Mariana leaned her head back against the car headrest and let out a heavy sigh as she tossed Valentina's letter into the passenger seat of her car. She stared at the building in front of her and then down at her phone. She held her breath, waiting for the call or text to come and stop her but none came. Eddie thought she was at the hospital to do some extra paperwork and talk to Leslie about future shifts. She told him she would be gone for an hour or two.

Instead she was sitting outside of the Los Angeles County Prison.

Grabbing her wallet and keys, Mariana left her car and headed into the prison. The check in process was easy and they collected her items before a guard escorted her into the visitors area. He led her into a room with a few other prisoners talking to people and gestured for her to sit down at an empty table. Across the room, a door opened and two guards led Daniel in. He grinned at the sight of his niece seated at the table and slid onto the bench across from her.

"Mariana, this is a pleasant surprise. I thought I would have to wait a few more days to see you again," he greeted.

"You wanted to see me." She cut right to the chase. "You said you wanted to talk. So, talk."

He let out a quiet, haughty laugh and shook his head. "Are we still holding onto that age old grudge? It's been a decade, Mariana. I'm a changed man now."

"If you're not going to talk, I'm leaving. I didn't have to come. I could have waited until court."

"So why did you come?" He clasped his hands in front of him and leaned forward, intrigue glinting in his eyes. Mariana clenched her jaw and let out a slow, steady breath before she answered.

"Valentina died last night. Her injuries from a train crash were too severe and her lawyer presented that she had a DNR in her will. Her organs are now being donated."

His smirk faltered before he regained it, masking his emotions with an easy-going grin. "So it just leaves you and me."

"You married into the family so no. It's just me."

"And Diego."

Her fingers curled into fists at the sound of her nephew's name. He was settling in well at their house but she always had the constant worry growing in her chest that she would fuck it all up somehow. Reading the letter to Valentina...reading about how Daniel felt no remorse...it made her blood boil.

"We're not talking about him. I'm here to tell you to call off the retrial. You're just making it harder for yourself. My testimony will keep you in here until the day you die."

"Oh really? Last I heard you were a nurse, not a lawyer."

Her lips curled back into a dangerous sneer and fire practically lit up in her eyes. Mariana leaned closer to him and let out a low chuckle. "You're right...I am a nurse. And I have connections. Connections that informed me why you want to get out of here so badly. You want out because you don't want to die in prison so you dragged Valentina and I through hell again."

"Does Eddie know you're here? I'd love to meet the guy that can put up with you," he deflected. "And the kid...Christopher?"

He didn't even have time to defend himself when her hands shot out and grabbed the front of his top, yanking him so hard that his face collided with the metal table. The guards turned a blind eye as she twisted his shirt collar tightly and leaned down so he was forced to look her in the eyes.

"If you so much as think about my son or Diego, I will kill you," she hissed. "I know where you go for treatment, I know when you go, and I know who your doctor is. You're dying and I can make it look like just a random complication. No one would look into it but I would know. I would be the one to send you straight to hell where you belong. Don't you ever threaten my family again. Am I understood?"

He frantically nodded and she let him go, watching as he gasped and heaved for breath. She tilted her head slowly and stared at him with a cold, harsh gaze.

"You're going to call off the retrial. You are never going to contact me again. Your lawyer is going to be reported for giving you my address so don't bother going to him. The next time I see you will be when they lower your casket into the ground. You get to decide if that's sooner rather than later."

She stood and turned to leave when he spoke up. "You wouldn't have the guts to do it."

"Wouldn't I? I'm your niece, after all. I don't think you understand just how fucking serious I am." Mariana slammed her hands down on the table and leaned in close. "You're scared, aren't you? Because for the longest time, you were bigger and stronger and I was scared of you. But look at how the tables have turned. And that terrifies you. Good."

She wished she had a camera so she could immortalize the look of fear in his eyes for the rest of her life. Mariana smirked once more and walked out without another word. She didn't let herself think until she was back in her car. Mariana pressed her forehead against her steering wheel and tried to steady her breathing when her phone buzzed from where she left it.

Missed Call: Leslie Thompkins

Missed Call: Evan Buckley

Missed Call: Bobby Nash

Missed Call (8): Eddie Diaz

"Fuck."

/

Quietly, Mariana slipped in through the front door and hung her purse up on one of the wall hooks before she kicked off her shoes into her cubby. She slowly walked into the living room to find Eddie seated on the couch with a piece of paper clutched in his hand. He tossed it onto the coffee table in front of him and ran his hands over his face.

"If you're going to lie to me about your location, you should probably let people know so they can cover for you," he finally said.

"Leslie called you didn't she?" she sighed.

"She was curious if I had heard from you today because you were supposed to call her and let her know if you could work next Thursday. You should probably give her a call back."

"I'm sorry."

"I watched a train fall on you four days ago. I thought I lost you and then today, you disappear and no one can get in contact with you? With everything going on, I almost called Athena and sent a search party after you. And then I find this?"

He held up the letter and Mariana winced. She forgot that he cleaned out her gear bag when he cleaned out his own. Of course he would find it.

"When were you going to tell me? If you were going to tell me at all?"

"I handled it."

Eddie stood and turned to face her, shoving the paper towards her. "He mentioned Christopher. Do you really think I'm going to let that go knowing what he did to you?"

"Like I said, it's over. It's done. I handled it."

"What did you do?"

She shook her head and moved to go into their bedroom as he followed hot on her heels.

"Mariana, what did you do?"

"Don't worry about it," she replied shortly as she yanked off her jacket and tossed it into the laundry hamper. "It's done."

"I am trying to be a team here but I can't sit on my ass and just be content with you telling me it's handled. What does that even mean?!" His voice raised at the end of his statement and she turned her back on him, changing out of her jeans and into sweats.

"What do you want me to say, Eddie? Daniel is never going to bother us ever again. I made sure of it."

She moved to leave but he blocked the doorway. "You've lied to me and hid stuff from me so why should I believe you now?"

"Are you kidding me? You're being unreasonable," she scoffed as she tried to push past him. He refused to budge and Mariana huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm being unreasonable? Are you even listening to yourself?"

"And what if I don't tell you, huh? What are you gonna do then?" She stepped closer to him, her dark eyes glinting dangerously. "Are you gonna hit me?"

Eddie reared back as if she hit him. His face dropped and Mariana immediately regretted her words. He stepped back from her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Mariana opened her mouth to say something but she was honestly afraid of what might come out next. He just turned away and started walking to the front door. She anxiously followed him, wringing her hands.

"Where are you going?" she asked when he grabbed his keys.

"Somewhere," he answered tightly. He opened the front door and looked back at her, pausing in his steps. "I can't deal with this right now."

The door shut behind him and she sank down to rest on her heels. Soft shuffling echoed through the hall and she turned her head to find Diego and Chris peering out of Christopher's room. They both stared at her with wide eyes and she shut her eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more and plastering on a sad smile and extending her hands.

"Looks like it might be just us for dinner tonight. Any requests?"

The night routine seemed stilted and stiff. Mariana just ordered pizza and made sure to save some for Eddie, but she knew that his seat was going to stay empty that night. Based on the lack of texts from Buck, she had a pretty good idea where he was.

She read to the boys on the couch and sent them off to bed by nine. Although she knew Eddie would do his routine check when he came home, she walked around and checked that all the doors and windows were locked and crawled into an empty bed at ten. Sleep refused to claim her and instead she just laid on her side and stared at the wall, waiting for him to come home.

It was one in the morning when she heard the front door open and shut. She was right about his usual routine of checking the locks before he quietly entered their room. Mariana shut her eyes and pretended to sleep as he moved around the room and got ready for bed. Eddie slid under the sheets and leaned over, kissing her temple and then her shoulder. She held her breath until he pulled away and rolled over so they were back to back.

The space between them felt like a canyon.