Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks everybody for your support! Enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to click on that cute little review button right at the bottom! :)

Emily leaned over and straightened Daniel's tie as he descended the stairs, smiling like the perfect socialite and gazing at the ring on her finger.

"There. Perfect." She beamed at her fiancé. Daniel smiled and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

"We'll try to leave the party early. I can't imagine you want to make small talk with my parents' friends on New Year's Eve." He grinned teasingly and left to grab his cufflinks.

"Actually, I'm looking forward to it." She murmured to herself, the wicked gleam back on her face as she heard a knock on her door. She turned in surprise to see Nolan waving at her in his signature way. She glanced toward the stairs and then opened the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Snagged an invite to the party, Ems. Wanted to make sure no one got killed this time." In spite of herself, Emily cracked a smile. It felt so good not to suppress her true self in front of him, especially on a night like this. One that brought back so many memories of the night she first set foot in the beach house as an adult.

"Emily, ready to go?" a voice called from upstairs. She could hear footsteps in the hallway. Her smile disappeared, but the smirk on Nolan's face remained.

"Ah, Prince Charming." She started to shove him out the door but he relented, and slipped out undetected. He turned and bumped into a small figure in a gray coat on Emily's porch. "Charlotte!" he exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?" his voice was soft, addressing the innocent girl.

"Charlotte? Why are you out in the cold?" Her head jerked up at the sound of her brother's concerned voice. Nolan watched carefully for her reaction. He was shocked when, like a true Clarke sibling, she tossed her hair and smiled.

"Mom asked me to come get you and Emily. You're late." She teased. Nolan let Daniel and Emily pass in front of him, glancing down at their linked hands, his face twisting in an almost undetectable scowl. Charlotte stayed behind with him, Emily shooting a take care of her glare at him, and he knew she didn't mean just for the night. As they walked along the beach, (Daniel and Emily had chosen to take the traditional route), Charlotte turned to look up at Nolan.

"So what's your story?" He was caught off guard. Arching his eyebrows, he asked,

"My story?"

"Yeah, why are you helping her? What do you care about David Clarke?" He was almost offended before he remembered that she didn't know anything about his true relationship with the man. He dug his shoes into the sand as they walked, pausing before he answered.

"David was the only person willing to invest in my company when I first started. If it weren't for him…well I'd still be living at home." Nolan chuckled lightheartedly. She smiled up at him. Then his tone turned serious as he said, "And I visited him in prison. Besides your parents and the people who helped them, I was the first person to know the truth about what happened to him. He trusted me enough to give me the box." He swallowed, remembering those dark days, watching David waste away behind bars and wanting so badly to help him.

"So that's how you met Emily?" Charlotte glanced down at her own feet, tucked into strappy heels and sinking in the warm sand. Nolan had been surprised all summer that nobody had questioned the origins of his and Emily's relationship before. He nodded.

"Yeah, I gave it to her when she got out of Juvie. She was angry as hell, and who could blame her? I helped her figure out what to do with the information but in the end she decided for herself. She took off and I didn't see her again till she showed up here." He decided to leave out the 2002 New Year's Eve Party as he neared Grayson Manor. The pair walked in silence to the door until Charlotte asked,

"Nolan? Do you think Emily loves Daniel?" Fate had not helped him in the past, but it was on his side that night, because before he had to lie to this innocent girl, he heard Victoria's rich voice call from inside,

"Charlotte! Where are you? I want you to come say hello!"

"Coming!" she replied, glancing back at Nolan. He breathed in the salty ocean air and absorbed the peaceful sound of crashing waves before heading up the path.

Emily smiled and walked throughout the house with Daniel in her designer black dress, the dutiful fiancée role played to a tee. In between greeting Wall Street CEO's and their plastic wives, she anxiously scanned the room for Charlotte, sighing in relief when she spotted her mingling with her mother. But where was Nolan? She started twisting the pearls in her necklace. Daniel noticed her distress.

"Hey babe, you ok?" She breathed in and replied,

"Yeah I-I'm fine. Just looking for Nolan. I wanted to…wish him a happy new year." Daniel smiled at her, Charlotte's earlier words ringing in his ears: She's over there with Nolan right now. He shook off his paranoia, and led his fiancée over to his sister.

"You look beautiful, Charlotte!" Emily exclaimed, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you! Danny, mind if I talk to her for a second? Fashion stuff." Charlotte winked at her brother, and even Emily was impressed with her composure. Daniel grinned good-naturedly and released Emily, whose plastic smile faded the instant the two sisters were alone.

"What's wrong?" she asked between her teeth. Charlotte shook her head, reaching into the clutch she kept at her side of her knee-length, rose-colored party dress, and pulling out a small card.

"This is the real reason I came to see you before the party tonight. This is the memory card from my camera. My dad- er, Conrad had all this information about the white-haired man on his desk. Documents by the dozen, so I took pictures of them." Her voice was excited and she struggled to whisper. Emily's eyes widened as she laughed lightly for show, as if the two sisters were merely discussing Herve Leger and Gucci.

"I can't believe you got these."

"I told you I would help." Charlotte beamed proudly. Emily kept her wicked smile under wraps and touched her sister's shoulder in gratitude, then slipped the card into her clutch, walking back to Daniel.

Victoria watched the scene from afar, her eyes keen as a hawk when it came to Emily. She swallowed the confusion that arose when she saw Emily accept something from Charlotte, a little square that looked like a microchip. She knew her daughter was a trusting, loving young girl – just like David, she thought sadly – and that Charlotte approved of her soon-to-be sister-in-law. The thought alone made the Ice Queen sick.

"I'm going to go make sure Charlotte's ok." She whispered in Conrad's ear, untwining herself from him. She twisted his diamond around her finger, knowing he wouldn't question her decision after their daughter's recent behavior.

Charlotte was staring after Emily, observing her composure and her perfect mask with Daniel when she heard a voice over her shoulder.

"Eerie, isn't it? The way she seems like a completely different person?" She almost jumped out of her skin but there was something about Nolan's young face and snarky purr that made her feel at ease. The man was real, if nothing else, and that was rare in her town. The girl nodded, mesmerized.

"I thought that was who she really was. But she's…."

"She's so much more." Charlotte didn't miss the admiration and longing in his voice, struggling to keep a smirk off her face. She gave him a classic teenage girl grin as he peered over her shoulder.

"Victoria. Happy New Year." He said uneasily, uncomfortable in the queen's imposing presence.

"Not quite." She chucked good-naturedly. "We still have another 20 minutes. Do you make New Year's resolutions, Nolan?" How to make such a simple question sound so sinister was one of Victoria's specialties. He swallowed, all too aware of his dry throat.

"Used to, especially to socialize more. Never lived up to them, so I decided it wasn't worth it." Charlotte was intently watching the exchange, realizing that Nolan was a bit like her sister as well. Both could hide easily in the presence of those they were trying to cut down, but he wasn't quite as cold as Emily. She could see cracks in the façade, chinks in the armor, but decided she liked him more for them. He was human. Victoria laughed at his wry comment, her voice like bells ringing through the house.

"Well I think you've succeeded! We've seen you at more parties than usual this year, ever since Emily showed up. How do you two know each other?" Out of the corner of his blue eyes, Nolan could see Charlotte stiffen, and resisted the urge to grip her arm and steady her back to normal, lest her mother catch on.

"We met through Nolcorp, actually. Her father was heavily invested in my company before his…death." He choked out the words, struggling to make them sound casual. He could see curiosity burning in Victoria' eyes, an emotion she desperately tried to mask. The queen didn't like secrets being kept from her, but she had no problem hiding hers. The technology that made Nolan rich was his savior, as his phone rang before Victoria could ask another question he didn't want to answer.

"Excuse me." He slipped out into the foyer, his face burning. "Nolan. Who is this? Hello?" He didn't get a response until he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned, face to face with Emily's chocolate eyes. "Ems…" he hissed, tapping the end button on the call. "What are you doing here? Where's Daniel?"

"I sent him to get us drinks." She said dismissively. Realizing they were being watched by the rich and elite all around, she pulled him into a hug and planted an airy kiss on his cheek. Her lips tickled his ear as she whispered, "What did Victoria say to you?"

"Not much. Socialite things. You would know." He smirked at her. She ignored him, seething as she pulled back.

"You left her alone with Charlotte? She can't handle this! Not yet, not right now. What if she breaks?" He hadn't considered it, but shook his head, not willing to take the blame.

"Ems, she lives with her. Charlotte's going to have to face the music sometime." They snuck into the hallway adjacent to the main living room, discreetly watching the mother-daughter pair.

Being left alone with her mother made Charlotte anxious; she scanned the room for Nolan or Emily, but Victoria pressed on, oblivious to her angst.

"Charlotte, are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm just fine, Mom."

"Well, I'd like to talk to you later tonight. Just the two of us, if that's ok?" Charlotte was nervous, suspicious, and a little excited. Her mother cared. Victoria wanted to be with her. She turned to face the queen, beaming, until she saw the expression on her mother's face. Her manicured hand reached up and delicately touched the diamonds hanging from Charlotte's ears. "Those are beautiful." David's diamonds. Charlotte's breath caught in her throat; her palms began to sweat. Slowly she raised her head to meet her mother's eyes, fright and guilt filling them as she took in her mother's patronizing smile. She nodded quietly and Victoria beamed in her perfect Hamptons way, slipping off to rejoin Conrad. Nolan slunk away from Emily, aware that the queen was still watching, as Emily approached her sister with a smile. Charlotte saw her out of the corner of her eyes, turning her back and ripping out the earrings, stuffing them into her clutch. She placed a hand on the fabric of her dress and rubbed it between her fingers, keeping up the façade of fashion discussions as she leaned in and whispered,

"Are you ok? What did she say?" Charlotte swallowed tightly, her throat dry.

"She…she wants to talk tonight. Just us." Panic rose within Emily's and she fought to keep it down. She didn't want that conversation to ever take place, but couldn't afford to tip Charlotte to the other side with a loud protest. The girl still desperately craved her mother's love. Charlotte, meanwhile, was shaking inside. She was panicked and desperately wanted Emily's advice. But she didn't want to be treated like an incompetent child who couldn't handle the truth.

"Ok. But be very careful, Charlotte. If she asks you anything about me, anything, leave. Make an excuse and go. I don't want you in that kind of situation. I don't want you to have to choose."

"I already have, Ems." She couldn't suppress a grin at her sister's use of Nolan's nickname. "I'll be fine." Emily smiled, kissed her cheek, and left to rejoin Daniel, taking the champagne from his hands.

...

Charlotte stared at the empty hallway in front of her, counting the steps to her mother's room with her eyes. Just a conversation. She just wants to talk. It could be about anything. She tried a different reassurance tactic with every step. She paused in the doorway to the master suite, steeling herself. Victoria's eyes caught movement in the mirror as she removed her makeup and tied her robe around her waist.

"Charlotte, come in sweetheart." The girl walked towards her mother, smiling, her mind spinning. Her eyes flitted across the room, taking in the antique vanity and four poster bed covered in rich ruby sheets. Her eyes met her mother's as Victoria's gaze fell on her ears. Charlotte resisted an urge to touch her earlobes, knowing that the earrings dangled from them. She'd put them on in her room just before she was summoned to the master bedroom. Her stance was strong, indignant. They were her father's earrings. He was innocent, and this was her way of reminding herself of that. Victoria was the one who should be bowing her head in shame, begging her daughter for forgiveness. The girl held the queen's gaze for several seconds until Victoria stepped toward her. She could in no way have anticipated what would come next.

"Those really do look beautiful on you, especially when you smile. That beautiful, bright smile of yours." Victoria gently brushed her daughter's brunette locks from her face, her touch tender. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. For keeping him from you. Forcing you to go digging around in these…these lies!" Here Victoria picked up Mason Treadwell's book from the bed and slammed it on the dresser. Charlotte jumped back, startled. How had her mother known she had that book? Daniel. Her teeth grit in frustration. Victoria closed her eyes, collecting herself as Charlotte put on her best confused face. These lies…was her mother going to tell her the truth? Finally, Charlotte thought. She knew what Victoria had done, what her whole family was keeping her, and yet she didn't want to see her suffer. She decided to bait her, to play the ignorant role and save her mother's dignity at least a little. It was strange that this girl could co-exist in the same body with the one who eagerly accepted Emily's vendetta. She was a paradox.

"What do you mean, lies?" Victoria stepped closer, her eyes flashing with tears.

"Mason Treadwell…he doesn't tell the full story. And it's not entirely his fault." Here it comes…Charlotte held her breath, her heart racing. This would end it. Her mother would tell her the truth and she would tell Emily, convince her to stop her plan. It would work. "You see, when he asked to interview your fathe-Conrad and I, we refused. I just couldn't bare it."

"But Mason's book is telling the truth, isn't it? David…he did do all those terrible things." It was nearly impossible to keep up the charade now; Charlotte's whole body shook with anticipation. Victoria paused, sliding her hands to her daughter's shoulders, gripping them tightly.

"Charlotte…"

Charlotte's hands flew up to her ears, loyalty to her mother filling her heart. She'd tell the truth of where she got the earrings, of everything she knew. She may be angry, but the woman who'd made her so was own mother. Victoria would do right by her; she would go to the police and expose Conrad. She may even get immunity, or at least, a lessened sentence. The girl's faith in humanity may have been shaken, but at her core she was soft. Her naivete was about to be Emily's undoing. Charlotte took a deep, cleansing breath. "Mom." Before she could say the next two words, those two words that would tear apart Victoria and Emily's worlds, the ice queen cut in, her voice a broken whisper.

"Yes. Yes, Charlotte, he did do those terrible things." It felt like she'd just been slapped. Charlotte stepped out of her mother's grip, shaking her head, her throat closing. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, threatening to pour down in a rush. Victoria stepped forward, raising her voice in desperation. "But listen to me! Listen, your father did have some…some amazing qualities, honey. And I see those in you. The way you care about everyone, your humor, your heart. Those are all from him, like I told you at the cemetary. And when I saw that you had taken the earrings from his grave I knew you would want to-" Charlotte shoved her away, the first time she'd used physical force against her mother.

"No, mom, just stop. Stop! He was a monster. A monster, right?" Her tone was almost mocking, daring Victoria to come clean. But she didn't. She was in too deep. Her deal with the SEC was brewing, but she couldn't tell her daughter before it became finalized and she had immunity. She didn't know how the girl would react. Her silence was Charlotte's trigger. "Then I don't want to hear any more about him. Nothing! Do you get it? I don't care! So I took the stupid earrings! So what? They were pretty. Maybe I can sell them." She stormed to the dresser and tossed Mason Treadwell's book in the garbage, hating it for its lies, for his compliance with Victoria and Conrad, hating that she'd believed what was printed in it. Her final insult was aimed directly for Victoria's heart, for the part of her mother that was still in love with David. The sting found its mark.

Before Victoria could react, Charlotte fled from the room. There the ice queen stood, alone in her deception. David wasn't there to hold her, to put the earrings back on and tell her she looked beautiful. She'd never believed in heaven or hell, though if she did she was sure she'd end up in the latter, and even in death they would be separated. David was too good a man to co-exist with her, even in the afterlife. But she hoped that David understood, wherever he was. That he knew she loved him. She did it for her family. She'd do anything for them. Sighing, Victoria crawled into bed and turned off the light.