A week had passed since the fight at the Rabbit Hole and I was still reeling from Dad's confession about who Eli really was. As I sat on the warm sand, taking in the blue waves dancing on the shoreline, the memory of the conversation following the truth bomb sprang to mind as I squeezed my eyes shut, letting the salty air settle against my skin.

"What do you mean, he's the heir to our rival gang? He's Ramsey's son? I have so many questions right now, I don't even know where to begin!" I sprang to my feet, my body shaking with fear as Ramsey's face flashed across my mind. "How long have you known?"

"Since the night we rescued you and Ramsey took your mother," Dad admitted, watching me warily as I began pacing in front of the fireplace. "Do you remember anything from that night?"

"Not really... is there something that I should remember?" I paused to look at him.

"Elijah's mother, Sarah, stuck a note into your waistband shortly before your mom walked into the warehouse. She told you to make sure it came straight to me, which you did after I had gotten you home and your grandmother went to give you a bath before bed." Dad spoke softly, his face softening. "She asked us to help her sister, Mary, keep an eye on the child and protect him from Ramsey's wrath once he found out they were gone."

"Why you guys though? If Sarah entrusted her sister with her own child, why ask the rival gang for help?"

"Because we could offer an extra layer of protection. Keep Eli and Mary both safe and teach Eli how to be a gentleman in our society. Sarah insisted that we keep it secret from everyone... she feared other Mafia families would come for the child after word got out about his whereabouts."

Dad took a sip of his whiskey, lost in thought as he savored the golden liquid.

"Your mom and grandma immediately took Mary and Elijah in, making sure they had food, clothes, everything. Mary was grateful for what her sister did, bursting into tears the second she saw your mother when we met them at one of our safe houses."

"She cried seeing Mom?" I echoed, confused.

"Sarah was one of your mom's friends in high school." Dad nodded slowly when I gasped. "They lost contact after graduation."

"Whoa... that's insane." I paused for a moment. "What happened to Sarah?"

"She passed away some time later. Which is another reason we took Elijah in... he needed a mother figure, and Mary couldn't take care of him the way he needed to be."

The thought of Eli not having his mother around reminded me of Grandma Sofia and tears swelled in my eyes. Dad noticed the look on my face and smiled weakly. Without another word, I made my way up the staircase to the library where I knew Mom would be; sure enough, she was sitting at the bay window, looking out the window at the night sky.

"Mom?" I burst into tears just as my voice cracked; Mom rushed over to me, embracing me tightly.

"Shush. It's okay, baby girl. I got you, you're okay."

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry." I repeated, letting the sobs ripple through my body as Mom held me, smoothing my hair down as she comforted me.

A passing seagull squawked, pulling me back to the present. While I was lost in thought, the wind started to pick up a slight chilling breeze; thick, dark gray clouds were rolling towards the shore, the salty air slowly growing silently stale as the sky prepared for a thunderstorm. Quickly getting to my feet, I brushed the sand off my butt before hurrying to the warm safety of my car. Fat raindrops splattered on the windshield as soon as I shut the door, getting as comfortable as I possibly could in the driver's seat.

As hard as I tried to let it go and stop thinking about Eli, my mind wouldn't let me. There was more to the story, that I was sure of, but I didn't know how to ask my parents without upsetting them any further than I had. Aunt Skylar and Grandma Clara were out of the question as well; Uncle Leo was a maybe, but I wasn't sure if he would tell me anything out of respect for my parents' wishes to keep me in the dark. Uncle Nick was also a solid no-go; he wasn't in town at the time of my kidnapping, instead coming home a few days afterward.

Part of me knew Mom was right about keeping me from Eli; her logic behind the reasoning made sense when I really thought about it, even if it was flawed to an extent. Why would I want to be around someone whose father did horrible things to my family? Especially kidnapping an innocent four-year-old as an act of revenge? And if Ramsey had been capable of being evil without batting an eye, could Eli turn out the same way?

I briefly recalled a lecture from my Psychology 101 class in college about the "Serial Killer" genes and how it passed down in certain bloodlines; I couldn't help but wonder, was it possible that there was a gene for kidnapping and torturing? If there was such a gene, was there a pattern to its passing down through generations similar to the "Serial Killer" genes? Not knowing if it was even possible was enough to cause concern.

On the other hand, part of me was screaming that my mother was wrong for forbidding me to see Eli. He wasn't his father; she had no idea if he would hurt people, let alone hurt me. I knew it was a parent's job to protect their children from harm, but how was she so sure Eli was a threat? How could she truly know that Eli was a sadistic man who enjoyed being evil for no apparent reason? That Eli wanted to cause harm to another human being, one as innocent as a child?

She couldn't know any of that for certain.

I leaned my head against the headrest of my seat as I internally wrestled with my thoughts, the urge to scream growing rapidly in the pit of my gut. A dull ache intensified on the right side of my head and I pulled the ponytail holder out, letting my hair fall down my back. Reaching into my bag, I pulled my journal out and flipped to the next clean page, furiously scribbling without censoring my thought process. A pro and con list appeared on the paper within seconds; pausing to catch my breath, I read over the words and grimaced when it dawned on me that I still didn't have a clear answer.

Sighing, I shoved the journal into the passenger seat and unlocked my phone. Scrolling through my contacts, I took a deep breath and clicked on the name I needed. On the third ring, the video call was answered; Dr. Hamilton's friendly smile lit up the screen.

"Hello, Ava."

"Hi, Dr. Hamilton," I said meekly, mentally grimacing. "I'm sorry to bother you on vacation, but I really need to talk to you."

"It's okay, I did tell you to call me if you needed to. What's on your mind?"

"When I left your office, I made a stop at the Bluebird Café a few doors down, and I accidentally spilled my tea onto a guy as I was leaving." I started from the beginning. "I saw him again last week at the Rabbit Hole during Lucy's birthday party... a fight broke out because this creep put his hands on me without my consent and it turns out that my parents know Eli. And apparently so do I... he's Ramsey's son. I met him the night I was kidnapped."

"I see." Dr. Hamilton grabbed her notebook while I was talking and jotted down some notes, her expression curious. "What was your parents' reaction to seeing Eli?"

"Dad seemed pretty calm... Mom completely lost it. She yelled at Eli in the middle of the police station, 'Stay away from my daughter!' And then she told me that she forbids me to see him once we got home."

"It sounds like your mom is still holding onto some anger from that night, but with Ramsey dead, she's channeling it at the wrong man. I suggest having an open, honest conversation with her about why she feels you shouldn't see Eli. No yelling, no pointing fingers, or blaming of any kind. Just a mother-daughter bonding, civilized conversation."

"I can do that," I promised her.

"Good. How's the meditation going? And the journaling?"

"Really good, actually. I'm more relaxed after I meditate, but I haven't remembered anything else about my kidnapping. And journaling has been helping me clear my mind for the most part. That's actually why I called you... I wrote a pros and cons list about the Eli situation."

"That's good. Let's start with the pros."

"Okay, so on the pros side, I have: we already know each other, so hanging out wouldn't be a big deal. Con... he's a part of our rival family gang. Pro, he's in the Mafia so he knows what my life is like. Con... he's in the Mafia so he knows what my family is like. Pro, we really hit it off and I think... I think I really like him. Con: I can see the reasoning behind my mom's forbidden attitude. He's the son of the man who kidnapped me and sexually assaulted my mother. But how can my mom be so sure that Eli is anything like his father?"

"She can't know 100% unless she spends time with him." Dr. Hamilton echoed my thoughts from earlier. "Just because one person does despicable things in life, doesn't always mean their offspring will end up just like them. Decisions have consequences, both good and bad. It's up to the person making those decisions and facing the consequences to choose what kind of person they want to be. Most of the time, the child tends to stray from the toxic parent. They want better, so they choose better."

"I wish you could tell that to Mom." I laughed, shaking my head. "That's what I've been trying to figure out since I got here."

"And where is 'here,' exactly?"

"My parents' spot at the beach. I'm in my car because it's raining now." I flipped the camera view to show Dr. Hamilton outside the windshield.

"I do love a good thunderstorm. It helps me find inner peace." Dr. Hamilton smiled when I flipped the camera back around. "Is there anything else on your list?"

"I can't think of anything else to add. Well..." I trailed off. "Now that I think about it... I guess there is one more pro and con I could add."

"What's that?"

"Pro: hanging out with Eli could help my memory. On the other hand, it could not."

"That's very true. Either way, I don't want you to force yourself into remembering past memories. If you don't let them come to you on their own, you could damage your mind."

"I know." I sighed as a streak of lightning broke across the sky. "I probably should get home before I'm struck by lightning."

"Well, stay warm and stay safe, Ava. I have to go, I have dinner plans with my family. But if you need me again..."

"I'll call, but only when absolutely needed next time. Say hi to the family for me." I waved at the camera before hanging up, feeling slightly guilty that I had bothered Dr. Hamilton on her vacation but also relieved from our conversation.

As the call ended on-screen, an alert popped up in the notifications bar; the sound of a piano playing the overture from the Phantom of the Opera indicated a text message had come through during my phone call. Swiping the screen down to see the text, I noticed Aidan's name appeared as the text sender. I clicked on the message and waited for it to open full screen. The text read:

Come home soon, Grandma planning masquerade ball. Needs you for ideas.

Grinning to myself, I responded with On my way and placed my phone in the phone holder Mom made so I could charge my phone inside the car; it easily clipped onto the heater vent underneath the radio so the cord could reach it without stretching too far and coming out of the charging port. Shifting the car into reverse, I carefully backed out of the parking spot and drove home, taking the highway as I hummed along to the Disney radio station.