Laszlo didn't like Elizabeth being away from home. The house felt too big and quiet when his family were not present. He had gone with John and Sara to interview the man who had seen the woman near the crime scene. He had been helpful to a certain extent and John had taken notes so that he could sketch the woman when they returned back to the house. Laszlo had asked them to come over, claiming that they could have dinner while working on the case and seeing what they could find out.

He had moved through to the kitchen and realised that he had nothing to cook. Sighing, he found Stevie out back in the courtyard and asked him to go to Delmonicos and bring back some meals for them. He had told the young boy to get himself something to eat too before moving back through the parlour and seeing John perched on the couch, his hand holding a pencil and a sketchbook resting on his lap.

Sara was sat at the dining table, pouring over notes on the three victims so far from interviews she had conducted with their parents. Laszlo had gone to settle down next to her, picking up a page of notes and letting his eyes glance down onto the words, roaming over them and wondering just what it was he was reading. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that these parents felt at losing their daughters. He didn't want to imagine it.

It was half an hour later when he heard the phone ring. Standing up, he pushed his chair back underneath the dining table and headed through to the phone. Picking it up, he knew exactly who it would be.

"Laszlo, are you alright?" Elizabeth asked him once he had answered the call.

"Perfectly fine," Laszlo promised her. "We went to speak to the man and he gave us quite a detailed description. John is currently sketching the person based on what he said. Sara is also here looking over the interview notes."

"You're all at the house?" Elizabeth asked from her husband.

"We are," Laszlo said. "I suggested that it would be for the best so that we could have dinner and continue working. And you? How is the Hamptons?"

"Well, it would be perfect if you were here," Elizabeth said and Laszlo could almost imagine her lounging in the chair in the foyer where the phone was situated. "But the house is as lovely as I remember it. The girls are asleep. It was a long journey here and it tired Lucy and Emily out. Charlotte is upstairs reading and Diana is studying so it is just me on my own for the night."

"Feeling as lonely as I am?" he asked her, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes for a moment.

"Just a bit," Elizabeth said. "I remember the last time we were here and it was amazing. Do you remember how much the girls loved the beach? I'm taking them tomorrow with Diana."

"I remember my suit getting completely drenched because Lucy insisted on paddling in the sea," Laszlo recalled, remembering how a wave had almost knocked her over and he had quickly picked her up, his trousers becoming wet and the splash drenching his white shirt. Elizabeth had simply sat on the blanket with Emily in her grip and laughed at him as he then threatened jokingly to drag her into the sea if she did not be quiet.

"I remember that being one of the funniest things I have seen," Elizabeth said back to him and she chuckled as his own lips arched upwards. There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Elizabeth spoke in a soft voice, her tone gentle. "I wish you were here, Laszlo."

"I wish that I was too," Laszlo promised her back. "And hopefully I will be before too long."

"I hope so too," Elizabeth responded and she took a moment to sniff as Laszlo wondered if she was tearing up. He suspected that might be the case, but he didn't say anything. "I should let you go. You have work to do."

"If you are still awake later on then just call me," Laszlo said to her. "I hate to think of you rattling around that big house all on your own."

"Oh, I think I'll cope. There's plenty of books to work through in the library, although I seem to remember using that library for something else last time," Elizabeth said and Laszlo could almost picture the look on her face. He could see that coy smirk and the glimmer in her eyes.

"Don't put images into my head," Laszlo pleaded, keeping his voice low in the hope that Sara and John couldn't hear what he was saying. He had no desire for them to be involved in such conversation.

"If you get out here soon enough then you won't have to imagine it," Elizabeth said and Laszlo wanted to groan as he closed his eyes and his bad hand twitched against his side. If he closed his eyes he could remember what they had gotten up to. He could almost hear Elizabeth panting into his ear as he kept her pinned against the bookcase, her soft pleas making him shudder as he drove to the edge of release.

"You're a terrible wife," Laszlo joked with her and she laughed.

"A terrible wife wouldn't have done what I did under that desk for you," she responded.

"I'm going before you drive me to distraction," Laszlo declared and he heard her laugh again. He knew that she was only teasing him and he didn't entirely mind her doing that, not in the slightest. But what he did mind was the fact that he wanted to be at the Hamptons with her in that library again.

"Then I should bid you goodnight," Elizabeth informed her husband. "And if I don't talk to you later tonight then can we talk tomorrow night?"

"Of course," Laszlo said to her. "Send my love to the girls, yes?"

"You don't even need to ask." Elizabeth said to him. "Send my best to Sara and John and be careful, Laszlo."

"I will try to be," he promised her. "Goodnight, my darling."

"Goodnight, Laszlo," Elizabeth said and she hung up the call, Laszlo doing the same. He placed the phone back and headed through to the foyer, hands on his hips as he looked between John and Sara.

"Elizabeth sends her best," he said, breaking the silence between the three of them, the only noise except for that the sound of John's pencil on paper and the ticking of the clock.

"Is she safe in the Hamptons?" John questioned, looking up from his drawing and taking a breach. He took hold of the lemonade that Laszlo had poured him and held the glass in his hands.

"She is," Laszlo confirmed. "They're all safe and settled. That is the main thing."

"Indeed it is," John agreed with him, thinking of his own wife and son. He didn't want anything to happen to either of them, but for some reason it had been Laszlo's family that had received the letter. It was because of that why John questioned if the letter was related to the case. If it was then surely they should all have received one? Nonetheless, he did not air his concerns, simply happy that Elizabeth and her daughters were safe for the time being.

"I do not think that I have been able to find anything," Sara said and she picked up the cup of tea next to her. She cradled it in her hands as she pushed herself away from the table and moved to stand in the parlour instead, a few paces away from Laszlo. "It seems impossible to see what connects these three girls except for the fact that they had younger siblings. They lived in different areas…played in different parks…"

"Whoever is doing this must know that," Laszlo said, stroking his chin and reaching to turn the lights on in the parlour as the sun set in the sky and slowly bathed them in darkness. "The killer, perhaps, has chosen these girls because it is so random. It would look suspicious if they picked the same place…it would draw attention to them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Sara agreed with him. "So what is the killer's motivation?"

"That is what we need to find out," Laszlo confessed. "They are killing these girls who have younger siblings…is it because they once had a younger sibling who hurt them? Or because of jealousy?"

"I would think that it is more than jealousy that is making whoever is doing this kill those children," John said and Laszlo grunted a response, turning his head to the side and not being overly convinced by that statement, although he didn't say that himself in such blunt words.

"What motivates a killer is often something only they can know, John," Laszlo declared. "But it might be one reason why they are doing this."

"Perhaps we should look through police records?" Sara suggested. "Whoever is doing this might have a criminal record in the past. Perhaps child abduction? She might have gotten close to taking a child before but missed out? A child might have gotten away from her."

"You presume that it is a woman we are looking for?" John questioned.

"I feel that it could be," Sara said. "Based on what the man said from this morning, I think it is safe to assume that she could be a woman…that she could be the woman we are looking for."

"And if the man was mistaken?" John questioned.

"Then he was mistaken," Sara concluded. "But that letter Laszlo received is written in a scrawl that looks more like a woman's than a man's."

"I would agree with that," Laszlo nodded in agreement. "And the scalping of the hair is interesting as well. It is almost as though she is cutting their hair for personal reasons…perhaps because of a trauma she suffered?"

"In the same way Elizabeth doesn't wear her hair up?" Sara questioned and there was an awkward silence between the three of them as Laszlo moved on over to the armchair and perched on the edge of it, folding one leg over the other. John placed his glass back down, hearing it chink on the coaster as Laszlo nodded curtly.

"Perhaps so," Laszlo said.

"I'm sorry," Sara said, shaking her head and closing her eyes for a moment. "I didn't think. I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"It is fine," Laszlo promised her, despite the fact that he would prefer not to think back to Elizabeth's history and what had happened to her. It was not a time he remembered fondly and for the most part he had just felt guilt at not helping her. "Elizabeth despises wearing her hair up because of the pull of the pins. It reminds her of when Jacob would hurt her…traumatic experiences can often make us change our behaviour."

"And you believe that this is what happened to our killer?"

"I believe it could be possible," Laszlo said with a nod of his head. "Either way, we need to think about trying to narrow our search. What Sara suggested could be a good place to start."

"I could also have the sketch published in the paper?" John said. "If police do not intend to do anything about this woman then it is about time that we do something ourselves."

"Agreed," Sara concluded. "I will call Marcus and Lucius to see if they can help."

"And I will continue looking over the interview transcripts," Laszlo said. "Stevie should be back with dinner soon enough and by then, I suspect we will need a break."

They all grunted in agreement before performing their respective tasks, hoping that they could catch this woman before she struck again.

…

Elizabeth wandered through the library the following morning. She was up early and had showered and dressed before going downstairs. Diana was also awake, studying in the dining room before she prepared breakfast. Elizabeth said that she would help her in a little bit considering the hour was so early. She had checked in on Emily, Lucy and Charlotte, finding the three of them still sound asleep. And so she had gone to the library and looked out over the lush, green lawn outside of the patio doors that led onto a small seating area.

The library had a large desk in front of the windows, a leather chair behind it. The walls were covered in bookshelves that were filled to the brim with different genres of books. Elizabeth had looked over them with interest the first time they had visited the house, Laszlo finding her running her fingers over their spines. Moving to the bookshelf containing romantic fiction, she smiled at the memory. Closing her eyes, she could almost feel Laszlo's hands grasp her hips as he came up behind her and whispered hotly in her ear.

"Diana has taken the girls out…it's just you and me, my love."

She remembered how his movements had been slow and torturous, her hands gripping the shelves behind her as he knelt before her and brought her to the edge. She remembered complaining loudly and earning a harsh glare as his hands turned her around, his front pressed to her back before he took her to the edge again, chasing his own pleasure in the process. She had knocked books off the shelves as she tried to grab hold of them, Laszlo's cheek next to hers and her skirts catching around their legs.

It was only after they had both gained their breaths and Laszlo had collapsed against her, trapping her between him and the bookshelf as he savoured the moment, did she wonder about the implications. Nether of them had discussed the prospect of having more children. It had been only six months since Elizabeth had given birth to Emily. Her and Laszlo had only been intimate once before that incident and she had made him take precautions.

And then they had agreed, eventually, that three children were enough for them. They had been intimate again before then and had agreed to be careful before having the discussion. Laszlo was not concerned about having a son. Having three daughters was more than enough for him. And Elizabeth didn't know if she could cope with another baby.

She finished running her hands over the familiar books before leaving the library and deeming that enough time had passed for her to go and help Diana prepare breakfast before waking the girls up. She went to dress Emily first before Lucy came into the nursery and found the two of them. Charlotte was already awake by that stage, heading down to the dining room and finding fresh fruit and pancakes already on the table.

She began to tuck into an apple before spotting the newspapers at the end of the table. Sinking back in her chair, she furrowed her brow and wrinkles formed on her forehead. Something was amiss. She saw something familiar. She took another bite of the apple before placing it down and standing up, wiping her hands on her skirts and picking the newspaper up.

There on the front cover was a girl who had been killed. She was the same girl Laszlo was looking into. Her name was Jessica and she had a kind face. She was sat with her sister on a chair, her face stern and harsh. She looked familiar, but then Charlotte realised why she looked familiar. She had seen the coat that the girl was wearing.

Dropping the newspaper, Charlotte almost tumbled to the ground before grabbing hold of the dining table tightly. There had to be something amiss. It couldn't be the same coat that she had seen at her mother's. But it looked so familiar. It was blue with a black lace collar.

"Oh, you're up early," Elizabeth's voice entered the dining room as she headed to the table and took her usual seat. Laszlo's place had been set at the table, but Elizabeth had done that out of habit. "Emily and Lucy are dressed and Diana is just about to bring them down."

"Okay," Charlotte said and she dropped the newspaper from her grip. Elizabeth looked over to it as she poured herself a cup of tea while sitting down on her chair. She arched a brow and sighed, nodding in the direction of the paper while lowering the teapot.

"You shouldn't read things like that," she said to Charlotte.

"But this is the reason why we're out here, isn't it?" Charlotte asked, tucking her curly hair behind her ear and tossing it over her shoulder. She arched her brow over to Elizabeth who said nothing, holding onto her cup and running a finger around the rim of it.

"Yes," Elizabeth said to her. She knew that there was no point in lying to her. "Laszlo and I are worried that whoever sent that letter to us is the same person committing these crimes."

"But it isn't," Charlotte said quickly and Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, brow rising on her forehead.

"And how would you know that?" she questioned her.

"I don't," Charlotte quickly said, thinking about her mother and hoping that she was mistaken. She hoped that her mother had nothing to do with this. She longed for that to be the case. But she didn't know if it was. She couldn't say with any certainty because the image of Jessica in that coat was haunting her vision. "I just think that it would be weird for both of them to be linked…I mean…that letter didn't even mention the killings."

"Perhaps not, but it's a risk that I am not intending on taking, not when it comes to our families," Elizabeth said and Charlotte wanted to tell her what she was suspecting. She wanted to tell her that she had a hunch that she had seen that coat before. But she didn't know how to tell her that. She didn't know what to say for the best.

She just knew that she had to talk to her mother.

"Do you think we could go into town today?" Charlotte suddenly questioned.

Elizabeth looked shocked at that. Charlotte hadn't wanted to spend time with any of them in so long. What had changed? "Well…I had intended on going to the beach today," Elizabeth replied. "Is there a particular reason why you want to go to town?"

"No," Charlotte lied easily. She'd had enough practice so far. She didn't like it, but she had to do this. She had to find out the truth. "I just thought that it might be nice to go and look around the shops for a while."

"I mean, we can go," Elizabeth said to her. "I can see if Diana will look after Lucy and Emily for a while so that we can head there without them. It can be quite difficult shopping and having two children following us around."

"Alright," Charlotte agreed, remembering how last time Lucy had complained about having to go in so many shops and Emily had continue crying, still just a newborn baby.

"Excellent," Elizabeth beamed and Charlotte felt bad. She had lied to her and here Elizabeth was looking forward to an afternoon with the two of them together. She pretended to listen as Elizabeth kept talking, wondering if any of the stores had changed. Charlotte simply sat there, occasionally nodding and plotting on making her escape back to New York to talk to her mother.

…

Laszlo had been in the Institute for most of the day, looking over notes for the case and trying to keep up with paperwork as well. Jane had been and gone, telling him that she had an appointment at four that meant she had to leave earlier than usual. He promised her that was fine, assuring her that he would be able to cope on his own for a little while.

It was gone six when the phone began to ring in his office and he moved to take hold of it.

"Kreizler Institute," he answered.

"Laszlo, it's me," Elizabeth's voice entered his ears and he instantly knew that she was frantic about something. There was something amiss and he had to find out what it was, despite the fear he suddenly felt from his stomach dropping instantly. "It's Charlotte, Laszlo…we went to town and she left while I was paying for something. I had no idea where she had gone."

"Elizabeth, my darling, take a breath," Laszlo pleaded from her, knowing that she was hyperventilating on the other end of the phone. He heard her try to gather her breath as best as she could, but it proved difficult. She took a few moments to compose herself as Laszlo gripped the sideboard tightly, knuckles turning white.

"I looked around town and asked people if they had seen her. A woman said she had seen her heading to the train station and the ticket master said that she had boarded a train back to New York," Elizabeth informed her husband who checked the clock on the wall across from him. Pulling off his reading glasses, he was able to check the time without it being blurred.

"When was this?" Laszlo asked.

"About an hour ago. I found a phone in a department store and called you as soon as I could," Elizabeth declared and Laszlo nodded his head a couple of times.

"Right," he said firmly. "I need you to go back to the house, Elizabeth. I will go to the train station and wait for Charlotte there. I'll call you when I have her."

"I need you to," Elizabeth pleaded from her husband. "I thought that she wanted to spend time with me, Laszlo…she asked to go to town and I thought we were turning a corner. It had been so nice. She had been like the old Charlotte…but she just used me. She lied."

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Elizabeth," Laszlo promised his wife in a soft voice, trying to keep her calm. He had to be the one to keep her calm. It was down to him now. "Try and stay calm and go back to Lucy and Emily. They need you right now and I will find Charlotte."

"I just want it to end, Laszlo," Elizabeth whispered to her husband. "I just want to know what is going on."

"We'll get to the bottom of it. I promise you," Laszlo said and he heard her sigh. He wanted to do nothing more than be with her at that moment in time, but he knew that he couldn't be. He had to stay where he was. He had to stay and bring Charlotte home.

"I should let you go," Elizabeth said to him. "Call me when you have her. I'll be back at the house."

"Of course," Laszlo promised his wife. "I will call you as soon as I can."

"Bye," Elizabeth said.

"Look after yourself and our daughters," Laszlo urged her and he hung up the call.

He groaned to himself and grunted under his breath, moving over to grab hold of his coat and his cane. He checked his pocket watch and moved with haste, knowing that he had to do something to find out where it was Charlotte was going to and what was making her act how she was. He knew that he had to call Sara and tell her that he needed one of her investigators to start as soon as possible if he couldn't get anything out of her when he arrived at the train station.

He left the Institute, passing Helen on the way and telling her that he had business to attend to. He called for Stevie who had been waiting in the courtyard outside and told him that they had to go to the train station, not giving an explanation on why because his anger and annoyance was too much for him to offer one. Sitting in the carriage, he folded his fingers into a fist that sat by his chin as he shook his head and wondered just what it was Charlotte was playing at.

…

Charlotte knew that Elizabeth would have called Laszlo as soon as she found out that she was missing. She also knew that she would be frantic with worry, wondering where she had gotten to. Sitting on the train back to New York, Charlotte was doing her best not to seem too concerned with what she was going to do. She knew that there had to be some kind of mistake. Her mother was no killer and she would prove that. She only hoped that Laszlo didn't think to come to the train station to find her. Would Elizabeth have found out that was where she had gotten to? Would she have found out?

The guilt Charlotte felt was eating her up inside. She had been having a good morning with Elizabeth. It had just been like old times when they had been together before her mother had come to her. It had been how it once was and she longed for that time together again deep inside. But, she was older now. She was wiser, knowing exactly what it was Elizabeth had done to her.

The train pulled into the station slowly and Charlotte tipped the red hat she wore down into her face. She smoothed out the skirts to the red dress and stood by the door behind a family who was carrying numerous cases between them, the mother snapping at her son to stand up straight and stop messing around with the suitcase.

As the doors to the train opened, Charlotte climbed down from it and looked along the length of the platform. She had taken the carriage at the back purposefully so that she could see down the train when she arrived back in New York. She looked amongst the faces as she kept her head down and her eyes scanned for any sign of Laszlo.

She didn't see him until she was nearing the end of the platform and he was frantically looking around, clearly searching for her. She could see the worry etched on his face as she kept her eyes to the ground and slipped behind a tall man, hoping that hiding behind him would be enough to keep him from seeing her. She held her breath as she hid in the shadows and walked on the opposite side of the platform to him.

She almost sighed in relief when he passed her by without spotting her. Little did she know she was being followed by someone else.

…

Laszlo should have known that Elizabeth wouldn't stay put. He should have known that she would come back to the City. She wasn't one to sit by idly. Diana had called ahead and informed Laszlo that she had taken the next available train back to New York. Diana had promised her that she would look after Emily and Lucy in the Hamptons. But Elizabeth had to come back for Charlotte. She wanted to come back and find out what was going on, knowing that they had to put an end to whatever was going on.

He met her at the station late that evening. She had taken the last train back to New York and it was considerably quieter than when Laszlo had been at the station earlier in the day. He spotted her instantly, seeing her pale cheeks and her mussed up hair that she had no doubt run her fingers through numerous times. Moving towards him, she held a small suitcase in her hand as her eyes met his.

"Did you find her?" Elizabeth pleaded to know from her husband, foregoing any greetings.

"Calm down, my love," Laszlo pleaded from her, moving his hand out and taking hold of hers. "I need you to calm down before you make yourself ill."

"I just need to know she's safe, Laszlo," Elizabeth begged from him.

"I have a plan and I will tell you it, but for now, Charlotte is being followed by Mary, one of the detectives from Sara's agency," Laszlo informed his wife and he took hold of her suitcase in his good hand before managing to lift his arm high enough for her to lace her own through it. "I came to the train station earlier and I saw her slip past, but I wanted her to think she had avoided my gaze. Mary proceeded to follow her and will report back to us in due course."

"Why did you not stop her? What if Mary loses her?" Elizabeth fretted as they left the station and she looked up to Laszlo, her eyes searching his and he saw the frantic worry. "You should have taken her home."

"And if I did then we both know she would have found a way to sneak out," Laszlo retorted and he felt the chill of the night air as he noted his wife only wore a long sleeved dress with a high collar, the red colour of it usually accentuated her features, but against her pale skin, she looked almost washed out by it. Laszlo knew this was taking its toll on her, just as it was on him.

He saw her clench her teeth together and look forwards, jaw jutting out slightly. She shook her head firmly and sighed, glancing to the ground for a moment as they reached the carriage and Laszlo opened the door, dropping her case to the floor before removing his coat from his frame.

"I know you're worried," Laszlo promised his wife in a gentle voice. "I know that all of this scares you and believe me, it terrifies me," he continued, moving to drape the coat over her shoulders as she pushed her arms into the sleeves. "But this is the only thing we can do. We need to find out why she is sneaking away considering she won't open up to me. This is how we do it."

Elizabeth didn't know if she was convinced, but Laszlo tried to reassure her, moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her as Stevie sat patiently at the front of the carriage, waiting to receive his orders to leave. She moved her own arms around him and placed her cheek against his chest as he kissed the top of her head, letting his chin sit there for a moment as his hand ran down her hair softly.

"Let's go home," Laszlo mumbled against her hair. "And we will see what we can find."

Elizabeth nodded into his chest and pulled back from him, pecking him quickly on the lips before turning to greet Stevie and thank him for taking them home. Laszlo helped her into the carriage and followed her in, closing the door behind him. He picked up the cane he had left in the carriage and tapped it against the rooftop, indicating they were ready to leave.

Heading back towards the house, they were silent as they sat next to each other. Elizabeth kept a hand on his knee, Laszlo's hand resting on top of it as they wondered what it would be they would find. The journey felt longer than usual and once the familiar sight of the house came into view, Elizabeth pushed the door open and Laszlo followed her, picking her case up on his way. Walking up the steps, he unlocked the door and walked in.

The house was bathed in darkness and Elizabeth turned the lights on as she made her way up the steps and towards Charlotte's room. Laszlo left her suitcase in the hallway and placed his cane against the wall. She came back down moments later, pulling his coat from her body and shaking her head.

"She's not in her room," Elizabeth declared to her husband.

"Mary will be following her," Laszlo promised her. "All we can do is wait for her to call."

"When do you think she will? How much longer can she be gone?" Elizabeth wondered, but she knew that Laszlo wouldn't have the answer to that question. Hanging his coat up on the rack, she left it there and didn't exactly know what to do with herself.

"Come on," Laszlo urged from her. "We can sit and talk until she comes back home."

Elizabeth didn't know what they were going to talk about, but she followed him into the parlour nonetheless. Settling down on the couch, Laszlo sat next to her and reached out to hold her hand, hoping that his touch would at least bring her comfort. He began to talk as the two of them idly made conversation, neither of them really thinking of anything but Charlotte.

It was only gone one in the morning when the door opened. Elizabeth jumped up and ran over to the hallway, seeing Charlotte walk into the hallway. Laszlo followed her, his footsteps purposeful as he prepared to berate their adopted daughter, but Elizabeth was already there and one step ahead of him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she snapped at Charlotte, the anger inside of her unable to stay hidden. She wasn't able to think rationally. She had spent the past several hours trying to remain calm, but that façade was cracking now.

"I had to come back," Charlotte simply said.

"Why? What could be so important that you ran away and came back here without a single word to either of us? Do you have any idea what you've put us through? Do you know how worried we've been?"

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said quickly, pulling her hat from her head and hanging it up.

"Do you think that sorry is going to make any of this better?" Elizabeth demanded to know from her. "Do you think that word makes any difference? This has been going on for far too long, Charlotte. Whatever you're doing…whatever is making you sneak around like this…it stops tonight. We're fed up. We're tired of what is happening."

"You're fed up?" Charlotte demanded from her. "What about me? I'm fed up of you lying to me! I'm fed up of you pretending that I'm your daughter when I know the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Laszlo questioned, standing by his wife's side and seeing her shaking next to him.

"You took me," Charlotte finally snapped, knowing that she couldn't live this lie anymore. She had to tell them the truth. And then she would leave. She would leave the house and she would go back to her mother. It was time. "I know that I was in the Institute because my parents died, but they were never my real parents. My mother is alive…she's out there and she wants me back. She wants me back because I was taken from her."

Elizabeth and Laszlo were stunned into silence. They didn't know what she was talking about. They had no idea what she was saying to them.

"No," Elizabeth said firmly. "Your mother died in an accident, Charlotte…you came to the Institute because your aunt didn't want to look after you."

"But the woman who died wasn't my mother," Charlotte shook her head as Laszlo's brows knitted together. "And my aunt was a horrible woman who covered up her secret. My real mother was their sister. I was taken from her and she was put in an Institute because they claimed she couldn't look after me."

"You…there was never any record of this," Laszlo said, stammering slightly in complete disbelief at what she was telling them. "Your mother only had one sister."

"It's the truth," Charlotte retorted. "My mother is out there and she wants me back. She told me how she came to the Institute to find me, but you turned her away," she glowered at Laszlo whose eyes widened in complete and utter disbelief. He shook his head quickly, needing her to see that wasn't the truth. "She told me that you turned her away because you already had adopted me…about how you had promised Elizabeth a child because she was worried she couldn't conceive after her miscarriage."

"Charlotte, that never happened," Laszlo said to her firmly. "How could you think that? How could you think that I would do such a thing?"

"Because you took Elizabeth from her husband. You both lied about what he did…how he hurt her," Charlotte said and Elizabeth felt a stab to her chest. She didn't care what people said about her outside. She didn't care if they believed her or not. She only cared about her family. "It was so that you could be together. I know what people say. I know that it all makes sense now…you took me from my mother."

"We would never do that," Elizabeth said, trying not to cry in despair. "Whoever this woman is, Charlotte, she is not your mother. She is lying to you. You know us…you know me and Laszlo. We would never hurt you like that. You're our daughter."

"But I'm not," Charlotte retorted, cheeks turning red. "I'm not your daughter. I'm not like Emily and Lucy."

"Yes, you are," Elizabeth said. "We love you just as we love Lucy and Emily."

"But you can't because I'm not yours," Charlotte said. "And that's why I'm going to go to my mother. I need to go to her because I can't trust you anymore. I know too much about what you've done."

"You believe some woman's word over ours?" Laszlo checked, struggling to comprehend what he was hearing. "We've raised you, Charlotte. We love you…would do anything from you. If your mother had come to me then I would never have kept such a thing from you."

"But you did," Charlotte retorted. "And she has proof that she's my mother. She is who she says she is and she would never have abandoned me."

"You can't know that this is true," Laszlo said. "You can't believe her word over ours…doubt how much we care for you."

Charlotte was silent then, glancing to the ground and Laszlo almost wondered if he had persuaded her of the truth. But then she looked up, eyes wide and glazed over. Shrugging her shoulders, she knew that she had to go sooner rather than later.

"But you're not my father," Charlotte said to Laszlo and looked to Elizabeth. "And you're not my mother."

She turned on her heel and dashed for the door as Elizabeth chased after her. She came to the night air and ran as fast as she could, trying to keep up with Charlotte. Calling her name, she knew that the neighbours would be able to hear her as she shouted after Charlotte. Coming to the end of the street, Elizabeth looked around the corner to see Charlotte disappear around another corner.

"Charlotte!" she yelled her name.

Running down the street, Elizabeth began to cross the street, but she tripped over one of the cobbles. She fell face first onto the floor and grunted as she stretched her hands in front of her. She grunted and forced herself to her feet, her limbs protesting with a harsh ache and her hands cut and bleeding. She continued running, hearing Laszlo behind her and calling her name. But she continued chasing after Charlotte, coming to the end of another street, but seeing no sign of her.

Gasping for breath loudly, Elizabeth whirled around on the spot, looking the other way for any sign of her, but there was nothing. Standing still, she clenched her stinging hands into fists and bent at the waist, screaming her name.

"Charlotte!"

Laszlo found her seconds later, standing next to her and looking around.

"Charlotte!" Elizabeth screeched again, but there was no answer. She tried to gather her breath as Laszlo wondered what they should do. He needed to know the best course of action to take, but he was lost. Mary had been following Charlotte. Would she still be tracking her?

"I don't know where she's gone…Laszlo…where did she go?" Elizabeth said and her husband shook his head. He didn't know. He had no answer for his wife. He heard her sob loudly, unable to hold back her tears as he saw her knees give out on her. He caught her around the waist and sank down to his knees next to her as she sobbed uncontrollably and he cradled her against his chest, knowing that they had to find Charlotte and make her see the truth.

…

A/N: So things are beginning to pick up now! Would love to know what you think as always!