AN: Thank you as always for your incredibly kind and generous reviews. It's crazy to think we're on chapter 20 already! I'm working on the sequel it's called "the reckoning" make of that what you will :)

Chapter Twenty

Christian blew out a breath as the elevator crawled up to the penthouse, it seemed extra loud today. He ran his fingers through his hair as he wondered how Ana had coped today. A couple of weeks previously, they'd sat with Grace and written some questions Ana had for the Officer who had worked her case. By this weekend, Ana had decided she was ready to ask them and so they'd invited the officer back to Seattle so Ana could have the opportunity to voice them. Christian knew that the way his pulse was racing and his stomach was churning was anxiety about how all this was going to play out. He also knew if he was feeling like this, Ana probably felt similar but on a much greater scale.

He exited the elevator, as he had done most times over the last couple of weeks, to the sound of the violin. Ana had done nothing but play, as though she was making up for lost time and Christian was glad that he had been able to make that happen for her. She had said it made her feel at peace and she could think while she played too. She played so beautifully. It was obvious that Sister Emily had been incredibly talented too and had ensured Ana inherited that talent.

Unlike the usual pieces by Bach or Beethoven, pieces Christian had ben familiar with, tonight, Ana was playing an incredibly sad lament. Christian stood at the entryway of the great room as she walked up and down the length of the glass wall, her eyes closed, swaying with her violin. It spoke more about how she was feeling than her words ever would. Her face appeared pained; a frown marred her brow as she put everything she had into, moving the bow across the strings.

Christian heard the ding of the elevator and he turned just as his mother exited. He gave her a thin-lipped smile as she joined his side to watch Ana.

"She plays incredibly well." Grace said. "This is Tchaikovsky."

"It's beautiful." He murmured, his eyes back on the young woman still in her skirt suit from being at work but without any shoes. She played the final note and removed her bow with a bit of a flourish. Grace couldn't resist giving Ana a little clap which made her jump out of her skin.

"I didn't realise you were there." She muttered as the pair entered the room.

"I'll get some coffee." Grace said using any excuse to leave the pair alone and allowing Christian to go to Ana's side.

"Are you ok?" He asked as she returned her violin and bow to the case.

"I'm nervous." She shrugged, while she hated admitting any kind of weakness, ever, it was easy being honest with Christian. As she clicked the case of her violin closed he gently kissed the side of her head. She leaned into him and he kissed her again, just as Grace bought the coffee through.

They had barely sat down when the officer arrived. He entered the room behind Taylor who introduced him, he had a box under each arm which he placed down on the floor beside the edge of the couch.

"Miss Steel." He shook her hand first, then Christian who introduced him to Grace. He seemed anxious too, maybe because he was grossly outnumbered and things had gone so badly last time.

Ana's eyes ran over him, he looked tired, deep bags sat beneath him eyes but as he took a seat Ana realised he was anxious to start. What did he have to be anxious for?

"I understand you have some questions for me." The Officer said jumping straight in with both feet. Ana nodded and pulled out the piece of paper she had written on which Grace and Christian had helped her put together.

"Well…" Ana coughed to clear her throat and slowly tucked her hair behind her ear as she framed the thoughts in her mind, she had the list to refer to if she needed to but she hoped that the conversation would flow without needing to refer to it. "Maybe I'll start with an easy one, what's with the boxes?" Christian chuckled, that was not one of the questions on the list but he too was intrigued by the boxes the officer had carried in.

"Every piece of information I have on your case." He replied. "Plus some pictures. Family ones, your Mom and you. Every lead we ever had, every interview we conducted. Of course, that's before outside agencies came in." He explained and Ana nodded, that satisfied her for now, she didn't want to look through them, what was the point? It wasn't like they'd got close to finding her and the pictures were something to look at privately.

"What did you all think happened to me when you realised I was missing?" Ana asked, because she hadn't been able to understand how she had disappeared into thin air and with no memories of the accident, it was one of her more pressing questions.

"The FBI came in after a couple of weeks, believing you'd probably been taken by some child traffickers and likely across state lines." He replied. "I guess it became the only logical conclusion with no trace of you anywhere." Ana nodded, it made sense to her too, it would explain why she ended up with Mister and Madam, they had only ever used her for their sadistic pleasures.

"Why didn't anyone make the connection when I was found by the police and social services when I was eight. I couldn't have changed all that much, I should have been identifiable, but they just issued me a new birth certificate and created a whole new identity for me."

The officer nodded gently as Ana spoke, ensuring she knew she had his full attention. After all these years he just couldn't believe he was sitting there with the girl his career had been haunted by. Finding Ana in those first few hours was his responsibility and he had failed to do that.

"I don't know for sure." He replied honestly. "I mean, technology back then wasn't what it is today. But had they done their due diligence they should have found you. First port of call when a missing child is found like that is the National Centre for missing and exploited children and they had your image and details, I made sure of that myself as soon as we started discussing the possibility of an abduction." He explained as carefully as he could, he was very worried about upsetting Ana and causing the conversation to be shut down again.

"So it sounds like they just didn't do their job properly." Ana replied and the officer nodded, that was the only real answer, if they'd have done some digging, they would have found her, she had only been missing three years at that point. "You said I have a step-father, does he know yet that you've found me?" Ana had been thinking a lot about the fact she had a step-father, she didn't know what that meant, because technically he was nothing to Ana, no biological relation anyway.

"No, I told him I had a lead I was chasing so when this does come out it won't come as a huge surprise, but he doesn't know about you. I thought I'd wait to see what you thought first and of course, we will need to prove that you are who you say you are by DNA sample." He rubbed his hands together nervously in front of him as he mentioned the need for DNA. They had kept Annie-Rose's hairbrush and toothbrush, in case she was ever found. Back then, DNA samples would only be harvested if there was something to compare them too, but just in case, they had ensured they had something containing Annie's DNA.

"Ok." Ana nodded, adjusting herself in her seat as she thought a moment before speaking, she didn't want to say anything she might regret. "I mean, I guess it would be ok for him to know but I don't want to see him or anything. Not yet. I think there's a lot to come to terms with first."

"Well, when the DNA comes back, I'll go and see him, let him know." Carter replied, he was relieved to know she was happy for Ray to know the truth, after all these years the men were friends and Carter didn't know how they could go fishing together while he hid this secret from him. "You know, when you went missing he and Carla had just filed adoption papers. He was your father, despite there being no DNA relation. He's never given up on you."

"That's good to know." Ana looked around; she wasn't sure if knowing how much Ray thought of Annie-Rose was a good thing because she didn't want to disappoint him with the way she had turned out. "Do you know what happened to my real Dad?"

"Ironically, he too died in a car accident when you were first born. It devastated Carla, but she met Ray when you were still just a baby and they were married six months later." He explained and Ana nodded, it was at least good to know that where she came from and have at least some information about her early childhood.

"I honestly think that's all I have to ask for now." Ana said glancing down at the question sheet she had on the coffee table, there was nothing else standing out to her as question she needed answers too, he'd given her all she needed and she could take time to process it and come to terms with it all.

"If it is ok Miss Steel, I really do need a DNA sample." Officer Carter said.

"Of course." Ana replied feeling she really had no reason to deny him any further. She had come to terms with the fact she was Annie-Rose, all the DNA sampled would do was confirm it all to everyone, make it legal, and allow Officer Carter to close the case.

Ana and the officer stood and he took a dry swab to the inside of her cheek. Once he was happy he had a sufficient sample, he popped it into a test tube and sealed it before shaking Ana's hand, he just couldn't believe that after eighteen years here she was in front of him. He examined her face, she looked like the little girl he had been hunting for all these years. She was incredibly beautiful, but the years of pain were plain to see in her deep blue eyes and he felt guilty, that she had suffered because he hadn't been able to find her.

Once he left the three of them ate dinner together, not really talking because Ana was too busy thinking about what she had learned and the other two simply didn't want to engage her in unnecessary chit-chat. When the food was eaten, Ana went to the boxes the officer had left behind. She opened the first one and found nothing but papers, but in the second, right on the top, were a handful of pictures.

She took them and sat down to look at the glossy smiling faces. If she expected them to trigger some kind of memory, she was quickly disappointed. Looking at the woman who held the young child in her arms, she knew it was supposed to be her and her mother, but nothing came to her, not a voice or a laugh. Not even the ghost of a memory flittered into her mind. It was frustrating. Her Mom looked like her, or was it the other way around and she looked like her Mom, either way, she figured if her Mom had been alive and they'd had a normal family life she would often be told that she looked like her Mom.

"Are you ok sweetie?" Grace asked coming to sit beside Ana, her arm immediately around the shoulders of the younger woman.

"I just wish I could remember her." Ana replied handing the photo to Grace. "I mean, I've forgotten my own mother Grace, there's nothing there."

"I'm sorry sweetie." Grace said understanding how Ana must have wished those memories back when she looked at the photo.

"Maybe it's kinder not remembering. I mean, can't grieve something you don't know right." Ana sighed looking at the next photo. It was one of her with a man who was looking at her like she was the most important thing in the world. She must have been about four in the picture, not long before the accident and the man had to be her step-father. He looked like such a kind and loving man. "I just wished I remembered what happened, after the accident, it would at least bridge that gap for everyone involved."

"Maybe it's actually kinder you don't remember." Grace whispered tucking a strand of Ana's hair behind her ear. "It would have been very frightening."

"That's true." Ana agreed as Christian bought a glass of wine over for her and a tea for Grace who was driving. "I guess it just doesn't make sense. Five-year-olds don't just disappear but somehow, I did. Who had me? Where did they take me? How long between the accident and landing with Madam and Mister…? I just have these questions and only I can answer them if only I can remember."

"Maybe one day you will, don't give up." Christian said and Ana looked at him, it was hard not to be frustrated, not when until now she'd accepted not knowing where she came from. Getting some answers only to be left with even more questions was tougher than having no answers at all.

"Christian I need to ask you something." Ana said turning to look at him, her big doe eyes looking so forlorn.

"Anything."

"You managed to find Annie-Rose, can you find anyone?" Ana asked and he shrugged, anyone was a reach but he could find a lot of people. "If so, could you find Ella for me, I haven't seen her since I was about fourteen but, she rescued me from the streets and made sure I was safe. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have gone to school or college."

"Ok. I can do my best." Christian smiled and she hugged him, finding Ella would help her heal, they both knew that.