AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the long break. It's just one person working on the story now, and that one person has grad school and a full time teaching job and a life, so it's been hard to find the time. I promise I have not given up on this story. New Start means a lot to me and I've definitely still got a few more chapters left of this story to tell before it's over.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Jess spent the next week attempting to push the information about Gemma and Clay out of her mind. Thoughts of murder plots and false paternities swam through her head, and she had no idea what to do about it all. She wanted to forget it completely, but that seemed highly unlikely, so she did the next best thing: avoided the clubhouse, Jax, Lux and especially Gemma like the plague and spent as much time at Cara Cara as possible.

Jess walked into Cara Cara feeling the way she always did when she came to work - happy to be in her space. She would never be able to repay Otto and Luann for all they had done for her by leaving her the business. Sure, it was full of naked ladies and horny, middle aged men, but it had become her refuge and she was proud of the work she did there.

Nero was waiting for her in her office when she arrived and she beamed at him as she set her purse down. His appearances downstairs had been few and far between since Diosa started up and she really missed having him around.

"Hey!" she said, but he did not return her smile and hers quickly fell, "What is it? What's wrong?" Nero shook his head, walking to the door to close it as he set a folder in front of her.

"I was checking over your books last night when I saw these," he said, nodding towards the folder, "I've had my hands full with Diosa lately. I haven't been able to review them as often as I was, so it took me a little longer to notice this." Jess's brows furrowed in confusion as she opened the folder, thumbing through the papers inside. They were all receipts for purchases made by the business, and they all looked perfectly normal.

"What is this?" she asked, looking back up at Nero.

"Exactly what it looks like," he said, "Receipts. But do you see anything wrong with them?" Jess frowned, turning back to the pages and thumbing through them, taking a good look at each receipt before turning to the next one until she finally realized the problem, though she didn't quite know what it meant.

"The vendors," she said, "I've never heard of them." Nero nodded.

"That's because they don't exist," he said, "I did some digging this morning. I wanted to be sure before I brought it to you. They're all fake."

"What does that mean?" Jess asked, the puzzle pieces not clicking.

"It means that someone with access to Cara Cara's checkbook has been setting up fake vendor accounts and writing checks to themselves," he said, "And I'm guessing it's not you."

The anger that Jess felt was so raw and hit her so suddenly she almost threw up in the trashcan next to her desk. She stood from her chair, pacing her office to try to let some of the anger out so she could function and handle the problem.

"Fucking Daisy," Jess muttered, her teeth clenched. She wouldn't allow herself even a moment to feel the heart break over the mother she thought she had finally gotten back turning out to be the snake Jess knew that she was.

"Everyone tried to warn me," she said, still pacing, "Jax… Otto… But would I listen? No. I convinced myself she had changed. Convinced myself we would finally be able to have a relationship. I should have known better. This is the 4th time the universe has taken a mother away from me. Clearly I'm just not meant to have one." Nero frowned, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Jess," he said, "The good news is she's only gotten away with a couple grand, nothing to devastate the business yet. It's up to you how you want to handle it from here."

"I want to handle it by sticking her fucking head on a stick," Jess grumbled. Nero shrugged.

"Hey, say the word. I know people. That can be arranged," he said. Jess finally let out a small chuckle, but stopped herself before the laugh could turn to sobs.

"Thanks, but I'll figure something else out," Jess said, sighing. She refused to let Daisy defeat her.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

Daisy sat in Luann's living - no, her living room - her feet propped up on the coffee table as she watched some Real Housewives get into a cat fight over some guy. She knew how they felt, living here at Luann's house. All of this should have been hers, if only she could've stuck around Charming long enough to make Otto see that she had been the one for him.

But no. She'd gotten pregnant with fucking Jess. It had been too soon to trap Otto with a pregnancy - he'd have just told her to get rid of it. She'd needed more time, but fucking Jess had ruined everything. And she couldn't just get rid of her - those procedures cost money, and Daisy knew there were people out there willing to pay a lot for a baby. She'd ended up finding just the family, but that money was long gone now, expensive habits and all. Ironic how they had died, too. Almost like Jess was cursed.

But now here Jess was, living Luann's life with Luann's money. Money that should have been Daisy's in the first place. It was enough to drive her crazy. Her plan had been to wait Jess out until she just offered her the money. It would have happened sooner or later, hell, she'd already gotten the house and the job. But hearing that Jess was talking to Otto… it was only a matter of time before Otto poisoned Jess against her. Daisy had had to act fast, and it only took a few quick google searches to figure out the perfect plan. Jess was such a shitty business owner, she wouldn't figure it out for months, and by then, Daisy would be long gone. She smiled in satisfaction as she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth, laughing at the idiots on TV.

The front door banged open and Daisy sat up straight, startled. She looked down the hall to see Jess stalking angrily towards her, Nero strolling casually behind. Daisy's eyes widened and she stood, putting on her best warm and loving smile.

"Jess, baby, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to force a little coo into her voice, but she faltered at Jess's menacing gaze.

"J-Jess?" Daisy repeated with uncertainty.

"2,000 dollars," Jess stated, "Was it worth it?" Daisy's smile instantly dropped. 'Shit,' she thought. How the hell did she find out so fast? But a quick glance at Nero told her all she needed to know. Fuck. Daisy quickly ran through every option available to her in her head.

She could deny it, of course, but Daisy hadn't exactly hidden her tracks well. The only people with access to the Cara Cara accounts were in that room. She was already caught.

She could plead with Jess, make up some story about needing the money for some sad reason. Hospital bills, maybe. Or an angry ex dealer that would kill her if she didn't come up with the money. That might work…

But looking into Jess's angry eyes, the excuses stopped dead. How dare Jess be angry at her! She had given Jess life. The least Jess could do was let go a couple grand. Here she was taking afternoon visits up to Stockton to visit Otto, who would gladly have had her aborted without a second thought. But no, her own mother who had kept her out of the goodness of her heart (mostly) and here she was, the bad guy. Daisy crossed her arms across her chest, all false sincerity dropped.

"It should have been mine anyway, Jess," she said with a sneer, "All of this should have been MINE. You have no right to any of it! I was just taking what was already owed to me."

Jess gaped at her and Daisy had to fight to stop from slapping some sense into the girl. Was she really supposed to be her daughter? How could any of this possibly surprise her?

"Do you want to tell me exactly how it was yours? How exactly anyone, especially me, owes you anything?" Jess asked after regaining her composure.

"If it weren't for you, Otto would have eventually picked me over Luann. I had the whole thing planned out, but you came way too soon. I didn't have the time I needed. Otto would have given me the money to start the business and all of this would have been mine. I'm just claiming what's already mine," Daisy explained.

The whole thing was so obvious. Luann had nothing on Daisy. Daisy was the one all the Sons wanted, could have had her pick of them. But instead of understanding coming across Jess's face, she gave her a look of pure disgust and shook her head.

"Luann was the love of Otto's life," Jess said, her voice angry and even, "You were a junkie and a whore. That's your legacy. That's how everyone remembers you. I'm ashamed to have any part of you. Keep the money you stole from me and get the fuck out of my life. I don't want it back. I just want you gone."

Daisy straightened, forcing her shoulders back and her chin up.

"Fine," she said, "I'll be gone today."

"You'll be gone now," Jess seethed. Daisy stared back at her for a second, forming an argument in her head, but Nero took a step forward and one glance at him made her stop. She would have to be gone now.

"Fine," she said, "I'll just pack my things." Jess shook her head.

"You'll take nothing from this house that isn't in that purse on the counter," she said, "Or I will call the police and press charges for theft. I doubt they'll see your logic either. Now get the fuck out of MY house."

Daisy stood still for several moments, again running through any option left for her. There were none. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Jess, but did what she asked. She walked to the counter and picked up her purse that was lying on top of it and slung it over her shoulder before stalking past Jess and Nero down the hall towards the front door. When she'd just opened it, she heard them talking.

"Where do you think she'll go?" Nero asked.

"Hopefully Hell," Jess replied. Anger seared through Daisy as she slammed the front door behind her, wondering the same thing as Nero. Where would she go now?

SOASOASOASOASOA

Jess barely made it through the rest of the day at Cara Cara, and when she finally got home all she wanted to do was crawl in a ball and stay like that for days. The realization of the level of betrayal she had experienced slowly started sinking in as the day went on, and her anger dissipated as hurt and frustration rose. Lux had asked her to go to the clubhouse with her and get drunk to forget about it, but Jess had declined. She was not ready for questions or any potential "I told you so"'s. Not to mention, she couldn't stand the thought of seeing Jax and keeping his mother's secrets from him.

When the knock came on her door a couple of hours later, Jess debated ignoring it. She'd found a comfortable position on the couch and was watching a marathon on TLC about a bunch of little people and really didn't feel like moving. But the pounding continued and she finally dragged herself off the couch to open the door, surprised to see Jax there, leaning casually on the door frame.

"Can I come in?" he asked when she made no move to get out of his way or speak. Jess blinked a few times before nodding and stepping to the side as Jax strode in. He leaned against the back of the couch, his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at her.

"Lux told me what happened," he said. Jess sighed and rolled her eyes, walking into the kitchen to grab a few beers, handing one to him and popping the top off the other for herself.

"You okay?" he asked, popping open the beer she'd handed him. Jess shrugged.

"I don't even know how to answer that," she finally responded, "I just… I let myself think that she was this changed person because I really wanted her to be. I've lost so many people I was just hoping… hoping that this time it was real." Jax nodded as Jess walked over to him and he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms. It felt so good that Jess didn't question the gesture, just rested her head on his chest as he held her.

"I finally let myself trust her and she goes and does this," Jess mumbled into his chest, finally pulling far enough away to look up at him, "She was going on and on about how this was all owed to her, how she should have had it instead of Luann in the first place if I hadn't come along which, I'm sorry, makes zero sense in all ways. I mean the way she was looking at me… it's like she blamed me for every problem she'd ever had."

"You're the only good thing that bitch has ever done," Jax said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he looked worriedly down at her. Jess gave him a small smile, finally stepping out of his grasp.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked. Jax shrugged.

"I knew you'd be upset," he said, "Didn't want you to be alone." Jess nodded, suddenly missing him more than she had since they'd broken up. He wasn't making it easy for her to move on.

"Thanks," she said, "You didn't have to check up on me. I'll be okay. I just need a night to wallow in my misery and I'll get over it."

"I'll always check up on you, Jess," Jax said quietly, which made Jess angry. He was the one who suggested the break up in the first place. He was the one fucking a different crow eater every night.

"Well… don't," she replied, "Please."

"Jess…" Jax started, his tone of voice indicating she was being unreasonable, but Jess shook her head, folding her arms across her chest.

"Really, Jax… I can't… I need to not be around you," she said, her eyes avoiding contact with his, "At least for awhile. I need some time." Jax sighed, shaking his head.

"I hate this," he finally said. Jess shrugged, still not meeting his gaze.

"You're the one that ended this," Jess reminded him, "That was your call, not mine. And then you keep showing up everywhere, making it impossible for me to get over you…"

"You want to get over me?" Jax asked, taking a step towards her. Jess sighed.

"That's usually what you do with the person that dumps you," she said, her voice sardonic.

"You know I love you, Jess," he replied quietly.

"And you know that's not enough anymore," Jess said, "You said it yourself." She knew in that moment that opening that safety deposit box had cemented her break up with Jax. A part of her figured that once they got over the lies and the secrets, they would be back together, no question. But she could never be with him now, not with a secret like that. And she could never, ever tell him.

AN: Again, thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter! Please keep reviewing! Readers and reviewers are the thing that reminds me how much I love this story, and how much I want to finish it. So please let me know what you thought! Thanks!