I scream as my father grabs me with his insanely strong grip. I don't know how he managed to get all the way back to me without getting stopped, but he did. Now, I have to deal with it as he slaps me across the face and throws me down on the ground with a majority of his strength.

Luckily, he doesn't lay another hand on me because a guy pushes him away from me, and the police in the courtroom are finally present and able to pull him back to his lawyer's counsel table. I touch my warming cheek that received the blow as I look to where Uncle Sam is standing and see him glance at me worriedly and then glare darkly at my father.

I see the hand of the guy who stopped my father reach out to me, and I take it to stand. When I look into his face to thank him for helping me, I freeze and almost faint. I can recognize those deep blue eyes anywhere.

When I compose myself, I barely squeak out, "Nick?"

He gives me his familiar warming smile, but he doesn't have time to say anything because the judge bangs his gavel, calling for order, and he begins to rattle off a fine for my father. Emma pulls me back to a seat, and she leaves the seat to my right empty. She motions for Nick to sit down, but he just shakes his head and leaves. I sink in my chair as I know that nothing has changed with him, and I don't think it ever will.

"I don't think this is necessary, but members of the jury, what is your decision?" the judge asks the shocked jury spokesman.

It takes the jury spokesman a few seconds to gather himself to say, "We have found the defendant guilty."

The judge bangs his gavel. "I sentence Mr. Tyler Walker to prison on all accusations brought against him. Court adjourned."

Once my father's sentence is declared, the judge stands, and we all stand. We stay standing until he leaves. After the judge is gone, I collapse in my chair as I know that I'm free from my father forever. When I look up to take a last look at him, I see a look of anger and defeat on his face. It's then when I know that his threat of hurting those close to me was an empty one.

The guards begin to lead him out, and he looks behind him, but he isn't looking at me. He's looking beyond me as he suddenly barks loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I never thought I would see you again."

The guards push him forward behind a door. With that, my father is gone. But, his words confuse me, so I turn around and see Emma standing directly behind my chair. Confused, I stand up and turn around to talk to her. Her face has a little more color in it, but she's still very pale.

"Was he talking to you?" I ask her.

She opens her mouth to speak, but my uncle's voice comes up behind me, questioning in a stern tone, "Now that this whole ordeal is over, do you mind telling me what you were thinking in coming?"

I turn around and look him in the eye as I quietly but forcefully say, "I'm eighteen. I'm not the thirteen year old girl you took in. I've grown up, and I'm making some of my own choices. This was my choice to come because I wanted to do my mother justice. I wasn't going to allow her murderer get away with it. I had hard evidence against him, and I needed to show that to the judge and the jury."

My uncle's stern expression falls as he pulls me into a warm hug. "I just didn't want you to get hurt."

I pull back and tell him with a smile, "Well, I didn't. I'm free from him, and I can go on with my life with more security."

He smiles, and I give him one more hug. Then, I turn back around and place my focus on Emma who is looking at us with a loving expression. The minute I make eye contact with her, she shifts uncomfortably and looks away.

"Emma, what was my father talking about?" I ask her.

She doesn't reply, and Uncle Sam says, "I would also like to know what he was talking about."

Emma looks back and forth at us with her pale complexion and worry evident in her demeanor. The only thing she says to us is, "Not here. We need to go somewhere private."

I look at my uncle, and he gives me a confused look as well, but he just nods. Little did I know how private her information was.

~•••••~

Twenty minutes later, I'm sitting in my uncle's hotel suite with Emma sitting across from me with clear nervousness written all over her face. My uncle is sitting next to her with a serious expression. I look at her expectantly, but she doesn't speak for what seems like an eternity.

Just when I thought the silence couldn't get anymore awkward, Emma clears her throat and unsteadily tells me, "Maya, I want you to know that I've been completely honest with you. I haven't lied to you at all, and I haven't lied to Sam either."

My uncle takes a deep breath. "I'm not quite sure about that last part."

Emma looks like she wants to attack Uncle Sam, but she just stands up and in the scariest quiet angry voice I've heard from her tells him, "I know you don't think so, but this conversation isn't about you. It's about Maya and me, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would shut your mouth. I'm not playing nice with you anymore, Sam."

I'm shocked at her words and tone, and my uncle seems to feel the same because he sinks in his chair slightly and doesn't look at Emma. Emma looks away from him, and behind her anger, I can see sadness in her eyes. I can see that she really cares about him.

"Maya," she begins softly as she looks at me, "Do your remember that night when I told you about part of my past?"

I nod. "It was about your fiancé and your old boyfriend."

"Yes, it was about them. That night, you were honest with me, and I was honest with you. I'm having another chance to be honest with you, and I'm going to be. No matter what you may think of me after I tell you this, please know that I love you more than you can imagine," Emma replies with a fallen look.

Her face is the saddest I've ever seen. It's filled with nervousness and pain. I can see that she isn't happy to be doing whatever she is doing, but she knows she has to. She looks at my uncle who won't look her in the eye with a despairing look and takes a moment to form her words. I look at her sadly because I feel like I can feel her emotions.

"Sam, before I tell Maya, I want you to know that I care about you more than you might know. I know we aren't on the best of terms and that you think I was horrible to you, but you have to know that I have been honest with you in every way. I know that my words haven't been enough for you to believe me, but I just want to tell you again that I haven't been unloyal to you," she tells him in a much kinder voice than before.

He doesn't reply, so she sighs and turns away from him too look at me. "Maya, I haven't had too many relationships in my lifetime. I've only had three, and only the last two are ones that I want to remember. The first one, as you know, was the "bad boy". When I told you that the last I heard about him was that he was dating someone new, I was telling the truth. Now, I know more about him."

I look at her with confusion written all over my face. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Emma sighs and backs away from the couch as if she's ready to turn and run out of the room at any second. "He was dating a kind woman who was put under his spell. They married after they had a child together. By that time, his evilness was revealed to her, but it was too late for her."

"What are you saying?" I ask her as my pulse quickens.

"Maya, my ex-boyfriend's name was Tyler Walker," she says.

It takes a minute for the information to sink in and for me to understand what she just said. When it does, I realize that she's talking about my father. My father was the jerk she broke up with. My father was in her life at one point, and she didn't tell me until just now.

I look at her with anger and sadness. "How could you not tell me?"

Emma sighs and quietly replies, "I didn't know until I saw him today in the courtroom. I-I'm sorry."

Before I can reply, she's already gone from the room, running. I start to walk toward the door, but Uncle Sam stops me and leads me to the couch. I don't even fight him. I sit down on the couch and just stare at the ground like I'm in a trance. I have no idea what I'm supposed to say, so I don't speak.

Uncle Sam sits down beside me and pulls me into a hug. After a few minutes of silence, he asks, "Maya, are you okay?"

"I-I just don't understand. How could she not tell me?" I stammer as I lean into his warm and comforting embrace.

He kisses the top of my head and tells me, "I'm not exactly on good terms with her now, but I think she's struggling right now, Maya. I think she truly didn't know of the connection between him and you. Emma's a good woman, Maya, and I wouldn't want you to let her leave without really talking to her."

I smile slightly and pull out of his embrace. I look at him and say, "It sounds like this isn't just about me talking to her. You want to talk to her too."

Uncle San shakes his head and gives me a small smile back. "You're nosy, but I can't deny that you're right. I think we both need to talk to her."

I stand up. "Alright, let's go."

He shakes his head and reaches out to stop me. "Not a good idea. Emma needs time. When she's had enough time, she'll come back and talk to us."

I sigh. "How much time?"

He shrugs. "It could be anywhere from tonight or when we travel back to Clearwater. All I know is that you can't successfully talk to her until she's ready."

"It sounds like you know her really, really well. Why did you two end things, anyway?" I tease.

He shakes his head and sighs. "It was complicated. We just weren't meant for each other. She had her secrets, and I had things I couldn't tell her."

I roll my eyes. "And what kind of secrets did she have besides the one about my father, and what couldn't you tell her?"

"Maya, relationships are complicated, especially adult ones. Just go with that we didn't work out and that we just shouldn't be together."

I roll my eyes again and sit back down next to him. "Uncle Sam, please allow me to remind you that I'm no longer a child. I'm eighteen. I'm going to be living on my own in the upcoming months. I can vote now. I don't want to be in the dark because you think I'm not an adult. I only want to be in the dark if you really truly have a good reason for breaking up."

He gives me a small smile and pulls me into a hug. "Oh Maya, you remind me so much of your mom. You're strong and determined. She would be so proud of you and how much you have grown into a beautiful woman."

Tears fill my eyes from his precious words, and I whisper, "Thank you. I needed to hear that. For so long, I've ignored her. It wasn't until today that I realized that I need to remember her. I needed to put my father back into that cell for her. She did more for me than I realized. She didn't do it in the right way, but she tried."

He kisses the top of my head. "She was a brave woman. I miss her too, but I know that she would be happy to see how close you and I are. And, all I'll tell you about Emma for now is that we haven't being seeing eye to eye recently. It started when she told me that I needed to tell you about your father, and I didn't want to. I said some pretty mean things to her, and she mostly just took them. There was only one instance that she didn't stay quiet. After that, I didn't want to talk to her, and she didn't want to talk to me, so we parted ways."

I nod slowly and tell him, "You should have apologized. I have a feeling that Emma is very forgiving."

I hear him chuckle slightly. "I was too proud, and by then, she was done with me. She didn't trust me, and I didn't exactly trust her. Maya, I know you like her, and I still like her too. We just don't belong, and she needs to move on to another place. She doesn't need to be around me anymore, especially when I can see the look of pain I've caused her."

I jump up from my spot and turn around. "That's what you need to say! All she wants is a sincere apology, and you essentially just gave me one. Just tell her that you're sorry and that you know you've hurt her."

He shakes his head. "We wouldn't get back together, Maya."

I hold my hand up and say, "I'm not telling you to get back together, even though that's what I want, but that's beside the point. I'm saying that you can't let her leave without giving her the apology that you and I both know she deserves. Don't let her go without asking for her forgiveness. She doesn't deserve that."

He sighs. "I didn't know you had gotten so wise and such an expert at these kinds of things."

I shrug my shoulders as he motions for me to sit down next to him again, so I do as I reply, "I guess it's a gift."

He smiles at me. "I love you, Maya. Your mom does too."

Just like that, he brings the mood back to a more serious note. I snuggle up beside him like I'm still a little girl and let myself rest in the comfort of his arms. I've come so far in such a short time. I have a relationship with my uncle, and it's one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. I sigh from happiness and allow myself to finally have peace at heart that I've helped my mother in the way that she tried to help me when I was younger. I did it all for her.

As I sit with my pondering thoughts, I have a special thought creep its way into my head. I softly lift my head to look at Uncle Sam's face and ask, "Will you take me to visit her before we go?"

"I would like nothing more. We will go before we leave, I promise," he whispers back to me as he gives me a tight squeeze.

I smile as I know that this is a promise that I can count on.