A new face after the race

Chapter 60

Emily fought the fatigue that was ever present as she climbed up the stairs to the porch of the nice home that stood there. She crushed the very important paper she held and held on to the white posts surrounding the porch, letting the stars and dizziness pass.

She didn't hop a couple buses, break into Sonny's hotel room and steal a piece of he divorce settlement and walk all the way here for nothing, even as hurt and tired as she was. So she just gained her balance again and stumbled to the door, taking the brass knocker and knocked it against the wooden door.

Emily steadied herself as the door opened, the figure paling, speechless for a second. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be…." Emily interrupted her sentence.

"Dead?" Emily asked without feeling and looked around at herself. She was still pretty bad looking, but at least she was alive to do this. "Well, doesn't look like it, does it?" Emily shrugged as if indifferent, even though she was everything but.

The blonde quickly went to close the door on Emily, but she had a quick warning. "You close that door and I'll be back with police officers, waiting to arrest you for premeditated and attempted murder, not to mention, aiding and abetting a wanted and very well known criminal." Emily threatened her, in a voice so serious it had to be true.

If possible, Carly paled more and walked back inside, leaving the door open. Emily smiled in triumph and stepped in. It was a comfortable and cozy home, or was at one time.

Carly was sitting at the dining room table when she entered. Asking, "Why have you not just told the police already and pressed charges?"

Emily smiled and went to sit next to her in another chair. "Well, I could have, but I found this information may be some very good blackmail." She introduced her thoughts and actions.

"Blackmail is illegal." Carly rebuffed it, but knowing fully well she was caught.

"So is attempted murder and being an accomplice." Emily reasoned and won again in retorts.

"You have no solid proof." Carly was determined to think that way.

"Actually I do, there's me, the witness and victim you explained your whole plan to." Emily had extra to throw at her if needed, who cares if it all wasn't true. It wasn't like lying was illegal.

"You'll need more evidence than that." Carly insisted desperately.

"Okay, how about the fact you don't have an alibi for that night. Secondly, there was my boyfriend who overheard he whole conversation and in fact recorded the whole thing on his cell phone, then there is my little sister who also seen you, though I really don't want to go that far, but if necessary…." Emily tailed off, knowing she got Carly good there.

"Okay, I get it okay? You have solid evidence that can get me convicted and punished for my illegal activities, but why are you here and not at the police then, reporting them?" Carly asked her.

Emily rolled her eyes, does she really need to repeat herself. Well, this was for her little brothers, so she had to, it wasn't their fault their mother had a severe lack of common sense. "Like I said before, I'm blackmailing you." Emily said and pulled out the paper that held Morgan and Michael's names on there and two lines at the bottom, underneath tons of legal terms.

"What's that?" Carly said, looking it at a side ways point of view, thanks to her position.

"This is a legal document and I admit I can't understand half this legal mumbo jumbo, but I get the main idea and that is the important thing." Emily introduced it, knowing she had Carly right into her trap.

"It has my sons' names on them." Carly noticed.

Emily nodded. "It does, and you're going to sign it, on this line." Emily pointed to one of the lines at the very bottom.

"Not before I know what it means." Carly argued.

Emily shrugged, it was too late for her anyway, and she would win, even if Carly didn't sign it. "As you wish to put this as short and painless as possible it says you sign away all your rights to your children, Morgan and Michael and is restricted from coming a hundred feet from them until they are eighteen." Emily paused, knowing she was forgetting something, and then it hit her like a light bulb. "Oh and that Sonny has full custody and you have absolutely no visiting rights but to put it bluntly you are never to see your kids again until they are legal adults, in which if they want to see you is their choice." She summarized it up for Carly.

Carly stood up from her chair in outrage. Pointing to the paper, she replied, "I'm not signing away my rights to my children, they are mine, not Sonny's and certainly not yours." She accused Emily, but she didn't flinch one bit.

She just calmly found her cell and dialed in a number. "Hello? Yes, is the police commissioner in? He is, but he's busy? Okay, I can wait." Emily hummed as she started to wait.

Carly stood with her hands on her hips. "What do you think your doing?" She demanded of Emily.

Emily looked at her unfazed. "I'm pressing charges, by the way, how do you look in an orange jumpsuit?" Emily looked Carly from up and down.

"What does an orange jumpsuit have to do anything?" Carly asked her, growing impatient.

"I hear that's what prisoners wear in prison." Emily explained simply, without much effort.

"I'm not going to prison!" Carly denied, throwing her hands up in the air, wanting to ring her stepdaughter's neck but couldn't, she'd find assault charges then too.

Emily motioned towards the legal paper waiting for her to sign. "Then sign the paper." Emily wasn't stepping down from this. She wanted her younger siblings to have a good organized and safe life.

"I'm not signing those papers." Carly said frantically, throwing her hands around in anger and impatience.

Emily ignored her pleas and concentrated on her cell phone. "OH, hello Commissioner, how are you today? Good, yeah I'm good too. Yes I was calling about some questions I had. First how much is sentencing for attempted murder? Fifteen to twenty, really, how interesting." Emily continued, noting Carly paling again. "And what about premeditated murder? Fifteen to twenty years too? Aiding and abetting a criminal? Two to five years, you say?" Emily could have continued her fake conversation for hours, she was getting Carly good. She was a better actress than she thought. The truth was, she never really dialed a number, was just talking to herself, but it sure looked convincing, didn't it?

Emily continued her conversation, freaking out Carly by every word and syllable, and enjoying it immensely as well. Who said pay back wasn't sweet? Certainly not her, it was an absolute joy if you go through it the right way.

Inside her head Carly did the math. That would be a minimum of thirty two years, maybe much more with all the evidence and contacts Emily had. But she couldn't lose her children either, but then she found Emily's trap.

Either way she would lose her children. IF she did it now, there would be no trial, no orange jumpsuit, no lawyer payments, but if she fought, she'd lose all rights anyway. She was stuck, so she had to find out if she wanted to risk it all just to most likely lose it all anyway.

So the choices were, lose her children without prison time, or lose her children with prison time? What was better? What was better for her children, to see her go to prison and know she is a criminal or just not know her or see her at all?

She quickly grabbed the pen Emily put near and signed her signature before she lost her nerve. Emily hung up and grabbed her things. Mission accomplished, her stepbrothers were safe and taken care of now. She can worry about herself now.

She left without a word, with her things and a very important paper, not looking back to see if Carly was going to stab her in the back. She'd risk it, Carly knew defeat when she saw it, that was very smart of her, but she was smarter.

Emily opened the front door and prepared to step through it and never return, but ran into something hard. It was Lucky and he grabbed Emily by the shoulders tightly balancing her and trying to reassure himself that she was here and safe.

"Lucky." Emily replied, shocked to the core to find him here.

"Emily." He said, taking a deep breath of relief. She was okay, he told himself, trying to reaffirm that fact again. He was so scared that she was hurt again, in danger, but she wasn't. She was safe, in his grip, his ever protective presence.

Breathlessly, Emily asked Lucky "What are you doing here?" She blinked up at him waiting for an answer.

"What am I doing here?" He echoed her question and again, "what am I doing here?" He grabbed her tightly on her shoulders.

Emily attempted to pull back, but Lucky wouldn't let go of his grip. He scared her in this close proximity, but knew he wouldn't hurt her, he was just angry. "Yes, what are you doing here?" Emily answered calmly.

Lucky took a deep breath and fought his anger and worry. He didn't want to seem threatening, but he saw he scared her some, so he had to back away. He didn't want to scare Emily, didn't mean to.

"I'm here for you Emily. You just ran out of the hospital room and disappeared, did you think I wouldn't be worried? Emily, your not that well to go running to Utah, doing what ever you thought you were doing or you could have at least asked me to drive you to the airport or something." Lucky realized he was holding his breath and let it out, giving his lungs fresh oxygen. "The point is, next time you want to do a crazy stunt like this, tell me, okay?" He summarized his small nervous ramble.

"I'm sorry, Lucky, it was impulsive and stupid, and I didn't register you in the equation." Emily looked down in shame and took what he said in. She really didn't feel good; she put a hand on her forehead as she grew dizzy. "Listen; can we finish this conversation later?" She requested of him.

Lucky didn't have the time to register her request when she swiftly collapsed, Lucky hurrying to catch her fall. He kissed her forehead, it was slightly hot and Emily did look bad. He had a hard time breathing suddenly, again in worry, punishing himself some.

He should have known not to push it when he saw her. He should have known something like this would happen it had happened often enough. Still he picked her up in his arms, Emily's head lying on his shoulder and took her to the rental car he got and drove to the nearest hospital.

There he waited in the waiting room, pacing slightly. He was really starting to hate hospitals, after just got released out of one. He barely noticed as his head started pounding again. He had a prescription for that but he needed to be all here for Emily's sake.

The doctor came out from the hall and approached Lucky. "You brought in that young lady?" He asked Lucky.

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. She collapsed, is she going to be okay?" He asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"She's going to be just fine; she just needs some rest, nothing to worry about." The doctor replied before moving on to more serious cases after telling Lucky where to go, when he went to see Emily, which was almost immediately.

He entered the room and took a seat next to her. She would probably be out for hours, but he wasn't going to be leaving her side. He didn't need conversation to stay with her; in fact he could do this for days if absolutely necessary though he really would like a time when he could just watch her sleep and not in the hospital, rather full health; maybe after making love or spending the night with her.

That was certainly a pleasant idea, one he desperately wanted in fact. Emily in full health was a mirage at this point, but he had to wonder if she'd ever be that, with her medical history.

Author's note: Yeah, bad ending, just couldn't get a good one written, but the rest of the chapter is good so that should cover it.