"...expanding awareness of The Stowaway by building up a website."

Carl Porter furrowed his brows at Nolan. Being that he'd started work on the docks just after his seventeenth birthday and sunk his every last dime into this bar over the past fifteen years, it would surprise no one that he wasn't up on tech marketing or this new phenomenon of social media. He was a man who measured himself by each day's honest work, the ache in his hands and back. For all his work, he had little to show for it since the business had fallen on hard times and he had run out of options. The bank had been closing in with a foreclosure notice when the affable Mr. Ross had approached him with a deal to buy the bar but to allow it to remain within his control. Carl wasn't proud to admit when he needed help, but he was not a stupid man.

Pride or not, he could see Nolan's deal for the godsend it was.

The Stowaway would stay open, Carl would still direct how things were run and his sons could stay with him.

What more could he ask for?

Nolan had taken an interest in the bar months ago and approached him about buying this failing business and infusing it with enough money to bring it back into the black. As he had the resources at his disposal to do so, Nolan intended to buy the bar, make all the necessary repairs and upgrades to draw in a larger customer base. His estimate was that once The Stowaway reopened it would be fully profitable again within two years.

Carl needed that, desperately. For his business to flourish, for his boys' future to be secure, for the constant worry he'd lived with for the past year to finally, blessedly stop.

He wrung his hands together on the table. "I'm not great with computers-"

"No worries, I'll have an intern at NolCorp cook up a website to launch a few weeks before the bar reopens. It'll drum up anticipation and...what's the matter?" Nolan raised a brow once he saw that Porter's eyes had drifted and he was frowning in concern.

"Something's going on out there with your girl."

"My...?" Nolan followed the man's eyes to the window and could see Amanda talking to a woman - no, not talking, the woman was gesturing aggressively at Amanda, who was backing away as the woman advanced on her. Whatever conflict was happening was also drawing the attention of other people on the boardwalk.

Nolan launched out of his chair with Carl right behind him. He shoved his way past a man on the pier, heart suddenly pounding hard, his eyes on Amanda who looked terrified. He saw the woman grab her arm and shake her as she screamed in Amanda's face, which was all Nolan needed to see for his protective instinct to take over. Amanda wasn't able to say anything before Nolan snarled at the woman and broke her grip, positioning Amanda behind him, not looking at the girl - his focus was on this deranged woman who was screaming the truth and drawing more attention than was safe.

The truth of who Amanda was - the secret Nolan had worked so hard to protect.

A quick sweep of the eyes and Nolan could see five men and four women approaching the scene this woman was causing. Most of their expressions were curious, concerned, but two men were looking at Amanda with narrowed, suspicious eyes and now Nolan could see why. Amanda's face was on the cover of a tabloid.

Shit.

He didn't look at her, but he commanded Amanda to get away from them, to get back to the house. The woman screamed at Amanda as she bolted from the pier but Nolan wasn't worried for the girl. The team, ever invisible, would look after her, though the woman should never have been able to lay a hand on Amanda - she should have never even have made it close enough for that. There would be consequences for them once this woman was dealt with, Nolan would make sure of that.

"Look I don't know what your damage is, lady, but that girl wasn't Amanda Clarke!" Nolan snapped at the woman, hoping he could convince the gathering crowd. One hysterical woman he could manage on his own, but mob mentality was a different beast all together.

"She is! You called her Amanda, it's Amanda, Amanda Clarke!"

"No, Amanda, my cousin! She's been staying with me all summer, ask anyone. You're crazy and you need to leave. Now!"

"Liar! You're lying! You're one of them, you're with Americon Initiative, aren't you?!" She woman lunged at Nolan but, on reaction, he grasped her wrists to stop her from clawing his face. "You're one of them! You're a part of this! She's Amanda Clarke, you're working with David Clarke! What are your plans? What's the next target?!"

"You're crazy, I'm not with the Initiative, get off me!"

Seeing that this had turned physical, several of the men who had just been watching rushed forward to pull them apart. The woman kept screaming while two men forced Nolan back, berating him for putting his hands on a woman. Nevermind that the woman was hysterical, still screaming at him, and Nolan had only restrained her in self-defense.

Heated, Nolan said something snarky and earned himself a punch in the face. The hit stung, but to Nolan it barely registered. How could it, when Amanda was in danger? He could still hear the woman yelling. He could hear Carl Porter somewhere in the middle of this fray, defending Nolan and Amanda, trying to shout the woman down as having just went after the first blonde girl she saw after picking up that rag.

The tabloid with Amanda's face right there on the cover. How had it happened? Who had taken her picture and exposed her?

Confused yelling continued on all sides until a police car made its way to the scene. Two officers emerged and questioned several people before urging everyone to disperse. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.

Carl approached Nolan as he headed toward his car. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. You saw her, right? That woman was crazy, grabbing at Amanda and screaming that she's the Clarke girl."

He nodded. "I saw that. She...seemed pretty convinced."

Nolan knew what the man was asking him - it was the silent question that would be on everyone's mind, now. Several copies of that tabloid were strewn all around them on the boardwalk and it was right there on the cover, Amanda's face in perfect focus.

Nolan shook his head and fixed the man with a cold stare. "It's not her. Say it."

Carl swallowed - he knew something wasn't right but there was too much at stake for him not to do as he was told. He had to go along to get along. For his livelihood, for his children. "It...that lady got it wrong. It's not her."

"Right. Spread the word. You'll have your investment by the end of the week."

Days after the incident on the pier and Nolan had run with the idea to change Amanda's identity and send her away. It had been a bolt of inspiration born from her misery at being caged in the name of safety. The idea had taken on a life of its own within minutes.

Amanda could hear Nolan upstairs, footsteps over her room and his muffled voice - he was either talking on the phone or he was talking to himself, which he did fairly often as geniuses of his caliber were wont to do - while he must have assumed she was sleeping.

Amanda was not asleep. She stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. No. Not her bedroom. It wasn't hers, nothing in this house was. Everything - every square inch of the house, the backyard, the beach, the whole Hamptons - belonged to Nolan. Amanda rolled onto her side and punched the mattress. Nolan had reached his limit, of course he had. Amanda knew she must have done something, pushed him too far or asked him for too much...she was a burden to him, she had been since the first day and now she had proven herself a true danger to him.

Nolan had promised to protect her but now the threat was too great. Since her picture had been released he had kept her in his beautiful cage of a house for days, his team of invisible guard-dog operatives surrounding their location.

It had gone on long enough.

Nolan was sending her away.

More than that, he was freeing himself by erasing her. Nolan Ross would kill Amanda Clarke with a few keystrokes and a smile. He was sending her away, out of his life so he could go back to NolCorp, his true love.

Amanda bit the inside of her cheek and squeezed her eyes closed, hating the hot tears that escaped them.

As ever, there was conflict within the girl.

She hated Nolan for sending her away at the same time that she loved him too much to protest - the man would be safer with her out of the way, he could go on to the next step of his life as tech mogul and celebrity. She was holding him back from the great things still out there for him to accomplish. How could he reach the stars while he was trapped in the Hamptons taking care of her, the great anchor on his life?

Amanda wanted to stay in the safe, quiet routines of the Hamptons they had built this summer, yet at the same time, excited whispers of the adventures she could have rose in the back of her mind. Before all this, before 197, there had already been plans for her to attend the school abroad. David had been so happy for her and he'd been making plans to move nearby so that, while she'd be living on campus, her father would never be too far.

Now, though...

Amanda took in a great gulp of air and clenched her chest, desperate to stifle the scream fighting its way up her throat. Her fingers curled into the sheet, pulling with all her strength yet it wasn't enough to tear the fabric.

Not enough, never enough...

She shifted onto her stomach and screamed into her pillow, biting into it like an animal.

How had it all gone so wrong for everyone? Everything had been ruined that horrible Tuesday morning - not just for them, but for everyone. Amanda had never paid much attention to the news before, but after 197 she had learned the price of ignorance. The whole country was turning on itself, crime of all stripes had skyrocketed as people embraced their every impulse in a world gone mad.

And them, just the three of them, trapped in the eye of the storm.

David Clarke, the accused.

Amanda Clarke, the exposed.

Nolan Ross, the attacked.

And these months of bonding and familiar routine and growth between them were at an end. Whatever half-formed hopes Amanda had had for them were gone. No more trips into town, no more cooking for each other, no more walks on the beach, no more chasing the stars in his telescope or late nights spent talking at the firepit.

Gone was the shapeless dream of Nolan being hers.

Soon, too soon, Amanda would be on the other side of the world.

Soon, Amanda Clarke would no longer exist.

After a restless night, Amanda surrendered any thought of protest.

It was freeing in its way, letting go.

She didn't want to fight Nolan on this, it was all over but the doing.

He was right.

Amanda had been exposed and the effects of that were already showing themselves.

She thought of the girl on the news from the night before, the Colorado girl who had been attacked solely because she had a strong resemblance to Amanda. The media was tearing through her life now, hounding her school friends and old teachers, anyone who could provide some insight into who she was, anything that might hint if she shared her father's connection to Americon Initiative. She wasn't a child caught in the middle of this mess any longer, people thought of her as having a hand in the 197 tragedy, a girl and her father who had conspired to murder hundreds of people. Amanda wasn't just a girl, she was a young killer, a child soldier of the Initiative.

Thanks to the tabloid, Amanda had been put in the spotlight and built into the same monster as her father.

Amanda rubbed her hand over her face and thought of her father. She would need to write him a letter explaining what had happened, as she would be in school by the time of their next scheduled visit.

David would understand. She hoped.

So.

Amanda humored herself that Nolan's idea may work out for the best. She had to continue with her education in any case, and once she was living alone she could continue to build herself up into the woman she wanted to be. The woman with the power to avenge herself.

In the morning, Nolan sat with Amanda in the backyard, sharing the bench swing with her, rocking it back and forth as she curled into her seat, drawing her knees up to her chest. The team had cleared the area, it was safe for them to be together outside. For a time, at least. The girl had been passive that morning as he'd made her breakfast, no arguments as he'd voiced ideas for her new look and a tentative timeline for her departure.

Nolan was disappointed, in a way.

The girl was going along with his ideas and contributing her own input but Nolan could sense the anger just under the surface; it would be no small thing when the girl reached her limit and all that anger finally overwhelmed her. Teenage rage would be better than this false acceptance she was projecting to him. At least her anger would be real.

For now, though, there was the plan to attend to. Nolan knew the risks he had been taking where Amanda was concerned - no step he'd taken since bringing her into his home had been legal. Off the top of his head, Nolan knew that he was guilty of fraud, forgery and international surveillance. He would face years in jail for any one of those crimes, but he had walked into this bizarre circumstance with his eyes open.

He wouldn't stop. He couldn't. He was in too deep to stop now - Amanda was alone but for him and David was depending on him. They were a family. Nolan knew all too well what could happen to him and he would do all he could to avoid those consequences, but if his mischief ever caught up to him he wanted to make sure that Amanda would be taken care of.

If Nolan couldn't protect her, then NolCorp would.

"I'm going to have Denise over today. You know I've been back and forth with her over the phone since your pictures were released."

"Yes and you said you hadn't had any luck in getting them deleted."

Nolan bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't need the reminder that, for all his genius, even he couldn't control the entire Internet. Not yet, anyway. "Unfortunate but true. For every picture I had taken down, it sprung up on a hundred other websites with the same story, that I'm harboring you for whatever reason. I've issued my statement to the press, distancing myself from David."

"I know. I saw it."

Amanda had seen Nolan on TV and saw him as something of a traitor for claiming he had no idea why anyone would accuse him of harboring the daughter of suspected terrorist David Clarke. His words were brief but cutting, and Amanda wished more than anything that Nolan would have instead told the camera that David Clarke was his friend and a victim of conspiracy, that the Graysons were the ones involved with Americon Initiative and behind 197.

Still.

Amanda didn't hate Nolan for what he'd said, she couldn't. She knew it was all for their protection, distancing himself. She could only accept that this was what things had come to since her picture had been released and that woman on the pier had publicly accused Nolan of being involved with Americon Initiative.

"I'm going to meet with Denise today about your...school situation."

"You mean about sending me away."

Nolan cringed at her words. There is was. Amanda was angry...he couldn't blame her for that, but with her picture circulating and his name connected to her, it wasn't safe for them to be together. "Yes. It'll be a quick visit, she'll be here around 3."

Amanda sighed, understanding that he didn't want her intruding on the meeting. "I'll stay out of your way."

Denise Walker made the long drive from the city to the Hamptons. As she passed by mansion after mansion, beach clubs and overpriced boutiques, wine bars and hotels, she had to smile to herself.

She wasn't what one might expect, with her ebony skin and stylish braids, and certainly not what one of the Hamptonites would assume. They might look at her and guess she was a scholarship kid and hired to a firm solely to earn points for diversity.

The truth was that she had come from a boring middle class family to loving parents. She had a brother who'd become a pediatrician and a sister who was an army officer. She had married her college boyfriend who was just as much of a driven workaholic as she was. She had earned everything she had, moving her way to the top until she had made a name for herself as a prosecutor and now, as a public relations attorney for celebrities. The clients were few, but her position was no less demanding. Mr. Ross had been relatively easy to handle until this summer. Between burying his connection to David Clarke and assisting him with his mission to kidnap Amanda and then negotiating visitation with the accused terrorist, Nolan Ross had become quite the handful.

Now, he wanted to meet face-to-face for the first time in months. This did not bode well.

At least the scenery is nice, she thought as she parked in the driveway of his great glass house.

It was her hope to retire to a beach view, but that was far into the future.

Her prize client answered the door and pulled her into a surprise hug - something he'd never done before, but then again he'd never invited her to his Hamptons house before, either. "Denise, it's so good to see you. Come in, come in, you're dressed for the boardroom not the beach!"

She shrugged, unnerved by his behavior, somehow. He was nervous, that much was clear as he lead her inside and then outside to the backyard patio where a large lunch spread was waiting. She usually didn't eat in front of her clients, save for business lunches, but Mr. Ross was special and he was well worth being indulged. The man was odd in general, but today he seemed jittery, and she knew him well enough at this point it was a mask for whatever he'd done that was making him feel guilty.

What has he done this time around? She wondered as she slipped off her heels - her only concession to his insisting that she dress down - and fixed herself a plate. Grilled chicken kabobs, hummus, fruit and sangria were on offer. She refused the sangria and took water instead. This was an unusual meeting, but she was still a professional.

Nolan made a plate for himself and hurriedly gulped at his sangria, uneasy despite the spread he'd set up for this discussion. Amanda was angry with him, hurt by what he'd done, which made him doubt his plans for her; if Nolan was honest with himself, that was the real reason he'd wanted to meet with Denise, so the woman could ease his mind, reassure him that he was truly doing the right thing for his girl.

"Mr. Ross this is all lovely." Denise complimented him as she took a seat at the shaded patio table. Nolan set his plate and wineglass across from her. "How has the...transition been?"

"Transition?"

"Your new houseguest."

"Oh, that. Not really a transition, she's stayed with me before while David was on business, though of course it's never been for this long." Nolan shrugged and took a quick gulp of his drink, his eyes searching for Amanda down on the shore below. The team had assured him it was safe, and though he couldn't see her, he knew the girl wasn't far. "With everything that's happened and now, with her picture out there all over the Internet and that close call on the pier...well, I've just been trying to keep her spirits up."

Denise nodded. She had known about the tabloid, and had called Nolan several times the morning the rag hit the stands to warn him, but in his excitement about the deal at The Stowaway, Nolan had kept his cell phone on silent - he blamed himself for that oversight, if he had been made aware of Amanda's picture being made public then she never would have been outed on the pier by that outraged woman.

"Keeping her spirits up is all you can do." Denise told him. "I'm sorry that I don't have anything new to report at this point. The investigation into David Clarke is still underway and each side is building their case."

"No, no, I know there's nothing new - that's not why I invited you over."

"I don't imagine you only wanted my company."

"If I thought you'd give me a real chance I'd wine and dine you all over the city, you'd love it."

"I'm sure you're the type to go all-out to impress your date, sir, but my husband might object." Denise reminded him. Despite her adherence to professionalism, she did enjoy being the object of his harmless flirting affection.

"Bring him along!" Nolan laughed. "I've seen his picture, he's just my type."

"Well, he was my type first. Now, as exciting as a three-way date might be, sir, it doesn't explain why you invited me over today."

Nolan took a deep breath, the humor of their playful exchange draining from him. "I need to talk to you about Amanda."

"It always seems to come back to that girl. This has been one of our strangest summers, sir, you were such a low-maintenance client before her." Denise chided him lightly.

"I know!" Nolan laughed. "Everyone's life was simpler before all of this. She's a walking complication but I love her."

"That's been clear since the first day. What you've done for her is already so admirable."

"Admirable, maybe, but it's also turned out to be dangerous." Nolan swallowed. "Denise, I'm sending her to school abroad."

There, he said it.

Denise absorbed the bomb he'd just dropped, her sharp mind immediately calculating the potential risks and rewards of his decision. As his primary counsel, it was her responsibility to protect his interests and his image. Amanda had been a complication from the moment Nolan announced his intent to bring her into his home; she had been quick to write up a press statement immediately distancing him from any association with David Clarke or his daughter. Every day since the tabloid released Amanda's picture that Nolan kept her in his house was a greater risk of them being found out - Nolan's security team couldn't protect them from long range camera lenses forever.

All it would take was one picture of Nolan and Amanda together and it would all fall apart.

Sending the girl away would eliminate the complication. The risk of being found out would dissolve, and he could go back to being Nolan Ross, tech celebrity and prize client. That was the cold truth of the matter, but even a cold-blooded lawyer could see that not everything was so black and white. Human emotions had a tendency to complicate things. "She loves you, Mr. Ross." Denise ventured. "When you went to get her from Millhouse, she lit up at the sight of you. She knew you'd make everything right again. That girl thinks you hung the moon, you're her hero."

Nolan knew what Denise was hinting at, Amanda's infatuation with him. Of course Nolan knew, he wasn't oblivious to female attention, no matter where it came from or how subtle it was. He imagined he was probably her first real crush but he wouldn't think to embarrass Amanda by addressing it. He'd been her age once, he knew her infatuation with him would just run its course, but until then...

"I...I know. I'm going to play on this little crush of hers to keep her obedient. It's the only way to keep her safe."

"You mean to toy with her? Don't take it too far."

Nolan scowled at her warning, "Take it too far? Jesus, what do you think I'd do?"

He was many things, not all of them good, but he knew what Denise was warning against. He felt insulted that she felt the need to hint at such a thing; Amanda was off-limits in that regard for a host of reasons, first and foremost being that she was barely more than a child, for God's sake. He occasionally teased the girl about special birthday dates and the like, but that's all it had ever been from Nolan's side of things - teasing and jokes to lighten things when their conversations grew heavy.

Amanda's crush on him aside, things between them never had and never would cross that line.

"I'm sorry."

Denise was sorry to have insulted him, but she had met other celebrities and high rollers who had a taste for young teens. Any attempt of Nolan's to play on Amanda's feelings could be read the wrong way and end up as a disaster for them both.

"I would never hurt her, but I'll make sure she does what needs to be done. If I have to charm her a little to keep her in line, then I'll do it. I can't have her here. Despite the press statement, I've been getting threats and hate mail every day. I can handle that. But Amanda shouldn't have to. This has been difficult enough without her being afraid for her life." Nolan couldn't stand the thought of Amanda constantly being afraid - she deserved to have a real life. "She needs to get away from all of this and I need to get back to my life. The truth is that I've been hiding out here too, Denise, and it can't go on."

"And after?"

Nolan speared his fingers through his hair, pulling at it in frustration. "After she goes I'm getting a new place. There are too many memories here."

That at least was true. Amanda was an engaging distraction, but he missed Marco every night - it was a wound that hadn't yet healed.

Denise tapped her glass with a manicured nail. "A new house won't make you forget about him, Mr. Ross."

She didn't have to say anything else, there was no need.

"No, but a change of scenery will be a great start. After everything, I think it's what we both need. And speaking of needs, I want to update my will and holdings - if I'm jailed for anything I've done in regard to the Clarke family, I want it so that everything goes to Amanda." Nolan told her, fully confident that Denise would have it done within the week.

"You want her listed as your next of kin?"

"You know my family situation, I haven't spoken to them in years. I don't have any kids that I know of, so it all goes to her. I don't have anyone else."

"I'll update your records, sir." They were quiet for a time, thinking and enjoying the sun, the breeze, the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. "How do you think she'll do, out there on her own?"

Nolan considered her question. "She was set to go there before all this, so in a way it's a real chance for her to pick up where she left off. I know she hates me right now but she knows this will be for the best, and really it's our only option. I wasn't thinking long-term when I took her from Millhouse, but I can't keep her here for much longer. She has to go to school and a girl her age needs friends."

"True, but her experience has been much different than most girls her age."

"I want her to have as normal a life as possible, even with everything that's already happened." He shrugged. "I would keep her with me if I could - keep on with this whole thing, taking turns cooking, going to lunch and dinner in town, buying her whatever she could want. I even let her drive my car around the block a few times and she was great at it." Genuine pride touched his voice and Denise felt for him. It was clear that Nolan hadn't just been entertaining Amanda like a put-upon babysitter, he had truly enjoyed her all through these summer months, which was strangely telling. "I know it's not right. She's become my best friend but this situation, it can't go on. For her protection and for her future, she has to go. I just hope she can forgive me."

Denise reached across the table and put her hand over his. "She will. In time."

In the evening, hours after Denise had departed the Hamptons, Amanda stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, frowning at the stranger who looked back at her. She'd been a blonde all her life, the idea of going dark had only ever been a passing thought - one always dismissed because unlike most teenage girls, Amanda was content enough with the way she looked that she'd had no desire to experiment in extremes.

Or, she had been, before coating her every strand in the stench of drugstore dye.

She applied unfamiliar, harsh shades of makeup and added a pair of vanity glasses.

A new Amanda stared back as her, an Amanda whose skin was paler, almost sallow now thanks to her new mane of unnatural blue-black hair. She sighed deeply, some part of her knowing that this - dying her hair, cutting in side bangs, the heavy eyeliner, dark lipstick and wearing the glasses - was only the beginning.
Nolan had told her that he would change her name, but the truth was that he was working to change her entire identity, rewriting who she was, what she looked like and where she came from, all under the guise of his protection.

Amanda looked herself over in the mirror. She didn't look ugly, exactly, she just didn't look anything like herself. Just as Nolan had wanted.

"I never thought I'd have black hair." She lamented out loud.

"Yeah, me neither."

Amanda jumped, startled that she wasn't alone, but even more surprised to see Nolan in the doorway to her bathroom, his own hair now an inky shade to match her own. "Nolan! You dyed your hair too, why?"

The man stepped aside so she could leave the bathroom, but then took her place before the mirror. As a man, Nolan was not so devastated by a makeover. Not that he didn't think he looked better in his natural shade, but he was confident enough in either color.

He shrugged, "No reason for you to suffer alone, Emily."

Amanda frowned, "Emily? That's my middle name."

Nolan shook his head as he exited the bathroom. Amanda was vaguely jealous to see that his eyes seemed brighter when paired with his new dark hair, meanwhile her own eyes had seemed to go flat. It was insulting, really, that Nolan appeared even more striking while she had been completely washed out.

Then again, that was the idea - Nolan wanted her to blend in and go unnoticed, and no one was overlooked more than a quiet, plain girl.

"No, it's your new first name. I chose that for you because it will be easier for you to get used to."

"Fine. Emily it is, I guess."

Nolan came in close, then tipped her chin up, lightly forcing her to meet his eyes. "No. No guessing. You need to be sure that you can be Emily from now on, for as long as it takes."

"I can."

"You can't tell anyone who you were here, and you can't tell them you know me. After tomorrow, we have to be each other's secret. I know you hate this, but I know you understand it."

Amanda knew the risks now, and she knew that Nolan had done so much for her, so much more than she could ever hope to repay. This was another new start for them. She loved him and hated that she had to leave, but she could feel it - they were united in this deception. Partners and allies, soon to be separated by an ocean.

"I do. Nolan, call me Emily again."

Nolan couldn't help his hand, he speared his fingers through her hair, dragged his nails over her scalp, stimulating her more than any man had a right to do at her age and knowing all too well the effect he had on her. It was there, the sudden fearful awareness of arousal in her eyes, the flush over her cheeks and throat.

He recognized it and he did it anyway.

Whatever it took to make her comply, whatever it took to protect her.

"You are Emily now. Emily Thorne. Say it."

Amanda took a deep breath, her eyes locked with his as she obeyed the soft command.

"I am Emily Thorne."