Chapter 13

***Chapter contains rape***

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After changing clothes, Bronwyn went upstairs to the bedroom where Olivia lay curled up in a deep slumber. One look at the severely bruised body of the woman who Bronwyn considered her enemy and she felt a lump rise in her throat and wondered exactly what had happened to cause such injuries.

"This can't be good for William" she said to herself, looking again at Olivia before covering her with the bed sheet then quietly going about cleaning the bedroom, careful that she didn't interrupt her sleep, the last thing she wanted was a confrontation and decided that the longer she could avoid it, the better.

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It would be late night before Olivia would wake up. She opened her eyes and listened to the quite of the house, breathing a sigh of relief that Harlan wasn't there to greet her but nervous all the same that candles had been lit in the room, that usually mean that he would be coming and she silently prayed that he wouldn't. After what she'd gone through last night just to be hurt again by Doc this morning…she couldn't take Harlan and just the thought of possibly having to, sent her heart pounding hard against her already sore ribs. She winced as she pulled herself from bed and made her way to the bathroom on slow, shaky legs so that she could cleanse herself, sinking her aching body into the bathtub and letting the scalding hot water rain over her.

After she was done and had pulled on a fresh gown, she walked over to the window and looked up at what she could make out of the moon and a chill suddenly went through her when she heard the locks began twisting on the door. She immediately shut her eyes, wishing that she was holding that scalpel right now.

The door opened and Olivia listened as footsteps tread across the wooden floor as she heard the dogs barking and scratching outside the door. But the footsteps were unfamiliar to her; they definitely weren't Harlan's.

"I see you're awake" the voice said; the voice of a woman… one that sounded all too familiar even though Olivia couldn't quite place how she knew it as she heard the door being locked from the inside then sighed and opened her eyes.

"I bought you something to eat… you must be famished, you've been asleep all day" the woman said. Slowly, Olivia turned around and was shocked to see the young woman who served as a juror on William Lewis' trial; the same young woman who had been responsible for helping him escape from prison three months ago enabling him to kidnap Amelia and lure her to him and…

"You did this!" Olivia said angrily, in disbelief as she stood face to face with the young woman, her voice still low, broken and weak.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Bronwyn denied haughtily as she sat the wooden tray down at the foot of the bed.

"If it hadn't been for you, interfering with the trial, with his sentence…he never would have gotten out, he wouldn't have killed himself and I wouldn't be here…this is all because of you!"

"You are here because Harlan chose you for a mission of the utmost importance; in spite of the fact that you killed William." Bronwyn said with total composure as she took a seat beside the tray

"He killed himself!"

"Perhaps that's what you managed to convince the grand jury, but I know the truth and so does Harlan and that is the reason you are here." she continued calmly as if she were merely reading a shopping list. "It's your responsibility to make sure that the Lewis bloodline continues… you should consider it an honor to have your womb filled with my husband's precious seed" she smiled

"Husband? You mean then violent, sadistic rapist who's holding me hostage?"

"He's never laid a hand on me"

"And you think I did this to myself? That I've been here, almost 3 months, confined to a locked room because it's my idea of fun?"

"You should eat."

"I'm not hungry" Olivia said as she ran her hands through her damp hair and squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

"Still, you should eat. Harlan says I shouldn't engage you. He wouldn't like it" she said as she turned to leave then stopped and turned back around. "You should know that I found what was under the pillow. Be thankful that I didn't tell Harlan." She said before again turning to leave the room but was sidetracked when her head exploded with pain as Olivia, using what little strength she'd recuperated, smashed the tray against Bronwyn's skull, sending food flying everywhere and knocking her to the floor with a thud then dropping the tray beside her on the floor. her first instinct was to run but she knew that the dogs were right outside waiting and instead, looked down at Bronwyn who lay on the floor writing in pain as she held her head.

"Oops… it slipped" Olivia said dully before inhaling a sharp breath as her nausea churned. She put her palm to her stomach before dashing for the bathroom as fast as she could with her body still in a considerable amount of pain.

"I'll chalk that up to pregnancy hormones you bitch!" Bronwyn yelled as she pulled herself to her knees and began cleaning the mess Olivia made. Ticked off at that the only reply she was met with was the sound of vomiting.

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The week that followed was sheer hell for Olivia starting with the morning after she'd knocked Bronwyn on her ass. Harlan put his pleasure before pain method into play, this time using his mouth to make her climax repeatedly before he tore open a scar on her upper thigh with a wire cutter. He'd ended up cutting too deep and when the bleeding wouldn't stop, Doc was called to stitch her up but of course, not before he negotiated his "fee" with Harlan and got to have his way with her again. Bronwyn was on hand to witness these things and though she kept quiet about it, it gnawed at her because even with her convictions about the situation, they way she'd seen them treat Olivia was harsh, even cruel; even if she never actually saw what happened with her own eyes, she would hear her screams and cries and but Olivia wouldn't talk about happened even when Bronwyn would be tasked with laundering bloodied sheets and cleaning blood from the floor, she'd watch as Olivia would lie in the corner, somewhere in her own head and Bronwyn would try to convince herself that this was just.

She hadn't been lucky enough to be given time to recover from the vicious gang rape that took place in the room downstairs like she had been after the first time it happened. She was sure that Harlan would be more inclined to leave her alone now that Bronwyn was here but he wasn't; he came to her room almost every night for the next six days and would force her again and again until he'd had his fill before leaving in the very early hours of the morning…he'd tied her down every night he came to her that week and had even taken the liberty of falling asleep beside her a couple of those nights only to wake up and begin all over again.

On the morning of the ninth day Bronwyn came in with Olivia's breakfast. By day four she'd noticed that if she brought it in too early, it would aggravate Olivia's morning sickness and send her heaving. Bronwyn felt bad and figured that with everything else going on, she would at least try to make things easier for Olivia in areas where she could and so she'd begun bringing breakfast after Olivia's stomach would have time to settle and surprisingly she'd be more inclined to eat a few bites before pushing the tray away. This morning however…

"Are you hungry?" Bronwyn asked cheerfully as she sat the tray of fresh fruit, yogurt and dry toast down on the bed beside Olivia who lay there seemingly in a trance while her hand absently rubbed the small but noticeable swell of her abdomen, it was as if the reality were finally sinking in that there was indeed a life growing inside of her and she was suddenly overwhelmed with a million different emotions all at once. She'd been cradling that tiny bump all morning.

"Will you be able to live with looking at this child every day, knowing that you ripped him or her away from me and killed me for the opportunity?" she didn't bother turning to look at Bronwyn

"We don't need to discuss such unpleasantries"

"Is that what were calling it? An unpleasantry? I'm its mother… you can't just rip a child away from its mother"

"I'll be its mother. He'll be a very happy boy"

"You'll never be its mother… not rightfully. Not after the hell my body will go through; is already going through to bring him or her into the world just for you to sweep in, take my life and my child and call it yours. What kind of woman does that to another woman? What kind of woman stands by and watches in silence while another woman is brutalized every day?"

"I don't need to hear this" Bronwyn said as she turned to leave.

"I think you do" Olivia insisted as she grabbed hold of Bronwyn's arm in a vice-like grip. "What you've seen since you've been here is not even a taste of the sheer hell he's put me through! You heard, last week, when your dear husband ripped open my thigh with a wire cutter… it's how he punishes me for what he considers bad behavior, he tears open the scars that his son gave me…junior used an old fashioned can opener to tear it open before there ever was a scar. Before this, Harlan ripped open what used to be a knife wound on this arm with a wire hanger before he opened up what was a nasty burn from Billy's blowtorch on the other arm… with the buckle of his belt then raped me afterwards each time to "take my mind off the pain" Nauseous yet? Probably not since you're convinced that I deserve what's happening to me!"

"I never said…"

"You've allowed it to continue. I don't know how you came to get involved in all of this or why you've chosen to let it go this far but you're not like him; I believe that deep down you still have a heart and a conscience. You just need to listen to them"

"I won't go against my husband"

"You are my last hope! If you don't help me, I die! No one will ever know what happened to me, there will never be justice for what he's done to me. Bronwyn please… a phone call is all I'm asking of you; just tell the police where I am, please!"

"I have to go"

"Bronwyn please; don't let him do this!" Olivia begged as Bronwyn fled from the room and slammed the door, quickly locking it. Olivia wrapped her arms around herself, her body shaking as she began to cry. Out in the hall, Bronwyn stood there, her back against the bedroom door listening as Olivia wept.

"I'm sorry" she whispered "but if I help you, I lose everything, and I've come too far to let that happen!"

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"Seriously Rollins, Lewis's file…Again?" Nick asked but Amanda was far too engrossed to even hear him as she sat at her desk hunched over her desk. "Rollins?"

"What?" she asked without looking up. she was annoyed at being disturbed and it showed in her voice.

"How long you been in that file again?" Nick asked, taking a seat in the chair beside her desk

"I don't know, I just…a couple days"

"What do you think you're gonna find that you didn't find before?"

"I don't…" she released an exasperated sigh as she rubbed her eyes and refocused them, looking up for the first time in hours "there's a connection! Everything inside me knows it, I, it's…screamin at me I just, I can't find it and it's makin me crazy!"

"Maybe it's making you crazy because you're looking at a dead end"

"No, Nick I'm telling you, none of this is a coincidence. Lewis dies and Liv disappears a week later? Come on!"

"I just just don't want you to put all your focus into something that pans out to be nothing. Anyway, don't forget we're meetin up at Cassidy's in an hour"

"Yeah, I um, I might be a little late getting there, I'm waitin to hear from the records clerk in Tennessee"

"Tennessee?"

"Pigeon Forge. It's where Harlan Lewis died in that car accident in '93."

"What exactly are you lookin for?" Nick Wondered

"No clue, but I'll know when I see it. but I did find somethin interestin; I took a closer look at the juror"

"Bronwyn Freed?"

"She applied for a Pennsylvania marriage license the day after Lewis killed himself and used it the same day. She got married to a Lucius Holmes in Earl County where he's the sheriff, Fin checked him out, the guy seems on the up and up; been sheriff 18 years, upstandin citizen but... I mean, don't you think it's odd, considerin the way she was so obsessed with Lewis?"

"Since comin to work in this unit, I don't believe in odd anymore!" Nick quipped "And when did you find this out?"

"This mornin. I been keepin an eye on her and I don't know why it never occurred to me to check before but I decided to take a look at her family, both parents died in a boating accident the year she graduated Julliard, she lives off of a trust fund, she dun have any siblings so her parents entire estate was left to her in their wills… she's worth a couple hundred million dollars but she doesn't get control of the inheritance until her 35th birthday or her first wedding anniversary after her 30th!"

"And you say she got married the day after Lewis died?"

"Yep. Right up until the day he escaped, she was writin him love letters, sendin him care packages and makin sure that his commissary account at Rikers kept funds in it, I mean the woman never missed a visit… she paid for his funeral for Christ's sake!"

"So how did she go from that to pledging herself to another man less than 24 hours after the love of her life kills himself?"

"Maybe the Sheriff was her intended all along and she just got caught up in the magic is William Lewis; the spell wore off when he died? That girl is a strange one!"

"Yeah well, who has the time to worry about her, we gotta focus on finding Liv!"

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Just after eight that night Harlan sat down in his favorite chair in the living room, reading from his evening paper while Bronwyn sat on the sofa knitting a baby blanket, a huge gulf of silence between them.

"Did you enjoy your dinner, Sir?"

"It was fine" he replied curtly, not even bothering to look over at her.

"If you want, I could get desert for you now"

"As a matter of fact…" he said as he folded his newspaper and tucked it into the crook of the chair "That is exactly what I had in mind!" he grinned as he stroked his thick mustache with his thumb and forefinger and stood up, heading toward the stairs.

"I thought you'd never ask!" she smiled as she put the blanket and needles down in the basket and stood up, so happy that she'd finally get to consummate her marriage.

"Actually darlin, I'm not. I was just gonna go and check on her" he said, Bronwyn new exactly what that meant. She'd lain awake several nights listening to Olivia's cries from down the hall as Harlan took her against her will yet still, for some twisted reason, Bronwyn still desired him.

"Oh" she shrugged, feeling dejected "It's just that… I know that you're worried about hurting me, me still being a virgin but… well I'm really ready for us to…"

"In due time darlin"

"She's not feeling well; she's been sick with the baby a lot lately throughout the day… please sir? I know that I can satisfy your needs just as well as she can"

You fat, nasty cow of a woman! Who the hell wants ya? I sure as hell don't! He thought to himself

"Tell ya what, I'll do ya good later!" he said before heading up the stairs.

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In her bathroom, Olivia was on her knees leaned over the toilet, holding her hair back as she threw up what little she'd managed to choke down of her dinner.

"Oh god!" she cried as her stomached contorted once more, leaving her coughing and gasping from the intensity of the huge gush that forced its way out. Not hearing Harlan's footsteps or even knowing that he was there until he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Good girl. Already on your knees for Daddy!" he grinned as Olivia looked up at him, fear and disgust in her eyes. He quickly snatched her by the hair and began forcing her down onto the floor, she tried fighting him but he only grew enraged and began beating her for her attempt fend him off. Now ten minutes later, Harlan stood above her as she lay on the bathroom floor curled up and in pain from the beating he was still in the process of giving her. After he pulled her up and threw her into a wall, she scurried backwards away from him and tucked herself into a corner, screaming the only thing she could think of while clutching her stomach.

"PLEASE…YOU'LL HURT THE BABY!" she sobbed, and wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her trembling hand.

"Harlan, she's right, think of William!" Bronwyn said pleadingly from where she stood in the doorway after having run up to see what the commotion was about. She was genuinely concerned for the unborn child but witnessing her husband brutally beat Olivia in her condition had an effect that she hadn't been prepared to for; she felt sorry for the woman who was virtually defenseless against six feet, six inches of stocky, muscular build.

"What the hell did you say to me woman?" Harlan replied angrily as he turned, skulking toward Bronwyn who backed up a step.

"I just meant that…I…" she stammered nervously just before he slapped her hard across the face, the strength of the hit knocking her to the floor.

I'll deal with you later, right now, you get to watch me teach this one a lesson!"

Bronwyn watched in horror as Harlan snatched Olivia up from the floor, bent her over the sink, pulling up her gown as she begged him not to in front of her then began begging Bronwyn to look away when he wouldn't stop and began violently fucking her while threatening his wife with an even worse fate if she dared look away and Bronwyn didn't dare disobey him, no matter how disgusted she was at what was happening in front of her or how long it took to stop.

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Olivia was relieved when he finally came and pulled out. She sank to the floor, sobbing at this new humiliation as Harlan zipped his pants and taunted her before grabbing Bronwyn by the neck and yanking her out of the room, slamming and locking the door behind them and even in spite of the horror that he'd again inflicted on her, Olivia couldn't help but feel sorry for Bronwyn moments later when she heard Harlan screaming profanities at the young woman before he began to mercilessly beat her amidst her screams.

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At Brian's apartment, Fin, Nick, Amanda and the other Detectives who were helping in the search were calling it a night after having gotten together to go over the case and discuss what their next moves should be. And since most of them, Brian included, were now off duty, they left pretty buzzed, having indulged in more than a few beers.

"Alright man, we'll be in touch!" Fin called to Brian as he and Nick were on their way out. "Manda, you need a ride?"

"You mean you guys aren't gonna stay and help clean up?" she teased. Fin and Nick looked at each other, both at a loss for words. "I'm kidding" she said dryly

"Guys, it's cool, I got it" Brian assured them.

"No such thing, I'll help with this mess and I'll grab a cab when I'm done. I'll see you guys tomorrow"

"You know you don't have to…" Brian started

"Hey, it's the least I can do" she smiled before heading to the small kitchen for a garbage bag.

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"I don't know how you've been able to hold it together all this time" Amanda said before taking another swig from her beer.

"Honestly, neither do I. I mean, we don't even know if…"

"Brian, she's alive. I don't know how I know but I just do and she's gonna come back to us; to you!"

"I don't know about that part… things didn't end so well the last time we... but I don't care about any of that, you know? I just want her found and safe. She can push me away, tell me to get lost but I just need to see her again, to know she's alive; I'd give anything!" he said as his eyes filled with tears and he hung his head "I'm sorry. I must look like a wuss!"

"No, you don't. I think it's beautiful that you care about her so much" Amanda assured him as he pulled him in for a hug "We'll find her" she promised, feeling his hot tears on her neck.

"Yeah." He sniffled, nodding as he pulled away. It had been three months since he'd held a woman so close and the sweet scent of Amanda's perfume didn't go unnoticed as he sat, face to face with her. they both knew where the moment was leading and neither of them attempted to stop it when they found themselves leaning into each other and their lips met, softly at first but then hungrily, using their tongues to explore one another as she threw her arms around him and he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her petite body in his strong embrace as they greedily continued to kiss amidst their moaning and groping. He wasted no time pulling her shirt open and undoing her bra, barely having pushed it up above her breasts before he'd attached his mouth to one, sucking her nipple as she held his head, encouraging him to suck harder while he flicked the other with his thumb before releasing the other from his mouth with a pop and giving this one the same attention. In a quick moment, he was on top of her, having thrown her down onto her back on the sofa. They pulled at each other's clothes, she pulling his shirt off over his head while he undid her jeans, hurriedly pulling them down along with her panties.

He'd pulled one leg from the confines of the denim and silk, not bothering with the other and left her jean dangling from her right leg as she pushed his down over his hips, just past his ass. Desperate to get inside her, he pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and kissed her hard as the other pulled her hips closer to him and in one swift motion, he'd pushed all of his thick cock inside her and began fucking her in deep strokes.

"Oh my fucking god!" she cried beneath him as she bucked her hips to meet his powerful thrusts. It had been a while for her too and she wanted to feel him deep, begging for him to go harder as she spread her legs wider to allow him to penetrate her as deep as possible. Neither of them gave thought to the ramifications of what they were doing, they simply lost themselves in the moment.

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Bronwyn stood staring at her own beaten face in the mirror, unable to believe that her husband had done this to her, had violently assaulted her. but the thing she was in most shock from wasn't the brutal beating he had given her; it was what he'd done to Olivia that she couldn't shake.

What she witnessed Harlan do to Olivia in that bathroom earlier tonight, it stayed with her, her conscience couldn't let go of it. The way she cowered in the corner pleading for the baby as she cradled her small swell protectively; would someone who was as cold and calculating as William and Harlan made her out to be even care so much? And then the look of total humiliation on her face as Harlan made love to her…

"It wasn't love making you idiot, he raped her and you stood there and watched while she begged you to look away and you did nothing!" she cried, mentally cursing herself as she stared at her reflection in the mirror; the reflection that she could no longer stand to look at.

What kind of woman does that to another woman?

She hung her head in shame as she heard Olivia's words echoing in her head.

"Not much of a woman at all" she whispered, tears streaming her face as she smashed the side of her fist against the glass, shattering it and cutting her hand in the process. She couldn't go against her husband but at the same time, she knew that to stand by him, a man she'd known less than a year, no matter how much she thought she loved him would be going against everything her parents had spent a lifetime teaching her about the kind of woman she should be and no amount of devotion to any man could mollify the disappointment she felt within herself at turning her back on everything she'd ever been taught by the two people who loved her unconditionally and loved her most. She couldn't do nothing.

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After bandaging her hand and cleaning the glass and blood from the bathroom, Bronwyn made her way down the hall to the bedroom to check on Olivia who was in bed curled on her side, staring off into nothing as she lay there in the dark. Bronwyn slowly approached the bed and took a seat beside her. Olivia's back is to Bronwyn so they can't see one another but Bronwyn knows that she's awake.

"I don't…there aren't enough words to tell you how sorry I am" She stammered as she fought to get the apology out" there was a long silence as Olivia swallowed the tears that caused a huge lump tp form in her throat. This was the first kindness she'd been shown in three months, she'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be considered and she wasn't prepared for the immediate affect it had on her emotionally.

"I'm used to it" she said in a small voice as tears fell from her eyes. Those four words broke Bronwyn's heart right down the middle and she fought to contain the cry that threatened to escape.

"You shouldn't have to be. Does he…often?" Olivia still hadn't turned to look ather when she answered quietly.

"Every day for the last three months…sometimes once or twice…sometimes all night, over and over until he tires himself…" she had to stop when her tears got the best of her and she began weeping without shame in front of the woman who had helped to keep her in this hell. She had long ago stopped caring about appearing weak when her mind resigned itself to the fact that she was nothing more than Harlan's victim. Bronwyn couldn't believe that this was the once proud woman who was so sure of herself as she stood against Billy during the trial. that woman could take on anything but this woman…she was completely broken.

"I can't make it right but, I'll get hold of my phone…he doesn't allow me to have it while I'm here but I'll get it and I'll call your squad, I'll tell them where you are" she promised sorrowfully. Olivia immediately turned over to look at Bronwyn, not sure if she should believe what she was saying to her.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, tears in her eyes

"Because… I was wrong for my part in this…for what he's done to you." she cried as tears fell down her cheeks. She couldn't look at Olivia, her own shame wouldn't allow it."I know that saying I'm sorry can't erase what you've been through, but I am; I am SO, so sorry for all of this!"

"How do I know I can trust you?" Olivia asked, her own tears falling. She wanted this more than anything to be real but she was simply too afraid to hope after having hope dashed so many times.

"You don't have any reason to but I always keep my word and I swear, I'll do what I say" there was a long silence between the two women before Bronwyn spoke again

"He only locks every other lock on the downstairs door, starting with the top one… If things don't go as planned, you should know that… and you run like hell. There's a dirt trail that will lead you off the property, you follow it, it's about a quarter mile to the road and when you reach it, go right, there's a payphone a mile down" she said blankly before standing up and turning to leave, but Olivia grabbed her arm before she could walk away.

"Thank you" she cried in a near-whisper.

"Just get out of here…don't look back, and don't trust anyone in this town; Harlan's the sheriff… everyone's in his pocket!" she said, jumping when she heard the downstairs door slam. They both did. Harlan was home. "I'll do what I can, but you remember what I said!" she reminded Olivia in a panicked whisper, then sat something on the bed and left the room. Olivia lay there in the silence, listening as the locks turned and Bronwyn's footsteps disappeared down the hall. Unable to stop her tears from falling, Olivia turned over and was surprised when something caught her eye in the faint moonlight that shone through the glass brick window. Bronwyn had given the scalpel back to her!

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So… Brian and Amanda…