Hello, everyone! I'm shipping my computer in for maintenance so it will be out of commission for a few days or a week. Before that I wanted to get a quick update in, one I've been excited to share! Sorry that this is a shorter chapter, I didn't have as much time as I wanted to write. I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story. Thank you to everyone who reads, follows, favorites, and reviews! It means the world to me! Until next time xoxo

The port town we cut through was quaint. I could imagine it back in its prime, even through the decay of exposure. I felt lost in my own thoughts as I admired the small part of Libertalia while everyone else discussed options of a possible ambush from Shoreline. Even with our short time of venturing toward escape, Simmons still lingered in the back of my brain. Sure, I could run and avoid him now but Simmons was persistent. He would never stop until he was satisfied with my demise.

My thoughts turned sour thinking about that horrid man. I had been so desperate and afraid to escape him, even if that meant ending my own life. Selfish. That was so selfish of me because-

You haven't told Sophie, you need to give her the message because- That stupid, prying voice whispered in my head. I don't know if it was my conscious because it sounded far too cunning.

Shut up! Just shut up! Simmons will never find out! No one can… I can't think about that now. I need to concentrate.

How could you NOT think about THAT now? It's your main drive to make it after all, isn't it? The voice pressed. As long as Simmons is alive-

I clutched the side of my head, digging my nails into my scalp. I had to quiet that voice down. It was like a constant buzzing in my head. I had to focus on getting to the plane, everything else could be dealt with later. Escaping Shoreline and Simmons was my main priority now.

"Are you all right?" A voice piped up behind me.

I turned to see Elena staring at me curiously, her brows drawn in slight worriment. I could see Nate and Sam trying to figure out how to get across some wooden contraption that resembled a sky-rail. I must've looked like a crazy person standing there with my hands holding my head as if it was going to roll off my shoulders.

"Yeah I just have a headache," I replied, a half-truth.

They can never know.

"Hey, come get on! Nathan is going to pull us across!" Sam called.

Nate had jumped down and already had the grapple hook ready to pull the rest of us across the cliff. Elena and I joined Sully and Sam. Of course, with our luck the damn thing started to fall apart right as we reached the edge to the other side. Sully and Elena jumped off as I stayed with Sam. He waited to pull up his brother. Now it really fell, and Sam and I were separated from the rest of the group.

"Sam! Dani!" Nate yelled from the other side. "C'mon! Just jump, I'll catch you! Let's go!"

Sam wasn't looking at his brother, he was looking up at the mountain as I readied myself at the ledge to jump toward Nate. I paused to glance back at Sam. I knew that look on his face; I felt my insides twist unpleasantly yet again.

"No, no, no, don't you even think about it, you hear me?" Nate warned.

"I'm sorry I got you into this! All of you!" Sam responded, his eyes now back on the mountain.

"Hey, all that doesn't matter anymore, just jump."

"I gotta see this thing through Nathan," Sam started toward the direction of the mountain.

"Sam?" I called, shocked by what he was doing.

"Hey, listen to me! If you do this I'm not coming after you! You hear me?"

Sam paused to look at Nate, then at me. "I'm sorry," he replied, then he was gone.

"I'm going after him!" I told Nate. I didn't wait around for a reply; I knew I couldn't let Sam go after Avery's treasure by himself.

This is so stupid and dangerous. I just had a way out and was going to rid myself of Simmons, Shoreline, and Rafe's shadow finally, but now Sam has to go do this! I thought to myself furiously. That pesky little voice tuned in again. I hated my inner voice because it always was true and right even when I didn't want it to be. It always drew my attention back to where it was needed, even as I tried desperately to ignore it.

You don't have to go after him. You're only doing this because you love him.

My cheeks grew hot at the sudden realization of my feelings. This time I was in denial of what my conscious, or whatever the hell it was, said. Sam and I weren't even in a relationship, not really. I doubted after everything that happened that our relationship would advance past a one night stand. He had lied to me, I had somewhat lied to him, he was now putting the treasure before everything else, even me. I was following him into deadly territory. But that wasn't the worst of it; I was still lying to him.

He won't want you, not after he finds out.

I grit my teeth from behind my clenched jaw, still following Sam's trail. The voice echoed relentlessly in my head and didn't quiet down until I finally spotted the oldest Drake brother in the distance.

10 years ago

I shut myself in the bathroom pacing the floor and staring at my phone sitting on the counter. A box of my unpacked things sat beside it, waiting until I finished trying to settle in. My family's new home in Colorado was smaller than the house we had in New York, but I didn't mind. The less flashy the better.

I paced back and forth, catching my nervous self in the mirror as I moved. I had already broken out into a sweat on my forehead; I could see the droplets start to pool and gleam from the reflection of the bathroom light. I chewed nervously on the nail of my thumb, not wanting to make this phone call.

Once again I was trapped. I couldn't turn to my parents or anyone else, the only person I could confide in was Sophie. My parents would be upset at me for making a long-distance call to the Philippines, but I had to talk to her. Someone had to know.

After the fourth ring Sophie picked up.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded hurried and irritated.

"Sophie…" I began, forcing myself to take a deep breath. I hadn't even realized I had been holding it.

"What's up, Dani? Everything going well at the new house?"

"Sophie, I'm late."

I could hear Sophie clear her throat on the other line. "Late for what? Dani, are you okay?"

"Do you hear me?" I hissed into my phone's receiver. I looked cautiously at the bathroom door, fearful that someone was listening in. "I'm late."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I sighed in impatient frustration. "Jesus, do I have to spell it out for you? My period, Sophie, it's late."

There was a long moment of silence. I gripped the phone, pressing it so close to my ear that it started to hurt. It felt like an eternity before my cousin finally spoke again, and her tone of voice frightened me. She sounded grave.

"Oh my God… how…?" Sophie croaked.

"This is the second month I've missed it, Sophie… two months!" I answered, my voice starting to tremble. "God, Sophie, what am I going to do? I can't go back to the Adlers! Not now!"

"Okay, okay," Sophie hushed. There was another long silence before she spoke again. "You know, this could be a fluke. I heard stress could cause a woman to have irregular periods, I mean that's not uncommon, is it? Have you taken a test yet?"

"No, no…" I sank down onto the toilet seat, unable to stand any longer, "but I know it's going to be positive, I just know it!"

"How can you-"

"I've been pregnant before, Sophie!" I suddenly erupted, instantly quieting my voice after the outburst. "It feels just like it had when I first found out about Holden. My breasts have been really tender, I've been very nauseous, I keep using the bathroom, I've been super tired-"

"That could still be stress, right?" Sophie interjected meekly.

I sighed again, "no, Sophie, I don't think it is. Rafe and I were having sex right until the very end when I ran away, nearly three months ago."

"Shit…" Sophie clipped, all hope drained from her voice. "Just… go get a pregnancy test and take it, that way you can know for sure. Call me back right away once you get the results, okay? Don't worry we'll figure this out. If you're a month or two into your term, then you probably have another two months before you start showing. Don't panic, Danielle."

I started to take slow, methodical deep breaths to calm my nerves and racing heart. Sophie was right, I still had time before I would start showing so I wouldn't have to tell my parents right away. I knew Sophie would have my back no matter what and that we could figure this out together.

"Oh God, I need to start taking prenatal vitamins. What if it's malnourished?" I suddenly realized, voicing my fear to my cousin.

"Calm down, first take a pregnancy test, then you can go from there." Sophie replied evenly.

"Okay, okay… you're right."

"Call me back soon, promise?"

I took rattling breath, "I promise."