"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price." – Sun Tzu

"...I cannot describe the ache in my heart, to not have been able to tell you about your Grandfather." Emily's whole-hearted confession to her eldest children was the most raw and vulnerable either one of them had ever seen her. "He has held such a special place in my heart, a place I have never been able -" she paused, for correction, "Never allowed myself to open up to you both, until now."

Behind their hardened shell, Charlotte and Sophia shared unadulterated confusion. Their entire world had been removed from its axis and tossed around the universe. The room, determinedly, started to spin, too. Charlotte's eyes drifted back toward her mother, and then to her father, who appeared lost in his own world of thought. "I don't know how to say, mom." Even the word 'mom' felt weird, as if it didn't belong, but Emily was still her mother. Charlotte had always been aware of the consequences Amanda Clarke suffered, due to Conrad and Victoria's actions, but to think their mother was Amanda Clarke only confused the situation.

"Why don't you tell me how you feel?"

"How are we supposed to feel?" Sophia snappily retorted, offended by the oh-so-calm rhythm of their conversation. "I mean, I would hate to upset you, since we all know exactly how Amanda Clarke reacts when someone hurts her feelings."

"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Daniel's voice finally entered the equation, after his deafening silence.

"Why are you defending her?" His child stood, in protest, "After all the lies she's told. Daddy, she made a fool out of you!"

"Yes, out of me! Not you!" Daniel barked, his words loud enough that Sophia reluctantly sat back down. He calmed himself, "Show your mother respect."

"Respect?" The disbelief was audible in Sophia's voice, even if her volume was quieter. "She let you believe she loved you, but you were a pawn in her game."

"If I didn't love your father," Emily scooted forward, "Why would I have stayed, Sophia?"

Sophia averted her eyes from Emily's, meanwhile Charlotte's eyes welled with tears. "Mom," she fought the emotion, "If we hadn't found the box, or Sophia didn't find the records from Allenwood, would you have ever come clean?" The thought that her mother would have happily hid the truth, and allowed their lives to have been a lie, was unbearable for Charlotte. Emily remained silent and Charlotte pressured her for an answer. "Twenty years, mom. Didn't you ever consider telling the truth?"

Emily nodded, "Once or twice, maybe." Her mind unfolded back the years, to the very moment Daniel so nearly discovered the real woman he had married.

Flashback

An intrusive spectrum of colours faded to white and Emily's eyes finally fluttered open. "Daniel..."

A weakened croak escaped her cracked lips and Daniel immediately stood to attention, and appeared at her bedside with a plastic cup of water. She surveyed the four peach-painted walls that encroached upon her. "Hey. You're in the hospital."

She readily gulped from the cup of water Daniel lifted to her lips, before her eyes shot toward her deflated stomach. No longer did the bump she so proudly paraded around the Hampton's exist there. She became tearful, in fear for their second child she had been anxious to introduce to the world. The absence of her cries, or any real celebratory atmosphere, unsettled Emily. "She's not -"

Daniel quickly realised her assumption and rushed to provide reassurance. "No, of course not! She's perfect, but you collapsed." There were hazy memories of deep, abdominal pain and a gush of blood, before her world blacked out into nothingness. "The doctors performed a caesarean section but you're okay. You need to rest, not overdo it, which is probably the reason why this happened." His open concern translated into a scolding for Emily. The long-term effects may have affected her ability to conceive and safely labour another child naturally, but that was discussion for another time. Daniel removed the blonde hair from her face and allowed her to adjust, until she was more comfortable. "They let me stay with you for the operation. Apparently, the effects of anaesthesia can make some people very talkative and you're no exception."

Emily became nervously alert, "What did I say?"

A secretive smile passed over his lips, "You spoke your heart. You told me the truth, and now I'm on to you."

"Daniel, what did I say?" Her panic was rising at a rapid rate.

"Well, you weren't totally coherent but you said you weren't the woman I had fallen in love with," Daniel recalled, "And that my mother had always been right, that I should have listened to her advice. But you were glad I didn't because you were a better person because of me." Daniel clutched her hand, oblivious to her nervous twitch, "What else? I don't think you could possibly keep a secret from me," he smirked.

His wife smiled, weakly. "You know me too well."

Daniel dismissed her unease and smiled, "Would you like to hold your daughter?" Her eyes filled with sparks of joy and Daniel turned around to the hospital cot behind him, where their newborn daughter was so content that Emily hadn't even registered her presence. "She's the most beautiful little girl in the world."

"You said the same thing about Charlie," she rolled her eyes.

"Because they're both beautiful," Daniel compounded, as he lifted the newborn baby from the cot. "Time to meet your mom."

The very instant the dark-haired newborn left her father's arms and rested her cheek on Emily's chest, she started to wail. Despite the initial rejection, Emily grappled for humour in the moment and pouted, "Well, I think it's pretty clear who she likes best. Daddy's little princess," she teased, and Daniel laughed with pride. "Which makes us even because Charlie follows me everywhere!" She worried whether the infant struggled in her absence. "I'm sorry, I know you hoped it would be a boy." Somehow, Emily had intuitively known their second child would be another daughter.

He vehemently shook his head, "Don't be silly. Happy and healthy, that's all I've ever hoped for. Besides," he winked, "There's plenty of time for another."

Emily smiled, happily, "We can't plan another baby, when this little one doesn't even have a name."

"Well, since we named Charlotte after my sister, I'd like to do the same for you. Is there someone in your family we could name her after?"

"I don't think so, Daniel."

The pained look upon her expression shifted Daniel to his second suggestion, "Okay. How about Sophia?" Emily's eyes peered up at him, instantly warming to the name. "It's actually another name in the family, not the Grayson family though; my mother's side." Daniel paused, cautioned to explore how Emily reacted to the mention of Victoria. "My mother didn't share an easy bond with her mother but she adored her Grandmother. Her name was Sofia Adriani. She was Italian," he smiled, fondly. "My mother would share these fabulous stories about this dear, eccentric woman and..." he chuckled, reminiscent of the conversation. "When I was seven, I promised I would name my daughter Sophia, in her honour."

Emily was filled with affection for her husband, as always, at his compassionate nature. "And you feel you owe it to your mother to keep that promise?" He gently nodded his head and Emily stared down at her newborn daughter, "Then, Sophia Grayson it is."

Flashforward

"It doesn't matter if she ever thought about telling the truth," Sophia challenged Charlotte's question, "The fact is, she didn't."

"Because I love you," Emily desperately implored her daughter, "All of you!"

"Bullshit!" Sophia denied, "You kept the secret to save your skin."

Her mind kicked into flight-mode and Sophia started to storm out of the house. "Sophia, wait!" Emily chased after her daughter and forcefully grabbed her by the arm, despite her violent attempts to yank herself away from her mother's touch. Emily's eyes watered, fast and furiously, and she pointlessly held back the tears, to no avail. "I know you're furious with me and you couldn't possibly understand," she babbled, "But I had reason, Sophia. I couldn't tell the truth because I didn't want you to think less of me!" In the background, Daniel recalled a similar plea his mother had made when Charlotte's paternity was revealed.

"Think less of you?" Sophia's mouth dropped open, "I hate you!"

The vision of his wife and daughter became a fierce blur, as raven curls bounded towards Emily and Sophia's arms violently lashed out. Emily's reflexes kicked in and she impressively dodged each and every stroke of fury, bar one, until Daniel physically intervened, "Sophia, stop!"

Fresh from the attack, Emily raised her hand to her nose and braced the pain, as blood began to trickle. Charlotte instinctively rushed over, "Mom, are you okay?"

Sophia wriggled free from her father's grip and shot her mother a venomous look. "If you really believe you can waltz in here with some phoney explanation and expect us to be stupid enough to swallow it, then you'll be sorely disappointed!" Emily reached out in another attempt to embrace Sophia, only to be shoved backward. "Don't touch me!" The young girl slowly backed away, her finger pointed in her mother's direction, "You came here to destroy the Grayson family. Well, congratulations! Mission completed, Amanda, because you will never see me again!"

"I am your mother!"

"No, you're not!" Sophia screeched, "You're dead to me!" Finally, Emily understood the warning Takeda had provided her, prophesied by a Chinese philosopher named Confucius; "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." Nineteen years on, Emily finally had to pay the price.