Trigger Warning: Carson will share some very distressing details of Elena's brutal physical and sexual attack on him.

Chapter 34: The Twins are in Danger, Part 2

Taylor pulled into the Grey's long driveway, and Christian and Gabby went inside. They didn't see Grace anywhere, so they went straight to Carson's bedroom.

"Show me what that bitch did to you," Christian ordered when he saw Carson standing there. Christian already had tears in his eyes.

Carson angrily accused Gabriela, "You fucking told him! I told you to leave him out of it!"

Christian interrupted, "Carson, Gabby was right to tell me. I can help. I know what Elena did to you because she did the same fucking thing to me, and I'll be damned if I let her keep doing it all these years later to my own brother! Can you show me your back? Please?"

Carson looked at Christian in shock. Christian wasn't sure what shocked Carson more, the fact that he'd admitted what Elena had done to him, or the fact that he'd begged Carson and even said please. At any rate, Carson didn't speak, but he turned around and took off his shirt. His back was covered in bruises, welts, and deep ugly cuts that were still healing. Some of the deeper cuts looked like they might be getting infected.

As Christian gazed at Carson's back, which looked like it had been through a meat grinder, he realized that Elena had beaten Carson worse than she'd ever beaten Christian. Why? Christian had no scars that Elena had put there, but Carson was going to have permanent scars.

The thought occurred to Christian that Elena was targeting Carson to punish Christian. Did she know about his investigation into her accounts that had already uncovered her theft? Did she know Welch was looking deeper into her other illegal activity? Or had she felt threatened by the fact that he no longer wanted her to find his subs? Whatever it was, she was coming unhinged. But if she was doing this to get to him, what the fuck did she expect to accomplish? Whatever it was, it wasn't going to work.

But fuck! He'd caused this! His brother was hurting because Christian hadn't told his parents about Elena years ago. He'd even remained friends with her. Everything his brother was suffering now was Christian's own damn fault.

Before he realized what was happening, Christian's knees had buckled, and he found himself on the floor with tears running down his face. He never, ever cried like this, even alone, but at the moment, he couldn't give two shits that he was showing weakness in front of his siblings. He'd caused pain to someone that he loved dearly. Carson was still suffering, and by extension, so was sweet Gabriela.

"Christian? What on earth?" he heard their mother's voice at the door to Carson's bedroom. Grace walked towards Christian in shock, because she'd rarely seen him cry even as a young boy, and certainly not as a grown man. But before Grace reached Christian, she saw her other son standing there, also staring at Christian in shock. Grace got a good look at Carson's back.

"Oh my God! Carson! What happened?" Grace cried in horror.

Carson only continued to stare at Christian in shock, as did Gabriela. Christian himself provided the answer to Grace's question. He wiped his eyes and looked from Carson to Grace. "Elena fucking Lincoln happened," he spat out, not caring that their mother didn't approve of profanity.

Now all three of his family members were staring at wet-faced Christian, still on his knees.

"What?" Grace's voice radiated shock. "Elena? I don't understand, Christian."

Christian got up and sat on Carson's bed. He motioned for their mom to sit beside him. Carson and Gabriela stood there watching, neither knowing what to say or do.

"Mom, Elena Lincoln is a pedophile," Christian said as calmly as he could.

Grace didn't want to believe something so horrible about someone who had been her friend for years. "Christian... that's a horrible accusation. Are you sure..."

"Yes, Mom, I'm sure," Christian interrupted.

"But... There must be another explanation," Grace insisted. She stood and walked to Carson, examining his back. "Dear boy, why didn't you tell me? This needs to be treated, son." She turned to her daughter, who was still standing there with silent tears pouring down her face. "Gabriela, go get my medical bag from my office."

Gabriela went without saying a word. Meanwhile, Grace went into the bathroom that Carson and Gabriela shared, got a wet washcloth, and began blotting Carson's back.

"Some of these cuts needed stitches," Grace commented. "Oh, Carson, son, what happened? Did Elena do this?"

Carson didn't answer. He stood silently, holding back tears. He was so ashamed he couldn't speak.

Christian, on the other hand, wasn't able to keep his own tears at bay. "This is all my fault," he told them. "If I'd told you and Dad years ago... this couldn't have happened to Carson."

Grace stopped examining Carson's back and gaped at Christian in horror. "What?! Christian! I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying!"

Gabriela walked back into the room with Grace's medical bag just as Christian confessed, "Elena Lincoln did this same thing to me when I was Carson's age. That's how I know, without a doubt, she did this."

Grace had to sit down again. She was speechless, just processing Christian's words. The more she digested the truth, the angrier she became. "Tell me everything," she told Christian with deathly calm that all three siblings immediately recognized. Shit was about to hit the fan.

Christian gulped. His mother had always scared him when she got like this. He knew there was no way that he could hold anything back. She'd know. Christian started talking, telling his mother and siblings secrets that he'd never intended to tell anyone.

"It started when I was fifteen," Christian began. "I'd gotten into another fight, expelled from another school. You and Dad were at your wits end. Kind of like you are now with Carson."

Grace nodded. "I remember."

"Elena convinced you hard labor would do me good. I needed discipline. You sent me over to do chores. She had some rubble in her backyard she wanted me to move. The second day I was there, she came outside wearing a really skimpy outfit, and she gave me a glass of lemonade. I was staring at her tits, and she slapped me. Then she kissed me."

Grace made a noise which caused Christian to pause. "No, continue," Grace insisted.

"So... you know how I couldn't stand to be touched? She convinced me that she could show me... how to get control. And she did. She showed me how to... umm…"

"Just say it, Christian. She molested you, didn't she?" Grace asked. She clearly already knew exactly where this conversation was headed.

Christian nodded. "I didn't see it that way at the time. I… wanted it. I... signed a contract that said I was... her submissive."

His words angered the Mama Hen even more. "Christian, you were fifteen fucking years old. You were too young to consent to a sexual relationship with a woman twice your age. She fucking molested you!"

Christian stared at his mother in shock. Grace Grey had just cursed. Twice. He didn't know she even knew that word until now. Finally, he was able to respond. "I know that now, Mom, but at the time, I didn't... I thought I was old enough. And I thought I needed it. You have to admit, my behavior did improve," he added.

"Oh, my God!" Grace exclaimed. "She groomed you, Christian, and she used me to do it! I confided in her! God damn it! This is a textbook case, and I completely missed it, not just with one son, but with both of you! Did she do this with Elliot? Was it just my sons, or was it my daughters too? What about Mia? What about you, Gabby?" Grace turned to her daughter and demanded an answer.

Gabby stared wide-eyed at her mother, unable to speak, but she shook her head. Elena hadn't molested her. Yet.

"How long, Christian?" Grace asked.

"How long?" he repeated, not sure what she was asking.

"How long did that monster continue to molest you before you were able to... or, oh my God, are you still…?! You're still friends with her!"

"No, Mom, I'm not still... anything," Christian quickly answered. "I... I was her submissive for five years. Until after I returned from Harvard and started GEH. She loaned me the money. And... then she trained me..." Shit, why was he admitting that, too? They surely didn't need to know that part.

"She trained you?" Grace asked.

Christian sighed. There was no way to take back the words, so he'd have to admit to the rest of it. "She trained me to be a Dominant."

Grace glared at him. "Please tell me you're not... that you haven't molested any..."

"No!" Christian stopped her. "No, I've only ever contracted with adult women in the lifestyle. They... want to do it."

"The lifestyle?" Grace questioned.

Shit, this was difficult. How the hell was Christian supposed to explain the lifestyle to his mother while his teenage siblings were listening?

"It's BDSM, Mom," Gabby explained, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived home. Her voice was calm, like this wasn't repulsive at all. His sweet little virgin sister had taken it on herself to rescue him from this impossible situation and explain his lifestyle to their mother. Christian felt so ashamed he wanted to crawl in a hole. How the hell did Gabby know what it was? And how was she not freaked out about it? But Gabriela continued, "You know, bondage and domination. Whips and chains."

Grace looked like she was going to be sick as she looked at Carson's back again. "Christian...? Do you... do this?" She pointed at her other son's wounded back. "To women?"

Christian moaned and rubbed his temples. "Never like this, Mom. I've never hurt somebody like this. I was trained... Elena trained me herself... never to leave lasting marks. But she... She left lasting marks on my brother. Carson's going to have scars."

Grace looked even more horrified. "Lasting marks? Christian Trevelyan Grey! You beat the women you're with?!"

Christian had no idea how to respond. Thankfully, his little sister came to his rescue again, to his own astonishment. "Mom," Gabriela said. "BDSM is safe, sane, and consensual when it's practiced correctly. And I'm sure Christian practices it correctly. Besides, you're getting distracted. Carson needs your attention."

Grace turned to Gabriela, and then to Carson, but then she looked back at Gabriela again. "How do you know so much about this, Gabby?" Grace asked her suspiciously.

Gabriela rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm still a virgin, so no, I don't know from experience. But I'm not stupid. I read a lot."

That satisfied Grace. She turned back to Christian and warned, "We'll talk more about this later, son." Then, she gave Carson her attention. She opened her medical bag and instructed Carson to lie on his stomach on the bed. While she cleaned and dressed his wounds, she continued the conversation, this time directed at her youngest son.

"Carson... I'm so sorry this happened to you," she began tenderly, as she treated him.

Carson turned his head so none of them could see the tears leaking from his eyes.

"But I'm going to need to hear you say it, son. I need to hear it from you, too, not just from your brother. Did that woman seduce you like she did Christian?"

Carson didn't answer at first, but when he realized Grace was waiting for an answer, he whispered, "Yes."

Carson didn't see his mother as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She cleared her throat before she clarified, "So... she raped you?"

Carson wasn't sure how to answer, so he didn't at first. But again, she was waiting for an answer, so he replied weakly, "It wasn't rape. I consented."

Grace stood up quickly, went into the restroom, and turned on the tap. If she thought the sound of the water would prevent her children from hearing her angry scream, she was mistaken. But none of them reacted when she walked back into the room. She tenderly resumed her treatment of Carson's wounds as she told him patiently, "Carson, I know you're mature for your age, but son, you're still fifteen. Legally, you're a minor, and you can't consent. Your father can explain better than I can, but Carson... what Mrs. Lincoln did... Even if you told her she could, it was a crime. It was rape."

Now Carson was crying openly. "But, Mom... shit! That hurts! Mom, I'm sorry!"

"Shh... It's OK, son," Grace responded. "We'll overlook profanity for the time being."

"No... that's not it," Carson said. "I'm sorry... I let her rape me."

Now Grace couldn't hold back the tears from her own eyes. "Dear boy, you didn't let her... Carson, you have nothing to apologize for, love."

Carson groaned. "Mom, you don't understand. You don't know half the shit I've done. I've got so much to apologize for. So much! I'm so sorry!"

"Shh... " Grace consoled him by running her fingers through his thick black curls, like she used to when he was younger, scratching his scalp the way she used to get him to relax. "Carson... no matter what you've done, it won't change the fact that you're my son, whom I love dearly. I failed you, Carson. I failed both of you." She looked at Christian regretfully.

"Mom, no," Christian objected. "You've never failed me. Everything that happened... it was on me."

"Yeah, me too," Carson agreed as he sat up and looked at his mother. "I was already in deep shit. Dad wanted to send me away, I was so out of control. I thought... She told me it was how she helped Christian. I remembered what you'd told me, and I thought... maybe she could help me too. She did. She paid off... Damn, please don't be mad. I... God this is hard... Remember those drugs I got caught with? Well, umm... they weren't exactly... mine. And, umm... I owed... I was supposed to get them to the people they were intended for, collect the payment, and get it back to..."

"You were dealing drugs?!" Christian shouted. "Jesus Christ! How can you be so fucking stupid?!"

"You're not helping; you're just making things worse," Gabriela whispered in Christian's ear, calming him down instantly.

"I'm sorry, Carson. I shouldn't have said that. You're not stupid. I don't think that. I'm just..." Christian's voice broke. "You were dealing drugs," he finished, in a defeated tone.

Carson couldn't control his tears now. "You're right. I was stupid. I just... wanted to be popular with... those guys. But where were they when I got caught? Now I'm the one with the juvie record, and they just laughed their asses off. This wasn't just me getting caught smoking pot, like before. This was serious shit. I might not even get into the college I want to go to now, because I thought I was doing them a favor, and they couldn't give a shit. And on top of that, the assholes I got the stuff from still wanted to be paid. What was I supposed to do?"

"Did you ever think about coming to me?" Christian asked.

"Or me?" Grace added.

Carson snorted. "Why? So you could remind me how fucked-up I am? So you could tell me I'm going to end up like my birth mother? No, thanks! I already know that!"

Grace put her hand on his shoulder as she said, "You're NOT going to end up like Vanessa, may God rest her soul, and we're going to fix this. Now, whatever your dreams were for college... that's what I want to see you focusing on. You know your dad's still working on getting your record sealed. Your dreams are attainable, Carson. Especially if you've learned your lesson and aren't going to get into any more trouble."

"I've learned my lesson, Mom," he promised.

"Good. Now... tell me more about this money you owed these drug dealers. Do I assume correctly that Elena paid them off?"

Carson nodded. "She said if I agreed to sign her... contract," he spit the word like it was disgusting, "that she'd take care of it."

"How much?" Grace pressed.

"$2,500," Carson answered. "That included... interest."

"Good God," Grace muttered. "She paid $2,500 to get you to consent to being beaten and…" It wasn't a question but a statement of fact.

"And fucked," Carson finished needlessly. "She... used some kind of fake dick. It hurt."

Grace looked white as a sheet, like she was going to faint.

"She raped him with a strap-on," Christian explained needlessly.

"She did the same thing to you, didn't she," Grace confirmed, to which Christian nodded.

Grace took a deep breath as she turned back to Carson. "Son... I'm not going to insist on it, but I'd like... I'm sure your father will feel the same way... I'd like to take you to the hospital and do a rape kit. I'm sure... you don't have to show me, Carson, I'm sure you're still suffering the effects. But we need... proof."

Carson looked horrified. "Proof?"

Grace nodded. "I'd like you to consider pressing charges. I want her to pay for what she did."

Carson looked not only horrified but downright terrified. "But Mom! She'll lie! Besides, I signed that damn contract! She had my consent!"

Grace calmly replied, "Sweetheart, we've been over this already. You can't consent because you're underage."

Carson couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Mom... do I have to do this?"

Grace shook her head. "No, sweetheart. I won't make you do it. But if you don't... she'll get away with it."

"Not if I can help it," Christian said under his breath, but they heard him.

Carson looked at his brother. "Why don't you press charges if she did this to you too?"

"I'm not sure I can," Christian answered thoughtfully. "I'll ask Dad, but it's probably too late. It happened years ago. And I never... Christ, I'm the one who was stupid, Carson. I never saw how wrong it all was until she did the same damn thing to you. I thought she was helping me. And I thought I deserved it," Christian admitted shamefully.

"Me, too," Carson admitted. "But I just... it hurts too bad. But I'd already decided before you got here that I'd keep doing it to keep Gabby safe."

"What?" Grace asked. "Why would you need to keep Gabby safe?"

Gabriela explained, "I went there yesterday with Carson to try to get him out of this mess, but... Mrs. Lincoln said she would... She wanted to auction me off, Mom."

Grace hadn't realized this situation could get more horrifying, but it just had. "She wanted to... what? Auction...? Are you saying...?"

"She somehow knew I was a virgin," Gabriela explained. "She wanted to... sell my virginity to the highest bidder."

Mama Grey had reached her limit. "I'll kill her. First my Christian, then my Carson, and now my innocent Gabriela! I am going to fucking kill that bitch!"

At that moment, Carrick Grey walked up the stairs, having just arrived home. He only heard the last few words from Grace's mouth. To say he was shocked at her outburst would be a major understatement.

"Grace! What on earth?!" Carrick exclaimed as he approached Carson's bedroom.

Grace didn't try to control her tears. "Elena Lincoln needs to die a painful death, Carry! That pedophile needs to pay for what she's done to our family!"