Author's Note: Hey everyone. So longer chapter since the last one was so short. There is a lot going on in this chapter all at the same time, so the line breaks are to show all the different characters and what they are doing, but keep in mind that they are all practically at the same time point. If there is any confusion please let me know and I can clear it up for you. Also time frame wise, the previous chapters have spanned a little over a week, these next few chapters are going to be hours apart to a day at most. Last note, I know that messaging on FB isn't exactly the way I wrote about it, but I needed to adjust it a little so it would work for the story. Thanks for all the support. Happy reading.

Elizabeth was on autopilot. She didn't remember the ride with Toby back to the station or getting into her own car and driving back home. She barely retained the plan Kyle had told her about to put the money into the bank account so they could draw Lori out. The conversation she had with Agent Sands was a haze, all she knew was he was displeased with her actions. It wasn't until she was in David's office that she became aware of everything around her.

Her focus had been solely on the interview Toby had mentioned. He had been incorrect in his assumption that David had told her about it, and the idea that her husband had kept it from her made Elizabeth feel uneasy. She realized that Toby had only given it to David just before Grant had come to her, but she had let David know what she and Kyle were going to do before they left. But still he had remained silent about it.

The desk was the first place she started. Normally it was clutter free, neat piles of papers and carefully organized supplies each in their proper place, but currently it was a disaster. Instead notes were scribbled everywhere. Sticky notes marked certain pages and parts of his manuscript were highlighted to no end. Elizabeth pushed some of the papers around but there was too much disarray to put anything together.

Her next options were the drawers, but as she went to open the first one her hand hit David's computer awakening it from its hibernation. Instantly her eyes were drawn to the center of the screen. On his desktop Elizabeth noticed a single, stray audio file. Her fingers hovered over the track pad of David's computer.

A flurry of emotions raced through her. Fear began to overtake her. She didn't want to know why David had kept it from her. She didn't know if she could handle learning someone else close to her held a secret regarding her daughter. But then Carter came to mind and without another moment of hesitation she pressed play on the file.

Static filled the room before voices came through the speakers. Feeling sick, Elizabeth had to sit down and then she blocked out all else as the conversation began.

"What's your name?" Toby's voice boomed through the silent room.

There was a soft chuckle before the response came. "Everyone seems to know me as Lori Stevens."

"How long have you gone by that?"

"About thirteen years."

"And you changed your name because you wanted to hide from what you had done in the past?"

"I changed it because I was starting over. My life changed and I wanted to focus on my future, our future."

"You mean with Carter, after you kidnapped her?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth could feel the anger rising within her, but she forced herself too remain calm. She needed to remain focused.

Toby paused for a moment before resuming the conversation.

"What is your relationship to the Wilson family?"

"I suppose it depends on which one of them you ask," she replied. "I'm assuming you are including Carter in their family, even though she doesn't belong with them, but to her I'm mom. To Elizabeth I'm a kidnapper, her worst nightmare. And to David… well to David I'm the ex."

Elizabeth sat there stunned at the comment. She could hear Toby choke over the recording at the revelation. As much as she tried not to, she could feel herself begin to go numb. It was easier than trying to sort out all of her competing emotions.

"The ex?" Toby began again. "You knew David from the past? As more than just neighbors down the street?"

Lori cleared her throat, "Yes I did…"

"How long did you two see each other?" Toby cut her off, the excitement in his voice was unsettling and Elizabeth could picture the dollar signs that must have been glimmering in his eyes.

"I don't think that has anything to do with Carter…"

"But doesn't it?" he cut in once again. "You can't tell me your relationship with David didn't play a role in kidnapping his daughter, obviously it contributed to some of your motive. So, did he dump you? Were you in love with him?"

"Stop. Yes, it's not a coincidence that I took David's daughter, but I'm not answering any questions about our relationship."

"You opened this with your answer."

"Yes I realize that and now I'd like to close it," she replied in a no nonsense tone.

"Fine, fine," Toby said, indicating he was backing off. "Did you ever stop to think about how taking Carter would destroy their lives?"

"Perhaps a little," Lori said, taking a short pause before beginning again. "But it honestly seems to have made everyone's lives better."

"How do you figure?" he asked.

"David was a struggling writer before all of this and then became a best selling author. Elizabeth switched gears and became a very successful detective after Carter was taken. Their other kids learned to be pretty independent growing up due to their present but absent parents, a good trait I might add. And Carter, well Carter got a wonderful life with a devoted and loving mother. Everyone won in some aspect."

Elizabeth's hand hovered over the track pad. She so badly wanted to shut off the interview. Did that woman honestly believe her life had been made better after she had kidnapped Carter? But Toby started up with another question and she forced her hand back down to her side.

"I'm just going to cut to it, why did you take Carter all those years ago?"

The question was met with a long amount of silence. Elizabeth had to look at the computer screen to ensure the recording was still playing.

"For a number of reasons really, but mainly to rescue her," she answered. "David and Elizabeth never had time to spend with their daughters. The number of times I saw those girls playing outside by themselves is too many to count on both hands. Carter wasn't getting all the attention she needed, the attention she deserved, and I knew I could do a better job.

"Getting her to a better life was my main priority, but I'll admit I had selfish reasons as well," Lori continued. "I wanted to prove to David that he had made the wrong choice, that I was a better mother than the woman he chose. I wanted Elizabeth to feel the pain of losing someone close. Of knowing that someone else ripped away a piece of her and that she could do nothing about it."

Elizabeth tuned everything out as she processed everything Lori had said. Toby had started to ask more questions about their lives after the abduction, but Elizabeth couldn't listen. She knew all the blame for Carter's kidnapping belonged with Lori, but a small part of her couldn't help but place a small piece of it on her.

She was part of the reason her daughter had grown up without her. Lori felt as though Elizabeth had taken David away from her and taking Carter was her way of getting even. Her thoughts shifted to David. There was so much she had kept from her. He was supposed to be the one person that she could depend on.

She stopped the interview and let her head fall so she was looking at her lap.

Lori and Carter walked down the street towards the car, Lori with her head down as not to attract attention and Carter was doing the opposite, hoping to catch someone's eye. They had needed to grab a few supplies and Lori felt comfortable enough in the small town to be out in the open.

Carter was mostly lost in her own world. She thought of each member of her family, anything she could think about them just to get her mind off of the horrible situation she was in. She felt a nudge in her side and looked over to see Lori giving her a smile.

"You look like you could use a pick me up. I saw a coffee shop just down the road, how about a latte or something?"

"Sure," Carter replied and they continued to walk in silence until they had reached it.

The coffee shop was crowded and bustling, the exact opposite of everything else in the town. Every young person with a laptop seemed to have flocked there for their daily dose of caffeine and free Wi-Fi. Lori clung to Carter closely. Carter hadn't tried anything since she had made that threat before the phone call, but large crowds still caused her to be weary.

The line was long although the menu was simple and Carter took the time to gaze around the café. There wasn't much to it, some mismatched tables and chairs and simple designs on the walls, but something did catch her eye as she passed over the crowd. Another pair of eyes, belonging to a boy about her age, was locked on her. He didn't look away but instead shot her a small smile before looking back at his computer.

Carter could tell this was her chance at getting another message out to her family. And while she could tell Lori was trying to stay close by, another customer had distracted her and she took the opportunity to slip away.

"Hey," Carter said to capture his attention. He looked up and greeted her with another smile. "I saw you staring and thought I'd come over and introduce myself."

"I'm Ben," he replied.

"Car…," Carter stalled for a moment. She debated with herself whether to go with Carter or Carly before settling on a decision. "I'm Carter."

"Your mom seems to be sticking pretty close. Are you grounded or something?" he asked as he looked over Carter's shoulder to see Lori keeping a watchful eye on them now that she had placed her coffee order.

"Something like that," Carter replied.

"She seems pretty cool though, I'm sure it won't last long."

Carter had to force herself from scoffing at the statement. "I wouldn't be so sure. She's been acting pretty crazy and overbearing lately."

Ben nodded at her response before continuing. "Well I think most parents have lost some of their sanity trying to raise us. I know mine have."

Carter looked back over her shoulder to Lori. The woman was occupied by something had popped up on her phone but Carter watched her closely. She wondered how many times over the years Lori thought they might have been caught. How on edge she must have been when Carter was younger. She shook the ideas away. She couldn't have sympathy for that woman as she pictured the amount of grief her family had gone through because of her.

"Ben, can I ask you a huge favor?" she said turning back to him. She had seen his computer open and knew it was now or never.

"Sure," he replied, drawing out the word and making him seem slightly unsure.

"Since I'm grounded, my mom has taken away my phone and all my other electronic devices. Could I use your computer to send a quick message to my friend?"

"Of course," he answered without hesitation, pushing the computer over to her just a bit.

Carter gave one more quick glance over to Lori, and seeing she had her hands full and attention elsewhere, she went for it. Taylor's name was typed into the search box in a blink of an eye and a private message was started a split second after. In her attempt to be quick, Carter accidentally hit the enter button with nothing typed sending a blank message.

She took a quick photo using the built in camera and sent it off. Carter knew that Taylor could be skeptical at times and she wanted to prove that it was really her sending the message. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and knew that Lori was on her way over, so she typed what she could and sent off the message.

Taylor it's Carter. I'm at Mugs Coffee shop. Send Mom. We're staying at

Carter tensed as she felt a hand on her shoulder but relaxed a little as she saw Ben quickly close the browser page, keeping what she sent a secret.

"We need to get going," Lori said, her voice was stern and she barely acknowledged that Ben was also sitting at the table. Her mind was elsewhere. As she had been waiting for their order to be made her phone sent off an automated alert. It was one she had put in place to let her know the Toby had finally put the money in the account, but something didn't feel right to her.

It was the exact amount she had asked for and had been deposited exactly at 1pm. Since she had started working with Toby she had come to realize he was not that reliable. She would have expected half that amount, maybe even only a quarter of it, but certainly not all of it. And he was always one to do stuff at the very last minute, she knew he would deposit something right before the bank closed not in the middle of the day. There was something not right and she needed to get them out of there.

Carter nodded at her and then looked back to Ben. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," he replied.

Carter leaned in and gave him a small peck on the cheek. As she pulled away she whispered into his ear, "We're staying at the Traveler's Inn if you wanted to reach me."

He gave her a smile in response, which she returned. Lori had a tight grip on her arm and as the two left the café, Carter hoped Ben would remember the hotel name because she was certain her mom would track him down.

"Lizzy?" David asked as he walked through the door, not expecting to see anyone inside his office.

Elizabeth looked up. She could feel the color had drained from her face and the tears that had sprung to her eyes. Anger and sadness swirled together, almost to the point where she couldn't distinguish between the two. Slowly she backed away from the computer. She wished that by pushing the computer away it would take everything she just heard with it. Instead it lingered between them.

David's eyes widened as he caught sight of the open laptop, the USB drive still jutting out from the side. He had played that interview over and over the first few hours Toby had given it to him, but couldn't find it in him to share it with his wife. Now he could only imagine what was running through her head.

"Lizzy…" he started, moving towards her wanting to explain.

"Don't," Elizabeth cut him off. She had broken eye contact, unable to look at him as she tried to get her emotions in check. After a moment she got up and made her way over to David, leaving only a couple of feet between them.

"You…you knew Lori from the past? You dated?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth took a deep breath to steady herself and prepare for the answer to her next question.

"Did you see her before or when we were together?"

"Both," David replied heavily.

It was at his answer that Elizabeth finally looked up to meet his gaze and she was met with the same pained expression she was sure was on her own face.

"David, you didn't say anything. Carter went missing and this woman from your past… your ex or your mistress or what ever she was at the time worked right down the street, and you stayed silent," she said.

"I know, it's my biggest regret. I should have said something, but I wasn't sure how you would react if I explained everything and I couldn't lose you…"

"So instead we lost thirteen years of our daughter's life!" Elizabeth snapped, not allowing David to finish. The tears had started to fall. Her breath had become choppy, making it harder to talk.

David took a step closer. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say. And she had every right to act the way she was. Elizabeth placed her palm on his chest to keep him from getting closer, but without her realizing her hand soon balled into a fist.

She lightly slammed her fist against his chest. "I'm hurt from the affair, but I'm mad at you because of the secrets. You didn't say anything."

Elizabeth repeated it again and again, hitting him a little harder, and then again. Her punches growing in force until she was sobbing.

"You…didn't…say…anything," she forced through the tears, hitting him after each word. David moved even closer, pulling her into his arms. Elizabeth tried to resist at first before collapsing into him.

Her sobs shook them both. She couldn't control it. All the fear, frustration, and anger were overwhelming, and only the warm tears that slid down her face seemed to keep her from drowning in it.

They stayed that way, in each other's embrace, well past the point of Elizabeth calming down. There seemed to be no words they could say, and although regrets were the only things plaguing their thoughts, each of them knew all had been forgiven.

"I'm sorry," David whispered breaking the silence before pressing a kiss on the top of his wife's head.

Elizabeth just nodded into his chest. She knew he was sorry. She knew he was scared as well. The same way she was feeling now that the anger had subsided.

Taylor lied on her bed her laptop open scrolling through her Facebook feed. She didn't know why she bothered. It was flooded with selfies of people she had seen earlier and posts she had no interest in. Sitting below her on the ground and using the foot of the bed as a backrest was Grant. He was playing a hand-held video game and she could hear enough of the sound effects to know he was dying over and over. Taylor could tell he was just as uninterested in his activity as she was in hers.

In the past week and a half they were often found in the same area. Although neither would admit it, they both harbored the irrational fear that the other was going to disappear just as fast as Carter had. Leaving them alone.

The hour after school had become their bonding. They escaped the looks and awkward politeness of their classmates. Their parents tended to still be wrapped up in what they had been working on the entire day. And so they were able to slip by and quietly just be with the other.

Taylor continued to scroll through everything, partially glazing over, before an unexpected message box popped up on her screen. She scrunched her forehead as she read over the name. Ben Leonard.

The box was blank, like someone had only hit the space bar before sending the message.

"Grant?"

"Yeah," he replied, not looking up from his game.

"Do you know a Ben Leonard?"

Grant paused his game and turned at the question. It wasn't a name he recognized but for some reason he felt like it was important and his attention had been captured. "No, why?"

"He sent me a blank message and I'm not sure wh…" Taylor stopped talking as a message and photo appeared in the box. Her mouth dropped slightly. "Oh my god."

"What is it?" Grant asked, the concern evident in his voice. Taylor remained frozen and Grant climbed onto the bed to get a better look at the screen.

"It's Carter," she finally managed to get out. Her eyes remained glued to the screenshot image of her sister. It was blurry and Taylor could tell it was taken in a hurry from a laptop camera, but she knew it was Carter.

Grant read over the incomplete message again and again. It had been cut off, unfinished and he silently hoped Carter had enough time to send them the final piece.

"Come on Carter," he pleaded in a whisper. "Please."

Taylor snapped back to her senses and began to type.

Carter! Where are you staying?

But as she finished the keystrokes, the message box disappeared just as quickly as it popped up.

"No!" they both yelled at the screen.

"Search for his name. Find his profile," Grant said urgently.

Taylor scrambled on the keyboard, her fingers making a couple of typos because of how fast she was trying to go. His page was the first to show up, but as she went to go send a message back to Carter, it showed that Ben was already offline.

"He's offline already," she said quietly, the tears had already started to pool. "Carter's gone."

"Taylor, we need to tell mom," Grant said.

Taylor pushed the tears aside and the two raced down the stairs, both knowing time was of the essence.

The office had grown quiet. Their breathing and the hum of the computer the only noise, which is why they both became startled when the door was suddenly opened. Inside the doorway stood Taylor, her eyes wide, red, and almost frantic. Grant stood next to her, out of breath. David and Elizabeth broke apart, both concerned and each taking a step towards them.

"Mom, Dad its Carter."