The Choices We Make (Revenge)

Rebun Island

Rebun Island, Japan

The next morning

When Emily opened her eyes, she didn't take long to realize that she was in Satoshi Takeda's training camp. She had stayed here long enough and knew the area inside out. But the question was, how did she get here? The last thing she could remember was that she had fallen asleep in the hospital bed. Or was she still dreaming? She heard a noise, and turned her head. It was a young woman with long, brown hair who entered the room.

"Hey, you're awake," she said delightedly. "I'm Ava Winters. Do you remember me?"

Emily nodded. Of course she recognized her. She was also one of Takeda's students who had gone to Rebun Island for the path of retribution. Even though she had never exercised with her, they had been talking a couple of times. "Ava, yes, of course." She frowned. "How did I get here?"

"You came with Aiden," Ava said. "Don't you remember?"

"No." She wiped her eyes. "I've fallen asleep, and then I can't remember anything." Suddenly she opened her eyes wide as she remembered Ava's first part of the sentence. "Did you say Aiden like ... Aiden Mathis?"

Ava nodded. "He brought you here and said you wanted to continue your training after your injury had healed."

"Injury?" Emily groped for her bandage, which had been placed there after her surgery. "I'm not hurt. I had a c-section," she told the young woman.

"You have a baby?" Ava looked at her incredulously, then shook her head. "I don't understand any of this. Why was I told that you were back to continue your training? I mean, apparently you don't know how you came here." She thought for a moment, then frowned. "Is it Aiden's baby?"

Emily shook her head. "No, it's from the man I primary wanted to take revenge." She saw Ava raising the eyebrows in surprise and continued. "I know what you must think about that, but sometimes you have to question your motives if vengeance is really the only way."

"It is for me." Ava raised her head defiantly. "You know what they did to me. I'll reclaim what's mine!"

Emily looked at her thoughtfully. Ava reminded her of herself. When she first came to the island to learn from Takeda the lesson of taking revenge. But a lot of time had passed since then. She was a different person now. "Where is Aiden?" Emily asked hesitantly. She still couldn't believe that he had actually brought her here against her will.

Ava shrugged. "I don't know. Takeda just asked me to take care of you."

Emily sat up slowly. "I must go back to the States!" She said urgently. "Can you help me?"

"I don't know," Ava said hesitantly. "There is certainly a reason why you are here."

Emily took her arm. "You don't understand!" she said desperately. "Aiden apparently still thinks I am the same Emily, as before my loss of memory. But I'm not." She shook her head. "The path of retribution is no longer mine! And I can't live with Aiden as I did before."

"Because you love your child's father?" Ava concluded.

Emily nodded. "God knows I've tried to hate him, but I just can't," she admitted resignedly.

"Have you forgiven him?"

Emily thought for a moment. Had she forgiven Daniel? After all he had shot at her. But after talking to him, after he had held a mirror up of her actions, she had realized that it had been her fault that he had become a perpetrator. She nodded. "Many innocent people had to suffer because I wanted to take revenge senselessly. My father is dead, but taking revenge won't bring him back. And Daniel never had anything to do with it. He was just my entrance into his family. I wanted to approach and destroy them. I didn't realize back then that I would destroy him, too." She grabbed the young woman's hand. "Please, Ava, you're my last hope! I can't stay here. My little son needs me and ... Daniel too."

"You should talk with Aiden about it," Ava said hesitantly.

"He brought me here against my will." She shook her head. "He won't listen to me."

"And you're also sure you want to go back to Daniel?" Ava asked.

"One hundred percent sure, yes." She nodded eagerly. "My life as Emily Thorne is over. I'm Emily Grayson now."

"All right ..." Ava rose with a sigh. "I'll get something to write and then you can write down the phone number. I'll call him and tell him your whereabouts."

Somewhere on Long Island

Daniel had spent the night in the car after driving around in the area for hours, and had even taken a lantern post during a dodge maneuver. He had committed a hit and run because he had suddenly realized that he would probably be given a punishment after driving drunk again. So he had parked the car somewhere and had fallen asleep on the steering wheel. When his cell phone hummed in his pocket, he jerked. Still half-asleep, he reached for it and answered the call. "Yes?" He mumbled indistinctly.

"Daniel? Thank God! It's me, Charlotte. Mom and Dad have already called you dozens of times. Where are you?"

"Charlotte?" He rubbed his aching neck and looked around. "No idea," he said.

"What do you mean 'no idea'? You should know where you are!"

"In the car." He ruffled his hair and looked at the clock. "I was too tired to drive home yesterday."

"Are you fit to drive now?"

He heard the reproach in her voice and suspected she knew about his condition. "Yes, I'm fit enough."

"Then go straight to the hospital!"

He felt instantly how his heart beat faster with fear. "Has something happened to Julian?" Was the first thing that came to mind.

"The baby is doing well. It's about Emily ..."

"What about her?" His free hand had clenched around the wheel. "Tell me, Charlotte!"

"She's missing."

It was not what he had expected to hear, and yet it made sense in a strange way that she had disappeared. Hadn't that been her plan, simply to disappear, to leave him? If that had been her plan, she had won. "Well?" He shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Daniel, aren't you listening to me? She is missing! Nobody knows where she is."

"What am I supposed to do?" He knew how heartless this statement sounded, but after talking to Emily and knowing that she hated him, he was no longer surprised.

"Come to the hospital and talk to the police!"

"You got the police involved?" He said incredulously.

"Did I forget to mention that they found anesthetic remnants on her pillow? Dammit, Daniel ... just get here! Emily didn't just walk away, she was abducted! Do you think she would have left her son behind if she had just left the country?"

Daniel noticed that his hands trembled slightly as he turned the key. He was still not fit enough to drive, and probably they would ask him to pay for the damage he had caused, but that didn't matter at that moment. He just wanted to go to the hospital as soon as possible. He opened the glove compartment, took the flask out, and threw it through the open window before stepping on the gas pedal and driving back to the hospital.