Author's Note: It looks like it's been a year since I've updated. Sorry about that. I hope you like this chapter though.

Chapter Eleven

"Where were you?"

It's not an accusation. Not exactly. Still, Emily jumps at the sound of Daniel's voice. "I … I thought you were asleep." She stammers. She had hoped to sneak back in without him noticing. It felt strange. Was she keeping things from him now?

"I was. Then I woke up and you were gone. You weren't in the shower or the kitchen-"

"You searched the whole house?"

"I was worried."

"You know sometimes I can't sleep."

Daniel nodded, "I know, but usually you don't leave the house."

"How did you know I had? What made you search this place?"

"I didn't hear the shower running, so I knew you weren't there and … and I had a feeling. I woke up and I felt like something was wrong, and then you weren't there-"

"I went for a walk. I just needed to clear my head." She was lying to him now? Was that what she had come to? Why lie? But Emily knew it was too late to tell the truth. Now that she had lied, he would question her. He would want to know why she had lied, and if she had lied to him before. His trust in her would be gone.

So why lie? Why hadn't she just said she had gone to see Jack? She knew he wouldn't be happy, but was that enough of a reason to keep the truth from him?

"You didn't leave a note."

"I didn't think I'd be gone that long, and you're a heavy sleeper." That was true enough. "I'm sorry." That was true too. She was sorry she had worried him. She was sorry she had lied to him. She wasn't sorry she had gone to see Jack.

Daniel sighed, "It's okay." He moved the blanket back from her side, making room for her.

"I'll … be there in a minute."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Emily shook her head. She headed to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. Lying had been so simple. She had felt horrible, but it had come almost easy. Now, as she examined her reflection she realized, she didn't even recognize herself.

Paige couldn't sleep. The events of the day kept playing over and over in her head.

Her and Carl had been playing on the monkey bars, pretending they were in a jungle, running away from wild animals that wanted to eat them. When Paige reached the end of the monkey bars, she turned around to start on them again, but Carl held out his hand to stop her. She turned to him, taking in his features. His face was serious, so Paige knew she should pay attention.

"Our daddies hate each other." He said.

Paige shook her head, "Nobody could ever hate my daddy. And I like your daddy too."

"They don't want us to see each other after you guys go back home. You heard them talking …"

Paige shook her head again, "They were trying to find a way we could see each other."

"You need to listen to me. They don't want us to be friends."

"That's silly."

"It's not. Think about it."

Paige thought for a minute, but it seemed so crazy. What sense did it make? Her and Carl had to be friends. Of course they always would be. And her daddy would never make her unhappy. She was about to say so, but Carl had already started on the monkey bars again, so she had followed him.

Now she was stuck thinking about what he said. Her daddy was the best daddy in the world, and Carl's daddy was funny and nice like Carl. How could two people like that hate each other? Hate was a serious word reserved for villains like Captain Hook and The White Witch. It wasn't a word for people like her daddy and Carl's daddy. So why couldn't she shake what Carl had said? Why was it keeping her awake?

Daniel didn't know exactly what had made him freak out like that. Emily was right. She was always out of bed. He had woken countless times to find her gone, and she was never far.

But she was pregnant now.

Maybe that was it.

Or maybe it was that he felt the same foreboding her had felt long ago when he had come home to find her and Paige gone.

"Emily?" I call out as I enter the house. Well, not house. We've been renting a space for Emily to recuperate after the birth and … everything else. I would have loved to stay at the beach house of course, but Lydia Davis owns it now. I wish I could ask Emily what she was thinking. In any case, I'm not going to make her stay at the manor, so I found a place nearby.

It hasn't been easy these past few months, but now that Emily and I have Paige, I think we're going to be okay. I don't like to leave Emily alone, but I had to today. Dad was insistent. He wanted to talk about my future and Grayson Global, and I've been putting him off for a while.

I didn't commit to anything. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do now as far as a career; Emily hasn't been up to discussing it, and I don't want to make any decisions without her. I'm done making decisions without her. We're a team from here on out. A felt bad for leaving her and Paige today, but I did pick them up a bunch of gifts, not the least of which is a book of sonnets for Emily and a copy of Shel Silverstein's finest for her to read to Paige.

Emily doesn't answer me, so I head upstairs. She's not in bed. The old Emily, the one who remembered who she was, had spent a lot of time out of bed, but since losing her memories, Emily hadn't wandered off much. Since the birth, she's mostly kept to her and Paige's room. Which is empty. Emily isn't there. Neither is Paige.

I start to panic. They could be somewhere else in the apartment, I try to rationalize. It doesn't ring true though. Something is wrong. I can feel it. I felt it when I walked through the door, but I tried to ignore it. I felt it again when didn't answer me. I didn't want it to be anything.

"Emily!" There's no answer. I don't hear any movement. I don't hear Paige!

The security cameras! Nolan Ross installed them. They'll have answers. I rush to the phone and start to dial Nolan's number. Then I change my mind, dialing a different number.

"Javier? It's Daniel. Charlotte's brother. I need your help with accessing some security footage at my place. Can you – um, thanks. Okay. Bye."

Maybe I should have called Nolan, but I'm just not sure I can trust him. Javier's still trying to impress Charlotte. He won't want to get on my bad side.

When he comes over, I don't bother with pleasantries. We scroll through footage of Emily sleeping, feeding Paige, and sleeping some more. Then my blood runs cold. Someone dressed all in black slips through the window. How did he bypass the security system? He picks Emily up, and I want to jump onto the screen and punch him, but I can't. He carefully maneuvers her out the window. Then he turns around and heads for the crib. He picks up Paige, my baby, my darling daughter, and starts rocking her gently. Possessively. And then I know who this is.

Aiden Mathis. Aiden Mathis spirited away my wife and child. I push myself back from the computer, a cry of "No!" escaping from my lips. That bastard. That two-faced prick.

Before Paige was born, he was harassing Emily, claiming the baby was his, but we did a paternity test and I thought that would be the end of it.

How long has Aiden been lying in wait, preparing to abduct Emily and Paige? How had he known when she would be alone in the house? Had he been watching us? And what was he doing with them now?

Daniel had called the police, and explained to them about Aiden and why he suspected him. Days passed, and they were unable to track down his whereabouts. Then they had gotten a tip, a lucky break. Daniel didn't know how, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that Emily and Paige were at sea with that maniac and Daniel was going to bring them home.

He shuttered at the memory now. It may have turned right in the end, but that didn't mean what happened would ever be okay. Daniel's had almost lost his family, and now, once again, he felt them slipping away. Things were changing. But what had changed?

The answer to that was simple.

Jack Porter.

Everything changed when Emily had renewed her friendship with Jack, and Daniel couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. He had to do something about it.

"I can't say I was exactly thrilled when I heard you wanted to see me. Still, I was curious. What could you possibly want?"

"And here I thought you agreed to see me because you haven't made any friends."

The two former friends stared each other down. There had been a time when Lydia would have given anything for Victoria's approval. Now, nothing brought her more pleasure than getting under Victoria's skin. Still, she feared that even in prison, Victoria could find some way to hurt her. Even in her orange jumpsuit, with her hair not quite as pristine as it had once been, Victoria was formidable. Lydia wanted her to crack. She wanted Victoria to admit that she, Lydia, had won. Perhaps she still sought her approval.

"I do love trading barbs with you, but I actually have quite a busy schedule to keep, so if that's all you're here for-"

"Busy schedule. You're in lockup. What sort of busy schedule-"

"You shouldn't assume to know how I spend my time, Lydia. You were always slow to catch on."

"I was screwing your husband for nearly a decade before you found out!"

Victoria rolled her eyes, "Must we dredge up ancient history? Very well. Yes Lydia, you got Conrad. Good for you. I'm sure he loves and respects you with all his heart and soul." Victoria's sarcasm was evident, and it made Lydia want to reach out and scratch her. Victoria didn't know what she and Conrad had. She didn't know what love was!

Victoria moved to hang up the phone, "Wait!" Victoria halted for a moment, "I need to talk to you about Emily."

"Emily?" Victoria asked, laughing, "Whatever for?"

"She's back. In The Hamptons. Her and your son came home for the wedding."

"Yes. I had assumed that they would." Victoria said, "Why should that make you come crawling to me like a dog returning to its master?"

Lydia held in a growl, "We both know this woman is dangerous. She's a manipulative little bitch. Isn't that why you shot her?"

Victoria laughed again, "Yes, she was at that. But now she's just a brainless trophy-wife. Hardly something to worry about."

"She's been asking questions. She wants to see the beach house-"

"Then let her." Victoria said, "If it's sympathy you want, trust me when I say you won't find it here. You've made it to the top now Lydia, and I congratulate you on that. But with me out of the way, it wasn't really that hard, was it? You haven't had a real adversary. Now you may well have one, but that's your cross to bear. Did you think you could reign unchallenged forever? I know quite well that being Mrs. Grayson is no fairytale. Now, if you'll excuse me."

And Victoria hung up the phone and left Lydia to her fears. She couldn't lose it all. Not again. But without any allies, how could she stop it?

Jack had expected Emily to be there hen he came over to pick up Paige, but she hadn't. According to Charlotte, both Daniel and Emily had gone off on two different mysteries errands. It concerned him a little, but he didn't want to get caught up in it. He was still flying pretty high from Emily coming over the other night and what it could mean.

"Where are we going today?" Carl asked, "The Park?"

"No, little man. Sorry. I promised Uncle Nolan I'd help him out with something today, so we're going over to his place."

Carl shrugged, then turned to Paige, "You'll love Uncle Nolan's Place. It's this humongous mansion."

"Mommy and daddy always say it's not the size of the place that matters, but the love inside. That's what makes it home."

"I know." Carl said, his lips forming a pout, "I'm just saying. It's ginormous. There are so many rooms to play in. One just has a giant TV and game controllers."

"I don't really play videogames."

"I could teach you." Carl said, perking up.

"That's very nice. Thank you… But I don't really want to."

"Oh." Carl said, slouching down in his seat.

"Everything okay back there?" Jack asked, glancing at them through the rearview mirror. Neither child said anything, "Paige, why don't you tell Carl why you don't want to play videogames?" He tried.

"I like to play my own games. The videogame makes it all up for you." Paige looked over at Carl, but he didn't say anything. He just sat there with his arms crossed. "It's not so much fun as playing pretend. Like we did with the zombies, or in the freezer. Remember?"

Carl nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, wasn't that better than a videogame?"

"I guess." Carl said.

"Please don't be mad at me, Carl. We can play videogames if you really want."

After a second or two Carl smiled, "We don't have to. They're stupid anyway."

Jack smiled as the two children chattered away about what games they could play when they reached Uncle Nolan's ginormous house.

Lydia wasn't home. Emily wasn't exactly disappointed about that, because she never really wanted to see Lydia, but she had wanted to get into the house. Of course, it was always possible that Lydia was home, and just not coming to the door.

Emily wanted to get into that house. If she could pick the lock, she could go in, snoop around, and Lydia would never …

What were these thoughts, Emily wondered. Why was it so natural to think of herself picking a lock? Did she even know how? And of course, the bigger question, had she ever done it?

If she did that, if she picked the lock and went into the beach house, she would be breaking and entering. Was she that sort of person? Had she been? Was she willing to just break the law?

Maybe there was some other way she could get answers.

She sat in her car for a minute, then pulled out her phone, "Hey, it's me. I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Margaux had been surprised to get Daniel's call earlier, but it wasn't an unwelcome surprise. The two of them had always gotten along pretty well. It was sweet of him to call on her now that he was back in New York. They didn't see each other often.

Daniel waved to her from the table and she shot him a smile as she checked her coat. Then she headed over, hugging him happily.

"It's been too long." She said, kissing his cheeks.

He nodded, offering a smile, "It's great to see you." He said, pulling out her chair for her, "You look amazing."

"Are you trying to flatter me into something?"

Daniel chuckled, sitting back down across from her, "Yes. That's exactly what I'm doing."

"Well I'll have none of it. Old friends don't need tricks, just wine." The waiter had come to take their order. They each ordered a drink and waited for the waiter to leave before continuing.

"How have you been?"

"Wonderful. Voulez is very successful, as you know. Richard and I make a great team."

"It probably helps that he's sleeping with the boss."

Margaux laughed, "If he were not competent, I would never have let him in my bed. And if he were not competent in my bed, I never would have married him." Daniel swallowed his lip slightly, "Oh no, do not try not to laugh. A woman finds that insulting."

Daniel chuckled, "Well, married life seems to agree with you."

"We are still in that blissful time when marriage is new and children have not come along to complicate things. In a few years time, we will surely hate each other."

"Glad you're keeping such an optimistic view of the whole thing." The waiter brought their drinks and poured. "Well, I can tell you from my own experience that while marriage is not easy, it is worth it."

"Yes, but you have no real career to worry about. Richard and I both want to rule the world, and after all, only one of us can end up on top."

"Well, here's to you always being on top." Daniel said, raising his glass. Margaux laughed, "Admit it though, you're happier with an ambitious guy than someone content to sit on the sidelines?"

"Men are so arrogant. Show me a man who would be content living his life that way?"

"Well, there's always Jack Porter."

Margaux quirked her eyebrow, "Jack?"

"Yeah. You two dated, once upon a time. And he seems like the type to let you take the reigns."

"In some ways, but Jack is proud. He wants to provide for his family, and I respect him for it. I wouldn't have been with him if I didn't respect him."

"So what ever happened with you two anyway?"

"Why do you ask?"

Daniel shrugged, "Just curious."

Margaux shook her head, "The look in your eye says otherwise. Is this why you called me up; to dredge up ancient history?"

Daniel sighed, "Jack's a friend of my wife's-"

"Not for years-"

"They've reconnected."

"Ah, the jealous man. You are very transparent."

"Is it wrong for me to want a little information?" Margaux said nothing, just looked at him, "Okay, so maybe … maybe she's been different. It brings up things for her and … there was a time when he was a threat to what we had. I don't want to believe that he could be again. I want to believe what we have now is stronger-"

"Then believe that. Jack is a good man, but so are you. You don't need to go digging -"

"Are you still in touch with him?"

"We see each other sometimes. He's kind enough to send a Christmas card."

"Did you end on good terms, then?"

"Usually I give the interviews." Daniel said nothing, "Fine, I will answer your questions. We parted on good enough terms. We still liked each other well enough, but we had started to grow apart. Our priorities were different. We had different things going on in our lives. We agreed to stay friends, and so we have. At least, we are not enemies. Is that the end of your inquiries?"

"I know I'm not going crazy, okay? Things are changing, and he's a part of it. I can't just sit by-"

"And what do you expect asking me about a relationship that ended five years ago will do to help your cause?"

"I just … need to do something."

Margaux sighed. "Daniel, you and Emily have been married six years. You have a daughter. You have a life together. This does not make you impervious to troubles. All couples have them. It doesn't mean you are going to lose anything."

"I hear what you're saying, I just … I want you to tell me I have nothing to worry about with Jack Porter, and I want to believe you."

"You have nothing to worry about with Jack Porter."

Daniel smiled, "Yeah. Nice try."

"I cannot give you peace of mind Daniel. You need to find it on your own."

Daniel nodded, "Thanks for meeting with me."

"What are friends for?"

"Then I figure we'll just let hang around and drink … some maybe more than others." Nolan waited for a response. Nothing. "Jack?"

He had asked Jack here to help him plan Javier's bachelor party. Nolan could throw a very stylish rager when he wanted, and damn it if he didn't know it either. But Javier wasn't fancy and rich, and he wasn't stylish and suave. The wedding would be a big Grayson event. Javier deserved a down-to-earth night and that was more Jack's territory. Except right now, Jack seemed to be in the clouds.

When he had come over, he had seemed distracted. It had been a happy kind of distracted, so Nolan had let it be, but as time ticked away, he seemed less happy but just as distracted.

When he finally looked up, his face was set with determination, "I need to know what Aiden did wrong." He said bluntly.

"Oookay-"

"Much as I hate to admit it, Aiden knew Emily better than most people. Not only had she shared secrets with him, but he understood her; he got how she thought. And he was certainly determined. So where did he screw up?" Jack closed his eyes and pursed his lips together, "I'm so close, Nolan. She wants to remember, but something's holding her back. I can't afford to make any mistakes. Why couldn't Aiden reach her?"

Nolan shook his head, "I want to help. You know that. But honestly, I don't know. I mean, I know that he scared her in the beginning. He let himself be painted in her head as a threat, an enemy, and maybe that was all it was. Maybe he couldn't override that initial impression. But I don't know what went down on that boat."

"She said that he pushed her, and that she broke." Jack said with a wince.

"Aiden was willing to cross lines that you never would. I don't know how far he went."

"Would he have hurt her?"

Nolan paused for what Jack thought was a beat to long, "He wouldn't do anything to her that he didn't think she could handle."

Jack shook his head, "There must be some way to find out-"

"I can try to access her therapy sessions if you like, but it might be better just to ask her. Alienating her is the worst thing you could do right now so … I don't know. It's your call."

"What do you think? I mean, you know her better-"

"I don't know this Emily."

"Then maybe I need to find someone who does."

"There is a legal way to do this." Charlotte said, leaning over Javier as he typed away on his computer.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I'm just saying-"

"You're the one who said that she sounded rather urgent. Going through legal channels would take time. Plus, she wanted it kept quiet. The longer it takes, and the additional paper trail … most importantly, I like to impress you with my skills."

Charlotte leant down and kissed his cheek. "So, how's this go? You get the files and then email them to Emily?"

Javier scoffed, "Email? Hacked, material should not be emailed. I'm putting it all on a drive. You can deliver it to her personally if you like."

Charlotte had been surprised to get Emily's call earlier, but she could respect it. If Emily wanted to go digging around in her own past, that was her right. And it was flattering, really, that Charlotte had been the first person she thought of to help her.

"So, is there any reason she didn't do this before?"

"What?"

"I mean years ago, when she lost her memory. Why not look into these records back then?"

Charlotte shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, she was in shock for a while. She was struggling through trying to figure out who she was, and she was newly married, and pregnant, and she'd just been shot … it's a lot to handle."

"All the more reason to get as much information as possible."

"Well, I doubt Daniel told her about her time in Juvie right off the bat, so she wouldn't know that she had a criminal record at first, but I think she was more concerned with remembering things than digging up old computer files."

Javier shook his head, "Seems to me like that would be the first thing … but I guess we don't all have criminal records."

"Don't get pouty. Besides, I would have a criminal record if my parents hadn't paid people off. I was pretty wild in my youth. Granted, I found out I was the product of my mother's affair with a terrorist and then my brother was accused of murder, but I can still own that I made some mistakes."

"Do you ever miss it? Being wild, unpredictable Charlotte?"

Charlotte shook her head, "I was so lost back then. Everything that I've found now, I wouldn't give it up. Not for anything."

Javier grinned, "I guess I would be pretty hard to part with."

"That cocky thing is going to get you into trouble one of these days you know." Charlotte said, suppressing a smile.

"I'm a successful Bill Gates type, partnered up with my best friend, marrying the girl of my dreams. What could possibly go wrong?"

"You know you would be the first to die in a horror movie, right?"

"Of course. I'm foreign."

"Well, the accent is sexy from where I'm standing."

"Yeah, prove it?"

Charlotte laughed and shook her head, "Finish this for Emily first. Once I've given it to her, then I'll prove it."

"Way to motivate Clarke."

It didn't take a genius to figure out who the call was coming from. Emily may have spent time behind bars once, but now, she knew precious few people behind bars. She didn't pick up; that would be foolish. But Victoria would leave a message. She wouldn't waste the privilege of a phone call, however she'd gotten it, without saying her piece. As she waited for Victoria to hang up, Emily let her mind wander back to when she had first met the Grayson matriarch.

"You don't have to do this." Daniel assures me, "You don't have to see her."

"I just want to know why she did it." I don't have to say anything else. We've talked about this over and over. I know Daniel doesn't want me to see his mother. But I need to. It's not that I haven't seen her. I sat in a courtroom, my stomach aching, and watched her plead guilty to shooting me. But I haven't actually met her. I haven't looked her in the eyes. Is it a crime to want to look into the eyes of the woman who shot me?

The hallway seems incredibly long. I'm escorted to a seat. I sit down at a window. I pick up a phone. I make myself look at the woman holding a phone on the other side.

"How kind of you to visit me, Mrs. Grayson." She says. There's something in her tone that I can't place. It's like cotton candy almost, far too sweet to contain any substance.

"Why did you do it?" I hear myself blurt out. I want to work up to it. I meant to. But something's come over me, and I just want to get this over with. I just want to know.

"My, the amnesia has certainly made you blunt. Please understand, I mean no offense; I think it's quite an improvement. Your fake sweetness always tasted of cotton candy to me. I simply wanted to choke on it."

I try not to let it rattle me. We're not alike. We don't think alike. It's just a coincidence. "What did I ever do to you?"

She laughs. Laughs! It's small and girlish and makes me want to scream. "Well, that's simple enough. You destroyed my son's life."

"By marrying him?"

"By putting him under your spell for a time. Oh, you don't remember, but you were once quite manipulative, and you manipulated my son expertly. You deceived him, convinced him that you loved him and that he loved you. Neither of these things were ever true, of course. You're too calculating and coldhearted to love anybody; you're simply an opportunist. As for Daniel, well, he became enamored of you without really knowing you. We call that infatuation. It fades."

I'm stunned. She said I was blunt, but she's being so upfront about everything. It's like she thinks she's justified in what she did. "How can you just say-?"

"What does it matter? I'm in prison, so I have little to lose, and you are safely behind the glass. So why shouldn't I speak the truth? It's only words. Sticks and stones after all."

"You shot me! You took my memories! You nearly took my child! Your grandchild! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"If the child you're carrying is even Daniel's. I have doubts about your fidelity."

"What right do you have to have doubts? What right do you have to anything?"

"I am a mother who loves her son. I'm Daniel's mother. That is my right, and no matter what you do, I will always be his mother."

"What I do? I did nothing-"

"You took an impressionable young man and turned his life upside down. I know you Miss Thorne, and you are no innocent. You came like a serpent into my family and took us out of Eden. There is no doubt in my mind that you knew exactly what you were doing. My conscience is clear and my hands are clean, it was you who is responsible for the shooting. The choices you made led us here."

"I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know what kind of woman could shoot her son's pregnant wife on their honeymoon. But now I understand. You're psychotic."

"And you're nonexistent. You don't remember who you are. So you see, I accomplished what I set out to do. Emily Thorne is dead. You'll never hurt my son again."

I wanted to shout at her, but how could I? She was right, after all. Will I ever recover what I've lost?

Over the years, Emily had come to accept the insane woman that was her mother-in-law. They had had little contact. But Emily had heard stories. She knew to be wary of Victoria. The woman was not to be underestimated.

Apprehensively, Emily put in the password for her voicemail.

"Ms. Thorne. I'll make this brief. Lydia Davis visited me today, and you were the reason. I look forward to your visit."

I was presumptuous of her, but that was Victoria. And she wasn't necessarily wrong. With everything that had been going on, maybe the person to talk to was her psychotic mother-in-law.

It didn't take to long to get from the Hamptons to New Haven. If he'd wanted to, Jack could have taken Nolan's jet and really cut down on the time. But that was unnecessary. Besides, Jack didn't want to call too much attention to himself; he wanted to be discrete.

He had considered dropping Paige off with Emily and taking Carl with him on this little adventure, but at the end of the day, it made more sense for Carl and Paige to stay with Nolan. Nolan was a great babysitter, and Carl was usually pretty happy to stay in his mansion of a house, especially since he had Paige to play with.

Bringing Carl would have complicated things anyway. His kid had a knack for asking those obvious and preferably avoidable questions like "Where are we going?" and "Why are we going there?" He could make up some lie, but Jack didn't want to lie to his kid any more than he had to. It was one of the reasons he always referred to Amanda as "your mother," and never talked about their childhood together. Carl should know about his mother, but there were certain things he couldn't know. Still, Jack did his best to paint her as the woman he met as an adult, leaving out her fake childhood.

Jack pulled into a parking space, staring at the huge campus. Maybe someday, he would be here for a completely different reason, dropping Carl off as a freshman. Wouldn't that be something?

Nolan had made him an identification keycard to get on campus, and to avoid questions. It was helpful, but nobody seemed particularly inclined to stop him.

Eventually, he made it to the office he was looking for. He knocked on the door and waited.

A ballerina-thin blonde answered the door. Her hair was up in a bun, but bits were spilling out in a I'm-trying-to-cover-up-a-bad-hair-day sort of way. She wore a cream-colored sweater and a matching pair of pants. Professional, but casual.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Um, I hope so. Are you Annalisa Priam?" The woman nodded, "My name's Jack Porter. I'm here because. Well, it's kind of a long story. I'm a friend of Emily Th-er-Grayson's."

The woman eyed him skeptically under her glasses, "She's never mentioned a Jack Porter."

Jack nodded, "She wouldn't have. I knew her before her… well, before, and nobody told her about me. But we've recently reconnected, and I was hoping to talk to you about her."

The woman scoffed, "I know that Emily used to be an important person to the press and I'm not an idiot. Also, I don't talk about my friends behind their backs." She started to close the door, but Jack caught it.

"I respect that, but I swear I'm not press. I'm just an old friend who wants to help her. Please, can I come in?"

"You haven't given me any reason to believe-"

"She likes her steak rare, she can hold more alcohol than most, probably can drink you under the table, she likes to keep busy, painting or cleaning or anything other than sitting around idly, she's allergic to strawberries, and when she goes to the beach, she likes to let the water run over her feet even when it's freezing."

Annalisa seemed to be considering. Finally, she let Jack push the door back. "Emily's not in town, you know." She said.

"I know." Jack said as he entered her office, "She's in the Hampton's for Charlotte's wedding. I just came from there actually."

"Why come all this way to talk to me when she's right there?"

"Because I'm worried about her. I should have been worried years ago; I mean, I was, but a friend persuaded me to stay out of it so I kept my distance. But we're in each other's lives again, and I can't help but worry about her condition."

"You mean the amnesia?"

"Yeah. Why hasn't anything been done about that?"

"Well, it's not an exact science."

"I know, but it seems like everybody's just accepted that she's never going to remember. Nobody's making any effort-"

"After all this time, it's unlikely. I've read articles on the topic. After six years-"

"Maybe it's just not being handled right. Or maybe … I mean, why do you think she doesn't remember?"

"I don't know."

"Think about it. You're her friend, right? You must know her, so how come-"

"Are you implying that it's her fault somehow?"

"Of course not. But maybe there's something holding her back from remembering."

"She was shot by her mother-in-law on her honeymoon. That's a pretty traumatic experience."

"Look, I get that you're her best friend now. And that means you know how special she is. You probably thank god every day for bringing her into your life. But once upon a time, she was in my life, and she knew me, and she considered me one of her best friends. And I want that back. For me, and for her. Everybody else may be willing to start from scratch, but I'm not. You don't know what it's like not to have her remember you."

"I sympathize with you. I do. But I don't know what to tell you-"

"Does she ever seem close to remembering? Is there anything you can think of that might be holding her back?"

"Well, like I said, there's the trauma. And she's happy with her life. It's not like she's missing anything … no offense."

Jack shook his head, "I know it was probably dumb to come here. I just thought that maybe …"

Annalisa gave him a sympathetic smile. Then his phone went off. The caller I.D. read Nolan.

"Hello? … What?"

"It's everything Javier could dig up. I hope it helps."

"Thank you," Emily said, taking the flash-drive from Charlotte.

"Why suddenly so curious about your past? Not that you don't have a right to know of course, but the timing seems kind of random."

Emily considered for a moment, "I've always wanted answers, but Daniel always encouraged me to live in the present, and both you and him provided me with enough information to do that." Emily stepped back, allowing herself to collapse on the couch, "Maybe I thought I could let it lie."

Charlotte took a seat next to Emily, facing her sister-in-law, "And now you think you can't?"

"I … Do you remember your first fight with Javier?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Of course. It was just before Christmas. Javier enlisted Nolan to get me this really expensive gift, and he was hinting at it being a really special thing, so I started guessing. I got more and more annoyed because he wouldn't tell me, and then I told him it didn't matter because whatever it was, I probably already had one. He got so mad. At the time, I was too, but looking back, it was kind of adorable."

Emily nodded, "That's a sweet story, but I meant something more real than an argument over gifts."

Charlotte shrugged, "Sorry. That's what came to mind."

"It's okay. It was a dumb comparison to try and make, I guess."

"What was?"

"Just … everything that happened between you two, you wouldn't trade, would you? If someone could erase the bad -"

"No, of course not. I mean, I know that I said I thought about it sometimes, but at the end of the day, I'd rather have the truth."

"Sometimes I feel like my life's been whitewashed. You and Daniel love me, and sometimes the stuff you tell me makes it sound like I was a saint. You're mother makes me sound like the devil, but she's homicidal and psychotic. And Aiden … I need to know who I was, all of it, not just the good stuff."

"Daniel told you about Juvie, and foster care-"

Emily shook her head, "He's never been able to give me details. Which isn't his fault," she quickly added, "I know these files can't put me in the moment either, but … I need to know me, Charlotte. Whoever that was. I may be Emily Grayson now, but who Emily Thorne was, it matters."

Charlotte nodded, "Do you want some company when you look at them?"

"Have you seen them already?" Charlotte shook her head, which made Emily smile, "Then I'd love for you to be here."

The two headed over to the computer.

"Emily!" Emily and Charlotte both turned to see a frantic Daniel making his way towards them.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Paige."

Author's Note: Dun Dun Dun.

I have already started on the next chapter, but I don't know how long it will be until I post it. Still, I hope you like this one and continue to read and review.

Have a good day.