Much to her surprise, information on Cora Mills was easy to find.

Not to her surprise, however, all of that information only existed on the dark web.

Page after page came up. For once, though she was just about her only friend in the town, Emma couldn't help but be relieved that not only was Mary Margaret at work, but she would be working late. In the back of the apartment, the bounty hunter had set up an additional monitor with her two computers. She could not help but shiver when a list of financial documents came up. There was something about the way the numbers swam in front of her that reminded her of the finances of the Watson family. Her stomach sank. Almost instinctively, Emma shifted to the computer not viewing on the monitor. Her heart pounding in her chest, she spent a few minutes scrolling through the myriad of documents she had downloaded to the PC. I never delete anything, it has to be in here somewhere. Eventually, she found it. Nearly completely nauseated, Emma opened the PDF of the Watson family's finances from 2050 to mid 2053. She swallowed hard, looking between those documents, and the ones on the monitor which pertained to Cora Mills. They were too similar, in a sense.

Both the Watson family and Cora Mills seemed to have impossibly well off finances.

Both the Watson family and Cora Mills seemed to be able to effortlessly avoid the IRS.

Both the Watson family and Cora Mills seemed to, somehow, be wrong. Evil, even.

Henry says the Watsons were good in the life before, but are evil now. How the hell did that happen?

She tried to shake the thought off. Henry was just attached to stories, and was trying to cope with what happened to his sister. He was trying to cope with being an outcast in school because of who his mother was, because of her power in the town. It was nothing more or less than that. Was it? She tried not to dwell on that thought much either. How could a family that was as clearly good as the Watsons supposedly had been in this 'Misthaven' become as monstrous as they were in this reality? How could someone as evil and convoluted as Regina supposedly had been in 'Misthaven' be the sympathetic one, the one in the right in this reality? The pieces did not seem to fall together in any logical sense. But the thought still lingered in the back of her mind, the voice whispering that Henry was right, that his storybrook told the truth. The truth of how they got to where they were, that was. It did not seem to update further than the queen cursing the continent.

He says that's because that was where that reality ends, and this one begins. But how can any of that be true when the people I'm faced with now are so diametrically opposed to what is presented in the Storybook? It has to be wrong, then, doesn't it? So, how can any of it be real?

She closed her eyes, every thought growing louder inside her mind. When she opened them again, she almost immediately grabbed for her mobile, and started scrolling through the photographs she had taken of pages of the Storybook. Her eyes eventually fell on those of a baby girl apparently falling through a veil. Those are how you get here from there. You fall through, and wake up somewhere else - either willingly or not. The eyes of the baby girl were what caught her attention, what lingered for her. She quickly scrolled through to find another. She swallowed hard when she saw a woman who looked similar to Cora doing something similar to a baby girl, albeit a different one from the girl who's eyes had stopped her before. Emma blinked back tears, scrolling further and further past other images on her mobile. That was when she found it. A photograph she had taken before scanning an film, printed photograph from her teenage years. From before prison. From before Henry.

Without even realising it, she had started to cry.

Zara Lianna Corvus, and Lily Mallory Serphine.

Their eyes were almost exactly the same as the ones of the babies in the book. But what happened to the two baby girls from the book? Were they Zara and Lily?

Had. Emma's mind corrected, and she continued to brush aside the increasingly steady fall of tears. They died, in that car crash, didn't they? I never saw them again after we were all in the accident, so….no. I…I did the same things they did up to that point. Why am I the one who…oh, God. I miss my dead friends. Everything. I miss that they can't talk to me, I miss that they can't text me, I miss that we can't get into trouble, or -

Emma switched off her mobile, her entire body shaking.

You can't go thinking about that right now. You have a job to do. Before Mary Margaret returns. So that you can spend time with Henry. To make sure things with Regina can keep getting better.

All but throwing her mobile into her bag, Emma turned back to the information on the computer screens. The image of Cora Mills was eerily similar to all of the ones purportedly of her in the Storybook. Just like they are with everyone Henry has mentioned. She took in a deep breath, trying to refocus. Whether the book was right about anything, nothing, or something did not matter. Cora Mills seemed to be more menacing a person by the second. Every new bit of information about her was worse. It was not until she came across a few shelved articles surrounding her husband's death that things began to slide into place. Death, sickness. I don't know. Regina said she had cut contact with her mother before her father, with whom she only cut contact with when he was dead, at which point there was no choice. That's just how things are, at that point. The implications were gruesome regardless of whose thoughts or telling of events were most accurate.

At the very least, Cora Mills had manipulated her dying husband into surrendering vast amounts of money, and property to her.

At the very worst, Cora Mills had killed her husband to put an end to their marriage because she no longer was interested, and saw him as an irksome block in the way of her accessing the money she wanted.

Swearing under her breath, and feeling almost embarrassed, Emma reached back down into her bag to pull out her mobile. She stared at the newest contact in it for a few minutes before, finally, she dialled. Waited. The line clicked.

"I hope you're not making use of this just for the hell of it, Emma."

The bounty hunter managed a small laugh. "Well, you've called me by name instead of Miss Swan for once, so that's a start."

"What is going on?"

"You said you wanted information on your mother. I was able to at least confirm she's in town."

"Anything else?"

"Yes. And, Regina…it's bad. It's really fucking bad."

When Regina stepped back into her home, she was almost completely preoccupied.

That vanished the second she heard her kids talking upstairs, in Henry's room. Slipping her mobile into the pocket of her blazer, she quietly began up the stairs. She startled a little when the cat all but sped past her, seemingly curious about what was happening with Regina stepping into the house again. After a brief, few seconds of hesitation, Regina began up the stairs up again. Careful to stay quiet, she waited at the top of the stairs before slowly starting towards Henry's room. She stopped short, however, when she could hear her daughter and son clearly. Are the two of you alright? What's going on? Regina waited, almost terrified by the pauses between her two children. Eventually, though, they began talking normally again. The one thing the queen was sure of was that her children were just as tired as she was. Things had been more and more tense around town in the past few weeks alone. What did not help was the uncertainty in the family itself. Because of my mother. Because Cora cannot seem to stop trying to ruin life, to destroy everything I've worked so hard for. I am never going to give up my revenge, certainly not with her around. Clasping her hands together in an attempt to calm herself, Regina tried to refocus. To listen. To figure out what her children were worrying about, what they were talking about.

She barely managed to keep herself composed enough to focus, listen when she was able to listen to her children again.

"...Why won't she trust me?"

"...She does."

"...No, she doesn't! If she did, she would let -"

"...Henry, you ran away to find Emma!"

"...What does that have to do with anything?"

"...You wanted to see Emma, and never come home!"

"...So?"

"...So, momma thinks you're going to try and abandon her again. She's terrified of losing you."

Henry sighed. From the little she could see into the room, Lynn hugged her brother.

"...I just wanted -"

Regina barely could focus or understand what her son said. She could not find herself thinking of anything but a memory. A recent memory, and one most painful.

"I care because you think I'm some evil queen," Regina had said, reaching over to lightly brush the back of her hand against his face. "And that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother!"

Henry had shaken his head, and pulled his backpack over his shoulders.

"No," He had said, starting towards the door. "You're not."

"Well, then who is?" Regina had snapped, crossing her arms and following him out of his room and down the stairs. "That woman you brought here?" She went on. "I don't like what she or this book are doing to you. Thankfully, both are no longer an issue."

Henry had shaken his head, and turned to look at her when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I wish you wouldn't lie to me."

Regina had flinched. "What? Henry -"

The two of them both had taken a few steps back when a loud, resounding chime started to ring out. Once. Twice. Again. They both ran outside, and, much to her shock, it was the clock tower. And it hadn't just started ringing. It had moved. It was moving.

"See?" Henry had said, tugging on Regina's hand with a small smile. "That hasn't worked my entire life, but it does now."

"Well, I -" Regina had started, struggling to find an explanation.

"It's okay if you don't know what it means right now," Henry had gone on. "But the curse is weakening. Because Emma's here. And she's going to break it."

"There's nothing to be broken," Regina had said, her voice wavering. "Things are just fine."

"They haven't been, though," Henry had shrugged. "They were fine when I was little, and they've been fine in the almost two years since Netta's not really and super shitty friends tried to kill her. But they haven't always been stable, or just fine."

For a few seconds, Regina had found herself not sure if she were surprised her son had a perfect description of Aria and Cindy or annoyed with him for using the opportunity to swear.

"Henry, you're only ten," Regina had eventually said. "Let things go, and just try and be happy."

"I will be," He had said, crossing his arms. "Once Emma breaks the curse or you stop lying to me and make things right."

Regina tried to refocus, and recompose. But she was on the edge of a precipice, where she was not sure what it would take for her to fall over the edge.

"...You know she loves you, right?"

"...Of course she does! But that doesn't mean she isn't acting badly!"

"...She's not perfect. But I can tell you for certain that she's a good person."

"...Because you saw her heart?"

"...Exactly. She's not a monster, Henry, and she never has been."

"...Then why does the book -"

"...Because the book isn't perfect."

"...How can you be so sure?"

"...I know momma, and you do too. Do you honestly think she's as horrible as the book portrays her as being?"

"...I mean, I don't know. Probably not? But there has to be some truth to it!"

"...There's some truth to just about every legend, Henry. That's why they stick around."

"...I guess you're right."

"...I hope you know things are going to get better. And, hey, you get to spend time with Emma."

"...But only if you're there too."

"...That's not a big deal, Henry. You know that."

"...I know. I just wish she would trust me enough on my own."

Replies To Reviews:

jasouatfan: absolutely. of all of the relationships in the series, Emma and Regina's takes the most time, and the most hardship to develop fully

barratajennifer: i'm glad you think so! like i said, it was definitely one of the hardest chapters for me to write in this story

Sammii16: and there is DEFINITELY more still to be found on Cora…

Coral Skipper: you're too kind! and, yes, for the most part i had a very relaxing and productive summer holiday!

Julz: i can't guarantee that my uploads/chapters for the story will be able to stay consistent as the semester continues, but i am absolutely going to keep going with the storY!

Guest: thank you so much! i hope this chapter does not disappoint your expectations!

Julz: i can't make any promises, but i'll definitely keep the idea in mind!