Southampton Police Department, NY

"Thank you, Mrs. Grayson! You were a great help in saving the abducted victim! Without you Mr. Grayson would be dead by now. If everyone of our citizens were as alert as you, we would probably be able to solve our crimes much quicker!" The chief of police reached out to shake her hand.

Emily forced a smile, although she wanted to cry. She had lied. Once again. But what would she have said in her testimony? She couldn't tell the truth. She would have turned her father directly in to the police. So she had repeated her made up story, which she had already told Conrad in the dugout. And apparently she had been credible enough that the chief of police had come personally to her to thank her. As she stepped out of the interrogation room, Nolan approached her.

"How did it go?" He asked, looking at her nervously.

"If they were allowed to distribute awards here, I would have probably received one," she replied dryly. "For lying!" She rolled her eyes.

"You did the right thing," Nolan confirmed, nodding decisively.

"Maybe..." She shrugged and touched her head. The events of the day had drained her. She recalled the hours before, when they had rescued her father-in-law from his prison. A Police Squad had arrived in the forest after Nolan had tried to free Conrad from his chains without success. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where they had found out that he wasn't seriously injured. Victoria, who had been informed as well, had also rushed to the hospital. And then she and Nolan had been taken to the police department where she had been interrogated about the abduction at first. Charlotte had stayed with her father at the hospital.

"Hey!" Nolan said, looking worried at her as she staggered slightly. "Are you all right? You are white as a sheet!"

Emily took a deep breath and then nodded. "I'm fine. I have to go to Julian now." She didn't have much time to visit her little son. After she had learned that the boy was at the hospital, nothing could stop her from seeing him. And after Conrad had received medical care, she rushed to the pediatric ward to convince herself that he was doing well. But she had only been able to spend a few minutes with him, for the police had been waiting for her outside the door. She turned towards the exit, and just made a few steps, when all of a sudden a dizziness came over her.

"I won't let you go in that state!" Nolan, who walked beside her, took her arm and brought her to a chair. "When have you eaten or drank the last time," he asked, looking at her worriedly.

"I don't know." She leaned back and closed her eyes because everything was still spinning in front of her eyes. "I think it was in the morning when I had breakfast."

"Breakfast?" He looked at her in horror. "It's afternoon. No wonder you're feeling dizzy! Wait here! I'll get you something to eat and drink. "

"Thanks!" Emily slowly opened her eyes again. "Do you know where Daniel is?"

He nodded. "He's with his father." He cleared his throat uneasily and avoided her gaze. "Listen, I haven't had the chance to tell you how sorry I am, that I couldn't stop Charlotte from blurting out the truth about you to Daniel!"

She made a dismissive hand movement. "It's okay. It's not your fault. I should have told him the truth after I had regained my memory." She pointed to the room she had just come from. "I feel so bad for lying," she confessed sighing. "The police is convinced that I saved Conrad's life. They don't know that it was never my father's plan to kill him."

Nolan sat next to her in a chair and reached for her hand. "You can't know that," he said cautiously. "You only believe what David told you. But perhaps he had quite different plans."

"Did you see Victoria sucking up to Conrad and playing the loving wife?" She scoffed. "What a hypocrite! It hasn't been 24 hours since she was in bed with my father!"

"Psst!" He pressed a finger to her lips. "Not so loud! We're at the police department," he whispered to her. "Walls have ears here. You don't want them to know that everything is a big lie!"

"But everything is a big lie!" She suddenly burst out. "Daniel hates me now because I've kept my true identity a secret from him for years! And my father..." She broke off. To her own dismay, tears were streaming down her cheeks all of a sudden.

"Stop it, Ems!" Nolan tightened his hand around hers. "Don't do this to yourself! Daniel doesn't hate you. He only needs some time to process everything."

She shook her head with teary eyes. "Didn't you notice how he looked at me? So full of hatred and disgust. He will never forgive me for lying to him!"

"Em..."

"No, Nolan," she interrupted. "I've always known what would happen if he'd learn the truth. That's why I never said anything. I have built up an idyllic world because I was afraid of it. Basically, I've lied to myself all the time. And now... now I've lost everything..." Her voice broke.

He put his arm around her and hugged her to himself as she sobbed desperately on his shoulder. As the door opened to the interrogation room, he looked up.

"Nolan Ross?"

Carefully, he moved away from Emily and cast her a worried look. "Now it's my turn," he said, smiling nervously. "Can I leave you alone for a while?"

She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm looking for something edible in the meantime." She also forced a smile. "I'll wait here for you." When Nolan had entered the interrogation room, she slowly rose from her chair. Although she still felt light-headed, she could stand upright again. They had coordinated their stories. So she didn't fear that he would say something different. And yet her heart was throbbing with nervousness and her legs felt like jelly, as she set off to find something to eat.