**4**
When the chief of Clairmont Psychiatry had called Victoria into his office an hour ago, she had been very confused. And if she hadn't been able to remember every single word of the following conversation she still wouldn't believe it. Three days had passed since her nightmare and compared to her current situation, she had been in a very good mood. She had enjoyed her breakfast with Louise; they had told some funny stories of their past to cheer each other up and also the rising sun had been shining through the windows which had given the room a wonderful, warm atmosphere. Then, in the middle of a story about Daniel's first words, a carer had come into their room. "Victoria, would you please follow me to the principal's office? He wants to talk to you." If the principal called a resident into his office it usually didn't mean something good. When an old woman had visited him a few weeks ago she had come back with the news that her husband had passed away. Some days later, a young man had been told that his sister had had a car accident. Victoria and Louise had shared a confused look, and then she had left her room with the man. Victoria had been very afraid and she had been sure that something terrible had happened. The principal had been sitting behind a big, wooden desk and had looked at Victoria through his round glasses. "Take a seat, please." Victoria had sat down in front of the desk and had waited. She rarely had been so nervous, and she had thought that everything would have been over. Emily must have found a way to hurt her even more than she already had. So the following words had taken Victoria by surprise: "Mrs. Grayson, I have some good news: After I talked to several doctors about your condition, I am absolutely sure that I can release you." There had been a moment of silence in the office, and Victoria had needed a while to understand these words. "What!?" She had been sure that she had misunderstood him but it hadn't seemed so. "You made good progress and I think you're able to go the rest of your way alone. You don't need to stay here any longer. Of course, if you want to...-" Victoria shook her head, "No. I... I think you're right. I'm on a good way. Thank you, Doctor!" She had been completely confused, and also she was worried since she had had no idea what game Emily was playing but something had told her that she should use this opportunity. So after she had signed some papers she had left the principal's office, had gone back to her room and had started packing her suitcase.
The only hard thing had been saying goodbye to Louise. She had become a good friend and leaving her behind had felt completely wrong. But Victoria had also looked forward to get out, to go home to the Hamptons even if that meant to face Emily Thorne. In this moment she had felt stronger than ever.
Now she stood in front of the psychiatry, turned her back on the building and was about to make her way home when she realized that she wasn't a prisoner anymore. She was Victoria Grayson and she wouldn't walk. So she pulled out her phone, which she had gotten back after her conversation with the principal, to call her driver. But when she switched it on, she had about a million missed calls, most of them from Conrad and Patrick. She couldn't explain why Conrad had been able to call her out of prison, but she didn't care enough to think about it. She was more worried about Patrick who had called very often and she tried to call him back. He must have been very concerned about her and she felt so sorry for everything; he had no idea where she had been. He must have thought the worst when she never had answered his calls but she knew he would understand it if she would tell him where she had been. But unfortunately, he didn't answer the call, so she decided to try it again later. Instead, she checked her voice mails in case that she had missed something important. The first message told her that her ordered dress had been finished and that it would be delivered within a few days. The second one reminded her to pay her phone bill. Two messages had come from Daniel, one of them sounded very angry but she couldn't blame him for that. He really must think that she wouldn't care about him anymore. The last two messages were from Conrad. He had yelled at her just a few days ago and according to him, he wasn't in prison anymore which worried Victoria. She was sure that Conrad had chosen a very dubious way to get out. The last one had been sent three days ago and Victoria decided not to listen to it. She didn't need another outburst by her ex-husband. Instead she tapped the picture he had sent her. When she saw the photo which showed her oldest son's blood covered face, Victoria screamed frightened and her phone fell to the ground. Her eyes were filled with tears and she felt so much pain and fear. With shaking hands, she picked up the phone and tried to concentrate, which was really hard because she wanted to get to her son... if it wasn't already too late. Tenderly, she touched the spot where Patrick's injured face was visible on the screen. All the hope she had felt just a few minutes ago was gone. If Patrick was dead she would be finally done. She had lost him such a long time ago and the moment he had appeared in the Hamptons two years ago had been one of the happiest in her life. She couldn't imagine losing him again! If she would just know where to search for him... But in all her excitement about Patrick Victoria had forgotten the second of Conrad's voicemails. If she listened to it, maybe she would be able to save her son. So she took a deep breath and selected the message. "I give you three days to come to the old Grayson Global building. Otherwise, your beloved son will die like so many others before him!"
Again, the phone was about to fall from Victoria's shaking hand. This was a nightmare and she had no idea how it would end. The message had been sent three days ago. If Patrick was still alive she didn't have much time left.
"Patrick!? Conrad!? Where are you?" Full of fear, Victoria ran through the old building. It smelled bad, everywhere was dirt and dust but she couldn't care about that. She had to find her son until it was too late. She knew what Conrad was capable of and she didn't doubt for a second that he would kill Patrick after the three days. "Patrick!?" Victoria panicked more and more, she already saw Patrick's motionless body lying on the ground. She continued wandering around in the ruin, screaming her son's name over and over again. But she seemed to be alone. Crying, she sank down on a big stone, everything was over. Conrad must have killed Patrick and she hadn't been able to help him. She just sat there, it felt like time had stopped and she couldn't do anything but crying. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Frightened, she jumped up and turned around. Conrad was standing right in front of her, with a vicious smile. "Oh, you decided to come. What a wonderful surprise, I thought you wouldn't show up anymore. And Patrick must have thought the same when I killed him an hour ago." Victoria gasped, "You killed him!?" Conrad kept smiling. "I told you I would. How could I know that you would come, I didn't hear anything from you since I have been sent to prison. Excuse me, but I thought you wouldn't care about your family anymore." Victoria's heart was broken. After she hadn't found Patrick in the building, she had assumed that he was dead but to hear it from Conrad and to see him smiling made everything so much worse. "How could you do that!? You know how much I loved him!" Tears ran over her face while she tried to hit every spot of Conrad she could reach. Everything was over and it was his entire fault. Victoria started to lose control over herself, she smote upon Conrad while screaming and crying. She just couldn't endure all this pain; she'd lost so much and now even her son had been killed. "Victoria. Stop that!" Angrily, Conrad grabbed her wrists to avoid any further hits. She tried to break free but Conrad was too strong. "You listen to me! I knew you would come to rescue your son and I really appreciate that. But I had a reason to do that. I need your help!" Victoria couldn't believe it. He really wanted her to help him!? "Conrad, you just killed my son! And now you expect me to do you a favor!?", she yelled. Conrad started smiling again, which made Victoria even angrier. "Stop smiling! This is NOT funny!" Conrad released her wrists and Victoria was about to start hitting him again. But Conrad took a step back and raised his hand. "Calm down, Victoria! Maybe Patrick isn't really dead..." Victoria lowered her fists. "What do you mean?", she asked warily, "You just told me that you killed him." Conrad shook his head. "I didn't. I just thought you would like to taste some of the pain which I can inflict on you. Patrick isn't dead... yet. But if you refuse to help me, he will die. And this time it will be for real." Victoria swallowed. She felt relieved but on the other hand, she didn't know whether she could trust Conrad. She wiped away some tears. "I want to see him." Conrad laughed. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? I'm the only one who knows where he is and that's how it's going to stay! So... will you help me?" Victoria nodded reluctantly, "Do I have a choice?" Conrad started smiling again. "Thank you, darling. I knew you would agree to my plan." "Well, what am I supposed to do?" It displeased her to work together with Conrad again but if she wanted to see Patrick alive, she had to do whatever he wanted. "I think you already suspected that I'm not... let's say 'officially released' from prison. So I need you to make them reopen my trial and exonerate me." "How!?" Conrad shrugged his shoulders, "That's your business. Do whatever you want, I give you one week. If I'm a free man until then, Patrick can go. If not..." He made an unmistakable gesture with his hand and Victoria swallowed again. She had no idea how to do all this in one week but she wouldn't give up so early. She had to be strong and use all her abilities.
When Victoria walked up to the Grayson Manor, she was kind of curious. She hadn't been here for a while and she had no idea what had happened to her old home. But before she reached the manor, something else drew her attention. The beach house which had always been cared for and lit seemed deserted and uninhabited. Where was Emily? Slowly, Victoria stepped through the sand and approached the house. There had definitely nobody lived in for a while. Carefully not to make any noises, Victoria opened the front door and entered the beach house. The darkness reminded her of the ruins in which she had spent the morning and a shiver ran down her spine. All of this was really strange, why would Emily leave her home? Then, Victoria spotted some wet mud on the carpet. Someone had been here recently. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling from the first floor. "Hello? Who is that!?" A very familiar voice. "Is someone there?" But this was impossible! Victoria went to the foot of the stairs. "David?", she whispered.