Ana's hands were stained with blood as she continued to keep the pressure on Christian's gun wound. He looked paler every second that passed, and more blood seemed to pool around him. It didn't look good at all, but Ana could only focus on what he told her moments before. I need to tell you what happened. The words were haunting, and it replayed over and over in her head. She desperately wanted to know the truth, but at the moment, she didn't care. She just wanted him to survive, but what she was doing was only prolonging his fate.

"This isn't working! We have to get you help!"

"Anastasia, look at me," Ana looked at him, and she felt tears in her eyes. "Don't cry over me. You're here because of me."

"How? I don't understand."

Christian took a deep breath and winced in pain. "I'm a recruiter. My brother and I both are. Our job is to find healthy people for organ harvesting. Our targets are usually young women like yourself. It's easier for us to seduce them."

"That's why Elliot made that comment at the party," Ana said, stunned, as she remembered him saying, "I got another one today. Guess these good looks and charm aren't for nothing". Ana shook her head. He was so smug about it. She would have never known he was a monster.

"You were my next target, Anastasia. Usually, I have to fake smile and laugh and pretend I'm having the time of my life when I just want to get the job done, but it was different with you. Nothing was fake. You weren't just another job, and I couldn't go through with it."

"Is that why you tried to break up with me?"

Christian nodded. "I tried to break it off so many times, but I kept coming back, and you were so in love with me, no matter what I told you. For once, it was nice to have somebody still love me even though I was fucked up. It was selfish, though. I should have let you go. When my family found out I was dating my target, they tried to keep it quiet, but news spread and our competition and buyers alike knew about it. It wasn't a good look at all."

"I made you look weak and ruined your family's ruthless image," Ana said sadly. She now knew why Mia was so upset. "I guess being romantically involved with the person you're supposed to kill is never a good look," she joked.

Christian smirked, but he was feeling too weak to laugh. "I tried to change my family's minds about you, but they wanted you dead. I convinced them I could make you be like us. That's when I showed you what we do. I tried to make you apart of our family because it was the only way we could be together, but I should have never pushed this terrible lifestyle on you," he started coughing up blood, and Ana wiped his mouth with her jacket sleeve.

"Hey, hey, relax. Maybe you should talk about something else?"

"No, Anastasia, you deserve the truth," Ana nodded as he continued. "When you stormed out that night during the party, everybody was on edge and thought you'd go to the authorities. They sent me to go after you, but when I refused, they threatened to send Elliot, so I went. I called you and apologized, and of course, you accepted it. We went out and had a great time, but when I walked you to your car -"

"You drugged me and kidnapped me," Ana finished his sentence. "It's the first memory I had when I was here. It was you all along."

"Yes, I brought you back here. Grace made the surgical mark's on you, and Carrick tried you up. I felt regret the moment I brought you back, Anastasia. I vowed never to recruit again. I barely felt like being alive, but when I saw you at the door, I knew I had gotten a second chance. I got the chance to do it right this time."

"That's why you helped me?"

Christian nodded. "I wish our circumstances were different. I suppose you hate me now."

Ana felt like her mind was racing faster than a speeding car. "You sound like you were pressured by your insane family your whole life. You did terrible things, but I don't hate you. I'm glad you came around," Ana still had one unanswered question. "Why did your family put this ring on me?" She raised her left hand to show her ring.

"We didn't do that. I have no idea where you got it, Anastasia. You never talked about it," Christian's words became slurred and slow. His eyes started to close, and Ana patted his face.

"Stay with me, please. Christian, please don't leave me."

" I'm sorry about everything," he said as he flickered in and out of consciousness.

"Don't leave me!" Ana yelled as loud knocks came at the door. She burst into sobs as Christian's head fell limply into her lap with his eyes closed. Ana glanced around and realized all of his blood circled under them like spilled milk. She didn't think one person could lose so much blood. She checked his pulse and couldn't find one. More loud knocks at the door. It had to be Grace or Elliot, or both. "Go away, you fuckers!"

"FBI, open up!"

Ana's eyes widened. Her call went through. She gently rested Christian's head on the floor and crawled to the door, not trusting herself standing on the slippery floor and looked at the monitor. The FBI was standing outside the door. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she scrambled with the keys and opened the door. The FBI escorted Ana out of the house, where she saw Grace and Elliot also in handcuffs. They got into a police car as she sat on the back of an ambulance car where somebody started tending to her. It almost felt like a dream.

"M'mam, we need to ask you some questions," says an agent. Ana nodded numbly.

"Can it wait? She's visibly shaken up," said the doctor, who shined a light in Ana's eyes.

The FBI agent seemed to think this over and nodded. "Of course."

"Is Christian alive?" asked Ana.

"So far, we found three bodies. All are deceased."

Ana nodded sadly. Her feeling was complicated, much like the situation.

"Ana!" A woman around her age ran toward her and hugged her. "I was so worried about you. When I heard you were here, I came as fast as I could."

Ana blinked. Kate, that's who it was. Her childhood best friend. "Kate, I - I'm so glad your here." She couldn't remember anything about her own family yet, but that would hopefully come back soon.

"Miss. Steele, we need to get you to the hospital for a full examination," said the doctor. "You can ride along if you like," she added to Kate.

"I would love to," replied Kate.

"Kate, do you know what this ring is?" She showed her left hand, and Kate's face saddened.

"Oh Ana, why are you asking about that?"

"I don't know. I barely remember anything outside of tonight. I think it's a drug that causes memory loss."

"It can't be permanent. You'll remember soon enough."

"No, Kate, I need to know now."

"It's not something you ever talked about, Ana. I don't want to be a bad friend."

"Kate, I am begging you to tell me what this stupid ring means."

Kate closed her eyes in a deep sigh. "You married your high school sweetheart, Jason Taylor. You two were so young and in love, and soon you were pregnant, and Jason was going into the army," Kate paused.

"Then what happened?"

"He died, Ana. You couldn't handle it and lost the baby as well, ever since you wore your wedding ring every day. It's been two years."

Ana blinked numbly. She didn't have any more room for tears. It felt like Kate was telling her a story about another person instead of herself. Ana saw herself drinking to cope with the loss of Jason, which lead to the loss of her baby. She hoped that it wasn't a memory, but everything was telling her otherwise. Ana hoped memories like that wouldn't come back, that they'd stay buried deep into her mind, so she could pretend it was another lifetime.

She reached into her pocket and felt the harddrive Christian had given her. It held enough information to put away Grace and Elliot and anybody else that was a part of this for a very long time. She held onto it tightly. Exposing the hard drive was going to be the first step to taking her life back. Being in control and doing something right. Maybe she didn't need to block out bad memories and instead make better ones.

"Ana, are you okay?" Asked Kate.

Ana smiled weakly at her friend as they got into the ambulance. "Yeah, I think I am."

The End.