Duress is the main force of vengeance; the very name for the emotional torture that was inflicted on me, and my father. It is the trouble that I have suffered for most of my life, when the Graysons tore my family apart all those years ago. Now that I'm back for revenge, it's my duty to return the favor. Duress is what the Graysons will feel, as well as the many others whom I have and will take down.

"It's good, that's he gone. At least now, he can't see what you've become."

Nolan's last words to me so far still stung me, even after a night. The kind of duress that I've suffered my entire life has made me strong enough to be near invincible, yet I could not reduce the devastating impact of his words.

The tearful blond with a Hamptons sense of fashion was right: my father had pleaded with me to forgive the Graysons for their role in destroying both of us. However, I'd made my decision to not forgive and seek revenge, that fateful night several months ago.

My first takedown, of Lydia Davis, was less out of vengeance in my eyes, than more of a way to put her house, my house, up for sale, and I could acquire it once again. After exposing to Victoria her secret relationship with Conrad, and having her kicked out of The Hamptons, I met Nolan once again, for the first time since he released me from juvie.

His words had shaken me then as well. He'd recognized me almost immediately during the party where I'd destroyed Lydia's life. Despite what I'd believed he would do, which was expose me and thwart my plans to avenge my father, he'd instead offered assistance. After initially refusing, I sat down at the table and read over his final journal.

"All I ask is that you promise to do the one thing that has been so hard for me to do. Forgive."

When I closed the last journal and took out the key that would open the secret bottom of his "Infinity Box", my mission for the rest of the summer, and beyond, was sealed. Taking out the photograph of Grayson Global's staff in 1992, I'd picked up my red marker and drawn an X through Lydia's face.

I haven't taken down anyone else in a while, however, since Frank Stevens, the deceased head of security for the Graysons. The reason for this is that there are two people I need to take down: Tyler, my new boyfriend's Harvard roommate, and Amanda, my juvie cellmate with which I switched identities. They had nothing to do with my father's imprisonment, but they are getting in the way of my plans.

Recently Nolan found out some information that could ruin Tyler, and had him invest in Grayson Global then pull out to ruin the newest worm. And then I'd discovered that Nolan made a sex tape and sent it to Conrad. Nolan got pissed off and left me, and we hadn't spoken since.

Amanda came to me after killing Frank when he discovered our secret. While preparing a new identity for her, I had Nolan look after her, when he discovered that she was Frank's murderer. Even though she was supposed to be on a flight to Paris, I discovered the next day that she had stayed in town. I failed talking to her, and so I gave her a journal full of fake memories from my foster care days to cause Jack to stop believing in her.

However, right now I had to get to Daniel's birthday dinner on the beach. His entire family was there, as well as Ashley, Jack had been invited along with Declan, and to my dismay, Amanda.

No matter, I said to myself.

I don't remember much about that night prior to the event. All I really know is that my beautiful white dress got covered in blood, but not my blood. I had been about to cut the cake, but a certain classmate from Harvard approached the table wielding a firearm. I acted very frightened, though deep down, I was very calm.

Tyler initially pointed the gun at me, and then aimed it at Daniel's head. I could see that he briefly considered killing Victoria, but then he moved it to Ashley, and then to Charlotte. If he killed Charlotte, it would heavily impact her father, sitting right next to her.

Daniel's psychotic "friend" pointed the gun at Conrad, grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, and finally spoke.

"Alright, numbskulls. Which of you will be first to go?"

I glared at Tyler, who kept his gun focused on Conrad. His left eye twitched, before Ashley, the last person I'd expect to talk, stood up. Tyler aimed at her head.

"Tyler, what's going on?" she asked.

Tyler started to laugh while walking to me and pushing the barrel directly against my head. Ashley uttered out his name and urged him not to kill me. He continued laughing as he released me, and fired at the lights. Everyone dove for the ground, as Tyler seized Daniel by the throat.

Psycho Boy grabbed the sides of Daniel's face and gave him a rough kiss that disgusted all of us, then pushed him to the sand. I glared again at Tyler, standing up slowly.

He aimed the gun at me. "Down, bimbo!"

"I don't think so, Barrol." I replied.

Tyler's attention turned from me to Conrad once again, as he gave off another cruel laugh. "Well, Mr. Grayson. You seem to be in a strange position right now… how about I… destroy your family by exposing your secrets!"

I knew he could only mean Lydia's speech. However, in the last few hours that Nolan worked with me, we had found and retrieved Lydia's speech, and so Tyler could not prove it.

Indeed, he reached into his pocket to find nothing. Tyler gasped, searching the other pocket, and then glared at me. I glared back just as seethingly.

Tyler approached me, gun aimed at my chest, and said, "Say goodbye."

At that split second, Amanda tackled him to the ground. "Don't touch you her little bi-"

Bang.

I felt pain.

Pain.

Oh horrible pain.

…But it wasn't me that was losing their life.

Tyler hadn't shot me.

Amanda…

As she fell to the ground, I found that Tyler had shot Amanda.

Sure, I had been working toward destroying her and Tyler, but she was my friend, my only friend from juvie, apart from Warden Stiles.

I quickly pulled off my shoe, and threw it at Tyler's face. It knicked him in the eye and caused him to drop the gun. Quickly, I collected his firearm, and as he turned around…

Bang. Again.

I'd shot straight through his brain, and I quickly threw his body aside before he fell on top of Amanda.

She was hardly breathing as I grabbed a cloth napkin and put pressure on her bleeding stomach.

"Someone call an ambulance!" I shouted. Victoria ran off and did just that. I could see that deep down she still cared for David Clarke, and little Amanda, and that she regretted pinning the blame on him.

Jack jumped over the table, nimble and quick, but not over a candlestick (kill the joke), and burst into tears almost immediately. He breathed in her mouth for me while I worked on the CPR, and finally, we heard a cough.

"E-Emily… Jack…"

"Don't leave us, Amanda. Don't leave, please…"

Both Jack and I took her hands, and squeezed them hard. "Jack… I… wasn't honest with you…"

"Never mind that, Am. Just stay alive, okay?"

She took a heavy breath. "Jack, I… have to say this…"

He covered her mouth with his, and when their lips parted, he said, "I love you, Amanda. I so desperately, absolutely love you. Don't leave me now. You just came back."

Amanda began to stutter. "I'm n-n-n-ot… Amanda…"

Jack blinked several times. "What?"

"My na-me… i… E…"

Jack looked at me as tears started making silent tracks down my cheeks.

The paramedics had arrived, and they lifted Amanda onto a stretcher. Both of us managed to hitch a ride in the back of the ambulance, and we continued our chat there.

Her hand grew weaker in mine, eventually becoming limp. "No…" escaped from my lips.

"I'm sor…ry… J…ack… and I'm… sorry to you… too…" there was a long pause. "A-man-d-"

The real Emily Thorne's eyes shut forever. Jack began to break down, clutching both of her hands and kissing her knuckles. This was the second person in his life that he had lost. But all things considered, she was actually not even close to him at all. She only seduced him.

Despite my hatred of her for stealing Jack from me… she didn't deserve this fate. I know that it will haunt me for the rest of my mission here in the Hamptons, and maybe even for the rest of my shambled life.

All I did right there was put my hand on Jack's shoulder and give it a light rub.

…

I sat inside my house, a week after the deaths of Tyler and Amanda. The Infinity Box was out, and I was staring at a photocopy I'd made of Amanda's mugshot, as well as several photos of the two of us. I jumped when I heard a knock on the door.

I had a feeling of who it was, and didn't hide the Infinity Box. It was time for him to know. I sped to the door and opened it. Jack was there with Sammy.

"Hi." He said. "Can I…?" I moved out of the way, allowing the two of them into the house.

"So, um… something's been bothering me this last week. All the stuff Amanda seemed to remember about her past wasn't true at all. Now, I don't know if those were lies she told herself, or if she really doesn't remember at all, but it didn't help our relationship. Another thing I've noticed is that Sammy is very friendly around you, and wasn't at all with Amanda when he should've been, theoretically. And finally, as she was dying, she called you Amanda."

I raised an eyebrow as Jack grasped my shoulders.

"I want to know why you lied about your identity." He said. "Amanda."

I shut my eyes. "Why don't you sit down?" I asked. He did so, and I started scratching behind Sammy's ears.

"David Clarke, my father, didn't blow up that plane. The funds for the attack were wired to the terrorists from the two people truly responsible: Conrad and Victoria Grayson."

I showed him the Infinity Box. "I didn't tell you because if I did, I thought you might want to be involved, and that would put you in danger. And I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to you."

Similar words to what I'd said to Amanda when setting up her new bank account. If only she hadn't had that problem with security, if only she didn't refuse to leave town… she might still be alive.

Although I have Jack for myself now, I don't feel right in having him. At least not now. So I decided to wait until it was the proper time to start a relationship with him.

But for now, I set my sets on taking down Attorney Ryan Huntley.