Chapter 7
Later that night, the waiters and waitresses are cleaning up the ship and there are only a few people left on the ship. Emma is sitting comfortably with Neal at a table near the bow of the ship on the second deck.
"How many Harvard men does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Neal asks Emma.
"I don't know. How many?" Emma asks Neal.
"One, and the whole world just revolves around him." Neal answers.
Emma allows herself to laugh at his bad joke. He was kind of cute and if she had to be with someone in the long run for her plan to work, it's nice that he isn't bad on the eyes.
Neal laughs as well before asking, "One more?"
"Drink or joke?" Emma inquires with a light smile.
"Either. Both." Neal replies.
"Mm, neither. I am just buzzed enough to find that last joke funny. One more, and I might think that you meant it. But don't let me stop you." Emma says with a smile.
The buzzed part was a lie. Emma could hold her alcohol and three martinis would hardly make her buzzed but Neal didn't need to know that.
"Oh, no, no. I've had about all the club soda I can take." Neal responds.
"You don't drink?" Emma asks.
"Used to… Epically." Neal responds.
"Hmm." Emma responds.
"I gotta admit, it's…. it's nice meeting someone who never knew the old me." Neal confesses to Emma.
"Yeah. I know the feeling." Emma agrees.
Neal stares at Emma intently before looking down at her wrist which is resting on the top of her thighs. Neal notices the tattoo on her wrist. "Double infinity."
Emma looks down at her wrist quickly and back up at Neal. "Something like that." Emma comments.
"That's a long time." Daniel answers making small talk with her.
"Neal… Your father and I are leaving." Regina tells Neal.
Emma turns around to face Regina and stands up before speaking to her.
"Thank you for a lovely party, Mrs. Mills. It was great meeting both of you." Emma tells Regina as she walks over to stand in front of Regina and Robert.
"Well, now that you've moved next door, I suppose we'll be seeing a lot of you this summer." Regina tells Emma as Robert has his hand around his wife's shoulder. They look especially close considering what happened. Regina stares at Emma for a few moments before turning to look at Neal who is still sitting down at the table.
"I'll expect you shortly, Neal." Regina says before she turns around and leave with Robert.
"Don't let my mother rattle you. Intimidation is practically a sign of endearment with her." Neal tells Emma as he stands up from the table and walks to stand next to her. He places his hands in his pockets as they both watch Regina and Robert walk away.
"I'd hate to be on her bad side." Emma retorts while shaking her head.
"Yes, you would." Neal tells Emma.
They both laugh. Emma begins to walk away from Neal as she announces, "I should go."
"Uh, I'm headed you way. You need a ride?" Neal offers as he walks towards her.
"No, thanks. Maybe next time." Emma says.
"'Til next time." Daniel replies.
\*****/
Emma takes off her heels as she gets out of the car. Her feet are killing her after the long day she had. She walks up the steps on her porch and through the patio door into the beach house. She turns on the light as she walks through the door and places her shoes, purse, and wrap on a chair in the living room. She walks towards the kitchen and stops. Something is off and she cannot quite place it.
Emma turns around to watch August Booth walk through the patio door she left open.
"Welcome home, Emma. I nearly didn't recognize you today, but that's the whole point isn't it?" August says as he walks towards her.
Emma grabs his shoulder, knees him in the groin, and pins him against a post. Her right forearm is under his windpipe.
"Do you know how easy it would be for me to crush your windpipe?" Emma asks him.
"I don't think you father would approve." August tells her struggling to get out each word.
Emma moves her arm up pushing harder against August's windpipe.
"Emma! Your father trusted me!" August says in a pained voice.
"My father trusted everyone." Emma says as she releases August. She pushes him off of the post and into the living room. "What are you doing here, August?" Emma asks him.
"Don't worry, don't worry, your secret's safe. No one wants this imperious cadre of toxic phonies to eat it more than yours truly. So how can I be of service?" August asks her with his hands held up as a sign of peace.
"You can't. You're not a part of this." Emma responds.
"Yes, I am. Remember, I witnessed firsthand what these people did to your father. They're hard-core." August tells Emma.
"I can handle them. And I have no problem taking you down, too, if you get in my way." Emma asserts staring at August.
"I, I don't want to get in your way. I want to help you." August says with sincerity.
"You can't help me, August." Emma responds in a whisper.
"Suit yourself, but I can be just as powerful an enemy as any one of them. Just sayin'." August tells her as he begins to turn and walk out the door. He turns back around for a moment when he reaches the doorway. "Oh, you might be interested to know, I had a nice chat with Killian Jones tonight. Guess who is still carrying a torch for little Emma Swan." August tells her trying to push her buttons.
"Emma Swan no longer exists." Emma responds.
August just smiles at her and walks out the door. Emma thinks back to the first time she ever met August. She had just turned eighteen and was released from a juvenile detention center.
"Swan, Happy birthday. You've been emancipated." A guard tells Emma as she leaves.
Emma only has a few things to carry with her as she leaves. She can feel her former fellow inmates watch as she walks out into her freedom. Outside of the gate, a car is waiting for her.
A man with dark brown hair, light eyes, and a scruffy beard gets out of the car holding a box in is hand.
"Emma Swan?" The man asks.
"Who are you?" Emma asks.
"August Booth. Friend of your father's. You're not exactly the little angel he described to me." He comments while leaning against the hood of the car.
"My father hasn't seen me in ten years." Emma retorts.
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. He passed away… six weeks ago." August tells her. He gestures towards the box in his hands that bears the double infinity symbol. "He wanted you to have something."
"Whatever that is, I don't want it." Emma replies walking away from August and the car.
"Oh, no, no, no, trust me. You definitely do." August tells Emma while stepping in front of her blocking her path.
"My father was a murder and a liar. So why should I trust you, huh?" Emma questions him.
"'Cause that's just what they want you to believe. Forget everything that you think you know, Emma. Your dad was protecting you." Augusts tells her.
"From what?" Emma asks.
"Open the box. Find out." August tells her.
Emma takes the box from August's hands and opens it. Inside she sees a letter and a photo of her and her father from the summer they spent at the beach house.
"You father was the first person to believe in me. He invested in my company when no one else would. That key, it opens a lock box in Zurich. Now that you're 18, you're officially 49% owner of my company. Board meeting are every other Wednesday, but… you don't have to show up. I never do." August continues.
Emma takes out a letter from the top of the pile of things in the box. It is addressed to her in her father's handwriting. Emma walks away from August as she opens the letter and begins to read it.
"My dear Amanda... If you're reading this, then two things have come to pass, I am finally able to provide you the life you were unjustly denied. And sadly, I won't be able to share that life with you. I hope these journals provide answers to the questions you've had all these years. I am not the man they say I am and I did not do the things they say I did. All I ask is that you promise to do the one thing that's been so hard for me to do... Forgive."
But that was a promise Emma couldn't keep. When deception cuts this deep, someone has to pay. Her father's chance to bring justice to the truly guilty was stolen from him. His only option was to forgive. Emma has others.
Emma had long changed out of her dress and changed into leggings and black sweater. Emma is sitting on the floor of the living room reading one of her father's journals from the infinity box. Emma pulls out a photo from a secret compartment of the box. The photo was taken at the Mills Global company retreat in 1992. She grabs a red marker and draws an X through Belle Scarlett's face, marking her as a mission accomplished.
Emma thinks back to what she orchestrated at the South Fork Inn and a smile spreads across her face.They say vengeance is a dish best served cold, but sometimes it's as warm as a bowl of soup. Emma's father died an innocent man, betrayed by the women he loved.
Emma walks out onto the beach ramp holding her father's watch that she keeps in the infinity box. Emma knew the watch was a gift from Victoria because inscribed on the back are the words "David, 'Until Forever', Regina." Emma looks back behind her to see Regina staring at her from the balcony of her bedroom.
When everything she loved has been stolen from her, all she had left is revenge. Like she said... This is not a story about forgiveness.
A/N. Pilot episode is done. Right now I only included Emma's perspective. Should I include the other character perspectives as I continue to write this story? Please let me know what you think!
