This chapter is dedicated to HeyItsParmida, the second 1st place winner in the pre-launch contest.

This is a brand new chapter which was not included in Draft I.

2 - Reflections

Charlotte's POV

"Would you like this gift wrapped, ma'am?"

I give the young, eager clerk a brief smile. "No, that's okay."

My fingers stroke over the soft fur fabric before handing him the teddy bear. Brent used to have one just like it—I think he called him Bobby—but I'm not sure anymore. I don't even remember what happened to him, but he had been devastated after he was gone.

The clerk stuffs the bear into a plastic bag. "That would be twenty-one sixty-nine."

I rummage through my purse for my change wallet, Ryan would be mad if I put the purchase on my credit card. He feels that I already bought enough toys for Noah, so I have been using my secret stash. I hand the clerk a twenty dollar bill and two ones, tossing the change absentmindedly in the donation box when my phone rings.

It's Ryan.

"Hi, honey. Are you on the plane yet?" My words cause excitement to spread in my stomach. Only a couple of hours and Noah will be here. I should hurry home and get the last little bits ready.

"No, Charlotte." His voice is on edge. "There have been some complications."

"What type of complications?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't call you earlier, but I didn't want to unnecessarily upset you. Frank took Noah and disappeared."

My hand automatically reaches for the store counter to keep my balance when the world around me comes crushing halt. "You told me you had that covered. How could you let this happen?"

"Watch your tone. And this is not my fault. Rena took an empty buggy out as a decoy and Barney stayed on her since he never expected Frank to do something illegal. The man is a cop, for crying out loud. What ever happened to ethical professionalism?"

I almost snort—someone should explain to my husband that spouse abuse has not exactly been sanctioned by the law. "What are you gonna do?"

He breathes heavily on the other end, a sign that he is furious. "Tivon ran to the judge the minute the courts opened and Rena was summoned. She claimed she has no idea where Noah is and the judge issued a contempt order. At the moment, she's being held at the county jail and Briar is interrogating her. An FBI colleague from the Child Exploitation Task Force is also involved, Director Mancini recommended him. He seems quite competent though rather young. I'm sure we'll get the truth out of Rena in the next few hours and as soon as we find Noah, I'll bring him home."

At least Ryan will stay in Chicago and I'll have the house to myself. If I already can't be with my grandson, I deserve to treat myself to a nice evening. I huff when a boy almost hits me with his elbow while chasing after his little brother around the cash register.

"What was that?" Ryan snaps.

"Nothing." I step out of the toy store, heading toward the food court. "Someone almost bumped into me."

"Oh, okay. I thought you were giving me attitude again."

I snicker to myself, he is such a jerk. "Would I ever do that?" I ask sweetly, almost gagging on my words. Lately, the feigning of obedience has proven quite difficult.

"Don't play games, Charlotte." The irritation is all too audible and I will fare better to end this conversation. Anything else could get me a beating when he gets home.

"Well, I have to run," I coo. "I see Pastor Wilks over there and still need to talk to him about the new prayer group. Call me if you have any news."

"Will do." His tone is warmer, he approves when I get involved in church activities. "Give my regards to Wilks. I love you, Charlotte."

I close my eyes, forcing the words to leave my mouth. "I love you, too."

He cuts the line and I drop the phone into my purse. All business, I turn to the young woman behind the counter. "Could I have a large Whammy Burger with onions and extra cheese, please?"

Ryan hates for me to eat junk food and I'm just in the mood to do the opposite of what he expects.

The lady types my order into the cash register, popping her gum right in front of my nose. "You want fries and a soda with that?"

I suppress a snarky remark about her lack of customer service, that's something my husband would do. "Yes, please."

"Regular or super-sized?"

My weight has been a little on the low side, so the extra calories will go unnoticed. "Super-sized. And I would also like one of those double chocolate chip cookies."

"They're three for the price of two."

I grin. "Then make it three."

Five minutes later, I grab a table by the window, my stomach growling. I add four bags of ketchup to my fries, stick the straw into my drink and take a long sip. It's like heaven. I haven't enjoyed a soft drink in a few months and the ice cold cola runs down my throat like silk. Ryan only allows still water around the house and this is truly a special treat.

I pull out my Kindle and am just about to open up the historical fiction novel my husband got me for Christmas when an unfamiliar voice causes me to raise my head.

"Charlie, is that you?"

No one has called me that since college. I squint at him, trying to determine from where I know him, and then the light bulb goes off. "Mikey? How are you?"

"Great." He plops into the chair across from me without an invitation—he has always been a straightforward kind of guy. We went together to Virginia during our freshman year and were in the same ethics class. The discussions were epic—he pretty much had disagreed with anyone else, but I later found out that he was just someone who liked to argue. Back then, he wanted to be a lawyer.

"So what have you been up to?" I ask him.

"Went to law school and I'm working now as a civil rights advocate out in DC? How about you?"

I raise my left hand. "Married and a housewife."

"I hope you didn't marry that guy you dated back then. What was his name again?"

"Ryan?"

"Yeah, Ryan. He was such an asshole." His grin is apologetic. "No offense, but he made me sick. Sexist and probably abusive on top of that. He certainly had a mean streak."

I stifle a laugh. "I married him. Twenty-seven years in a couple of months."

"Oops." He runs his fingers over his lips like he is zipping them close. "I'd better shut up now before you ask me to leave."

This time, I can't suppress a giggle. In a sudden panic, I glance around, but there's no one in the food court who knows me. Good that I drove all the way to Alexandria; in Quantico, I would be in hot waters by now. Ryan would chew my ass out for having a chat with another man which could easily be interpreted as flirting.

"So are you happy, Charlie?"

I twitch, the light mood replaced by pressing silence when tears fill my eyes. "It's fine, really. How about you? Are you married?"

"Yep. Going on ten years and I have little twin boys who are four and a baby girl. What about you? Any kids?"

This time, I can't prevent a tear from falling. "My two sons are dead."

He looks absolutely mortified. "I'm so sorry, Charlie. That must be so hard."

I know he itches to find out more, but I glare at him to let him know that this subject is not open for discussion. "I have a little grandson who is my life. He keeps me going. We just won custody, so he'll be living with us."

"Good for you and it was great seeing you again." He rises and fishes around in his pockets, pulling out a business card. "Here." He offers it to me and I reluctantly take it. "This has my email address on it. Why don't we stay in touch?"

"Sure, that would be great." My mile is crooked. He can probably figure out that my words are a lie and we will never see each other again.

He is just about to walk off when I call him back. "Mikey, do you still"—I wave him closer—"smoke weed."

My cheeks warm under his frown, yet his eyes sparkle with amusement. "Charlie Lawson, who would have known?" With a chuckle, he pulls a small baggie out of his jeans pocket before bending over my open purse to drop it in.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Forget it. That's for not strangling me after I put my foot into my mouth."

I giggle.

"And that repeatedly." He studies me for a moment. "I have friends who work with abused women, so don't toss my card. You might still need it."

When I stay quiet, his lips pull to a forced smile. "Take care of yourself." With that, he disappears in the crowd.

My eyes zoom in on a bird who is picking at breadcrumbs right outside my window, wondering how my life would have turned out if I hadn't married Ryan. Mikey had a mega crush on me back in college and had repeatedly asked me out, but my parents were dead set against an interracial relationship and I was too afraid to disobey them. Just six months later, when they prohibited me from marrying Ryan, I finally stood up to them, but it had been for the wrong man. In hindsight, they only had my best interest at heart, even then, they suspected him to turn into a monster. Apparently, Ryan was carrying a sign around that had told everyone about his true character, and I was the only one too stupid to see it.

On my way home, I buy more junk food in the form of candy bars, plus some cigarette paper, planning to put myself into a sugar induced coma and smoke pot. When I pass the liquor store, I pull into the parking lot. It doesn't take much convincing to pick up a small bottle of Baileys—all traces of my sins will be disposed of before Ryan returns. I need something extra to take the edge off.

Despite that I'm really looking forward to the night, tears keep rolling down my cheeks as I drive towards Quantico. One mistake ended up flushing my whole life down the toilet. The only thing left in this world is Noah and I would make damn sure that my grandson would never shed a single tear in his life because of his grandmother, making a bad choice. In all of this, Rena taught me one lesson—a mother never turns her back on her child and Noah would be protected no matter what.

I thought it would be nice to introduce Charlotte earlier on in this second draft since she is almost an equal narrator. A few glimpses into her past of the person she used to be -- very different from the Charlotte today. Yet, as you know, the rebellious streak has always been in her.

I hope you liked this chapter and please leave some feedback if it worked for you and if you thought this to be a nice new intro for her. Please don't forget to vote if this chapter deserved it :)