Author's note: Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I LOVED reading your reactions to the last ch. You guys are seriously the best :)

Chapter 25: It All Comes Crashing Down

Emma had been on her way back from the vending machine down the hall, her arms laden with snacks when she suddenly heard voices coming from their room.

That's odd. She thought. At first she thought nothing of it; maybe Hook was just watching TV super loudly. But upon closer inspection, she realized that she was hearing his voice.

Since when does Hook talk to himself? Instinctively, she flattened herself against the wall and pressed her ear to the door, straining to hear through the thick wood.

"…congratulate you on a job well done…" A cool female voice murmured. Emma could hear notes of triumph in it. For some reason, it was startlingly familiar, though she could not place it.

And then she heard Hook's voice. "…done with the boy…hurt him?"

The boy? They, whoever the stranger was, couldn't be talking about Henry. Could they?

The mysterious stranger and Hook were talking in voices too low for her to hear properly. She could only catch snippets here and there.

"…comforting mother…trusts me…"

"great…done here?"

And then she heard her name. Clear as day. "…kill Emma for me eventually." With a jolt, she realized who the other person was.

Cora.

Now she had to hear everything they were saying. Slowly, cautiously, she slipped the key card inside the slot, and gently slid the door open a few inches, just enough that they wouldn't notice. Emma poked her head inside ever so slightly. It took all of her willpower not to go barging in there and demanding what was going on. She reminded herself that she had to hear everything first.

Cora stood by the TV, across from Hook, who's shoulders slumped but his posture was one of defiance.

"How could I forget?" Hook sighed. "So are you here to just chat, because I find that highly unlikely"

"You always did know me best." Cora smiled slowly. "Indeed I do have another task for you, dear. I need you to help me dispose of the boy. I'm nearly done with him."

"What?" Hook gasped.

"You heard me. Kill Henry and make it look like Regina did it. That way, she'll truly be left with nothing, and everyone will hate her. And that's where I'll step in. I'll help her defeat the Charmings once and for all."

And that was the moment Emma literally saw red. Before she knew what she was doing, before she stopped to consider how dangerous this was, she was barging in there, the door flying open, the snacks abandoned on the carpet outside of the room.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded. Everything, from the bed to the desk to the small TV, was tinged red. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

"Swan…" Hook gasped, but that was all he could say.

"Why hello there, Emma." Cora simpered. "What a lovely surprise. You're looking well, I daresay." She folded her hands calmly before her.

"Cut the crap." Emma snarled. "Y-you a-and...her!" With a trembling finger, she pointed at Hook. "You! You were working with her all along, weren't you?"

"I…" Hook stammered, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

"Yes, he was." Cora placed a hand on Hook's shoulder. "He's done a fine job, I must say. Except, of course, when he nearly messed everything up by falling in love with you, but my dear Captain has redeemed himself quite nicely."

Looking from Emma, whose chest was heaving up and down quite rapidly, to Hook, who looked as though he was about to be sick, Cora just clicked her tongue. "Well, I'll just leave you two to sort things out. Hook, you know what to do and where to find me." A flash of purple, and she was gone.

There was a long, awful, heavy, and drawn out silence.

"I should've known." Emma shook her head, effectively breaking the silence. "I should've known. It all makes sense now." She began pacing around the room. "You just showed up here and refused to tell me how and why you were here. Or even where you were staying. And all those mentions of Cora today." She shook her head again. "I should've known."

"Emma…let me explain." Hook began.

That did it. Emma lost it. "EXPLAIN WHAT?!" She screamed. "YOU WERE WORKING WITH HER ALL ALONG! YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH! YOU WERE PLAYING ME, WEREN'T YOU? THE WHOLE TIME! ALL THOSE LINES YOU FED ME! THAT WAS JUST A PART OF YOUR GAME, WASN'T IT?!"

She felt sick to her stomach, like she was about to puke, and the room was spinning quite violently. Everything she saw was tinged red and her fists were clenched so hard she was certain that they'd be stuck that way.

"Emma, you don't understand." Hook pleaded. "I had no choice. She was going to kill me. She told me that if I helped her then she'd help me kill Rumplestilskin."

Emma laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, I understand. I understand perfectly. Your precious revenge was so important that you risked my son's life just to get what you want. You screwed with me. You played me the entire time. You made me feel loved and wanted for the first time in my life. You made me think that you cared about me. You played on all of my insecurities and issues and took advantage of them. I opened myself to you, Hook. And you of all people know how hard it is for me to do that. And what did you do? You played me like a freaking card game!" She reached out and slapped his cheek, the force of it whipping his head back. "I went to all that trouble for you, finding you a place to stay because I thought you were slumming it on the streets. Buying you new clothes, helping you fit in." She began pulling at her hair; she looked quite mad. "You know how much that cost me? I'll bet you and Cora were sitting on your damned ship, having a good laugh."

He did not say anything, just slowly turned to look back at her. The look on his face was confirmation enough that everything she was yelling was true.

Angry tears began to flow. "YOU KNOW WHAT SICKENS ME?" Emma spat, her voice rapidly growing in decibels. "IS THAT I FELL FOR IT! I FREAKING FELL FOR IT! I FELL FOR YOUR GAMES!" Her voice suddenly broke. "I fell for you…"

Hook crossed the room towards her and grabbing her hands. "I admit, it was a game at first, a ruse, but I started to fall for you. I love you, Emma."

"Don't touch me!" Emma hissed, recoiling, a look of horror on her face. "You don't love me." She said sadly. "If you did you would've told me the truth. You wouldn't have kidnapped my son."

"I know." He sighed heavily. "I messed up, love. And I can never apologize enough for everything. But believe me. I love you." He reiterated.

"I can't believe I fell for it. I just thought, for the first time, someone loved me. Broken, fucked up beyond repair, Emma Swan. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I didn't have to be alone for the rest of my goddamned life." She stared at him with disgust. "But I should've known better. Nobody spends time with me unless they have an ulterior motive. I really don't know what's more pathetic: the fact that you were working for her or that I fell for it."

She reached over and grabbed her coat, pulling it on violently, stomping towards the door.

"Wait!" Hook cried. "Where are you going?"

She stared back coldly. "To save my son. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell away from me and my family. Because next time I see you I'll kill you."

The slam of the door made Hook jump. And it was in that moment that he realized that everything was over.

Author's note: Emma's reaction was so fun to write. And soooooo sad! What did y'all think?