Disclaimer: I don't own.

Over time, Caleb and my savings grew. With his job at the local newspaper and my promotion to restaurant manager soon, we were living comfortably. Well…as comfortably as you could with a picture of your stepbrother weighing heavily on your heart.

Bella never warmed up to Caleb. On her second birthday she got up on the dining room table with a Sharpie and crossed out 'From: Daddy' on all of her presents. I never actually figured out how she knew the difference between the words 'Mama' and 'Daddy'. Though I seemed to be mad at her when Caleb was around, I still winked at her when he left the room.

My marriage with Caleb began to fall apart soon after the incident on Bella's second birthday. Aw hell. My relationship with Caleb began to wane the moment he looked up at me all those years ago. It was like trying to walk on water; no matter how hard I tried, every time I sank. By Bella's third birthday, we were signing divorce papers. Something just never clicked with Caleb. A week after the divorce was final; Bella and I were packing up our stuff. Caleb came home drunk.

He burst through the door to Bella's room where we were packing her toys. My eyes snapped in surprise to the drunken man standing in the doorway.

"Caleb what-?" he cut me off by stumbling over to me and slapping me hard across the face. I fell back and hit my head off a wall. Everything was blurry for a moment before I snapped back.

"You fucking bitch!" he yelled and moved toward me yet again. He grabbed me by my throat and lifted me. He shoved me into the wall. "You worthless piece of shit! How could you do this to me? I gave you everything! I saved you from that crazy brother of yours! Then you go and leave me for him!"

"Stepbrother! And all you ever did was take control of my life. It was always your way or the highway! I never had a say in any decision we made!"

"I gave you a lot of freedom!" he slapped me again.

I squinted in pain but stayed strong. "That's just it! You shouldn't've had to give me any freedom. It is my right to have freedom. The same as you." I snapped at him fiercely.

He growled and slapped me yet again. This time, though, I fell back and hit the wall then fell to the floor. I couldn't see straight. Bella's screams met my ears, taunting me. I couldn't move to help her. Only after she shrieked 'Mama' did it come back into focus. I saw Caleb start toward my baby girl.

"Don't you dare! If you touch Isabella, I will kill you." I called out and kicked the back of his knee. Instantly he fell to the ground. I stood and ran to my daughter. As quickly as I could I got out to my car and peeled out of the driveway.

I didn't know where I was going just that I had to get out of there. Fast. As I drove I used every once of strength to calm my anger and sooth my pounding head. I blinked hard a couple times trying to clear my still cloudy mind.

Over and over again I replayed what had just happened. I thought of the abuse in my life. I thought of Caleb. How he'd taken full control of my life. He brought me down. For as long as I'd known him he didn't let anyone else decided how to live their life. I thought of Mr. Robinson. How he had hurt me. Broke me. Destroyed my dignity. Taken my innocence and ripped it to shreds.

Then I thought of the little three year old sitting beside me. My abusers daughter. The baby who gave me a reason to live. And for the first time I realized she had built me up again. She had given me strength. She gave me the strength I had lost. But she gave me even more then that. What Isabella had done was give me more strength then I had before. I could do anything. My baby saved her mothers previously worthless life.

"Mama?" Bella called out and I glanced over at her.

"Yes baby?"

"Where's Daddy?" her voice was small and scared.

"He's back at the house probably passed out." I said bitterly.

"No." she said her voice a little stronger now. "Caleb is not Daddy. Where's Daddy?"

"You mean…Derek?" I asked in surprise. I thought I'd left before she could remember him. She was less then a year old.

"Yes Mama. Why don't we live with him? He loved us. And we loved him."

I looked down at her. Shock filled me. Quickly I pulled into a parking lot. "You are the most amazing and intelligent girl I have ever met." I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Derek's not my father." She said in a serious tone. Okay this was getting weird. It had to have been because of the head injury.

I sighed. "No he's not. Your father is who you got your intelligence from." I mused and started the car.

"He was a smart man?" she asked.

"Yes. Hey do you want to go get something to eat? We didn't have dinner."

"Changing subject."

"I know baby. But your father…well…he's a bad man. He hurt me."

"What happened, Mama?"

We pulled in front of a diner. "I'll tell you when you're older."

As I was getting out of the car, her voice met my ears once more. "I love you Mama."

I stopped and looked back at her. "I love you too Isabella."

Later that night we were driving just looking for somewhere to stay. Without noticing it I'd driven to my mother's house. Bella asked where we were.

"This is my mom, your grandmother's, house sweetie." I picked her up and walked up the steps. I rang the doorbell and waited. I didn't even know why I was there. My family probably hated me for leaving so abruptly. Footsteps echoed and a second later George pulled the door open. His eyes fell over me and he froze.

"Casey?"

"Hi George." I smiled.

"Jo!" he called over his shoulder without taking his eyes off me. "Come here!"

My mom came down the stairs a moment later. It took her a full minute to reaspond.

"Oh honey." She pulled me into a hug.

"Mama!" Bella yelled. She was in between us. "Need space." I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Casey? Who's this?" she asked looking at Bella.

"This is Isabella."

"Call me Bella!" she said proudly.

"Hi Bella." My mom shook her tiny hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Bella, sweetie, this is your grandmother." I said to her.

"Grandma?" Bella suddenly lunged forward and hugged my mother's neck. My mom hugged her back.

Edwin and Lizzie came down the steps behind us. "Casey!" they shouted and the teenagers ran to hug me. I wrapped my arms around both of them.

"Hey." I said to Edwin. "When did you get taller then me?" he was about half a foot above my head.

"Guys." My mom said. "Meet your niece, Bella." Everyone crowded around my daughter. My mom took me aside. "Casey…whose baby is she?"

"Mine." I said.

"No. I mean who's the father?"

I paused then looked down in shame. "Mr. Robinson." I muttered.

"Casey." She said and hugged me. I hugged back and sobbed into her shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell anyone what he did to you?" I asked and hugged tighter.

I felt my mom start crying as well. "Because I was ashamed." We cried together for a little while before slowly calming down.

"Mom?" I said.

"Yea honey?" She pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Why did Dad leave?"

She didn't answer right away. "Casey…I think now is the time to tell you about your father. He-he was a drunk. And when ever he came home from the bar he would always yell at you girls. He would put you down and insult you. I couldn't take it anymore so I kicked him out." She gave me a small smile. "But that was before you could remember."

"No Mom." I said and leaned against the wall. "I do remember it. I remember everything. I've had nightmares about it for as long as I can remember."

"That's not possible. You were only three years old when he left."

"I have dreams about him Mom!" I said exasperatedly.

"Well the mind is a strange thing. Remembering the weirdest things." She started to turn to go back with the rest of the family.

"Mom? Where's Derek?" I asked.

"School. He said something about promising a girl he would finish law school."

I was kind of shocked to hear that. So he had actually stuck with it. A little later after everyone had met Bella I took her up to my old room which they hadn't touched since the day I left. My unfinished Bio homework was still spread out on my desk.

I laid Bella down next to me and reached over to turn out the light. We slept peacefully. In the morning, Bella woke me up.

"Mama I'm hungry."

I groaned and looked over at the clock. Eight. "Okay baby. Mum should be making breakfast by now." My mother was in fact making waffles when we got down to the kitchen. I lifted Bella to sit on a barstool at the island.

"Good morning." Bella said and yawned.

"Morning. Do you want waffles?"

"Indeed." I said and put a small waffle on Bella's plate and another waffle on my plate. I cut her breakfast up into tiny pieces and handed her a fork. She started eating.

Suddenly the sound of my cell phone ringing cut though the kitchen. I jumped up and dug through my coat pocket.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Hello. Is this Casey Rowel?" A mans voice asked.

"McDonald." I corrected.

"Of course. I'm Robert Lenning your ex-husbands lawyer."

"Why does he need a lawyer? We already finalized the divorce."

"Yes but there's one more thing he wants."

"He already got the house and half my money! What else can he want?" No bother mentioning I would have given him the house anyway.

"He's suing for full custody of Isabella Rowel."

"Venturi. Her name is Venturi. She never took his name and she never will. She's my daughter. Not his." I said desperately.

"He says he loves her very much and thinks you are an unfit mother."

"Unfit mother?! How so?"

"He said you attacked him last night and fears for the child's safety."

"I didn-," he cut me off.

"We'll meet at your husband's house tomorrow at six-thirty. To sign the papers. The he hung up.

I'm not feeling very comfortable with this chapter. Please tell me what you think.