**5**
Heart pounding, Victoria made her way up the stairs. The day had been full of surprises; good and bad ones and she wasn't sure if she wanted another one. But it had definitely been David whom she had heard and that was too strange. "Victoria?" David Clarke himself stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at her. In the moment their eyes met, Victoria felt so many things at once: Love, pain, guilt, fear, relief, excitement, shyness. She didn't know what to say or what to do, she was so confused and the situation completely overwhelmed her. Slowly, David came down the stairs up to the spot where Victoria was still standing. "What are you doing here?" His voice was tender as ever and so many memories appeared in Victoria's head. She still couldn't say anything. This was the second time this day that a dead person was revealed to be alive; everything was just too much. "I... I don't know." She felt empty and numb. David stretched out his arm and touched her shoulder. "Victoria? Are you all right?" The way he said her name almost made her faint. There was so much love in his voice and she felt so bad after everything she had done. She didn't deserve his affection; David was supposed to hate her. But he didn't. "Come down, I'll get you some water", he said, took her arm and led her down the stairs. Like a machine Victoria took the water glass David gave her. "I bet, you're surprised to see me!" he said and smiled. Victoria nodded. She still wasn't able to do or say anything useful so she just sat there. David laughed. It was a sound she had missed and she had thought that she would never hear it again. Shyly, she looked at David. He was older than the man in her memories which wasn't a surprise; she hadn't seen him for over twenty years. But he still had the same eyes, the same smile and Victoria couldn't stop looking at him. David took the seat next to her. "Well, when I was stabbed ten years ago, I survived. Some strangers picked me up and took care of my wound. But I listened to a conversation between them and they weren't really nice people. They had helped me because they had their own planes and so I escaped in the middle of the night as soon as I was able to walk." Victoria tried to handle all that new information but she couldn't really concentrate on David's story. She was still too shocked by the fact that he was alive and that he was actually talking to her. David continued: "I didn't know where to go; I didn't want to be sent back to jail. And I couldn't risk contacting you because of Conrad. So I decided to wait until it was safe to show up. I regretted that decision when I heard about Amanda's death two years ago-" David swallowed. At the mention of his daughter, a sad expression came over his face. Victoria knew she should tell him about Amanda but she decided to wait till the next morning. She didn't have to rush anything. And also, she had to admit that at least a little part of her wanted to have David's full attention. So she waited for him to continue. "I wanted to come to her funeral but I couldn't risk it. So I just waited. And then, a few weeks ago, it finally happened. Conrad was sent to jail and my name was cleared. So I came back to search for you, but I couldn't find you. Fortunately, the beach house was empty so I hid in here. Until now." Slowly David took Victoria's hand and squeezed it. Then he noticed the look in her eyes. "Is something wrong?" He seemed honestly concerned. Victoria looked into his eyes and took a deep breath. "Why don't you hate me? After everything I have done you shouldn't sit here with me. You are supposed to be angry." David sighed. "I always assumed that you had been the one who betrayed me twenty years ago. So I was right?" Victoria's eyes filled with tears. "I did. David, you're right, I betrayed you. And I am so, so sorry! I regretted it ever since; I have never been able to forgive myself." Victoria felt awful and she was sure that after this revelation David would walk away and leave her alone in the dark. She tried to find the disappointment in David's eyes but it wasn't there. He wiped a tear from her cheek and gave her a soft smile. "I never stopped loving you, Victoria. You made a mistake, that's true. But I also did, and I can't blame you for the rest of your life." "I would deserve it!" She couldn't believe that he actually forgave her. To hear these tender words from him made her feeling even more despicable than she already did. She didn't seem to deserve it. But David always had seen the best in a person and he hadn't changed. "No one's perfect, Victoria. But you are getting very close."
Carefully, he pulled her in an embrace and for a while, they just sat there. Victoria couldn't describe all her feelings but for the first time in a long she felt completely safe.
After a long time of silence, David cleared his throat. "There's something else: When I searched for you in the manor, someone else lived in there." Victoria frowned. "Who was it?" "A young woman, her name is Emily Thorne. Do you know anything about her?" Victoria gasped. Emily had moved into her house? "Of course! She had lived in the beach house for the last years and she was married to my son!" She knew that this was the perfect opportunity to tell David about Emily's true identity, but again she decided against that. "A lot of people went through hell because of her, me included! She was the one who locked me up in-" She paused. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell David where she had been the last weeks, but she didn't have to. "The psychiatry?", David finished her sentence. Victoria looked at him with a hint of suspicion. "How do you know about that!?" David smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Who did you think made them release you?" "David, what happened?" If David had brought himself into danger to save her, it was her fault... again. "Don't worry, everything's all right. When I was looking for you at the manor, I heard Emily talking to someone on her phone. She told them to take care of you in Clairmont until she would tell them something else. But since she lived in your house, I thought that something was wrong so I sent your principal a lot of money and he let you go." David seemed very pleased with himself. "I'm so glad to have you back, Victoria", he whispered and placed a kiss on her forehead. The touch of his lips made her feel so protected and loved and for a moment she just wanted to enjoy all of this. But she still wasn't convinced. "Where did you get the money? Did you steal it!?" David laughed and pulled her closer. "Of course not. Do you remember our safe? When we decided to run away twenty years ago, we put a little fortune into it to hide it from Conrad. The whole plan never happened but apparently you never came to get the money back; so I used it to save you. I hope that's okay for you!" Victoria smiled. "Of course!" Relieved, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Thank you, David. I really thought I would never leave that place again."
Patrick had no idea where he was. He was blindfolded, gagged and he couldn't move. Also, he didn't know how much time had passed but by the fact that he was still alive he concluded that either Victoria had shown up in time or that the three days weren't even over yet. After some time, which felt endless, Patrick heard steps coming up to him. "Well, well... you're lucky, Patrick", Conrad said, "I talked to your mother a few hours ago and she's willing to help me." Patrick tried to say something but the toggle made it impossible. Conrad laughed. "You won't believe me but I really enjoy this." And how Patrick believed it! Every single of Conrad's words showed how much he loved his powerful position. He continued: "You know, when I was in prison, I was forced to do whatever somebody told me. That was a very humiliating time, but now that is over! I can do what I want." Yes, Patrick had already experienced that. He desperately tried to make a noise but it was hopeless. "Do you want to say something?" Patrick nodded. There really were a lot of things he'd love to say. But Conrad had other things in mind. "Then you will have to wait until next week... provided that your mother adheres to our plan." Patrick couldn't believe it. Conrad wanted to let him sit here for a whole week? He didn't have anything to eat or at least some water and also the floor on which he sat wasn't very comfortable. But Conrad didn't seem to care about that. "You're such a pathetic guy, Patrick. You wanted to play the great hero by saving your mother but unfortunately, you had to discover that she wasn't even in danger. Very, very sad. You really must feel like the world's greatest idiot." Patrick tried not to listen to him. He knew that Conrad just tried to provoke him but he was right. Patrick's situation was miserable and that all wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been so damn naïve. "Poor Patrick", Conrad said in a condescending tone, "I guess you really want to be with your mom. But don't worry. She will be here soon to save you." Patrick was full of rage and he tugged at his bonds. But everything was senseless. He could just hope that Victoria would find a way to get him out of all this.
Victoria sat on the sofa in the beach house, wrapped up in a blanket. David had fallen asleep a few hours ago but she wasn't tired. So she just sat there and watched him in his peaceful sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about his smile and the way he had said her name, and that he loved her. To be together with David had been a cure to all her wounds and she had felt completely safe. Also, it had made her forget all her other problems... for example the fact that she had no idea how to rescue her son. If she wanted to save him within a week, she had to hurry up and make a plan. But then, when she thought about Patrick, she was hidden by a sudden realization: If she went to court and made them exonerate Conrad, they would be forced to return to their old story about David Clarke as a terrorist. So if Conrad was free, David's name would be dishonored again. But if she tried to save David, Conrad wouldn't come clean and then he would kill Patrick. Victoria couldn't see a way out of this conflict; it was impossible to save them both. Again, like twenty years ago, Victoria Grayson had to make a decision: Lover or child?