A/N: To clarify, this story begins in the middle of season 2. The first chapter starts when Bart confronts Chuck about Dan's short story he read. There will be altered scenes from season 2 but will drift to AU territory. The next chapter will be about thanksgiving reorganizing the order of events and tying up loose ends before the story becomes AU. This fic will have lots of C/B and C/Bart. (changing from the disastrous season 3 onward) I hope this clarifies the confusion.

Chapter 2: Reading Between the Lies

Chuck continued to stare down at the papers in front of him. His hands began to tremble, and Chuck couldn't help but feel blindsided.

It's no mystery to many that Bart Bass has many skeletons in his closet. To most, it's a miracle- or even incomprehensible- how he became one of the biggest business men in Manhattan. Bart was a very mysterious man, not telling even his current wife or son about his past. Chuck only knew something vague about one of Bart's first hotels that was burned down. That was it.

The only thing he knew about the hotel, was that it burned down, and that Bart had an insurance claim that saved the company. But this, whatever it was took the meaning of a secret to a whole new level.

Chuck stumbled into the leather office chair, trying to make sense of this.

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

How?

Chuck continued to stare at the documents. He pursed his lips together in deep thought when something came across his mind. Did this mean…

"Chuck!" He could hear his name be called from the stairs. Chuck didn't move an inch, as the echo of steps tromped up the staircase, getting louder and louder as they approached the room.

"Have you found the-" Bart's words died on his mouth.

Chuck glanced forward to him intensely then down at the documents.

"What are you doing?"

"I should ask you the same thing." Chuck didn't dare lock eyes with his father. He just continued to flip through the pages casually; a disgusted smile appeared on his face. He shook his head.

"You had no right to look through my personal and confidential things." Bart stepped closer to his desk, across from Chuck. He tore the package away from him, forcing Chuck to look up at him.

Bart's cold blue eyes turned icy. "Go downstairs right now. We'll discuss this later."

"Go." Bart repeated menacingly. Chuck gave his father the hardest glare he could muster before obeying his command. Just as he had stood and made it halfway through the door, his father wasn't finished yet.

"And here I thought we were making progress," Bart muttered under his breath.

The words punched Chuck in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Wincing internally, he left not even trying to hurl another insult defensively. He knew the words were true.

He padded down the stairs, plastering on a lopsided fake smile- attempting to mask what had really just happened. Chuck sat down, noticing four empty champagne flutes on the coffee table. Bart appeared from behind Chuck with the expensive bottle of champagne.

"Here it is. Especially for you Eric," Bart said as he peeled the plastic wrapping off the cork. He aimed the bottle away from everyone in the room, a pop sound bounced off the walls. Lily and Eric passed around champagne flutes to both Basses, as Bart poured them each a glass. Lily and Eric remained oblivious to their charade.

"To Eric." Chuck tried sounding enthusiastic and supportive. He raised his glass, the other three mirroring him.

"And hopefully new success and opportunity in the future," Lily finished. They all clinked their glasses together, and took a sip of their champagne. Chuck felt the fizzy alcohol burn on his tongue before feeling it scratch down his throat. He'd never been a big fan of champagne but if it helped him feel better, he'd gladly take seconds.

"Come upstairs. Now." Bart's lips curled into a thin line. His expression was as stone cold as ever as he ascended up the stairs to his office. Chuck stood from the couch, a glass of scotch in his hand. He followed upstairs and into his Bart's office, his back turned away as he entered.

Chuck clenched his teeth his father's voice ringing in his ears, "and here I thought we made progress."

"You just had to look didn't you?" Bart's back faced Chuck shielding the horrid looks his father must be showing right then and there.

"I ask you to bring a bottle of champagne, and you decide to bring up something else." Bart finally turned. His icy blue eyes remain hard. "There's a thing called privacy Chuck."

"Your one to talk," Chuck said through gridded teeth, "You have your P.I follow each of us around constantly and kept files of our whereabouts. What kind of privacy is that?"

"That's irrelevant," Bart retorted passively. He looked down to his messy desk, sifting through different papers.

"It's relavent," Chuck shook his head, "and you know it's true."

Bart grasped the same yellow envelope that Chuck had looked at earlier, "It's best to not stick your nose where it doesn't belong." He flashed his eyes back at Chuck.

"You and I both know I have a right to know what that's about."

"No."

"I already read it!" Chuck kept a steady glare, "who is Evelyn Bass?"

Bart stood stock still.

"Sit down," his father commanded.

Chuck obliged, taking a seat on the couch across from Bart. The couch was at least five feet away from Bart's desk, but there was nowhere else to sit. Slowly, Bart sat down, gently setting the envelope on his desk. He clasped both of his hands together, his elbows resting on his desk. He looked to be in deep thought before dropping his hands to his lap.

"The first thing you need to understand Chuck is that this," he pointed to the envelope, "happened before Bass Industries became successful."

"So nobody knows about it."

"Exactly, and I expect it to stay that way." Bart raised his eyes expectantly. Chuck merely nodded.

"I told you a couple days ago that I didn't know you thought you were the reason why your mom died. It's because you weren't," Chuck eyed his father in confusion, "When your mother was in labor with you, she had a C-section. "

"I know that."

"Yes but when you were born, your mother tore her uterine wall."

"But she survived?" Chuck asked, his mouth open. After all these years he'd believed his mother had died after giving birth to him. Shock and rage ran through his body. He'd been torturing himself because of a lie?

Bart exhaled heavily. "Yes."

Chuck blinked back at his father unable to find the words he wanted to say. The puzzle pieces started to join together in his mind.

"After a couple years of raising you, your mother became pregnant again. We knew there would be risk the second time around but Misty didn't want to abort her. She flat out refused," Bart paused pain flickering in his eyes, "So, when she was giving birth again," Bart trailed off, the scene haunting his memory, "she had a full uterine rupture."

"Wait, what's the difference from what happened with me?" Chuck asked. His heart was racing, he didn't know what to think or feel.

"It means that the tear from your birth had gone through all the layers of her uterine wall and it endangered her and the baby. "

Chuck remembering the glass of scotch in his hand, tipped the glass toward his lips, his hand trembling. He took a long gulp, the bitter taste burning down his throat.

"She had to choose."

"Choose what?" Chuck asked, confused.

"Who to save," Bart forced out. His eyes appeared glassy for the first time since it happened.

"You can imagine what her answer was," Bart covered his face with his hand, rubbing his eyes muffling, "No matter how much I begged, how much I pleaded," He raked his hand across his rough stubble face, cupping his own chin, "She wouldn't listen."

Chuck felt his mouth go dry and took another gulp of scotch.

"She lost a lot of blood and for a couple hours they thought she would recover. But the damage was too severe, it just became worse again. The next morning, she…"

"Was gone," Chuck confirmed. Neither Bass could say the painful truth. That death had won.

"What about the baby?" Chuck asked, tracing his finger around his glass, permanently glued to his hand.

"She survived."

"Then how come-"

"The story isn't over yet. Misty's -I mean your mother's parents -disliked me and decided they wanted to take custody of the baby. They sued me as an unfit parent and at the time I didn't have enough money or power to win. They had enough evidence and the jury chose their side. They blamed me for their daughter's death." Bart paused. "Soon after, Bass Industries began picking up speed and I became busy and then had the ability to fight for my child back."

"They can take away a child because of that?" Chuck asked.

"No. They… they had evidence that suggested that I was an unfit parent."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. They were all false accusations. It had a lot to do with Bass industries. It's all history now," Bart shrugged.

"So you never fought back?" Chuck inquired.

"This is going to be hard for you to understand Chuck but at the time I thought maybe she would be better off, being with a large supportive family out of the public eye."

"You thought she'd be happier without her actual family?" Chuck asked attempting to absorb the information thrown at him. "Why did you keep me then?" If she's better off what did that make me? Chuck thought.

"I was forced to lose one child I didn't want to lose another, despite what you believed."

Chuck licked his lips. "So, you're now trying to get her back?"

"Yes," Bart sighed warily, "I've been undergoing this process for over a year now but, it hasn't been easy."

"So the papers are for a custody battle."

"Yes."

"Oh." Chuck sat back in the couch and stared at the California style ceiling.

"You have a sister Chuck."

Mixed with confusion and awe Chuck replayed in his head what Bart just said.

I have a sister, Chuck realized. But more importantly, the one thing he wanted more than anything was possible. Real.

I have a family.

Chuck felt his body relax. His tension in his mouth and hands evaporated like when it rained during the night, and was sunny in the morning.

He let the words seep into his body, the truth turning into a new reality. He'd always wanted a sibling; someone he could fight and play with. Instead he'd grown up with an abundance of nannie and maids. But now all of that could change.

"It's a lot to take in isn't it?" Bart disturbed Chuck away from his thoughts.

"Yes. It's not every day someone's told you have a sister," Chuck retorted sarcastically.

"Where does she live?" Chuck asked.

"Hartford, Connecticut."

"Wait," Chuck put his hand up, "So how are you going to get her back?"

"I think its best after this long to go during Christmas Break and talk with the Ainsley's."

"Who?"

"Misty's sister. She's been her foster parents."

"I don't think talking is going to be convincing. They've raised her for how long? Almost fifteen years?"

"It will, trust me. I'm hoping to settle this out of court. Through mediation. That way, this won't be in the public."

Chuck looked at his father skeptically. Did he get Andrew Tyler to do some digging? At this point, Chuck wouldn't put it past Bart.

"It's time for you to go to bed, it's late," Bart stood turning his desk lamp off.

Chuck checked his watch. It was only a bit passed twelve. The night was just getting started for Chuck's standards. He nodded and padded to his room. Instead of going back out to a nearby bar, which is what Chuck usually did, he flopped back onto his king bed his eyes wide awake. He stared, transfixed with the white ceiling of his bedroom, all through the night.

Chuck stopped in the middle of the hallway at school. He shuffled to the side, letting others pass the congested hallway. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through Gossip Girl posts from that weekend to see what he missed.

Chuck kept his weekend low key, spending Saturday night in his room, alone and wide awake. He then slept the rest of Sunday before conducting his own search of his sibling. All his efforts produced little success.

Chuck casually leaned against the wall, hearing locker doors slam, and heels click down the hallway. A flowery smell of Chanel No. 5 wafted through the air. He knew that smell anywhere. Before he even had the chance to see who was passing by, she interrupted his thougths.

"Must you always lurk in the shadows Bass?"

It was too early that Monday morning, as Chuck pushed himself off the wall, and stood straight facing Blair. She looked slightly annoyed but he knew better. He knew she liked it.

Now with Nate being friends with Dan Humphrey he didn't have his friend to go to with this sort of problem. With his best friend's absence, Chuck wanted to tell Blair everything. But, Bart's words refreshed his memory. Nobody knows, and I expect it to stay that way.

Chuck pushed the thought away and stepped closer to her his voice dropping low. "Whatever gets your blood going."

Blair extended her arm and pushed him away. "You are disgusting."

"It doesn't seem to bother you when I-"

"Please stop that sentence. Nobody wants to hear any more of it. Especially me."

Chuck smirked in amusement as she squirmed.

"Last time I checked we are only friends Chuck."

"What? I can't have a normal conversation with my friend?"

"Not when your conversation consists of failed come-ons and references from the past, which have been buried deeply beneath the surface. Thankfully."

"I thought we were past denial friend?" Chuck continued to smirk, his hazel eyes flashing with amusement. How he missed her banter.

"Maybe in your delusional brain. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to class, to make something out of myself in life," Blair scoffed.

Blair attempted to walk away but Chuck caught her arm. "Class doesn't start until a quarter to. You've got time."

"Not for you. Unlike you, I have friends to get back too."

Chuck's eyes hardened. "Your minions?"

Blair nodded. "Oh Chuck, what's life without friends to share it with? It's a shame you lost yours awhile back to," Blair wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Dan Humphrey."

"Who cares? I'd rather talk about who you lost yours too," Chuck retorted, attempting to conceal the embarrassment she inflicted by bringing up the Humphrey issue.

"I'd rather not."

"You can't deny, we're inevitable Waldorf."

"That may be true for whatever… physical attraction my body seems to feel for you, but my brain knows better. By now, hopefully yours does too. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a court to rule."

Blair smiled bitchily at Chuck before turning on her heels and walked out to the courtyard. Chuck watched as her hips swayed back in forth-exaggerated. She was trying to torture him, no doubt but it was only a matter time. It was only a matter of time until they realized what they had. But at that moment, it seemed too far away.

A/N: Keep in mind that not every detail is revealed about Evelyn's existence. And there is another side to Bart's story so his might be different from reality. We all see what we want to and not always the truth. That's the bottom line with Bart's explanation.

Also the next chapter will revolve around thanksgiving before the trip to the Ainsley's happens so there won't be much of CB in the next couple chapters but this is a C/B fic! I'm opening the story and they'll have their time. So what did you think? Thoughts? Opinions? Review!