast asleep, her hair splayed out on the pillow, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept. He gingerly lifted her arm off his waist, careful not to disturb her, and climbed out of bed. He threw on some clothes and left the room, shutting the door behind him as quietly as he could.

Once he reached the kitchen, Nolan let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his messy hair. He really needed coffee. He got the pot started and was sitting down at the table with the paper when he heard footsteps.

And there are people who we share those moments with…

He looked up and saw Olivia standing at the kitchen entryway. Her hair was lightly tousled and she was wearing nothing but the shirt he'd had on last night. It was unbuttoned, exposing part of her gray lace bra and panties, as well as her toned stomach and bare legs. Looking at her, he felt like he might blush – even though he'd seen a lot more of her last night, it felt different in the light of day…

"Hey," He said, looking away and trying to sound nonchalant, as if he hadn't been ogling her a second before. "Coffee?"

Olivia shook her head 'no' and walked towards him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Nolan, we need to talk…about what happened last night…"

…and who we are forever bound to as a result.

He glanced up to meet her eyes. Olivia stepped forward, slowly inching towards him until she was so close he could touch her. She was just standing there, blinking slowly at him as she waited for him to speak, and he tentatively placed his hands on her scantily clad hips. "Look, I know you probably think last night was a mistake…"

She cut him off immediately. "Nolan," Olivia said, speaking his name barely above a whisper. She ducked her head to look at him directly, a hand on his cheek. "I do not think last night was a mistake in any sense of the word."

Your first love. The mother or father of your child. The person you went to Hell and back with.

Nolan smiled hesitantly. "I meant everything I sa-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a fervent knocking at the front door. He looked at Olivia, wondering if perhaps she was expecting someone, but she only shrugged. With a sigh, Nolan reluctantly let go of her and stood up to go answer it. He hadn't been expecting anyone to show up, and when he opened the door he was surprised. "Jack, what's –"

Once you go through something as momentous as that with a person…

His frantic-looking friend didn't give him a chance to finish. "Have you seen Amanda?"

Confused, Nolan shook his head. Behind him Olivia had come to investigate and she hung back in the foyer, holding the shirt closed over her body. "No, why? Is she okay?"

"I don't know!" Jack told him. It was clear he was trying really hard to keep everything together, and failing. "When I woke up this morning she was gone! I looked everywhere, I went to Charlotte's before I came here but she's been gone all morning…"

"I'll try her cell," Nolan offered. "Maybe she'll pick up for me, it'll be alright Jack." The other man nodded, trying to have faith, and Olivia stepped forward to place a reassuring hand on his arm while Nolan grabbed his phone.

…the two of you will always be tied together in that way.

As Nolan dialed the first number on his speed dial, he couldn't help but worry that something was really wrong...

Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a black car was speeding down a deserted country road. In the backseat, Charlotte Clarke stared out the window, watching as the nondescript countryside zoomed past them as they drove. She looked to her right, finding Amanda staring ahead, hands tied behind her back. When she saw Charlotte looking at her, she forced a smile. "It's going to be okay…" She whispered. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Because when you are the only two people in the world who have gone this huge, life-changing, or even horrible event…

In the front seat, the female driver slowed down so she could whip out her cell phone, dialing a phone number one-handedly. She lifted the phone to her ear and after one ring the person she'd been trying to reach answered. "I have them," she said. Sonya Chamberlain's eyes flicked to her rearview mirror, where she saw the two Clarke sisters sitting stoically in the backseat.

On the other end of the phone conversation, another woman smiled at this piece of information. "Good," She said. "Stick to what we discussed." After Sonya promised she would, she hung up the phone.

Once they'd ended the call, Hailey leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. So far, everything was going according to plan…

…things between you will never be the same ever again.

May 8, 2017 9:00 a.m.

Southampton, New York

As soon as Nolan Ross stepped out of his car and onto the driveway, he heard the front door to his house fly open. He looked up and saw his nineteen year old daughter come barreling towards him, a huge smile on her face. "You're home!" She said excitedly, and before Nolan could even reply Hailey had already thrown her arms around his neck in a hug, nearly choking him in the process.

Nolan laughed and hugged her back. "Glad to see someone's happy to see me." He said, the two of them finally separating. "How are you, Hailes?"

"So much better now that you're back," Hailey replied. "It's been almost four weeks since I've seen you in person. That's way too long."

Nolan nodded in agreement as he pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. He had to agree that after almost nineteen years of being separated from his daughter – and even more than that if you didn't count the time when he hadn't known she was his daughter – he hated being apart from her. "I know, but you wouldn't have wanted to come with me. You would've hated it."

"Did you find anything out when you were in New York?" Hailey asked as the two of them began to walk towards the house.

He shook his head. For almost a month, he'd been going around New York looking for any information he could find out about his estranged mother. Ever since finding out that Elizabeth Miller was associated with The Liberators, he'd been desperate for answers, but kept coming up empty at every turn. No matter how deep he dug into Elizabeth's past, it seemed like he could find no ties with The Liberators or anyone else who worked with them. "Nothing much. It seems like my mother is doing a good job of keeping her double life hidden."

Hailey frowned. "I'm really sorry, Dad."

They walked inside and Nolan dropped his suitcase off by the door. "Mom!" Hailey called out. "Dad's home!"

A moment later Olivia appeared on the stairs, and she forced a smile as she locked eyes with Nolan. "Hey, welcome back."

He gave a curt nod. "Thanks. It's…good to be back." Olivia nodded and then, without saying anything else, turned and went back up the stairs.

Once she was gone, Hailey turned to look at her father. "Is something going on that I don't know about? I thought the two of you were good again."

Nolan picked his suitcase back up and turned to head to his room. "Everything's fine." He lied. "I'm just tired from my trip."

"What are you doing?"

Jack glanced over his shoulder as Amanda prodded him. They were in the OB's office, Amanda lying back on the examination table as they waited for the doctor to come in, and out of boredom he'd found himself staring at the model of a womb on the countertop. "Apparently the uterus stretches to five hundred times its size during pregnancy," He said. "Or at least that's what that sign says."

Amanda made a face and placed a hand over her stomach involuntarily at the thought. "I didn't need to know that! How could you say that to the person with the uterus that has to get that big?"

Jack chuckled under his breath and squeezed her hand in an attempt to be reassuring. He had to admit though – in his mind at that moment, he was thinking about how glad he was that he wasn't a woman.

The door opened and in walked Dr. Robinson, Amanda's OB/GYN. "Hello Amanda, Jack. Nice to see you both again." Since finding out she was pregnant, Amanda had been coming to Dr. Robinson and her cardiologist, Dr. Stevens, every other week. Though her OB had tried to reassure her that everything was going well with her pregnancy so far, these visits still made Amanda a bit nervous. She couldn't help but worry that this time, everything wouldn't be going well.

After they exchanged pleasantries and routine questions about her health, Amanda was instructed to lean back so they could do an ultrasound. She rolled up her shirt, exposing her tiny, burgeoning bump – it wasn't much and people wouldn't know she was pregnant just by looking at her, but to her it was the tangible proof and the reassurance she so desperately needed.

Dr. Robinson conducted the ultrasound, and Amanda's breath hitched as she heard a familiar thump. She looked to Jack, who only smiled and kissed the back of her hand. Even though she'd heard the baby's heartbeat before at their twelve week appointment, it was still amazing to her.

"Usually you can't find out this early," Dr. Robinson said. "But your little one is positioned well – so do you want to know the sex?"

Amanda looked at Jack, and he only shrugged. "Whatever you want."

After a moment, Amanda turned back to the doctor and shook her head. "We don't have to know – it doesn't matter either way."

Dr. Robinson nodded. "Sounds like sound logic to me."

After the end of the appointment they walked out hand-in-hand, ultrasound photos tucked safely in Amanda's bag. As they headed towards the car, Jack looked to Amanda. "You doing okay?"

"Fine," She told him. "Still a little nauseous, but overall pretty good." She reached for the passenger side door but Jack opened it for her instead, and she smiled appreciatively as she climbed in.

Once they both got situated in their seats, Jack hesitated. "You've been taking a lot of shifts at the beach club lately," He said. "And helping Nolan with his caseload on top of that. Don't you think that you should, maybe...take it easy?"

Amanda sighed. "Jack –"

"I'm not trying to control you or be overprotective," He clarified. "But, you are pregnant. And Dr. Robinson did say to minimize your stress wherever you can. No one would blame you if you dropped a few commitments."

"Jack, I'm fine. I like having things to do." His wife trailed off, looking serious. "The truth is – I can't just sit around and do nothing. Because when I do that, I just end up thinking about all the things that could go wrong and…" She shook her head. "I need stuff to do, to distract me."

Jack looked down. He knew that she was happy about this pregnancy – words couldn't describe how lucky they both felt to be having the child they wanted so desperately – but it wasn't easy for her to have faith like it was for him. He knew that Amanda's life had always been hard, and that because of her fertility issues and heart transplant she was classified as high risk. Even though he tried to reassure her that things would work out, he knew that deep down she was constantly waiting for something to go horribly wrong.

"Okay," He gave in. "Just promise me you'll take a break and put your feet up every once in a while."

"Deal."

Now that that was settled, Jack put the truck in gear and began to pull out of the lot. Amanda was distracted by the sound of her text tone and pulled out her cell. A smile made its way to her face as she read the message. "That was Nolan – he's back."

"Knock, knock."

Drew looked up and smiled when he saw Charlotte leaning up against the doorway that led to his office. "Hey, you." He said. "Come in."

Charlotte walked inside and immediately made her way over to Drew, plopping down onto his lap. Before he could ask her what was going on – since he hadn't been expecting her to stop by this morning – she grabbed his face and kissed him.

Drew grinned as they deepened the kiss. Things had been going great with them for the past four weeks, and they seemed to be closer than they'd ever been. He'd never felt this way about anyone before – but the more time he spent with Charlotte, the less this fact scared him.

Drew startled her when he pulled away, and Charlotte made a face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," He said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "I just want to show you something."

"Well I thought I would show you something…" She leaned in for another kiss but Drew jerked away, letting her know he was serious.

"Come on, Char. Just five minutes?"

She huffed. "Okay, fine. What is it?"

Drew swiveled back around in his office chair and pulled up the minimized Internet browser on his computer. "What do you think?"

Charlotte leaned forward curiously and looked at what he was showing her. It was a house – a cute, one story, single family home, two bedrooms, two baths, with a fenced in yard, wood burning fireplace and back patio. "This is nice," She said. "But why are you showing it to me?"

Drew bit his lip. "Because…I'm buying it."

She looked at him, surprised. "But what about your apartment?"

"I love that place," Drew explained. "But I hate the commute from Manhattan to Southampton – and I end up spending most nights at your place anyway. I'd been thinking about buying for a while now, and this seemed like a smarter option." He paused when he saw she hadn't realized what he was insinuating. "And I even made sure it had a walk-in closet for you and all your expensive shoes."

Her eyes widened. "Are you saying…?"

Drew nodded. "Do you want to officially move in? With me? At this house?"

At a sudden loss for words, Charlotte looked at the screen again – it was a cute house. Picturesque. Quaint. Growing up, people had always envied her for living in Grayson Manor – but secretly, she'd always envied people who lived in houses like these. They seemed so…happy. So normal. But was she ready for this?

She remembered what Amanda had told her a month earlier when she'd been afraid to say 'I love you' to Drew: if you stop yourself from being with him just because you're scared, the only one you're screwing over is yourself.

It was time for her to make a big move. Literally and metaphorically.

Charlotte turned to Drew and smiled. "Okay – let's do it. Let's live together."

May 1980

The Main Line, Pennsylvania

"When's Daddy going to be home?"

Elizabeth Ross turned away from the dishes she was doing to look at her five year old son – the little boy was sitting at the counter, swinging his legs as he ate his afternoon snack. "Be careful, Nolan," She instructed. "Daddy will be home soon, and you know he doesn't like it when there are scuffs on the cabinets." She held back a wince when she thought about what her husband Edward had said to her the last time he'd come home and found the kitchen not up to his usual standards…

She was snapped back to reality by the sound of her son's "uh-oh" and when she turned to look, Cheerios had already fallen all over the floor. "Nolan! How many times do I have to tell you to watch it?" She scolded, rushing over and getting onto her hands and knees to pick them up.

When she looked up again she saw her son staring at her, tears welling up in his blue eyes, his lower lip quivering. "I'm sorry, Mommy." He said. "I didn't mean to…"

With a sigh, Elizabeth paused from her task and pulled him into her arms. "I know baby, I'm sorry I yelled."

"Is Daddy going to be mad?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to give him some faux reassurance, but her head snapped up when she heard the opening and closing of the front door. "Liz!" It was Edward, and she knew immediately that he was drunk – it wasn't going to be a good day today. "Where are you?"

Realizing she couldn't possibly pick up all the Cheerios before he got to the kitchen, Elizabeth stood up. "Get behind me," She instructed Nolan, and when her son hesitated she pushed him behind her legs. He was standing there trembling when Edward walked into the room.

Edward Ross paused mid-step when he saw the mess. Elizabeth simply kept her head high, bracing herself for the argument. "What is this?" He demanded in slurred words. He looked to his son, hiding behind Elizabeth, and lunged for him. "Did you do this?"

His father's much larger hand wrapped tightly around his little wrist, Nolan immediately burst out into loud, frantic sobs – he'd always been a sensitive child who only wanted to please his father, too innocent to realize that nothing he did would ever be enough to appease the unnecessarily cruel man. Edward's hand was half raised when Elizabeth reached out and shoved him. "Don't touch him, Edward! God, he's just a little boy!"

Her husband turned his attention to her now, fury in his eyes. "You don't talk back to me, woman!" He looked to Nolan again and pointed to the stairs. "Go to your room, right now!"

At this, Nolan glanced at his mother, who only nodded solemnly. "Go ahead – I'll be alright."

He hesitated, looking from his father's pointed glare to his mother's forced smile. Slowly, he turned and started to head for the stairs to his room. Edward didn't even wait for him to leave the room before he started yelling.

As he reached the bottom of the steps Nolan turned to look over his shoulder, and he watched just as his father slapped his mother across the face.

May 8, 2017 10:30 am

Southampton, New York

"Nolan? Nolan!"

The man was suddenly jerked from his flashback at the sound of his name being called, and when he turned around he saw Olivia standing in the open doorway to his bedroom. He wondered how long she'd been trying to get his attention. "Sorry," He said. "What is it?"

"Everyone's here – come on."

Nolan got up and followed Olivia into the living room, where he found his friends waiting. Louise got up immediately and went to hug him, and he weakly hugged back. Amanda, Jack and Spencer were scattered around his living room and he greeted them the same, while Hailey was sitting on the arm of a chair.

"So," He said, addressing the group as a whole now. "As you've probably heard, my trip to New York wasn't as helpful as I hoped it would be..."

"But we're not going to give up," Spencer interjected. "Right?"

He nodded. "Of course not. We're going to find Elizabeth Miller, no matter what."

"So what do you want us to do?" Hailey asked.

Nolan thought for a moment. "Amanda and Jack will go to her office to see if they can get an appointment with her. Spencer and Hailey – you'll research The Liberators' past attacks, see if you can find a pattern. And Louise and I will try to put a timeline together to see if we can figure out how Elizabeth and Ryan North became affiliated with The Liberators. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Okay?" His friends all nodded in agreement. "Alright, then let's go."

As they all dispersed, Olivia approached Nolan. "What about me?" She asked. "What am I supposed to do?"

Nolan frowned. "I think the best thing you can do for now is stay put." Off her evident displeasure, he added: "It will be better that way for everyone, okay? The Liberators have targeted you before and you need to stay safe."

With a sigh, Olivia relented. "Alright – but you need to watch out for yourself too."

He nodded in agreement. "Don't worry – I will."

Half an hour later, Hailey and Spencer stepped off the elevators at the office of Ross & Associates. They immediately spotted two familiar faces – Charlotte and Drew, who were headed in their direction. "Hey," Hailey said. "You guys weren't at our meeting today."

"Oh, sorry." Charlotte said. "We had our phones off. Is everything okay?"

"Nolan didn't find anything out in Manhattan," Spencer explained. "So we're still looking for his mom – and we're trying to find out how she and Ryan North joined up with The Liberators in the first place. So we can get a good idea about what we're dealing with."

Drew nodded. "Well, if you need anything let us know."

"Where are you guys going?"

"Out," Charlotte said vaguely, grabbing her boyfriend by the arm and leading him towards the open elevator. "Call me later, Hailes?" The other girl nodded in agreement, and the elevator doors shut.

Once they were gone, Hailey and Spencer went into the conference room and got themselves situated. Spencer sat down and opened up his laptop, while Hailey went to the break room and returned several minutes later with a full pot of coffee. "Some liquid energy," She clarified, and Spencer smiled appreciatively as she fixed them both a cup.

"You know how I take it?"

"A splash of half and half, two Splendas," Hailey said immediately. "We've spent enough late nights together, I've seen you prepare yourself coffee more times than I can count."

She pushed her chair closer to his so that they could both look at the computer screen, and Spencer pulled up a search engine. "Search for a list of The Liberators' past attacks," Hailey instructed, and Spencer did so.

Once he'd gotten the search results, Hailey turned the laptop to face her and scrolled down until she found what she was looking for. "It says The Liberators first appeared after they took credit for a bombing in Queens," She said. "It was some apartment complex...October 21, 2002. A first bomb went off, and then a second half an hour later after the first responders had arrived. Twelve people were killed, fifty more injured." Hailey went back to Google and typed in the attack, and as she scrolled through the results she saw something interesting.

She turned to Spencer. "Look at this – Elizabeth Miller just so happened to be on the scene. She helped people get out and missed the second bomb by a minute. She won re-election for her seat in the House two weeks later."

Suddenly, Spencer bolted upright in his seat. "What was the date of the attack again?"

"October 21, 2002." Hailey repeated. "Why, what's wrong?"

Spencer pushed out his chair and stood up. He couldn't met Hailey's eyes. "I need some air," He said, and before Hailey could say anything more he stormed out.

June 1990

The Main Line, Pennsylvania

"Why are you doing this?"

Elizabeth looked up from the trunk of her car, which she was currently packing with all of her stuff, as her fifteen year old son walked down the driveway towards her. He'd recently had a growth spurt and was taller than both of his parents now, but he was still a scrawny kid and there was no way he could win a fight with someone built like Edward. She still felt guilty about it, but she knew this was what she had to do – she'd put up with Edward for sixteen years, and she couldn't do it for one day more. Even if that meant having to leave the best thing in her life behind… "Nolan, honey," She said, reaching up to cup her son's cheeks. "I'm sorry, but your father would never let me take you, you know that…"

"So what?" He protested. "I don't care what Dad thinks. I want to go with you."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry, baby. But that's just not an option. I wish it was…"

"Liz!" She turned and saw her now ex-husband standing on the porch, leaning up against the open door frame, and drinking a beer even though it was the middle of the day. "If you're not off my property in five minutes, I'm calling the police!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes – it was so ironic, him calling the cops on her. She'd done it so many times before but Edward's colleagues at the department had always turned a blind eye to her bruises and scratches, her blood stains and black eyes. She had a feeling though they would not be so hesitant to slap some cuffs on her wrists…

She turned back to her son and smiled wearily at him. "I'll call you as soon as I'm settled, okay? Don't worry. Just a few more years and you'll be off to college…"

"But what am I going to do now?" Nolan protested. His voice reminded her of when he was a little boy, hiding behind her legs, and it broke her heart. "I can't tell Dad anything, he always gets so mad. I can't talk to him about school, my friends, my…" He trailed off and lowered his voice, just to ensure Edward wouldn't hear. "My...boyfriend."

"You're a big boy now Nolan," Elizabeth told him, shutting the trunk. It was time for her to go, and lingering would only make this more painful. "You can take care of yourself." With one last 'I love you' she climbed into the driver's seat, watching Nolan in her rearview mirror as she pulled away from the Ross home. Her son watched her go until his tears subsided, then walked back into the house, where Edward was yelling drunken obscenities and stumbling over his own feet.

Only two hours later, the two Ross men got into an argument when Nolan tried to prevent his father from having his fifth beer of the day.

He was beaten until he saw stars.

May 8, 2017 11:15 a.m.

Southampton, New York

"Nolan! Nolan!"

Nolan froze, snapping out of his trance as Louise repeatedly said his name. He looked over at her, finding the Southern belle sitting on her couch, laptop open, giving him a pointed look. "Heavens to Betsy, you're going to make a hole in my floor!"

He looked down at his feet, realizing he'd been walking back and forth across her living room since they'd arrived. Blushing, Nolan dropped down onto the couch next to her. "Sorry...did you find anything?"

"Well," Louise said, picking up her notes. "Your mother won her first seat in the House of Representatives in 2000. Then she won re-election in 2002 and 2004...but in 2006, she chose not to seek re-election even though she was the favorite to win. She kept a pretty low profile after that until when she decided to run for her old seat again. She was behind in the polls, but then – when it was time for the votes to be counted – she won."

"Do you think The Liberators rigged the vote in her favor?" Nolan asked. "Maybe they were pushing her to get back into politics, so they could have someone in a position of power…"

Louise shrugged. "Or maybe she rigged it herself. Or the polls were just wrong. This doesn't prove anything."

Nolan sighed and looked down at the ground. "I always admired my mother, you know? She was so...so strong. My father constantly gave her Hell, but she still endured. And she sacrificed so much for me…"

Louise touched his shoulder comfortingly. "I know honey, I know…"

They were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, and Louise excused herself to go answer it. Nolan could faintly hear her speaking with whoever it was, a voice that he did not recognize, before she shut the door and walked back over. When she reappeared, Louise was holding a thick white envelope in her hand, looking somber. "Don't be mad…" She said. "But I...had someone tail Ryan North."

Nolan gave her an incredulous look. "Like a P.I.?"

Louise nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, I just...I didn't feel safe. I wanted to do something, you know."

After a moment's hesitation, Nolan nodded. "Okay...did he find out anything?"

"Well, let's see." She tore the envelope open and Nolan waited with anticipation as Louise peered inside. Her eyebrows wrinkled and when she upturned the envelope, only one thing fell out – a flash drive landed on the coffee table with a slight clang.

"That's it?" He said.

"Yup. Nothing else in here…"

Nolan stared at the flash drive for a moment as Louise picked it up, sitting back down on the couch next to him. She turned it over in her hand a couple times. "What do you think is on it?" He asked her.

Louise shrugged her shoulders, and then handed it to him. "I don't know – but hopefully you can use it to end this, once and for all."

The building where Elizabeth Miller's headquarters was located was everything you would imagine it to be – harsh and sleek, all neutral colors and sharp edges. The elevator was made of glass and as you shot upward, you could see all the people below moving like monochromatic ants. As they headed for the thirteenth floor, Amanda looked down and watched as the levels zoomed past.

Next to her, Jack cleared his throat. "Are you feeling okay?"

Amanda glanced at him, his eyes full of concern. "I'm fine. As I was the last five times you asked…"

"You sure you don't want to go wait in the car?"

She sighed and went back to staring out the side of the elevator, arms crossed over her stomach. "I'm pregnant, not an invalid."

"Fine," Jack gave in. "But let me take the lead on this one, okay?"

Amanda laughed, but then she saw that Jack was actually waiting for an answer. "Oh wait, you were serious?"

The elevator doors finally opened once they reached the proper floor and they both stepped out. Inside the campaign headquarters adhered to the same cold color scheme as the rest of the building. There was a desk in the lobby, where a receptionist was seated behind a computer continually answering phones. "Congresswoman Miller's office, please hold. Congresswoman Miller's office, please hold. Congresswoman Miller's office, please –" Amanda glanced at an old campaign poster hung up on the wall – Reelect Elizabeth Miller: Passion. Justice. Experience.

"Are they always this crazy?" Jack whispered to her. "It's not even an election year."

The receptionist glanced up as they approached the desk, an annoyed look on her face. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, hello." Amanda said, forcing a saccharine smile. "We're here to see Congresswoman Miller."

"She's not in right now. Was she expecting you?"

"Well, not exactly." Jack said. "But we're very interested in helping to fund her campaign –"

"Sorry," The woman cut him off. "But no one gets in there –" She jammed her finger towards a closed door behind her, which surely led to Elizabeth Miller's office. "Without an appointment. The congresswoman is very busy – she's throwing her hat in the ring for governor, you know." At her words, Amanda caught sight of a sticker plastered to the back of the receptionist's Macbook – Miller For Governor 2018.

Jack nodded. "I see...So, how do we make an appointment?"

While her husband and the receptionist continued to converse, Amanda's eye began to wander. Campaign posters dating all the way back to Elizabeth's first New York campaign were hanging up around the room, all promising essentially the same things: justice, liberty, a true New York spirit. Then suddenly, a weird feeling came over her – like someone was staring at her.

She glanced over towards Elizabeth Miller's office again. There was a window next to the door, but they didn't enable her to see anything because the blinds were pulled down. Except then she saw something which almost made her gasp – from the darkness there was an eye watching her, big and brown, peeking out from in between the blinds. Only as soon as Amanda saw it, the blinds fell back into place, whomever it was inside having realized they'd been caught.

Once the receptionist had given him Elizabeth's card, Jack thanked her and turned to go, grabbing Amanda's arm as they headed for the exit. His wife cast another glance over her shoulder, hoping that she'd see the blinds shift again, but nothing.

Jack gave her a concerned look. "Is something wrong?"

Amanda turned to him. "I think we're being watched right now."

The house was even more perfect in person, if that was even possible.

As Drew took her hand and led her up the pathway, Charlotte eagerly took it all in. The house was polished brick, colonial style, with a red door and pale blue shutters. Drew pulled a key out of his pocket, stepping onto a 'Welcome Home' mat as he stuck it into the lock. A moment later, the door popped open. "Ready?" He asked her, and Charlotte practically squealed. This time she was the one dragging him forward.

She halted after only a few steps when she saw something unexpected. "Oh my God, Drew…"

The house was already furnished – and while perhaps a few years ago she would've flipped at the idea of her boyfriend decorating their house (well, if she even would've been willing to live with a guy in general back then), now it made her smile. The place was perfect – the living room was painted white, with neutral furniture and wood accents. There was a fireplace with a TV hung above it and doors that led to the back patio. The kitchen was connected to the living room directly and outfitted with new granite countertops, a massive island and stainless steel appliances. Charlotte looked at Drew, eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. "I wanna see my room!" She declared, and her boyfriend laughed as she pulled him towards the master suite.

She'd been in that house for one minute, and it already felt like more like home than any other place she'd ever lived.

For an hour, Hailey waited. And waited. And waited. But Spencer never came back.

Finally, worried out of her mind by this point, the girl got up and went to investigate. As she exited the office building and stepped onto the sidewalk, she was about to reach for her phone when she realized it wasn't necessary – Spencer's Jeep was still parked where he'd left it.

She approached slowly, gently knocking on the window. Spencer, who was hunched over in the driver's seat, looked up. Hailey saw tear tracks down his cheeks as wordlessly he reached over to unlock the door.

Hailey climbed inside, slipping into the passenger seat and grabbing Spencer's hand in her own. "What's wrong?" She asked gently. "Did something happen?"

Spencer looked forward, sniffling. "Yeah, something did happen. Almost fifteen years ago."

This didn't make anything clearer for Hailey. "The Queens attack? That's what's bothering you? But why?" Spencer didn't answer her, grabbing a tissue from the glove compartment to wipe his eyes. It was then that Hailey saw his phone was resting on his knee, something pulled up on the screen. Without thinking, she grabbed it. Spencer didn't protest.

An article was pulled up, the date on it reading October 22, 2002 – one day after the bombing that brought The Liberators onto the terrorism scene. Queens First Responders Killed in Yesterday's Terrorist Attack. Accompanying the article was a photo of a smiling, African-American couple – a man and a woman, he had deep, brown eyes and she had a warm, kind smile. They were a pair of eyes and a smile that Hailey had seen before…

The caption under the photo only confirmed the sinking truth that had just hit Hailey full force. Firefighter Raymond "Ray" Presley Jr., 38, and his wife, paramedic Vivian Hudson, 36, were both fatally wounded during the second explosion at The York apartment complex yesterday as they attempted to help the injured.

Hailey looked up, unsure of what she could say. "Spencer…"

Another wave of crying had hit Spencer, his father's deep, brown eyes filling with tears again, the warm, kind smile he'd inherited from his mother nowhere to be found. Hailey leaned forward just as he collapsed forward sobbing, wrapping her arms around him to hold him up. Needing support, Spencer buried his face into her chest and grabbed on for dear life. "They…they killed them Hailey! The Liberators killed my parents!"

June 1998

The Upper East Side, New York

"How do I look?"

Elizabeth Miller looked up from her computer as her twenty-three year old son walked into the room. She smiled as Nolan fidgeted in front of her, pulling on the buttons of his navy blue suit. "Well?" He asked. "Do I look like the boss?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Very professional," She said, walking over to fix his tie. "Though the bright pink socks are a little much."

Nolan gave her a crooked smile. "Come on, Mom. This is me we're talking about."

She smiled. "That's true – I'd expect nothing less."

They stood there in silence for a moment, Elizabeth working on fixing her son's messy knot. Since he'd dropped out of MIT thirteen months ago, he'd been living with her. Edward had refused to take him back home, and her son hadn't wanted to live with his father again anyway. Elizabeth hated that she'd left Nolan there to deal with Edward's anger alone – it was her biggest regret. Letting her son live with her while he got his company on its feet was the least she could do to prove how sorry she was.

"I'm very proud of you, son." She said, running her hands down his lapel to smooth it out. "You know that?"

"Thanks Mom." He said, beaming. He checked his watch and realized the time. "I gotta go. I can't be late." He started to head for the door, then paused. "Hey, can you do me a favor? There's some mail on the counter about NolCorp – can you reply to them for me? I'll sign them when I get back."

Elizabeth waved him off. "Don't worry about it – I'll get it all done. I know your signature. You just have a good meeting."

Nolan smiled at her, heading for the door. "You're the best, Mom." He called out, before heading off to his meeting.

Once he was gone Elizabeth began to peruse the stack of envelopes, flipping through them absentmindedly and observing the return addresses. Corporation, corporation, corporation...She paused when she saw one that stood out.

Olivia Anderson

313 Mockingbird Lane

Fall River, Massachusetts

Curiosity overcoming her, Elizabeth broke the seal on the envelope. When she pulled the letter out a picture fell from its folds, landing face down on the counter. She opened the letter and began to read the words written on stationery in feminine handwriting.

Dear Nolan,

I know that after how we left things, you probably don't want to see me again. And honestly, I can't blame you. But there's something important I've been meaning to tell you, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I kept this from you any longer. I've tried to call you so many times but I just couldn't get myself to pick up the phone... Elizabeth raised her eyebrow as she read, but it was the next line that really took her breath away.

Nolan, you have a daughter. We have a daughter. Her name is Hailey, and she's nine months old. I –

Elizabeth folded the paper up and quickly shoved it away, unable to read any more. Slowly she lifted up the photo which had fallen from the envelope. It was a picture of a little baby girl – she had tufts of blonde hair and chubby pink cheeks, grinning as she stuck her foot in her mouth. Just looking at her, she knew that it all had to be true – the baby had carbon copies of Nolan's beautiful, blue eyes. There was no doubt in her mind now – she was his.

She turned the photo back over, feeling sick to her stomach. She knew Nolan would do the right thing and support this girl and her child – but his company was finally starting to take off, and now his career would be over before it started. Everything he'd worked his entire life for would be down the drain, thanks to a broken condom and young fatherhood.

She knew what she had to do.

She found the checkbook after a few moments of searching and grabbed a pen, flipping it open to a blank page. She copied down the girl's name from the return address – Olivia Anderson – and pondered what amount to write. Finally, she decided on $100,000 – she figured that should be enough, and yet if Nolan noticed it missing from the bank account she could explain it away. Then, after staring at the check with hesitation for a moment, she signed it with her son's signature.

Once she'd completed the check she ripped it out and grabbed a fresh envelope. She stapled the check to a blank piece of paper and wrote her message across the paper in generic, block letters: DO NOT CONTACT US EVER AGAIN.

May 9, 2017 2:15 a.m.

Southampton, New York

It was after two a.m. when Olivia was suddenly aroused from deep sleep. She glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, unsure of what had awakened her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, intending to get a glass of water before she went back to sleep.

But as Olivia headed for the kitchen, she noticed a single light in the living room. "Nolan?"

From the glow of his laptop screen, she could see him jump out of surprise. Olivia flicked on the living room light, bringing them out of the darkness. Her ex was on the couch, his laptop open in front of him but with no program up on the screen, his hair sticking up, looking like he hadn't slept at all. "Have you been up all night?"

Nolan shrugged one of his shoulders and turned back around. Olivia walked over and plopped down onto the couch next to him. "I tried to sleep, but I just couldn't. I have too much on my mind…" He was turning something over and over in his hands, and Olivia saw it was a flash drive.

"What's that?"

Nolan audibly sighed and sat up, holding the flash drive between his thumb and pointer finger. "Louise hired a P.I. to follow North. This is what he found…"

Olivia sat up a little straighter at this. "Okay then. Let's look at it."

He hesitated for a moment. "Olivia, I know you think my mother is guilty, but I...I can't…"

"Nolan," She cut him off gently. "I'm...I'm sorry, okay? For what happened last month. With the hitman. I…" She shook her head. "I need to understand where you're coming from. Even if this isn't how I would go about it...this isn't about me anymore. It's your life that's been affected now. And after how you've helped me...I should help you."

Nolan smiled at her, but it was fleeting. His expression somber, he held up the flash drive. "Will you stay with me while I look at it?"

She nodded. "Of course."

With one last deep breath, Nolan uncapped the flash drive and stuck it into his computer. The duo watched with baited breath as the files appeared on his screen one by one – they were photos. Hundreds of them. And they were all of North.

Nolan began to click through, Olivia watching over his shoulder. "So far nothing too suspect…" He said, continuing to look through the files. There were photos of North leaving his home and heading to his car, of him walking into nondescript buildings with sunglasses over his eyes. But nothing solid – no proof that he was a terrorist, or that he had done anything to spy on them.

Then, Nolan saw something that piqued his interest. It was North, pulling up his car to a seemingly random alley. The photos were from a distance, the P.I. probably not having been able to get too close without being seen, but you could see North as he headed for the alley. There was a woman waiting there for him, her back turned to the camera. North was approaching her. In the next photo, he was tapping her on the shoulder. In the next, she was turning to face him, her graying blonde hair hiding half her face. Then, North was touching her arm. And her cheeks. Then, lifting her face up to reach his. And finally, kissing her.

Nolan and Olivia both looked at each other, the surprise written all over both their faces. "My mother and North…" Nolan stammered. "They're lovers?"

The next morning, Amanda woke up to sunlight streaming in through the window. She turned her head and found Jack still in bed beside her, watching her with a smile on his face. "Morning…" She said sleepily, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You didn't wake up to puke this morning." He said. "That's always good."

"Perks of the second trimester," She said, leaning over with the intent to kiss him more intensely on the lips since for once she didn't taste like vomit, but her husband backed away, causing her to frown.

"Why don't you just relax?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Jack, I don't need to –"

"One lazy morning won't kill you." He insisted. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast – whatever you want."

She sighed – she supposed she could give him this one thing. "Surprise me."

Jack got up and started to head downstairs, where Bay was already pacing ready to be let out. Amanda lifted her arms over her head and stretched, slowly moving into a sitting position when…

She froze suddenly when she felt it – a warm, wet stickiness. Her stomach sank with horror. "Oh my God, oh my God no…" She threw the blankets off herself and promptly let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Jack!"

Jack raced back upstairs immediately when he heard her desperate cry, ignoring Bay's impatient barking behind him. When he entered the room he saw his wife sitting up, her arms wrapped around her abdomen, her terrified gaze fixed on something on the mattress which he could not see. "What –" He began to ask but then, as he reached the bed and saw what she saw, he stopped mid-step.

Soaking through the mattress was a pool of fresh, bright red, blood. He looked at his wife and found the source of it, as he watched it drip in a slow trickle down her thighs. His heart sank.

The baby.

September 4, 2017 9:15 a.m.

Labor Day

Somewhere on Long Island

After you experience tragedy alongside someone, the two of you will always share that history.

In the backseat of Sonya's car, Amanda and Charlotte both suddenly perked up as the car began to head towards civilization. Were they finally getting out?

"I need gas," Sonya said to them, pulling up to a pump at a gas station. "Don't move." Then she pushed open the car door and stepped outside.

As soon as the woman was preoccupied, Amanda fumbled for something in her back pocket. It was hard with her wrists bound, but she was able to just barely grab her phone. She tried to press the buttons but couldn't get a proper grip on the phone, so she tossed it across the backseat, where it landed next to Charlotte.

Her sister looked at her, wide-eyed. "What are you doing?"

"I need you to unlock my phone so I can call Jack." Amanda explained. "My passcode is –"

"We can't!" Charlotte said to her. "You know we can't!"

"Charlotte, I have to –"

They were interrupted mid-argument by a loud cry from outside – Sonya's voice. "Oh my God!" Charlotte looked over, just as the woman reached for her belt – where Charlotte knew she kept her gun. And then – bang!

However, it doesn't always make you closer.

Charlotte looked away, a feeling of horror in her stomach. "Oh my God...oh my God…" If her hands weren't bound, she would've covered her mouth because she felt like she might vomit.

"What?" Amanda said, having been unable to see what had just transpired outside the car from her seat on the opposite side. Before Charlotte could tell her not to move, she had already leaned over, and her eyes widened when she saw what Charlotte had just seen.

On the ground, right next to the car, was Sonya. Her hand frozen in place, eternally reaching for her gun, a single, red blood splatter in the center of her forehead from where the bullet had passed through. Right through her brain. Surely killing her instantly.

Sometimes...

Before the two sisters could even react, the car door opened again and this time a different driver got inside.

"Don't move!" Ryan North ordered, pulling a switchblade out from his pocket. He leaned over to the backseat, knife out. Charlotte screamed.

Only as North leaned towards Amanda, he didn't stab her like Charlotte was expecting – her cut her wrists free. Then he moved to Charlotte. At this point, she was too shocked to say anything as North grabbed her arms and cut the rope binding her wrists together.

...it just drives you further apart.

Amanda, however, wasn't so quiet. "What the Hell are you doing?" She roared. "You...you killed her!"

"Shut up!" North said, looking back over his shoulder. People were beginning to rush out of the gas station now, having heard the gunfire. He sat back down in the driver's seat and put the car in gear. "We have to go now!" He said, before revving the engine and speeding off.

DAD CALLING…

Hailey shook her head and picked up her phone as it rang for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. Nolan was calling her over and over. She turned the phone off and shoved it back into her pocket, before continuing to pace back and forth in the barren room with concrete walls, running a hand anxiously through her black hair.

Sometimes you experience something so horrible...

The heavy iron door opened and she turned around, just as Brett Chamberlain walked into the room. He met her eyes. "Is everything going according to plan?" He asked.

A self-satisfied smile made its way across Hailey's face as she answered. "Yes."

...that it changes you. Forever.