In the living room of the Mills household, Regina's father Henry was pacing frantically.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Detective Weaver, who was sitting on one of the sofas, asked him.
Henry stopped pacing, instead facing the fireplace with his back to the detective.
"Yesterday morning," he replied. "She was leaving to go to work. There was nothing unusual about that, since she's an early riser."
Weaver knew that Cora Mills woke up early. There had been many mornings when he had woken up in a hotel, only to find the other side of the bed empty. While Henry elaborated upon Cora's morning schedule before heading out to Storybrooke High, Weaver's eyes moved from him to the red-haired girl sitting on the sofa opposite to the one he sat on. Her fair skin and pale blue eyes seemed to reflect the orange light of the fireplace.
"You go to Storybrooke High School, don't you, Miss...?" he asked her. The girl, seemingly taken by surprise when he addressed her, looked at him.
"Zelena Green," she replied. "That's right, I'm a student there."
"Did you see Mrs. Mills yesterday?"
Zelena nodded. "I had a meeting with her in her office. I'm the student council president, so we discussed matters pertaining to the council. After that, someone called her on her phone. Whatever the call was about must have been important, because she left immediately afterwards."
Weaver frowned. "She left the office, or she left the school grounds?"
"Both," said Zelena. "Mrs. Mills didn't say where she was going. I did ask if everything was okay, and she said everything was going to be great."
"Everything was going to be great," Weaver echoed, looking at Zelena intently. "And you have no idea what she might have meant by that?"
Zelena shrugged, her eyes moving down to the carpet. "I'd been wondering what she meant. The only thing I could come up with is that she might have found Regina."
Henry turned away from the fireplace to face them. "She found Regina? How do you know?"
"Mrs. Mills hired a private agency to try and locate Regina," Zelena said. "Maybe they discovered where she is, and Mrs. Mills has gone there."
"Without telling anyone?" Henry said. "Cora has always been secretive, but she would tell me if she was headed somewhere to find our daughter, if only so I didn't get worried and call the authorities as I've done now." He looked at Weaver. "Is there a way to find out who called her? Maybe track down her phone's location?"
Weaver let out a sigh. "We should be able to. I have her number, so it should–"
"You have her number? Why?"
Henry was looking at him, curious. Weaver cleared his throat. "She, uhh, contacted me... shortly after Regina went missing."
"Oh," said Henry. Apparently, that was enough to satisfy his curiosity. "Well, now they're both missing. I need you to–"
There was a loud knocking on the front door. The three of them turned their heads to face it.
"Expecting someone?" Weaver asked.
Henry shook his head, eyes wide. "Maybe that's Cora now."
Zelena rose from her seat. "She wouldn't knock. I'll go see who it is."
She left the living room and walked down the hallway to the front door. The frosted glass offered no clarity as to who was standing on the other side of the door, so Zelena opened it. Regina was standing there, with Robin beside her.

Zelena's eyes widened, and she nearly gasped.
"Regina?" she whispered. "You're... here?"
Regina nodded, and they hugged. Zelena was the first one to let go.
"Where's my mother?" Regina wanted to know. "We need to talk."
"Who is it, Zelena?" Henry's voice called from the living room. Regina moved past Zelena and disappeared down the hallway. Zelena turned and looked over at Robin, who was still standing outside.
"So, are you coming in or not?" she said coldly. Robin glared at her, but stepped inside and followed Regina. Zelena closed the front door and returned to the living room, where she saw Regina and Henry hugging. Henry's face was a mixture of both shock and relief. Weaver was now standing.
"Where have you been?" Henry asked, with more concern than anger in his tone.
"I ran away from Storybrooke," Regina said, "but Mother sent someone to bring me back here."
"Do you know where your mother is, Regina?" asked Weaver. Regina let go of her father, and looked at the detective.
"I assumed she was here. That's why I came home, to confront her about me and Robin."
"You and...?" Henry looked over at Robin, who was standing at an awkward distance from everyone else. "The Locksley boy?"
"Hello," Robin said, with a wave.
"Mother framed him for drug possession and had him expelled," Regina explained. "Almost the same thing she did to... to Daniel. But she can't keep us apart. I won't let her. I want her to know that."
Henry sighed. "You know your mother will never allow that."
"She has to," said Regina, putting a hand on her stomach. "Robin's in my life forever now, whether she likes it or not."
Zelena's eyes trailed down to where Regina's hand rested. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"What?" Henry frowned, looking at Zelena, who turned to face him.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Zelena. "Regina's pregnant."
Henry looked like he was going to pass out. He weakly sat down on one of the sofas, and slumped there.
"Pregnant..." he muttered. "Oh, your mother is not going to like this."
"We'll have to find her first," Weaver said. "So, Regina, you haven't seen Cora since you came back to Storybrooke?"
Regina shook her head. "The guy who abducted me left me in a warehouse, but Robin found out where I was and rescued me. I'd been staying with him since then. So, she's missing?"
"Looks that way," Zelena replied. "Nobody knows where she is."
Zelena's phone buzzed, and she withdrew it from her pocket. "I have to go."
"Go?" Regina frowned. "Go where?"
"Things have changed while you've been gone," said Zelena. "I have a boyfriend now. Good luck in your investigation, Detective Weaver. If I find out anything that might be useful, I'll let you know straight away."
Weaver gave her a nod, before Zelena put on her coat and left the room.

Zelena knocked on the makeshift door at the end of the dark alleyway. In the sky above, the stars were out. The door scraped open with a metallic screech, and Chad's face appeared from the darkness.
"Why here?" Zelena wanted to know.
"You'll see," said Chad, "but you have to promise me you won't get angry."
Zelena tilted her head. "What have you done?"
Chad stepped aside, and Zelena walked into the dimly-lit hideout. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. Then, she saw. Cora was sitting in front of her, although her hands and feet were tied to the chair, and there was tape over her mouth. When Cora saw that it was her, she made a bunch of noises in her attempts to speak.
"Holy shit!" Zelena yelled in shock. She turned to face Chad. "What the hell have you done? What is this?!"
"Look, I can explain," Chad replied. "She came here, demanding my help in finding Regina. She blackmailed me, threatened to tell all my enemies who I really was. So, I kind of panicked, and..."
"And decided to hold her captive," Zelena muttered, sitting down in Chad's chair. "Ohh, this is bad. This is really, really bad. You've abducted the most powerful woman in town." She looked at Cora. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Mills. I swear, I had nothing to do with this."
Cora tried to speak again, but the tape muffled her attempts. Zelena walked over to her, and ripped the tape off.
Chad frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Letting her speak," said Zelena. "This is degrading."
"Get me out of here, Zelena," said Cora. "That lunatic is going to pay for this."
"Oh, that's smart," said Chad sarcastically. "Threaten your captor a bit more, why don't you?"
"Both of you be quiet!" Zelena snapped. "Mrs. Mills, there's no need to take action against Chad. We've found Regina."
"You've... you know where she is?" Cora replied, a small smile crossing her face.
Zelena nodded. "Regina's at home, with Henry. She's safe, and healthy. So, you don't need Chad to find her anymore, which means there's no reason to threaten him. Therefore, I think Chad can let you go without having to worry. Agreed?"
Cora looked at Zelena as though the latter had gone mad. "Let me go, Zelena. Now. You have to."
Zelena looked down at the principal, and she felt a flutter of panic from within.
"I really wish you hadn't gotten me involved in this," she said, her words directed at Chad.
"I didn't know what else to do!" was Chad's response. "If I let her go, she'll have me arrested, or killed... or both!"
"Both," Cora said, with a nod. "Definitely both."
Zelena turned away from Cora, taking a few deep breaths. "Mrs. Mills, how do you expect Chad to let you go if you keep threatening him? This isn't getting anyone anywhere. You want to see Regina again, right? So, just promise Chad you'll leave him alone if he frees you."
Cora gave a dry chuckle. "I don't expect him to let me go, Zelena, but you will. You have to."
"I have to?" said Zelena, turning once again to face Cora. "Regina's pregnant, you know. It looks like she's carrying Robin Locksley's baby. If we let you go, you'll never let her have that baby, will you? You'll find a way to get rid of it, one way or another. Then you'll get rid of Robin. The moment you step back into her life, Regina will be miserable."
"If I'm so bad to her," said Cora, "why did she decide to come back home? Hm?"
"She came home to confront you," Zelena replied. "She came back to tell you that you wouldn't be controlling her anymore. But we both know better, you and me. Regina may be blinded by the promise of a happy ending, but people don't get happy endings. They just get what life throws at them. And if we let you go, you will throw all of your power at making sure Regina is never free again. So, why should we let you go, Mrs. Mills?"
"Because... because I'm her mother," Cora said, her voice now hoarse, "and... I'm yours, too."

For a moment, Zelena didn't understand what Cora meant. "No, you're not. My mom died–"
"When you were a baby," Cora interrupted. "That's what you told me when we first met, but it's a lie. A lie that I invented. The woman you think is your mother isn't dead, and she has never been your mother."
Zelena took a few steps towards Cora. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Kelly just wanted to get away from it all," Cora said, letting out a sigh. "She and I were close friends, you know. This was just before I had met Regina's father. Kelly was married to that idiot Jonathan, who would get drunk every chance he got. I remember, when he slapped her for the first time, I offered to kill him, but I was pregnant with a baby that I didn't want and couldn't afford. So, Kelly and I came up with a plan. Kelly left Jonathan for several months, and lived with me. She took care of me, as my belly grew... and grew. Finally, the day came when I had the baby. Kelly had trained to become a midwife, you see, and she knew exactly what to do. I didn't want to go to the hospital, because then it would become public record that I had a daughter before I got married. So, after you were born and I had recovered, Kelly left a bundle of clothes on the beach and skipped town. I told everyone that she had fallen pregnant with Jonathan's baby, and had become so depressed after giving birth that she walked into the ocean. I gave you to Jonathan, telling him that you were his and Kelly's daughter – not mine – and he promised that he would give up drinking and dedicate his life to looking after you."
Zelena was speechless. All she could do was stare at Cora, stare at the woman who she had both resented and admired, who was now claiming to be her mom. Chad seemed to be shocked as well, as his voice seemed unsteady as he spoke.
"You're lying," he muttered, before looking at Zelena. "She's got to be lying. She just wants you to set her free."
When Zelena found her words, they were quiet and cautious. "Are... are you telling the truth?"
"Yes," said Cora. "I am your real mom. Always have been. Why do you think I encouraged Regina to be friends with you? Why do you think I let you stay with us after Jonathan broke his promise and slapped you, the same way he used to slap Kelly?"
Tears were now streaking Zelena's face. "If this is true, then... Regina..."
"Regina is your sister," Cora replied. "Yes, Zelena, this is true. I'm sorry it took this for me to tell you, but... you have to understand. I wanted it to be kept a secret. Henry never would have married me if he'd known that I had a baby before I met him. That sort of stuff – sex before marriage – was always frowned upon when I was young. Everyone would have thought I was a whore. Please, Zelena, let me go now."
"If you're my mom... then, who's my real dad?"
"I promise I'll tell you," said Cora, "but only if you let me go."
Zelena looked over at Chad. "Do you have something I can use to untie her?"
"Zelena, I don't–"
"Chad, for fuck's sake!" Zelena yelled. "We can't keep her tied up like this!"
Chad sighed, and then fished out a pocketknife from his coat and tossed it to her. Zelena caught it, then knelt down and cut through the ropes that bound Cora's hands and feet. With Zelena's help, Cora rose from the chair onto her feet.
"Thank you, Zelena," Cora murmured. Then, she looked at Chad. "And as for you..."
Cora snatched the pocketknife from Zelena's hand, then lunged at Chad with astounding speed, plunging the blade into his chest.
"No!" Zelena screamed. "Chad!"
She ran to him, pushing past Cora, and cradled him as he fell to the floor. Dark red blossomed through the fabric of his shirt.
"Zelena..." he wheezed.
"We need to get him to a hospital!"
"Do whatever you want," Cora said calmly, pulling the door open. "I'm going home to see Regina."
When Cora was gone, Zelena helped Chad to his feet, putting one of his arms around her shoulder, and together they stepped out into the cold, dark night.