Author's Note: I feel that I need to give a trigger warning here. I promised in the intro that there wouldn't be any sexual assault in this story, at least not "on-camera," and that is still the case, but there IS reference to it. This chapter is HEAVY. Christian not only talks about his own history with Mrs. Robinson... but he finds out that his own little brother is suffering the same trauma that he did from the same evil bitch troll. This chapter is full of family drama, but I hope you will be able to see the strong characters of Gabriela Grey and Mama Hen Grace Grey, as well as the traumatized Carson Grey, who is going to get through this and become someone great, I just know it.

Also, I do read your reviews, and I pay attention. One person was offended by Anastasia's reference in the last chapter to anal = gay. I hope Jose makes up for it in this chapter.

Chapter 6:

"I still say you should get the emerald green one instead," Jose told Anastasia through the dressing room door as she stood in front of the mirror looking at herself in what she thought was the perfect dress for her first public appearance with Christian. "It's regal. And you've always looked good in jewel tones."

"No, this is the one," she insisted as she examined the delicate pink lace overlay. She opened the door to him, and he examined her critically. The tiered skirt was playful, ending just above her knees. And the sleeveless design was sexy but not slutty. It was tasteful. Anastasia told Jose, "I like the length of this one better. Besides, the green one shows too much tit and thigh. The front is cut almost to my navel, and the slit down the side almost shows my ass. I'd be self-conscious the entire night."

"The green one is sexy as fuck, but this one looks good on you, too," Jose agreed. "Mr. Sex on Legs won't be able to keep his hands off you either way. But the green one makes a bolder statement, and the color compliments your skin tone perfectly."

"Christian likes pink," she answered. She wasn't going to explain why, but she was getting this dress.

Anastasia had taken a couple of hours at midday off for an emergency shopping trip with Jose, before the fundraiser tonight. They'd gone straight to Neiman Marcus, and she'd spent about twenty minutes trying on dresses. Anastasia had always been a power shopper, and she was more than satisfied with her find now.

Jose didn't ask her to elaborate. He nodded and said, "OK. Pink looks good on you too. I just like you in bolder colors, but I get it. You should wear your hair down, and keep your make-up light."

Anastasia nodded back at her friend. "Good. I'm hungry. Let's go get lunch."

"Not yet, Miss Thang," he answered. "We've still got to get you shoes. And what are you planning to wear under this dress? Have you even thought about it yet?" Jose wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Jose, I don't need shoes," Anastasia insisted. "Those off-white Louboutins you got me for my birthday last year will be perfect."

Jose considered that thought for a moment. "You're right. They'll look great. What about lingerie?" he pressed.

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "OK, you win." They headed towards the lingerie department.

Another twenty minutes later, they walked out of the department store with one pink evening gown, three new sets of sexy lingerie, two pairs of silk thigh-high stockings, and a fuzzy pink bathrobe that Anastasia had to have. She knew Christian was likely to purchase her a new bathrobe, but either way, she wouldn't be caught without one again.

Anastasia and Jose walked through the shopping mall towards the restaurant where they'd decided to have lunch. Taylor, Christian's own bodyguard, was trailing after them, at Christian's own insistence. After this weekend, Anastasia knew that she'd have her own Taylor following her around everywhere, and there was nothing she could do about it, so she may as well get used to it.

"Do you have time to get a mani and pedi after lunch?" Jose asked her hopefully.

She shook her head. "I can't, Jose. I've got to get back to work. Besides, my nails look OK, don't they?" She'd just polished them herself with pale pink nail polish the day before, she and she thought she'd done a pretty good job.

Jose examined her nails. "Yeah, they'll do," he shrugged. "I just… want tonight to be perfect for you."

"You sound more nervous than I feel," she commented.

"Aren't you nervous?" he asked her. "You're going to be the first woman he's ever been seen in public with."

She nodded. "Yeah, I am. And thanks for reminding me."

Anastasia's phone alerted her that she had a text message. She glanced at it and smiled. "Speak of the devil. Of course, he's asking me if I've eaten yet. He's obsessed with my eating."

"I still can't believe that you're together now," Jose muttered as Anastasia responded to Christian's message. "And I sure as hell was shocked to find out…" Jose glanced around to make sure nobody could hear them before he continued. "Well, you know… his true identity. But I'm glad B.B. told me before I saw you with him tonight, and then later, at Down Under."

"I'm not sure how he's been able to keep this secret from you all this time," Anastasia told him. "Be honest… didn't you suspect? I mean, you knew Christian was B.B.'s best friend, and you knew that the Grey Wolf was one of the owners of Down Under, didn't you?"

Jose shook his head. "I didn't know for sure that the Grey Wolf was the third owner until B.B. told me last night. But yeah, I suspected it. I don't really ever try to figure out anybody's identity at Down Under, but I was curious about him, so yeah, I suspected. I wasn't about to tell you my suspicions, though, because I knew how you felt about Christian Grey. Before yesterday, I mean."

"I'm glad B.B. told you too," Anastasia told Jose. "I'm glad I don't have to keep the secret from you. That would be hard."

They arrived at the Cheesecake Factory, where they'd decided to have lunch. They didn't resume their conversation until after they'd ordered.

"So… are you going to tell me about it," Jose asked her.

Anastasia playfully feigned ignorance. "About what?" she asked.

Jose smirked at her. "Don't play stupid with me. I know you fucked him. You wouldn't be this relaxed if you hadn't gotten laid very recently."

Anastasia snorted. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, it is," he replied. Then he leaned closer and whispered, "So… how was he? Was it everything you'd dreamed? And how do you feel, now that you officially have your first Dom? And how does he treat you? And how did you…?"

"Whoa, wait a minute. Slow down," Anastasia laughed as she interrupted him. "I'll tell you, but just… give me a minute." Anastasia responded to another text from Christian before she continued. "My Dom wants to know what I'm having for lunch. I'm letting him know what I just ordered. And actually, he isn't officially my Dom yet. We haven't signed anything yet. That will happen tomorrow. But yeah, I'm ready. And yes, we spent the night together. And yes, it was good. Really good. Amazing, actually. Like, really, out-of-this-world amazing."

"He fucked you without a contract?" Jose clarified.

"Yeah, and don't you dare get uptight about that. You told me yourself that you and B.B. didn't make a contract until you'd returned to Seattle from Amsterdam. He discussed limits with me beforehand, just to make sure we knew, not because he was testing mine yet. It was good, Jose. I feel… I don't know… some kind of weird connection with him."

"Well, I certainly hope so, if you're doing TPE with him," Jose commented.

"We talked a lot… beforehand, you know."

Their food arrived, and they started eating. They didn't continue their conversation until the server had walked away. "What did you talk about?" Jose asked her.

"Well, like I mentioned, limits and shit. Nothing earth shattering. No surprises or anything. And we, I don't know... got to know each other better."

Jose nodded. "What deep dark secrets about yourself did you reveal to him?" he asked playfully.

"Well, my past with you, among other things," she answered.

"Me?" he asked. "What did you tell him about me?"

"I think he's a little jealous of you. He wanted to know all about our history. I think I shocked him when I told him about how I used to fuck you with a strap-on. I told him that's how I helped you discover your sexuality, because you liked it up the ass so much."

Jose snorted. "You did not tell him that! Seriously?"

"Seriously," she answered before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Jose shook his head. "God, you're so naïve sometimes," he muttered. "You've been at Down Under how long now, and you haven't realized yet that straight men like ass-play too? Aren't you paying attention?"

Anastasia gave him a blank look. "I haven't really thought about it," she admitted.

Jose gave her a pitying look and continued to shake his head. "Ana… let me explain something to you, sweetness," he said. "The reason I knew I was gay wasn't because you were fucking me up the ass with that strap-on. The reason I knew I was gay was because I was imagining it was Shemar Moore instead of you."

"That's Derek Morgan, right?" Anastasia clarified, referring to a character from one of their favorite TV shows from high school, Criminal Minds. "You imagined Derek Morgan was fucking you? Damn, did I make it that good for you?"

They both laughed at that. "What can I say, I have a pretty vivid imagination," Jose finally replied.

"Damn, and now you're married to his doppelganger," Anastasia realized.

Jose smirked. "I thought that at first," he admitted. "But B.B. is hotter. So much hotter."

Anastasia nodded in agreement. "He is hot. And you know who else is hot?"

"The Grey Wolf," Jose answered, knowing that her mind was on her own new Dom.

Anastasia smiled, but she answered, "He doesn't want me to call him that. Or even to refer to him that way. He says that he's… remaking himself with me."

Jose looked pensive. "Well, that's good, I think. You're certainly an improvement for him. B.B. told me that they're trying to get rid of all those skanks that the Grey Wolf used to play with. That Grey himself is looking into how to kick them out of the club legally."

"I wish they'd kick out Madame Elena," Anastasia said.

"Maybe they will," Jose hoped. "B.B. hates her. Always has. And maybe the Grey Wolf will see her for what she is, now that he's with you."

Anastasia nodded. "I hope so. He told me to stay away from her, but he thinks she's harmless."

Jose replied, "I don't think she's harmless, but don't worry. I've got your back. And so does that hunk of hotness over there," he added referring to Taylor, who was sitting discretely a couple of tables away from them.

Anastasia smiled in Taylor's direction. She was happy to have his protection, and it made her feel special that Christian thought to send his own bodyguard with her today. Taylor noticed her smile, but keeping his usual stoic expression, he simply nodded back politely.

Meanwhile, at Grey House, Christian read Anastasia's latest text and smiled like an idiot. Not only was she being a good girl and eating her lunch, but she also had been thinking about his love for pretty pink things when she purchased not only her dress for the evening but also a bathrobe. He could hardly wait to see her in her dress tonight... and later to take it off her. He didn't care so much whether he saw her in the bathrobe, but the fact that she remembered to purchase one pleased him.

He'd just finished responding to Anastasia when his door opened, and in walked his baby sister, without knocking. He started to admonish her, until he saw the distressed look on her face. Gabriela was usually a golden ray of sunshine, always smiling, especially when she saw him. She was the polar opposite of her twin brother, Carson, who wore a perpetual scowl. Christian had been a teenager when their parents had adopted the twins, and his sister Mia had been around 10 years old, while Elliot had been in college already. It was love at first sight for him, with both of the tiny four-year-olds. They reminded him very much of himself at the same age.

The five Grey siblings could not have been different from each other, both in appearance and in personalities. The difference in appearances was for obvious reasons, the fact that they were all adopted. The difference in personalities was harder to explain. The eldest, Elliot, had become a Grey at the tender age of two, and he had no memory of his birth family. With sandy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes, he had always been the most easy-going of all the Grey kids. He owned his own construction business, so he spent a lot of time outside. Even with Seattle's rainy weather, somehow, Elliot always managed to have a tan. Now thirty years old, he'd finally outgrown his days as a man-whore, and he was ready to settle down with Katherine Kavanagh, whom he'd met at their alma mater, Stanford University. Kate was scheduled to give birth to their daughter by elective Cesarian in a month, and Carrick and Grace Grey had no doubt that baby Ava, their first grandchild, was going to be a beautiful blonde, just like both of her parents.

Christian was the second child in the Grey family. He'd come to live with the Grey's when he was four and Elliot was eight. As a child, he was small for his age, but he grew into a tall man at 6'3". He had thick unruly copper-colored hair and soft gray eyes that melted Grace Gray's heart from the first time she laid eyes on him in the emergency room. For two years, little Christian did not speak, until baby Mia came along. Adopted as a baby, Mia was fascinated by her brother Christian from the start, and he adored her. With straight dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, and a very pale complexion, Mia was often teased by her friends as "Snow White," but she didn't mind them. Mia had an inquisitive mind, and a talent for persuasion, and her older brothers had often put her up to asking their parents for things when they were growing up, because she was more likely to succeed. Mia and Christian both excelled in school, and Mia graduated from high school at the top of her class. She was currently studying pre-Law at Harvard, and she intended to follow in her father's footsteps, going to work in his law firm after she finished her law degree at Harvard.

And finally, like their older brother Christian, the youngest two Greys came to live with their family when they were four, after a rough beginning with a drug-addicted single mother. Vanessa Cowley did not die of a drug overdose, as Christian's birth mother had, but she neglected her twins to such a degree that she lost custody of them, and then she was arrested and went to prison for drug-related charges. She died in prison when the twins were ten years old and already adopted by the Greys. Vanessa had been an African American beauty at one point in her life, and her children looked a lot like her. They never knew anything about their birth father, but an ancestry study showed that he'd probably had German roots. No doubt, he was where the twins got their greenish-blue eyes and lighter complexion. At any rate, they were both very nice looking, as were all the Grey siblings. Gabriela was probably the most intuitive of all of the Grey siblings, and her twin Carson was her polar opposite in that respect. Gabriela seemed to always know what other people were thinking just by watching their body language, but Carson rarely gave other people's thoughts any consideration.

Over the years, Christian had grown more distant from all his siblings than he would have liked. He'd never felt good enough to fit into such a perfect family. Nevertheless, he supported all of his siblings as much as he could, especially the youngest two. Lately, Carson had made that difficult, but Gabriela was easy to love. She was always chipper and happy, and she had a way of lifting his spirits on any occasion.

But today, Gabriela's smile was missing. In fact, she looked like she'd been crying.

"Gabby, what's wrong?" Christian asked her, showing the concern that he felt.

"I need to talk to you," she told him. "It's important." When she looked in his eyes, he saw the tears pooling there.

"What's going on, angel?" he asked as he moved around his desk and embraced her. Gabriela was one of only two people with whom he could tolerate this kind of touch. His other sister, Mia, was the other.

Gabriela cried on his shoulder for a minute before she mumbled the words, "Carson is in trouble. Serious fucking trouble. And... And... Unless I agree to do something... really horrible... Carson's going to get hurt even worse than he already has."

"What is it this time?" Christian asked her. He tried not to let his annoyance with his little brother show. It wasn't Gabby's fault that Carson was always pulling this shit.

"It's serious, Christian. At first, it was drugs again. That's how it started out anyway. He got caught with them at school this time, and Mom and Dad went a little berserk. More than usual. Dad threatened to send him to military school. But then, Mom remembered..." Gabriela stopped and shuddered. She looked in Christian's eyes again and hesitated.

"She remembered what, Gabby?" Christian prompted.

"She remembered Mrs. Lincoln... and you. She said that you'd been out of control. Like Carson. And Mrs. Lincoln helped you. So... Mom went and talked to Mrs. Lincoln about Carson, and the next thing I knew, Carson was sent over to her house to do some kind of chores. Only... he wasn't doing chores, Christian. He refused to tell me everything, but... I saw the welts on his back. Really bad ones. Deep cuts, too. And bruises. So many bruises. She... Mrs. Lincoln hurt him, Christian. He was bleeding!"

"Oh my God," Christian muttered, feeling horrified. Shocked beyond words, and sick to his stomach. Not his little brother. No! She wouldn't! He had truly thought she would never do that to another minor. He'd thought he'd been the only one. Only yesterday had he even begun to consider the possibility that Elena might be doing this shit to other children, and now... his own brother? Was she really that callous?

Gabby stared at him, noticing how green his face was getting. "Christian... What... What did Mrs. Lincoln do? Did she do the same thing to you that she did to Carson? Did she help you, like Mom and Dad think she did? Or did she hurt you like she hurt Carson?" Gabby continued to watch him, waiting for an answer, and Christian knew that with her intuition, there was no way he could get away with lying to her.

But how the hell was he supposed to answer her question? He couldn't admit... that... to his innocent little sister. He knew she was smart enough that by now, she already knew the answer to her own question. She could read it on his face. But how was he supposed to admit it, out loud?

"What did Carson tell you?" Christian asked her, avoiding answering her.

"He said... He said he agreed to it. But he thinks he made a mistake, and now he doesn't know how to get out of it."

"Where is he? Is he at home?" Christian asked Gabriela. He needed to talk to his brother urgently, before Elena had a chance to get her claws into him again.

"He was when I left, but Mom was going to send him back over there. Carson told Mom he wasn't feeling well, but I don't know if she believed him. But he's not lying this time, Christian. She hurt him. But Carson doesn't want to show Mom... his back. He's embarrassed. He didn't want to show me either, but I made him. He thinks he deserved it, but he's wrong, Christian. Nobody deserves that."

"Come on, Gabby, let's go," Christian told Gabriela. "You can tell me the rest on the way there." Christian knew there was more to Gabriela's story that she hadn't had a chance to tell him yet, but he needed to get there and talk to them before Carson had a chance to go back to Elena's. He wasn't sure yet what he would tell their parents, but he knew he had to stop this, now.

"Andrea, cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. I have a family emergency. I won't be back until Monday," Christian ordered his assistant. "Taylor... shit!" He remembered, belatedly, that he'd sent his CPO to protect Anastasia, and he'd told him that he didn't need a replacement since he expected to be in the office all day. Oh, well, Gabby's security, Barrett, would be enough for both of them; that's what he paid her for, after all. Thankfully Christian's baby sister was complacent when it came to security, unlike Mia and Carson, who were both always ditching theirs. Christian paid these people to keep his family safe, but they couldn't do that if they weren't respected by the people they protected.

"Barrett, take us to Bellevue, and take the fastest route," Christian ordered Gabby's CPO as he slid into the back seat with his sister. "And call Taylor and tell him where I am," he further directed her.

"Yes, sir," she responded. Barrett pulled into traffic and used the hands-free to call Taylor while Christian called his parents' house phone. Grace Grey picked up.

"Mom, is Carson still home?" he asked her, sounding more urgent than he'd intended. It wouldn't do any of them any good if he caused their mom to panic. He knew that he needed to keep her calm.

"Yes, but I was about to send him over to Elena's. She has some boxes he's been helping her move from her attic. He's trying to convince me that he's sick, but you know how he can be."

Christian responded as calmly as he could, "Can you hold off on that until after I get there? I need to talk to him, and it's important. I'm on my way now, with Gabby."

"What's this about, Christian? Not that I'm not happy to see you, son, but why the urgency?" Grace asked.

Christian wanted to tell her that it was nothing, and that it wasn't urgent, just to keep her calm, but that wasn't true. It was imperative that Carson NOT go to Elena's house. "Just... keep him there until we arrive, OK? I'll explain when I get there," he promised. How the hell he was going to explain, he still didn't know, but he knew that he had to. He was determined that his brother could not go through what he himself had gone through at the same age. No way. Christian was going to put a stop to this, now, even if it meant telling their mother all of his darkest secrets.

After he ended the call with their mother, Christian turned to Gabby. "Was there more, that you didn't tell me yet, angel?" he asked her.

Gabby glanced at Barrett and looked uncomfortable. "Gabby, she needs to know, if she's going to protect you," Christian reminded his tender-hearted sister.

"I don't want to get Carson in even more trouble," Gabby explained. "Or... Garcia," she added, referring to Carson's CPO. "Even if you don't fire him, if Barrett reports this to Taylor, he will."

"If Garcia's not doing his job, he needs to be replaced," Christian assured Gabriela.

Gabriela snorted. "Garcia's cool. But you know how sneaky Carson can be. Garcia doesn't know half the shit Carson's been up to. And he sure as hell doesn't know what's been happening at Mrs. Lincoln's." Gabby glanced apologetically at the woman driving the car. "Neither does Barrett. She doesn't know about the threats Mrs. Lincoln made against me."

Now Gabriela had her CPO's full attention. Well, what wasn't directed to the road in front of them. Barrett glanced concernedly in the rear-view mirror, made eye contact with Christian, and then looked back to the road. "I can't protect you if I don't know, Gabriela," she reminded her.

Gabriela sighed. "I know. I'm sorry." She paused before she looked at her beloved big brother, with her eyes full of tears again. "She said... Mrs. Lincoln said... She'll forgive Carson's debt if I... if I... shit, I can't even say it, it's so awful."

Christian reached over and took his sister's hand, rubbing her knuckles in what he hoped was a comforting way. "Wait, Gabby. Start from the beginning. When did you speak with Mrs. Lincoln?" he asked patiently.

"Carson asked me to go with him yesterday, when Mom sent him over there again. Christian, there aren't any boxes in her attic that she needs Carson to help her move. That's a lie. She just wanted to get Carson over there so she could... hurt him. He was still covered in cuts and bruises, and he was afraid to be there alone with her. She was angry when she saw me, and even angrier when Carson told her he didn't want to... do whatever they were doing... anymore. She told him that he still owed her money, and he had to work it off."

"Why does Carson owe Elena money?" Christian asked.

Gabriela sighed. "She paid off... Carson owed money to some bad people, and she paid them off."

"How much?" Christian asked, gritting his teeth. Gabriela didn't have to tell him; he already knew it was drug related. Their brother had a history. Christian didn't understand Carson. Both of their birth mothers had been drug addicts. Christian's response was to avoid drugs at all costs. He had never even touched any illegal substances, and he was repulsed by them. Carson, on the other hand, seemed to be following in his birth mother's footsteps.

Gabby answered, "It was $2,500. She said he still owed her two thousand, that he'd only worked off $500 of it so far. I'm not sure what she made him do that she thought was worth $500. He wouldn't tell me, but I know it had to have been something awful. I was considering coming up with a story to get it from Mom and Dad. If Carson tried that, they'd be suspicious, but they wouldn't suspect me. But then... Mrs. Lincoln... she told me that I could pay off Carson's debt... another way. It's awful, Christian. I can't do it. No way in hell can I do it."

"No, you can't," Christian agreed emphatically. His sister didn't have to tell him what Elena had said; he already knew. Elena fucking Lincoln was attempting to sell Christian Grey's own beloved little sister for sex. He knew it. Everything Welch suspected her of, that he'd shared with Christian the previous day was true, Christian realized. And now, it was affecting his own family, right before his eyes. He didn't know how could he have been so fucking blind.

"She wants to enter me in a virgin auction," Gabriela whispered ashamedly. "I couldn't believe it. I didn't know... I didn't know something like that even existed in real life. I thought it was just fiction. But no, it's real. She wants to sell my virginity to the highest bidder, Christian. That sounds... crazy, right?"

Christian nodded as he counted backwards in his head, holding his breath to keep from screaming. "It is crazy," he finally managed to get out as he tried to control his anger. He didn't want Gabby to feel that he was angry with her. None of this was his innocent little sister's fault.

"And she said... She said if I refused... then she'd tell Mom that I was fucking some boy that she knows... and she'd get him to lie about it too... and she'd convince Mom that Carson borrowed that money to pay for an abortion for me."

What the fuck?

"That's ridiculous, Gabby. Mom would never believe that," Christian assured her. "Besides, she's a pediatrician. She can easily verify the facts. She'd never just take Elena's word for it."

"I don't know, Christian. Mom seems... When it comes to Mrs. Lincoln, Mom is a terrible judge of character. She always has been."

Well, Christian had to agree with her there. Then again, he himself was usually a very good judge of character, but he'd totally failed when it came to that woman. "Elena's done a pretty good fucking job of fooling all of us," Christian admitted.

Gabby looked at her brother thoughtfully, as if she was attempting to solve a puzzle. "Now I know... That woman did something to you too. You can't convince me otherwise, because I saw your face, Christian. I'm not really sure how... but I'd like to understand better... how you allowed her to... do that. To fool you, as you say, while she was... hurting you the way she hurt Carson. And now, she wants to hurt me, too. She's... the devil."

Christian sighed and squeezed his sister's hand reassuringly. He thought he was trying to comfort her, but he himself needed to be comforted. He felt utterly and completely ashamed of himself. "I'm not sure I can explain that, Gabby. I'm not sure I understand it myself."

"Just tell me this," Gabriela pressed. "Why did you never tell anyone?"

Christian sighed again. "I don't know, Gabby. It's... complicated."

Gabriela leaned over and lay her head on Christian's shoulder, as only she could. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I'm sorry she did that do you."

"It's not your fault, angel. You have nothing to feel sorry about," Christian insisted. He couldn't stand pity, even coming from this sweet angel.

"You've got to tell them now, Christian," Gabriela whispered.

Christian shuddered because he knew she was right. There was no denying it, he needed to tell their parents, as much as he dreaded that idea. It would be necessary to protect both Carson and Gabriela.

"Don't worry, angel," Christian assured her. "I'm going to take care of all of this." He needed to take the attention off himself for a moment though. "Hey, I'm glad to hear that you're still... you know..."

Gabriela lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at his face. She was blushing. "You are NOT talking about my sexual status. Oh, no, you're not! I am NOT talking about sex with my older brother! Oh, my God!"

Christian chuckled, even though he didn't feel much like laughing at the moment. "Angel, as long as you promise to keep your current status until you're at least... thirty... then I won't bring it up again."

Finally, that smile that he'd been missing all this time broke through. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. For some reason, Christian didn't have a problem with either of his sisters rolling their eyes.

A minute later, Barrett pulled the car into the Grey's long driveway, and Christian and Gabby went inside. They didn't see Grace anywhere, so they went straight to Carson's bedroom.

"Show me what that bitch did to you," Christian ordered Carson as soon as he saw him standing there. Christian already had tears in his eyes.

Carson looked angrily at Gabriela. "You fucking told him! I told you to leave him out of it!"

Christian interrupted him. "Carson, Gabby was right to tell me. I can help. Trust me. I know what Elena did to you because she did the same fucking thing to me, and I'll be damned if I let her keep doing it now, all these years later, to my own brother! Can I... can you show me your back? Please?"

Carson looked at Christian in shock. Christian wasn't sure what shocked Carson more, the fact that he had just admitted what Elena had done to him, or the fact that he had begged Carson for something, and even said please. At any rate, Carson didn't speak, but he turned around and took off his shirt. Carson's back was covered in bruises and deep ugly cuts that were still healing. In fact, some of the deeper cuts looked like they might be getting infected. As Christian gazed at his little brother's back, which looked like it had been through a meat grinder recently, he realized that Elena had beaten Carson worse than she'd ever beaten Christian. Why? Christian had no scars, at least not any that Elena had put there, but Carson was going to have permanent scars.

The thought occurred to Christian that Elena was targeting Carson to punish Christian. Did she know about the investigation into her accounts that had already uncovered her theft from him? Welch had not started looking deeper into her other illegal activity until after she'd already done this to Carson. Had he? She must have known, at least about the financial stuff, but she thought she'd covered her ass, didn't she. Or had she felt threatened by the fact that he no longer wanted her to find him subs? Whatever it was, she seemed to be coming unhinged, if what she'd done to his brother was any indication. But if she was doing this to get to him, what the fuck did she expect to accomplish from it? Whatever it was, it wasn't going to work. But fuck! He'd caused this! His brother was hurting because Christian had not manned up and told his parents about Elena... all those years ago. He'd even remained friends with her, all this time. Everything that his brother was suffering right now was Christian's own damn fault.

Before he realized what was happening, Christian's knees had buckled, and he found himself on the floor in Carson's room, with tears running down his face. He never, ever cried like this, even alone, but at the moment, he couldn't give two shits that he was showing weakness in front of his siblings. He'd caused pain to someone that he loved dearly. Carson was still suffering because of him, and by extension, so was sweet Gabriela.

"Christian? What on earth?" he heard their mother's voice at the door to Carson's bedroom. Grace walked towards Christian in shock, because she'd rarely seen him cry, even when he was a young boy, and certainly not as a grown man. But then, before Grace reached Christian, she saw her other son standing there, also staring at Christian in shock. And Grace got a good look at Carson's back.

"Oh my God! Carson! What happened to you?" Grace cried in horror.

Carson only continued to stare at Christian in shock, as did Gabriela. Christian himself provided the answer to Grace's question. He wiped his eyes and looked from Carson to Grace. "Elena fucking Lincoln happened to him," he spat out, not caring that their mother didn't approve of profanity.

Now all three of his family members were staring at Christian, who was still on his knees, but no longer crying like a baby.

"What?" Grace's voice radiated the shock she felt. "Elena? I don't understand, Christian."

Christian got up from the floor and sat down on Carson's bed. He motioned for their mom to sit beside him. Carson and Gabriela just stood there watching, neither knowing what to say or do.

"Mom, Elena Lincoln is a pedophile," Christian said as calmly as he could.

Grace did not want to believe something so horrible about someone who had been her trusted friend for so many years. "Christian... that's a horrible accusation. Are you sure that..."

"Yes, Mom, I'm sure," Christian interrupted.

"But... But... There must be some other explanation," Grace insisted. She stood and walked over to Carson, examining his back. "Dear boy, why didn't you tell me? This needs to be treated, son." She turned to her daughter, who was still standing there with silent tears pouring down her face. "Gabriela, go get my medical bag from my office, will you, dear?"

Gabriela went, still without saying a word. Meanwhile, Grace went into the bathroom that Carson and Gabriela shared and got a wet washcloth. She began blotting Carson's back with it.

"Some of these cuts needed stitches," Grace commented. "Oh, Carson, son, what happened? Did Elena really do this to you?"

Carson didn't answer his mom. He stood silently, holding back his own tears. He was so ashamed of himself that he couldn't speak.

Christian, on the other hand, wasn't able to keep his own tears at bay. "This is all my fault," he told both of them. "If I had told you and Dad years ago... this couldn't have happened to Carson."

Grace stopped examining Carson's back and gaped at Christian in horror. "What?! Christian! I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying!"

Gabriela walked back into the room with Grace's medical bag just as Christian confessed, "Elena Lincoln did this same thing to me when I was Carson's age. That's how I know, without a doubt, that she did this to him."

Grace had to sit down again. She was speechless for a minute, just processing Christian's words. The more she digested the ugly truth, the angrier she became. "Tell me everything," she finally told Christian, with deathly calm, that all three siblings immediately recognized. Shit was about to hit the fan.

Christian gulped. His mother had always scared him when she got like this. He knew that there was no way that he could hold anything back from her. She'd know. And so, Christian started talking, telling his mother and siblings secrets that he'd never intended to tell another human being.

"It started when I was fifteen," Christian began. "I'd gotten into another fight, and gotten expelled from another school, and you and Dad were at your wits end. Kind of like... kind of like you are now... with Carson."

Grace nodded. "I remember," she said. "Go on."

"Elena Lincoln convinced you that hard labor would do me good. That I needed discipline. So you sent me over to do chores. She had some rubble in her backyard that she wanted me to move. So I did that, and she... The second day I was there, she came outside wearing a really skimpy outfit, and she gave me a glass of lemonade. I was staring at her... at her tits, and she slapped me. And then she kissed me."

Grace made a noise, sucking in air, which caused Christian to pause. "No, continue," Grace insisted.

"So... you know how I couldn't stand to be touched? She convinced me that she could show me... how to get control. And she did. She showed me how to... umm..."

"Just say it, Christian. She molested you, didn't she?" Grace asked. It was clear she already knew exactly where this conversation was headed.

Christian nodded. "I didn't see it that way at the time," he admitted. "I... wanted it. I... signed a contract that said I was... her submissive."

His words angered the Mama Hen even more. "Christian, you were fifteen fucking years old. You were too young to consent to a sexual relationship with a woman twice your age. She fucking molested you!"

Christian only stared at his mother in shock for a moment. Grace Grey had just cursed. Twice. He didn't know she even knew that word, until now. Finally, he was able to respond. "I know that now, Mom, but at the time, I didn't... I thought I was old enough. And I thought I needed it. You have to admit, my behavior did greatly improve after that," he added.

"Oh, my God!" Grace exclaimed. "She groomed you, Christian, and she used me to do it! I confided in her! God damn it! This is a textbook case, and I completely missed it, not just with one son, but with both of you! Did she do this same thing with Elliot? Was it just my sons, or was it my daughters too? What about Mia? What about you, Gabby?" Grace turned to her daughter and demanded an answer.

Gabby only stared at her mother, unable to speak, but she shook her head. Elena Lincoln had not molested her. Yet.

"How long, Christian?" Grace asked him.

"How long?" he repeated, not sure what she was asking.

"How long did that monster continue to molest you before you were able to... or, oh my God, are you still...? You're still friends with her!"

"No, Mom, I'm not still... seeing her," Christian quickly answered. "I... I was her submissive for five years. Until after I returned from Harvard and started GEH. She... she's the one who loaned me the money for that. And... then she trained me..." Shit, why was he admitting that too? They surely didn't need to know that part.

"She trained you?" Grace asked.

Christian sighed. He knew there was no way to take back the words he'd just spoken, so he'd have to admit to the rest of it. "She trained me to be a Dominant."

Grace glared at him with wide eyes. "Please tell me that you are not... that you haven't molested any..."

"No!" Christian stopped her. "No, I have only contracted with adult women who are in the lifestyle. They... want to do it."

"The lifestyle?" Grace questioned.

Shit, this was difficult. How the hell was Christian supposed to explain the lifestyle to his mother while his teenage siblings were standing there listening?

"It's BDSM, Mom," Gabby explained, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived home. Her voice was calm, like this wasn't repulsive to her at all. His sweet little virgin sister had taken it on herself to rescue him from this impossible situation and explain his lifestyle to their mother. Christian felt so ashamed he wanted to crawl in a hole. How the hell did Gabby know what it was? And how was she not freaked out about it? But Gabriela continued, "You know, bondage and domination. Whips and chains."

Grace looked like she was going to be sick as she looked at Carson's back again. "Christian...? Do you... do this?" She pointed at her other son's wounded back. "To women?"

Christian moaned and rubbed his temples. "Never like this, Mom. I've never... hurt somebody like this. I was trained... Elena trained me herself... never to leave lasting marks. But she... She left lasting marks on my brother. This... this is going to leave scars."

Grace looked even more horrified. "Lasting marks? Christian Trevelyan Grey! You beat the women you're with?!"

Christian had no idea how to respond to that. Thankfully, his little sister came to his rescue again, to his own astonishment. "Mom," Gabriela said. "BDSM is safe, sane, and consensual when it's practiced correctly. And I'm sure Christian practices it correctly. Besides, you're getting distracted. Carson needs your attention, Mom."

Grace turned to Gabriela, and then to Carson, but then she looked back at Gabriela again. "How do you know so much about this, Gabby?" Grace asked her suspiciously.

Gabriela rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm still a virgin, so no, I don't know from experience. But I'm not stupid. I read a lot."

That answer satisfied Grace. She turned back to Christian and warned, "We'll talk more about this later, son." Then, she gave Carson her attention. She opened her medical bag and instructed Carson to lie on his stomach on the bed. While she cleaned and dressed his wounds, she continued the conversation, this time directed at her youngest son.

"Carson... I'm so sorry this happened to you, son," she began tenderly, as she treated him.

Carson turned his head so none of them could see the tears leaking from his eyes.

"But I'm going to need to hear you say it, Carson. I need to hear it from you, too, not just from your brother. Did that woman seduce you the way Christian... the way she did Christian?"

Carson didn't answer at first, but when he realized that Grace was waiting for an answer from him, he whispered, "Yes."

Carson didn't see his mother as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She cleared her throat before she clarified, "So... she raped you?"

Carson wasn't sure how to answer that, so he didn't at first. But again, she was waiting for an answer, so he replied weakly, "It wasn't rape. I consented."

Now Grace stood up quickly, went into the restroom, and turned on the water tap. If she thought the sound of the water would prevent her children from hearing the angry scream that escaped her lips, she was mistaken. But none of them reacted when she walked back into the room. She tenderly resumed her treatment of Carson's wounds as she told him, patiently, "Carson, I know you're mature for your age, but son, you are still fifteen years old. Legally, you are a minor. And legally, you cannot consent. Your father can explain this better than I can, but Carson... what Mrs. Lincoln did... Even if you told her she could do it, it was a crime. It was rape."

Now Carson was crying openly. "But, Mom... shit! That hurts! Mom, I'm sorry!"

"Shh... It's OK, son," Grace responded. "I think we'll overlook profanity for the time being."

"No... that's not it," Carson said. "I'm sorry... that I let her rape me."

Now Grace couldn't hold back the tears from her own eyes. "Dear boy, you didn't let her... Carson, you have nothing to apologize for here, love."

Carson groaned. "Mom, you don't understand. You don't know half the shit I've done. I've got so much to apologize for. So much! I'm so sorry!"

"Shh... " Grace consoled him by running her fingers through his thick black curls, the way she used to when he was younger, and scratching his scalp the way she used to get him to relax. "Carson... no matter what you've done, love, it will not change the fact that you are my son, whom I love dearly. I failed you, Carson. I failed both of you." She looked back at Christian regretfully when she said that.

"Mom, no," Christian objected. "You've never failed me. Everything that happened... it was on me."

"Yeah, me too," Carson agreed as he sat up on the bed and looked at his mother. "I... I was already in deep shit. Dad wanted to send me away, I was so out of control. I thought... she told me it was how she helped Christian, and I remembered what you'd told me about that, and I thought... maybe she could help me too. She did. She paid off... Damn, please don't be mad at me. I... God this is hard... Remember those drugs I got caught with? Well, umm... they weren't exactly... mine. And, umm... I owed... I was supposed to get them to the people they were intended for, collect the payment for them, and get that back to..."

"You were dealing drugs?!" Christian shouted. "Jesus Christ! How can you be so fucking stupid?!"

"You're not helping; you're just making things worse," Gabriela whispered in Christian's ear, calming him down instantly.

"I'm sorry, Carson. I shouldn't have said that. You're not stupid. I don't think that. I'm just..." Christian's voice broke. "You were dealing drugs," he finished, in a defeated tone."

"No, you're right. I was stupid. I didn't even think what I was doing was... that. I didn't really think about it. I just... wanted to be popular with... those guys. My so-called friends at school. But where were they when I got caught? Now I'm the one with the juvie record, and they just laughed their asses off about it. This wasn't just me getting caught smoking pot, like before. This was serious shit. I might not even get into the college I wanted to go to now, because I thought I was doing them some kind of favor, and they couldn't give a shit. And on top of that, the assholes I got the stuff from still wanted to be paid. What was I supposed to do?"

"Did you ever think about coming to me?" Christian asked.

"Or me?" Grace added.

Carson snorted. "Why? So you could remind me how fucked-up I am? So you could tell me I'm going to end up just like my birth mother? No, thanks! I already know that!"

Grace put her hand on his shoulder as she told him, "You are NOT going to end up like your birth mother, may God rest her soul, and we're going to get to the bottom of all of this. Now, whatever your dreams were for college... that's what I want to see you focusing on from now on. You know your dad's still working on getting your record sealed. Your dreams are attainable, Carson. Especially if you've learned your lesson and aren't going to get into any more trouble like this."

"I've learned my lesson, Mom," he promised.

"Good. Now... tell me more about this money you owed these drug dealers. Do I assume correctly that Elena paid them off?"

Carson nodded. "She did. She said if I agreed to sign her... contract," he spit the word like it was disgusting, "that she would take care of it."

"How much?" Grace pressed.

"$2,500," Carson answered. "That included... interest."

"Good God," Grace muttered. "She paid $2,500 to get you to consent to being beaten like this." It wasn't a question but a statement of fact.

"And fucked," Carson added. "She... used some kind of fake dick thing. It hurt."

Grace looked white as a sheet, like she was going to faint. "She raped him with a strap-on," Christian explained, needlessly.

"She did the same thing to you, didn't she," Grace confirmed with Christian, to which he nodded.

Grace took a deep breath before she turned back to Carson. "Son... I want you to consider something. I'm not going to insist on it, but I'd like... and I'm sure you're father will feel the same way... I'd like to take you to the hospital and get them to do a rape kit. I'm sure... you don't have to show me, Carson, I'm sure you still... are suffering the effects of that. But we need... proof."

Carson looked horrified. "Proof?" he asked.

Grace nodded. "I would like you to consider... pressing charges against Elena Lincoln. I want her to pay for what she did to you."

Now Carson looked not only horrified, but downright terrified. "But Mom! She... she'll lie! Besides, I signed that damn contract! She had my consent!"

Grace calmly replied, "Sweetheart, we've been over this already. You can't consent because you're underage."

Carson couldn't stop the tears from leaking from his eyes. "Mom... do I have to do this?"

Grace shook her head. "No, sweetheart. I won't make you do it. But if you don't... she'll get away with it."

"Not if I can help it," Christian said under his breath, but they heard him.

Carson looked at his brother. "Why don't you press charges, if she did this to you too?"

"I'm not sure I can," Christian answered thoughtfully. "I'll ask Dad. But it's probably too late. That happened years ago. And I never... Christ, I'm the one who was stupid, Carson. I never saw... how wrong it all was... until she did the same damn thing to you. I thought... I thought she was helping me. And... I thought I deserved it," Christian admitted shamefully.

"I thought I deserved it too," Carson admitted. "But I just... it hurts too bad. But... I'd already decided, before you got here, that I was going to keep doing it. To keep Gabby safe."

"What?" Grace asked. "What does that mean? Why would you need to keep Gabby safe?" She had not been informed yet about Elena's plot to involve her youngest daughter.

Gabriela explained to their mother, "I went over there yesterday with Carson to try to get him out of this mess, but... Mrs. Lincoln said she would... She wanted to auction me off, Mom."

Grace had not realized that this situation could get even more horrifying, but it just had. "She wanted to... what? Auction...? Are you saying...?"

"She somehow knew I was a virgin," Gabriela explained. "She wanted to... sell my virginity to the highest bidder."

Grace Grey had reached her limit. "I'll kill her. First my Christian, then my Carson, and now my innocent Gabriela! I am going to fucking kill that bitch!"

It was at that moment that Carrick Grey walked up the stairs, having just arrived home a few moments earlier. He only heard the last few words out of Grace's mouth. To say he was shocked at his wife's outburst would be a major understatement.

"Grace! What on earth?!" Carrick exclaimed as he approached Carson's bedroom.

Grace did not even try to control her tears. "Elena Lincoln needs to die, Carry! That pedophile needs to pay for what she's done to our family!"