AN: I love your imagination and how involved some of you are in the story! So following popular demand, a few "threats" and a couple of great suggestions I am currently working on one more CG POV chapter before graduation. For now I hope you'll enjoy this one.

Ch 10 A quiet evening at home

Monday was made of routine tasks at work and a quiet evening at home, curled up in her well-worn armchair in the corner of the living room reading a book, while Dan watched sports on TV and Emma was busy in her room.

Tuesday however, Dan had been unusually quiet during dinner and then disappeared in the garage. After about an hour, done with her chores, Ana grabbed a beer for him and a cup of tea for her and went to see what was on her husband's mind.

"Dan? I thought you might be getting thirsty," she said handing him the cold beer, her eyes taking in the pile of presumably car parts and a container with some strong smelling chemical laid on the workbench.

"Good thinking, thanks," he smiled as he started carefully placing the darkened metal pieces into the liquid.

"Something on your mind?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Let's go sit in the back yard for a moment. These need some time to loosen up anyway."

Once they were seated on the bench behind the house, Dan just let out what had been on his mind for about a few days. "Belle, I don't want to sound like a greedy insensitive bastard, but all that money your ex has sent then what you said to Luke Sawyer, that we have not decided,… that's a lot of money to walk away from." As Ana kept staring into her cup of tea, he continued, "It's not just you and me. For our children that money would make a hell of a difference. Emma's doctor appointment is in a few days. We got lucky that time with Dr Shepard and his research. Two years before that had it not been for that charity to help with the repair costs we might have lost the house. Even the hospital bills from when you gave birth to Emma were partly covered by a charity fund. I…"

Surprised, Ana looked up. "What hospital bills? I mean, I know we had bills but not that we couldn't afford them."

"We never told you, we didn't want you to worry, but the insurance only covered some of it. The extra appointments and the surgery…Ray had some money left from his house and I was looking into getting more money on the mortgage. But it all worked out: the hospital said there was a fund for complicated pregnancies like yours and helped me apply. They covered half the cost."

"'We' as in you and dad?" Ana asked wondering what else she had missed about her own life.

"Don't hold it against us, Belle. You had enough on your mind. I would have gotten the money somehow. But if my children, our children, have a chance at a better life, one where they won't need to fear for their health or their home…Nick was talking about wanting to do a master's degree, but he is not as good as Eddy and this Carol-Ann girl. He doesn't think he'll get enough financial support to not drown in debt for years. And Emma: those schools she is looking into in New York, those are all private and very expensive."

Ana was silent, collecting her thoughts, getting her emotions under control so her voice wouldn't tremble when she spoke. "I know, Dan. But where the money is coming from…I'm not sure I can deal with that."

For a fleeting moment she had a lost look in her eyes, making Dan feel like a voyeur spying on her very soul. The woman sat beside him was torn, tortured, and he was clawing at her wounds.

"Perhaps there is a way to not use it for us two, just for the children. Like a trust fund."

The next day Ana contacted the lawyer in Charlotte, the one with the clear background check, and set up a meeting for Thursday afternoon. In the evening, while Emma was still at her dance class, she picked up her book and Dan turned on the TV in time for the evening news. They were going to have a nice, quiet, boring evening.

"Belle, I just realized: do you have any way to prove who you were, before?"

"I don't think so, dad took care of all that."

Annoyed, she put her book down. This was not her. Usually she was the one everybody else counted on. Dan was supportive, but generally content to follow where she was taking them. For a split second a deep longing filled her, the meaning of it so scary it galvanized her into action. "The box! Dad had a box with my name on it."

"It's on the top shelf in the wardrobe, I'll get it," Dan nodded.

"No" Ana immediately countered, unsettled and afraid, choosing fight instead of flight. "I'll get it." Dan's puzzled look made her realize she had been more forceful than she had intended, so she added: "The news are on, I'll bring it here."

As Dan turned back towards the TV he was soon lost in reports about a murder case in Charleston, regional news, the weather… Sports was next and he hated being interrupted during that part, and so he put the TV on pause and went to see what was taking Belle so long.

In the bedroom, Ana was sitting on the bed leafing through a binder, an open cardboard box besides her.

"I did this," she said distracting him from the sight of a book and what looked like an old style computer drive at the bottom of the box.

"Did what?"

"Kate asked me why I didn't go back to Seattle, why I didn't confront him."

"Sweetheart", Dan said, sitting next to her, "don't do this to yourself."

"No, Dan. She was right. At first I was confused, then angry, then hurt, but then I gave up. I let Ray take over."

"He was your dad. He did some crazy things but Ray loved you, Belle."

"I know he did. But Ray fought to protect me. I should have fought for Eddy, fought to keep his father in his life, his grandparents, his aunts and uncles. You were right, I never thought about this."

"You thought they had abandoned you, remember? You didn't know he wrote to you, you still don't know what was in those letters."

"At least he tried to contact me. After the first week or so, the only time I wrote to him was to tell him I planned on leaving town."

There was nothing he could reply to that and so Dan changed the subject: "Did you find anything useful in there? "he said with a look towards the binder.

"I don't know," she sighed and handed him the folder.

The first page was a birth certificate: Anastasia Rose Steele, father Raymond Steele, mother Carla Steele. The next paper was… an adoption decree.

"You are adopted?!" Dan said staring at the paper.

"Mom was married before she met Ray. My biological father died the day after I was born. Training accident, he was in the military."

"If anything I would have thought Carla was the adoptive parent. Ray was so protective of you!" He raised his head to look at her: "You know I feel the same about Eddy, don't you?"

"Yes, Dan. And Nick is my son just as Eddy and Emma are my children."

As it had happened several times in the last few days, a new insight into the mess they were in stole her breath away.

"He knows. Since he is also adopted, Christian knows."

"He's adopted?"

"Yes. You said there was a biography, was this not in it?"

"I don't know, I was mostly looking for information about you and Eddy," Dan confessed.

She hesitated, debating how much she could reveal. "He worships his mother and loves his brother and sister dearly."

"And his father?" Dan asked.

"Their relationship was a little more strained. But I think he loves him too and not just out of gratefulness for providing him with a home."

Storing this new piece of information with the rest, Dan returned his attention to the folder in his lap. Belle's high school diploma was next.

"You said you interviewed him for the student newspaper. So you were eighteen when you met?"

"Twenty-one. I… studied Literature at WSU," Ana admitted, the hint of a blush colouring her cheeks.

"You have a degree?!"

"Mhmm."

"But… you have worked as an assistant! It has taken you years to get to where you are now!"

"Different name," Ana shrugged.

With a painful twist of his heart Dan realized just how much she had left behind in her flight from her first marriage. The image of a young college graduate turned billionaire wife, owning a publishing house, surrounded by family and friends was light years from the Belle he knew, the single mother struggling along as a library assistant with her father as her only companion and support.

"It's alright Dan," Ana covered his hand with hers, responding to the sadness in his face. "I have used the knowledge and I still get to work with books. I can help others discover them, perhaps even love them like I do. I really don't mind that nobody knows I have a degree."

Dan turned to the next page thinking he would find her college diploma, but was instead confronted by her old driving license. He stared for a moment at the name: 'Anastasia Grey'.

"You look nice with long hair. But I don't think we can use this, it's too old," he shied away from the evidence of her previous life.

The last sleeve contained several papers, the topmost reading 'Final decree of divorce' in bold, capitalized and underlined letters. With a slight nod she confirmed she was still okay with him reading through this so he extracted the heap of papers and scanned over the text of the first two pages then stiffened when he reached the third.

"Belle, is this your signature?" he asked and showed her the bottom of the page with both hers and Christian's signatures.

"Yes," she said.

"You said you never discussed custody."

"We haven't. We - Ray, me and the lawyer - only drew up a temporary plan. They told me it had to be filled with the petition. I asked for Eddy to stay with me but I didn't ask for legal custody or anything like that."

"This parenting plan?" Dan insisted.

"I didn't know he signed these," Ana frowned. "I thought he only signed the petition. Dad said he never asked about Eddy."

His shoulders slumping Dan explained: "He never asked, because he agreed with your offer: shared custody, Eddy living with you and for him to have unrestricted visitation rights."

"He agreed? But…" She took the papers from him and looked over the page, looked at the familiar signature at the bottom. "Christian thought this was part of the divorce agreement?"

The significance of this piece of paper dawning on her, she stared at the flowing letters of Christian's signature at the bottom.

"Perhaps we could take this with us tomorrow and ask the lawyer, but I am pretty sure that this is part of the divorce agreement," Dan confirmed her suspicion.

In a futile attempt to keep her involvement with it away from her, Ana dropped the paper as if it burned. This was such an enormous betrayal, a bold faced lie. She needed to be sure. By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, Dan had picked the document up and placed it back in the binder.

"Don't put it back. You are right; we'll take it with us tomorrow."

The sound of car doors closing, quickly followed by the thud of the front door signalled an end to their privacy.

"Anybody home?" Emma's voice echoed through the house.

As Dan closed the box and placed it back in the wardrobe, Ana placed the plastic sleeve in her handbag and then they left the bedroom only to narrowly avoid colliding with Emma in the small corridor.

"Hi, sweetie, how was dance class?"

"Oh great, we changed a whole minute of the routine but I think it's better this way. Mandy is going to be so sorry she missed it. God I'm starving! Is there any food left?"

Smiling at the tirade, Ana rolled her eyes: "Of course there's food left. There's a plate out for you. I'll keep you company."

The two went to the kitchen while Dan returned to the living room, although the sports news weren't at the forefront of his mind anymore.

I the kitchen Emma's phone chimed and she immediately started texting furiously so Ana put her plate in the oven and set the timer. "So how come Mandy missed the practice?" she asked.

"She was out with Jake. Apparently her mom is now ok with it. I can't believe she let us down for a date! I was actually worried about her. Oh and Linda asks if you want to meet up this weekend. But you said I'll get to drive and I didn't yet, so can we do that?"

With a pang of guilt Ana took the plate out of the microwave: "Sorry, Emma, I forgot. Do you have plans for this weekend?"

"Well, I was going to go to town with Mandy but that might not happen now. I'll see if Jenny wants to do something. By the way can I have some money for Friday? There's this shirt I saw last week, it's really nice, I thought I'd get it after guitar."

"And how much would that nice shirt be?"

"tmdfllrs"

"I didn't get that."

"Twenty-five dollars," Emma said with a sigh.

They were not poor or needy, but they did need to mind their budget, prioritize expenses. About to comment that it was a bit too much for an everyday shirt, Ana was stopped as the image of the cheque in the manila folder floated into her mind. The feel of silk on her skin and of leather around her feet also made an unbidden appearance. She didn't need those, but was it fair to keep them from her daughter, if they could afford it?

"I could wear it at Eddy's graduation," Emma pleaded.

"Why don't you come and pick me up after your lesson? We could go together to see about this shirt," Ana sort of gave in.

Mrs Dawson's small music school, across the street from the library, crossed her mind. That's where Eddy had learned to play the piano and Emma and Nick the guitar. All three had eventually outgrown the abilities of their first tutors, but it was largely due to the Dawsons' kindness and patience, not to mention low fees, that any of them had learned to play an instrument and learned to love music, an area in which both Ana and Dan were severely lacking.

She made a mental note to stop by and say hello.

Xxx

The office of Adam Barns, Esq, was located, on the third floor of the building housing his law firm. A tall, blond man in his forties, he greeted them with a friendly smile as they entered his office, but as soon as they were all seated he went straight to business with an open ended 'What can I do for you?'

"To begin with we would like to look into some options for setting up a trust fund for our children," Dan answered.

"There are a lot of options in that area," Adam Barns nodded. "May I ask what range of investment you have in mind?"

Ana's vague 'a few million', was clearly not what he had expected from this plain looking couple, but in true professional the brief moment of surprise was immediately replaced by one of keen interest and sitting up a little straighter in his chair he proceeded to competently describe several options, then handed them some brochures to take home for further reading.

The next point Ana and Dan had on their agenda was dealing with Ana's the properties. She had meant to keep her former identity out of the discussion and taken the time to make copies of all the documents with the names blanked out, but Adam Barnes, already on the alert that he might have misjudged this couple, became suspicious of her change of identity. Her vague reassurances that she had 'not done anything illegal, well I have, I think, but I don't think it matters' only deepened the crease between his eyes.

"Mr and Mrs Parson, your visit today is of course covered by the attorney-client privilege and therefore confidential, but I don't think I will be able to assist you," he said, rising from his chair.

"No, please, wait," Ana told him, panicked to have blown this meeting, and handed him two sheets of paper.

While Barnes took his time to peruse the documents, she straightened up in her chair and moved forward to the edge on the seat. By the time he had finished reading, her hands, previously folded in her lap, were now lightly placed on the table in front of her. Taking in the change in attitude, Adam Barnes addressed her with one eyebrow raised: "You want me to sign an NDA? As I said, our conversation is covered by the attorney-client privilege. An NDA is not necessary."

"We are not criminals or trying to do anything illegal, but to prove that I will have to involve other people. The NDA is for areas not covered by the privilege, like our names on your client list. And there might be an issue with who your client really is, so this would cover all our interactions, whether for legal advice or not," Ana insisted.

Adam Barnes sat back down, carefully re-reading the paper in his hand. When he raised his eyes, before he could say or ask anything, Ana pushed a little more: "When we booked this meeting we were informed that you charge a percentage on transactions."

"That is correct. I charge a flat fee for the advice and preparatory work and a 1% fee if the transaction is successful."

Her chin pointing towards the NDA now resting on the table between them Ana informed him: "The properties I own should be worth 30-40 million. Those will be in addition to the twenty two million already intended for the trust fund."

She again paused, allowing Barnes time to process the information, and leaving Dan to wonder when exactly had the power, the control of the meeting, shifted from the lawyer to his usually quiet and unassuming wife. Belle was clearly no longer asking for help, she was negotiating, and by the looks of it getting what she wanted: his eyes barely leaving her face to look at what he was doing, the lawyer signed both papers then pushed one copy across the desk for her perusal.

With the signed paper safely tucked in her purse, Ana finally came clean with her story.

"While I was divorcing my first husband, my father used his connections to arrange for me to be entered into the Witness Protection Programme. All we need to know is how I can prove that I am the same person so I can sell the properties and add the money to the trust fund."

Still weary, Barnes enquired of where the properties were located, explaining that the legislation was probably different in different states. As it turned out, he was licensed to practice in the state of Washington, but would have to look into what documents would be required for the proof of identity in such an unusual situation.

Finally, Ana produced the divorce papers, once again with the names blacked out.

"There is one last matter on which we would like to have your opinion", she said. "Could you explain to us the terms of this settlement?"

Adam Barnes only needed a glanced at the topmost paper to recognize the purpose of the document. "These are papers relating to a divorce procedure. My specialty is in property law and assets management. Were these documents not explained to you at the time?" he enquired.

"I know this must sound irresponsible, but it was a very emotional time for me. Could you just go through these papers with us?" Ana insisted.

Mr Burns took several minutes to read through the documents, frowning and occasionally raising an eyebrow. Finally he lifted his eyes from the papers and looked at the couple sat opposite his desk with a serious expression on his face.

"These documents mention a child. If I am to have any involvement at all with any aspect of your affairs I will need to be convinced that you have not in fact removed the child without his father's knowledge or that the removal was sanctioned by a court of law. Before you say anything else you should be aware that despite your client privilege and the NDA, in kidnapping cases courts have compelled attorneys to disclose the whereabouts of their clients."

With that he sat back in his chair and gave both of them a stern look.

It was obvious that the lawyer's words had hit Ana hard. She was pale and as she shrunk back in the chair, one of her hands gripped the armrest while the other was crushing Dan's right hand.

"Belle?" he looked at her, asking permission to speak for the both of them.

She nodded and Dan explained: "Mr Burns, I am afraid that you are correct. My wife has indeed disappeared with the child. The father has been aware of our location for many years and as far as we know he has never reported the child missing. That child is now an adult. Would all this make a difference?"

His speech has been met with more of the same stern look and hard stare, but after a moment Adam Burns leaned his head to one side. "Perhaps. However I have no way to verify all this Mr Parson."

To Dan's surprise Belle let go of his hand and once again produced a set of documents and handed them over to the lawyer.

As soon as he glanced at the topmost document Barnes stiffened, stared wide eyed at the piece of paper. When after several seconds he remembered to blink he turned towards his computer and started furiously typing while his eyes were rapidly taking in whatever appeared on the screen, more typing, a bit more reading and he was finally still. Visibly swallowing a couple of times he then raised one hand to cover his mouth and took a few seconds to consider his next step before turning back towards his clients.

"You understand why I was hoping to keep his name out of this meeting," Ana offered.

Without responding, Adam Burns proceeded to translate the legal jargon into everyday language. To Ana's dismay, Dan's impression had been correct: Christian had signed divorce papers in which she had offered him unlimited access to his son and shared decision making. Subdued, she remained quiet while Dan and the lawyer exchanged details for future contact.

As soon as his customers left his office Adam Barnes opened the carved wood door to the liqueur cabinet and poured himself a measure of whiskey in a heavy crystal glass. Christian Grey's wife and son! He had done the maths while reading the papers: the boy was now twenty one. He had been missing?! He asked his secretary to reschedule his next appointment. He had more important matters to attend to for the next hour or so, like shamelessly internet stalking his newest client and scouring databases of missing children.

On the drive home, Ana remained lost in thought while Dan was trying to sort through the information they had received. It was quite unlikely that Mr Barns being licensed to practice in Washington was a mere coincidence. His appreciation for the kind of effort Grey had put into finding a suitable lawyer for them was however overshadowed by his uncertainty regarding the man's motives. Given the way Belle had left Seattle, Grey didn't need Belle's cooperation or even approval to do pretty much as he wanted. But instead he had written that letter handing at least some of the decision back to her, ensured one of his employees was around to answer questions and was on his way to their side of the country not only to congratulate his son, but to present and award created in her honour…

This brought his mind back to the woman herself and how she handled the meeting: "You were something else in there. Barnes was certainly ready to kick us out before you got him to sit back down," he told her, unwittingly sparking the memory of just how she had acquired that kind of skill.

She was about to negotiate her first major contract for GP. He was a well-known author and GP needed the contract and he knew it and she was afraid he will walk all over her. Christian had tried to talk her through some tips on how to stay on top of the meeting, but in the end he had videotaped one of his meetings with his heads of department and they had used it as an example: how to sit in the chair, where to keep her hands, how to control her facial expressions, what to do with her eyes.

"But what about taking notes, I might not remember all he says."

"Get one of the secretaries to sit in the meeting. You need to listen, not only to what he says, but how he says it. Watch his body language. Where does he pause? Is he clearing his throat? Shifts in his seat? Wrings his hands?"

Attentive to the way the author accelerated his speech, diverted his eyes or shifted in his chair, by the time it was her turn to speak she had an idea of his weaknesses and of what he considered really important and she was ready for him. She had gotten the contract.

She had watched Christian's video so many times that she could still see his face, hear his calm, competent voice…

Clenching her fists until her nails dug into her palm, she focused on the pain to distract her from the memory. That part of her life was gone, no longer hers, never to be had again.

As Belle remained silent and obviously lost in her own thoughts, Dan moved a hand away from the steering wheel to blindly reach for hers. "Are you OK?"

Suddenly yanked backed to the reality of her current situation, her voice broke under the weight of her guilt and the shame for her actions. "I have lied to him Dan. I honestly thought the plan was temporary but I did promise he will be able to see his son and then I took Eddy and ran."

"Belle, what you did was wrong, there's no way around that. But it was a long time ago and he did find you and chose to stay away. Even now, he is leaving all the decisions up to you: what to tell Eddy and what to do with the money. I can't say that I understand all of this very well, but it is what it is. Let's see what the lawyer says about your name and what Eddy wants to do and we'll take it from there, OK?" he ended with a quick look towards her.

"It's not only that, Dan," she sighed. "All these years, I thought they had abandoned me, written us off. But that wasn't true. They didn't just contact Luke and the security team. They contacted Kate as well and they tried to come to Montesano. Kate said dad had trouble keeping them away."

Dan couldn't help scoffing at that: "And how would you know she is telling the truth this time?"

Her eyes gliding over the scenery passing them by, Ana refused to shed any tears, but couldn't prevent her voice from trembling: "Because this makes much more sense than the silence. They were, are, good people. It turns out I am the one who shut everybody out."

Unable to come up with anything he had not already said, Dan concentrated on driving hoping she will be able to reason this out for herself. They were almost home when he remembered: "Eddy called. How many tickets do we want for graduation?"

"Tickets? Why do we need tickets, it's a free entrance."

"Apparently students have been asked to provide the names of the people they are inviting."

"Well, I expect Nick and Emma will be there, so four."

Dan was about to add something but she continued before he got a chance: "I'll have to contact them, apologize to them somehow."

That Eddy's biological father would be present at graduation was one thing and there was a possibility that Eddy might want to find out more, and knew he would have to accept that. But the idea of Belle making contact with the people in her previous life…Uncertain why that would feel threatening but trusting his instincts Dan turned to look at her as he repeated: "It wasn't your fault, Belle."

"Maybe not entirely, but still," she insisted, and then took his hand in hers, the physical contact anchoring her, giving her the strength to say the words. "The hurt I felt at being abandoned by everybody…Even knowing they have not actually done that, I still can't shake the feeling. They must feel the same way towards me: that I abandoned them, that I deceived them, that they were not important enough for me. I hate that dad and Kate have put us all through this! It's a terrible feeling, Dan. I have to put it right somehow."

Her eyes were blazing by the end of the tirade. Even her cheeks had regained some colour and now had a slight flush to them. "This is important to you," he said. As her only answer was a slow nod, he sighed: "Do you know what you are going to say?"

The fire in her eyes dulled a little as she considered. Who to contact? Grace? Elliot? Carrick? Probably all of them. How? A letter, maybe. And then Dan's question: how could she explain her lack of faith, of trust in their relationship? She was going to have to tell them about her father and the thought that they would think badly of him was upsetting in spite of everything he had done. Could she do this without implicating Kate? Did she want to implicate her? She let go of Dan's hand, uncertainty creeping in her voice: "I'll have to think about it."

AN: Next chapter "A day at the office" will contain a few minor and one major clue for future chapters.