Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Thank you to TheDarkMistressBellatrix for reviewing the last chapter.

Even after thirty seconds of gazing at the face of the intruder, Julia could not believe the sight before her eyes. She had spent hours, perhaps even days, going through in her mind a list of people who could have had cause to take her baby from her, and though she had come up with few results, the man stood in front of her had never once crossed her mind. Yet now that she knew, she understood entirely, though she could still not present the breath that escaped her lips, carrying his name on it.

"Roger."

The moment she spoke his name, the man's lips spread into a wide smile. But this smile was not like the rare ones that she had seen the man share with his son, full of warm and a hint of mischief. This smile was sinister, as if the man had had a plan, a trap, and she had walked right into it.

"Are you honestly so surprised, Julia?" the man asked her, barking a slight laugh at the question. In her mother's arms, Maddy flinched and winced, clearly frightened of the man that had taken her prisoner. Julia was not surprised at this in the least, as judging by the state of her, Roger had not been the kindest of hosts, or even a decent one at all. Her blood beginning to boil, the woman turned to face the Collins man, her expression showing clearly the rage that she felt.

"I thought you were better than this, Roger." the redhead spat, her eyes blazing with defiance and pain. The words she spoke were completely truthful, as although she had not known him for all that long, the woman's opinion of him had been a high one, just because of the fact that he was a member of the Collins family. To have it be one of the clan that had treated her so well that hurt her in this way, that harmed the family she had lost so long ago, was more painful than if it had been a known criminal. She never would have trusted a criminal, but now it seemed that she had done. "You took an innocent child from her mother, and kept her away, while I didn't even know where she was, or if she was safe. I went out of my mind with worry, and you still seem to think that that is alright. I thought that you were a good man. Obviously, I was wrong."

"But don't you realise, Mrs. Julia Hoffman, that that is exactly what you have done." It was this statement that left the redhead lost for words. She had expected an explanation from Roger, there was a part of her that perhaps expected an apology from him, though she doubted that she ever would have received one, even in the time before he had done this to her. But still, this cryptic sentence, she was certain, was to do nothing but make her confused, perhaps to cause her a touch of fear. Whichever of these it was meant to do, it had succeeded.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking, though she could not prevent her hands from doing so as she clutched Maddy even tighter. The question had struck fear into her heart, not for herself, but for her child. She suspected that she knew to the man was referring, after all, and if she was right, then her little girl was in danger.

"I stole your child away from you, did I not?" he began, pacing the room in front of her, each step deliberately slow and heavy, matching his breathing exactly. As he spoke again, he began to walk faster and faster, his breaths coming in pants of annoyance. "You expected for your child to emerge from the school gates and come running to you, but they had disappeared, been taken by another, someone you had thought you had trusted. Does that sound familiar to you at all?"

A few moments of silence followed after this question, and it was left hanging in the air, though this was not quite a revelation for any of them. Julia closed her eyes slowly, biting her lip and preparing herself for what was next to come, as she was utterly unsure how Roger would react to her correct answer. After this time had passed, she could stand it no longer, and so she gave her answer. "It's what I did to David."

"Exactly." the balding man told her, his voice having lowered to a dangerous whisper. "You came swanning into this household, hired to be his psychiatrist, and within a day, you were already acting as if you were his mother. Now, he spends as much time with you as he used to spend with me in the past, because you took him away from me. Well, now you will truly know how that feels."

The redhead opened her mouth, to protest or to question, even she did not know, but immediately, she felt a sharp, heavy pain in her head, and the world became black.

It could have been a minute, an hour or more, but when Julia awoke, tied by her hands to the radiator on the wall, she saw that Roger held Maddy, a gun pressed to her head. Her eyes widening, the woman sat up quickly, but froze when she heard the clicking sound that signified the gun being prepared for a shot. It was breaking her heart to see the fear and water clouding her daughter's eyes, and her blood was boiling in anger at her being put into such a position.

"I lost my child, Julia, when you came along to take him from me. Now, it is time for you to know that pain for yourself."

And so he poised the gun. The redhead was certain that she was screaming, could feel her mouth falling open and the pleas being drawn from her throat, but the world was blurring. There was nothing that she could do, trapped as she was, and the tears were flowing unending down her face, like a dam that had been broken apart. She closed her eyes, unable to stand the pain.

The room fell silent, and the only sounds anywhere were the sounds of a gunshot, and a body falling to the floor.

A/N: Oh my gosh! Poor Julia, and sorry for the cliffhanger, but please review!