AUTHORS NOTE: Apologies for the delay, after managing to dodge it for the last two years covid finally caught up with me and I've been quite ill for the past couple of weeks or so hence the delay in getting this chapter out there. Starting to feel better now though and am slowly on the mend.

CHAPTER 93

(VICTOR)

You could hear a pin drop in the room as the interview is aired. Nobody says a word, Christopher and Ireland both glance at Gideon in surprise when he says his part and Ireland lets out a small gasp of surprise but Gideon doesn't respond he just sits stoically not giving anything away. I'm surprised, by what he has said in the interview as he has opened himself up to scrutiny by doing that, and I wonder if he realises what he has done. Especially after he had emphatically announced that as far as he was concerned his mother was dead and the subject was closed.

"Wow!" Ireland says when it is finished, "That was so good, I loved how you and Ana made it clear that Frank was nothing but a sperm donor and that your real dads were the men who raised you, it really lets him know what a waste of space he really is – do you think Frank will see this? I hope so and that he realises what he has done".

Eva shrugs, "I doubt it, as he is in the military prison but I must admit that there is a part of me that hopes he does, but then again even if he does see it, he is so narcissistic he wouldn't equate what we are saying to himself as far as he is concerned it will be our fault, but to be honest I don't really give a damn as to what Frank thinks". She rests her head against my shoulder as she says this in silent confirmation that I am her dad. I wrap my arm around her and give her a gentle squeeze.

"You have also comprehensively put Elliot's ex wife in her place without even mentioning her" I say and Eva grins at me and lets out an evil cackle.

"Yeah, we did didn't we? Considering that was the entire point of the interview I really, really hope she has seen it and would give anything to have seen her reaction to it".

I let out a small chuckle at that remark, going on what Eva has told me about Kate and her interactions with her, it seems she deserves all she gets and I just hope that this shuts down her intentions of publishing any negative pieces about Eva, Ana and Elliot.

My attention shifts from Eva to Gideon who is still sitting in silence. I look up at him, "Are you aware that you've opened yourself up by saying what you said?" I begin and Gideon nods.

"I am, I am fully aware and actually I have an interview scheduled with Hazel Mathers next week. Which is something I need to discuss with you. I've decided that I'm taking a similar approach to Eva, Ana and Elliot, I am fully aware that I said the subject was closed and as far as I was concerned Elizabeth was dead to me but I am also fully aware scrutiny will once again fall on me when the civil cases are tried so I have decided I'm going to spill my guts and reveal everything from my past so there are no skeletons for the media to find and exploit and also what I say could be of use to some of the victims pursuing cases against her. I am not known for giving interviews so this will be quite the revelation especially with everything that I am going to say, I am prepared to throw Elizabeth totally under the bus… as I'm going to talk about the abuse. I've already discussed this with Ireland and Christopher and they are on board with it and they support me wholeheartedly, and I was hoping… I was… I'm going to be laying out everything in my past and I was wondering if…" he stops and looks at me carefully.

I swallow hard, despite all our progress it is still hard for him to accept he has my support so I finish his request for him, "You want to know if you have my support, well the answer is of course you do. Let me know when the interview is going to happen and I'll schedule my day off to coincide with it" I say.

I see the surprise and it kills me to think he wasn't expecting me to say that, I watch as it quickly evolves into gratitude and he nods.

"Thank you, Victor," he says simply.

"Have you called Anne Lucas?" Eva asks suddenly and Gideon nods.

"I have, I have discussed it at length with her considering how helpful she has been to us. I didn't want to do anything which embarrassed her. However, she is also fully on board with everything. Her parents are dead and she is the last remaining member of that family so she is quite happy for me to name and shame Hugh and Terence".

"But they are both dead" I say and Gideon nods.

"They are, Terence killed himself when Anne divorced him and helped me get him stripped of his licence to practice. At that time though we managed to keep the reasons from coming out in the media and it was just reported as a malpractice issue, it was never fully disclosed what he did to protect Anne as at that point while the divorce was in the process of going through, they were not officially divorced and it never came out about Hugh".

"Well, it's your decision son and whatever you decide I will support you, but just be aware of the can of worms you are potentially opening".

Gideon smiles, "I am hoping to manipulate the conversation towards my foundation showing a positive spin on things. Crossroads, will welcome the exposure and me saying that I founded it in response to what happened to me and that I wanted something positive to come out of something so heinous will be a good angle to exploit".

"That's not a bad idea" I agree.

"Quite, plus I'm hoping to drop all the negativity on Elizabeth, my father and on Eric Landon. I realise the latter two are dead but what I say I will ensure that I can back up with proof and say so, and hopefully it will be the final nail in Elizabeth's coffin," he says coldly.

"What about Ryan?" Eva asks and Gideon smiles at her.

"He knows and he wholeheartedly supports me. So much so that we are in the process of getting permission for a link to be set up to the prison so Ryan can be a part of the planned process. Martha is arranging to be on hand at the prison as well with him and she has asked if she can go public with what she knows so it will be a comprehensive hatchet job on Elizabeth and one which she will struggle to survive… but considering how she has wriggled out of any responsibility for her actions over the years it's no more than she deserves".

There is a stunned silence at that, not only the fact Gideon has clearly thought this through but also the lengths he is going to, to completely destroy his mother. It isn't lost on any of us either that he no longer refers to Elizabeth as his mother. To him she is simply a person – a criminal who getting their just deserts.

"If Ryan is involved… Can we be in the interview with you as well?" Ireland asks suddenly and Gideon looks at her in surprise.

Christopher nods, "Yes, I'd like to be there too. I mean she's our mother too, so it would save any blowback and stop us being hounded for comment afterwards if we sit beside you and give our views during the interview" he says.

"Of course, I have no problem with that, I wasn't intentionally disregarding you… I just didn't think you'd want to" Gideon says immediately.

Christopher shakes his head, and smiles somewhat sympathetically. "I get that, until quite recently we were not close so it was a natural assumption for you to make, but we are with you now bro".

"Thank you" Gideon replies and I can tell he is moved by Christophers words, "There is also Ireland's age to be considered that was another reason I didn't ask for you to join me… I was trying to protect you" he adds, almost as if he is trying to offer explanations for his actions.

Ireland smiles at him, "If you think I'm being left out of an opportunity like this to voice what I think of mom after everything we have found out about her you've got rocks in your head!" she says bluntly. Eva snorts in amusement at that and Christopher shakes his head and rolls his eyes. Gideon simply acknowledges the comment with a tip of his head and an amused smirk.

"What about Chris? Are you going to give him a heads up about this?" I ask. I know my opinions about offering the olive branch and opening the door for him previously were thrown back in our faces but I wonder if Gideon has thought about his step-father at all.

All amusement disappears at the mention of his step-father and Gideon shakes his head, "No, he has made it clear he wants nothing to do with me, so therefore I have no problem not making him aware of my decision to do this. I'm happy for Christopher and Ireland to speak to him and warn him that it's going to happen, after all he is their father but I'm not going to go out of my way to contact him".

Christopher shakes his head, "No, he has made his position clear and so have we. We stand with Gideon now" he says firmly.

Ireland nods in agreement, "Fuck him!" she says bluntly and coldly.

Meanwhile in Ohio…

(ALEXANDER)

Neither Ed or I have said a word, we are watching the interview and we smile as Christian mentions us without naming us. I knew he wouldn't out us and publicly name us and the way he spoke he made it clear he wasn't going to say any more than this brief mention.

"I am so proud of him" Ed says as he watches Christian speak.

I nod, "So am I. The things he endured when Ella went off the rails were totally horrific and if it wasn't for the Grey's he would've ended up in the system and probably ended up like Ella".

Ed nods, "Do you feel resentful that he was never given to us to raise?" he asks.

I think about that question, and after a moment I give a small nod of my head, and then I let out a sigh before I give my response. "A little, that wasn't the authority's fault though… they tried. It wasn't as if they didn't do their job, they did and they followed the procedures but because of the fire at the post office in Fremont and how everything was turned upside down for a considerable time it was inevitable letters would be lost and unfortunately ours from those authorities who were dealing with Christian were some of them. From what Christian has told us though, I think we would've been out of our depth with him had he come to us as he was severely traumatised and had a number of issues because of his treatment at the hands of that bastard who Ella got involved with".

Ed nods, "I agree, but he knew us, surely that would've helped him? He would've been with family, where he belonged. I'm certain had he come to us we would've been able to bring him round. Admittedly we hadn't seen him for a while but he knew us and he knew this area. We were familiar to him. That day when he first came here and met Betty… When they arrived at my house, he knew – somewhere in his subconscious he knew and he made his way straight to the orchard. He hadn't been here since he was tiny, and so effectively it was a new place for him - he said he had no memory of the place but somewhere deep inside him he knew where he was and he instinctively went to that orchard, so I can't help but think he would've been better off here with us".

I shrug, "I know, we could tie ourselves up in knots debating this, the fact is due to Scott Fairbourne burning down the post office our letters were lost which opened the way for the Grey's to adopt our boy".

"It's not fair though" Ed says quietly.

I sigh, "No, it's not due to that selfish bastard we were denied the chance to raise our boy and you were left for years wondering what had happened to Ella, but the fact is it happened and we can't change it. We have him now though, and just look at the success he has made of his life. He had every possible opportunity with that family who adopted him and he took it and ran with it, there is no way we could've provided that sort of upbringing for him so we should focus on that and the positive aspect of that. He was given a loving safe home and he was loved and cared for by good people and we have to face the fact that because they were wealthy people doors which would've remained closed to him had he come to us were opened for him".

Ed tips his head in agreement, "They are good people, and I agree with what you are saying… but I don't know about you but I still feel our boy has… issues, so did they really do enough for him? Yes they gave him opportunities and their wealth gave him an education he would never have received had he been with us but I can't help but think he still has issues which must stem from those years of abuse before he was adopted. You've seen him Alex… you've seen the tantrums, the way he lashes out and over reacts. The way he behaves at times you must agree with me Alex? Then there is the fact he is totally focussed to an alarming degree on Ana, I've not said anything but it's not healthy the way he is almost obsessed with her… and then there is the way she manages him, and deals with him when he does go off on one. There was something going on at that party, I got the impression things weren't totally hunky dory within that family and while they tried to hide it and put on a good show I feel most of the time that is what our boy does - he puts on a front. Yes, he has told us what happened to him and Ella… but I think there is much more he hasn't told us".

I nod in agreement with that, as I have got that much from him. "He will tell us in his own good time" I say, "And we will continue to support and love him when he decides that he is ready to share with us".

Ed sighs in acceptance, "I agree, we have only just got him back so I'm fully prepared to wait until he is ready to open up to us" he says resignedly.

Meanwhile in California…

(FRANK)

How dare they! How fucking dare they!

I am fuming, absolutely fuming. Those ungrateful little shits! Sperm donor, they publicly called me a fucking sperm donor! As if I was just a faceless entity. They spoke of me like I was nothing to them.

The words I am thinking spew from my mouth before I can stop them, "I can't believe they actually called me a fucking sperm donor!"

I glance at Arnie who is grinning inanely at me – he is totally enjoying this and it just makes me angrier.

"You knew, you fucking knew, didn't you?" I blurt out at him.

His smile gets wider but he shakes his head, and holds up his hands. "No actually, I didn't. I knew they were giving the interview and publicly announcing the fact Elliot was their biological brother so obviously I figured that you'd feature in some way in the interview as you were the reason they are all related. But seriously Frank, how can you be offended by what they said? I don't know about what you did to Elliot's mom but you dumped Eva's mother and ran off to another state to another army unit, and then you went to the lengths of faking your own death when Ana's mom told you about her, so I'm guessing that Elliot's mother didn't fare much better by your actions. The fact she gave Elliot up for adoption confirms that, and tells me you abandoned her just like you did the others. You have no right to feel slighted as it's your fault they feel the way they do about you. Your selfish actions have come home to roost now and how you behaved is having consequences those consequences are that your kids hate you… no that's not right, as I really don't think they hate you as such, they are better people than that… they disregard you, you are irrelevant. They see you as irrelevant to them and that is because you made yourself irrelevant by your actions".

Arnie shrugs and it makes me angrier, because I know I have no defence against his words. I just wish a million times I could turn the clock back and do things differently. If only I'd never made that approach to Ana and tried to get some money out of her I would never be in this situation stuck in a stinking military prison if I'd just kept my head down in Canada.

(KATE)

I don't fucking believe this! Just look at him pawing that girl and looking at her how he should look at me. I was his wife first, and she has sneaked in there and stolen him. I pause as I think about what was said and it hits me – she's pregnant. They didn't come out and admit it but what was said spoke volumes.

I don't know what I am more angry about, the fact he was flaunting his new wife in my face or the fact they are all there and confirming the suspicions I had since I spoke to Ana that day. I look at my tablet with all the information I had gained so far, I was so close I could taste it. If only I'd managed to get that interview with Frank to confirm my suspicions.

My anger gets the better of me at the fact they have ruined my plans and I pick up my tablet and hurl it across the room and watch as it shatters against the wall. "God, fucking damn it!" I yell and I throw myself on to the bed.

I hear my phone ringing and pick it up, "Hello" I say and I hear the no nonsense voice of my boss at the online news website I work at.

"Kate, get your ass back to Seattle, now that interview has aired there is no point in you continuing with that story as its all out there now and anything you do write will just look like sour grapes because of who you are, and to be honest with you I'm not too keen on the prospect of being sued by the Grey's or Cross's if you do write something they don't like so it's finished. I'm not funding this trip any longer". The line goes dead and I stare at my phone in disgust.

He is right of course, with them coming out and doing that interview they have effectively killed the story.

My anger leaves me in a rush, and a wave of self pity consumes me. Why are they doing this to me? What have I done to them? My life is a mess and I can't seem to get a little break no matter how hard I try. My own father has disowned me and taken their side that much is evident by the fact he was responsible for the production of the interview and he just had to twist the knife a little bit more by getting Hazel fucking Mathers to do it.

My mind goes back to ass wipe, how could he do that to me? Flaunt his new wife like that not to mention the fact they commented that Ava calls her mom. To be fair that part doesn't really bother me as such as I never wanted that brat in the first place - but it's the principle of the thing. Flaunting that fact in public, is just unfair. I think about Ana next, and I feel my indignant anger rising as I do so, she has changed. After all I did for her in college, she was supposed to be my friend. She changed when she married that controlling bastard, I tried to tell her and warn her about him but she wouldn't have it. I even had that fucking brat to try and help her see sense and give her a way out of his clutches. After what ass wipe had said I was certain she wanted a child and that he had said no. If only she had taken that opportunity I'd given her on a plate she could've destroyed him but instead she tried to tell me that wasn't the case and she didn't want a child but I don't believe that for one second. I could never understand what he saw in her, I mean it's not as if she was in the same social circle as me let alone him. She barely had two cents to rub together. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off her that day in Seattle when she came with me to interview him and he threw me out. Thank god she was there though as he asked her if she would like to interview him instead, so I got the scoop for the college newspaper. Then she found that sister of hers. That was the moment she completely pulled away from me, it was as if I no longer existed when Eva fucking Cross came into the picture. It was almost as if between them - Eva and the control freak poisoned her against me and controlled her so completely that she turned against me. Now they are all sitting there so fucking smug and happy that they are all related and in the process ruined my story… and my life!

I pick up my suitcase and with a sigh I start to pack, I am not relishing the long drive back to Seattle. That fucking family have destroyed my life.