Cora could tell she wasn't going to win this battle easily. The bond between her daughter and that girl seemed stronger than she expected. It was doubtful that Emma would take her at her word to provide for the baby, so she put the detective in charge of letting her know when the young girl would be ready to give birth. Better not to lose track of Emma Swan before getting rid of that problem for good.
As to Regina, Cora resorted to emergency measures. She had her kidnapped from the university campus and secretly locked into the mansion's panic room. While her daughter was still drugged, she took her phone from her and turned it off. Then she called the college administration to inform them that Regina was temporarily going to miss classes due to family issues.
Everything was under control. Now Cora just had to wait.
Regina had been put to sleep and abducted so fast that she didn't even have time to be afraid or to wonder what was happening to her. She woke up disoriented, but soon recognized the Mills mansion's panic room, in which she had occasionally sought refuge, taking advantage of the sound-proof walls to isolate herself from her mother's shrieking fits of anger.
The room was comfortable and well furnished. It had its own bathroom, complete with a full medicine cabinet, contained various sets of clothes, and a whole closet of non-perishable food. The place was a bunker, designed to withstand a military siege and accommodate three people for about a month. It had no windows and only one armored door – currently locked from the outside. The surveillance cameras were on, transmitting views from the panic room to the mansion's CCTV control room, but Cora had disabled all audio and video means to communicate with the outside from within the room. There was no way to call for help. Regina was trapped.
The days went on and nothing happened. Left entirely to her own devices, Regina almost went crazy thinking about Emma all alone without any news from her. Maybe Emma thought that she had let her down again? She probably did. What if she did something stupid, such as giving the baby up after all? Regina knew that nobody could hear her, but she still screamed at the top of her lungs until her ears rang. Then she collapsed on the floor, devastated.
Regina crossed off one week, then two, then three. First, she hoped that someone would come and that she'd be able to force her way out the minute the door opened. But nobody came. Then she tried going on a hunger strike to draw a reaction from her mother – she had no doubt she was responsible for her current situation – but Cora didn't budge.
Regina had no intention to actually die. She didn't want to be too weak to escape the moment she had a chance, so she started eating again. She found a copybook and a few ballpoint pens in a drawer, and began drawing a sketch of Emma as she remembered her from their last meeting, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders and her big belly bulging up to her chest. The baby recognized Regina's voice now, he moved around and kicked whenever she talked to him. She was so close to meeting him and starting a new life with Emma, a life so much more meaningful than the one her mother had chosen for her…
In three weeks, Regina had more than enough time to study every single detail of the room she was locked in. As far as she could tell, there were only two surveillance cameras, which gave her another idea. It was worth a shot. In front of each camera, she put a sheet of paper, entirely blocking its field of vision, on which she wrote, "I'd rather die than live like that. Tell dad I love him. Goodbye, Mother." Then, just in case there was another hidden camera in the room, she pretended to swallow a whole bottle of sleeping pills that she found in the medicine cabinet, lay down on a bed and pretended to fall asleep.
Regina was beginning to feel stiff all over when Cora finally opened the door and cautiously walked to her bed, not sounding in a particular hurry. Keeping her eyes closed and holding her breath, Regina could hear her mother's high heels clicking closer and closer. Then Cora leant over her and touched her fingers to Regina's neck to check her pulse.
Regina opened her eyes and sprung to action, throwing herself off the bed, up on her feet, and swiping Cora's legs in one swift, desperate move. As Cora, surprised, let out a cry and fell to the floor, Regina lunged on stiff legs out of the room and locked the door. It was Cora's turn to spend some quality time alone – with the smelly pile of garbage from three week's worth of canned meals overflowing from the trash can.
How was Emma doing? She had to reassure her at once. There was a phone in the – but before Regina made it to the mansion's living room, she ran into her father. "Good heavens Regina!" he said, hugging her. "My dear, where have you been?! Your mother told me something about you getting an internship in San Francisco, but I was beginning to worry about you! Usually, you give news…"
"I'll never speak to Mother again," said Regina. "Father, can I use your phone, please? There's someone I have to call, it's urgent."
Regina's father complied, looking at Regina anxiously while she was making her call. His daughter didn't seem quite as immaculate as usual. Her hair was poorly done, she was barefoot, wore no make up, her clothes were wrinkled, and there was a stale smell about her. What was going on?
Regina handed him his phone back. She looked upset, her eyes suddenly full of tears. "Daddy, please," she said in a small voice, "I need your help."