Gio waits in the vehicle. Franco, at the wheel, turns the lights off.
They wait.
Moments later, a charcoal SUV appears from the twisted road in the dark expanse of trees.
Gio straightens and then gets out of the vehicle. He smoothes the lapels of his jacket as Emily parks.
He wishes his heart didn't stutter as soon as she stepped out of the car. But the truth is, he never really stopped loving Lauren Reynolds.
"Emily," he smiles placidly, again using her real name.
"Giovanni." Emily replies stonily. She stops a few feet from her vehicle. "Where is she?"
A smile appears on Gio's face.
Suddenly, Emily knows, but she realizes it too late.
Teo and Gustavo are already grabbing her arms, pinning them behind her back, and then everything goes black.
"Put her in the second room," Gio orders the men.
"But-" Gustavo starts.
"You heard me," Gio snaps.
Emily is starting to wake up. The blow to her head makes her dizzy. She wants to move, but can't. She can't even see straight. As soon as consciousness returns, she tries to move her body, but it responds too slowly. Besides, she's wedged between two Italian beefcakes.
Gustavo unlocks the second room and grabs Emily's arm. Stumbling, Emily tries to get her footing.
"Sit," Gustvo commands.
"I want to see my daughter," Emily says, things slowly becoming less blurry.
Gustavo slams the door.
Still dizzy, Emily carefully looks around. The room is dimly lit, with only table and chair, and she can barely make out a mattress in the corner.
She thinks she sees a shape and her heart buzzes.
"Violet," she breathes, moving towards the shape as quickly as her body will allow her.
She gets to the mattress and falls onto it, reaching for the girl's arms.
The face comes into focus and Emily's hands open, releasing the person.
It's not Violet. But it's a familiar face nonetheless.
Sitting on the mattress, her eyes red and her face swollen from crying and no doubt several beatings, is Sofia.
Violet's nanny from Italy, all those years ago.
"Sir, I think I found something," Garcia announces.
"What is it?" Hotch asks, still scouring everything for a hint.
"A warehouse was rented out a month ago," Garcia replies. "It didn't show up on my radar before because none of the men's names matched. So I did some digging and found a name match from Emily's time in Italy. Obviously, Emily would have needed someone to take care of Violet while she was working."
"A nanny," Hotch realizes.
"Bingo," Garcia replies quickly. "A woman named Sofia Grimaldi was hired to work for Lauren Reynolds. A woman named Sofia Guerro rented a building in the industrial district a month ago. I cross referenced that name with Grimaldi's, and there's no match. But sir, I think it's worth checking out because-"
"Excellent work, Garcia," Hotch interrupts her, as the team starts moving.
"She's working for Abate?" Derek frowns, pulling on his jacket.
"I don't think so," Garcia replies. "She was reported missing over a month ago. And the answer to your next question is being forwarded to your phones. It's the address of the building being rented by Sofia."
"Sofia," Emily breathes, stunned by the face in front of her. "What…"
She shakes her head slowly.
"Please, Lauren," Sofia begs in Italian. "They grabbed me on my way home from work one night. They made me tell them."
"But…you never knew my real name," Emily replies, frowning.
"I saw it," Sofia replies, ashamed. "When I was cleaning one day. The passport. You left it out."
Emily frowns, wondering how she'd be so careless.
"It was when Violet cut open her head at the park," Sofia explains, her eyes streaming. "We left for the hospital so quickly."
Emily's mind replays the day's events.
"How…did you know her name was Violet?" she asks.
Sofia looks down and shrugs. "I wasn't sure, not at first. I thought it was just a nickname you called her sometimes, because you loved the flowers so much. But when Giovanni and those men…"
She starts to cry, shaking her head and covering her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Lauren," she cries.
Emily puts all of this information together.
"Is Violet here?" she demands.
Sofia nods.
"I haven't seen her," she tells Emily. "I've only heard her. She's the same."
She almost smiles wistfully at Emily.
"So strong. She does not cry."
Emily nods, biting her lip. She stands up, looking around the room.
She hears the locks being flipped and walks towards the door.
It swings open to reveal Gio and the two large men.
"Come, Emily," Gio smiles. "Now that you've gotten reacquainted with your old friend Sofia, I have something else to show you."
Teo grabs Emily roughly and drags her. He cuffs her hands and Emily feels a stab of fear. Why would they cuff her now?
They walk down the hallway to the first door.
Gio unlocks it and then pauses to turn and look at Emily.
In silence, he just looks into her eyes. She stares back, unwavering, with hatred.
Gio gives a breathy, almost-silent laugh and then swings open the door.
Emily's eyes widen and her lips part as she sees Violet, chained up and dangling.
She immediately moves forward to rush to her, but the men hold her back. Instead they lead her to the chair in the room.
Emily's follows Violet's earlier plan and speaks to her only in Greek.
"Baby. Are you okay?" she asks, her eyes full.
Violet's own eyes fill as she sees her mother. "Yes," she replies. "Where are the others?"
"I couldn't," Emily tells her. "I'm what he wants."
"What?" Violet demands, fear taking over. "No! Mom, you can't!"
"Enough!" Gio thunders in Italian.
Teo and Gustavo tie Emily to the chair, but Gio wanders over to Violet.
"You're something else, you know that?" he says in English.
Violet stares at him angrily. He reaches out to tuck a lock of Violet's hair behind her ear. She jerks her head away from his touch.
"Teo," Gio says, monotone.
Teo walks over and once again, Violet's feels the back of his hand smash across the left side of her face.
"No!" Emily screams, fighting against the ropes holding her to the chair. "Stop! Stop!"
Gio holds up a hand to Teo, who backs away from Violet.
Emily watches Violet, unable to keep the tears in her eyes, as her daughter spits blood.
But she doesn't cry.
"I'm okay," she tells her mother in Greek, her voice strained.
Emily wishes she could swipe at the tears that just stained her cheeks, but her hands are behind her back. She wipes them against each shoulder instead, not wanting to let Gio see her tears.
"You ruined my life, Emily," Gio says, walking slowly in front of Emily.
"Exactly," Emily snaps. "I ruined your life. She had nothing to do with it."
"Ah, but see," Gio says, holding up a finger. "She…is your life."
He stops to look Emily in the eye.
"It seems only fair…. An eye for an eye," he says smoothly in Italian.