Suffolk County Memorial Hospital

Charlotte had just left her father's hospital room when she received a phone call. She recognized immediately that it was from Nolan and answered the call, listening to what he had to tell her... "I'm still in the hospital," she replied to his question where she was. "My mom is still with my father, and Daniel...?" She frowned. "I don't know. He left the room a while ago because he wanted to get a coffee. I'll go to the waiting room to check if he is there. Does Emily want to speak with him? Oh, okay. If she is still in the interrogation room, I'll tell him that he can meet her at the police department, okay? Good. By then, Nolan!" She put the phone back in her pocket and set out to find her brother. It didn't take long to find him, because he sat with a bowed head in the waiting room on a chair, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. Cautiously, she walked towards him. "Daniel?" She said softly and was just about to touch his shoulder as his head jerked up. She noticed instantly his gleaming eyes. Tears, she recognized and felt compassion for him. "Nolan called," she said, to break the oppressive silence. "He and Emily are still at the police department. She is just being interrogated." As he still stared into the distance, stunned, and didn't respond to her words, she carefully took the cup from his hands and placed it on a table. "Daniel, did you hear what I said?" At last he responded by nodding his head. "You should be with her. She needs you now."

"I don't want to see her."

She had waited for a response from him, but she hadn't expected that. Startled, she looked at him. "What do you mean, you don't want to see her?" She repeated.

"I correct myself..." He raised his head and looked at her. "I can't bear to see her!"

Gradually, Charlotte realized what had been the reason for his bad mood. "You're still mad that she hasn't told you earlier that she's actually Amanda Clarke?" She made a conjecture.

His head shot up. "Mad?" He blurted out unrestrained and laughed mockingly. "It's not anywhere near what I'm feeling right now!"

"She saved our father's life," Charlotte pointed out. "You should be a bit more grateful at least."

"Perhaps she and her... father..." He emphasized the word 'father' in a special way... "initiated the abduction themselves, just to be hailed as heroes later on." He narrowed his eyes. "Didn't Mom even promise a finder's fee, for the one who finds Dad?" He shrugged. "The man was practically homeless. Perhaps he had asked his daughter for help in order to make use of the Grayson property."

Charlotte couldn't believe what he was saying. She knew that he was hurt, that Emily had concealed the truth from him. But that his hatred went so far that he believed she had initiated the abduction herself, she never would have thought. "Emily would never have done that," she said to her sister's defense.

"Oh really? Because you know her so well that you can judge that?" He said sarcastically. "I don't think so after you told me you just found out recently about her true identity."

"The name doesn't change the fact that I know her real character!" She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at him indignantly. "And you should know her, too, even though you are hurt now that she lied!"

"Who else knew about it?"

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Who else knew that Emily is Amanda Clarke?" He clarified his question. When she didn't answer immediately, he laughed scornfully. "Let me guess... Nolan of course and... Jack probably, and I think her best friend Ava also knew about it. Am I right?"

Charlotte felt a lump forming in her throat. She nodded. "I had to promise her not to tell you anything," she confessed. "She knew you would react like that. So she didn't want to tell you about it. She was afraid of losing you."

He nodded, then rose from his chair. "I'll go to the beach house and pack a few things together," he said terse, turning towards the exit.

"You want to move out of the beach house?" She said, aghast, as she realized his intention.

Daniel nodded. "I think Mom and Dad certainly won't mind if I stay at the Manor for a while." He twisted his mouth. "The house is so big. They will hardly notice me."

"You should talk to Emily first," Charlotte said urgently.

"What's the point of that?" He shrugged, resigned. His rage had suddenly vanished. "So that she can tell me more of her lies?"

"The two of you are married, Daniel! You have a child together!" Charlotte resorted to pleas. "Please, you can't just leave her now!"

He sighed and raked through his hair. "I doubt that this marriage is even valid, for she had used a false name in the marriage certificate," he said bitterly. "But maybe that's not a bad thing. That will save me the trouble of filing for divorce."

At the word 'divorce,' Charlotte looked at him horrified. "You want a divorce?! And what about Julian?" She asked, bewildered.

"If I can prove that she already knew about Dad's kidnapping before, no judge in the world will grant custody to her," he said coolly, then simply walked off.

She stood there, dumbfounded, and gazed after him. She had to warn Emily! This was the only thing that crossed her mind. She couldn't allow him to part with her without giving her the chance to justify herself. Determined, she went towards the exit with the aim of driving to the police department to confide Emily in Daniel's plan.