A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 12: Help

~6:02 pm~

"I made chicken parmigiana and roasted zucchini for dinner tonight, Mr. Grey," Gail said, walking into the great room. "Would you like a glass of wine with your meal tonight?"

Christian, who had been sitting in the great room facing the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of whiskey in his hand, looked over at Gail. "No, thank you Gail. That'll be all for tonight."

"Yes sir."

She walked away as Christian turned back toward the window, lifting his glass to his lips. He knew he ought to eat the dinner Gail made, but after the events of today, he didn't feel particularly hungry. Forcing himself to eat had become a habit of his over the past week, however, so he figured he could tough it out.

Taylor had managed to follow Hyde all the way back to Seattle Independent Publishing, and unfortunately he couldn't tell if Hyde had met up with Elizabeth or anyone else. Taylor did get a few pictures of him as well as his car and license plate number, so that was at least something for Welch to go off of.

Ana had also gone back to her apartment, and since then Christian's mind had been filled with thoughts of their kiss on the bridge. He didn't know what had caused him to kiss her like that, but he didn't regret it - whatever was going to happen with him after this investigation and his possible connection with Jack Hyde, he could at least take comfort in the fact that he had taken the leap and made his feelings for Anastasia known. He couldn't put into words how she made him feel, but he knew it was something he had never experienced before. Something he never wanted to let go.

Being with her made him feel… hopeful. Since a week ago, he never thought he'd feel that way again.

"…Mr. Grey?"

Taylor approached Christian in the great room, holding a file folder in his hand. "Welch just faxed this over. He found the real Elizabeth."

Christian set down his whiskey and got to his feet. "What did he find?"

"Quite a bit," Taylor grimaced, handing the folder over. "See for yourself."

Christian took the file and opened it, and was met with a profile picture of Elizabeth… though it didn't look like the Elizabeth he knew. She looked a few years younger, and instead of her usual brown hair with highlights, she had short dark hair with bangs. She wore black liner on her eyes and had on a white tank top; she didn't smile as she stared directly into the camera.

"Eliza Karovsky," Christian read, glancing over the report accompanying the picture. "She's… a private investigator?"

"A former one," Taylor corrected. "And until a couple years ago, she worked as a PI for the Seattle Police Department."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Christian said incredulously, looking back up to Taylor. "She worked for the police?"

"Yeah. And honestly, it makes sense," Taylor said, rubbing a hand along his chin. "As a PI, she would have been formally trained in blending in and appearing inconspicuous so as to gather information. And since she had worked for the police, she would have known how to gain access to records that aren't publicly available."

"That explains how she was able to become Elizabeth Daniels," Christian said, frowning in thought as he looked over her file. "Elizabeth Daniels must have been a real girl who had died, and Eliza went in and changed her records so it looked like she herself was Elizabeth Daniels and still alive so as not to arouse suspicion. But how come that Detective Broderick guy didn't recognize her? Unless he's in on this whole thing too?"

"According to Welch, Broderick didn't start working at the Seattle Police Department until about a year ago. He wouldn't have known Eliza, or whatever name she went by, when she was working there," Taylor said. "She likely still has some friends on the police force, however. Once our security team finished running a background check on her, she managed to change Elizabeth Daniels' status back to deceased. I have to admit, what she did was incredibly difficult - she only had about a 24-hour period to pull that off without detection."

"I can believe it," Christian said, continuing to glance over her file. "Here it says her special skills include advanced computer hacking with an emphasis on security systems. So she's tech-savvy, resourceful, and dangerously intelligent… and apparently wants to see me rot in prison. Not a very good combination."

"The fact that she was laid off from the Seattle Police Department is an important detail too," Taylor said. "She must have done something seriously unethical to get herself fired."

"It probably has something to do with her relationship with Jack Hyde," Christian said, frowning darkly. "From what I can tell, the guy sounds like a sick twisted manipulator."

"He's also managed to become buddies with all the cops at the precinct," Taylor added. "If he and Elizabeth used to date like Ana had told us, that must be how he had gotten to know them."

"We need to call Ana and let her know what we found," Christian said, but as soon as he said that, his phone began to buzz from his pocket.

He took his phone out and checked the screen. "Speak of the devil," he said, noticing the caller ID. He pressed Answer before bringing the phone to his ear. "Ana?"

"Christian," Ana greeted him from the other end. "Are you busy right now?"

"Funny you should ask. Welch just faxed over some new information about our dear friend Elizabeth," Christian said, glancing back down at the open file in his hand. "I was just about to call you to see if you wanted to come over and see for yourself."

"I do actually, but there's another reason why I called you up, and I think it might be relevant," Ana said. "An FBI agent came to my door today and said he was working with the Seattle Police Department on the Elena Lincoln murder case."

Christian was instantly on high alert. "What? An FBI agent? Why did he come to see you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Christian. I promise," Ana assured him. "But he and I have been talking, and some of the stuff he was telling me… I think he agrees with me that there's something fishy going on at the Seattle Police Department. He saw the CCTV footage of me coming into the police department on Thursday, and that's part of the reason why he came to my apartment - to investigate possible corruption in the Elena Lincoln case."

Christian blinked, trying to process this information. "So… he knows about Elizabeth and Jack Hyde?"

"Not yet. I haven't told him what I know, but I suggested he and I come meet you and Taylor at Escala so we can fill him in," Ana said, sounding almost hesitant. "Do you think that would be alright?"

Christian didn't say anything for a moment, feeling wary. He had no idea who this FBI guy was, and didn't feel entirely comfortable bringing him into his home. "I don't know, Ana. Are you sure we can trust this guy?"

"I was nervous about trusting him too, but I really do think he could help us," Ana said, her voice earnest. "Would you be willing to at least hear him out?"

Christian sighed, still feeling a bit nervous, but figuring that if Ana trusted him, Christian could at least give him a shot. "Alright. Both of you come over to Escala as soon as you can. I can text you the elevator codes to the penthouse."

"Thank you Christian," Ana said gratefully. "We'll see you soon."

"Bye Ana."

They hung up, and Christian turned to Taylor, who had been listening to their conversation. "I don't know if you heard, but apparently an FBI agent found Ana and wanted to question her about why she came to the police department on Thursday. They're both coming over to Escala right now so we can fill him in on what we know about Hyde and Elizabeth."

"And you're worried we won't be able to trust him," Taylor asserted, and Christian nodded. "Well, it's tough to say at the moment, but if he's coming here with Ms. Steele we'll be able to assess what his intentions are. Do we know his name?"

"Ana didn't say it," Christian shook his head. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The next twenty minutes or so passed by, and Christian ate the dinner Gail had made for him while continuing to look over Elizabeth's - or rather Eliza's - file. Apparently she went by a whole host of fake names, most of them variations of Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Morgan was one she went by the most while working undercover. Apparently, that was how Welch was able to find her as he traced back the origins of her false names. The fact that she was recently hired at SIP also helped him since there was paperwork and records readily available.

Pretty soon, Christian heard the elevator ding with an incoming arrival, and he got up from the breakfast bar to head toward the foyer, ready to meet this FBI agent Ana had told him about.

Christian walked into the foyer and stopped when he saw Ana step out of the elevator… followed by some handsome blonde guy who looked about Christian's age. He was gazing around the opulent penthouse with raised eyebrows, and Christian immediately didn't like him. Mostly because he and Ana had been alone together.

Who the fuck is this guy?

"Christian," Ana smiled at him, and Christian could swear he saw her blush. She gestured to the man beside her. "This is the FBI agent I had told you about - Luke Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer, this is Christian Grey."

Sawyer looked at Christian, who gazed back at him with a skeptical frown. Sawyer stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "Mr. Grey… it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Christian reluctantly took his hand and shook it. "Ana mentioned you're working with the Seattle Police Department on the Elena Lincoln murder case?"

"I am, although as I related to Anastasia earlier, I have some concerns about the standard of practices going on over at the precinct," Sawyer said. "I hope you, me, and Anastasia can talk about what you guys know so far."

Before Christian could say anything, Taylor walked into the foyer and suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Sawyer?"

The others all turned to look at Taylor, who was staring at Sawyer with recognition, his expression stunned. "I can't believe it… is that really you?"

"Sergeant Taylor," Sawyer said disbelievingly, his eyes wide. He then straightened up and raised his hand to his forehead in a salute. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"At ease, soldier," Taylor said, sounding amused, and Sawyer relaxed, bringing his hand down. "It's good to see you again too."

They moved toward each other and clasped hands before giving each other a one-armed hug, clapping each other on the back in the way that men do.

"You guys know each other?" Ana asked, smiling in delight.

"Luke here was in my squadron when we were stationed in Texas," Taylor said, pulling away and grinning at Sawyer. "I never thought I'd see you again, buddy."

"Me neither. I had no idea you were in Seattle, and working for Christian Grey no less," Sawyer said with a grin. "I've lost contact with everyone from my days in the Marines, mostly because of my job. Do you know what happened to the others? Devon and Lucas, and the Melconian twins…?"

"As nice as it must be for you two to go walking down memory lane," Christian said, sounding annoyed. "We have other things we need to discuss… namely about the Elena Lincoln case."

"Of course," Taylor said immediately. "Luke, Ms. Steele - please come in and make yourselves comfortable. Gail has some food and drinks left out from dinner earlier if you two haven't eaten yet. Mr. Grey and I just received a file from Welch that I think you should see."

Sawyer, Ana, and Taylor all made their way into the great room, and Christian followed them, still not feeling totally reassured by Sawyer's presence. Ana seemed to trust him though, and Taylor clearly did too, so Christian supposed he could give this guy a shot.

He didn't like this jealous feeling coursing through his body whenever he looked at Ana and Sawyer together, but for now he knew he just had to deal with it.

~Seattle Independent Publishing~

Jack rubbed his eyes, tired from staring at his computer screen for the past three hours or so. Everyone else had gone home for the day, and the sun had set nearly an hour ago, making the office's fluorescent lights even more jarring than usual.

But Jack still had a lot of work to do. The past week had been very tumultuous, and he'd been neglecting his day job quite a bit as a result. It wouldn't do for Jerry Roach to start tearing into him for not meeting their quarterly projections, so Jack decided to work late tonight in order to save face.

He yawned before checking his watch. It was nearly seven o'clock, and he had about an hour left before the cleaning crew came by. He decided to answer a few more emails before heading home for the day.

But maybe one more cup of coffee first.

Jack got up and walked out of his office toward the kitchen, annoyed he had to do this himself when Anastasia was usually the one to get him coffee. Claire the receptionist told him she had woken up with a migraine today and that's why she didn't come into work.

The last thing I need right now is a sick assistant, no matter how useless she might be.

Jack filled up his coffee mug and walked back toward his office. He passed by the printer near Anastasia's desk, and noticed a piece of paper on the floor near her chair. Rolling his eyes, he walked over so he could toss it in the garbage.

He picked it up and flipped it over to see what was on it… and his blood ran cold in an instant.

It was one of the emails he'd sent to Elizabeth weeks ago. About Christian Grey.

Jack's heart began to pound and his breathing became staggered; without realizing it, his mug slipped from his hand and fell to the floor, coffee spilling everywhere. His mind swirled with all-consuming fear as he stared down at the paper.

Holy shit.

Someone had found out what he and Elizabeth had done, and had printed out the emails as evidence. He knew it couldn't have been Elizabeth who printed them out - she would never be so stupid as to print out these incriminating emails at work.

Fuck… has this person gone to the police?

Jack knew some of his buddies at the precinct would vouch for him if these emails did end up in their hands, but he knew he couldn't trust every single cop. This could be a complete disaster.

Jack clutched the paper tightly, practically smashing it in his fist. Rage began to consume him… who the fuck found these emails? It had to be someone here at SIP, someone who would be willing to go snooping through his private shit…

He looked down at where he'd found the paper, and slowly his eyes moved up to Anastasia's desk.

Anastasia

She was the only other person in the office who had access to his emails. He looked down at the date stamp on the paper, and saw it had been printed at 7:03 pm on Thursday. He'd been out of the office that day, and he'd asked Anastasia to monitor his emails.

It had to be her. There was simply no other explanation.

His own fucking assistant was going to ruin everything he had worked so hard for.

A/N: Ooh this can't be good… please leave a review and tell me what you think!

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