AUTHORS NOTE: I have noticed a number of comments on just how twisted and shocking I am making Elizabeth and I would like to take a moment to address that. In canon (for those of you who have never read the Crossfire stories) Elizabeth is wilfully negligent but not complicit. She knows Gideon was abused, but refuses to admit it or acknowledge it and hangs on to the 'evidence' supplied by Dr Lucas to support her belief. She hates Eva for helping Gideon and getting him to open up about it. She sees it as Eva re-writing his past. In canon Elizabeth's world, the public persona that everything is wonderful is the most important thing and her backstory is she did distance herself from Geoffrey Cross and what he did by rebooting her life and quickly moving on with Chris Vidal and she refuses to accept the fact that she failed Gideon and they are estranged due to that failure. In canon she never told Chris about the abuse so when Eva comes along and helps Gideon face up to his past and gets him to open up about it, she sees that carefully constructed façade being threatened and she doesn't like it, especially when Eva confronts her about it. Now I took that base canon Elizabeth and ramped it up by about a thousand. My inspiration for my Elizabeth and her actions are documentaries I have watched about the real-life UK serial killers and sexual deviant predators Rose and Fred West.

I would also like to add that I have no idea what the criminal charges in the US are or the punishments attached to them. So, I Googled them and am going on what Google told me for the information in this chapter.

CHAPTER 78

Three days later…

(EVA)

"I said no! I'm not going over this again Gideon, everything is fine in Seattle. Ros is handling everything at GEH. I am in constant contact with her and if there is anything which needs my personal attention it gets it. Ana is working remotely via her laptop and she has assured me that Grey Publishing is ticking over just fine. She has full confidence in her team to handle the day to day running in her absence. So, no we are not going home, we are staying here and supporting you for as long as it takes!"

I watch Christian swipe his hand emphatically to emphasise his point as he glares at my husband. I glance at Ana and grin at her, she returns that with a grin of her own and a roll of her eyes. This is the second time Gideon has expressed his concern about Christian and Ana still being here in New York and how he doesn't want to be responsible for them neglecting their own lives. Somewhat of a turnaround after last time when he practically forced them to return home, which resulted in Christian pretending it was all his idea and which then caused friction between himself and Ana.

Elizabeth was questioned extensively by the authorities over all the revelations which have been uncovered and while no criminal proceedings can be lodged against her due to the fact the statute of limitations has long since expired, she has now been served multiple times by the lawyers representing a long line of victims. Not only victims of the financial fraud but also victims of the sexual abuse she along with Geoff and Eric organised and undertook while at college. Gideon and Ryan have encouraged Martha to also file her own case against Elizabeth and Gideon is funding her. Everyone is aware that if these cases go against her she will be totally ruined as Chris is going ahead with the divorce proceedings and it doesn't look like she will receive any kind of generous settlement from him now that he knows everything.

Ryan and Gideon have also been meeting with the lawyers and authorities regarding the standing criminal charges against Ryan and a deal has been reached, the majority of the charges have been dropped and Ryan, who was insistent that he should face some punishment for his actions is pleading guilty to a charge of malicious wounding for the gala incident which as a class three felony sees him facing from five up to twenty years in prison along with a hefty fine. As he is pleading guilty so avoiding the need for a trial and Gideon is now helping him and using his considerable influence, we are all confident that the punishment the judge decides on and stipulates will be a nominal one. The hearing is set for later today after the deal was hammered out but at the moment, we are just taking some time to chill out and relax a little.

As we are all talking there is a knock on the door and Angus pokes his head around. He has been spending the past few days trying to track down Anne Lucas.

"I've found her" Angus says simply.

"And?" Gideon replies.

"You're not going to like it" Angus says carefully.

My heart sinks at his words and I automatically reach for and grab Gideon's hand which is blindly searching for mine. Angus comes in and sits down with us, and taking a deep breath he begins to explain.

"I found her and she was naturally surprised to hear from me after all this time. I explained how things have escalated recently and the information we have discovered and she said that while she didn't know anything about what Lucas was doing at the time, which is consistent with her reaction back then when you furnished her with all the information when you were seeing her. Plus the fact, she helped you get your justice against Lucas and she divorced him which indicated she was ignorant of his actions. She said that after Lucas took his life and all his lies were exposed, she did do some digging and discovered a few things which she thought looked suspicious, and in light of our most recent theories possibly relevant. So, she kept them in a safe deposit box with the intention of handing them over to you should the need arise and leaving them to you in a will should circumstances change. As I have now approached her, she has assured me that the entire contents of that box will immediately be given to you".

"What did she discover?" Gideon asks and Angus shrugs.

"I have no idea, she didn't go into detail but clearly she believes it is relevant after what I told her" he says.

"Let me get this straight, this is the wife of the paediatrician… the man who lied about the evidence he found of the abuse?" Christian asks.

Gideon nods and sighs. "Yes, do you remember I told you about him? Right back, when I first confided in you about what had happened to me… when I was afraid you would discover the truth when Eva and I were staying with you in Seattle, because of the nightmares I have to deal with".

Christian nods, "Yes I remember that, you told me that you had got your revenge on Lucas when you discovered the link between him and Hugh by sleeping with his wife. You then told her what Hugh and Lucas had done and she helped you to expose Lucas and get his medical licence revoked which resulted in his suicide".

Gideon nods, "That is correct, so whatever she has must be of some considerable value for her to place it in a safety deposit box".

Angus nods, "She assured me that the only reason she has it and has never handed it over to you is because she didn't want to hurt you further, but she was fully aware the information she had could be used against you. She didn't feel it was her place to destroy it, which left her in a quandary, so she decided to place it under lock and key and that in the event of her death it would be passed to you, or if you approached her beforehand with regard to that time. As you have done so… well, I did on your behalf she feels it is right that now is the correct time to relinquish whatever she has to you". Angus pauses and takes a shot look at me before continuing. "You should also know lad… she told me that she had the original findings of the examination Lucas performed and Lucas' notes that confirm that you were raped, but she was reluctant to hand them over to you at the time because as far as she was concerned you had got your closure when Lucas died and she didn't wish to reopen old wounds, so she put those notes with the other evidence and she is going to hand them over to you as well".

Gideon leans back in his seat but his hand is still gripping mine tightly. "Jesus Christ" he mutters upon hearing this.

"Gideon?" I ask gently and he turns to look at me and without thinking he yanks me towards him and engulfs me in his arms.

"Gideon do you need me to call Caroline?" Christian asks with obvious concern.

"No… yes… I mean…" Gideon mutters and I quickly take charge.

I look up at Christian and nod my head, "Call her please Christian" I say and with that he doesn't hesitate and pulls his phone from his pocket and places the call.

"When is she going to hand over the things she has?" Gideon asks suddenly and Angus reaches out and touches his arm.

"I've arranged for Raul to go and get them, while I came here to tell you what had happened. He assured me that he would contact me when he had whatever she has in his hands".

Gideon nods, "Alright" he says simply, "So I guess we just wait" he adds.

He has barely got the words out of his mouth when Angus' phone beeps. He quickly looks and then raises his gaze to Gideon once more. "That was Raul, he has them and is on his way here" he says.

Gideon squeezes me and nods just once. "Alright" he says calmly, a little too calmly for my liking and I return his squeeze with one of my own as I try and wordlessly reassure him.

oooOOOooo

"Well, shit!" I exclaim as I finish reading the papers which Raul brought over.

Everyone is sitting in shocked silence; Caroline breaks that silence when she clears her throat.

"So, what are your thoughts on all this Gideon?" she asks carefully.

I look up at my husband who looks devastated.

"Well, the fact that there is very compelling documentary evidence here to show my mother paid Lucas to keep my abuse quiet and falsify the results. To be honest with everything I have discovered about my mother recently that doesn't even register on my outrage scale. I am more resigned, I think. The fact that our assumptions were correct about her. But the icing on the cake for me is the telephone recording he made of the conversation with my mother which confirms the payments were for the cover up… but that raises the further question as to why didn't he use it when Anne and I exposed him?" he says after thinking about everything for a moment.

I squeeze his arm and offer my opinion on this mess, "I think he saw he looked as bad as she was, he allowed himself to be blackmailed and he received payment to falsify the results. There is no way he can wriggle out of that fact considering he recorded the conversation where he agrees to do it. No matter what he did to show he was coerced into doing it, it looks incredibly bad on him that he accepted that bribe and did as she asked. He should've taken the moral high ground and exposed her at the time and done his job by calling the authorities, he chose not to. Why will never be fully known but I believe his reasons were greed as well as trying to protect Anne and his own career. Your mother gave him a substantial amount of money on top of his usual medical fee to make everything go away and he was too blinded by that to do the right thing".

Gideon thinks about that and nods, "I'm certainly going to go and confront my mother with this new information and see if for once in her sorry life she will tell me the truth" he says.

"We will all be standing right beside you as you do it" Christian vows and Gideon smiles gratefully at him.

I look down once more at the original paediatric report in my hands, and memories of my own time being examined after what Nathan did to me fill my mind. Reading that Gideon had substantial anal scarring reminds me of the medical report filed on me. However, in my case that report was filed properly and helped to bring my abuser to justice. The anger I am feeling that Gideon never got the justice he deserved because of his own mother's actions and Lucas' greed is intense and visceral. I really hope that something can be done to make Elizabeth pay after all these years for what she did.

I look at Ana who appears to be deep in thought. "Would you mind playing that recording again, Gideon?" she asks suddenly.

Gideon nods and grabs the old-fashioned tape recorder and starts it playing.

Elizabeth and Lucas can clearly be heard discussing the cover up…

"Terence, how are you?"

"Elizabeth, I'm very well thank you. It's been a long time, how are you?"

"I'm very well, listen I need to talk to you about Hugh… he has done something incredibly stupid and if it were to come out it would not only ruin your career but it would also ruin Anne's".

"What has he done?"

"He raped my son".

(Lengthy pause)

"What?! No! Oh my god the poor child".

"Quite, I know I can trust your discretion in this matter if I were to bring my son to you to be examined".

"Of course, Elizabeth I will do all I can".

"Good, as I was hoping that this matter can be made to disappear as it were as it wouldn't look good for any of us if this should come out".

"Disappear? You mean…?"

"Yes, I'm sure you can appreciate how bad it would look for you and Anne if all this should come out, so I was hoping you could find your way to making any evidence of the abuse… vanish?"

"But that is perverting justice, your son was raped. I am a paediatrician, I can't in good conscience…"

"I'm sorry to hear that Terry, I'm sure you wouldn't like it if I were to make everything public?"

(Audible sigh)

"This is wrong on so many levels".

"I'm sure you wouldn't want your career and Anne's career tarnished by Hugh's behaviour. Especially considering I would also be willing to compensate you for your efforts to be cooperative".

(Another lengthy pause)

"How much?"

"$50,000"

"$50,000?"

"That's what I said, that would be on top of your usual medical fee of course".

(Long silence)

"Alright, I'll do it".

"Thank you so much Terry, you know it makes sense after all if everything were to come out you would never be taken seriously again having a child abuser as a family member, and of course the shame it would bring on Anne and she is just starting out as a psychiatrist. There is also the point to consider the personal damage it could cause to yours and Anne's relationship should she discover what her brother has done… so if you could make that appointment as soon as possible and I'll bring Gideon along for you to examine"…

"He was more involved with Elizabeth, than purely a professional one, he knew her personally" Ana says pointing at the tape recorder. "What was said at the start, they were on first name terms and he commented on how it had been a long time since he had heard from her… did they have some kind of relationship at some point?" Ana asks.

Gideon shakes his head, "I… I don't know, it wouldn't surprise me" he glances up at Angus, "Do you think Anne would know something like that?" he asks.

Angus shrugs, "She may do lad, I can call her again and ask. I'll also do some digging and see what I can find".

"Thank you, Angus" Gideon says gratefully.

"Also…" Ana continues, and everyone immediately looks at her once more. "Why would Lucas feel the need to record a conversation with Elizabeth? I mean, we are now working on the assumption that he knew her personally. That being the case, why would he feel the need to record a conversation with an old friend who calls him out of the blue… unless he had reason to? Did he know before she called him what Hugh had done? It all just gets murkier and murkier and the more we dig the more dirt we are digging up and more unanswered questions arise".

I think about that, "Play it again Gideon" I say and Gideon reaches for the recorder and plays it once more.

I listen to Lucas' reaction he sounds genuine enough but it is hard to tell from the recording.

"What are you looking for Angel?" Gideon asks me.

I shake my head, "I don't know, I wanted to hear Lucas' reaction again, I don't know what I was looking for… he sounds genuine enough, but the long pause, it could be genuine shock or he could be working out what to say… because he knows".

"I think we should just stop, we could end up obsessing about this. Let Angus do some digging and then when and if he comes up with something we take it from there" Christian says suddenly and quite firmly.

We all nod in agreement as Christian continues.

"I think we should set this aside now and concentrate on the matter of Ryan's hearing. We need to be going soon if we are going to attend" he adds.

oooOOOooo

A few hours later…

"Well, I think that was a satisfactory outcome, all things considered. Are you happy with the judgement Ryan? I feel it could've been even more lenient had you not been so adamant to pay some retribution?" Gideon asks as we are all in a room together at the courthouse.

Ryan nods, "I am, I feel strongly that I should serve some time for my actions that night at the gala and for what I did to Christopher, who was totally innocent. However, now that everything has been discussed and the truth is out there, it was fair I think especially in light of the progress we are now making".

"Plus as we have now argued that you are not a risk, you are being sent to a minimum security facility so it will just be a case of biding your time. "I think five years, less the time already served whilst you have been held is fair, don't you think? That and the fact the fine was waved?" Gideon asks.

Ryan nods his head in agreement, "Indeed, and I am hoping that this is only the start. We should continue to build on what we have discovered and continue with joint therapy sessions… after all we are brothers?" he asks warily.

Gideon nods his head and turns to look questioningly at Caroline who has accompanied us. "I am assuming some kind of video link could be set up for you to help with that, when you return to Seattle?"

"It could, I will make the arrangements with the penitentiary to set that up" she says.

"Good" Gideon replies.

Ryan looks at Gideon carefully, "Are you ok Gideon? You look as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Its all over now, we are going to get to the other side of this now we know the truth".

Gideon smiles, but it is brittle and bitter. "I'm fine, its not this situation that is on my mind. We have discovered some information about our mother. She paid the paediatrician to cover up the physical evidence of my rape… so that it could go away. So, we are now trying to discover why. She also blackmailed him and his wife due to their familial link with Hugh, Lucas' wife was Hugh's sister and she pointed out how bad it would be for him and for Anne to be linked with a Paedophile and rapist".

Ryan thinks for a moment, "Why don't you talk to Martha? She was friends with Hugh, so she may have known his sister Anne as well?"

Gideon nods thoughtfully, "I will, thank you Ryan" he says gratefully.

"Also, will you take care of my mom… Martha for me. Just keep an eye on her. She comes to see me and we have got close again, but I am concerned about her as she is still heaping blame on herself for everything that has happened and I am worried about how that is going to affect her now that I've been convicted and will be going away for a while, so soon after we have reconnected. She has assured me that she will come and visit me but I am still concerned".

"Of course I will" Gideon says immediately and I also nod my head in agreement. I like Martha and feel she was treated very badly and is as much a victim of Elizabeth and Eric as Ryan was.

A couple of court officials enter the room and we know our time is up. "I think that is our cue to leave" I say as I nod towards the two men.

Ryan takes a deep breath and nods. "It is" he says simply.

Gideon hesitates and then moves towards Ryan and much to everyone's surprise he offers him a brief manly hug. He slaps his shoulder and for a second Ryan looks astounded before he returns the gesture. I glance at Ana and Christian who are quietly watching and then I smile with pride at my husband. He is determined to try and make this unfathomable and unbelievable situation work.

"Take care of yourself Ryan and I'll come and visit you… for our therapy sessions" Gideon says slightly awkwardly.

Ryan smiles back at him. "I will, and I look forward to it" he replies.