Chapter 32

"Claudia, stop it! Please stop it!" Sydney pleaded to, her pistol pointed at Claudia's head. "I don't want to give the order to shot you Claudia. I don't want Vaughn to lose another parent, or Laura her grandmother. But if you don't stop strangling my mother now, I swear to god I will kill you."

"Sydney she deserves to die for all she has done." Claudia said with conviction back to Sydney

"Think of this. Does Laura deserve to lose another grandparent? To have that grandparent killed by her grandmother. That Vaughn has to live with what his mother has done, because I know how much it can hurt. There are ways to try and reverse what has happened but this is not one of them."

"I'm not sure, what I want. This is all wrong, it was never supposed to be this way. This wasn't the plan."

"Claudia let go. We can talk about this. All of us. Mom, Dad, Michael and you. But if you don't it's over."

Claudia fingers loosened from around Irina's neck, followed by Irina dropping to the floor coughing desperately trying to get oxygen into her lungs."

"Mom?" Sydney said running to Irina

"Sweetheart, I'm okay really." Irina said between her deep breaths.

"I'm Sorry, so sorry" Sydney heard from behind and twisted around to see. Claudia was on her knees sobbing as two members of the team came forward to place her into custody. "Sydney can you please forgive me?"

"Later. All of us will talk about this later." Sydney said to her departing figure which was being lead out of the door.

Sydney turned around to help Irina stand, they both walked over to the nearest sofa and sat down next to each other."

"Mom, are you sure your okay." Sydney asked

"Apart from having trouble swallowing and these bruises which I know that are coming out, everything is fine."

"No, not that. What happened there. I've seen you fight of bigger persons than her."

"I don't know. I just froze. The moment she put her hands around my throat, it was like I was back in Kashmir. That she was one of the guards, that she was trying to torture my for information."

"I thought you had got over all that."

"So did i. I haven't had nightmares for years. But Sydney I haven't been in a situation like this, perhaps this was the trigger."

"Mom, this whole situation has been weird for all of us, after all these years that we're free to live our lives. But that's not important for now, us as family will work on this. You re important one know, you never really discussed exactly what happened in Kashmir, but if you need to discuss it I will be there for you."

Irina reached across and put her hand on Sydney's cheek and stroked it lightly with her thumb and said "Sweetheart, you don't have to do that."

Sydney reached up and grabbed Irina's hand and held it tightly between both of hers.

"Mom, you've done so much for me, let me do something for you."