A/N: *waves* hello all! thank you to everyone still reading- just one more chapter to go! enjoy :)

[E]

"You're being unreasonable," Elena shifted uncomfortably as Damon stared her down. "I've told you everything I know!"

A loud knock interrupted their ongoing argument, and she was mortified to hear Isobel's voice on the other side of the door. "Damon? Is my daughter in there?"

Damon scrambled out of bed, throwing on his clothes and gesturing for Elena to do the same. "Uh, Ms. Pierce, we're weren't expecting...we'll just—one second!"

Elena could feel her hands trembling as she hastily buttoned her shirt. Not only was this embarrassing, but to top it off, she had no idea how Katherine would act in this situation. With her head held high? Or with guilty remorse for fraternizing with the enemy?

Another voice boomed loudly, "If you two don't come out of there in the next two seconds—"

"Dad?" Damon threw open the door after checking to make sure Elena was dressed. "What are you doing here?"

Elena ignored them and shrunk back against Isobel's scrutinizing gaze. Her mother pursed her lips after a moment, with either disappointment or anger, or a mixture of both. "Living room. Now."

Giuseppe surprisingly didn't refute Isobel giving orders in his own house, and instead glared at Damon expectantly. "After you, son."

Elena meekly followed behind Damon, her mind whirling with possibilities. What was going on? Why did everyone look so mad?

"Sit."

"I'd rather stand."

Giuseppe swelled with rage, "I SAID SIT."

Damon took a startled step back but caught himself at the last second. He sat down unwillingly, but placed himself next to Elena all the same.

She licked her dry lips and stammered, "W-what's going on?"

Isobel remained standing and folded her arms in a rather intimidating pose. "I'd be happy to tell you what's going on. You just have to answer one simple question for me."

Elena tried to discreetly wipe her sweaty palms on her skirt and squeaked, "Okay?"

Her mother tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. "What's your name?"

"Shit," Damon muttered under his breath.

Mr. Salvatore swung an angry glance over to his son, "Just as I suspected. You knew. I ought to—"

"No, stop!" Elena cried out, getting to her feet and blocking Giuseppe's path to Damon in the process. "He didn't...he did nothing wrong! He was just trying to help, I swear."

She felt Damon pull her back roughly, "Elena, you don't need to protect me from my father. I can handle him."

"Oh," Isobel drawled, "Elena, is it? Rather bold of you to lay all your cards on the table like that. You'd make a terrible lawyer."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not a lawyer," Damon snapped, "And neither is Elena. We're just kids, okay? And we're just caught in this stupid game that the two of you—"

"Watch your tongue," Giuseppe warned, "You're standing on thin ice, Damon."

"This is no game," Isobel added coldly, "And the fact that you think it is shows how little you really know."

Elena felt her anger growing. "You know what? You're right. We have no idea what's going on. Your

daughter set this all up, so why don't you call her and find out what's going on?"

Mr. Salvatore barked out a laugh. "You see how quickly they turn on each other? On family?"

"I'm not—"

"Shut up," Isobel snarled, and it was unclear to whom she was talking to. "For your information, dear sweet Elena, I've just received a phone call from your father."

She felt her knees quiver and immediately Damon placed a hand on the small of her back, giving her silent support. "My...father?"

"Yes, that money obsessed scumbag I left years ago," Isobel spat, "Jonathan Gilbert."

Elena flinched, "What did he want?"

"Well, he had called to ask me if I happened to know where his daughter was."

"With all due respect, Ms. Pierce," Damon interjected quietly, "Elena is your daughter, too."

Inexplicably, Elena felt tears come to her eyes. She blinked rapidly, unwilling to let any of the people standing before her see her cry. Damon's arm came to rest on her shoulders and he pulled her towards him slightly before pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead. The message was clear: they stood together.

Isobel's scowl intensified.

"Are you sure you want to throw your lot in with the Salvatores, Elena?" Her mother glowered, "After all, your father did just come home to learn that Stefan Salvatore was holding Katherine at gunpoint—"

"What!?" Three pairs of voices exclaimed simultaneously. Elena gaped over at Damon in shock, but he was too busy shaking his head to notice. "No," he insisted vehemently, "Stefan would never do that."

"Are you calling my daughter a liar?" Isobel's eyes glittered, "John himself saw the gun before Katherine broke down in tears."

"Now look here, Isobel," Giuseppe sounded nervous, "What exactly are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying that you and your entire family of criminals—"

"I will not have you speaking in front of my son in that manner!"

"Yes, your son who was doing god knows what with my daughter behind that closed door!"

"Mom!"

Elena was ignored completely.

"Oh, so NOW she's your daughter, eh? So convenient how you pick and choose when to be related to somebody! Gilberts, Pierces, you're all the same!"

"I am nothing like my worthless ex husband!" Isobel nearly screamed, suddenly looking quite deranged. "I changed my name, I moved to New York, I made a name for myself—I did all of that to get as far away from his crimes as possible!"

"That's the thing about family, though," Giuseppe advanced on her threateningly, "You can never quite escape them, can you?"

Damon moved in front of Elena protectively, "Dad! What the hell is going on here?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," Isobel interrupted, her voice growing deadly. "Giuseppe has known all along that this wasn't the real Katherine. In fact, he sent Stefan down to Mystic Falls with the sole purpose of getting close to Katherine and finding evidence that would help him evade the embezzlement charges. Again."

Elena felt like she had been punched in the stomach and she let out an audible gasp. Poor Katherine...she had really liked Stefan...

"What?" Damon laughed, "That's ridiculous. There's no way my dad knew..." He trailed off, looking askance at Giuseppe. "Tell her she's wrong!"

Mr. Salvatore scoffed, spreading his arms wide. "What's the point of lying? Nothing I say here will hold up in court!"

"Go ahead!" Isobel shouted, "Look your son in the eye and tell him what you did!"

He grinned, a little manically. "You want the truth, Pierce? Well you got it—yes, I sent Stefan to Mystic Falls. Yes, I knew that this girl before us was Elena Gilbert. And yes, I did embezzle money 18 years ago." He took a few steps forward until he was inches away from Isobel, "And yes...John Gilbert helped me then and he's helping me now."

Damon looked nothing short of horrified, while Elena opened her mouth several times but could think of nothing to say. Isobel, on the other hand, looked grimly satisfied. "Told you so."