Pulling into Ivan's driveway was strange. It's kind of like a ghost town. As we got closer to the house we notice a car parked next to Ivan's truck. Uncle Harry reaches behind his seat and pulls out a shot gun.

He looks at me. "What you never know." He laughs.

We climb out of his truck and walk toward the door. A faint smell of fire fills the air.

"Is someone staying here?" Derek asks me.

"I thought the property has been seized?"

"Well we are about to find out." Uncle Harry says.

Uncle Harry opens the door quietly and steps inside. Derek and I follow and notice a fire going in the fire place. Derek and Harry look at each other, when I man walks out of Ivan's office with his head down. When he looks up and sees us standing there I notice it's Tom, Brad's dad.

"Tom?" I say questioning.

"Ella? What are you doing here." Tom asked.

"How about you tell us." Harry demands.

"Ivan asked me to come here and destroy his paper work on his clients since its personal information. They are going to put his house on the market so I have to get rid of his personal stuff. I've been packing his stuff up for the past week."

"Tom I left my book bag here. Do you mind that I grab it?"

He nods and I head toward the office. Suddenly he's walking past me.

"Wait Ella I'll check to see if it's in there. There's all kinds of stuff everywhere and I don't want you to trip."

"Really it's ok Tom I'll be ok." I said stepping past him. I walk into the office and there are floor boards pulled up. "What the hell is this Tom?"

"Ella it's not what you think. Ivan and Nancy don't need to be in jail. I'm trying to help them."

"And Brad does deserve to be in jail?" I ask.

"Brad's in jail too?" Tom questions.

"Yes your lovely wife and adopted son framed him. He has nothing to do with any of this." I say.

"What have you destroyed?" Derek asks.

"Nothing. I found the floor boards he hid everything in and set the stuff on the desk and went to start the fire."

Harry steps past all of us going toward the desk. Thumbing through the papers he finds a few sheets with Brad's name on it. "Here." Harry hands me the paper. "This is the proof we need. They were dipping into his stocks too." Harry pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns to Tom. "I'm going to call the police and you will tell them everything."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Tom asks.

"Brad's lawyer. So unless you want to go to jail for destroying evidence or want to have a part in your son being in jail I suggest you tell the police the truth."

Harry called the police and I stand next to Derek. I don't know why but I feel like for whatever reason I need the protection just in case. Derek places his hand at the small of my back and I feel the warmth through my shirt.

"The police will be here in a few minutes." Harry says.

I step outside and call Courtney. I fill her in with what's happening. She's shocked when I tell her Tom is involved with it too. I see the police coming up the driveway and hear Tom and Harry yelling at each other and Derek trying to break it up. Telling Courtney I have to go, Harry is busting through the glass window, knocking me to the ground and there's a sharp pain that radiates through my chest.

"Ella! Don't move!" Derek's yelling me as I'm trying to get up.

I look over and Toms in handcuffs being put into the police car. I hear Harry say that there is an ambulance coming.

"Derek?" My head throbs. "What's wrong with me?"

"When Tom threw Uncle Harry through the window he land on you. You have a shard of glass stuck in your chest and you have a gash on the back of your head. You were out for a few minutes."

One of the paramedics are now at my side. "How are you doing hun?" She asks.

"Ok a little bit of pain." I answer.

"Can you tell me your name, the month and where you are?"

"My names Ella, it's January and I'm at Ivan's house."

"Wait Ella? It's Abby!"

"Oh hi. Can you just fix me up here? I really don't want to go to the hospital." I ask.

"Let me see if I have a suture kit and if I do I'll call my chief to get the ok."

Abby walks away and checks the ambulance for a suture kit. Derek is next to me holding my hand. I see Abby on the phone so she must have had a kit. She puts the phone in her pocket and walks over to me.

"Ok I can do it but I have to assess it first. If it looks too deep I'll have to take you in."

"She hit the back of her head too and it was bleeding pretty good."

"Ok I'll take a look." She looks around the area where the glass is in my chest and she said she's going to give me a couple numbing shots and pull it out. She gives me about 5 shots around the area of the glass in my chest. She wiggles the glass a bit asking if I feel it. When I tell her no she yanks it out and the wound pours blood. The other paramedic is now at my side too putting compressions on it.

"If we don't get it to stop I have to take her into the hospital." She says to Derek.

Derek nods his head. She lifts the cloth and says the bleeding as slowed down. She instructs the other medic to have me sit up so she can check my head.

"It's not too bad. Can probably get away with like 3 stitches." She cleans it up and stitches my head up. Pulling the gauze from my chest she notes the bleeding has stopped and starts to stitch that wound. 12 stitches later she bandages it up. "Alright Ella. Go home and rest. Nothing strenuous for a while. Here's some pain killers and try to stay away from trouble."

"I'm trying Abby. Where there's Ivan there's trouble." I say.

"Well then Ella I suggest you stay far away from Ivan." Abby says.

"Consider it done!"

Abby and her partner leave and Derek scoops me up. He walks over to the truck and Uncle Harry opens the back door for Derek to set me in on the seat. Once he has me in the truck he kisses me sweetly and shuts the door. He jumps into the drivers side and Uncle Harry gets into the passenger side. When we arrive at the winery, Derek drives straight to our cottage. Putting the truck in park he gets out, opens my door and scoops me up again to carry me inside.

"I can walk." I say groggy.

"No my love I will take care of you." He kisses my cheek and lays me on the cough. "Stay here, I'm going to ride Uncle Harry up to Mama and Papas."

Just like that, he's out the door. I drift off to sleep and when i wake up I'm in my bed. I look at the clock and its 3:19am. Derek's arm is draped over me and his face nuzzled into my hair and he breaths so softly. I move his arm so I can get out of bed and go to the bathroom.

I turn into the bathroom and go to turn the light on when I notice a figure standing there. I go to scream and a hand flies to my mouth.

"Shhh Ella. You don't want to wake Derek up."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say shutting the bathroom door and turning on the light.

"I needed to talk to you, Ella."

"I have nothing to say to you. Leave now or I will call the police and wake Derek up."

"Ella no don't. Just one minute please."

"Fine but hurry it up."

"I'm sorry Ella. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry you got hurt, I'm sorry we lost our baby and I'm so sorry you were drug into this mess. I cleared Brad's name, I confessed that he had nothing to do with it, that it was just Nancy and I. Tom got involved toward the end when we started pulling money in. I really liked you and stopped everything because I didn't want you to have this life. Nancy got mad and threatened me, said that if I didn't bring everything back I would pay and she wasn't going to tell me how. I didn't know that meant you."

"Ivan how do I know you are telling me the truth?"

"I took a huge risk coming here. I broke out of jail Ella. I tried calling you and I wrote you a letter that I'm assuming you never got."

"I think you need to turn yourself back in and pay for what you've done."

"You don't believe me Ella?"

"No! How can I fully believe that you are sorry!" I'm livid at this point. I feel my body shaking from anger and I feel like I'm going to explode on him. "Your mother is fucking crazy! I could have died! This whole time that you've been involved in my life has been nothing but hell! I want you the fuck out of my life! You and Nancy! You deserve each other! The only decent human being in your family is Brad." Tears begin to flow and he just stares at me neither of us move and I try so hard to stop the tears when the bathroom door flies open.

"What the fuck?!?!" Derek yells and takes me into his arms.