I do not own standoff

A/N: Hopefully this chapter will give you some background info on our antagonists, seeing as I've pretty much ignored them all throughout the first four chapters.

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One thing was for sure; Emma Swanson would go to hell and back for her daughters.

Emma loved Elsa, Daniela, and Liesl with all her heart. Liesl was the eldest by three years, Daniela came in second at five, and Elsa was just coming out of infancy. They were a hassle sometimes, but she loved them none the less.

Things went fine for the first part of her marriage; her ex husband Jimmy was an accountant, and the first time she met him, she was his secretary. A year and a half and many hookups in the office later, they got married.

Liesl was born exactly nine months later, along with many restrictions. Money got tighter, especially after Emma was fired from her job. Jimmy said things would be fine; he could support the three of them.

Things changed when Daniela was born, Jimmy became somewhat recluse and withdrawn to the family. Emma didn't suspect the late nights or the early morning meetings, not until Elsa was born. Three months after her youngest was born, she found his cell pone in his pants while doing his laundry, which just happened to ring right then and there. She answered, and was surprised to find Cindy, Jimmy's current secretary, talking to her about meeting her sweet "Baby doll" at the local Holiday Inn.

She filed for a divorce immediately, thinking life would be better with just her daughters. However, at the divorce hearing, Jimmy was granted custody of at least one child. And since Daniela downright refused to be separated with her Emma, and Elsa was just an infant at the time, the father took the eldest of the three.

Things rolled by smoothly for a few months, but Emma missed her daughter dearly. She decided that she was going to get Liesl back one way or another.

At first, she went to Court. She filed complaints against her ex-husband, saying that he beat her poor baby, and she wouldn't tolerate this any longer. When the Judge asked for proof, Emma drug poor Liesl to the stand and showed him the collection of bruised that adorned her arms. Little did the Judge know that it was actually Emma that caused such injuries, and begged Liesl not to tell anyone.

Of course Liesl complied. After all, how could she disobey someone who loved and cared for her? Someone she loved and cared for in return?

But the evidence wasn't enough. According to the Judge, the abrasions could have been caused by anything; for example, any child could injure themselves in such ways at recess at school. The Judge ignored the complaints, stating that Liesl was a rather rambunctious girl and there was nothing to worry about.

Next was money. Emma tried bribing her ex with numerous amounts of cash, hoping to ignite his greediness from his former gambling days. But alas, it worked to no avail.

Emma was running out of options to get her Liesl back. Then one morning as she read the newspapers, she found her answer in the obituaries.

The sad murder of Penelope Carlisle gave her the inspiration. As she read about how the young woman's prosperous life was drawn to an end with a bullet, Emma had an epiphany. How could Liesl live with her father if she had no father in the first place?

It was a crazy idea then, but the more accustomed she grew to the thought, the more she liked it. Soon, Emma was planning the death of her babies' daddy.

She studied previous murder cases, all of which the killer was caught of course, and she learned from the mistakes the killers made. Emma learned that a single finger print or body fluid could mean a one way ticket to prison. She went to the public library and researched as much as she could on forensic science. If there was one thing that could cause her to fail, Emma would sniff it out.

Finally, after three months of preparation, she set her plan in place and killed him.

A knife to the throat was a swift, easy kill. And the bleach rubbed on every surfaced she touched, even though her hands wore gloves, got rid of any trace of prints. She watched in masked pride when the anchorwoman announced that forensics couldn't find any trace of DNA whatsoever. The only fluids containing DNA was that of the victim himself.

Finally the Judge allowed Emma custody of her oldest daughter.

The girls were still mourning over the death of their father, but Emma had faith that things would be alright soon enough.

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"Mommy, what's for dinner?" Liesl asked.

"Spaghetti," Emma replied.

"Again? But we had that last night, and the night before!" Liesl whined.

"You'll eat it or go to bed hungry. Now you and Danni go put up the dishes," snapped Emma.

Liesl pouted and stomped off to find her sister.

Emma sighed and pre heated the left over noodles and sauce. Being a sales woman for carpets could only do so much.

She put Elsa in her high chair and called the other two to the table. After a quick grace, they dug in.

As Liesl and Danni fought over who had the most noodles, Emma thought about Francois Meurtre. Frankie, as he was more commonly known. The big shot in her office building that liked to hit on women and leave them in the dust once he got what he wanted.

She hated that man, and he would be gone soon.

Just like Flannery.

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