Liam was struggling with the thought.

"If Charlotte were still here," he started, his voice heavy with regret, "I told her once that her kid would be my only one. He'd have my last name, Parker, and get everything I have."

"But, Mr. Parker, even if we don't know if Charlotte's gone for good or if she could have had kids, you've got a child already. The whole 'only' child thing has turned into a bad joke, hasn't it?" Serena wasn't pulling any punches, totally ignoring how much her words were cutting Liam as she waved Ethan over.

Ethan came over, all wide-eyed and curious, glancing between Serena and Liam.

"Mom," he asked tentatively, "do you really not like him?"

"That's right," Serena didn't beat around the bush, "I really don't like him."

"I kinda like him though," Ethan admitted, looking a bit stuck.

He didn't know how to handle liking someone his mom clearly didn't, and he didn't want to stop seeing Liam either.

So, in his own awkward way, he tried to sway his mom, "I like him, so... Mommy, could you like him like I do?"

Serena felt dizzy with the boldness of his request.

He was too sure of himself, thinking she'd just agree.

"Ethan, I've taught you to go after what you want without fear, haven't I? It's about fighting for what you want, not stepping on others to get it."

Her words were cool and detached, "You might get others to bend for you, but that won't keep them from walking out on you."

Ethan was just a kid; he didn't get what she was saying. He sensed she was mad, though, and tried to cuddle up to her, only to find she wasn't having any of it.

Serena was staring straight at Liam, "Since Ethan likes you so much, Mr. Parker, you're up for explaining it to him, right?"

Liam was hanging on by a thread, fists balled tight, eyes locked on her.

"You're doing this on purpose," he accused, emotions nearly spilling over, "Serena, not in front of the kid..."

"He deserves to know the truth."

Serena's piercing look gave Liam a moment of pause.

They were still waiting on the paternity test.

He had no proof Serena was Charlotte.

Yet in that moment, he was convinced she was.

Only Charlotte would say things like that, only she could rattle him so deeply.

He even started to doubt whether Ethan was his own.

"You can't do this to me. You've got to let me make some mistakes..."

"Sure, make mistakes. But you're the one who has to live with the consequences, isn't that right?"

Serena hoisted Ethan into her arms, not even a second glance in his direction as she headed for the stairs.

But as she strode past Liam, he reached out and gripped her arm hard.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Turning to face him, a lone tear escaped and traced its way down Serena's cheek.

"I will face the consequences," Liam declared, his eyes bloodshot, revealing the pain behind that single tear.

"Charlotte, just wait for me."

"I'm not waiting," Serena yanked her arm free, her voice cold and final.

"The past is the past, and now is now. And you should call me Mrs. Blackwood."

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Liam lingered downstairs until the dead of night before he finally left.

From the balcony, Serena watched him go, the night swallowing his figure. Vincent appeared beside her, as silent as a shadow.

"He's digging into your connection with Robert. Your secret won't stay buried for much longer," he murmured, anxiety lacing his words.

Vincent hadn't been on board when Charlotte decided to return home, but it wasn't his place to stop her personal matters.

He seems calm on the surface, but he's actually on edge. If he finds out you're Charlotte, there's no telling what he might do."

"He's not going to kill me twice," Serena... or should we say, Charlotte, her voice devoid of feeling, her words sharp as knives. "I never planned to hide my true self from him with this face."

"But why..."

"To let him discover I'm not Serena, but Charlotte, and then to walk away while he's still reeling from getting me back-don't you think that's kind of thrilling?"

Charlotte spoke with a detachment that seemed almost amused. "He's made me suffer enough. It's time he starts paying it back, piece by piece."

Vincent wanted to argue, to tell her something more, but he held back, considering her feelings.

Things weren't going to be as simple as she thought. Even if she wanted to leave, would Liam really let her?

After letting the night air wash over her for a while longer, Charlotte finally went back inside. Ethan was fast asleep, his face still showing traces of his earlier tears-Charlotte had been harsh with him. "Ethan's just a kid; you shouldn't be so tough on him," Vincent couldn't hide his concern.

Charlotte knew that, of course, but she couldn't stand the thought of her son growing up to mirror Liam.

"He's naturally drawn to Liam, and I thought that was the extent of it. But now, Ethan's starting to act like him too..."

She couldn't bear the thought of Ethan growing up to be as self-centered as Liam.

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After that crash, with her ribs in pieces and her insides a mess, she was about to be wheeled into surgery when they dropped the bomb-she was pregnant.

All her pain seemed to fade in that instant. The only thing that mattered to Charlotte was that this baby shouldn't exist.

A child with Liam's blood? No way.

But then the docs said this might be her only shot at motherhood.

Tossing and turning all night, she wrestled with the decision.

Come morning, with the sun creeping up the horizon, she knew she was going to keep the baby.

Without any family, this little one would be her world, her reason to keep the fight alive.

Sticking with the baby meant ditching the meds and the surgery.

Healing the old-fashioned way was brutal, but she'd swallow any pain for her kid.

"I can't let him turn into another Liam, living the high life with no conscience, hurting people without a second thought." "Look, Charlotte, how you raise Ethan is your business, but remember what you promised me he won't be a Parker."

Ethan's a Blackwood through and through, growing up with his name in our family book.

"You swore that no matter what goes down, Ethan won't be going back to the Parker family."

"He won't."

Charlotte was ice cold. "He's not going to have anything to do with Liam."

Liam should've known-you grab at something, you're bound to lose something else.

He lost his right to be called 'Dad' the minute he chose to let Chloe-the cause of all this mess-off the hook for a kid that wasn't even his. Bringing Ethan home was about two things, giving the kid a chance to meet his real dad, and showing Liam exactly what he threw away.