After I took a shower and reluctantly put some actual clothing on, I sat down to stare at the tiny USB drive deciding what I should do. I went into Jax's room and stole his gaming laptop to play it on. I cracked his terrible attempt at a password on the second try; it was his girlfriend's name. If it was going to be this easy, then it must be a sign that I was supposed to do this. I needed to find out what my mom was keeping from me.

I took a breath and stuck the tiny thing in the port. The automatic prompt came up and I saw a file marked as 'Evidence' with a court docket number that matched the one on the records.

"Here we go." I breathed out to myself.

I double-clicked the file and it started to play.

I wasn't even remotely prepared for what appeared on the screen in front of me.

"That's it, baby. Smile for the camera." I heard a male's voice but couldn't see his face.

Lying face down on a table with her head smashed into it by a large hand was my mom. She was so young in the video. She looked absolutely terrified. There was blood pouring from her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks.

This was way worse than I thought it would be.

The camera panned back to the scuzzy-looking guy touching her. She was fighting him with all her strength. Mom wasn't giving up. She was trying to get away from his disgusting hands.

"Boys, I think she's camera shy." I heard clapping and laughing somewhere in the distance.

No. No. No. No. Fuck No.

I knew that voice. I had excellent tone and pitch identification skills. Even though the voice was a little younger sounding than it was now, I knew who it was instantly. It couldn't be. It didn't make any sense.

The guy flipped my mom over and tore her shirt, exposing her skin to the camera. Her skin was flawless. Missing was the long angry scar across her stomach that I had just imagined she always had. I never remembered a time when she didn't have it. When I was younger, I used to ask her why she drew a line on her tummy. She had always told me it was so she could remember where her bellybutton was.

After a few seconds, the cackling voice walked into the frame. I lost all the breath in my lungs when I saw her cold, smiling face.

Fucking Gabby.

There was no mistaking who she was. She was a lot younger, completely cracked out, and it looked like she might have died her hair back then, but it was her. The woman who was supposed to be my friend was on the tape watching vile things happen to my mom.

Mom was pleading with her as she pulled out a silver knife and taunted her with it. Gabby was laughing as she placed the blade against her stomach and sliced her open. It was in the same exact place as the scar I had memorized over the years. I watched as the blood poured down her, over the table, and then fell in a steady drip onto the floor.

"Turn it off." My mom's raised voice called over her screams on the video.

I jumped when I heard her voice behind me and almost fell off my bed. I caught myself and turned back just in time to watch her wipe tears from her face.

"Mom, I...I..." I stuttered in shock.

Another agonized scream rang out from the tiny speakers.

"Jessa, turn it off now." She ordered again.

I caught a glimpse of the hideous man moaning as he did the worst thing you could ever do to someone. I wanted to vomit. She was fucking helpless. There was no one there to save her. Why did no one save my mom?

I slammed the computer lid, but the sound kept going just to mock me further. I heard her whisper "Jessa" and cry out one last time before it went silent.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I wiped the tears off my face.

She turned and walked out of the room to go back downstairs. I climbed to my feet and chased after her. I needed to hug her. I wanted to protect her from those horrible people. I wanted to ask her how she knew Gabby and why Gabby hurt her. How did this Jenna girl play into it all? Did they know each other? Had they been friends?

Fuck, I just needed something and I wasn't even sure what it was.

Why would Gabby not tell me she knew my Mom? I knew Gabby used to be sick, but why would she be my friend once she knew who I was? She had to remember my mom. I flashed back to the memory of her holding my family's picture in her hand and saying mean things about her. I felt like something was off with her that day, but I chose to ignore it. I really thought she was just having a moment. This was too much. This couldn't be a coincidence.

What did my family ever do to her?

I needed answers.

I found my mom in the kitchen with the pantry open, sorting the boxes and cans. She was pulling everything out and placing them all over the counters. It was almost empty by the time I got to her.

"Mom, please talk to me," I begged. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her trying to get her to stop. She pushed me away and went back to the jars of spaghetti sauce.

"Jess, it was a long time ago. I wish you would have just let it go when I asked you to." She said, slamming the jars down against the granite counters.

"Mom, I need to know why Gabby hurt you. Why did those men do those things?"

"Her name is Jenna."

"Mom, I know her. Her name is Gabby. You met her the other day when Uncle Aiden was here, remember? She is my friend from group." I argued back.

"Jessa, I haven't seen the woman in the video in almost twenty years and I haven't met Gabby yet." My mom looked concerned.

"Wait, she told me she met you the other day." It finally dawned on me. She fabricated the whole thing just like she did when she accused Cameron of cheating on me. I am so stupid. "Mom, she's been in the house."

"You've seen her?" Her tear-filled eyes went wide. The sadness on her face was replaced with fear. My mom's hands were shaking and she almost dropped the glass jar. I had my hand under it and caught it before she completely let go. I placed it back on the counter with its friends.

"Who is she, Mom?" I felt so lost.

"That woman's name is Jenna. She is your Dad's ex-fiance."

"Wait. What? Dad was engaged to someone else?"

I couldn't believe what she was telling me even though I knew my mom had no reason to lie to me about this. My dad never even glanced in another woman's direction. He had always gotten his fair share of interested women every place we went, but he never even paid attention to any of them. That man worshipped the earth the woman in front of me walked on.

"Sit down, sweet pea. We have a lot we need to talk about."