A/N Firstly, let me apologise for how little I've uploaded lately. It's been a mixture of busy and writer's block :( Plus, I unintentionally have made this chapter the length of two :/ Anyway, having finally written this chapter, I very nearly scrapped it all and restarted. I decided against it and uploaded it anyway because otherwise I have no idea how long you would have to wait until you actually got something, but I'm so sorry about the quality everyone. I hope you're not too disappointed! I seem to be going through a phase at the moment where I'm not happy with everything I write, whether it's the characterisation, the plot line or just the way I've written it in general. Hopefully I'll get over that soon though, and in the meantime I hope this is okay :) There's probably going to be one more chapter after this. On a happier note, thank you so much for all the reviews/alerts/favourites on this story. Last chapter there were 8 reviews which was amazing; I've never had such a huge response to any chapters I've uploaded previously and I am genuinely extremely grateful. I do love reading your feedback.

(For those of you who have been reading No More Games as well, the 11th chapter is half completed now, but I have serious writer's block on that so it may be a few more weeks before I finally update that; I'm sorry!)

And now you can breathe a sigh of relief, because this A/N is finally over! :P

'Girls. Shauny.' Carla's voice was hoarse from the alcohol consumption the previous night. She would usually try to hide the hangover, but she was fully aware that they all knew about her drinking last night. That wasn't the only think they were aware of. She made her way towards the office without a single glance at the factory workers; she couldn't bear to look at them, knowing what they knew. They all exchanged worried glances, and without needing to be prompted Hayley ran after her into the office.

When she reached the office, she found Carla sitting at her desk, her head in her hands and her fingers running through her silky black hair. It was pretty clear that this was a reaction not only to the hangover she was nursing, but also to the memories of the night before. Hayley took a tentative step towards her, being careful not to frighten her. 'Mrs Connor?' she asked, in a sort of half whisper. Carla brushed her hair away from her face and looked up to face the reality from which she wanted to hide, revealing her make-up-less face to Hayley. She had clearly visible bags under her eyes due to the sleepless nights she had suffered for nearly six months now and the sight of her looking so broken pulled at Hayley's heartstrings.

'Look Carla, are you ok?' she asked, genuinely concerned.

'Oh yeah, don't you worry about me Hayley' she replied, her tone sombre. 'It's not like he hasn't done worse.' She pushed her way past Hayley to confront her workforce, knowing the one question they were all waiting to ask. She was kidding herself if she thought their concern was towards her; they had mortgages to pay. She took up her usual space at the bottom of the stairs to address her workforce. 'Now I don't want you lot to worry about your jobs. You're going nowhere, do you hear me?'

'We...erm...well we wanted to talk to you first, but...' Hayley was staring at the floor as she spoke, stuttering over her words. She knew what Carla could be like when she was angry or annoyed, and Hayley wasn't sure what reaction this was going to get judging by her temperamental attitude already this morning.

'Spit it out, Hayley' she prompted.

'Well if it's alright with you, w...we all want to go to the police as witnesses. You know, to his confession?' Carla just stood there motionless, looking at Hayley as if she had lost her senses. She was already wishing she hadn't been so drunk as to do what she had done last night.

'I don't think that's going to help, do you? The justice system is about as useless as ever.'

'B...but the police can't ignore all of us!' Hayley reasoned. 'Stella's agreed to come forward too. A...and Eileen.'

'I'll think about it.' She retorted, eager to end the conversation, before quickly changing the subject. 'For now, continue with this new order. If we don't get this to Cartwright on time we've got a serious problem on our hands.'

'But what are you going to do when Frank gets here?' Sean intercepted. It was the first direct reference to that man, and it sent a few shivers up Carla's spine though she refused to show any kind of reaction to his name.

'Leave that to me. I've got until eleven to decide how I'm going to do this, so you lot worry about stitching fabric, and I'll worry about the even bigger mess I've got myself in' she sighed as she began to head back into her office where she could think without being disturbed. Not that she thought being alone would help her come up with a magnificent idea of how to deal with the situation, but her hangover wasn't appreciating the noise of the sewing machines or the jabbering of her staff.

'You haven't just got yourself in a mess though, have you...' Carla stopped dead in her tracks and looked around to meet Izzy's gaze.

'Izzy!' Fiz exclaimed, unable to believe her ears. All of her colleges were looking at her with pure surprise etched into each of their faces at her boldness.

'Look, I understand.' Izzy said, trying to defend herself while still getting her point across. 'But I've got bills that need paying, and I can't afford to lose this job.' As she spoke, Carla closed her eyes in an attempt to control her annoyance.

'I told you your job's secure, didn't I?' Carla shot back through gritted teeth. The last thing she needed was this on top of everything else.

'Yes, but...'

'No buts. There's no way I'm going to let him win. Now I've got...' She glanced at the clock, and her heart sank when she realised how little time she had until he would be returning to the factory. '...two hours...to come up with a master strategy, so if you'll excuse me.' She gestured towards her office sarcastically, and when she was satisfied she would be having no reply from her nervous workers she strode into her office and slammed the door shut behind her. The loud clatter hurt her banging head, but it achieved the desired effect as all of her staff got busily to work as soon as she had gone, not wanting to make the situation worse than it already was.

As she sat alone in the office her mind milled over the conversation. Did she really have the support of so many people?

'Mrs Connor?' Julie asked tentatively as Carla walked past.

'Yes, Julie' she replied, exasperated, heading over to her machine.

'Sorry, but this material just keeps snagging.'

'Oh give it here.' Carla leaned over the machine to snatch the sample, but as she did her sleeve raised slightly to reveal the nasty bruise which was forming on her wrist from Frank's harsh grasp last night. The machinists all stared at her wrist, while she examined the material obliviously. Their faces were a mixture of shock, fear and pity as they saw the finger shaped marks beginning to appear. 'There's nothing wrong with the fabric, Julie. Start sewing properly or Frank will make sure you're the first to leave.' She looked up to meet the several bemused faces staring back at her. 'What?' she demanded. She didn't think she'd been that harsh, just the truth. She'd said a hell of a lot worse before. She looked at Hayley for support, but when she saw the tears in her eyes she realised there must be more to this than she thought. She looked behind her, a sudden fear that their reaction was to Frank's presence. She wasn't surprised when he wasn't there – it was only ten thirty and she could always sense his presence – but it was beyond her as to what the problem was. 'Are you going to tell me what's going on, or do I have to guess?'

Her question was met by an eerie silence, but after a while Hayley choked back the tears and whispered, 'Did he do that last night?'

'What are you talking about Hayley?' she asked.

'Frank. Did he do that last night?'

'Do what?' Her patience was wearing thin; what was with all the cryptic questions?

'That.' Hayley nodded towards Carla's arm, and when she looked down she realised what everyone was referring to. The nauseous shades of red and purple leapt out at her and she quickly pulled down her sleeve harshly, as if doing so would wipe the image from her workers' memories. She felt like a rabbit in the headlights as she looked at them, wide eyed. Her brain frantically searched for something to say, but the only words she could find were the ones she had been trying so desperately to block. He touched me. The words ran through her head over and over again like a broken record, and all she wanted to do was smash it into millions of tiny pieces.

'Carla, you need to let us go to the police' Hayley begged. All she wanted to do was pull her into a massive motherly hug, although she was fully aware of the reception she would probably receive.

'They won't listen to me, Hayley.' Carla looked her straight into her eyes, and for a moment Hayley could see a flicker of fear.

'They'll have to listen to us' Fiz reassured her. 'There's way too many of us for them to just ignore!'

'You're my employees. They'll come up with some ridiculous story of how I'm threatening to sack you if you don't say it, or something...'

'Oh Carla, don't be silly...' Hayley said tenderly, her affection strangely comforting. But Hayley didn't know. None of them knew.

'No, you don't understand. The way he twists and manipulates situations; he'll have them eating out the palm of his hand from the word go.' Her mind flashed back to all the times he'd lied and deceived both inside the relationship and after.

'Ok, just say, hypothetically, they did think that. How would that explain the motive of everyone else in the pub?'

'Trust me, he'll find a way.' When nobody looked convinced, she decided to throw a few more obstacles in their way. How could they think it would be so easy as to just make a phone call? Everything was complicated when it came to the police. 'Besides, how many people would actually go ahead with this? You've heard what he's like, what if they're too scared to come forward?'

'You can't carry on like this! Besides, do you have any idea how to stop Frank sacking us yet?' Shaun may not have had the bond with Carla which Hayley did, but he still understood what made her tick to a certain extent. He knew that underneath everything she was extremely vulnerable, but he'd always pretend not to notice; he knew she'd prefer it that way. But from what he'd heard last night, there was no way Carla was going to let them all lose their jobs, and he was right. She looked around at each one of them in turn, but all she could see was innocent, hard-working people who didn't deserve to be jobless because of her. She sighed heavily, before finally giving in.

'Fine, ok. Ring the police. But don't say I didn't warn you.'

Frank strode into the factory. That lay in he had had had done him the world of good. He'd told Carla he'd be going to a business meeting, but truth was, he enjoyed the thought of her squirming, watching the clock as it got closer to his arrival. All the workers turned to look at him, their faces telling him something was definitely up. At first he thought Carla might have blamed having to lay off the staff on him – now that would be stupid of her – but then after a quick head count he realised not one employee was missing. Ballsy bitch.

Carla made her way out of the office at the sight of him, not wanting to get stuck in the same room with him alone. She pretended to have not seen him entering and headed over to Hayley's machine.

'Sorry, Hayley, what was it you needed me for?' Carla stared intensely at Hayley, and she was quick to catch on that she was trying to ignore his presence. It was blindingly obvious this wouldn't work for long, but Carla was desperate to delay speaking to him as much as possible.

'Yeah...er yeah my machine seems to be playing up.' Carla opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't have chance to speak.

'Carla.' As he announced his presence his voice echoed throughout the building as every person in the room froze at his single word. It was at this point that the workers understood how hard it must have been for Carla to work with him. Just the sound of his voice last night was enough to put them on edge, so they couldn't imagine what it must be like for her. She closed her eyes tightly, psyching herself up for the looming conversation, and then turned to face the man who had haunted her dreams throughout the night.

'Frank.' There was a moment where the atmosphere in the room was electric until the silence was broken by Frank, after he had looked pointedly around the room.

'It's busy in here this morning' he said casually.

'Nothing unusual' she snapped.

'A word?' He gestured towards the office, his eyes mildly menacing.

'No thanks, I'm busy. Sorry Hayley, what were you saying?' she asked, turning back round to the uncomfortable woman.

'A word, Carla.'

'Get a dictionary, it's easier' Carla replied, her back still to Frank. She surprised herself with how bold she was being; she somehow felt safer now so many people could see through his facade. She had a feeling things would be a different story if she was facing him though. Whenever she looked into his eyes she could see deep into his soul, and the coldness which met her knocked the entire bolshie stance which she usually held from her. 'Carry on, Hayley.' Her employee shifted awkwardly, disliking how she was being used as a barrier between them but too kind to say anything.

'Okay, have it your way' Frank declared. 'Can I have everyone's attention please?' It was a pointless question, as everybody had been staring at him in silence ever since he had entered the building. 'Evidently Carla hasn't told you all, but she's made a mistake with one of the insurance policies. The insurance only covers a certain number of staff, and since our factories joined we've now got double the staff so...' he looked at Carla, deciding to relish every uncomfortable gesture, '...we need to make half of you redundant. As it was her mistake, she offered to lose those which were originally her employees. I'm sorry, but there is no alternative. Hayley, could you leave your factory keys on your way out?' He smiled smugly at his final touch; he know how much Carla thought of Hayley and by making it personal he knew it would twist the knife further. The workers all looked at each other rather awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

'She's leaving nothing, Frank. None of them are going anywhere.' Her voice wavered slightly, but it had more power behind it than she had expected. Frank gave a short laugh, sadistically amused at how she was practically asking for humiliation.

'How are you going to explain that to the insurance people, Carla?' She saw red, fed up with the pretence when everybody in the room knew exactly what was going on. It was like all her confidence had returned in a split second and she didn't even know what she was saying until she'd said it.

'If I had to explain it to the insurance people then that would be a problem. But considering I don't, I don't think I need to worry about that.' As soon as it came out she wished she'd just kept her mouth shut almost instantaneously, but now she'd had a taste of her old self she wasn't in a hurry to let it slip away from her again. Frank could sense that he was losing control of the situation, and figured it would be a lot easier to knock her back down a peg or two in the privacy of the office.

'Office, Carla' he called over his shoulder, as he headed in that direction. She took a deep breath.

'No, Frank.' He leaned against the doorframe, eying her expectantly. To Carla, it felt like he was undressing her with his eyes and part of her wanted to head into the office just to stop him looking at her like that. However she stayed strong, not willing to give in so easily.

'For the love of God, Carla. What is wrong with you this morning?'

'She said no, Mr Foster.'

'Oh, come on Hayley. We all know he doesn't know the meaning of that word.' Carla laughed, but it was humourless. It was easy to see how much she wanted to make light of the situation, but it simply wasn't something which can just be turned into a joke and the pain could be heard as an undertone to her voice. She couldn't stand the fact that she couldn't just laugh it off like anything else that upset her; what he'd done to her was far beyond anything she'd had to cope with before, and she'd had to cope with a great deal of strife, but she, hand on heart, had no idea what to do.

Frank looked at Hayley, unable to believe that she'd just got involved. Usually, Hayley would be the last person in the factory to open her mouth; she always avoided confrontation if she could. The only exceptions to this were when she felt exceptionally strongly about a matter, so either he'd underestimated the bond between Carla and Hayley, or there was a lot more to this than people were letting on. 'Okay, I've definitely missed something here. So who's going to fill me in?'

'We know what happened last night.'

'Kirk!' Carla gasped. I mean, they all knew he was a bit...simple...but none of them were expecting him to come out with it just like that. Carla's reaction was all Frank needed to know exactly what she had told the workers, and he got to work to think of the best way to approach the situation. It didn't take much thinking though to decide denying that any such conversation took place would be the best option.

'Oh no' he sighed. 'What web of lies are you spinning now, Carla?'

'We heard it from your own mouth. Mrs Connor called us in the Rovers last night while she was with you' Shaun explained, unable to stand the smug look on Frank's face, thinking he was going to get away with it again.

'Did she really?' Frank turned to face her, suppressing the anger which made him want to launch at her. The only outward sign of the rage which boiled beneath the surface was that he flexed his hand, but Carla didn't miss his slight movement. Her eyes shot to his hand, her eyes wide and fearful as she watched for further movement.

'I'm going to get to some fresh air.' The words fell out of her mouth in a jumbled rush in her haste to get out of harm's way, but as she went to leave she felt his hand constrict around her wrist once again. She could feel his fingers tightening around the tender skin and she winced at the unexpected pain.

He was suddenly behind her so that their bodies were touching and leant into her so that he could whisper in her ear, 'I think we've got a few things to discuss, don't you?' Before anybody had time to react, Carla had pulled away from his grasp harshly and stormed towards the factory door, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. She had only got halfway across the factory floor, however, when a couple of police officers entered the building.

'Mr Foster, could we have a word please.'

'Of course' he replied, his mask of respectability firmly in tact again. 'Carla will be alright without the office for a while, won't you Carla.'

'Actually, we need to do this down at the station.' The workers all smiled at each other, a sense of satisfaction at their part in all this.

'Oh, that serious?' Frank asked, almost mockingly.

'I think you know what this is about, don't you sir?' The taller of the two police officers was straight to the point, but the smaller one was younger, with less experience, and he looked somewhat doubtful that the man in front of them had done what he had been accused of. He looked so...normal.

'Actually I have no idea, but nothing surprises me anymore with her around.' It was like he was trying to rub their noses in his manipulative skills, and it was that step too far for Shaun.

'You lying...'

'Shaun,' Carla interrupted. 'As much as I appreciate the support, and God knows I'd enjoy listening to what you were going to say, I don't think you're about to do yourself any favours.'