CHAPTER 25

I'm still in a state of shock as the evening comes to an end. I know the media is going to explode with this information, not to mention the Cross Industries PR department, I can imagine Des having a coronary on the spot when the media drop this on him.

We try to make our way out and we are stopped every few steps by someone coming and shaking our hands and offering their support to Survivors. I am grateful and glad that by telling my story I can turn something which was horrific and heinous into something positive and also, now I no longer have to worry about my past coming out in a salacious way to embarrass my husband which has always been my concern. I have controlled it and let the truth out in my own way and on my terms.

"Eva!" I look and Cary and Trey come towards us hand in hand, it makes me happy to see that, and I hope Trey now understands Cary a little bit more and I am immensely proud of Cary for standing up there tonight and telling his own harrowing life story.

"Baby girl we want you to be the first to know," Cary says brightly his eyes are shining with love and something else something like awe.

"What?" I ask.

"Trey has asked me to marry him, he was going to ask me at some point soon but after tonight he said he couldn't wait any longer, he loves me."

I squeal loudly bringing attention to us and I fling my arms around my best friend's neck. "Oh my god Cary I'm so pleased for you!" I shriek.

Gideon steps forward and offers Cary his hand, "Congratulations to you both" he says.

"Well done son," my dad says and pulls Cary into a swift manly hug before doing the same with Trey.

oooOOOooo

We get back to the penthouse and we are all climbing out of the limo, the ride back was almost like a party, Cary and Trey are both in high spirits.

As we stand on the sidewalk I hug Cary and Trey warmly as we say our goodbyes when I hear a familiar voice, I see Gideon react and I spin on the spot to see Corinne stalking purposefully towards us.

Everything all seems to happen at once I hear Corinne shout and feel Cary grab me, and at the same time Gideon moves and shoves me violently towards Cary, my father yells and as Angus tries to react, Gideon moves again blocking him and quickly steps in front of me, shielding me with his body. Before I can react or process what is happening I hear a gunshot and I feel a spray of wetness I look down and see blood.

"GIDEON!" I yell as I see my husband slide to the ground.

I shake myself out of Cary's hold and fall to my knees cradling my husband's head in my arms. I can hear crying and hysterical screaming, I listen, it's not me, although I realise that I too am crying and repeatedly saying Gideon's name but I can hear a woman crying hysterically. I shut it out and concentrate on Gideon.

"Gideon, Gideon wake up, stay with me, do you hear, don't you fucking leave me" I say, as I grip him tightly, pressing my hand to the wound which is pouring blood, I know that I need to try and stop it, I have no idea what is going on, I perceive movement around me, there is activity and a lot of it, has someone called an ambulance? All the while Gideon is lying possibly dying in my arms.

"Eva, Eva sweetheart let me look," I hear my dad's calm voice and it registers with me amongst the fog I am currently in and I look up at him blankly.

"He's bleeding" I say stating the obvious as my father crouches and gently examines Gideon, I watch him carefully and hear him as he curses under his breath.

"Eva, are you hurt?" he asks turning his attention back to me, he is using his cop voice the one which radiates authority and control.

I shake my head unable to speak, as I am feeling numb and confused.

"An ambulance is on the way."

I hear another familiar voice and look up to see Angus and several members of Gideon's security team, where did they come from? Two of whom are holding a woman, Corinne, I stare at her, I register who she is and that I previously saw her walking towards us but I can't move, I can't seem to do anything, I notice she has something in her hand but she is in a death grip of one of Gideon's security team and unable to move and she is sobbing.

My mind starts piecing the facts together and I realise she must the woman I previously heard screaming.

I refuse to let my grip go on Gideon, Cary and Trey are both beside me and offering me what support they can. Then I hear sirens and soon the sidewalk is flooded with police and paramedics. I have no idea how much time has passed, everything seems to be happening in slow motion, and slow motion is bad, Gideon needs help now.

I vaguely hear my father taking charge and talking to the police officers. Then someone tries to pull me away from Gideon.

"NO" I yell, holding tighter, "He's bleeding, under my hand I can't let go, he can't die!" I say urgently.

I feel Cary touch me and I look at him, "Eva, baby girl, listen to me, you've done a brilliant job there but your part is done now, the professionals are here so let the paramedics take over now, let them help him," Cary whispers and I look up to see two paramedics.

"Come on baby girl, let them do their job," Cary coaxes and reluctantly I allow him to pull me away. But as he does so I instinctively try and hold on to Gideon until I can no longer do so. Another paramedic comes to me and wraps something around me, I hear Cary's voice again, but I am focussed on the team of paramedics swarming all over Gideon.

"That blood on her is his, I don't think the bullet got her, he took it for her, he stepped in front of her, and he pushed her towards me as I tried to pull her away as well, but she's in shock and she's pregnant so she needs to go and be checked out," Cary says.

I am fixed on the paramedics working on Gideon on the sidewalk, he is just lying there, and realisation slowly dawns as I go over what Cary just said, Gideon took a bullet for me, he risked his own life to save mine and our baby, I look towards Corinne who is being arrested and I see a police officer taking something from her... I recognise it, it's a gun, she did this! I feel the meltdown as it happens. I scream and lurch forward towards Corinne who is being led away, my only goal is to get to her and kill her.

"Eva, no!" Cary yells and pulls me back.

"She shot him, she shot him!" I scream.

"I know she did baby girl, we all saw it and she has admitted it, she can't get out of it, the police have arrested her and are taking her away for doing it, so let them do their job, they are dealing with her," Cary says, I sag and collapse into Cary's arms sobbing hysterically.

I feel myself being led to an ambulance, Gideon is now on the gurney and paramedics are still working on him, he looks pale, I try and pull myself together as I don't want to get in their way and I sit beside him, I have been wrapped in an aluminium foil blanket and I reach out and grasp his hand, which is lying limply at the side of the gurney.

"Is he...?" I ask the paramedic closest to me who is checking him as we ride to the hospital.

"He's in a bad way ma'am but he's also a fit and strong man and he's holding on," the paramedic says kindly.

I nod and lean towards Gideon, "Don't you dare leave me, Gideon, do you hear me, don't you leave me and our baby" I say fiercely and I lean in and press a kiss to his forehead, tears are streaming unchecked down my face and I don't do anything about it.

"I love you, Gideon, don't you leave me" I keep saying it, as if by doing so will make him well.

When we arrive at the hospital a number of people are waiting for us, I see my mother and Richard, they are still dressed in the clothes they were wearing at the gala my mom immediately engulfs me in her arms and holds me, but I push her away as I see Gideon being unloaded.

"Not now mom," I hiss and return to my husband's side, grabbing his hand once more and practically running beside the gurney as he is rushed into the hospital.

We go inside and I am stopped by medical staff and gently removed from Gideon, I watch as he disappears into a room and the doors close. I sag and fall to my knees and in an instant I am surrounded.

"Come on Eva, come on," I hear my mother's voice and I respond as she lifts me to my feet, she wraps her arm around me and tries to lead me away when I hear someone call out to me.

"Eva!"

I turn and see Chris, Christopher and Ireland running towards me, they are all pale and worried, and seeing them just makes me cry harder, Chris steps forward immediately and I step out of my mother's hold towards Gideon's stepfather, he doesn't hesitate and pulls me into his arms and holds me.

"He was shot, it was Corinne, and she shot him" I mutter.

I feel myself being moved and everything is going on around me, I am moved here and there and examined and then proclaimed absolutely fine, Dr Marshall appears and checks on the baby and the baby is also fine. I take that in, ok, I'm fine and the baby is fine, now what about Gideon?

I look around for the first time becoming aware of my surroundings. I am in a small examination room, with me are Cary, Trey, my mom, Stanton, Chris, Christopher and Ireland. I look around at all the worried faces.

"Gideon?" I ask and search their faces for the answer I need, is he alive?

Cary sits beside me and wraps his arm around me.

"He's in surgery, and he's fighting," he says.

I nod and look at my best friend, "what happened? I heard a voice and a shot, Gideon was on the floor, then I was in the ambulance and then I was here, what's going on?" I ask although my muddled mind seems to have worked most of it out.

Cary glances at my mom who comes and sits down on the other side of me and picks up my blood soaked hand, everyone else is listening as they also seem to want to know. I realise for the first time that my dad isn't here as I try and pick through the fog of what happened tonight I remember he was there when Gideon was shot.

"Where's my dad?" I ask.

"He'll be here soon, he is helping Angus with the police," Cary says gently as though he is trying to calm me down.

"What happened tonight?" I ask again.

Cary takes a deep breath, "when we all got out the limo, Angus got out and he spotted that woman, Gideon's ex – Corinne, she yelled out and lifted the gun, her intention was obvious, he did something and loads of men appeared from nowhere, they must have been security, but she fired the gun before they could grab her and then everything happened all at once, I grabbed you and tried to pull you away and Cross pushed you towards me at the same time and then he threw himself in front of you, and took the bullet, your dad called the cops and paramedics, Angus and the other men grabbed Corinne. She was hysterical, she was screaming that she didn't mean to hit him, that she loved him and..." he pauses and looks at me, I can tell he doesn't want to say what happened next.

"and?" I urge waiting for him to continue.

"...and that she meant to hit you," he says quietly, there is a long silence as I take that in.

"It wasn't your fault Eva," my mom says firmly.

I stare at her incredulously, "How was it not my fault? My husband is fighting for his life because he took a bullet meant for me," I yell rounding on her angrily.

"Eva, calm down" Cary says soothingly, "The cops came, and your dad and Angus told them what had happened, pretty much as I have just told you, he and Angus are downtown now sorting everything, I think your lawyer guy has been called, and I'm guessing that they will be putting a restraining order on Corinne and trying their damnedest to keep her under lock and key for the time being".

Cary hardly finishes speaking when the door opens and my dad enters, his eyes meet mine and he looks worried, he is closely followed by Raul and also Arash and they all have grim expressions.

"Daddy," I say and I am on my feet and in his arms.

"Eva, are you ok, the baby?" he asks pulling me away from him and visually checking me, his eyes scanning me from head to foot.

"I'm fine, and the baby is fine" I say, I turn to look at Raul and Arash.

"What's happened?" I ask.

Arash sighs and rubs his face, he looks frustrated and it sets me on edge, "We've been at the station fighting to keep Corinne in custody, which under normal circumstances she would be, but her father came and pulled a number of strings and posted bail for her, he promised us he would make sure she didn't come anywhere near you again, but we've put a restraining order in just to make sure, and also Raul is here and is staying in case she does try anything else".

"But it's your day off," I say looking at Raul, he smiles at me kindly.

"I can have my day off at any time," he says gently.

"This is more important right now and Mr Cross would expect me to be here protecting you at a time like this," he says.

"I'm also staying," I look around and see Ben Clancy, I didn't even realise that he was here, I hadn't noticed him before as he was standing back in the corner out of the way.

Richard nods, "Certainly, Ben is at your disposal for as long as you need him and if I can be of help in any other way".

Raul nods, "Thank you, Mr Stanton that's very kind of you, Angus has arranged for our security to be posted outside, Angus is still liaising with the police at the moment but intends to come here himself as well later on".

I look around, they are all taking this very seriously and they think Corinne could come here and try and finish what she started, I'm suddenly afraid, not for me but for my baby, she won't try and hurt Gideon again as he wasn't her target, it was me. Arash comes and hugs me and tries to tell me everything will be fine and then he leaves.

The door opens and everyone is on alert, a young doctor enters, "All the tests have come back clear so you are free to go Mrs Cross" he says looking around at all the people in the room.

This immediately galvanises me into action, "I'm not going anywhere without my husband, how is he?" I ask.

The doctor smiles at me and nods, "Your husband is still in surgery at the moment, he is in a critical condition and fighting for his life and we are doing all we can to repair the damage caused by the bullet that hit him," he says.

I nod, and reach for Cary's hand and he immediately gives it to me.

"Ok," I say and I look around, "Well I don't know about anyone else but I'm staying right here," I say calmly.

I look around the room defiantly, silently challenging anyone to contradict me.

Chris quickly turns to Christopher and Ireland, "I'll stay here with Eva, Christopher, can you please take Ireland to your place tonight and stay there and I'll call as soon as I know anything."

I watch Christopher hesitate and then he nods he glances at me and then walks over to me and hugs me tightly.

"He'll be fine, he's too much of a stubborn asshole to give up and die," those words are oddly comforting and I manage to give a weak smile to Christopher.

"Thank you," I say and he nods, I look at Ireland and her lip is trembling, but Christopher is already ushering her away.

"Wait" I call, and pull myself away from everyone around me and walk towards Ireland. I pull her close.

"Christopher is right, Gideon can't die," I say firmly and she nods at me tears welling up in her eyes.

"Ok," she says in a small voice and with that I watch her leave with Christopher.

I turn and see Cary and Trey in deep conversation.

Trey nods and presses a sweet kiss to Cary's lips, before turning to me, "I'm going to go and get Cary a change of clothes, he is staying here with you, and then I'll head home afterwards and wait for news there, and I'll come by again in the morning" he says.

"I'm sorry, this has kind of ruined your engagement announcement!" I say.

Trey smiles at me, "No it didn't" he says kindly.

Raul immediately gets a car organised for Trey and I smile at him gratefully.

"Angus will be bringing you a change of clothes when he arrives," Raul says to me and I nod glancing down at my blood splattered dress, I couldn't care less about how I look but I thank him all the same.

The room is significantly less crowded now, Clancy steps outside, stating that he will guard the room, I watch as he takes up a position outside my door and nobody seems to want to argue with him.

A short while later Angus arrives with a small bag and he hands it to me, "how are you baring up lass?" he asks me kindly.

"I'm ok," I say, my lip starting to tremble as I say it.

Angus looks at everyone and then wraps a gentle arm around my shoulder, "Come on lass, let's go and see if we can find you a shower so you can clean yourself up, it'll make you feel a bit better" he says kindly and I follow him out. Ben Clancy looks up and smiles at me as Angus leads me away.

I watch as he speaks to the staff in a kind but firm and authoritative way, reminding them of how generous Gideon has been to the hospital over the years and a room is quickly found for me to change and shower and I am surprised at how much better I do feel afterwards. I step out and find Ben Clancy sitting outside this room now, I hand the bag of soiled ruined clothes to Angus.

"Thank you, I do feel much better now," I say.

He smiles at me, "Well I have some good news for you which will make you feel even better, while you were showering, the doctor came, Gideon is out of surgery and is now in the ICU, you can go and sit with him now if you want to, and the doctor will come and see you and tell you how he is doing," he says.

My heart leaps at this and I follow Angus back to the other room, I see Chris on the phone obviously relaying this news to Christopher and Ireland. My mom and Stanton and my dad are standing a few feet away, Cary is also watching me carefully.

I take a deep breath, "Why don't you go home mom, get some sleep there isn't much more you can do here" I say.

My mom looks hurt by this and I know she thinks I am pushing her away, but although she has been astonishingly strong tonight I know that there will be some kind of emotional reaction at some point and I don't have it in me to deal with it at the moment.

Richard wraps his arm around my mom, "Eva's right Monica, its late, let's go home and get some rest and come back fresh in the morning, Gideon is out of surgery now and I'm sure Eva will want to go and sit with him shortly, there is nothing more we can do here tonight, Clancy is staying with Gideon's security to protect her so there is nothing to worry about on that score" he coaxes, I smile gratefully at him.

I watch and my mom nods, "Alright" she says and she turns to me, "If you need me though please call me" she says.

I hug her tightly, "I will mom," I say.

My dad comes up to me and hugs me, "I'm satisfied you are well protected, and I know you are not moving from here so I'm going to head back to your place to try and get some sleep, I'll be back first thing in the morning though and same as your mom says, if you need me you call me no matter what time of the night do you hear me?" He says firmly.

I nod "I will thank you," I say, I vaguely remember that my dad is returning to San Diego tomorrow as well so he needs to go and get some rest.

"No problem sweetheart, you try and get some rest too, if not for you, for my grandbaby," he says pointing at my stomach.

I manage to give him a weak smile, "I'll try" I promise.

"Good girl," he says and he presses a kiss to my head before leaving.

Cary who is now dressed in jeans and t-shirt comes and hugs me.

"I'm not going anywhere baby girl, so don't you even think about trying to persuade me to!" he says.

Chris smiles at me, "I'd like to stay too – if you don't mind?" he says.

I shake my head, "No I don't mind."

I follow Angus and Clancy upstairs and we are met at the ICU by the doctor.

"Mrs Cross how are you?" he asks kindly.

"I'm fine, how is my husband?" I ask.

"He's holding his own, we've done all we can so it's up to him now, he is a very lucky man, the bullet missed all his vital organs, there was some significant internal bleeding but we eventually managed to control and stem that, and unfortunately we had to remove his spleen, the odds are significantly in his favour though, as he is an incredibly fit man".

I nod, "Will he be ok? Without a spleen?" I ask.

The doctor smiles at me, "the job of the spleen is to help the body fight infection, so without one your husband will probably be prone to more infections moving forward, which would be a point to be aware of but aside from that he should make a full recovery."

"I can go and sit with him?" I ask.

The doctor nods, "you certainly can, and a cot has been placed in the room for you in case you want to sleep."

"Thank you," I say gratefully.

"Not a problem Mrs Cross it's the least we could do, Mr Cross has been a very generous benefactor to the hospital over the years," he says.

I walk into the room and stop dead, Gideon is covered with wires and machines are beeping as they monitor him.

"Oh my god" I whisper and my hand flies to my mouth and I feel tears starting to threaten once again.

I feel Chris wrap an arm around me, "I'm sure that it looks scarier than what it actually is," he says gently.

I nod and go and sit in the chair beside Gideon and pick his hand up, it is warm and I lift it to my mouth and press a kiss to his knuckles, a gesture which he has given me so many times. Then I rub his hand absently against my cheek.

"I'm right here Gideon, I'm right here waiting for you to wake up," I say, my voice quivering with emotion.

Chris and Cary silently sit themselves down, Chris sits on the other side of the bed and Cary pulls a chair up beside mine.

I glance at the cot. "I don't think I'll be using that so if either of you needs to sleep," I say nodding towards it.

Chris smiles at me, "I'm fine right here" he says.

Cary reaches for me, "That is for you baby girl and you will be using it when you fall asleep – which you will because you are running on empty, so when you do crash I'll be carrying your ass to it!"

I don't argue and I know deep down he is probably right.

oooOOOooo

The next thing I know I open my eyes and discover I am indeed lying down on the cot with a blanket thrown over me, I sit up and see Gideon is still unconscious, and Chris is fast asleep and snoring quietly in the chair which is on the opposite side of the bed. I look around the room and wonder where Cary is, the answer comes as the door opens and he walks in.

"Morning" I murmur, "What time is it?"

"Nearly 8 am, they have been in a few times during the night to check on him, and he's doing fine," Cary says.

I look at him, "You look like shit," I say bluntly.

He rubs his chin and grins, "Well, you don't have room to talk, you are looking pretty rough too baby girl" he says.

I feel rough too, I slap my hand over my mouth as a wave of nausea hits me and I rush to the bathroom, as I vomit I hear Cary come in and he reaches and grabs my hair out of the way.

My heart lurches – that's Gideon's job, this is the first time he has not been with me during my now regular morning conversations with the toilet bowl.

"Your mom is here, she didn't want to come in while you were sleeping she is waiting outside," Cary says.

"Great," I say sarcastically.

"Hey come on don't be like that" Cary chides.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm being a selfish bitch, but I just can't handle one of my mom's emotional outbursts right now," I say.

Cary shrugs, "to be fair, this is the strongest I have ever seen her," he says.

I think about that and I remember something Gideon said once when he was dealing with her, he had once said he thought she was tougher than she let on.

I push it out of my mind and head back out to my husband, I see Chris waking up and gingerly moving, he is clearly stiff from his night in the chair.

"Good morning," he says and he glances at the bed at Gideon who is still unconscious.

"Good morning" I reply.

Chris looks carefully at me, and frowns "Are you alright Eva?" he asks.

I smile wryly, "Morning sickness, I'm fine now I have had my head down the toilet!" I say.

Chris gives me a sympathetic look.

A sudden thought occurs to me, "Has anyone told Elizabeth about what happened?" I ask, I may hate the woman with a passion, but this is still her son and he is seriously injured.

"I called her last night and told her what had happened, she asked me to keep her informed," Chris says.

"So she's not coming?" I ask.

Chris shakes his head.

"Why?" I ask, indignation and anger rising at Elizabeth's lack of maternal concern.

"I think she is afraid of the reception she will get," he says.

I shake my head, "Why does she have to make everything about her?"

I think for a moment, and anger rises in me as once again she is abdicating her responsibility as a mother, and I am determined to put a stop to it, I look at Chris and hold out my hand towards him.

"Give me your phone... please" I say, inwardly cringing at how sharp that sounded.

Chris rummages in his pocket and hands me his phone, I scroll through his contacts while he watches me with a small smile on his face.

I find Elizabeth and select her and wait, it rings out and then I hear her familiar voice.

"Hello, Chris? How is he?" I can hear the genuine worry in her voice and my anger subsides a little.

"This is Eva, and why don't you come and find out for yourself," I say bluntly.

There is a brief silence then Elizabeth speaks again.

"Hello Eva, how is he?" she asks.

"He's still unconscious, but he's stable now and I'm sure he would love to see his mother when he wakes up," I say trying to keep the bitterness and confrontation from my voice.

"I wasn't sure I'd be welcome," she says quietly.

"Not everything is about you Elizabeth," I say losing patience.

"Your son could have died yesterday, how would you feel if that had happened? You need to get over this already, yes you did a shitty thing when you didn't believe Gideon, but he has proved to you he was telling the truth and you came and you told him you believed him, and that was all he ever wanted, he doesn't care that you only did it because you wanted Chris back, and at this moment in the big scheme of things, does it really matter? Because I really don't think it does. Gideon was shot last night because his fucking batshit crazy ex decided that I should die and Gideon got in the way, now I know it would have been preferable to you if it had been me shot last night, but it wasn't, it was Gideon, and I really think you should be here for him when he wakes up."

I stop speaking and wait for Elizabeth's response to that.

"I don't hate you Eva, and I would never think it was preferable that you had died, and I can't believe that Corinne would do something like that. I understand now that Gideon loves you and knowing that, I also know if you had died or if anything had happened to the baby it would have destroyed him completely. I have had chance to think about everything that has happened and I realise now that you only did what you did, out of love for my son and I have been totally wrong about you," she says.

"Good, then get your ass here," I say, trying to hide my shock at what she just said.

I hang up with Elizabeth's assurances she is on her way to New York. I hand Chris his phone back and he smiles at me.

"You are amazing," he says as he retrieves his phone.

I shake my head, "No I'm not, I just love Gideon and want what's best for him and as much as I can't stand that woman, I feel that when he wakes up, his mother should be here," I say.

The door opens and I turn to look and I see my dad is standing there.

"Hi dad," I say and I stand and walk into his arms.

"Hey sweetheart, how is he?" he asks and then glances at the bed.

"Same," I say.

"You do know your mom is waiting outside?" he says.

I sigh, "I know, Cary has already told me that," I say.

Chris stands up, "I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink, do you want anything Eva?"

"No thank you," I say and I watch as Chris leaves me alone with my dad. I retake my seat next to Gideon and scoop up his hand in mine again.

"Where's Cary?" I ask.

"With Monica," my dad replies.

I look at my dad carefully, and suddenly even though it certainly isn't the time or place I blurt out the question I have always had regarding my mom.

"Dad, do you know why is mom like she is, why is she so money obsessed and shallow, I asked her once you know, and she said, she would tell me one day when I wasn't so angry with her, why on earth did she pick money over your love, you two have a crazy strong chemistry it doesn't make any sense?" I say.

I look at the bed and my unconscious husband, "I could never consider anything so… pointless, over my love for Gideon," I say.

My dad smiles sadly, "She had her reasons sweetheart."

"So you know, and you just let her go?" I say incredulously, I point at the bed, "if this situation has told me anything it's that life is too damn short, money isn't the be all and end all, I know that sounds hypocritical considering I've grown up around wealth and I'm married to a billionaire but I love Gideon for who he is, not what he has," I say.

"Eva," my dad begins, the note of warning in his voice.

"No Victor, she's right, and its time I told her the truth," I look up and see my mom in the doorway.

I watch my dad stand up and offer my mom his seat, Cary also appears behind her and takes in the scene in front of him and he gives me a significant look and then silently backs out of the room.

"Monica are you sure?" my dad asks.

I watch my mom nod, "He's dead now, he can't hurt any of us anymore," she says. I pick up my ears at this and pay attention.

"Mom?" I ask.

"Monica now isn't really the time or place," my dad protests.

I watch as she nods, "yes it is, Eva is right if this situation proves anything it is that life is too short, and she deserves to know why I denied her, her father for the majority of her life, and once she knows the truth hopefully she will forgive me."

I stare at her, "Mom it's not a question of forgiving you for anything, I just don't understand why... why... why you love money more than dad? Especially, when its blatantly obvious that you love dad intensely," I put my head down.

"I love your father with all my heart and I always have done," she says and she looks at my dad as she says that.

"So why on earth aren't you together?" I ask, not understanding as it all seems so simple to me.

"Because..." my mom stops.

"Because he's not rich enough, yeah I know you've told me before," I say bitterly and turn away from her.

"Eva please," my mom says and I see tears appearing in her eyes and the handkerchief appears in her hand.

I shake my head, "No mom, please not now, look just forget it as I can't handle one of your meltdowns right now," I say holding up my hand.

"Eva" I look up surprised at my dad's sharp tone, he looks at my mother, "For god's sake Monica, if you are going to tell her, then just tell her!" he says.

"My relationship with your father is complicated, I know you think I should have married him and that I'm just a shallow heartless gold digger who put money and a comfortable life before true love and happiness", she says.

"Well, you've never given me any other explanation to make me think otherwise," I say.

"No that's right and it's true I didn't, " she says.

"I'm going to tell you everything, right from the start, and then perhaps you will understand".

She takes a deep breath and begins to speak, I watch as my father moves a seat and sits beside her and holds her hand.

"My parents Monica and Gordon Tramell were not actually my parents at all, they were my aunt and uncle. My biological mother was Monica's little sister. She became pregnant with me, and my father didn't stay around, she was only 17 years old at the time, Gordon and Monica were desperate for a baby, but nothing was happening so it was arranged that they would take me. My father – Gordon was a bully, a nasty violent bully, he was an awful man. He was a complete narcissistic tyrant, unreasonable didn't even begin to cover how he behaved, he had to control everything and everyone, sometimes he even contradicted himself in his mission to be in complete control, he used his wealth and position to throw his weight about. My mother – Monica was terrified of him, I'm sure he used to hit her and possibly worse. As soon as they adopted me he refused to let my real mother have any contact with me, he was awful to her because apparently, she had... issues, eventually she committed suicide when I was about five. I remember Gordon and Monica talking about it, I overheard Gordon say something horrible that she'd done the right thing by ending it, as she was a loose cannon and would probably do something stupid as I got older. I obviously didn't understand what he meant at the time. Monica was destroyed by it though, I mean she was her sister" mom pauses a moment and I wait for her to continue, I am horrified at what I am hearing.

"Everything came out though, when I became pregnant with you, Gordon was devastated even though I was older than my own mother had been. He lost his temper and told me I was a dirty little slut just like my real mother, he said I had to have an abortion, I said no and I left. Your father promised to take care of us, he gave up his job at the garage and he trained to be a cop, it had better prospects and pay and a decent pension, he was determined to provide for you and I loved him so much," she stops and gives my dad a scorching look.

"Gordon was outraged, basically because I had defied him and he had lost his control of me, plus it looked like we were really going to make a go of it against the odds, which burned him more than anything because he really wanted me to fall flat on my face."

I am sitting open-mouthed listening to this.

"Gordon had friends in the police force and so he threw his money about and used his influence to try to get your father thrown out of the police force, he basically tried to ruin his life. All because he no longer had a hold on me, and we were living our lives and refusing to do as he wanted. It was terrible for a while, we tried so hard to stay together but eventually we realised we couldn't win, we couldn't beat him, and we didn't want his threats hanging over our lives so we came to an arrangement, your father would step out of our lives and I went back home with you. Monica was overjoyed and Gordon thought he had won, but he couldn't behave himself even then, it was bad, he wanted me back under his thumb but he didn't want you, he tried to put you up for adoption, get rid of you, but I refused, and so he tried to do it behind my back, I found out and I decided to leave again and take you with me and return to your father but once again he used his influence so I couldn't".

"What did he do?" I ask.

"He swore that he would destroy him if I ever went back to him and I believed him, because I knew it wasn't an idle threat - he would. I actually feared for your father's life, that is how bad Gordon was. So I was stuck, he tried repeatedly to get rid of you but I always found out and managed to stop him, you have to remember I wasn't a minor, so my permission was needed to complete any legal documentation to have you adopted and I always refused, this made him resent me even more. In the end he threatened your life and I just snapped and I stood up to him and threatened to call the cops, he lost it and he actually tried to kill me he lost it so completely, he just went totally nuts, he beat me and tried to strangle me, my mother – Monica tried to shield me and for the first time in her life she also stood up to him to protect me, she stood up to him..." she stops a tear falling from her eye.

"What happened?" I ask, thinking that this man sounds like a sociopath.

She looks up at me, "He kicked her down a flight of stairs and she broke her back along with other long-lasting injuries, she was lucky he didn't kill her."

I gasp at the horror of what I have just heard.

"My father knew he had gone too far, and he threatened me that I would be next if I said anything, he blackmailed us getting us to agree not to say anything before he called for an ambulance obviously we agreed, and he basically said he would only continue to pay for my mother's care as long as we kept what had really happened to ourselves" she says.

I shake my head in disgust.

That is how we went on for years, we had this kind of uneasy truce, based on lies and dirty secrets, both afraid of what the other would do, he even stopped trying to have you adopted, to keep the status quo. I could tell he didn't like it but he got his revenge in the end though, when he died, he left the final insult and I'm sure that is why he decided to leave things alone for so long, because he knew he would get the final last word after his death, he instructed that all his money be left to his brother, and he cut my mother and me off completely, which left my mother's care now down to me. I was trying my hardest to make ends meet, your father helped out as much as he could, when I met George Barker, he was very wealthy, he was the answer to my prayers, so I married a man I didn't love, to provide me with the money I needed to care for my sick mother because it was my fault she was in that situation, I thought I'd got it all, he was prepared to take you on just as I was prepared to take on..." she stops and a tear rolls down her cheek and I can almost see the guilt rolling off her.

"Yes well, you know the rest, and we both know how well that turned out in the end, after George I remarried and divorced and remarried again and in the process accumulated my own wealth so that should I ever be alone again I would have money to fall back on for my mother's care, and I became the shallow, cold calculating gold digging career trophy wife, you know and despise."

I sit back in my seat and stare at my mother, everything suddenly making complete sense, every last thing, her obsessive over protectiveness after Nathan was down to the fact she feels guilt that because she married to get money to look after her mother she ended up putting me in a dangerous situation with Nathan.

"Oh mom I don't despise you, why didn't you tell me all this sooner?" I ask.

She shrugs but doesn't say anything and I know there is something she isn't saying, something more, but for today I'm not going to push it.

"And you knew all this?" I ask my dad.

My dad sighs and nods, "I did, I knew there was no way Monica seniors care could be maintained if your mom came to me, a cops wage just isn't enough, so I just accepted it."

I suddenly realise why he has never moved on, "You are waiting for her aren't you? When her mom dies she will be free and so you are waiting for her?" I say.

"I am," he says.

"Anyway, how is Gideon today?" my mom asks changing the subject so completely and asking in such a falsely bright voice that I just stare at her.

I look at my husband, "he is holding his own" I say.

The door opens and Chris appears, he is holding a pack of sandwiches, a chocolate bar and a bottle of water and he silently offers them to me. I take them and thank him even though I'm not hungry I know I need to eat, I watch as my mother stands and greets him warmly

My dad stands up and gives me a swift kiss, "I'd best be going now, I need to get myself sorted out, I have to go back to San Diego today," he says.

I stand up and hug my father tightly, "Ok, thank you for coming and supporting me last night" I say.

"No problem I was so proud of you last night... and being around all those rich folk wasn't too much of an ordeal," he says giving me wink.

I smile sadly, I don't want him to go not now, not now I know everything.

"Has Angus organised your flight?" I ask.

My dad nods, "yeah he called me to say that the plane would be ready to go at 11 am so I need to get a move on," he says.

I hug my dad once more and watch him say goodbye to Chris and my mom and then he is gone.

My mom stays a while longer, but Cary has gone home with Trey to get some rest. Late morning we are all sitting talking quietly when the door opens and I see Elizabeth standing there hesitantly.

I see Chris immediately stand up.

My mom watches my reaction and looks at Elizabeth and she rises gracefully to her feet and offers her hand.

"Hello, I'm Monica Stanton, Eva's mother," she says.

I see Elizabeth smile politely and accept the handshake, "Elizabeth Vidal, Gideon's mother," she says.