Renegades: A New Dawn

by Primal WolfBlood

In Part 3 of The Renegade Chronicles, follow the Renegades as they try and recover from the shocking end to The Renegade Revolution, and continue their lives with more action and suspense than ever before, as they learn who the true enemies are, and finally confront Segolia once and for all, to end their clash with each other.

62. One for Sorrow

Renegades: A New Dawn

Chapter LXII: One for Sorrow

Manchester Crown Court

As flash photography went off, Damien was led into the court for the first day of his trial. Being ushered inside, he quickly noticed Frances stood, hair up tight and clutching a black folder, wearing a bright red jacket and cravat. Seeing her, he was immediately enraged. 'What's she doing here?' he roared in a grizzly voice. The officers escorting him had no interest in this though, and quickly brought him into the courtroom, where the judge and his Defence counsel were waiting.

A few minutes later, Frances herself entered the courtroom, sending Damien over the edge, and he immediately tried to leap out of the stand, only to be restrained. 'What's she doing here!?' he repeated. The judge then called for order. 'Mr. Cummings, Ms. Grainger is the prosecutor. And if you try to harm any individual in this court again, you will be held in contempt of court, and will not be here for the remainder of the trial. Do I make myself clear?' 'I'm innocent, it was an accident.' 'That will be for the jury to decide.'

At Phil and Hannah's house

Phil was just coming in from collecting more produce for the farm shop when he saw Hannah coming off the phone. 'Anybody interesting?' 'Just one of Frances' aides, Maddy made sure that I was going to be updated on everything to do with the trial. Apparently he's already demanding a retrial without her.' 'That's fast, thought it would take him at least an hour' Phil sarcastically responded. Seeing that the events were playing on his beloved's mind though, he put down his produce and sat next to her.

'Are you sure you don't want me to drive you down there? The Aston doesn't normally cause any issues for you.' 'I'm fine' she sighed. 'You know I'd love to go down there every single day just to see Frances make him squirm in his skin. She's been absolutely savage since Maddy brainwashed her.' 'I still can't believe she didn't ask us about that.' 'I mean… I suppose Frances had asked her a couple of times.' 'Really?' he responded, apparently unaware. 'Yeah, I was looking at things in the base a couple of weeks ago, Frances applied four times. The first time was the day before I announced my resignation, but obviously we'd suspended new additions.' 'Funny Frances never told us any of this.' 'Probably thought it was nothing to do with us.'

Hannah then groaned as she moved to reach her glass of lemonade. 'Back still causing you gyp?' 'Yeah, it's nowhere near as bad as it was, I really need to thank Rio for suggesting acupuncture, but it's still causing issues. To be honest I'm probably pushing it going to any of the trial. Are you sure that you're ok running everything while still working with Blair and Rio and everyone?' He just tapped her knee with his hand. 'I'm fine. Rio and Blair totally understand that most of our work together is remote at the moment, and most of the work with Belle and Freja is done at events anyway. To be honest I could probably get away with working with them once a week.'

'How's the contract situation coming along?' 'I spoke to Rio and Blair, we've agreed to wait until I've got a bit more time to devote to them to officially unveil their contracts, but they've both signed. Belle is getting a contract, but I've not sat down with her regarding terms yet, and Freja's contract is waiting for her. I just need to see something more from her, something…' 'You can't put your finger on it.' 'Exactly, there's just something I need to see from her. A certain X-Factor, because right now she's not there. You can teach them to be good.' 'But you can't teach them to be fantastic.'

Canterbury Modelling Studios, Parklands, Newcastle

Freja and Belle arrived at the modelling studios, and immediately went up to the reception desk. 'Double shoot, McKinna.' After some searching through the booking records, their reference was found. 'You're going to be in… Studio 11. First floor, furthest studio on the left.' 'Thanks. Do you know who's on today?' 'Studio 11 is… Andrew Carnegie.' Freja smiled at this. 'Oh you'll love Andrew, makes you feel at home so quickly.' As they went up in the lift, Freja was hiding a surprise though.

When they walked into the studio, a stocky man, well above 6ft, greeted them in a grey cardigan. 'Freja, you look fantastic.' 'Thanks, just got my fringe trimmed.' 'And this is?' Freja then pushed Belle to the front. 'Belle Draper.' 'Nice to meet you.' 'And you.' As Belle looked confused, the surprise was revealed, when Freja handed her a card. 'Happy birthday. I err… I hope you like your birthday present.' She still looked confused, until Andrew explained everything to her. 'Your sister here booked a shoot for both of you. Have you ever done modelling before?'

This question shocked her. 'No, I… never thought about it.' 'Well I'm surprised at that, you're actually quite the natural poser.' 'Am I?' He then admired her stance. 'The way you stand with your hand on your hip naturally, the look, stern yet open, you're an absolute natural.' 'Never really considered myself to be particularly natural at anything.' 'You'd be surprised how often we get that. People come into these studios, they think they're ordinary, but then they find their sass, their style.' Freja then turned to her. 'So what do you say - you want to do this?' 'Sure, why not' she said, buoyed by Andrew's words.

As they were having their hair done ahead of the shoot, Belle was reflecting on the surprise. 'I've never had my hair done professionally like this before.' 'Seriously?' 'Yeah, it's lucky if it gets 10 minutes in the shower most days. You've had this planned for a while haven't you?' 'I'd been trying to get Maddy to do it for ages, but she keeps refusing because she had a bad experience at my old place. And when you got into that fight with Dakota, I kind of felt bad because Blair was the only person who had given you a chance, so I thought I'd book this for your birthday because, like I don't have a fuckin' clue what you wanted, so I'd try this, and if you didn't enjoy the modelling, at least you got a hairdressing appointment for free.'

'Well…' Belle was about to address Freja as a friend when she paused, and thought, before changing her language. 'Thank you, I couldn't have asked for a better sister.' 'I appreciate that you've always been there for me. Our entire lives.' Before she could make another mistake, Belle changed the subject. 'How's the training for Maddy going?' 'Yeah, I've been working really hard. I know Maddy's deck and all of the plays she's shown, I've even learned some that she hasn't used. And let's just say that she's going to have an experience against me that she won't forget. Because I'm going after her, and he's going to see that I'm worth the bother.'

Belle just held her hand as a response. 'All we can do is continue to show him what we're made of - we've got some titles, now we've gotta defend them. He'll get to see everything we do close up, and make his own decision. But even if he makes a mistake with us, we've got each other. 'Hey, I like this more confident you.' Belle smiled in response, but she was hiding a very notable secret.

Flashback: In the base, the previous afternoon

Belle was resetting the arena scoreboards after an intensive training session with Blair and Rio when Blair passed her a letter. 'What's that?' 'Phil asked me to give it to you, he would have done it himself, but he got tied up at a supplier's in Leeds.' 'He say where?' the local girl asked, having an extensive knowledge of England's 5th biggest city. 'He didn't,just that it was the best place to get flour. I think he just wanted an excuse to go down to Yorkshire personally, but you can never say that to him.'

As Belle gently slid her fingernail under the envelope's flap, it opened, and she withdrew the letter, with another neatly folded piece of paper rustling as it fell to the floor. As Belle started to read the letter, Rio picked up the other paper. 'You want to see this Belle.' She looked over, and saw what looked to be a professionally written document, which Rio passed over with a smile. 'Welcome to the crew.' As Belle took the document, she turned it around to read her and Phil's names on the front. 'Is this… what I think it is?' 'Looks like you impressed him' Blair cheerily gleamed. Belle then sat down to read the letter.

"For the correspondence of Tinkerbelle "Belle" Draper

Following our recent discussions and your training, it gives me great pleasure to offer you this contract of employment and assignment to M18 Management Inc. The reasoning for your contract offer are as follows: Your growth as a duellist and as a professional, your willingness to learn and improve, and your dedication to causes which I promote and support. You have consistently proved to be a valuable member of our team, and your commitment to the cause has been second to none. I hope that you sign the contract, but if you have any questions, we can arrange a face-to-face meeting. Sincerely, Phil Robinson.

Addendum: Freja is NOT to find out about this, as it will create unnecessary friction.

Reading it, she shook her head. 'I can't believe this.' 'You've earned it Belle.' 'Not that, it's that I can't tell Freja. We've literally been sharing everything with each other, and now all of a sudden I've got this massive news I just can't tell her?' As she recoiled, Blair walked over, and put her arm around her. 'Come on, you know she'll be delighted when you tell her.' It was what Rio said that was the most supportive though. 'Besides, we all know he wants to give her a contract, it just takes her doing a little bit more to impress him.' 'You think so?' 'Look, he's not being hard on her to be a dick, it's called tough love. He's done it with both of us.' Blair then looked over at her in surprise.

'Talk for yourself, he's an absolute sweetheart for me.' 'Yeah, that's because your the apple of his eye. I swear for about 4 months after we started working together all he'd tell me is what you did well. I mean I didn't tell him anything at the time about how I felt because I was a f**king wallflower back then, but I've got sod all to worry about anymore, I'm lucky I'm still here. But the point I was making was that he's not doing this to be mean, he's doing it because she needs the motivation, he knows she can do better. All you need to do is not say anything and it'll be fine. Discuss literally anything else.'

End of Flashback

'Just need you to hold those titles on your shoulders, look… determined, calm yet steely' the director stated while the cameraman got his tripod set up. Freja smiled, while Belle watched from the side nervously. 'So how do you… normally do all this?' 'Well first pass your belt over, needs cleaning.' As Freja polished the belt with a wet baby wipe, she continued to hand out the advice. 'It's not a proper pro shoot, so it's not as complicated. Normally I just say hello to anyone I happen to know around here, then make sure I look presentable. Jamie's the camera dude, he's super sweet, he'll just tell us when he's ready, then he'll give instructions in terms of positioning.' Shortly after, they got the call. 'Ready when you are girls.'

Tentatively, Belle stepped forward into the green screen area. As she did, her face changed to a more focused, yet still calm look. Just as she was about to move off, Jamie shouted 'Hold that pose Belle. That's exactly perfect. Freja.' Quickly, she scurried in, and looked up, with a determined and fiery glare. 'Beautiful Freja. Hold hold hold' he declared, before taking several pictures, the flash making Belle blink at the last picture, annoying her. 'Sorry, ruined that one.' Freja smiled though. 'Why do you think they take so many in one go?'

Jamie then walked over to her. 'The camera takes 9 pictures per five second burst. So even when you blink, we still get on average 4-5 what we call "live rounds".' After another two rounds, it was time for solo pictures. But the director was prepared. 'No stance needed, just look natural, but proud to be champions, k?' 'Sure.' The photos continued, with Belle even breaking out into something resembling a smile at one point, but mostly just following what Freja was doing. Eventually though, all the photos were taken, and they were sat in front of a large screen, the photos of them being displayed on it.

'So how does the sorting work?' 'Usually I just pick a few I like the look of, and tell them to pick any others they like.' 'And they do that?' 'Yeah, I mean sometimes they just publish what I like the look of, it kind of depends how many pictures they need. Sometimes if I pick out more than I need they'll distribute them to other places, or keep them for marketing.' Freja then tapped on the screen, and the picture she identified disappeared. 'Just like that.' 'Thanks.'

As they were doing this, Freja noticed a smile on Belle's face. 'See, I told you you'd enjoy it eventually.' 'You were right, I was wrong. It's actually kind of cool thinking I'm going to be part of a magazine.' 'Not just part of it, Phil got us on the front page of LFD Weekly as well as a three page spread about us.' This shocked Belle. 'Seriously?' 'Yep. Just introducing us, where we're from and all that. Just cool stuff, nothing too invasive. Trust me, I was shocked as well. Amazing what you can do with a few connections.'

After they finished selecting the photos, they were both handed a slip of paper. 'We should have your photos on the website within 24 hours, and you can access them by entering that code. Freja, we'll update your bio with this shoot, and Belle, you don't have a portfolio with us yet, so we'll get that set up for you within a few days, and drop Freja a message when you can come and collect it. Thanks for your time today, and I hope you enjoy the photos.' 'Thanks Andrew, it's been great.' Belle then concurred. 'Yeah, thanks so much.' 'No problem' he warmly replied, as they left for home.'

At the court

Proceedings were continuing at pace, and the prosecution were making it clear exactly what they thought of Damien. 'So Mr. Bouchier, you said that Mr. Cummings had seemed… agitated? In the months leading up to the incident occurring?' 'Yes, he was incredibly anxious about "his girls' future", I distinctly remember he was obsessed the idea that all his girls were going to leave him. He'd always been really protective of them, but I remember that because it just seemed really off. And then when I heard about the crash, I… just knew that it was something to do with that. And that I could have stopped him, if I'd just tried talking some sense into him, he might not have done whatever he did. I keep looking back at that day, because a switch flipped in his brain I think, he was, it was almost like the evil side of how he felt had taken over, all that protectiveness turning into negativity.'

'You say he was always protective of them? Did this extend to… how do I put this… controlling their lives?' 'In what way?' Smelling blood, Frances pushed all the way. 'Did he ever try to influence who they saw, who they interacted with?' 'Yeah, all the time, but Marie always passed it off as funny, he was just a little bit overprotective of them. But he did have a certain way of making you feel uncomfortable if he didn't want you in their presence. He was one of these who just never wanted anybody to be as close to them as he was. Hannah in particular was "his little angel", and he never wanted her to go anywhere.'

'Can you tell me any more about this?' 'Yeah, like Hannah was really a Daddy's girl when she was young, they were almost inseparable. But she got older, and she got rebellious, and he didn't know how to handle it, because he'd always told me that she'd be his angel forever. I knew Damien before they were even born, and he always seemed like he wanted a kid more than he wanted a wife.' 'What makes you say that?' He took a breath and explained.

'Damien told me, probably about 18 months before Hannah was born, that he was going to divorce Marie if she wasn't pregnant by her 30th birthday, he thought she'd be over the hill I think. He spent a lot of time out at pubs at the weekends, and he was hitting on women there like nobody's business.' 'And when Hannah was born?' 'Suddenly he cared again. Marie was the love of his life, and Hannah was his angel. We' 'Who's we?' 'Me and some of our old frat mates, they lost contact with us around the time Allyxandra was born, Aaron briefly tried to get back to Damien weeks before the crash, but Damien was drinking heavily, and Aaron never had much time for him when he was drunk. We used to call him "Damien the 8th", because he acted like Henry VIII.'

'And you say he changed in the lead-up to the crash?' 'Yeah, he was a lot more concerned about them leaving, started talking about not letting them fall into the wrong hands, he was acting totally insane to the point where I tried to check him into rehab for his drinking. But he just wasn't having it, he insisted they were all going to leave him and end up destitute, ruining the family name. I'm telling you, I fully believe he crashed on purpose, because he wanted to be seen saving Hannah.' 'And Marie?' 'She didn't matter to him, she'd given him all she could. Hannah was the one thing in his life.'

Frances then turned to the jury. 'This is an example of what the defendant is like. We are not suggesting that in normal circumstances he would have reacted the way he did. Rather, that he became paranoid and controlling because he couldn't stand the thought of his daughter having any man in her life other than himself. The role of the father in society is to protect, but he thought it was to guide and control the destiny of the child, no matter what their own opinions might be.' As she finished saying this, the defence lawyer stood to respond.

'Mr. Cummings is not a cold blooded killer, of that we agree. On that day, an accident, a tragic accident, a tragic, tragic accident, happened because of an argument causing Mr. Cummings to take his eye off the road. He was not paranoid, but was instead a caring, loving parent who doted on and protected his family, trying to protect them from getting trapped in unsuitable situations.' 'And by "unsuitable situations", you mean falling in love? Or having a friend?' 'He was trying to protect her' 'I don't believe that for a moment. He was controlling and people like that will always commit crimes because of their inherent narcissism.' 'You want to talk about narcissism when in fact the narcissism comes from your client believing she will be a fantastic parent when all she has tried to do is tarnish the reputation of hers.'

At this point, the judge intervened. 'Order! May i remind you both that this is a murder trial, not a debate on parenting. If this line of enquiry continues I will, at my discretion, declare a mistrial. In addition, I would like to remind the defence that Mrs. Robinson-Cummings is not on trial here, and making suggestions that a woman who is eight months' pregnant is "not fit to be a mother" is at best derogatory, and at worst outright damaging. Now I will call a recess, for everybody to return tomorrow, and at such a time we will hear from a witness to the crash itself. Court dismissed.'

In the president's office, Renegades HQ

Maddy and Rio were hard at work, plotting ways to prove their theory of the masked attacker. 'Acid?' 'We want to reveal her, not permanently scar her.' 'I meant the threat of acid, that mask doesn't look particularly thick.' 'It's still a huge risk, this can't be a case of who blinks first, Akiza is too dangerous for that. If we show her that we're willing to stoop to that level, then all of a sudden she's got the whole world at her feet, and a free reign to do whatever she likes. She had Freja thrown down the stairs just to win one meaningless duel, she nearly set Jade's arm on fire, and, oh yeah, she was literally willing to see you be murdered just to avoid duelling you altogether.'

'And now she's going to be duelling Blair, who she actually hates.' 'And as you know, because we spent hours looking at it the other day, she's going to be protected at all times. But what you don't know is that I've laid on a bit more security.' This pricked Rio's ears up. 'Go on.' 'Well, Jana's going to be there, and she has the reflexes of a cat.' 'Yeah, she's also an ex slave of Akiza's.' 'That was completely artificial and is long since cleared. In fact the only person who keeps bringing it up is you. Trist me on this one, Jana being on board is only a good thing.' 'Ok, so is that it?' 'No, she said she's bringing some other people over, just Wolfbloods who live locally to her.'

This led to a surprising question. 'So like, how many Wolfbloods are there, like say in the UK?' 'Beats me' Maddy replied taking a sizeable swig of her water. 'Not like there's some registry or anything, most still live in the shadows or just blend in with everyone else like I used to. Back when I gave a shit.' Just then, the conversation was interrupted by Dakota opening the door on them quietly, annoying Rio. 'Dakota, I'm pretty sure we have a rule against opening the office door when there's a meeting.' 'Yeah, we got bigger issues than that. Lydia's at the doors, she won't shove off, and she's making a bit of a stink.' Hearing this, Rio shared a knowing look with Maddy, who immediately got up. 'We'll continue this conversation some other time. Just know things are in hand.'

As Maddy walked through the base outside, she found Lydia with her hair down, looking confused. 'FInally, I've been asking for you for half an hour.' 'Well I am sorry that I've got slightly more pressing matters of an Akiza persuasion right now. Was there something you wanted other than to get my attention?' 'Yeah, I sent Phil his money and I want back in.' Hearing this, Maddy walked out and the doors shut behind her. 'You know that isn't how it works. For a start, I want him to confirm he got the money, and secondly, anyone who's been suspended needs to go through a screening interview to come back in, because I don't want a repeat of the Claude situation.'

'In other words you're taking his side again.' 'I'm not taking sides. I'm telling you that the rules were changed 5 weeks ago if you had bothered to read the email I sent everyone.' 'Including Astrid?' 'She was literally in the meeting as head of security, a job title she still hasn't forgiven me for. So what you're gonna do is turn around, walk your pretty little head off here, and I will book you in for your return meeting for 11am tomorrow. If I find you ignoring the rules again though, then you will have your suspension increased. Now as you're not currently a club member, you have three minutes to get off the property.'

In the courtroom

Evidence was continuing to be presented regarding Damien's actions on the fatal day. 'So as we can gather from this evidence, Mr. Cummings was driving far too fast that day, with an average speed on largely built-up roads of 84 mph. Additionally he was driving incredibly recklessly, as the path of the tyre marks tells us; in the last six minutes before the crash, he changed from one side of the road to the other 47 times.' 'In your professional opinion, would you say that this driving was that of an individual trying to keep his family safe before a tragic accident?' 'No.' 'Would you instead suggest that the driving in question was that of someone concerned about safety?'

'No, in my professional opinion he had no intentions regarding life or death. His only aim was to not be where he was previously, and he gave no thought to anything else.' Frances then turned to the jury. 'Please consider this; would a man who was apparently so hellbent on protecting his family have been driving in such a manner, knowing they were all in the same car with him? Or maybe, would he have driven that way because he was determined to kill all of his family out of jealousy. I would like at this moment to show to the jury Exhibit 16c, three letters sent anonymously to a Michael E. Robinson, the father of Mrs. Robinson-Cummings' husband. These were sent all within four months of the crash. Handwriting analysis have concluded that the letters have from a 94% to 99% probability of being from the defendant.'

The defence attorney then stood to confront her. 'These threats you talk about are little more than a turn of phrase. I have no doubt that these letters were written by my client, because he admitted as much to me. However he has told me that he never intended on sending the letters. Rather, the letters were a way for him to express his frustrations. As for Mr. Robinson's son, my client was simply trying to protect the precious love from his daughter from falling into the hands of lower class ruffians, people who could never provide her with what she needs and deserves.' Frances briefly raised a smile, before providing counter evidence.

'I don't believe for a second that you felt that for a moment. Because there is no evidence to ever suggest that you were aspirational, nor that Mr. Robinson's family were not. Exhibit 27e, income records from the years 1986, when Mrs. Robinson-Cummings was born, until 2000, when the incident in question happened. In every single one of those years listed, Mr. Robinson's family earned more than yours, on average £4,860 more. Additionally we have received eyewitness testimony that from the outside, neither family were considered to be especially noteworthy. In fact further to the point, Mr. Robinson's father worked in insurance for over two decades. So I leave it to the jury to decide if this ludicrous story of "protection" makes any sense.'

The next morning, at the base

As Lydia arrived at the doors, they opened and Kris greeted her. 'You here for the return meeting?' 'Yep. What brings you out here?' 'Keep you out of trouble while you're here. I'm escorting you straight to the office.' 'Do I not get to see anyone first?' 'I know who you want to go and see, and no, that's the whole reason I'm out here.' 'But she's my sister!' 'Do you want to come in or not? Because it can really easily be arranged for me to just leave you out here.' Rolling her eyes, Lydia relented. 'Fine, let's just get in there.' As she stepped through the doorway, Kris snapped on a handcuff to her, before putting the other one on himself.

'What's this about?' 'I don't trust you, so I took the liberty of carrying these. So if you try and… I don't know, run off as soon as we get in there, I can stop you.' As her plan had been scuppered, she reluctantly let him lead her through the base. As she did, she encountered Rio, who smiled politely, but as they passed, she got her phone out, and texted Belle with "Lydia in base, keep Freja away from the office.", before slyly sliding it back into her pocket again. Meanwhile, Lydia was being invited into the office by Maddy, who had Blair with her. As she sat down, Kris sat opposite.

'Cut to the chase - you know why you were suspended?' 'Not really, all I was trying to do was wake my sister up from the stupid spell she's under.' 'No, you were suspended for trashing Phil's car, and for accusing me of hoarding an escaped prisoner in front of the entire club. You know full well that Belle has served all her punishment now.' 'Why are you so insistent on protecting her?' 'Because I am about all of you. Every single person in this club is my family, and that means I'll protect them with my life. And I'm not going to apologise for that. But the purpose of this meeting isn't to discuss that, it's to see if you're ready to rejoin us after suspension.'

'So I need to go through some things with you. Firstly, you've paid for the damage to the car?' 'Yeah, I sent you the receipt two days ago.' 'Secondly, you've listened to Belle's story again?' 'Yes.' 'And third, you acknowledge that there is no room for spreading false rumours about other Renegades?' 'Yes.' After writing something down, Maddy continued. 'So now we have to address the Freja situation. Before I do though, I wan you to promise that you're not going to talk over me.' Understanding, Lydia nodded.

'Now I understand your frustrations with the situation, and I have sympathy with what's going on. I have spoken to Phil several times, and he has made it clear that this is a temporary measure, and that this spell isn't going to be long term. Belle apparently understands this as well. It has been outlined to me that he is trying to find Freja's true potential, and he took actions which he felt were necessary to protect her from negative influences. Having listened to everything, i feel that he is doing the right thing at the moment.'

'So I want to make an agreement with you. I will let you back into the club, and we can strike this misdemeanour off the record. In return though, you have to promise to stay away from Freja where reasonable. I will arrange a meeting with Phil every week regarding the spell and I will give him an ultimatum where it has to be finished within two months of today. Things will work better if you let him do his job.' Reluctantly, Lydia accepted. 'Two months.' 'To the day, I will let him know when this meeting ends. In the meantime, keep away from Freja unless it's to be friendly and non-disruptive. If you don't, I will suspend you until the two months is up. Do I make myself clear?' 'Yes.' Maddy then handed over Lydia's I.D. card. 'It should start working again immediately.' 'Thank you.'

As they walked out of the office together, Maddy gritted her teeth at unfortunate timing as Freja and Belle had just returned from their shoot. Before Belle could notice the situation though, her "sister" had walked over to Lydia. 'Hey, you new here?' After a brief delay to look at Maddy, Lydia played along. 'Yeah.' 'Well I'm Freja, it's nice to meet you.' 'And you.' 'What's your name?' 'My name is Lydia, Lydia… Smith.' Despite the half lie, something seemed to trigger in the back of Freja's mind. 'Lydia… I feel like I know you. Hang on… aren't we… don't we know each other?' In a moment of fright, Belle steered Freja away. 'We'll roll out the welcome carpet later, we need to look at our photos online.'

At the court

Hannah was finally giving her evidence, but via video link instead of at the court. 'Firstly, could you maybe explain the complications from your injuries that you suffered in the crash in question?' 'Yeah, I suffered a broken back, I think it was six of my vertebra that were fractured and another three were crushed, I fractured my neck, there was a small bleed on my brain, my collarbone was fractured in three places, both sides of my pelvis were fractured, and I suffered a broken foot. I had loads of surgeries, four on my back alone, but to this day I have some issues walking long distances, and I have some days where I can barely move. I'm still in pain everyday.' 'And your not being here today?' 'Due to being heavily pregnant, I've found it incredibly difficult to travel. I managed to go to Paris a couple of weeks ago with my husband, and haven't been able to leave the house since. I wanted to be there in person, and I'm feeling a bit stronger, but I thought this was safer.'

'Please can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing, and what Mr. Cummings was like? I know this is a very delicate situation, so just tell us anything you can.' 'So Damien… Dad I guess, we were so close when I was young.' 'An old friend of Damien's called you a "Daddy's girl"?' 'I mean I probably was. We were so close, I really looked up to him like nobody else. Until I was… I dunno, about 8 or 9? He just slowly became more controlling, whenever I went out he wouldn't let me out of his sight. He insisted on being in the church when I went to the Girl Guides there, I'd see him stood outside School all day, it got to the point where he wouldn't let me go out anywhere unless I told him the exact time I'd be back to the minute. It was creepy at the time, it's terrifying now.'

'So he appeared to be jealous?' 'No, that came when I spent more time with Phil, they didn't like each other. It's not like we were even dating or anything, we just lived near each other and I was basically the only friend he had at that time. But Damien always had this thing not just about Phil, but his entire family, he just became so obsessed with the idea that Mum was having an affair with his Dad.' 'And were they?' 'No, that's the thing. One day he just randomly told her that she'd been out having an affair with Michael, even though he was working in Wrexham at the time. It expanded to her having loads of affairs every day, it was stupid.'

'Thing is, Mum always loved him to the moon and back. Because if she didn't, she would have divorced him long before and she would still be alive. Instead, she stuck by him, constantly insisting that it was probably something she was doing or some imaginary stress at work, and he'd be fine the next day, but he never was, it was always just as bad if not worse. It started out as just the occasional argument, but then it just got worse and worse. Everyone told her to just cut him out of her life, but she wouldn't.'

'So what ended up breaking the situation?' Talking about it, Hannah started to cry slightly. 'One evening, he beat her up, gave her a fat lip and two black eyes. I walked in on him doing it, and he smacked me across the face. It was only then that he apologised. He acted like it was an accident, but I knew it wasn't, he wasn't sorry that he hit her, only me. Because I was the only person in his life, or at least the only one he cared about. After that I never wanted to be near him.'

'And your sisters? What was their relationship with Mr. Cummings?' 'He never cared about them. When Mum found out she was having a second girl, he took me out of school to go on a three week holiday to some caravan park in Dorset. Mum ended up getting the police involved because she thought I'd been kidnapped. And I don't think he ever spoke to Megs other than to chew her out for not being big and strong. They'd tell them to be like me, I'm surprised they didn't hate me for life the amount of times they heard that. I was the apple of his eye, and they were just scum.' As she was speaking, Damien looked at the screen, totally impassive.

'Now could you talk me through the day of the crash? You have talked previously about remembering much of it despite your extensive injuries.' 'It's burned into the back of my mind. It was about half 5 in the morning, I remember me and Megs slept in the same room because she suffered from bad night terrors, and we were just snatched from our beds by… I was going to call him Dad but he doesn't deserve it. I just hate him so much.' Firm in her mission, Frances stayed calm and stoic. 'I'll give you some time to calm down.'

'I'm fine, sorry about that.' 'You have nothing to apologise for after everything you've been through.' 'He snatched us from our beds, carried us through the door, and threw us all in the car, before driving off. I remember seeing Mum handcuffed to the car door, she told us it would all be fine but I could see in her eyes that she thought we were all going to die. He drove off, and just didn't stop driving, he was skipping red lights, speeding, driving on one side of the road, then another.' 'Would you be able to say how fast he was driving?' 'Over 100, I'm sure of it.' Frances then turned to the jury.

'Telemetry from the crash showed that the car was driving at a speed of 98mph when it crashed, and to allow for the swerve marks on the road, it is believed that the car had been driving at a speed around 110mph shortly before the crash. Numerous witnesses report driving at 50 on that stretch of road, and being "overtaken effortlessly". Please, carry on.' 'Eventually we turned onto this long, like almost a country road, we were begging him to stop, but he lost control of the car and it crashed through a metal sign, before launching off a grassy hill. I remember seeing fire, and I remember seeing Mum, she looked dead, and then it all went white.'

'And then?' 'I woke up in the hospital, Allyx and Meghan were sat there with me. I don't remember much beyond that.' Frances then again turned to the jury. 'The medical records state that Mrs. Robinson-Cummings drifted in and out of consciousness for nearly 40 days after the crash, and didn't regain any form of memory beyond her own name and those of her sisters until around 7 weeks afterwards. In that time, she underwent no less than 8 different surgeries for her injuries. Initially, doctors gave her, and I quote, a "negligible" chance of ever waking up. In fact, she was legally dead on four occasions in the first week.'

Hannah then broke down, having been totally unaware of how close she was to death. 'Now your husband was there as well, am I right?' 'Yes, he was in the boot. I only know this from talking to him since. He saw me being loaded into the car, and hid in the boot.' Again, Frances had more to provide. 'For context, Mr. Robinson-Cummings only suffered a fractured wrist in the crash, having been thrown from the car shortly before it launched off the hill. There is no evidence to suggest that either of his parents knew what was going on.'

'They didn't, I spoke to them a few months ago on the anniversary, they told me that he'd told them he was going to the cinema with some friends, and that they thought he'd fractured his wrist tripping over a loose paving slab.' 'This is what he told them, am I right?' 'Yes.' 'So when did you become aware of his actions?' 'It was over four years later' she calmly stated with grace and decorum. 'I got curious about the incident and how much was online about it, so I went on Google Images, looked up "2003 Winning Hill Crash", and scrolling down, I found a picture of him lifting me from the car. I confronted him, and he explained.' She then started murmuring to herself. 'And to think he apologised for damaging my back further when the explosion made him fall.'

'Sounds like a great individual to later start a family with. Now I am aware that Mr. Cummings' issues with your husband persisted when he came back into your life, so I would like to talk about Mr. Robinson for a moment.' 'Yeah sure.' 'You cared about him before the crash?' 'Yeah, I mean we were best friends, I'd go over to his house frequently, I knew he had developed a crush on me but I never really thought about it beyond the occasional joke between us about how mad it would be to get married.' 'Did you ever have… disagreements with him?' 'Yeah, I mean we still do, we're friends and friends want the best for each other. But I wouldn't change him for the world, and without him, I wouldn't be here.' Smiling, Frances stepped aside. 'No more questions Your Honour.'

The Defence then came into the fold. 'Ms. Cummings' 'Mrs. Robinson-Cummings thank you.' 'It isn't though is it? Because you're not actually married to Mr. Robinson, your wedding is coming up in a couple of months.' 'We have been legally married since last summer.' 'Why are you having a wedding then? Was getting married once not enough?' Before this odd conversation could continue, Frances stood again. 'Objection Your Honour, my client's marital status is completely irrelevant to this case, not to mention that she has publicly explained it on multiple occasions already, and the Defence were provided with a marriage certificate when they demanded one the day before the trial.'

The judge appeared to agree. 'Appeal upheld. I would request that the Honourable Mr. Carty refrain from getting off topic. Mr. Cummings is the defendant here.' 'I am simply trying to make the point that Ms. Cummings is a woman of questionable character who is at best an unreliable witness. Now you're pregnant with Mr. Robinson's child, correct?' She didn't speak, but instead moved her camera to show off the extremely large bump. 'And it is his child?' 'Why, who else's would it be?' 'Was it intentional on your end getting pregnant? Because according to all the evidence I've found of you thus far, you had never shown any inclination to do so before.'

'I didn't think I could get pregnant. I was told I'd never be able to give birth.' 'Giving birth and getting pregnant are two incredibly different things though.' 'I suffered a broken pelvis, meaning giving birth naturally will be near impossible, and my fallopian tubes were damaged, meaning conception was already thought to be a non-starter.' 'It doesn't say this on your medical records from after the crash.' 'That's because I found out when I was 17, six years after it happened. It's not something they check when they're stopping you dying. Now do you have anything productive to ask me?'

'When you conceived' 'I was delighted. I was delighted for myself because I never thought I'd get the opportunity to carry a tiny human inside of me like this, and teach it all this wonderful stuff. But I'm happier for him, because it was always a dream of his to be a parent. He's my inspiration and my best friend, and I can't wait to see what a real Dad looks like, because I never had one. Instead I had, excuse my language here, a total BUM who only really cared about having a little doll he could manipulate.'

'When your father came back from you believing he was dead' 'I wished he still was. I might just have given him another chance if he'd have changed, but he was the same old person he always was - he didn't want what was best for me, he wanted to order me about, marry me off somewhere exotic so he could pocket a load of money and talk about "His daughter the princess", when all I want is to live peacefully with my husband. So I don't want anything to do with him, because quite honestly, I deserve better, Phil deserves better, and this baby deserves way better.'

The defence representative then overstepped the boundaries. 'Quite frankly miss, you come off as rude, arrogant, and not in the least bit likeable. You have proven time and time again to be incredibly ungrateful, and I put it to you that you have fabricated the story of some fanciful car crash as some kind of revenge plot for your Father not being exactly what you want.' Before she could put him on blast, the judge intervened. 'ORDER! Mr. Carty, you are being stood down from questioning as it is clear that you cannot cross-examine Mrs. Robinson-Cummings appropriately. You of all people with your 35 years in the profession should know the standards that are expected. Mrs. Robinson-Cummings, you may leave.'

In Belle's bedroom

As Belle dragged Freja into her room, her "sister" was regaining her memories. 'Lydia… I know Lydia… we're related aren't we?' Desperate, Belle saw a pendulum on the bedside table, and made a sudden grab for it, before swinging it back and forth in front of Freja's eyes. 'Watch the pretty pendulum and… uh,... you will do what you I tell you to. Follow my words.' Luckily for her, Freja's previous spell made her far more susceptible, and she quickly fell into a trance. 'Repeat after me: I do not know anybody called Lydia.' Entranced, she slowly repeated. 'I do not know anybody called Lydia.' 'Your only sister is me, Belle.' 'My only sister is you, Belle.' 'All my memories of people called Lydia will be deleted.' 'All my memories of people called Lydia will be deleted.' 'When I click my fingers, you will be under my spell for an hour. When you emerge, you will have no knowledge of anybody called Lydia. Your name is Freja Draper, your parents are Lisa and Zak Draper, and I am your only other relative you know.'

As she clicked her fingers, the trance was tight in. Paranoid still, she took Freja's black hair tie out, and then let her own hair down, before tying Freja's hair with her own red hair bow, looping it inwards, and then issued a single instruction. 'Change all your clothes.' As she said this, Belle got on the phone to Phil. 'Belle, what can I do for you?' 'Lydia's back and Freja was remembering her. So I've put her back under a trance, tried to delete all her memories of Lydia.' 'It's unlikely a simple trance like that would do that. But good work, keep it up.' 'Gonna feel horrible for doing this now.'

Sensing her torment, he came up with an idea. 'How long is Freja under for?' 'She's doing what I say for an hour.' 'I'll ring her in about an hour and a half, I'll get you both over to strip tonight.' 'Whatever you desire Master.' 'I can wipe your memories of what you've done while I'm at it.' 'Thank you. Is there anything you want us to wear?' After some thinking, he responded. 'No, just bring the usual.' 'Affirmative. Thank you.' 'It's no problem. I just want you both to be ok.' 'I will be, thanks again.' 'As I say, just keep it up.'

Jade's flat, Washington

Jade was quietly cutting tomatoes in the kitchen when Ally wandered in, and jumped up, sitting on the neighbouring kitchen unit. 'Did you ever strip for anyone?' Horrified at the question, the Iranian dropped her knife. 'Pardon?' 'When you were dancing, did anyone ever make you strip?' After briefly pausing, Jade decided it was time to talk. 'A couple of times, it's not anything I'm proud of but I had to survive, and it's not like Russia's friendly to a teenage lesbian from Iran. So I just took up dancing, it was one of the things I knew I was good at, I had this way of captivating guys every time I moved my hips.' As she took a large gulp of water, Ally appeared to be fascinated at her foster parent's journey.

'So you came all the way from Iran to here? Why were you allowed in, the news said Iranians are dangerous.' 'Well some are, but I'm not. Besides, I wasn't born in Iran. I was born in Idaho.' 'Like Rio?' Jade then dipped into her pocket and pulled out her purse, revealing an old battered picture of she and Rio when they were young. 'Rio was my best friend when I was young. We'd spend every moment we could together, some people even mistook us for sisters. My family moved to Iran when I was 5, they told me it was a holiday for my birthday. That holiday lasted over 10 years.'

Ally then sprung down, and ran across the lounge, before returning with a book nearly as big as she was. 'So where did you go?' As the youngster opened the book to Iran's page, Jade detailed her journeys. 'So we flew into Tehran, then we drove south to Qaem Shahr. I lived there for a few years, we briefly moved to Lehmal which is about here (moves her finger down slightly). Then we moved to Jordan, to the capital Amman, and that's where I ran away from, when I was 15. From there I went to Jerusalem' 'Like Jesus?' 'Yeah, like him. I went to there for just under a year, and trust me you've never seen awkward like someone who's been brought up secular Muslim trying to make it in the Jewish homeland, and that's before you get to the international relations, so I ended up running to Halba, which is in Lebanon on the Jordan border, they found me so I ran further, ended up in Damascus in Syria for a few months, until I got caught up in a car bomb.'

'But you survived?' 'It's amazing how fast a wolf can run when she's scared for her life. So I ended up travelling all the way through Turkey, and I was happy enough there, but I couldn't find a job because I had no documents. So I payed a guy to make some documents for me, he ended up taking my money and disappearing. With my last money I paid a truck driver to take away, ended up in Siberia in Russia, did some… things I don't want to talk about. And that's where I became a stripper for a rich old bloke who owned some oil drilling company.' 'Bet you really hate him for making you do that.' Jade's reply was surprising though.

'I don't. Thing is, he paid REALLY generously, and most of the girls there were from poor families. If they weren't there they'd be on the streets. And it's not like we were kept in awful conditions, he paid for us to stay at a decent B&B. I hold no ill will to him, and when he found out I was lesbian and would be prosecuted, he even arranged for me to be driven to the nearest airport for a flight to D.C.' 'Did he ever try and kiss you?' 'No, one of his… associates did though, and they wound up at the bottom of a frozen lake the next day. He looked after his girls, and never stood in their way if they wanted to leave. The guy died a few weeks ago, and I never got to thank him for everything he did for me. Mind you, he was pushing 90.'

'You saw so much.' 'You don't know the half of it. I've already had more adventures than most people do in a full lifetime, and I'm thankful for it all. Because everything you see and do shapes the person you become.' As Jade was getting philosophical, Ally had a surprising request. 'Can you teach me how dance like you did?' Jade was about to dismiss this request out of hand when she had an idea. 'I can't teach you exactly what I did, but I can teach you some traditional Persian court dances.' As Jade started rolling her wrists to some music, Ally laughed happily, delighting Jade.

At the court

The last day of the trial had arrived, but as he was led to the stand, Damien suddenly started to kick up a fuss. 'I was told she'd be here.' 'Who's here is nothing to do with us' one of the officers responded bluntly, leading to them being pushed over. 'I demand to know where my daughter is! Tell me where she is or your entire court case can go to hell!' A familiar voice then emanated from behind. 'Ask and you receive.' As he looked around, Hannah was standing, wearing a plain white blouse which rolled over her enormous bump, as well as a long pleated skirt, her eyes adorned with thick black eyeshadow and eyeliner.

Seeing her there, Damien went to reach up towards her, but she just stared at him with disgust in her face. 'I don't want to know. I came because I want to see you pay. That's all.' 'You can't really believe I was responsible for everything, can you?' 'I don't just believe it, I remember it all. I don't want to be anywhere near you, but for the safety of me, my husband and my baby, I have to make sure that you're taken off the streets for good.' She then sat down, as Damien was hauled into the stand again.

In the arena

As Blair opened up her session in the arena, she was surprised to see a flood of people walking in, with Jodi standing on the door for her. As the last of them walked in, she reported her findings back. '38 people, 29 with tickets from Aberdeen, and one who is Hannah's sister.' Sure enough, as she looked up, Meghan was stood there on her phone, so Blair immediately approached. As she did so, the youngest Cummings sibling saw her coming, and smiled at the sight.

'Hey Megs, what brings you down here? I thought you'd be at the trial.' 'Hannah told me not to, she knows I wouldn't be able to bite my tongue.' 'So you decided to come down here because…' 'Can a girl not get a lesson from the World Number 1 without motive? Good to see you still actually tried looking slightly different for once' she retorted while nodding up at Blair's cornrows. 'Yeah, when in Paris. You told Rio you're here?' 'Not yet, not been here long. I was actually about to text her when you walked over. How's she doing?' 'Yeah, really well, I can't help but think having you just a phone away has helped.' 'Look, I'm not doing it for her health, I can't help it if she's actually really cool. We need a proper catch up really, I've not seen her in person in what feels like an eternity.' 'It's been about 3 weeks, that's not that long.' 'I know, but it feels longer, especially when she's having all these adventures.'

'You know you can tag along any time you like, Maddy likes you so you're good.' 'She likes anyone right now?' 'Don't be fooled by the mafia get-up, she's still the same wild Geordie underneath. She's just… grown up a bit. So, what did you want help with?' 'I want to duel you.' 'That was a little bit… sudden.' Meghan then revealed her hand. 'I'm here because I want to turn pro, carry on Hannah's legacy. I want the Cummings name to mean more than just the bloke who tried to kill his family.' Seeing the strength in her eyes, Blair smiled. 'I'll give you some tips now, and then at the end of the session in a couple of hours, you can try duelling me.' 'Thanks. Can we do some work on chainblocking?' 'Absolutely' Blair stated happily, starting the session.

Freja's bedroom

Having been welcomed back into the club, Lydia immediately went up to Freja's room, having seen Freja's reaction to her return. When she entered though, Freja was sat on her bed silently, with Belle stood up near the entrance to the room. 'Oh it's you… I want to speak to Freja.' Belle looked over at her, and simply stated 'Freja, leave the room.' She got up and did so immediately, as Belle pushed Lydia to the ground, before shutting the door. Threatened, Lydia tried to get out, only to find Belle stood in front of the door.

'What do you want?' 'You to leave Freja alone. She's my sister, we love each other, and I'm ten times the sister you ever have been. Now if you ever want her back in your life at all, you're going to leave us alone, and rebuild your place in the club without her. Because if you ever, and I mean ever, try to interfere with us again, try to "get through to her", then I will make sure that Freja never recognises you again. As far as you're concerned, you've never met her before today. She's better off without you. Now go away.' As a stunned Lydia failed to leave, Belle opened the door, and shoved her out.

The next day, at the court

After merely an hour of discussion, the jury returned to the courtroom from their deliberations, and Damien was brought back up. As he was, Hannah looked down sternly. The judge then turned to the jury, and addressed them directly. 'Have you all come to a decision of which you have all agreed?' The forewoman stood up, and confidently stated 'Yes, we have.' After a tense delay, the judge asked the all important question.

'On Count 1, the Murder of Marie Alice Kendal, how do the jury find the accused, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Guilty' was the swift reply. There was no cheering though, no shouting. Instead, Damien just buried his head in his hands, while Hannah wiped away a single tear, in the knowledge that in her mind, justice had been delivered. 'On Count 2, the Attempted Murder of Hannah Marie Cummings, how do you find the defendant, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Guilty.'

'On Count 3, the Attempted Murder of Allyxandra Jennifer Cummings, how do you find the defendant, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Guilty.' 'On Count 4, the Attempted Murder of Megan Rhiannon Cummings, how do you find the defendant, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Guilty.' 'On Count 5, the Attempted Murder of Phillip John Robinson, how do you find the defendant, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Not Guilty.' Frances looked far from happy at this, but Hannah still nodded down that it was fine. 'And finally on Count 6, Conspiracy to Human Traffic, how do you find the defendant, Damien Alexander Cummings?' 'Guilty' came the climactic response. As the verdict came through, Damien, looking extremely afraid, looked up at Hannah, who just stared at him with a furrowed brow. The judge then declared 'We will reconvene in two hours for sentencing.'

As everyone flooded out, Frances approached Hannah. 'I promised I'd get justice for you.' 'Thank you, I should never have doubted you.' 'Just so you know, I got your payment, and I sent it straight back. I didn't do this because of money, I did this because I wanted that bastard convicted.' 'So how long do you think he's going to get?' 'We've pushed for at least 30 years, but I have no idea what the judge will decide. What matters though, is he's going down for a long time.'

Two hours later

As everyone returned, the judge began sentencing. 'Mr. Cummings, I find that your actions have not been those borne out of reasonable judgement or concerns; rather, your actions were the build-up of paranoia and jealousy. You were willing to murder your entire family in a vicious and reckless manner just so none of them would gain any form of emotional link to individuals who you deemed unworthy of their attention based on criteria known only to yourself, and which is seemingly completely random. Even after two decades out of your daughter's life, you still returned just the same, unwilling to relinquish control for a second, and actively plotting with an individual whom I believe you were fully aware had murderous intentions of his own, all in the aim of breaking up a prospective young family.'

'The crimes you committed were over such a long timespan, and were so serious, that the question is not whether a lengthy custodial sentence is appropriate, but rather, how long would be appropriate. However, I also have to factor in the fact that your crimes, while cruel and without real clear motive, also were not pre-planned; the amount of violence and threats used in the former crime prove this, and the latter crime being at the very least strongly encouraged by Mr. Birchall. As a result, I have to determine to what part you are responsible for the latter.'

'After much consideration, I have determined that a full life term would be inappropriate in this case, due to the lack of premeditation in your actions. However, I still feel it prudent to hand down a sentence which reflects your intention to ruin lives. The role of a father is to protect his young from harm and champion their every success. You on the other hand, have not done any of this, and indeed the scars you have left on your daughters, both mental and, especially in the case of Mrs. Robinson-Cummings, physical, will last a lifetime. The fact she is able to start a natural born family despite her injuries I find to be nothing short of a medical miracle. And you deprived these young girls of their beloved mother, and many other people of a very close and loved friend. So I must factor in your role as a protective figure into the sentence also. I say this so everybody in attendance can be warned.'

'Mr. Damien Cummings, for the crime of Murder, I sentence you to 30 years imprisonment at Her Majesty's pleasure. Additionally for the crimes of Attempted Murder, I sentence you to 40 years in Prison. And finally for the crime of Human Trafficking, contrary to the … act, I sentence you to 21 years in prison. These sentences are to be served concurrently, and I recommend that you serve a minimum of 50 years before you are even considered eligible for parole. I have little else to say other than I hope your time in prison allows you to reflect on your sins and try to repay society in some way for your actions.'

In the base

Maddy was reviewing camera footage of Belle and Lydia's incident from earlier, but had run into an issue. 'Why did I ever trust a man to understand context? Then again it might just be my fault for expecting security cameras to record sound. I might as well just do it myself next time, let's face it I do nearly everything else at the moment.' Her musings were then interrupted by her phone buzzing, vibrating on the oak desk. As she saw the caller, her heart skipped a beat, and she swept the phone off the wood, almost knocking it on the floor in the process.

'Hi Frances, how did it go?' A rather chirpy and jubilant voice came from the other end. 'He was found guilty on everything but the attempted murder of Phil, they probably weren't convinced that Damien knew he was there. But he was stone cold guilty of everything else, they only deliberated for about 55 minutes.' 'That's fantastic' Maddy replied, smiling. 'The judge came down hard on him as well - he's been sent down for 50 years minimum. So the earliest he can be released is just before his 110th birthday. Oh, and I sent back the money you sent me, I didn't do this for payment. I did this to get the fucker.' 'Thank you so much Frances. For everything.' 'My pleasure. I'll be over at the base next week so we can talk more then.' 'Send over when you're available and we'll book you in.'

As she came off the phone, Maddy walked out of the office and saw Meghan wandering around, deciding to holler her over. 'Hey Meghan, over here.' As she came over, the news was shared. 'Just got off the phone to Frances.' 'The trial… he's got off hasn't he?' This fear was soon dispatched as a large smile spread across Maddy's face. 'Guilty, 50 years minimum.' '50!?' Meghan shouted, almost choking on her words as she did. Her next thought wasn't of her father though; it was of her sister. 'Shit, Hannah's probably been ringing my phone off the hook, it ran out of charge while I was in the Arena.'

Before she could think of this any more though, Rio crept up behind her, and gave her a healthy dig in the ribs, shocking her. Meghan was about to react badly, when she saw who it was, and laughed. 'So, when were you gonna tell me you were coming Meggy Moo?' 'I told you, not in front of everyone else, they'll start using it otherwise.' Maddy laughed in response and held her hands up. 'I'm gonna keep out of this one, I don't want to get in trouble with my Aunt.' Despite Maddy technically being right, the reaction was a very prompt 'Ew no, you're only five years younger than me' she responded as Maddy turned away laughing. As she went to leave though, she briefly learned back and whispered 'Meggy Moo' down Meghan's ear, prompting a near slap in response.

This left Meghan and Rio free to talk. 'So how've you been?' 'Yeah, I've actually been doing super well recently, really built myself back up good. Still got the usual issues mind you, my short-term memory… well what short-term memory more like, and I have the occasional migraine, and I sometimes get my tongue twisted a bit when I'm tired or in a bad mood, but I'm actually doing really good.' 'So happy to hear that. How's your calf, I know you were complaining about that last time.'

'Yeah, that's fine, it was just a small tear, it's sorted itself out now.' 'You duelled through it all?' 'Oh yeah, didn't actually bother me that much. So what brings you down here anyway?' 'I came down for Blair's session in the arena - I'm entering the UK Amateurs in a couple of weeks, and I'll be going for a pro card at the end of the season.' Rio's eyes lit up as she spoke. 'That's awesome! Obviously if you ever want a tune-up duel just text me.' 'Thanks, you might be a little strong yet though. But I'll message you anyway. I'm probably gonna be moving up closer to here sometime soon, want to help out after sis pops.' 'Sure, just let me know if there's anything I can do to help financially. You still looking for work?'

'Yeah, apparently there's not much demand for teaching assistants at the moment, even fully first-aid trained ones. So I'm wondering if moving up from London will help, perhaps there's more demand up here.' 'It's an amazing job you're taking on, I wish I could.' 'I mean I would say what's stopping you, but by my experience, quite a lot apparently.' Rio then had an idea. 'You know, if you want to move closer to Hannah, you could talk to Phil about moving in with them.' Meghan didn't seem as sure on this idea however.

'Yeah… I could, it's just…' 'You still got beef with him?' 'No, more the other way around, I treated him like absolute shit for months, accused him of all sorts, called him all sorts, I don't think he'd want me living with them. Besides I don't want to get under their feet, and they've got enough on without me, and' 'You're making excuses again' Rio responded in an admittedly very accurate impression of her friend. 'Why don't you just go away, think about it, and then maybe phone him up? Let's face it, the house is big enough.' 'I swear if I ever live anywhere that nice I'm gonna cry.' 'Never know, might come sooner than you think. Now you were after a phone charger?' 'But how did you…' Rio just smiled and winked, keeping the secret to herself, passing over a dark green cable before walking off. 'Keep it if you like, got others.'

Meanwhile, in Meeting Room 1

With Kris by her side, it was time for Astrid to put pen to paper with LFD. But as the remote meeting began, there were questions regarding what Astrid was showing. 'So we're signing apparently the greatest free agent in the history of duelling, and she can't even show us her face?' 'Yeah, well let's just say I got beaten up pretty badly, so I'm not exactly up for marketing photos right now' she replied cattily, clearly not in a mood to mess around. 'Now can we just get this over with, I've got another hospital appointment in an hour and a half and I need to find a face mask yet.'

Declan then took over. 'I apologise, I did tell my mother that if she was going to be on this call she was to be respectful. Now I have to ask - have you read through the contract?' 'Me? I've not, I'm a duellist not a lawyer. I did have a legal person read over it though, she seemed to think it looked fine.' 'Now to confirm, you don't have any outstanding debts to them?' 'Me to them? They owe me like £40,000. Which in Krone is…' After significant counting on her fingers, she came up with the answer of 'A lot.' 'Do you want us to pursue this amount for you?' 'Not unless they try any funny business. Well apart from making someone who isn't supposed to be duelling compete twice in the same show for pettiness reasons.'

'So just to confirm: your conditions on signing are being given opportunity to face top class opponents from across the world, a main event duel with Blair Flannigan, a schedule which will protect your existing neck injury giving it time to naturally heal, and a translator?' Astrid then groaned. 'Finally I actually get to speak my language again. English is an ugly language.' After this, she made a point of picking up the pen, and physically signing the dotted lines, before showing them her signature. 'Welcome to LFD Astrid.' 'We look forward to bringing your title here' Henrietta stated, but as Astrid gave her a suspicious eye, Declan smoothed things over. 'I look forward to seeing what you can do in our organisation.' 'Yeah… I'm keeping my eye on you.'

Gorton Cemetery

Hannah was stood at her Mum's grave, with Phil stood just off to the side watching quietly. She walked up to the grave, and placed a large bunch of flowers there, wiping a tear away as she did. '19 years later, and I finally got you justice Mum. He's finally paying for what he did to you, to us, to everyone who knew you. I'll always miss you, but I know I'm better off here, using your memory and your wishes to improve the world for people, to make them know who you were. You can rest easy now.'

Little did Hannah know that as she said this, Marie's spirit was sat atop the grave, listening. 'You've done far more than I could ever have imagened, my child. For you took justice into your own hands, and won, protecting your family better than I ever could. But my chapter is over. The time is upon us, for your next chapter to begin.' Not hearing this though, Hannah took one more look at the grave, before turning to Phil. 'It's… almost like I can feel her here.' 'Because she's watching over you, and she always has been.' Hannah then stepped away. 'I'm ready to go home now.' 'Let's go then.' As they did, Marie watched them go. 'I will always be with both of you. Your new adventure is beginning very soon, and you're going to be challenged like never before.'

Next time: Freja pushes Maddy to the limit, Blair and Akiza's bad blood boils over, and Astrid must be wary of friend and foe alike in Renegades: A New Dawn Chapter LXIII: Two for Joy