"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." – Maya Angelou
"You came into our lives, determined to rip my family apart..." Daniel summed up the new information, in the best way possible. "...and, not once, did you think twice." His wife protested, her eyes watering, and Daniel added, "Certainly not when it counted, anyway, or my mother would still be alive."
"You and I both know your father was wholly responsible for Victoria's plane exploding," Emily calmly replied, "That was his style." She hardened her voice, in defence of her actions and the path her younger self had chosen. "Daniel, of course I had second thoughts, but I did what needed to be done for me, for my father, for the victims of flight 197 and the people who mourned their deaths. Can't you understand that? After all the horrors your parents inflicted on so many."
He seethed with emotion, "My parents weren't monsters and my mother didn't deserve to die."
"It was never my intention to inflict physical pain on your family, Daniel."
"No, you only intended to inflict mental torture on my mother for her most regrettable mistake. Did you ever consider, that she was human, Emily?" The faint notion of regret appeared upon Daniel's expression, "She was forced into the worst kind of decision, in order to protect her family; to keep me with her, always. She deserved more loyalty and love than I afforded her, and I'll never forgive myself for the last words I said to her." If he concentrated hard enough, Daniel could still feel the sting of her hand across his cheek.
"Daniel, don't you see?" Emily frowned, "You were loyal. When Charlotte's true paternity was revealed, Victoria led you to believe she had been attacked!" Their eyes met, and she silently pleaded with him, "Daniel, I was ready to call the whole thing off. I didn't want to ruin your life but, when she said those things about my father -" she shook her head, still unable to comprehend the betrayal. "I went mad."
"That's it," Daniel ignorantly snorted, "Your moment of regret?"
"What about your moment of regret, Daniel?" Emily unexpectedly turned the tables upon her husband, "You knew how ruthless your father was. He confessed all to you, the evening of your interview... and you sat there, and you defended him," her voice cracked.
Daniel recalled the moment, instantaneously. It had been an in-the-moment decision, and the first real Grayson move he had ever made. "Emily, I..."
"What? Are you sorry?" His wife roughly shook her head, "That was the moment I realised I lad lost you; that was what sent me running to Jack, the day Sammy died." Daniel's memory faltered at the mention of her childhood pup. "My head was filled with memories of the childhood I lost, my heart ached and I needed someone. I needed him, because he was pure honest. All the qualities I had seen in you, the things that had made you so special, Daniel. How kind you were, despite your parents' influence, your outlook on life and your expectations in life." Her mind returned to the moment she had really met Daniel Grayson and she quoted him, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is; infinite."
"William Blake."
"Infinite freedom, Daniel. Freedom from the world's perception of the Grayson name," she recalled her interpretation, "Except, when you had the chance to fly free, you didn't."
"Did you expect me to betray my family?" Daniel shrieked, his hysteria returning and increasing.
"I expected you to become the man you said you wanted to be. The Daniel I fell in love with would never have allowed the truth to stay buried. He would have fought for justice, what he thought was right," Emily passionately argued, "Daniel, I know why you concealed the truth. Conrad was your father. I would have done all I could to have protected my family, too." She shrugged her shoulders, "Sometimes, you can't choose where your loyalty lies."
"That attitude certainly clears you of any guilt, doesn't it?"
"If the roles were reversed; if your father had been stolen from you, how would you have reacted?" Emily demanded an answer of him, so righteous in his judgement of her. "Had you been in my shoes, what would you have done differently?" Daniel staggered over his response. "Foster families were too terrified to accept me, once they were informed who my father was. They treated me as if I had been a part of the conspiracy. They wanted me dead, Daniel, and I wanted the same." Her suicidal ideation startled Daniel, "I was unloved, uncared for. The daughter of a murderer. Until I learned the truth, I had no reason to exist."
"Your reasons don't matter! You are still responsible for my mother's death, and Charlotte's. No matter the intention, you caused that, Emily. Now, you've destroyed my family for the second time." The picture-perfect marriage he and Emily had sustained for almost two decades had been one hell of a sham.
"It doesn't need to be that way, Daniel."
"Of course, it does! Charlotte and Sophia will expect an explanation, and I want them to know the truth," he insisted.
"The truth?" Emily repeated, "The truth of how your mother seduced my father, allowed him to impregnate her and be the scapegoat for Conrad's crime... how she tore an innocent man away from his daughter and unborn child. She had me placed under psychiatric hold, Daniel. Are you sure you're ready for our children to hear the truth about your precious mother?"
"You really hated her, didn't you?" Daniel finally entered full-realisation, "You always have done. Even when was prepared to help prove his innocence, it was never enough for you, was it?" He had been foolish in his hope that Emily and Victoria would, one day, rectify their differences and become like family to one another.
Emily upturned her lips, in defiance. "Are we done here?"
"Yeah," Daniel nodded, "We're done."
"Then, I'll call the girls down. It's time for them to know the truth, too." As she prepared to depart the room, Emily span on her heels and stared at her husband, "Oh, and, Daniel... don't both trying to pry my children away from me because you will live to regret it. My father may have backed down and allowed your mother to destroy his family but I won't let you do the same because your precious ego's been damaged."
A bitter chuckle erupted from Daniel, "There it is! The side of Emily Thorne my mother could never convince me existed."
The blonde abruptly shook her head, "No, Daniel, not Emily Thorne. Amanda Clarke."