97 hours remaining.

She woke to hands gently shaking her shoulders. "Hm?"

"Honey, wake up. You fell asleep." Came Henry's soothing whisper. Claudia cracked her eyes opening groggily, realising she was still in her blue chair, phone in one hand, notebook in the other.

Then it all came rushing back to her, the events of the past day. But she was so tired, too tired to process her emotions, and let Henry help her into bed.

Claudia lay awake for a long time, mind alive and whirling.

"Henry?" She whispered at one point, turning towards her husband. He lay on his stomach, head pressed deep into his pillow.

"Yeah?" Came his muffled, sleepy response.

"Why didn't you tell me you were running for mayor?" The question had been bugging Claudia all night.

"I wanted it to be a sure thing first. Wait until we got my campaign and election affairs in order, until I had the highest probability of success. I just didn't want to disappoint you guys." His response was raw and emotional, and made Claudia's heart ache.

"You know you can tell me anything. We're a team." And Claudia meant it. Her hubby just smiled in response, eyes still closed. Claudia rolled onto her back.

"Promise me you won't let Jessica eat barbecued squirrel." Claudia whispered and Henry barked out a laugh.

"It was either that or teach her how to hunt deer. She thinks she's Bear Grylls." Henry responded, voice light and airy. Claudia couldn't help but smile. I did find a print-out of the Man VS Wild legend himself underneath her bed last week.

Henry rolled closer to Claudia, propped himself onto an elbow and started to kiss her neck. Claudia closed her eyes, smiling softly, enjoying the intimacy. She found his mouth with hers, and the kiss deepened.

Do I feel like it? Hm, would be nice... But I'm too tired to put any energy into it. And I know that's when I like it the most...

Opting against continuing things, Claudia pulled back and rested her head on Henry's chest. He sighed but rubbed her arm soothingly.

"Henry?" She asked after a while, staring up at the ceiling, unsure of if her husband had drifted off.

"Yeah?" Came his identical muffled response.

"I need to go find Junior. I'll be leaving tomorrow." Like she'd said the magic words, Henry jerked up, wide awake. Claudia lifted her head off his chest and sat up in the bed.

"What? What are you talking about? Detective Colins is working on the case." He asked, alarmed and Claudia shushed him.

"This is about me, Henry. This is my past catching up to me." She whispered, voice quiet but firm. Eight years of being a mother had taught her when to compromise and when to stand her ground.

They argued for what felt like hours. Henry was terrified, and naturally felt it was a bad idea. And as Claudia hadn't mentioned the phone call, combined with his limited knowledge of her past, she couldn't really blame him.

After substantial reasoning, justifying and straight-out begging, Henry started to give in. Claudia wasn't sure if it was the sleep deprivation or the concern for Junior, or the fact that he knew his wife could be stubborn as an ox.

Regardless, I'm grateful. Grateful he trusts me to handle this. She thought to herself, watching him doze off.

Claudia struggled to sleep, tossing and turning restlessly the whole night. By the time soft dawn light filtered in through the curtains, Claudia was out of bed, showered and in the kitchen with Heather.

90 hours remaining.

"But what about Jessica?" Henry had asked last night.

"I'll talk to your mother, see if she can pick Jessica up from school in the afternoons and look after her until you're home."

"But what about Heather?"

In the end, they'd decided it would be best if Henry stayed home; went on leave for the next couple of days. Hold down the forte until Claudia returned.

Claudia made pancakes, anything to keep her mind busy. The house was still as a graveyard and unusually solemn.

"Where are you going Mom?" Jessica asked, burying her pancakes under a mountain of grated cheese.

"I'm going to find your brother." She responded, smile so wide it hurt, forcing herself to eat. The pancakes stuck in her throat.

"Millie owes me twenty big ones." Jessica exclaimed, fist pumping the air, to which Claudia raised an eyebrow. Jessica shrugged.

"I bet her twenty dollars that mom would go off like John Wick. She said it would be dad." And for the first time that morning, laughter filled the house, even if it was fleeting and halfhearted. Henry is a lover, not a fighter.

Then Jessica's face softened, as if the gravity of the situation had just dawned on her.

"When will you be back?" Jessica whispered. As if on cue, Heather started to cry. Claudia stood up and picked up her baby, gently bouncing her against her chest.

"Shh, shh. Soon baby girl. Within four days, I promise. You're gonna have your daddy all to yourself. He can take you camping right here in our backyard, and take you to the park, and anything else you want to do." But Jessica just sat there, letting a single tear roll down her cheek. She ran over and wrapped herself around Claudia's waist.

So Claudia stood there, holding her crying kids, biting back tears at the feeling of her heart breaking again.

Later, she stood by the front door, waving goodbye as Henry took Jessica to school, with Heather in her car seat. Once they were out of sight, Claudia headed back into the house, all business.

She grabbed a black duffle from the top of her closet and filled it with a couple changes of clothes, a torch, her passport, cash, a first aid kit and emergency packets of dried food. Anything I could possibly need.

Finally she knelt down beside the bed and pulled out a wooden box. With shaky hands she unlocked the combo and opened the lid, tipping the contents into her bag.

She zipped up the bag and stepped out of the house, checking twice that she'd locked the door. Within minutes Claudia was speeding down the A14 in her grey Volvo. She had calculated it would take her two hours to reach London, two hours of rolling green hills and never-ending forests.

Claudia's heart was racing and she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. Stay calm. Just go over the plan, over and over. This needs to be meticulous. She reminded herself.

You need to see your dad first. If anyone is going to know what's the down-low on the Walker crime syndicate, it's him. She thought. Nathan Barrow was a plumber by day and a Walker Bro's lackey by night. Claudia still knew his address. Unless he has moved...

As she got closer to London's outer suburbia, nostalgia hit her like the sea breeze. Everywhere she looked held memories, like she could see the ghost of her childhood self running on the pavement, not a care in the world. Running after Bonnie.

The memories were bittersweet and left a sour taste in Claudia's mouth. Everything changed after the accident. I lost my best friend, my partner, my soulmate. So when, two years later, the news articles reported Bonnie had drowned in a river in China, Claudia hadn't cared. To me, she died in that accident.

88 hours remaining.

Claudia pulled up to the familiar street, stopping in front of a worn, two story condo behind an industrial block. She switched off her car and sat for a moment, staring at the house, with its peeling cream paint, missing terracotta tiles and dilapidated front porch, eaten away by termites.

I can't believe I'm back here. After ten years and not a single shred of contact between Claudia and her father, to suddenly rocking up, unannounced, on his porch. Claudia half hoped he'd moved just so she could leave. But then she spied the back shed, door ajar, revealing crates off home-brew equipment.

Nope, that's him. Claudia got out of her car and stepped onto the porch, hesitantly knocking on the front door.

"He won't answer." A voice said to her right and Claudia jumped. She spun around to face the figure at the edge of the porch, hidden by the shadows.

"Why?" Claudia asked, squinting at the outline. Did you hurt my dad? Her unspoken question rang through mind like an echo.

The figure stepped forward, into the light. And Claudia stopped breathing.

"Bonnie?"