A/N: Hey! It only took me a month this time. lol, I'll try to get better. Should be around 5 or less chapters left and then the epilogue (Which I will post here and on BLYKM) that is currently 5k characters and counting.

A/NN: A bit nervous about this chapter. It moves faster than my others, but I'm ultimately satisfied with what I produced. Let me know what you think so I can adapt accordingly :)

A/NNN: Last one I promise, after this chapter, I'll be getting back into Rachel and Joe because I know they're well loved. I just have to develop Lanie's character without them, because she spent a lot of her adulthood away from them, so they don't know everything about her at the moment (unless they had their own spies watching out for her ;) )

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

~Shay

The night before November 19th, I took my credit card and went to the closest grocery store in town to stock up on comfort foods.

The moment I stepped out of my car, people stopped to stare, but I wasn't in the mood for games or flirtation. However, most of them turned away when Macey fell into step beside me, looking every bit like a daughter.

She was almost the exact replica of me at the age, and as much as it amused me, it also terrified me. I knew what I had gone through to get to a mildly normal life, and even now I killed people for a living. I didn't want her to live her life like I had lived mine.

"Now, where it's polite to take off your sunglasses to speak to people it's also an intimidation tactic to keep them on. People get nervous when they can't see your eyes." I explained, but Macey was nodding- she already knew this.

Being the heiress of a multi-million dollar cosmetic company and well as a senator's daughter meant she knew all about intimidation and etiquette.

"It also works to make you look older, younger, and flirtatious. I want you to go buy a bottle of wine without getting carded." I said, and Macey stopped her fluid motion of nodding.

"That's going to be impossible. They card if they're even suspicious," Macey sighed, "not that I know from experience, it's just common practice." She added after seeing my eyes narrow.

It was a nice save, though obvious, but I let her win this one.

"I'm here to help you with anything you need. However, I'm also actually shopping, so you have some time to decide how you're going to do this." I revealed, grabbing a shopping cart to push around the store.

"Doesn't Gallagher provide teachers with food?" Macey questioned, a bit too loudly and we received sneers- I pulled my sunglasses off, daring one woman to say a word about Gallagher, but she turned away quickly.

"This is for something personal. For Rachel and Cameron." I admitted, and could practically see the cogs turning in her head.

"Is it the headmistress' birthday tomorrow?"

"No." I replied, swiping a variety of cake icing into the basket since Rachel and I both had a weakness for eating it out of the container.

"It's not really Cammie's birthday is it?" She asked, panic flashing in her eyes as she doubted her memory.

I meant to meet Macey's eyes, and ask what she meant by "really," but they snapped up behind her on their own accord. She followed my gaze and the question was clear in her face when she turned back.

I shrugged and said, "Thought I seen someone cute," which Macey immediately believed and nodded her understanding.

Thankfully, the distractions got Macey off the topic of why we were here, because I didn't want to tell her, but I could almost hear other questions in her head before she spoke.

"Who was your last relationship?" She wondered aloud, but I knew it wasn't rhetoric.

"I don't really do relationships." I said honestly, but her eyes narrowed.

"Weren't you married?" Macey asked, watching me carefully

"Not to Joseph." I replied back, pretending to examine the label on a bag of chips.

She didn't say anything else to me until we were standing in front of the ice cream.

"He has a brother?" She asked, her eyebrows crunching together as she worked out what appeared to be a complex puzzle.

I stared hard into the chocolate container, wondering how far Macey would push.

I was so intent on not focusing on Macey, that I didn't even notice another person walk up.

"Clarice?"

I gave myself a moment to think by dropping the ice cream on the floor, hoping she thought it was because I was caught off guard, but I didn't even try to pretend Macey wouldn't see it for what it was. I was flustered and didn't have the answer exactly when I needed it. I had traded one awkward conversation for another.

Belle reached down swiftly and picked it up, handing it to me, not seeing the look I gave Macey in the process.

"Belle! I've been meaning to message you; I just didn't know what to say." I explained, though I knew the explanation was a terrible one.

I could only hope that Macey's presence would force Belle to rethink how the conversation should go.

"Apparently you've stunned her into losing her manners. My name is Macey, I'm her daughter." Macey introduced, purposefully forgoing her last name, leaving that detail for me to fill in.

Despite her quick thinking, Macey landed me in an even bigger hole of deception. Clarice Dominique had no children to speak of, none on any official records. At least Macey seemed to realize her mistake when Belle's panic set over her face.

"I had no idea you were with someone." She began looking mildly hurt, and Macey and I both attempted to cut her off with varying explanations.

"I'm her god daughter!" Macey interjected at the same time that I said, "She's my adopted daughter."

My eyes closed quickly and I sighed, finally coming to my senses and quieting Macey with a motion in her direction.

"That best friend I told you about. She was a couple years older than me, and this is her daughter. I'm Macey's godmother yes, but I adopted Macey when I was 20."

Macey was nodding her agreement with my storey, and I hoped that the relief I could see in Belle's eyes meant she wouldn't look too far into the story and see the cracks lying there.

"So... you're not seeing anyone?" She asked, rubbing the back of her neck roughly, showing both Macey and I how nervous she was about this whole situation.

I was too busy staring behind her to answer, and even Belle noticed. She turned slightly, beginning to look for the distraction but I reached out quickly, and touched her arm, pulling her attention back to me before she could turn completely.

"I was married, but I'm not anymore. So, no, I'm not seeing anyone."

Her eyes flashed down to my hand, zeroing in on the ring, but I cut off the conversation before we could go on too long. Twice I had seen the same person, glancing casually toward us. The first time, I could pin on someone looking like him, the second time; I would be a fool of a spy to pretend it was anyone else.

"I'm sorry Belle, Macey and I have to get going. We have dinner reservations with my other sister, and we can't be late, but I'll call you when I get the chance." I supplied, grabbing Macey by the arm a little too roughly for it to be anything other than forceful.

"Of course, I'll talk to you later. It was nice meeting you, Macey."

I was in such blind panic, that I was pushing Macey ahead of me before she could get a polite goodbye in. It was too late for us to separate, the tail had seen us together twice, and I just hoped it wasn't too late for Belle. I couldn't worry about her right now, not when I had this child with me.

"Macey, I need you to listen and not question me. I'm going to be driving, fast, to Gallagher. You jump out and get into the school as fast as you can. If I'm not back in an hour, not a minute less than an hour, you go to Rachel and tell her I'm in trouble. I should be fine, I'm almost certain that nothing is going to happen but..,"

It didn't look like she was keeping up with me so I stopped talking long enough to bump the food cart away from us as she caught up.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to help you," when it was clear I was going to object vehemently she continued quickly, "I either help you, or I'll go to the Headmistresses immediately screaming about Belle and the guy following us."

If I had any doubts that Macey was meant to be a spy, they were squashed right there. She knew something was up with Belle, and she picked out a trained operative who had worked personally beside me for years. I held her gaze, not moving, trying to pass the danger of the situation to her, but she didn't budge.

I nodded my begrudged agreement. It was very unlikely that either of us would get injured, but I never underestimated any of my past coworkers- even if they were of the sub-par variety.

She and I both walked to the front of the store, walking as laid back as we had when we first entered, but there was something tense in Macey's shoulder; something that would give our advantage away to our follower, or followers, though I had only noticed one.

We reached the car without incident, but I knew dead silence could be just as bad as a fire fight; I had learned that much from experience.

"Who is following us?" Macey asked as I drove us away from the school, trying to determine if I had a tail still.

"I'd have to tell you a whole story, to explain that." I revealed, but she wasn't letting go that easy.

"I'm going to assume we have plenty of time for it." She cracked back, her eyes flicking to my rearview mirror instead of looking at me.

She was probably doing her best to avoid antagonizing me, which meant she desperately wanted an answer. I would have to give her one. I couldn't put her in danger like this, driving like a madwoman in the shadiest parts I could find in this forsaken town, and expect her to keep her mouth shut about it at Gallagher.

"What I'm going to tell you, nobody knows. Not Rachel or Joseph, not my Husband and not even the CIA. If you let this get out, a lot of people will die, including me. Do you understand?"

When she didn't reply, I spared a glance from my surrounding to peak at her. She had gone visibly pale, but she nodded when she noticed my gaze. I just hopped she wouldn't change her opinion of me, and that she knew how sorry I was for dragging her into this mess.

So I told her the story from start to finish. How Gail found me when I was 16 and desperate to be free of Rachel who thrived at school while I struggled, and how Gail had made me feel like I was the most important person in the world and took advantage of my nativity to get me into bed with her. I made it clear that I went to bed with Gail willingly from the start, but that Gail had definitely gotten into my head because I didn't know any better. I told her about Kile, he and I escaping together after Gail sent Sonny to teach me a lesson, and how I almost died that night- the first time my life had ever been threatened.

I was scared to look at Macey, scared to see the face of myself as young as she was. After I signed with Gail, I stopped being allowed to be a child, she took the best years of my life and warped them into something sinister, and I had to live with it now. I couldn't help but see Macey the same way. Living in the shadows of her parents, doing better in school to get them to see her and not the girl she pretended to be.

"They guy following us, is it Kile?" Macey asked, and the cold laughter that escaped my throat was unstoppable.

"No, he's dead now. The man following us is Sonny. He's a prick who hated me from the first time we met. He's always been willing to grovel at Gail's feet and fall into bed at her any command, but she always wanted me. She still wants me more than she wants him, and he can't stand it. He's not a good person Macey, and he's seen you with me." I explained, and she nodded slowly, processing the information.

"What about Belle? Didn't he see her?" She questioned

I could almost laugh. She put on the persona of caring only for self-satisfaction but it was very likely that Macey was one of the kindest people I had met in my years.

"She should be fine, but I'm going to call her later and make sure. It's very likely that he assumed she was just being polite and picking up the ice cream for me. Sonny always did like to underestimate me." I soothed, noticeably slowing down when we had gone miles without even an inkling that someone was behind us.

"I thought Gail is supposed to leave you alone now? Why is she sending people after you?" Macey wondered aloud, obviously asking me the question.

"I can answer part of that. I had an apprentice named Victoria. She's still stuck with Gail because Gail doesn't play by the rules of her own contracts. I agreed to go meet with them, but never told them when. I have to assume Sonny was sent here to threaten me, or to check up on me. I think we're safe, but I don't want to take any chances."

It was enough of an explanation. Macey didn't need to know that Gail was trying to loop me into another contract or why I was waiting to meet them.

The way we took back to Gallagher was long, driving inconspicuously around the town, avoiding any roads that I might normally take until we arrived back at the mansion, the day already in swing. I was definitely feeling emotions I always did my best to suppress, and I needed a stiff drink. The only upside from that was that Rachel probably needed one too, and maybe even Cameron if Rachel was willing.

"Mrs. Solomon-"

"Lanie," I cut her off, "you can call me Lanie when we're not at school."

"Lanie…" She trailed off, trying to find the right words, "you're more than what you act like, and everyone knows it." She revealed, unbuckling her seat-belt even though I was still pulling into the garage.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning the car off, but making no move to get out; this was interesting.

"You're like me. You have a persona, a, forgive me, bitch persona and you try to enforce it. We can see through it, or, at least the senior's can- and I can. I'm not saying this right, let me start over. After you telling me this, it just confirms what everyone already thinks. You've had a hard life and you're scared to be open, but you're a genuinely nice person if you're able to be." Macey told me, and exited the car as I sat there stunned in my seat.

Sometimes at night, I stared at my go-bag, wondering if I should run. Being a teacher was not on my life plan, and I firmly believed I couldn't gain anything from being here, and that I was only here so Rachel could keep an eye on me but I was wrong. There was a lot I could learn from these girls, and I had only scratched the surface of it.