Amanda pushed aside the blanket of the huge bed in one of the guestrooms at Grayson Manor. She shivered in the new pajama Victoria had bought for her when she left the warm bed and went to look out of the window. It was 2am and outside the girl saw the stars sparkling in the dark night sky. She didn't have to open the window to know that it was a very frosty night. She decided to put on some socks because as soon as she stepped off the carpet and onto the wooden tiles, she began to freeze.
Normally, at the beginning of November, her Dad and she would have long moved back into the city and so would have had the Graysons. But from what Amanda had heard in conversations between Victoria and Mr Grayson they found it easier to stay away from the media in their 24000 square feet home. What the girl had also understood was that the family wanted to appear as a "united front". Mr Grayson really liked to use phrase and that was also why Daniel's grandparents had moved in with them only one day after Amanda had arrived. It was obviously great fun for Daniel to have his grandparents around all the time, especially because his grandmother treated him like a prince, spoiling him in every possible way. For Amanda, however, it was not too comfortable to live under one roof with the whole Grayson clan. Conrad's hostile welcome had only been the beginning. She constantly felt uncomfortable with the family members picking at her at every little possibility. She had given up on even opening her mouth to defend herself because she had learnt that it was senseless. Even in a house as big as Grayson Manor, she sometimes found it hard to hide from its inhabitants. In particular Daniel's grandmother had it out for her. She really was the evil woman Amanda had always assumed Victoria was. She snapped at her when she ate the wrong way, when she didn't speak to her grandson properly or when she didn't comb her hair. A submissive "Yes, Mrs Grayson. I'm sorry" were the only words Amanda said to that woman whom she despised with all she had. Luckily, Mr Grayson and his father barely took notice of her, because they were always busy with something. The only thing that could console Amanda was the fact that Victoria apparently seemed to be just as uncomfortable as she was. The atmosphere was constantly tense when she was in the room with her so-called family and Amanda understood that it was mostly because of her relationship with her father and because of her baby sister. Although, of course, Mr Grayson always tried to appear friendly with his wife in front of others. But Amanda was not stupid and could see further than that façade.

Right from her first day in the Graysons' home she had found it difficult to find peaceful sleep, no matter how big and fluffy her bed was. She had to acknowledge that Victoria did everything possible to make her stay with the family a positive experience. Sometimes she even felt a bit guilty, because whenever Victoria defended Amanda from the hostility of the other family members, they lashed right back at her. Still, she didn't give up and tried to spend time with the 9-year-old so that she wouldn't feel lonely or unwelcomed. Amanda had to admit that she definitely had to pay her respects for that. She didn't understand how Victoria could live in such a dysfunctional family. The girl had always assumed that it was the best thing in the world to have a big family and she had regretted not having that. After all, after her mother's death it had only been her Dad and she. Charlotte was the only other family member they had and now she was dead. However, after experiencing the Grayson family way of life, she was really grateful for her time with her Dad. If only they could be together again.

By the lack of sleep, the 9-year-old had soon developed the habit of walking through the house at night. In the beginning, she had been afraid someone might see her or that she could get lost in the dark. But now, she found it a really interesting activity. She would explore all different kinds of parts of the manor and was astonished by the amount of rooms. In general, she could have never imagined a house being as huge as the Graysons' was. It definitely was the castle she liked to refer to. Another fun part of her nighttime adventures was that Amanda could eavesdrop on the late night conversations the Graysons had. Most of the times there were boring discussions between Mr Grayson and his father and sometimes she could hear Victoria cry in her room, which made her feel connected to her. She herself often cried alone under the blanket, looking at the photo of her father which Victoria had given to her. Amanda also noticed Victoria sneaking into Daniel's room and she figured that was because she didn't want to be alone at night since Mr Grayson slept in a different room. But she also knew that Daniel's grandmother tried to keep her grandson's attention only on her and often kept him away from his mother. Again, she wondered what a strange family the Graysons were. One thing that really calmed the girl was that Victoria had assured her that her dog Sammy was being taken care of. Although, it was not possible for her to visit her friend Jack, she knew now that at least her dog was in good hands.

When Amanda snuck out of her room and into the corridor, she could hear Edward Grayson snoring in his bedroom. So, no Grayson men conversation tonight. On her way to the stairs Amanda passed Daniel's room and stopped for a second. No noise came from the inside; the same went for Victoria's room. Maybe, she had the house all to herself that night. Silently sliding over the floor, Amanda reached the huge staircase. She was impressed every time she looked down into the entrance hall and admired the fine décor. For a moment she was distracted from the fact that her Dad was locked up in a prison and she had to live with a family whom she despised. Amanda began to descend the staircase one hand gliding over the railing. She had to lie if she denied trying to imitate Victoria with that gesture. She admired the woman for her aura and strength that radiated from her body. The more she got to know her, the more Amanda felt drawn to her. Although she had never been a fan of princess movies, Amanda liked to pretend that she was the Queen reigning in this castle when she was walking through the manor alone at night and Victoria was her big role model for that. She was no princess, but a powerful Queen. Of course, the girl would never admit to that to anyone, but Amanda liked that idea. In the end, she would use her power to rescue her Dad.

Downstairs Amanda already knew the way to the counter in the kitchen where the housekeepers hid the sweets from Daniel and her. Before she could make it all the way to the kitchen however, she heard Conrad Grayson's voice coming from his office. Curious as she was, Amanda inched closer to the door and listened.

"It was the earliest day for trial we could get." Mr Grayson sounded very unnerved. "Yes, I have made sure that the instructions were made abundantly clear to Ms Davis. She will testify on the day." Judging by the pauses Mr Grayson made between his sentences Amanda assumed he was on the phone.

"Yes, I assure you, my wife is convinced. She will testify later in the trial. … Of course, you've made the threat placed on our son very obvious. … Hello? Hello?" The person at the other end of the line had apparently hung up and now Amanda heard Conrad swearing to himself slamming his fist onto a table. Suddenly the girl detected silent footsteps approaching. She panicked afraid of being caught. Her heart pounded at full speed when she could hide behind a corner right before Victoria entered the entrance hall. In the dark Amanda still recognized the royal aura she had tried to imitate herself only some minutes earlier. Victoria was wearing one of her long nightgowns and a silk robe while her silhouette showed her growing baby bump.

"Victoria? What are you doing down here?" Conrad had left the study and was surprised at the sight of his wife.

Startled by his sudden appearance, Victoria flinched. "Conrad!" She complained grabbing her chest. "Don't scare me like that. As a matter of fact, I can still move in this house freely. I'm not inclined to stay in my bedroom. I could ask you the same question."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Conrad said to his wife letting a hand roam through his hair. Even from her hiding place Amanda could sense the tension in his body. He was obviously very upset.

"If you have to know, I wanted to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat. I know you don't like to be reminded of that, but you know exactly that I crave blueberry pancakes when I'm pregnant." Victoria turned around not expecting her husband to reply to her.

"Wait, I know." Conrad held his wife back. "Let me make some for you. Like I used to. Do you remember? When you were pregnant with Daniel we frequently had those late night kitchen meetings." Both of them had to laugh at the memory of that. Amanda felt strange listening to the intimate conversation, but she couldn't leave her hiding spot without being seen.

"I do, Conrad. I do." Victoria's sad gaze drifted off to the memory when they had actually been a happy couple.

"I miss you." Conrad confessed staring at the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

"Listen, don't…" Victoria began, but was immediately interrupted.

"I was on the phone with Americon Initiative tonight. They are really impatient and rely on me to secure everything will go according to plan on the first day of trial. They mentioned Daniel again." He had to swallow and looked into Victoria's frightened dark eyes. "They said if something goes wrong in trial, they will have to use different methods to make sure I act only in their interest. They said, they could easily take Daniel away from us to put us under pressure."

"No." Victoria breathed tears welling in her eyes. When he noticed that, Conrad gently grabbed her shoulders. He was just as disturbed as his wife was. In the last few weeks he had hardly slept while the thoughts about his wrong decisions of the past and about the current situation tortured his mind.

"They won't have reason to do that, Victoria. I'll make sure of that." He stepped closer to his wife feeling the warmth of her body and smelling her perfume. They hadn't been that close for months, even before she had run away, and he noticed how much he had missed her. Even if he knew it wasn't his child she was carrying, he admired the beauty and the glow that radiated from.

"Stop it, Conrad." Victoria pushed her husband away as he tried to pull her into an embrace. "Don't play the victim here. You were the one who invested with that company. To protect our son is the least you can do." With an icy glare she turned around and went to the kitchen.

"Victoria…" Conrad began angrily and wanted to go after his wife, but he knew better because he didn't want to get into yet another fight with her. Instead, he left and went upstairs to try and get some sleep.

After the air was clear, Amanda slowly got up and tiptoed back to the staircase.

"Amanda, I know you are there." Victoria announced stopping on her way through the living room.

How did she notice me? Amanda felt caught and shyly answered her.

"I'm sorry, Victoria. I couldn't sleep. I'll go back to bed."

"I'm not angry. Why don't you join me?" The brunette offered and went back where she saw the blonde girl standing with her head ducked between her shoulders. "Come on." She stretched out a hand and glad that she was not mad at her, Amanda followed her into the kitchen.

"I thought no one was awake. I didn't mean to listen to you." Amanda confessed while Victoria opened the refrigerator to get the ingredients for her beloved blueberry pancakes.

"You don't have to apologize. Everything's fine. I understand you, I couldn't sleep either." Victoria smiled caressing the girl's face and absentmindedly she slid a hair tie from her wrist to pull back Amanda's messy hair. Since she had started living with the Graysons Victoria had grown very fond of David's daughter and she believed the feeling was mutual. At the 9-year-old's surprised look at her decision to interfere with her hairstyle, Victoria apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry Amanda. It was just a reflex, I guess."
"No, I like it." The girl offered her a smile. She actually appreciated Victoria's motherly gesture. They both felt like they were being more and more at ease with one another.

"Do you want to help me with the pancakes? I think we need to make quite an amount of them, your sister seems to be very hungry." Amanda had to giggle at the older woman's explanation.

"Yes, of course. I used to cook with my Dad." The girl announced proudly and climbed the kitchen counter to sit on top of it.

"That's a good thing. I think your Dad would be very happy if he could see us together." The two females exchanged a look of mutual sadness when they thought about David Clarke.

"Can't we make him leave prison sooner? I miss him so much." Amanda asked her eyes getting watery.

"I know, Amanda. I miss him, too. But it is very difficult and I need more time." Victoria explained squeezing the girl's hand. "I won't break my promise. You will be with him again, don't worry."

"But I think I also really want to meet my sister."

"Of course, you will. If it was for me to decide, you would spend every day with her and your Dad."

"That sounds great. But first we have to make sure she won't starve." Amanda smiled picking up Victoria's previous comment.

"You're already looking out for her. Do you hear that, baby? Your big sister is there to take care of you. You're one lucky girl." Victoria touched her stomach and at the sight of Victoria talking to her belly Amanda had to let out a giggle once more.

"Do you think she can hear us, Victoria?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, she can. Maybe she already recognizes your voice." Victoria was so relieved that her relationship with David's daughter had strengthened and that they could spend time together in such a carefree way.

"That is so cool." Amanda's eyes were beaming with fascination.

"She also likes to kick me, which is not nice of her."

"Well, maybe, she just wants to remind you that she is there."

"You're right. And of course that she wants to eat blueberry pancakes."

After they had finished eating their late night snack, Amanda began to get really tired, so that Victoria brought the girl to her room upstairs and tucked her in. She could hardly keep her eyes open when Victoria made sure that she was properly wrapped up in the blanket so she wouldn't get cold during the night.

"Good night, Amanda." Victoria whispered and had to smile at the sleepy looking girl.

"Good night, Victoria." She yawned. "I like you." The 9-year-old mumbled before she finally drifted off to the land of dreams.

"I like you, too, very much." Victoria responded happily and left the room. She was really grateful for David's daughter having a big heart to forgive her and making the days she spent being antagonized by her own family more bearable.


"Doesn't it have you worried that she is the shady ex-wife of the guy who is responsible for putting you in here and turning the whole world against you?" Nolan asked wanderin in circles in the room in prison. Very quickly he had found out that the woman who visited David in prison was Stevie Grayson, Conrad's first wife. She was a lawyer and now wanted to represent David.

"Why does that matter? She is a very experienced lawyer, who believes me and she already tries to find everyone who might have seen Victoria and me on the road to prove that I didn't hold her hostage. And why do you have to call her shady?" David was annoyed by Nolan's disapproval of Stevie Grayson as his attorney.

"Because she has a drinking problem, that's why. We already have enough trouble with other persons holding the Grayson name." Nolan explained while he leaned against a cold wall in the room.

"Wait, how do you know that, Nolan? Every time she was here, she seemed stone cold sober to me and presented a great defense strategy. "David raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Yeah, you caught me. I did a bit of research myself. But only to protect you. And you're right: According to the records Stevie Grayson is officially sober." Nolan admitted rolling his eyes.

"Then I don't see the problem. Besides, it would be impossible to find such a well-prepared and determined lawyer until the trial starts." It was David's final decision and he made that very clear with the tone of his voice.

"I know, it's true, but…" Nolan had to stop himself. He wanted to explain how Victoria had freaked out once she had learnt that Stevie presented herself as a lawyer to David. She was strictly against her working on the case and had constantly emphasized that Stevie hated her and would ruin the job if she found out that Victoria was involved. She was convinced that Stevie's only aim was to pay it back to Victoria and Conrad and that defending David was solely a means to achieve that. She would not be fully dedicated to the actual case and that was why Victoria wanted her off it.

"What do you mean with "But"?" David didn't understand why Nolan held onto something that had happened in Stevie Grayson's past instead of just seeing her for the talented attorney that she was.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. I agree with you. She is the best choice." Nolan really did agree with his friend's decision, the thing that had him most worried was how he could explain it to Victoria.

"Great." David exhaled, relieved that he could finally focus on preparing for the trial with Stevie. David knew that Victoria had been the reason why Conrad had divorced his first wife, but Stevie had promised that David's romantic relationship with Victoria would not cloud her judgement. "I'm really looking forward to meeting her tomorrow. I feel like with her I do have a chance of proving my innocence."

"Me too." Nolan agreed absentmindedly already thinking of the right words to not to outrage Victoria too much.


Angrily Victoria slammed the door to her bedroom shut only to notice that she had forgotten her matching Chanel coat in her closet. "Damn it." She swore and went back to grab it. She really hated the cold, except maybe for the fact that she could wear her favorite pair of comfortable winter boots. She had already been in a hurry when Nolan had called her with the news that much to her dissatisfaction they had decided to keep Stevie Grayson as David's defense attorney and unfortunately she didn't have enough time to protest against that decision. She had clearly advised against choosing Stevie, because she was sure that this woman could not be trusted. Too much had happened between them in the past and she was convinced that Stevie had some kind of plan in order to destroy the Grayson family. That was why Victoria was now running late for her doctor's appointment and she was extremely angry at Nolan for ignoring her complaints.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Eleanor Grayson met Victoria as she stormed out of her bedroom struggling to put on her coat.

"That is none of your business." Victoria hissed at her mother-in-law and walked towards the staircase.

"Well, maybe I should call Conrad and tell him that his wife is mysteriously disappearing from the house." Eleanor followed her down the stairs.

"Do what you must. I don't care. I already have a watchdog, so Conrad will know where I was going anyways." This woman really had the nerve. The last thing Victoria had needed was having her in-laws around every single day, but of course Conrad had insisted on that.

"In that case, I only have to worry about lying to my grandson about where his mother went and why she didn't say goodbye to him and only to that terrorist's offspring. In fact, he has told me that he doesn't understand why you spend so much time with that girl and not with him." Eleanor deviously smiled when both women had reached the entrance hall. Although Victoria wanted nothing more than to leave Grayson Manor, she quickly turned around.

"You're unbelievable, do you know that?" Victoria glared at the other woman

"I'm only trying to care for Daniel, when his mother is busy doing other things."

"Ever since you came here your plan was to distance me from my son. I wonder what Conrad will say if he hears what kind of stress you're putting on me. I've tolerated you long enough in my house; I think it's time for you to leave."

"Your house?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow depreciatively. "For all I know, my son paid for this house and you were lucky enough to have the privilege of living here. Not only you, but also that Clarke girl you dragged here against everyone's will and your bastard child. So don't think you can order me or my son around on this property. You should be thankful we didn't throw you back into the street where you came from." The hatred in Eleanor's voice was almost spilling, Victoria's and her faces only inches apart.

"Watch your mouth, Eleanor." Victoria fired back. "I think we both know that I have long taken over the role of the Grayson matriarch in this family. For the last few years your husband barely took notice of your existence and if I remember correctly, your own son thought it was better to have me host all of the traditional events. Good bye, Eleanor." Victoria looked down on her mother in law with nothing but contempt in her eyes. When she did not answer, she turned around again and finally left Grayson manor at least 20 minutes late. Like she had assumed Frank was already waiting by the car and accompanied her to her gynecologist.

Even for the always present Frank Stevens it was a too intimate situation to follow Victoria into the examination room. He told her that he would be waiting outside receiving irritated looks from the other women in the waiting room. That was exactly what Victoria had been counting on. She had long searched to find a way how she would escape Frank's attentive eyes and her gynecologist's examination room had been the ideal answer to that.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Victoria apologized after she had closed the door and had secured that Frank kept his distance.

"Well, I cannot say I exactly enjoyed my time here waiting for you." A short man with brown messy hair got up from the chair he had been sitting on. "In fact, I have to say that I usually don't meet people at the town's favorite gynecologist's. I wonder why that is…"

"Hello, to you too, Mr Treadwell." Victoria went over his sarcastic comment and stretched out a hand to the man whose face was almost fully covered by his huge glasses.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mrs Grayson." Leo Treadwell bowed his head dramatically and kissed Victoria's hand.

"There is no need for that." Victoria was still boiling with anger and the journalist's ironic gestures made her almost lose her temper. "How about we get straight to the point. And if it makes you feel better, this room is the only place where we won't be surveyed by my husband's agent who is following me. So I think you should be glad that I could arrange this meeting at all."

"Of course, I didn't mean to insult you." Leo pulled up a chair for Victoria to sit on.

"Thank you." She slid out of her coat and expectantly waited for Leo to start. "So, tell me, what do you know about the true story about David Clarke as you like to call it and what is your endgame?"

"Let me just say, I talked to David Clarke and his daughter in order to listen to their side of the story and I believe them. Now I'm wondering what you have to say about your husband's cruel cover-up and which side you're standing on." His curious eyes were lurking behind his thick glasses. "To be perfectly clear, I have every intention of telling the story, no matter what your decision is."

"Mr Treadwell, it seems to me you are not aware of the lengths my husband will go to if he finds out that some journalist is trying to get in the way of his carefully put together master plan. You will be ruined and left with nothing, if not you will even dig your own grave." Victoria explained the situation calmly hoping that Leo Treadwell would not make things more complicated.

"That makes it obvious which side you are on, Mrs Grayson." Not impressed by her intimidation he scrabbled something in his notebook. "I have nothing to lose. No reputation and no money. And even paying with my life is nothing I am afraid of."

"I'm not saying I am on my husband's side as we let the world believe. I simply think that now is the wrong time to publish the true story about the downing of flight 197. It will be put down as nothing more than another conspiracy theory and you will be forever known as a lunatic who believed in David Clarke's innocence." Victoria kept a sober expression and scanned the man sitting in front of her. If he was to believed, his plan of covering the false conviction of David Clarke in a book was a noble thing to do; just as much as it would be the perfect path to success for a penniless journalist, of course.

"So what you're implying is that you would indeed assist me with getting my facts straight for the story, but not at this point." Leo leant forward the pencil pressing against his chin while he studied Victoria's face.

"Under the condition that you stay away from David and anyone associated with the trial for as long as I tell you to. First of all, David needs a strong defense and a chance at actually winning the trial and then we can see about how we will let the whole world know what really happened. And of course you will stand in the limelight as the author of that brilliant investigative work." Determined Victoria got up and offered the journalist her hand. "Do we have a deal, Mr Treadwell?"

Leo had followed the Graysons' family history in tabloid papers for many years and now the Queen of the Hamptons was standing right in front of him. She really was the epitome of a classic beauty wearing her black and white Chanel ensemble, which had probably been altered to fit her pregnant body, with a matching gold chain and earrings. He thought about her proposition for a second and then took her hand.

"Agreed, Mrs Grayson." They shook hands eyeing the other with equal suspicion.

"Then I don't expect to hear from you until I consider it the right time and reach out to you. Your hour of fame will come, I assure you." Victoria flashed him one of her famous smiles and grabbed her coat. She wanted that man's support but only on her schedule and her own conditions.

"Until then, Mrs Grayson." Leo Treadwell watched the woman leave and was left wondering if he could really trust her. But after all, who could deny a Queen?


Why hadn't she smelled the incomparable Graysons' influence on her arrest right from the moment the police officer had stopped her car? Stevie Grayson downed the second glass of Scotch since she had been released from the police station. She had only had one glass of wine for dinner in order to celebrate her success in becoming David Clarke's attorney and showing the world the truth about the Grayson family. She had been sober for more than two years and knew that it didn't hurt if she enjoyed a glass of wine every now and then. Driving home in her car, she had been pulled aside by a police officer and without having time to realize what was happening to her, she was sitting at a police station with a D.U.I. charge. They had run a quick alcohol test and decided that she was in fact guilty of the charge. Stevie knew what that meant. She wouldn't be allowed to practice as a lawyer anytime soon. She would lose David Clarke's case and everything she had already built up in his defense would be lost. At first, she had been mad at herself, blaming her own stupidity for having that glass of wine. But when she had entered her apartment and found an envelope lying on her kitchen table, things began to dawn on her.

Long ago I've told you to stay away from our family.
Since you haven't learnt from history, I thought I gave concrete meaning to my words.
You lost, Stevie. Again. Accept it.

She would recognize that accurate handwriting anywhere. Victoria Grayson obviously still was the pain in the ass she had always been. Aggressively Stevie had torn the elegant paper apart and cursed herself for playing directly into her ex-husband's and his lovely wife's hands. She knew that fighting against the D.U.I charge was senseless because as a matter of fact she had been drinking. That had been when Stevie had pulled the bottle of Scotch from its hiding place in the kitchen and drowned her sorrows in the brown liquid. After too many glasses, she finally passed out in her living room, the last thing she saw was the cruel smile of Victoria's lips she still remembered from the moment she had stolen her husband 8 years ago.


A satisfied expression sat on Victoria's face when she found herself lying in bed her husband's arm wrapped around her body and his steady breath breathing in her neck. Originally, it had not been her plan to warm Conrad's bed again and the physical contact was by no means something she enjoyed. But to know that she had been really successful in achieving exactly what she had wanted in the last couple of days was worth letting her husband touch her again.

It was pure joy for Victoria to imagine Stevie's furious face when she had found her little note in her apartment and how she probably drank herself to unconsciousness after failing so hard. As soon as she had brought Stevie's involvement to Conrad's notice, Victoria knew she had already won the battle.

He had been just as outraged as Victoria had been when had learnt about his ex-wife's role as David Clarke's defense attorney. Victoria's instinct had been right and immediately Conrad had done everything in his power to make sure that Stevie could not operate as a lawyer anymore. The D.U.I charge had been the fitting measure, Victoria thought to herself.

In addition, she had also gained a new accomplice in her plan to prove David's innocence. Leo Treadwell had been easily convinced by her suggestions and she was sure he would do exactly as Victoria told him to.

Another turn of events Victoria was extremely happy about was that she had even been convincing enough to have Conrad relocate his parents to their own cottage in Southampton.

"But she is stressing me out!" Victoria wined in Conrad's study. She had put on the red short nightgown with the lacy hem, she knew he liked the most in order to gain her usual power over her husband. "Conrad, I cannot concentrate on anything when she is around. She constantly spies on me, she picks on me and turns Daniel against me. I cannot deal with her hatred at the moment. It's making it very hard for me to focus on our public image and the part I play in your cover-up. I feel like I'm going to break down sooner or later because of all the stress and your mother agonizing me. Even my doctor advised me get away from you all and get some rest instead. I'm afraid I will have to consider that if the situation won't improve." Victoria wiped some fake tears from her eyes and fluttered her long lashes. She saw her husband was almost giving in to her judging from the defeated expression on his face and his hanging shoulders. "Conrad, please." She stepped closer to him rubbing his shoulders

"I understand, Victoria. My parents will move to their private home tomorrow." Conrad faced his relieved looking wife. The whole David Clarke situation was really beginning to wear him out. Sometimes he even questioned what he was doing, but he saw no way out from the endless spiral of lies and putting on a show. He was trapped in this nightmare and he felt his strength fading.

"Thank you, Conrad." Victoria hugged him pressing her body close to his and instantly she felt him relaxing against her. She slowly let her manicured nails trail from his neck down his back making goosebumps appear on his skin. "If I don't have to deal with your mother anymore, I'll have much more time to concentrate on other things. Come on." She gave her husband an irresistible smile and took his hand to guide him to their bedroom. She didn't allow him to get intimate with her claiming that she felt uncomfortable with her body, but she let him hold her sensing that she had won the upper hand in their relationship again. In a way, it would grant her more freedom, because she didn't have to worry about him constantly suspecting that she would do something stupid. Maybe, she could even convince him to give her break from Frank's supervision.

The sour expression on Eleanor's face the next day the moment her son had told her she had to leave, had been priceless. Triumphantly Victoria had glared at her mother-in-law and had made sure she escorted her to the door personally to demonstrate her victory.

The desperation and cluelessness Victoria had experienced during the last few weeks had almost completely vanished when she felt herself gaining her old strength again. She could still easily gain power over other people and manipulate them to work in her favor. It felt good to know that she still possessed her powers as the reigning Queen of the Hamptons and of her family, even when she turned back to being the exact same person she had tried so hard to avoid for David's sake. She had believed that he had changed her for the better and she was sure that he would not understand why she had been so cruel to Stevie. David had never embraced the dark side to her personality and he probably never could. But it was just as much part of herself as her passion, her tenderness, her love for her family and her strength was. She could never deny that and maybe this was just Victoria's way of succeeding in life. It was certainly the only way she knew of. And she would never want to miss the satisfactory feeling every time she got exactly what she wanted.


So I decided to bring back a bit of the evil Victoria, which made it so much fun to write this chapter. I also loved writing the Amanda/Victoria scene and I hope you're satisfied with it.

I'm working on the next chapter, but I still have to figure some things out concerning the plot. The trial is definitely not easy for me to write. I have to thamk DDLJ for her writing advice, because she honestly writes the best take-downs ever. Check out her story "I'm Not Going Anywhere", it's really amazing. She also inspires me to portray Nolan in my story, I will definitely give him a bigger role in future chapters.

As always, please let me know what you think. :)