I Am Emma Swan

Chapter 16

Emma felt around the wall looking for a light switch, finding one she flipped it on and looked over to Regina.

"I'm so sorry you're here and got involved in all this. I'm sorry, so sorry." Emma said softly willing herself not to cry. She felt she needed to be strong for this woman and her son. They've been so kind to her and have helped her so much.

"It's not your fault, Emma. It's those horrible people I can only imagine what they've done with Judith and what they're going to do with us. I just hope Henry got away."

"He's a pretty smart kid, I'm sure he's found a way to keep from getting caught by the other guy. What do you think they're going to do with us now?"

"Something tells me that you're going to have to pretend to be Judith but without the drugs in your system."

"I still have her memories, identity I can't remember much of my own. It's all so muddled now, it's hard to know what I've been told and what's real."

"That might be a good thing right now though, it could keep you alive. They need you to go along with them as Judith; I don't think they'll really hurt you." Regina replied leaving out the yet that both women knew was an inevitable outcome.

"We're going to need a plan if we want to get out of here alive. He seems deranged, I could smell booze on him, and did she say he's on meds?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, she did. I thought he was going to kill us there for a moment his eyes were so black, there is no soul in there."

"What they are doing is heinous, they're just plain evil and for what? Money?"

"Unfortunately, people will do anything for money." Emma replied then looked around the room. "Do you think there's another secret passage in here?"

"There are more pathways to the estate, most of them are not used. Judith used the one in her room the most, but I do believe she had shown Henry the others. If he saw the man waiting for him, he could have backtracked to another room."

"I bet he did."

"Now we need to find a way out."

The two women moved boxes and old furniture to check for another way out, and something to use as a weapon knowing their lives were in danger if they didn't.


Both detectives read Hoppers texts to Mal he sent just before he was taken. "Swan is in Storybrooke and possibly in danger as well as Judith Spencer-Cassidy."

"We'll need to inform the authorities in the town before we can do anything else. We don't have jurisdiction there." Mal explained as she Googled the directions to Storybrooke.

"I know, but we're going anyway. If the killer of Belle French is there, we're going to help take him down. We may not be able to arrest him, but we can make a citizen's arrest if the local authorities are useless."

"Hey, give them a chance we're all on the same team here. I'll let the captain know what we're doing, I'm sure he'll be against it but what's he gonna do fire us?"

"Right? Maybe we'll let him know on our way there, he could still be sleeping." Zelena counter with a knowing smirk. "We wouldn't want to wake him for this."

"Well, it's approximately a four-hour drive, three if I drive!"

"You got it, let's go partner! We'll call him later."


Archie began to wake from being jostled. He slowly opened his eyes but found himself in darkness. He was jostled again and realized he was in the trunk of a car. He remembered being pushed and punched by the man in the elevator. Whatever had happened to Judith and Emma Swan was bigger than he realized. If they killed this Belle French, they must be going to kill him. This abductor must be the clean- up guy and Archie was next.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness a small bit, so he felt around for the toggle for the trunk release hoping this wasn't an old-modeled car. The road they were traveling was very bumpy and he figured it was out of the way so no one would find his body. Finding the handle, he sighed in relief and pulled it, opening the trunk. The car slowed as it went over another large bump in the road allowing Archie who wasn't bound to roll out of the back of the car landing heavily on the dirt road knocking the wind out of him., hurting his shoulder and back.

The car came to an abrupt stop and the man who attacked him got out. Archie stood up and started to run the opposite way as the guy started after him. Archie went down the high grown embankment on the side of the road and headed for the tree line with the man hot on his heels. A shot being fired startled him, and he tripped and fell just before getting to the wooded area.

The grass was tall, and Archie hid within it, he found some rocks, he picked one up and threw it a few feet away from him distracting the man from his location. Once the man's back was to Archie he slowly stood up and rushed him. They scuffled and punches were thrown, Archie fell onto the sandy gravel after a good blow to his face. He shook it off and was about to get up when he hears the click of a gun.


"Yes, I know this is very last-minute Mr. Gold but if you could come to the house today instead of tomorrow, we would be so appreciative. Now that Judith is feeling better, she and Neal would like to travel for the honeymoon they postponed, and they've made arrangements to leave first thing in the morning. They wanted to make sure the power of attorneys and wills were completed before they left."

"I don't like to be rushed Mrs. Cassidy, we decided to meet tomorrow. I do have other appointments that I cannot cancel."

"I know Mr. Gold and I do apologize if you need to charge more for this, we will pay the fee. I would hate for them to miss their flight or feel unsettled not having their affairs in order while they're away."

Mr. Gold sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead trying to ward off the impending headache he always got when he spoke with this woman. Looking over his schedule and the time it takes to drive to the island he concedes to the woman's demands and pencils her in for later in the evening.

"All right Mrs. Cassidy I shall be there this evening and we can finalize everything tonight."

"Thank you, so kindly Mr. Gold. We'll see you then."

After she hung up with the lawyer, she smiled to herself and went to find Mary Margaret, they'll need a witness for the will and being a beneficiary herself in Neal's, she cannot sign it. Once he finishes off Emma and becomes sole beneficiary, Eugenia will continue to aid in her son's breakdown, the medication mixed with the alcohol should render him insane and she'll be the one in charge.

Neal has been nothing but a disappointment to her, this charade could have been completed months ago with the actual Judith but no he pushed and pushed the real Judith to the point she figured out what they were doing and told them to leave and that she was going to have the marriage annulled.

He didn't have to kill the woman like that, but his anger always got the best of him. She's always been able to elude the authorities with persuasion and quick-wittedness where he preferred to kill but this is the last time, their last venture and an insane asylum would be the best place for him anyway.


Jefferson Hatt found an opening behind a cluster of large rocks. Making his way through he found the pathway to the estate. Pulling out his gun he began to make his ascent to find the boy. There were a lot of footprints but nothing he could really follow. He messaged Neal to find out if the kid made his way back into the house and that he was in the tunnel looking for him. Keeping his phone out he used it as a flashlight the pathway getting darker the further he went.

He couldn't hear anything but the crashing of the waves behind him but continued up the steep corridor and came upon another pathway, but it seemed to be blocked by debris. Believing it would not be passable he continued.

Henry ran up the unfamiliar pathway which led him to another that branched off into two paths. Not knowing which to take he decided to go left as it seemed to go more toward the house where the right seemed to go back around where he came from. Not wanting to risk meeting up with the man outside he proceeded the other way. It was dark, damp and scary but he needed to get help for his mom and Emma, he wished he hadn't left his backpack in the car; his phone was in it, and he could have called for help.

He continued down the dark passageway keeping his hand on the rock wall to feel his way when he tripped over something. Falling on outstretched hands Henry felt his wrist twist in the sand and yelped in pain. Cradling his wrist, he thought he heard a noise and held his breath hoping the bad man didn't hear him.

Even with his eyes adjusting to the darkness he still couldn't see much especially someone following him. He listened for a few minutes but didn't hear anything, maybe that man didn't come into the secret tunnel, with that thought he got back up and continued up the passageway.

Henry wasn't sure how far he traveled but the pathway evened out and he was no longer climbing, and it didn't seem as dark as before. The wall ended and he was at another divide again having to decide which way to go. He thought back when Judith showed him the secret doors in certain rooms but not the paths behind them.

He closed his eyes trying to hear anything or anyone down either route. He felt warmth to his right and made the decision to go that way. His wrist still throbbing he kept it flushed to his chest while using his other hand to guide him as he walked slowly so he wouldn't trip again. He continued until he came to another wall but to his left there was an old wooden door with light peeking around the frame, he walked up to it and tried to open it.

The door wouldn't budge when he pulled the drop ring handle. Henry pushed at the door then pulled and nothing. He then tried to twist the handle to the left then the right and finally it unlatched, and he was able to move it. As he pulled it towards him, he heard voices and stopped he could tell it was the bad man Neal who sounded very angry, then Henry heard a female voice and believed it to be the old lady.

He pressed his ear closer but could only make out certain things. One being Emma will do as they want now because they have his mom, and they think they have him too. The man on the beach hasn't told them he's still on the loose which means he's probably still in the tunnels looking for him. He knew he needed to get out and get help, but he couldn't with those two in the room.

Willing the two to leave Henry tried to stay quiet but the door he was holding was heavy and now that it was unlatched it opened further and began to creak. Henry tried to quietly close it when he heard Neal asking what the noise was. Henry was stock-still when he heard someone moving close to him. He was so afraid he wasn't sure if it was coming from the house or the tunnels.

He pushed the door as close to being closed as he could then held his breath when he heard Neal move closer to him on the other side of the door.

"It sounded like it was coming from over here by the bookshelf."

"I didn't hear anything." Eugenia said, "Now come on we have more pressing things to attend to."

Neal lingered for a bit where he heard the noise before eventually followed his mother out of the room.