Chapter 36: Day of Reckoning (Christian's POV)

Amaya Nolan was true to her word. The next morning was Saturday, so Ana and I had just finished having breakfast and were snuggling on the sofa reading our emails on our laptops while Christina played with some of her toys on the floor near our feet, when I heard from Amaya again. She emailed a link to the Youtube video that she had created but not yet made public. If it were possible to make a Dom sound like a saint, she did as she described her time with me. I was astounded, and I wondered why she was doing it. Was it just guilt over the video she'd sold Elena? There had to be something more in it for her, but how could it be helpful, especially professionally, for her to come out as a submissive? Like Ana, she didn't seem very concerned about long-term negative repercussions. I couldn't help but feel suspicious, so I gave her a call to question her, to test her motives, before approving anything.

"Why?" I asked when she answered my call.

"What do you mean?" Amaya asked. "I explained that yesterday, Sir."

"I don't get it," I responded. "Why are you making me sound so... good? What do you want?"

"Nothing, Sir," she answered, but then she added. "Well... that's not completely true. No, I don't want anything from you per say, and I hope this helps in restoring your reputation. But what's in it for me is that I finally get to tell the world that I fucked Christian Grey. Yes, I know what people are going to say about me. But in the long-run, I will still be one of the few women who can make that claim to fame. So... thank you."

I wasn't sure how to respond to her matter-of-fact tone or her directness. Was she thanking me for fucking her or for allowing her to tell people that she'd fucked me? Either way, I knew I was going to allow her to do it. The positives outweighed the risks involved. I was still worried though, so I asked, "What are you going to tell the reporters when they start camping out at your home and workplace?"

"I'm going to tell them to watch the video, and that's all I have to say about it," she answered. It was obvious she'd already thought about it and had her answer planned out. She went on to add, "I give you my word, I do not intend to talk to the paps about you. I know they're going to try to buy my story. It's not for sale. I'm not into extortion, so I'm not asking you for anything. Besides, I'd have to lie to make you look bad, and I'm not into that either. I truly enjoyed our time together, as short as it was. I realize it's been a few years, but you were... unforgettable. Sir. And besides, I have every reason to be grateful to you, because I am one of the few associates in my law firm who aren't in debt up to their eyeballs in student loans, and I have you to thank for that."

"You realize that the video you sold Elena could still be released. In fact, this might even trigger him to release it, just to try to discredit you."

"If that happens, it won't discredit me," she argued. "It will just prove my claims. And if it does happen, which I hope with all my heart that it does not, then I'll talk to you again before I say anything about it. I hope we never see that fucking video again, but I'm not afraid of it. I can't take it back, and you forgave me for it already. I hope it doesn't cause you any more damage, but if it does, I'll do whatever I can to fix things."

I was still amazed at how determined she was to help me, and I still didn't get it, but I was satisfied that she was being sincere. "I really appreciate that," I told her.

I could tell that she probably sensed my suspicion when she explained, "Sir... you may not remember this... but I do. You were the perfect Dom, and I believed I was in love with you. Maybe I was... it doesn't really matter now. Even after you ended our contract, you paid for my law degree, so I was still crazy about you, long after I was with you. I got over you, and I'm happy now. I'm not in the lifestyle anymore, as you know, but I don't regret any of it. I am very happy to be able to do something to repay you, even in a small way."

Well, that was uncomfortable, to say the least, and I once again didn't know how to respond. I thanked her again awkwardly, and we ended the call. I looked at Ana, who had been quietly listening in, and told her, "She thinks I was the perfect Dom, and she was in love with me."

"Of course she was," Ana responded. "You're so lovable. I've been trying to tell you."

"I beat the shit out of her and didn't give a fuck about her," I said dryly.

Ana glanced down at Christina, who was now watching a video on Ana's phone not paying the least bit of attention to us, but Ana gave me an admonishing look anyway. OK, I guess I need to watch my language around my infant daughter. Ana mouthed the word "Bullshit." Then, out loud, she argued, "You cared about her. You paid for her law degree."

"It was a business arrangement," I explained.

"It was unnecessary," Ana argued. "It was a gift you chose to give her."

I decided to stop arguing with her. "I wish all my former subs were as amiable as Amaya and Leila."

Sadly, they weren't, as I soon found out. Within the next two hours, I heard from two others, plus one asshole who was the current Dom of another one. All of them wanted a payout, which I of course refused.

Trent O'Connor was the asshole Dom of Ramona Gregory, who regretfully had been my sixth sub, and the one who had lasted the shortest time, only two weeks. I'd terminated our contract when she showed up with needle marks on her arms. I always made it clear to all of my subs from the beginning that I have a zero tolerance policy with drugs. Since our time was so short, I was fairly certain that she'd never had a chance to make the video for Elena. She was one of the few that I hadn't contacted when Leila had broken the news of the videos two years ago. I didn't think there was a video, but even if there was, I knew for a fact that it wasn't one of the ones that Hyde had. Thanks to the pin drive that he'd given Ana, I knew exactly which six videos he had, including Leila's and Amaya's.

O'Connor threatened to make his sub tell the paps that I had forced myself on her. When I explained that I had evidence in the form of a signed contract that anything that Ramona Gregory and I had done together was completely consensual, and why it was in his best interest to shut the fuck up, he seemed to let it go. It turned out that O'Connor was an executive at Sunset Media, which of course was now a subsidiary of GEH. I let him know in no uncertain words what would become of his career if he continued to threaten me, much less carry through with any threats. I explained the uphill battle that Ramona would have trying to get anyone to believe her story considering her own past. Apparently, he wasn't aware that she had served time in a federal penitentiary. A few years after our little arrangement, she was arrested for a drug-related charge. I explained that it would be her word not just against mine but also the numerous other submissive women who would testify on my behalf. I was bullshitting through part of that, and secretly worried to hell that Ramona would carry through with the threat, but O'Connor seemed to see things my way by the end of the conversation. Just to be safe, I had Taylor put a tail on both of them. Just one more thing to add to the growing list.

Ana spent the morning answering emails and reading executive summaries that her staff had submitted that week, but she snuggled close to me the entire time. She comforted me each time the subs threatened me, and kept reassuring me that this was all going to blow over... with time. She had seen all of the shit in the press about her. Not all of it was negative, but the ones that made her look weak pissed me off royally. She took it all in stride, and she made sure to point out all the positive press that she came across.

One of those positive news stories included Leila and dubbed her "Grey's lavender savior," in reference to the color she was wearing in the interview. That one made me sound like an asshole, which was nothing new and fairly accurate, but it made her sound like an angel, which was also pretty spot on. There had been a number of negative reports about Leila, most speculating about how much I paid her to save my hide, and some even questioning whether she was really ill. If Leila knew about the negative press, she didn't mention it. Actually, she had been sleeping so much since the interview that I wasn't sure how much news she'd heard since then.

The subs expecting a payoff pissed me off, especially considering the fact that they were the ones responsible for the damn videos in the first place, but none of them concerned me like the text that I received later that morning.

"Your day of reckoning has finally arrived, Sir. Today, you will pay for your sins."

That was all it said, and it was sent from an unknown number. I knew from security protocol not to respond, and I instead immediately alerted Taylor, who got Welch to look into it, who confirmed my suspicions that it was from a burner phone, so there was no way to trace it. Welch reminded me of how many threats I received each week, implying that this was probably nothing. But it was unusual to receive threats on my private cell phone, so I felt unnerved.

Ana also seemed a bit ruffled by the text, which she'd read over my shoulder. She suggested that I stay home instead of taking Christina to my parents', as I had promised my mom I would. But I couldn't stop living my life every time an unfounded threat came my way. Besides, I felt sure that this was another one of my former subs. Maybe she still had a copy of her video, and she planned to release it herself, and then tell lies about it. I had been waiting for that ball to drop, realizing that any of them could get me arrested if she claimed I had assaulted and raped her, and that the video proved it. I was fucking worried, but all I could do was wait and hope that my fears were not realized.

Late in the morning, Ana took a break from her work to show me a wedding venue that she wanted us to consider. Honestly, I didn't care where we got married. I just wanted to do it, the sooner the better. I asked her again if she'd consider moving our date up at least one month.

"I just don't want to wait to call you Mrs. Grey," I explained. But then I felt confused by the look on her face. Why did she look uncomfortable?

"Yeah, about that," she said hesitantly. "I'd wanted to put off talking about this until things calm down a little. I don't... I mean, I love you, Christian, and I love who you are... but the world knows me as Anastasia Steele. Ismintis International is Anastasia Steele. I'm not sure what message it will send to the world if I change my name to Anastasia Grey. My name is like a commodity, just like yours is."

I felt shocked. I hadn't seen this coming at all. How could she not want to take my name? "But Ana... you're my family. You and Christina are mine. How can you not be Greys? It just... won't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense, Christian," she answered calmly. "You're Christian Grey. I'm Anastasia Steele. Christina and any future children we have... well, I'd like to hyphenate their names. Steele-Grey."

"No fucking way," I objected. "I thought I made that clear to you. My daughter is a Grey. There's no fucking way in hell our kids are going to be Steele-Greys. I think Christina has a fucking Crayola crayon that color."

"She's too little for crayons, Christian," Ana argued, still too calmly. "She'd only eat them."

I stood up from the sofa and began to pace the room. How could she be so fucking calm? How could she decide not to change her name and tell me about it like this? Why didn't she want to be a Grey? Was she ashamed to associate herself with me? Was it because of the videos?

Ana apparently saw the hurt and confusion on my face. She put down her laptop and stood up, talked towards me, and put her arms around me. "Christian, I love you. I love everything about you, including your name. But I love my own name too. And I just don't see why I should change it."

I was too hurt to respond. I realized that she didn't think it was a big deal, but to me, it was a very big deal. I wanted more than anything for the world to know that she was Mrs. Christian Grey. I needed her to change her name, but I understood that she wanted to hold on to her independence. I knew I was being selfish, so I needed to let it go, somehow. But I sure as hell didn't know how to do that, at least not at the moment.

For the next couple of hours, I couldn't talk to Ana. I was too angry and hurt with her, but I didn't want to take it out on her. We hardly spoke again before I left with Christina for my parents' house. Ana had already explained that she couldn't take the afternoon off to go with us to Bellevue, so it had nothing to do with our disagreement. She had too many tasks to finish if she was going to spend all of the next day with me on the Grace, as we had planned. It was when I had originally planned to propose to her, but I didn't regret getting ahead of myself. Not at all. Now, if only I could convince her to change her name, everything would be perfect.

And so it was, as soon as Christina woke up from her nap, that the two of us set off with Taylor to spend the afternoon with the proud grandparents, leaving Ana still camped out on my sofa with her laptop, seemingly delirious to my pain at her refusal to take my name. When Christina and I got to Grey Manor, I was surprised but humored to find that my mom had already set up a playroom (the kind appropriate for an 18-month old) and nursery for Christina, complete with a crib and the same rocking chair that she used to rock Mia asleep in. I had many fond memories of that rocking chair, and now, we were going to create new ones with my baby girl.

While mom played with Christina in the baby's playroom, which she had already stocked with more toys than a baby could ever imagine... she must have cleaned out Toys-R-Us... I talked with Dad. He caught me up on the latest with Isaac, who he had kept in close contact with since his release from the hospital. Apparently, Isaac's therapy was going well, and amazingly, he had not gotten behind in school at all. Dad also knew more about the FBI investigation into Isaac's father... if that's what you wanted to call him. Joseph Horowitz was in reality not any better a father to Isaac than my own sperm donor had been to me. The only difference was that he had actually been briefly married to Brenda. Dad said that Joseph was likely to be arrested any day due to the evidence that the FBI investigation had uncovered of his dealings with minors. I was disgusted, but glad that we'd involved the FBI when we had. I only regretted being blinded by Elena's lies for so many years. There was no question now that she had been involved in the trafficking of minors, and I had probably indirectly supported her illegal endeavors by keeping her legal ones afloat. Dad reminded me that she had fooled us all, not just me. He also reminded me that she could no longer be a threat to anyone. In fact, her ex-husband had been the one to fulfill her wishes to scatter her ashes in the Pacific. There had not been a funeral or any kind of memorial service for her. No one had mourned her loss, at least not publicly.

Dad also asked me about Jack Hyde, and I had to admit that we still had no idea where he was. A couple of days had passed since he had totally gone off the grid, and still Welch, Barney and Samantha, and everyone else Taylor had searching for him, had nothing. It was more than a little unnerving.

We had been at Grey Manor a couple of hours when I received another cryptic text from an unknown number. This time, the wording was slightly different: "Baby bird will soon regret he's alive. His day of reckoning has finally arrived."

A chill ran up my spine when I read it. I wasn't sure whether this was from the same person as the earlier text, and I didn't understand the bird reference. It didn't seem coincidental to me, however, that Dad and I had just been talking about Jack Hyde. Could this be him? The fact that he'd threatened Ana never left my mind, which is one of the main reasons I made sure she was never anywhere without security. I showed this latest text to Taylor, who alerted Welch again. As before, there was no way to trace the text because it came from a burner phone. I felt unnerved, and I wanted to leave immediately to get back to Escala, back to Ana.

I went to get Christina ready to leave, but when I saw my mom playing on the floor with her, I didn't have the heart to separate them so soon. Besides, I had no way of knowing if this was a real threat, or if it was a hoax, and I knew that the security at Escala was the best of the best. Ana was safe there, of that I was sure.

About fifteen minutes after I got the text, Taylor found me in the baby's playroom with mom and Christina. "Sir, we have to go. Now."

When I saw the look on Taylor's face, I knew that this was no hoax. "What is it, Taylor?" I asked as I began to gather Christina's things.

He responded urgently, "The silent alarm was triggered. It happens when someone opens the door between the two penthouses, between your place and Ms. Steele's.

"But people go through that door several times everyday," I pointed out as I picked up Christina and started to put her sweater on her.

"Yes, sir, and normally it isn't an issue. It's a simple phone call to determine that there is no threat. Reynolds is on duty at your penthouse, and Sawyer at Ms. Steele's. Neither of them is answering their phone."

"Did you try Gail?" I asked.

"She's at her sister's this weekend," he reminded me. "The only other staff who should be at either penthouse is Ms. Williams' nurse. She isn't answering her phone either."

I handed Christina to Mom and called Ana. I began to panic when she didn't pick up, which my perceptive mother did not miss.

"Christian," Mom said. "Leave Christina here. I can take care of her, and I really want to. Go! Make sure Ana's OK."

I didn't argue. "Thanks, Mom!" I responded, and I hugged her quickly, which made her tear up, but I didn't have time to acknowledge it. I didn't even say goodbye to Dad before Taylor and I were in my SUV rushing towards Escala.

Taylor must have broken every traffic law, but it still felt like an hour before we got there. It was in reality probably under twenty minutes. On the way, I tried Ana's phone again a few times, and each time there was no answer, my sense of panic deepened. I knew something was terribly wrong... I could feel it in my gut.

My private elevator also seemed to take more time than usual, but finally, we arrived inside my penthouse. Taylor insisted I wait for him to clear the place first, but when we heard a gunshot, I ignored him and leaped up the stairs, in the direction that the gunshot had come from. I had to get to Ana.

Within a couple of seconds, I was at the top of the stairs, and I could see down the long hallway. There, at the open door of my playroom, I saw something that made my blood run cold. Leila lay crumpled on the floor with a gun next to her unconscious body. Dear God, Leila? What had she done?

It took a few seconds for my brain to process what I was seeing, and in that time, Taylor was kneeling next to Leila, checking for a pulse. "She's gone, sir," he told me. "Don't touch the gun. The police will..."

I didn't wait to hear the rest of his sentence, because I knew Ana was inside the room. I rushed through the door, and my heart stopped at what I saw. Oh God, no! My sweet princess was hanging on the Saint Andrews Cross, naked, bloody and bruised. She'd been beaten... badly. My panic only increased more because I wasn't sure whether she was even alive. Had Leila shot her?

A mournful wail filled the room, and it took me a minute to realize that it was coming from me. At the same moment, my princess's eyes flickered open. Oh, thank God! I ran to her and began to release her restraints. "I've got you, princess," I said gently. I didn't even realize that there were tears running down my face until I felt something wet there.

"Christian," she tried to say, but all that came out of her mouth was a whisper.

"Police! Hands where I can see them!" a voice yelled loudly from the playroom door.

I didn't stop releasing Ana from the cuffs. "Paramedics!" I called back to the police officer. "She needs medical attention! Now!"

"Put your fucking hands where I can see them, now!" the police officer insisted.

"I will as soon as she's down from here," I answered as calmly as I could. As I was speaking, the paramedics entered the room, and ordered me to step back. I complied, and put my hands up so the fucking police officer wouldn't shoot me.

"Christian!" Ana cried, and this time I could hear her tortured voice, faintly. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm here, princess!" I reassured her.

"Jack Hyde," she said in a stronger but panicked voice. "He's here. He did this. He has a gun. Where is he?"

"It's OK, Ana, Jack Hyde is dead," Taylor's reassuring voice took over. "He can't hurt you anymore." I looked at him questioningly, and he pointed at the floor. I had been so focused on Ana that I hadn't noticed the body lying there.

While the paramedics strapped Ana to a stretcher, she cried out for me again, and I took her hand in mine. She clung to me and cried again, "Don't leave me!"

"What the hell happened here?" a different police officer asked from the door. "And what the fuck is this room? A torture chamber?"

Today, that is exactly what it had been, but I didn't say that... or anything... to the officer. Instead, Taylor once again took charge. He pointed out the three video cameras in the room that were still running. Yes, three. Hyde had clearly wanted to make sure to document his torture of my beloved, from various angles. Taylor explained to the police who Hyde was and his relationship to Ana. He was still talking with the police when I left the room with the paramedics. Ana was still clinging to my hand, and I had no intention of letting her go. The police did not object to my leaving, as they seemed satisfied from Taylor's explanation that we had only just arrived and had not been responsible for the crimes that happened here today.

In the ambulance, I found out how severe my sweet Ana's injuries were. My princess had lacerations all over her body, and several deep stab wounds. But thankfully, no gunshot wounds. Nevertheless, she'd lost a lot of blood from the stab wounds, and she lost consciousness on the way to the hospital. I thought later that it was a good thing she hadn't been awake when I'd learned that she'd been sexually assaulted. If Hyde weren't already dead, I would kill him with my bare hands.