Maddox didn't know why he still watched the tapes, but every few days he watched pieces. Maybe to make sure that Juan Carlos was okay. Now he understood how important it was for Dana to know that he was happy, he wanted the guy to be happy too. The boy had had his punishment. He knew that hurting him more would only hurt Dana, and he didn't want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her again.

Things finally went well between them. Finally she was giving him what he had craved for all this time – her love.

He however noticed he found it hard to let go. He still needed some control over her ex. After all, he was still afraid that Dana was playing games; that she was still looking for a way out. And that's why Lotte had been a safe solution. Just in case things went wrong.

And now, that safety net was gone.

With wide eyes he had just watched how Juan Carlos had strangled his girlfriend. Maddox had never known he had it in him, but once again Dana had fallen for a man with a dark side.

There was a tight feeling in his chest – and he didn't know what to do with it. Feeling compassion was foreign to him, but he thought it was sad how Lotte had met her end, and somewhere deep inside him the guilt was gnawing on him. Especially when he thought about Charlie.

A few weeks ago he had brought the girl here. He had doubted for a long time, afraid that Dana would get attached to someone else now Maddox wasn't the only one around her. But after the birth of their son, she was in need of some help and she had been grateful.

Furiously at first, later grateful.

"Are you out of your mind?" Her beautiful face was red because of the anger she was feeling. "You take a fifteen year old girl away from her family just to keep me company?!"

"Of course not," he answered resentfully. "She was working in a brothel. A young girl like her shouldn't be there; so I took her away. There however was no family she could turn to."

Suspiciously, she stared at him. "So that's how you make all that money? You own brothels? You're hiring underage girls?"

"No," he answered, irritation flaring up. His fingers cramped; the urge to hit her in the face was hard to suppress. He however couldn't hit his pregnant girlfriend.

Plus, she was right. Fifteen, sixteen year old's just made the best money. Something he would never confess to her. "I own some brothels. In different countries, some... exotic places for men to visit, with girls from various nationalities. It's a big business, yeah. But it's legal; sometimes however an underage girl ends up in those places."

The suspicion didn't leave her eyes. "Why have you never been honest about this? If it's all so legal, if those girls do the work voluntarily, why keeping it secret?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's a shady branch. I was afraid you would be disgusted by it."

She rolled her eyes. "My ex and brother possessed a porn studio. For months I have lived in a clubhouse filled with whores. I'm no saint."

My ex... She had never referred to Juan Carlos as her ex before. The annoyance he had felt slipped away; he stepped closer to her and kissed her cheek. "Sorry, my love. I just know there are many things you wouldn't be proud of. I don't want to give you new reasons to hate me."

She looked at him, her hands spread across her big baby bump. "I'm not sure if you're honest with me right now, Ruben, but please understand this; soon you might have a daughter yourself. Just imagine how it would feel if she ended up in that business of yours."

It had got him thinking, and in the end he had decided to sell the company. He would make a lot of money, enough to give his girl and kid everything they needed. Maybe it was better to disappear – not only for the bikers this time, but for the whole world.

The things had already been set in motion; he was already looking for another place to live. Another island. It had been a wise decision, he knew now. Especially now the Sons knew how he made his money. Cutting the ties would keep them away – and Dana would stay with him.

Now he however was stuck with Charlie. Lotte's sister. He had wanted to bring her back to the mainland once they no longer needed a nanny, but now he couldn't – he felt obliged to take care of the girl. He owed Lotte that. He owed Dana that.

Charlie knew she had to keep silent about certain things. He had ordered her to pretend that her parents had died during a car crash and that she had no siblings; if she disobeyed, he would not only send her back to that whore house, but her sister as well. It had been enough motivation for her to keep her mouth shut. When Dana would discover that Charlie was Lotte's sister, she might feel the need to try to escape again.

Sighing, he leaned forward and rubbed his face. A pounding headache was setting in. His son had been crying all night and he had wanted Dana to get some sleep after she had fed him.

It was a cute kid – called after his brother; Casper. It had been Dana's idea. Perhaps because she felt guilty for killing his brother, or maybe because she hoped he would feel more attached to the kid.

Her worries were unnecessary. He had loved that little guy since the moment he had held him in his arms. Although he knew deep inside that it was impossible, he still thought to recognize some facial traits similar to his. Maybe the doctors had been wrong. Maybe the radiotherapy hadn't made him completely infertile.

He stood up, leaving the room behind. He found Dana in the living room, nursing the little one. Sitting down next to her, he laid an arm around her and looked at the little miracle.

With a tender smile she looked up. "You look tired. Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

He nodded absentmindedly, thinking back to what he had seen an hour ago. Should he tell her? She wanted them to be transparent, but he really had no idea how she would react.

"Hey, what is it?" Worried, her eyes wandered across his face. "I feel something is bothering you. You wish I had gotten out of bed tonight?"

"No no," he said quickly, kissing her shoulder. For a moment he looked at the small lips around her nipple, that were firmly sucking. He pressed his lips against her jaw and rested his head against her's. With a deep sigh, he stared at the peaceful child.

What had happened, weighted heavily upon him – much heavier than he had expected.

"Lotte is dead," he said.

Dana stared at him, her eyes full of disbelief. "W-what?"

"Somehow Juice discovered that she was working for me."

Her face turned pale, her eyes wide.

"He strangled her, Dana. He choked her to death."