GEMMA HAD NEVER GOTTEN DRESSED SO QUICKLY IN HER LIFE, all the while trying not to disturb Fiona's sleep, because the last thing she needed right now was her waking up and asking where her mommy had gone. As soon as she had pulled on her jeans and the first t-shirt she could find, followed by her sneakers, she was out the door with her keys and phone in hand. While rushing down the stairs to the ground floor of the building, she dialed Charlotte, praying that despite the ungodly hour, she would pick up.

With relentless uneasiness making her hands quiver, Gemma made her way to her car and fought to unlock the doors. Just as she was jumping behind the wheel, she heard Charlotte's tired and puzzled voice through the phone, and the sound earned a relieved huff from the Moretti. "Hey, I'm so sorry to call you in the middle of the night like this, but Beck has gone after Mack, so I really, really need his address", she explained in a rush, running her fingers through her hair before turning the key in the ignition. She was endlessly impatient, her free hand bouncing on top of her knee as she waited for Charlotte to share her knowledge, and every passing second felt like torture.

"I have the file here, just a second", Charlotte spoke, not wasting time with silly questions or doubts about Gemma's plan, which was very much appreciated. "Alright, it's 3178 Zimmerman Lane. I'll meet you there, alright? You shouldn't go in alone", she continued, and with her heart leaping at the woman's promise to help, Gemma drew in a sharp breath. There was no telling what they'd find, but Charlotte was willing to take that risk for her, and the sentiment nearly brought her to nervous tears.

"Thank you. I'll see you soon", Gemma hoped the deep-set gratitude was audible in her shaky tone, but she didn't say anything more, only hung up and reversed out of her parking spot.

With the address typed into her navigation system, she started driving with her hands gripping the wheel to the point of her knuckles draining of color, her mind going in hopeless circles. She hadn't expected Beck to be so impulsive, but she supposed Wells had pushed her too far, and she wanted to be understanding but, in the moment, she couldn't help but be a little angry that Beck hadn't talked to her about it. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she didn't imagine it would be anything good – considering that Wells had already gotten away with beating her up once, he probably wouldn't hesitate to do it a second time. This time, Gemma wasn't going to hold herself back from fighting him back.

The drive wasn't too long, and soon enough she was pulling up at the unexpectedly cozy-looking house in the suburbs. She didn't know if Wells had a family, but right now, she hoped he did, knowing children in the house would probably deter him from violence. Then again, with the kind of man that he was, there was no saying that would ring true, either. Gemma stepped out of the car only to find Charlotte already waiting, leaning against the door of her own vehicle, and at the sight of her, she felt a little better. She was more than used to being independent and doing things on her own, but right now, she wasn't sure she had the guts to walk into the house by herself.

"Does he have family in the house?" Gemma asked the burning question on her mind, and shaking her head, Charlotte walked up the driveway by her side.

"No. He had a wife but they got divorced last year, no kids", she explained, and with a hesitant nod, Gemma bit her lip. That wasn't very promising, but she wasn't that surprised that Wells had been unable to have a successful marriage.

Knocking on the door, Gemma stood back and listened for any sounds coming from inside the house. It was, however, completely silent and when she peered through the windows, she could only see darkness. It did very little to settle her nerves, as the eerie energy seemed only ominous instead of reassuring, and convinced that Wells was hiding inside, she knocked again, louder this time. When no answer came, she tried the handle, but as expected, the door was locked.

"Let me", Charlotte chimed in, gently steering Gemma away from the door before reaching for a pin in her hair and crouching down by the lock. "If anyone asks, you can't tell them I had anything to do with this", she insisted, and admitting that it wasn't a good look for a notorious lawyer, Gemma quietly promised she wouldn't stab her in the back while watching Charlotte pick the lock.

"I thought this only worked in movies", Gemma whispered, suddenly feeling like a kid up to some mischief, and her comment earned a chuckle from Charlotte. "I guess you're quite the delinquent", she added, causing Charlotte to look up at her with a grin.

"It's for a good cause, right?" she pointed out, and supposing she was right, Gemma let her do her thing. She was impossibly concerned, and whatever would help her find Beck and take her home, she was game.

It took some fiddling around, but eventually Charlotte managed to break in, the door creaking menacingly as they were faced with a completely dark house. Gemma swallowed and stepped in with Charlotte hot on her heel, both of them careful as they weaved past the drawer in the foyer and the pile of shoes on the floor. Gemma had to admit that she was in a lot of trouble if Beck wasn't there and they were disturbing Mack's peaceful sleep, but she was trusting her gut feeling that something was wrong.

"Beck? You here?" Gemma whispered into the darkness, running her hand across the wall to feel for a light switch, to no avail. Concern was starting to share space in her heart with frustration, and she was hellbent on giving Beck an earful once she'd get her hands on her, unable to understand what had possessed her to go after Mack in the middle of the night. She knew she had been disappointed and hurt by the outcome of the trial, and she didn't blame her for that, but she had to know it wasn't going to help her case to confront the man.

Gemma stepped into the kitchen where the large windows shed some moonlight in the room, but not enough to keep her from stumbling. She lost her footing after kicking something, and with a huff, she fell onto the floor, hitting her head on the countertop in the process. Groaning, she lifted a hand to her aching forehead and looked back to see what she had stumbled on, only for all air to be knocked out of her lungs when she saw Beck lying there.

Gemma noticed her face first, eyes still and her jaw stained with shiny blood, and in an instant, the older Moretti felt nausea rise up her throat. Tears already brimming in her eyes, she looked down to Beck's body splayed on the floor and found a knife lodged in her chest where more blood had originated from, pooling around her body and now covering Gemma's hands and sneakers.

A blood-curdling scream from Gemma filled the silent house, followed by horrified sobs as she clamored up to her knees and grabbed Beck's limp body from the shoulders, attempting to shake her awake. The sound alerted Charlotte to the kitchen, and as soon as she saw Gemma crouched over her sister's dead body, she froze in the doorway and felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Crying, Gemma hovered her hands over Beck, not knowing what to do, panic and shock behind the wheel of her systems as she was unable to tear her eyes away from the heartbreaking sight.

"No, no, no! Wake up, Beck, come on. Don't do this to me. Please, please, please", Gemma sobbed, staining her hands in red while trying to shake Beck to life. Charlotte finally got her legs to move again, and she hastily rushed behind Gemma to pull her away from the body, her arms wrapping around the trembling woman's chest.

"Come on, Gemma. She's gone. I'm sorry, she's gone", Charlotte spoke shakily, her own eyes glossy as she forced Gemma into her embrace. She wanted to be her friend, but she also had to be the lawyer in the moment, not wanting Gemma to compromise evidence by touching everything. She knew it was a little cold of her, but she also knew it would pay off in the end, and so, she didn't feel bad holding Gemma in her arms despite her writhing and crying.

Holding onto Charlotte, she got blood all over the woman's blouse, her face buried in her neck as she cried harder than she had ever before. Her sister was gone, and she hadn't been there to save her or help her. She had died all alone, or worse, with her abuser taunting her above her. Gemma had failed her; had failed her job as the big sister, and now, she was going to have to tell her niece her mother wasn't coming home.

"I've got you. I'm here", Charlotte whispered, swallowing as she looked away from Beck's body and down at Gemma whose sobs wouldn't quiet down in the least.

Gemma thought she had known what agony felt like, but as she sat there with her sister's blood all over her, she realized she had never had any idea.

///

CHARLOTTE HAD BEEN THE ONE TO CALL THE POLICE. Gemma had cried endlessly until it had just stopped like it had been cut with a knife, and after that, she had just sat by the counter in complete silence, her body and mind shutting down with only one thing sticking around – how she was going to get revenge on Wells Mack. She didn't believe in the police enough to trust them to do the job, even if she was lucky enough to have someone other than Malcolm or Paolucci at the crime scene. Once she'd be able to move, she was going to track Wells down and make him pay.

"I'm sorry for your loss, miss Moretti", the detective on the case offered her condolences, observing Gemma with sympathy. She couldn't say a word, knowing there was nothing more she could do to help. The detective's questions had been answered by Charlotte who was effortlessly taking charge on Gemma's behalf, letting the woman fester in her grief in peace, and some day, Gemma was going to thank her for that. For now, she remained frozen, only reacting with protests when Beck's body was put in a bag and wheeled away. She wished she could have clung onto her sister forever, but with Charlotte gently prying her hands away, she had been forced to let go.

"Do you need anything?" the Richards asked carefully, respectful of Gemma's space as she stood next to her. It was much appreciated, as she really wasn't in the mood for a hug – she just wanted Wells caught and punished for his crimes. That was all.

"Mack's head on a platter", Gemma announced, turning to face Charlotte with defiance, "and I'm gonna get it."

Tilting her head at Gemma, the taller woman frowned. "I would tell you that might not be a good idea, but I suspect there's no changing your mind", she made an educated guess before sighing. "Would you like me to join you?" she suggested, and with a quick shake of her head, Gemma looked down at her hands, tinted pink after she had viciously scrubbed the blood off of them under scalding water.

"Thank you, but no. I'll call you if I need anything, though. Is that okay?" Gemma asked, her eyes full of suffering yet determination. Charlotte gave her a confirming nod, and that was all she needed to get up and stride out of the house, weaving past the blood splatters on the hardwood floors and the officers buzzing in every room. She knew the cops would be looking for Mack, too, but she had enough experience finding criminals to go about it on her own, yearning to be the one to catch the man and bring him to justice.

Before that, she needed to go home and face Fiona. She felt nauseous as she entered her and Talia's apartment where her arrival quickly alerted both her roommate and her niece, the two of them meeting her by the front door. Talia looked concerned, understandably, considering she had woken up to no other adults at home, and Gemma felt bad for leaving her with Fiona. But she had one priority right now, and that was facing the little girl eagerly hugging her leg.

"Where did you go? Where's mommy?" Fiona queried, and swallowing her grief, Gemma tried to put on a brave face as she knelt in front of the girl and blinked her tears away. She was used to explaining Beck's absence to Fiona whenever her sister was busy at work, but never in a million years did she think she'd find herself in this very situation. As heartbroken as she was, she couldn't help but be angry that Beck had chosen a failed revenge attempt over staying with her daughter – even if that feeling was mixed with immense guilt. She didn't want to be resentful, but she was.

"Mommy's not coming home, sweetheart", Gemma started shakily, earning a puzzled look from Fiona, and a terrified one from Talia.

"What do you mean? Did she have to work? That's okay, we can play board games all night!" Fiona gushed, twisting the knife in Gemma's heart. With a shake of her head, she lifted her hands to gently grasp Fiona's shoulders and looked the girl into her eyes, not sure how to explain it in a way that a girl her age would understand without being traumatized too harshly.

"No, Fiona, mommy's... Do you remember what happened to Cheesecake?" she decided to approach the subject with a reminder of the girl's former cat, and when Fiona nodded, Gemma repeated the gesture sadly. "Mommy's in the same place as Cheesecake, now. I'm sorry, baby. She's gone", she whispered, her voice not capable of carrying the weight of her words.

Finally, realization dawned on Fiona's face and her bottom lip wobbled miserably. "No, auntie, bring her back. I want my mom", the girl insisted, bursting into tears, and unable to hold back her own, Gemma pulled her into a hug and held her tightly against her chest. As she embraced the child, she looked up at Talia who was standing behind Fiona in utter disbelief, a sympathetic look brewing in her eyes as she stared wistfully at Gemma's grief-stricken face.

Gemma held a crying Fiona for a good while, but eventually, she knew she had to get a move on. She couldn't very well expect Talia to take care of the girl, so she turned to her second option – her two aunts. When her mother had gotten lost in drinking and neglected her and Beck so deeply that she hadn't been able to feed them or clothe them, her aunt had stepped in with her wife and housed the two girls. Through their teenage years, Marnie and Eliza had raised them, and while Gemma prided herself on having grown independent and didn't like to rely on them too much anymore, she needed them now and she knew they would help in a heartbeat.

The news of Beck's death was a devastating blow to them, but they took Fiona in gracefully and promised to take care of her until Gemma would be able to do it herself. She didn't know what her plan was long-term, as she wasn't prepared to raise a child, but she didn't really know if she could abandon her, either. Still, it was a problem for another day, and for now, she just needed to focus on finding her sister's murderer.

"Be careful", Marnie Moretti spoke from the doorway, watching Gemma walk down the driveway. With a glance over her shoulder, she nodded at her aunt and promised to do just that, not only because she wanted to make Mack pay, but because she wasn't going to put her niece through any more grief than necessary.

"I will. I'll be back for her", she swore before turning away and walking to her car. She was happy that Fiona was secure with her aunts, but she was also irritated that she had given Mack a head-start, and she wasn't going to waste any more time. She hopped behind the wheel and headed directly for the address Charlotte had shared with her, hoping to find Mack's ex-wife and get any clues from her. She was optimistic that with a bitter divorce behind them, she wouldn't try and protect the man, but she was willing to twist her arm if it would come down to it.

As she was driving, she made sure to roll down the window for the cool wind in the absence of air conditioning. She couldn't stand the suffocating heat, feeling more and more overwhelmed and overstimulated by the second, her mind running a million miles an hour. She hadn't fully processed Beck being gone yet, the mourning not entirely set in, and she was fueled by anger, instead. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think back to Peter Montague and his wife's dead body that she had discovered, and she felt that same gut-wrenching feeling she had back then. Twice, she had walked into someone's apartment and come across a stabbed woman, and twice, she had failed to save said woman.

On edge and barely holding herself together, Gemma arrived at Farrah Mack's house in the suburbs, clenching her fists as she slammed the car door shut and stomped over to the porch. She tried to swallow down her frustration, not wanting to scare off the woman or make an enemy of her with her snappiness, but it wasn't easy. She had been pushed past her breaking point, that was for sure, but for the sake of gaining some helpful information, she took in a deep breath and knocked on the door, trying to stay calm.

It didn't take long for Farrah to answer the door, though she didn't open it all the way. "Can I help you?" she asked through the crack, observing Gemma from head to toe, seemingly cautious and careful. Gemma blamed that on Wells, certain that even though their marriage had ended, he had caused irreparable damage to Farrah's sense of security.

"My name is Gemma Moretti. I'm a bounty hunter and I'm looking for your ex-husband. Do you have any idea where he could be hiding from the authorities?" she introduced herself promptly, wasting no time in getting to the point. She wanted to be gentle with Farrah, but she also wasn't in the state to be holding anyone's hand right now, leaving her torn between her usual kindness and the despair that Wells had bestowed upon her.

"What did he do?" Farrah sighed, not even a little bit surprised by Gemma's announcement. She opened the door for her, allowing the Moretti fully take in the sight of the woman equal to her own height, with her tattooed arms folded over her chest as she waited for an explanation.

Feeling a lump in her throat, Gemma licked her lips. "Murder", she spoke shakily, "he's the main suspect in a murder." She didn't have it in her to speak her own sister's name and confirm that she was dead, but much to her relief, Farrah didn't pry for any additional details.

"That's terrible. I knew he wasn't a good man, but I didn't think he'd stoop this low", she shuddered, running her fingers through her hair before continuing. "He inherited a cabin in San Jacinto from his parents a few years before we got divorced. He likes to go there and wait for things to blow over when he gets into trouble", Farrah explained, and immediately, Gemma frowned. Charlotte had been thorough during the trial yet she hadn't been able to dig up any past allegations against him, which meant that he was excellent at burying things. Well, she wasn't going to let him get off the hook this time.

"That's incredibly helpful, ma'am. Do you have an address for me?" she inquired, hoping for the best, but unfortunately for her, Farrah shook her head in response.

"No. He never took me there and I didn't care enough to look for him. Sorry I can't do more for you", she acknowledged with disappointment, but Gemma gave her a reassuring smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes in its sincerity but it was good enough of a lead for her to go on.

"You've done quite enough. Thank you", Gemma insisted before turning on her heel and walking back to her car. 

Before she was out of earshot, though, Farrah called after her. "I hope you catch that son of a bitch", she hollered from the doorway, and with a firm nod, Gemma gave her a look.

"I will."

Once back in her car, Gemma called Charlotte and nervously chewed on her nails while waiting for the woman to pick up. She knew she was busy, but she had offered her services to help Gemma on her crusade, and so, she was cashing in that promise sooner than she had anticipated.

When she heard Charlotte's greeting, she sighed. "Hey, thanks for picking up. I found out that Mack has a cabin in San Jacinto but I'm lacking an address. Do you think you can look through his file if there's anything on there?" she summarized the situation, grateful that she had Charlotte to help her even if she had declined bringing her along. There was no telling what she would do to Mack once she'd get her hands on him, and she didn't want to jeopardize Charlotte's career by making her complicit.

"Of course. I'll do what I can, Gemma. I'll text you as soon as I have the answer, alright?" Charlotte assured, and after thanking her, the Moretti hung up the phone. She truly would have been lost without her – sure, she could have contacted Espinoza, but it wouldn't have been the same. She genuinely cared about Charlotte and knowing that she had her back meant the world to her, especially at a time like this.

She sat in the car for a while, anxiously fidgeting and trying to think about anything but Beck. She supposed she would have had the time to get something to eat while waiting for Charlotte's message, but she had absolutely no appetite and the mere thought made her nauseous. Not to mention, she wasn't willing to get off-track. She was laser-focused on finding Mack, and nothing was going to get in her way.

Thankfully, Charlotte contacted her after some time, the address now in her knowledge. Gemma didn't hesitate to start the car and get driving, her destination clear, and she almost smiled at the idea of catching Mack when he probably thought he was safe and untouchable. He was in for a brutal realization in the form of a vindictive Moretti sister, and the thought of breaking his nose pleased Gemma immensely.

The cabin was remote, as expected, and admittedly, Gemma's conviction cracked a little under the pressure. It wasn't the season for vacationing in the mountains and because of that, there were barely any people around, but she figured it was also an advantage. She would get to unleash Hell on Mack without anyone holding her back. Nevertheless, she couldn't say for sure what she was going to find, causing an uneasy look to brew on her face as she reached the right cabin, surrounded by miles of forest.

She made sure not to park in the driveway to avoid Mack spotting her prematurely, and she walked the rest of the short path. As she climbed up the stairs to the front door, the wooden boards creaked under her sneakers and she grimaced at the noise announcing her arrival. Fully prepared for a fight, she unholstered the gun she rarely, if ever, used but right now, she felt like it was her best friend. She was used to fighting with her fists and really only carried the weapon for extreme situations, and right now, as she was after a murderer – not just any murderer, but the murderer of her own sister – it was the most extreme she had found herself in so far.

Gemma opened the door to the cabin, delighted to find it unlocked, but before she stepped in, she scanned what she could see. It was quiet, much like it had been at Mack's house, but there was a light on, meaning someone was definitely at home, and she could smell something cooking in the kitchen. She was hopeful that she still had the element of surprise, but as soon as she stepped past the threshold, she was proven wrong.

The cold barrel of a gun bumped into her temple and she froze on the spot. Mack had noticed her coming, after all.

"Drop the gun or I shoot."

///

Author's note

AHHHHH, broke my own heart while writing this. But I knew from the beginning what I was going to do to Beck, sorry sweet girl :( 

Apologies that it took me a hot minute to finish this chapter, I don't know what happened but I got in a slump and I kept procrastinating on writing, but hopefully it won't take me as long to get the next one out!

Also, a massive, MASSIVE thank you for getting this lil story to 1k!!!

Thank you for being here <3