Chapter 37

~ Tara Nichole

walla-walla-prison

Within the next thirty minutes, the great room is filled with Christian’s family. Elena’s book has a total of thirty chapters so we split it into five chapter increments between myself, Christian, Grace, Carrick, Kate, and Elliot and begin combing the pages for anything that could be damaging to Christian, GEH, or our family if it were made public. It takes only minutes for the room to be filled with the sound of pens scratching over paper as we note the page numbers of every horrifying thing she says.

“Oh my god!” I look up at Kate and watch her gag so hard she has to cover her mouth, as though she’s worried she may actually throw up. “Jesus Christ, don’t read chapter seven.”

“What?” Christian demands. He leaves his place on the couch next to me and moves to Kate, taking the book out of her hands and scanning the page she’s reading. It’s obvious in his reaction when he finds the passage that gave her such a hard time.

“Don’t read chapter seven,” he confirms, and despite the fact that I know from Kate’s reaction and the look on Christian’s face that I really don’t want to know, my fingers are suddenly itching to flip back through the pages to read what Elena has said. I stop myself though. Kate has the unfortunate job of reading through the chapters written about Christian’s time as her submissive and Elena has been graphic. Extremely graphic.

“At least she’s not shying away from the fact that she’s the villain,” Elliot says with disgust as he turns the page of his section. “There’s no way she can publish this. She’ll go to prison.”

“She’s already in prison,” Christian says.

“And we have to make sure that isn’t what she intends for you with this manuscript,” Carrick says. “Focus on what you’re reading.”

Kate takes a breath, nods, and turns her eyes back to the pages in her hands, and as Christian takes his place next to me again, I also have to physically prepare myself to continue reading. I’ve been given the chapters that cover Christian’s send off and subsequent first months at Harvard, and what I’ve read so far has me disgusted, angry, and feeling a way towards Christian that I haven’t felt since before we started dating. Like I’m once again an extra in this twisted relationship he shared with her. An intruder.

As I end Chapter 12, I learn, based on the date, that right before Christian kissed me for the very first time, he’d just had phone sex with her. That’s why he was late for the party that night I got drunk with Jose. It wasn’t because he was lost, it was because he was sitting in his car outside whispering dirty things into her ear until she got off. Perhaps that’s why he lost control and kissed me when he took me back to his dorm. She’d left him turned on and unsatisfied and I was just a warm body, drunk and willing, in front of him. Maybe he was picturing her…

Quickly, I shake the unwelcome thought away and turn the page to start the next chapter.

Chapter 13

Anastasia Steele

“Great,” I whisper. Christian looks over at me and once he reads the chapter title, he reaches out to take the pages from me.

“Baby, don’t… you don’t need to put yourself through that.”

I shake my head. “You think I’m not going to read the vile things she has to say about me? You don’t think I need to know what she plans on telling the entire world about how I came into your life?”

“Ana, it doesn’t matter what she says or what anyone thinks. We know that she’s going to try and make you out as the thing that’s ruined me, but you know that you are the best thing that…”

“Don’t!” I quickly withdraw from his outstretched hand. “Don’t touch me, Christian. Not right now.”

“Ana…” There’s hurt reflect in his voice after my rebuke and while I know that’s it’s not fair to hold him responsible for anything said in this manuscript or to punish him for what Elena has written, I can’t help the way this is making me feel. Reading all of this, learning details he’s kept secret from me for years, is ripping open wounds that I thought had healed a long time ago and somehow, despite the ring on my finger and the beautiful baby sleeping soundly in a basket on the floor only a few feet away from me, I’m suddenly once again the insecure nineteen year old girl from three years ago who wanted a boy that couldn’t love her back. I need space, and so I get up and move to the other side of the couch to sit next to Kate.

“Do you need a glass of wine?” Kate asks, but I shake my head and turn my attention back to the pages in my hand so I don’t have to look at the torment in Christian’s eyes.

I’ll never forget the first time I heard her voice. My husband was gone (again), I’d been drinking, and I was lonely. Solitude has never been my forte, it gives me too much time to think. My head was swimming with alcohol and memories of my lost sister and I needed a distraction. It was late in Cambridge, past the time I expected Christian to have parted ways with his brother for the night, so I picked up my phone and dialed his number, thinking at least I could distract myself with my vibrator and another round with my submissive. My dutiful, obedient, faithful submissive.

“Hello, Christian Grey’s phone.”

Those are the first words Anastasia Steele ever spoke to me, and to say they came as a shock would be grossly understated. Christian had been forbidden to have any form of contact with the opposite sex while he was at Harvard. He was mine after all, and I had no intentions of sharing him. But one week into his very first semester, I’d already caught him breaking the rules, and even over the phone, there was something about this girl that had the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. I knew she was trouble. What I didn’t know was that she would eventually lead to the complete and utter annihilation of everything I’d worked so hard to build.

“Fuck, here it is,” Carrick says. I glance up from the page I’m reading and feel my gut tighten when I see the look of foreboding on his face. Once he has Christian’s attention he looks at the manuscript in his hand and begins reading.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect that day. I’d hoped that what I’d said to him made a difference but I knew, deep in my heart, that I’d lost all the power I’d once held the day Anastasia Steele opened her legs for him. For the first time in almost 25 years, I was vulnerable, and though I’d refused to show it, when Christian took the stand I felt as though I was going to cry, or scream, or maybe just vomit all over the table in front of me.”

“I can’t recall most of his testimony. It’s all hazy to me now, like the vague memories you’re left with the morning after a night of too much drinking. But the most important question I remember with perfect clarity. The prosecutor asked, ‘were you subjected to any sexual contact, initiated by Mrs. Lincoln, on April 14th 2003’, and before the judge, Anastasia, his family, and God, Christian responded with an absolute and resounding, ‘no’. He lied. He’d done as I told him to do and lied. Starting GEH was that important to him. Important enough that he committed felony perjury and betrayed everyone who loved him, all for money he would have gotten anyway if he’d just waited three more years.”

“Somehow, after months of feeling him slip from my grasp, I’d reeled him back in. I knew with that one word that he’d lose the trust and support of his family and the love and devotion of the girl who’d stolen him from me. He was mine again, and even as he told me that he never wanted to see or hear from me again, even as I transferred the money to start his company that I’d promised in exchange for his lie, the money which was supposed to be the last exchange we ever had, I knew he was mine. He fought it. He’d spent months alone following the trial, single and shunned from his family, and he never reached out to me. Not until New Years Eve, 2008, when he’d called me just before midnight, feeling rejected again by the love of his life. The moment I heard the vulnerability in his voice through the phone, I hooked him, brought him back into my control, and together, we built an empire.”

“She said it…” Elliot says. “She said you lied under oath for money. That GEH was built on a bribe.”

“So what do I do?” Christian asks his father. “How do I keep this from getting into the hands of a publisher? Sue for defamation of character? For libel?”

“You can’t sue for libel if what she says is true,” Carrick replies. “She isn’t lying, Christian.”

“She’s writing about me without my permission. She intends to make a profit off my name, surely there is something I can do to stop it.”

“Technically… she’s writing an autobiography. You were a part of her life and she’s telling her life’s story. What she’s written is factual. She doesn’t make assumptions…”

“Doesn’t make assumptions?” Christian interrupts him. He flips back through the pages he’s reviewed, scans the text, and chooses a passage to read aloud. “It’s taken years of deep introspection to divine what makes her hold over him so much stronger than mine. She’s not more clever or more manipulative. She offers him no competitive advantage in the business world while I have time and time again helped GEH expand and prosper. She’s not willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead because her moral compass is stagnant and absolute. No, the power she wields over him is much more simple, instinctual even. As much as it wounds my ego to admit, Anastasia Steele is better at sucking dick than I am.”

Elliot snorts and then covers his mouth to hide his growing smile, and Grace turns a sharp look on him.

“This isn’t the time, Elliot,” she admonishes him.

“What?” he replies, innocently. “I thought we were debating the factual accuracy of what was written? Is he arguing that’s not true?”

“Of course it’s true,” Christian says, but the moment the words are out of his mouth, he frowns and shoots an apologetic look at me. “I-I… What I mean to say is… Shut the fuck up, Elliot.”

“What about her NDA?” I ask. “Don’t all GEH employees have to sign one?”

“Yes,” Christian says, perking up slightly. “Yes, they do.”

He disappears into his office, though none of us continue reading in his absence. Mostly everyone stares at Carrick, but while Grace, Elliot, and Kate all look hopeful, I can’t ignore the regretful impatience clear in his expression. Like he’s dreading having to give someone bad news.

“Here it is,” Christian says, brandishing the papers towards his father as he comes back into the great room. “Signed, March 19th 2009. Elena Lincoln.”

“So she can’t publish anything about Christian without being in violation of this NDA,” Kate says. “He can stop her. He can sue for an injunction.”

“No.” Carrick shakes his head. “You can’t sue for violation of an NDA until there’s been a violation. Writing this novel, sending it to another covered entity under that NDA with no clear threat to do anything with it is not a breach. Until this manuscript is placed in a publisher’s hands and a judge rules that this autobiography is in violation, she hasn’t broken your agreement. If both of those things happen, you may be awarded damages and maybe those damages will be significant enough to offset the profits she’ll make from selling her story, but by that point…”

“By that point, the damage has been done,” I answer for him.

“Exactly.”

“So what do I do?” Christian says, his frustration clear now. “How do I stop this?”

“You give her what she wants,” Carrick says. “She sent it to you, not directly to a publisher. Clearly, she wants something from you.”

“She didn’t send it to him,” I argue. “She sent it to me.”

“Knowing that you would tell Christian,” Carrick says, but I shake my head.

“No, if this were meant for Christian, if she wanted something from just Christian, she wouldn’t have involved me. She knows that I’d never agree to Christian associating himself with her in anyway again. If that’s what she wanted she’d have been more secretive. She’s reaching out. She thinks showing me her hand will bring me to her.”

“Which it won’t,” Christian says dismissively.

“Won’t it?”

He looks down at me with a furrowed brow. “Of course not. You’re not going to a prison, Ana. Absolutely not.”

“We don’t have a choice, Christian. This isn’t just about avoiding embarrassment or a scandal that could hurt your business. This is about you once again facing criminal charges. We can’t just ignore this.”

“She’s right,” Elliot agrees. “And we all know Elena won’t just give up if you don’t give her what she wants. This is a clear threat, and she makes good on her threats.”

“But what could she possibly want from Ana?” Kate asks. “If she wanted a buy out, she would go to Christian.”

“And she’s in prison. It’s not like money is going to do her any good when she’s behind bars,” Elliot adds.

“No,” Carrick says. “But she’s only got five years before she’s on parole, four and some change now. Coming out to a big payday could help her in a lot of ways.”

“But again… if it was money she was after, she would have written to Christian,” Kate says. “Whatever she wants has to be something she can only get from Ana, or from both of you, and really… there’s only one way to find out what that is.”

“We have to go talk to her,” I agree. “Together, as a united front. Be clear right off the bat that she’s not going to separate us, come between us, or play us against each other. Not anymore.”

Christian shakes his head. “No, you’re not going.”

“Christian…”

“No, Ana. I’m not taking you to negotiate with Elena Lincoln.”

“Why? So I don’t mess up whatever deal you’re going to make with her with my stagnant moral compass? Because you think that what she wrote about me here was correct? That I’m not as clever or shrewd as she is and that somehow I’ll go in there and fall for whatever master manipulation technique she has planned for us? I’m not useless, Christian. There is nothing she could say or do that would blind me to what she really is or what she’s really trying to do. I can handle myself against Elena Lincoln.”

“You think I’m worried about Elena?” he asks, and when I cross my arms, he lets out a humorless laugh and turns towards the foyer.

“Taylor!”

It takes a few seconds, but Taylor rounds the corner from the security office and stands expectantly in the entrance between the foyer and the great room.

“Yes, sir?”

“Will you bring me the box you found in Anastasia’s graduation gifts?”

Taylor glances uneasily at me. “Uh… sir?

“Please.” Taylor nods and disappears back into his office for a moment, and when he returns, he holds out a small, brown gift box with a piece of twine wrapped around it. Christian takes it in his hand and then looks up at me.

“You asked why security had been tightened in the hospital, why Taylor was interviewing the entire nursing staff? He found this box on the gift table when he went to collect your things from the arts center after graduation.”

He tosses the box to me and when I catch it between my hands, it rattles. I feel a sense of foreboding when all six pairs of eyes turn to watch as I unravel the twine and slowly lift the lid. Inside, nestled carelessly at the bottom of the box, there’s a small golden locket, which, unfortunately, I recognize immediately.

“This is Leila’s,” I say quietly. “I asked her about it when I first started working at GEH. There’s a picture of her grandmother inside of it, she wore it every day. She was… she was wearing it the day she saved me.”

“Open it,” Christian says, but when I glance up and see the hard look on his face, I’m not sure that I want to. This is it. Proof that he got to her. He wasn’t lying. Leila really is gone.

I reach into the box, tangle my fingers through the long gold chain, and slowly pull it out. The small heart locket twirls innocently as it dangles over the box, but it’s like staring murder in the face and the sight of it makes me sick. Part of me hopes that’s what has Christian overreacting so much, that it’s the locket itself, the physical proof of Leila’s death, that has him so paranoid, but when I pry open the hinge and see what’s inside, that hope is squashed.

The locket no longer contains the photograph of Leila’s grandmother. Instead, it’s my face that looks up at me. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s me… it’s hard to tell because the face of the girl inside is obscured by a smear of something that looks horribly like blood. The juxtaposition between the smile on my face in this picture and the dark red color shrouding all of my features until I’m nearly unrecognizable is a clear and deliberate threat. Silent, but powerful.  As I close the locket in my hand, the saliva pooling in my mouth begins to sting my cheeks, and while I try to swallow it, I glance nervously down at Calliope.

“Have you considered that this could be a ploy by him?” Christian asks. “That Elena never meant to send that manuscript to you, that someone else did, and that if we go down to the prison to speak to her about it, we’ll find that something else is waiting for us? What if that package had your name on it because was meant to draw you out of this apartment, to isolate you so that he can try to take you again? Once we’re inside that prison, we’re not in control anymore. We have to do everything the guards in charge tell us to do, go where they tell us, and we already know he’s bought off the police. I highly doubt that’s where his power stops.”

“So, we take security…”

“No.” He shakes his head again. “That’s not good enough anymore. I don’t care if you have Sawyer with you, or Taylor, or the whole fucking military. I’m not going to knowingly put you in harms way and whether this is a trap being laid by him, or Elena playing games, this is a risk. I refuse to take the bait, Ana.”

“So, what do you want to do, Christian?” Carrick asks.

“Tomorrow morning, Taylor and I will drive up to Gig Harbor alone and I will talk to her. If she really is behind this, I’ll put an end to it.” He looks over at me again. “I promise.”  

“And how do you propose to do that?” Elliot asks. “Elena isn’t exactly best known for being reasonable. Or… sane.”

“I know how to handle her. She’s manipulative and self-serving, but she’s not stupid. There’s a way to stop her and, within reason, I’ll take care of it.”

“Great,” I snap, throwing what’s left of my part of the manuscript down on the couch and jumping to my feet. “So we’re right back to where we started. You and Elena will make your deals together behind closed doors and I’ll… what? Sit at home and trust you? Hope that this time it won’t be as bad as perjury or a secretly funded underground brothel?” I scoff, not bothering to hide the disgust on my face before turning back to him. “I really thought we were past this, but I guess we never will be.”

I reach down to scoop the basket that holds my sleeping baby into my arms and storm angrily from the great room to our bedroom. There’s too much anger inside of me, too much pent up energy begging for some form of violent release, but I can’t even pace while I’m holding Calliope for fear the movement might wake her. My jaw clenches as I hold back the furious scream I so desperately want to release into the room until my eyes fall upon the beautiful, frilly, white bassinet Kate has set up against Christian’s side of the bed. After taking a deep breath, I lay the basket over our comforter, gently reach down to take Calliope in my arms, and lay her down inside of her perfect little bed.

Her face bunches together as I withdraw my arms, but she doesn’t wake. She looks serene, peaceful, and while I watch her lying there without a care in the world, I feel the passionate anger inside of me recede and tears over the feeling of loss and rejection that consumes me every time I think of Christian’s involvement with Elena begin to well in my eyes.

It’s the same hurt I felt reading through Elena’s words tonight, so maybe, beneath the anger, that’s really all I’m feeling. I know Christian has changed. I know now that he would never make the same choice that he made when he was 19, so I shouldn’t worry about him speaking to her anymore. But she’s the problem. Not just for the horrible things she’s put us through or that we know she’s capable of doing, but on the basser level of what she represents. A time when loving Christian wasn’t easy. A time when he was satisfied, fulfilled even, with someone else, someone I hate. That she’s the only other person he’s ever shared his body with, when I never have, and while I never want to, the fact that he has feels as though it gives her some kind of power that I’ll never be able to take no matter how far he pulls away from her. Maybe that’s not fair, maybe that’s unreasonable and illogical, but the pain I feel from knowing that at one time he took pleasure in sleeping with her is very, very real, and it’s never felt more potent than tonight, after reading her describe it to me in clear, explicit detail.

The door opens behind me and closes with a soft click, but it remains so quiet inside the room that I can hear each and every footprint across the carpet until they stop directly behind me.

“I would never betray you,” Christian says quietly, and I once again have to take a deep breath to stop the tears leaking over my lower lids from becoming much more forceful before I turn around to face him.

“Not intentionally,” I agree. “But whatever she wants… you know it’s not going to be as simple as money.”

“I know.” He nods. “But I also know my limits, and yours, and I’m not going to cross those lines just to make a deal with her.”

His eyes are sincere but not comforting, so I look away from him and down at the floor. He reaches up and brushes his thumb over my cheek to wipe away my tears.

“You don’t believe me?”

“That’s not it. I know you want to do right by me, Christian. I trust that at least.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“Because you fucked her,” I whimper. “While you were chasing me, and kissing me alleys, and fuming over Carter and Jose, and making me fall in love with you… you were fucking her. And I knew you were, it’s just… I’ve never had it spelled out in front of me in black and white before. I never had to face the actual crossover between the two of us before tonight. That hurts, Christian. She hurts me. You being around her hurts me, and I can’t just go back to feeling like I’m on the outside of this connection that you have with her anymore. I don’t want you around her, I don’t want you alone with her. If you’re going down there, the only way that I am going to be okay with it is if I am by your side.”

“Ana… it’s not safe.”

“So we make it safe,” I argue. “We hold more power than you give us credit for. We’re not prisoners, so we don’t have to let them separate us. If they try, if they tell us our security can’t be around us or that I need to leave your side for any reason, we’ll leave. We just leave. We’ll come back here and we’ll figure out another way to stop her. But you know as well as I do that we’re better when we’re together, Christian. The only time anyone is ever able to gain the upper hand is when they come between us. That’s what she wants to do, that’s what she’s going to try to do. Let’s show her that she can’t.”

He doesn’t answer me right away. Instead, he looks over at Calliope in the bassinet next to us, and after staring at her for what feels like an eternity, he finally meets my eyes again, sighs, and nods.

“Okay. We go together, and we stay together.”

“That’s all I’m asking,” I reply, and as he nods again, I step forward to wrap my arms around his neck and take his lips with mine. This kiss is healing. The moment I feel the heat of his mouth on mine, it seems to wash through my body and ease away the pain and uncertainty Elena’s words have plagued me with. When I pull away, Christian’s mood is markedly improved.

“You know…” he says. “I’d forgotten about Jose. Whatever happened to him?”

I shrug. “He was kind of weird after you and I broke up. He tried to move in way too fast and came on a little too strong… Luke scared him away pretty quick.”

Christian smiles. “Remind me later to give him a raise.” I laugh and kiss him again.

 

The nerves of everyone in the apartment the next morning are palpable, but I don’t know if mine are more severe because of the impending meeting with Elena, or the fact that I’m about to leave my baby in someone else’s care for the first time.

“I pumped this morning,” I tell my father as I cling tightly to Calliope in my arms. “There’s enough milk in the fridge to get you through until we come back. We have a bottle warmer in the boxes with all the baby stuff in the dining room, you can use that or just run the storage bags under hot water from the faucet. Don’t the use the microwave. There’s diapers and wipes and extra clothes in her bag. If she gets fussy…”

“Ana, sweetheart. We’re going to be okay,” my dad assures me. “Trust me, I’ve had a daughter before and we did just fine.”

“Right, of course.” Though it feels as though it may rip my heart out to do so, I step closer so he can take Calliope from me, but the moment she’s out of my arms, I immediately feel bereft.

“We have our phones,” Christian says, and I’m pleased to note he sounds just as nervous as I do. “If you need us for any reason, don’t hesitate to call. We’ll come back right away.”

“Don’t worry, Son. I’ll take care of your little girl, you go do what you have to do.”

Christian nods and then takes my hand. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” I lean over to kiss Calliope’s cheek one last time, then do the same for my father, and after forcing myself to turn away from them both, I let Christian lead me to the elevator where Taylor and Sawyer are already waiting for us.

It’s an hour drive to the Washington State Women’s Correctional facility, and I spend every second of it dreading what’s to come. I know Elena has a price in mind for the manuscript she sent to me, and while I have no idea what that is, I know it’s going to be steep. The longer I have to guess what that price may be, the more nervous I get.

We’re greeted outside of the prison by a severe looking guard, who takes our names from Taylor and then has us escorted through the gates to the main entrance where Christian and I are both searched for weapons or contraband. Once we’ve been cleared, another set of guards lead us down a long sterile hallway and as we approach a desk where even more guards are seated, I glance through the window behind them and realize we’re able to see right into the prison. The inmates are visible, just on the other side of this wall, and in spite of myself, I feel a tiny pang of fear. I didn’t realize we’d be this close…

“You must be Christian Grey,” one of the guards says as we come to a stop in front his desk.

“Yes.”

“Here to see inmate number 24783, Elena Lincoln.”

“That is correct.”

He glances up at us and narrows his eyes. “Wasn’t it you who put her in here in the first place?”

“No, I think it was the prostitution and money laundering that did that…” Christian says dryly, and I feel myself cringe when I see the guards reaction.

“What’s your business here today, Mr. Grey?” he asks.

Christian’s face hardens. “We’re here to see an old family friend. Surely, that’s not a concept that’s foreign to you.”

“No, it’s not,” he agrees, his voice cold. “Inmate number 42783 is classified by Washington State Women’s Correctional Facility to be a non-violent inmate. This means that she is entitled to unsupervised visits with those who have been approved by the board, in this case you, but you are also entitled to have a guard present should you feel it is appropriate.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Christian says.

“Fine. Hanson!” A guard sitting a few seats away stands and looks over at us expectantly.

“Yes, sir?”

“Please show Mr. Grey and Miss Steele to interview room number three. Rodgers over here will fetch the inmate.”

“Yes, sir,” Officer Hanson says. “Mr. Grey, Miss Steele, if you’ll follow me.”

Christian nods and turns to follow the officer past the desk and up a hallway to the right, and as I fall in behind him, I give a shy smile to the guard Christian spoke with. He narrows his eyes suspiciously and the hard, angry lines etched in his face remain firmly in place. As we move forward down the hallway identical to the one that led us to the desk, I can feel his eyes following us, and both Taylor and Luke fall in line behind me, both close enough that their hands brush my arms as they walk. Clearly, he makes them nervous too.

“Alright, Mr. Grey,” Officer Hanson says when we come up to a steel door with a large number three printed next to it. “This door doesn’t open from the inside to ensure the inmate remains secure. I will be just outside, so if you need anything, you can use that phone to dial the front desk or just bang real hard on the door and I’ll be here to respond.”

“Thank you,” Christian says. He steps aside to let me enter first and both Taylor and Luke move forward to each side of the door, like sentries put in place to protect an important diplomat. We both take a seat at the unassuming metal table in the middle of the room, and glance around at the cinderblock walls that feel cold and suffocating.

“Let’s make this quick,” Christian says quietly. “I don’t like the feel of this place.”

“It’s a prison,” I remind him. “I don’t think you’re supposed to.”

The door opens again and Officer Hanson steps inside, followed immediately by Elena, who’s dressed in orange and has cuffs around her wrists. She doesn’t look at us while they uncuff her or offer her thinly veiled threats about being right outside the door. In fact, she doesn’t even turn in our direction until the guards step out of the room and close the door behind them. Once they do, she faces us with a broad smile and I feel my heart sink a little. I’d actually forgotten, through my hate colored memories, how beautiful she was, and after everything I read last night about her and Christian, it’s not a pleasant reminder.

“Christian,” she says, her seductive tone only heightening my aggravation. “You look incredible. You’re much…” She lifts her hands up to her shoulders and holds them there, demonstrating the bulk Christian has added to his upper body over the last few months. “Have you started a new workout regimen?”

“Boxing,” Christian replies flatly, and her smile widens.

“Mmm, you always did like a good fight.” She bites down on her lip. “And it’s starting to look like a fight may love you. You really do look…”

“Enough, Elena,” Christian says, but her smile doesn’t falter.

“Sorry, I’ve spent a lot of time around too many women and like I told Ana last spring, they don’t allow conjugal visits unless you’re married and Andrew just doesn’t count anymore. Not that he’d come down here if I asked.”

“Do you blame him?” I ask icily.

“Oh yes,” she affirms immediately. “For most things actually.”

I scoff. “You’re right. It was so unfair of him to break his marriage vows and molest teenagers behind your back. Oh wait, that was you.”

“You think he didn’t cheat on me?” she asks. “You think all those long trips he took were solely business related. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has children out there somewhere. And.. speaking of children, I expected you to look much different, rounder. I guess I didn’t receive a birth announcement.”

“Funny how that happened.”

“Hmm.” She takes the seat across the table from us and folds her hands on the table. “So? Did we have a boy or a girl?”

“We didn’t have anything. You’re not and will never be a part of our child’s life, Elena. If I have my way, she won’t even know your name.”

“So, a girl then,” Elena says, and I roll my eyes.

“We’re not here to discuss our baby,” Christian interrupts. “We’re not here to make idle chit chat. We’re here to find out what it is you want.”

“What I want?”

“For the book,” I snap. “The tell all. The manuscript you put into an envelope with my name written on the front and sent to Escala to drag us all the way down here.”

“Oh… that.”

I let out a huff of frustration and Christian reaches over to place his hand over mine. “What do you want, Elena?” he asks again.

She smiles again and leans over the table. “I want back in the game.”

“What game?”

“The game. My favorite game. You know… you watch prison shows on TV and they make you think there’s a certain glamour to this life, intrigue, hierarchies, schemes, and plots… but it’s not true. Most of these women are just here getting their GEDs and participating in vocational programs. Honestly, I’m so bored I could die.”

“Could you?”

“Ana,” Christian chides me, before turning back to Elena. “I don’t know what game you’re talking about, Elena.”

“Then let me make it clear for you. You use you influence, power, money… whatever it takes, to get me out of here, send me off to a quaint but lavish seaside villa in French Polynesia or perhaps along the Mediterranean, and make it so I don’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life, and I’ll give you the name of the man who wants to destroy you.”

The impatient look on Christian’s face vanishes immediately and is replaced with blank shock. “What did you just say?”

She leans in closer. “Better yet, I’ll help you bring him down. Destroy him before he can destroy you. Let’s face it, Christian. You’re outmatched here. You’ve never been a schemer and you have no idea what you’re up against, how deep this goes, or how close he’s gotten to your inner circle. I can help you. I can protect you, and Anastasia, and your precious little baby… Calliope.”

I stiffen. “How did you…?”

“Like I said, this shit goes deep. He’s not going to stop until he ruins you and you can pivot and maneuver out of his reach all you want, but eventually, he’s going to catch up to you. Eventually, he’ll take everything you hold dear away from you and leave you broken.”

“How do you know who he is, Elena?” Christian asks, and she raises an eyebrow at him.

“You think I wanted to write this book? You think I was just dying to tell the world our story so that when I get out of here, if I get out of here, I’ll be greeted as a child predator? No, I was commissioned. Threatened really. If I didn’t write that book, I’d end up just like Hyun, or Leila, or the countless others you don’t even know about.”

“Who is it?”

“Uh uh uh. That’s not how this works. That name is the only thing I have, so if you want it, you’re going to have to pay the price.”

“God damn it, Elena. Tell me who it fucking is,” Christian says, his anger rising, but she’s not intimidated by him.

“No.”

“You think he’s the only one who can threaten you? You think I won’t go to extremes to get what I need from you when what you’re withholding from me equates to Ana’s safety? What’s to stop Taylor or Sawyer from using whatever excessive force it takes to make you talk? What’s to stop me?”

“Decency,” Elena says simply. “Your conscience. The love you have for Anastasia, who would surely be implicated in anything you chose to do to me. And the love you have for the daughter you want to see grow up, in person, not from behind the bars of a jail cell. You see, that’s the difference between you and him, Christian. There’s nothing in this world he wants more or that is more important to him than seeing you suffer. There’s no punishment too great or too terrifying to dissuade him. That’s why you need me, because I’m the only person in your life who will do whatever it takes. I’m the only person who’s a match for him.”

“Give me the fucking name, Elena!” Christian roars.

“You know my terms.”

He shoves away from the table so violently I actually cringe and both Luke and Taylor move closer to the table as he begins pacing.

Elena sighs and leans back in her chair. “Christian, we can go back and forth all day if you want, but you know in the end that…”

“Did you help him?” he cuts her off.

“What?”

He storms around to her side of the table, leaning so far over her chair that his nose is nearly pressed against hers. “Did you help him? Besides writing this book, what have you done to help him?”

I glance between them nervously, watching the power of wills warring with one another. Christian is furious and his size and temper are terrifying in conjunction, but Elena has a pathological, blood thirsty need for control and so she stares blankly into the eyes of the beast with no sense of remorse or fear.

“Did you help him” Christian repeats.

“Yes,” she finally responds. “In the beginning. Welch was my idea, and Ros. I told him who to go after, when, and how. I gave him the names of the people inside your company most willing to turn on your for a pay out. I told him that the best way to get to you was to make you distrust the people closest to you, the ones who would never betray you, the ones who stand by your side no matter what, because once you’d pushed them away, there was no way you could stop him. You’re always at your weakest when you’re isolated and it’s so easy to isolate you.”

“What about Anastasia?”

She shakes her head. “No, I knew that was a lost cause. You’re too in love with her. She could fuck someone right in front of you and you’d take her back in the end. There’s no way to isolate you from her. I’ve tried that, and look where it’s got me.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Christian says. “Did you have anything to do with the plan to kidnap her? With the threats he’s made against her?”

“No,” she says. “Blood and gore isn’t really my style and the things he has planned for Anastasia…” She shudders and Christian’s knuckles turn white as his hands curl into fists on top of the table.

“Ana,” he says, the deathly calm in his voice more chilling than the rage he displayed only moments before. “Let’s go.”

“Go? But we haven’t solved anything. Her book… her…”

“She not going to publish the book,” he interrupts me. “Not if she has any say in it, and if she’s already sent it to him, we’re wasting our time here anyway.”

“And what about him?”

“We’ll handle it. I’m not making a deal with her to lessen her prison time.” He turns back to Elena. “In fact, in five years, I will be here doing everything in my power to see that you don’t make parole. You deserve every second you spend in here, you evil bitch.”

“Christian, I promise, I’m trying to help you,” Elena says, but he ignores her and reaches his hand out to help me out of my seat. I take it, stand, and begin moving towards Luke and Taylor, but Elena’s voice stops us again.

“Christian, please!” she practically shrieks. “You don’t understand how far he’s willing to go, what he’s willing to do… He’s fucking insane. He’s never going to stop coming after you.”  

His back stiffens and he slowly turns around to face her again. “Good,” he says, with the same frightening calm. “Because the next time he comes for Anastasia or my daughter again, I won’t be unprepared and I’ll fucking kill him. When you see him again, you tell him that.”

“Please,” she repeats, begging now. “Get me out of here. Let me help you.”

“Give me the name, Elena.” He stares her down and for the first time since I’ve known them, she cowers slightly under his glare.

“I can’t,” she whispers. “He’ll kill me too.”

“Then you can burn in hell.”

He turns back to me, takes my hand, and without a second look over his shoulder at the trembling woman who, just seconds ago, held all the power, he bangs on the steel door and leads me back out to the hallway.

“We’re finished,” he says to Officer Hanson. He nods and first directs the guards outside to collect Elena, and then leads us back down the hall to the main front desk. As we pass, the main guard watches us with an almost venomous kind of vindictiveness clear on his face.

“You have yourself a real nice day, Mr. Grey,” he says coolly, and while Christian doesn’t stop or respond, he grips tighter to me and pulls us more quickly towards the main door.

There’s no pause as we get into the back of the SUV, even to put seatbelts on. The moment the doors close behind us, Taylor hits the gas and Christian starts barking commands.

“Taylor, I want new background checks and investigations done on anyone who has come into contact with myself or Anastasia in the last sixteen months. My family, Kate, Ros, Flynn, lawyers, doctors, our security team, employees at GEH, everyone. No one is exempt, everyone is a suspect. I want to know every detail you can find, specifically anything that could connect them to Elena Lincoln or a mutual acquaintance between us.”

“Yes, sir,” Taylor responds.

“Sawyer, I want to know who has been in that prison, who sorts her mail, who monitors her phone calls, who approves her visitors, and who those visitors have been. No one goes in to see her from this moment on without me knowing about it.”

“Yes, sir,” Luke says.

“We’re not just playing defense anymore,” Christian says. “We’re going to find this motherfucker, and when we do, he’s going to wish he’d never heard of Christian Grey.”

Next Chapter

102 thoughts on “Chapter 37”

  1. Now m like 99% sure the conspiracy head is someone who would have had an association with Christian during his teens time with Elena and has grudges maybe for taking Elena away from him and he would turn out to be a completely new character.

    I don’t noe y but I feel either Luke or Taylor is helping that man to get to ana

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    1. I’m back to thinking that it HAS to be Andrew Lincoln. He really is the ONLY one that TRULY makes sense. After all, ELENA WOULD NOT WORK with anyone that she didn’t feel she could control. And BECAUSE she had previously destroyed Andrew, she would NOT originally see him as a threat.

      But Andrew wants to harm Christian IN THE SAME WAY that HE has been harmed. He wants to make ANA his sex slave AND torture her in order for CHRISTIAN to suffer the way he did in losing HIS wife. PLUS, Christian took his company, so he tried to take GEH from Christian.

      Any way you look at this, it smacks of Andrew. Because WHO ELSE would Elena knowingly agree to work with? Anyone else couldn’t be trusted TO GO AFTER ANA other than ANDREW, because Andrew KNOWS that the TWO THINGS that Christian has been determined to have ARE GEH AND ANA.

      NO ONE else has that same motivation to MAKE CHRISTIAN SUFFER. And THAT is what it is all about. AND ANDREW IS THE ONLY ONE, outside of the Grey family and Kate and Ana, THAT KNOWS ABOUT THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE FIRST TRIAL!!! And THAT is why it HAS to be ANDREW. Otherwise, ELENA’S BOOK would contain “lies” set to protect HER. BUT ANDREW HAS MADE ELENA TELL THE TRUTH about HOW and WHY she bribed Christian.

      So if ALL else fails, ANDREW STILL HAS ELENA’S BOOK for revenge. After all, Christian DID commit crimes, and the book gives that information before. AND THAT WAS ELENA’S PREVIOUS SECURITY THAT SHE WOULD LIVE—ANDREW needs Elena to say that what she wrote was TRUE. But NOW, even if Elena is killed, the BOOK will still be out there. EVEN if Christian can’t necessarily be prosecuted due to not having a necessary witness (ELENA), people would still KNOW what Christian did to rise to the top.

      So Andrew has a WIN/WIN almost any way you look at it, at least at this point. AND by the time Elena realized she had given Andrew EVERYTHING he needed, she then realized that while Andrew might obtain revenge, he would have NO further need for HER.

      But yeah, NO ONE ELSE has this motivation. I think ANDREW IS USING HYDE, though, for publishing purposes. After all, EVEN IN THE ORIGINAL books, Lincoln used Hyde by paying his bail money, KNOWING Hyde was motivated to destroy Christian. WE DO NOT have that history for Hyde HERE. Ana was NEVER under his thumb and he never lost his job. (And we don’t know yet about any possible Detroit connection.) But Hyde WOULD be motivated to take MONEY FROM ANDREW to destroy Christian and Ana.

      But ONLY ANDREW has this deep-seeded need to destroy Christian to the point of INSANITY due to everything he has lost. And Elena WOULD work with him because she thought she COULD manipulate him. NOW, she knows better and has only to await HIS FULL REVENGE on HER!

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      1. It could be Andrew……
        But I still somehow suspect either Sawyer or Taylor is helping the head…..
        But then they also don’t noe that Christian took bribe from Elena

        So that leaves Andrew Lincoln but Leila mentioned that the head some control over the police and I don’t see Andrew having such high contacts.

        PS: Please Tara just don’t make it out as a PLL theory where we would see a C/A twin as d culprit

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  2. She knows Calliope’s name thanks to Gia, that’s something I know. And I keep thinking Carter is inside somehow. And now talking about Jose… I don’t remember well if he was gay or if he was really interested in Ana (maybe it was in another story haha).
    I am starting to think that maybe Andrew isn’t the head of the Conspiratory… I have a feeling. Could it be Gia? Or Carter? Or maybe Aston Harrington, but I am not so sure about him. I keep having a bad feel about Carter. Maybe he was against Christian more that we though. But I don’t know where he could have that much power. Where ANYONE could have more power than Christian.

    Posdata: I think that Ana and Christian need a lemmonade time in order to reacquitance, but they have to wait six weeks.

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    1. I agree with you regarding Andrew. Elena has worked WITH this individual, and there is NO love lost between her and Andrew (nothing left but the hate!).

      Elena DID STATE that there were dead people THAT CHRISTIAN KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT at this point, so OTHERS have been targeted and killed. I’m thinking GIA is one of those captured and killed. After all, she may not have initially helped Mr. Conspiracy Head voluntarily, but I think Mr. Conspiracy Head chose her moving out of Elliot’s residence as the perfect time to snag her.

      And anyone ELSE that gets isolated from the Grey party would also be fair game to Mr. Conspiracy Head, ESPECIALLY if they had evidence. So CARTER may have been snatched OR CARLA may have been threatened. We all KNOW that Carla was acting in such a manner, determined to get Ana (and baby Calliope) away from Christian. She may have been threatened OR blackmailed.

      Mr. Conspiracy Head has a SERIOUS GRUDGE against Christian. HYDE was openly hostile about Ana and Christian at the GEH party, and I no longer think that can be discounted. He is either a recruit or the possible Head.

      Still, this individual is FOCUSED on doing HORRIBLE things to Ana that even make ELENA SHUDDER. How bad would THAT have to be? So someone SERIOUSLY BLAMES Ana for something, so that DOES bring STEPHEN MORTON as a possibility. He could be mad that Christian got to have Ana when he had been previously denied her due to Ray (and Ana’s voluntarily getting away from him BEFORE he could do anything to her previously). If it WAS Stephen, then that partly explains why Carla might be acting the way she is.

      I ALSO have wondered about Astor’s past, as he and Elena MAY have had a previous relationship, OR ELENA might have SEDUCED Astor post-Christian and then flung him aside. So Astor may have even MORE reasons to hate Christian NOW then he did originally. Because even in their freshman year, Astor was WAY overcompetitive to the point of being pathological.

      There is also always the DETROIT connection. Although we KNOW that Christian’s mother overdosed, we know nothing else other than Christian being from there. ANY previous contact, such as his mother’s pimp, might be someone coming after Christian NOW. AFTER ALL, Elena had MULTIPLE CLIENTS and even a DOMINANT in her employment who could be someone re-encountering Christian from the past.

      I STILL think that MIA may be the key—someone POWERFUL threatened Elena enough to offer MIA to him on a silver platter, even though she was underage, that Elena was willing to do anything to see thta HE got what HE wanted. Which he did NOT, DUE TO ANA and then Christian shutting down the bar permanently. I BELIEVE that man, WHOEVER he might be, would have connections with Elena and WAYS to contact her (through Isaac maybe?), and Elena would trust him enough to think she could WORK with him.

      Because sadly, Elena thought SHE had enough dirt on Mr. Conspiracy Head to HELP Christian IF he got her out of the country fast enough with tons of money. So she thought she could get away from Mr. Conspiracy Head’s wrath, when she has NOW secured it.

      And while we ALL want happy Christian/Ana fun time, Ana HAS been through a lot. PLUS she is now having to re-visit Christian and Elena’s past. Christian needs to TELL ANA what we read in the Outtakes—of how he realized that he LOVED HER all at once. And thta the future he envisioned was NOT just about sex—it was about SHARING HIS LIFE and love WITH HER. He realized then that he did NOT even want Elena anymore, and he did EVERYTHING he could thereafter to win Ana’s love. CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO TELL ANA that and remind her of THEIR past and connection before anything else happens, as Ana is ALREADY feeling insecure at the moment.

      But Tara has clearly left us with any NUMBER of possibilities for Mr. Conspiracy Head while seemingly eliminating Andrew Lincoln. So that means re-visiting the other possibilities OR accepting that it could be someone ELSE entirely!

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      1. I’m now replying to my own post, but I NOW disagree with myself. Outside of the Grey family and Ana, ONLY ANDREW KNEW ABOUT ELENA’S MONEY BRIBE AT THE END OF THE FIRST TRIAL.

        That information IS CRITICAL to MAKING ELENA WRITE THE TRUTH in her book. Elena would NEVER DO THIS ON HER OWN. Only ANDREW knew the truth AND could make her write it. Elena would NEVER give something that she could use further on Christian AND THAT WOULD IMPLICATE her for FURTHER CRIMINAL CHARGES!!!!

        So it HAS TO BE ANDREW that is at the HEAD OF THE CONSPIRACY. No one else had this knowledge.

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  3. I bet that guard who was glaring at them is in on it. Why would he act that cold with them over Elena if he wasn’t working with that person who wants to harm Christian?

    I mean is it the pimp doing all this or something? I mean who else hates Christian this much?

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    1. I agree that the guard is in on it. Mr. Conspiracy Head would leave NOTHING to chance, and you SEE how frightened Elena is. She wanted Christian to get her out of the country somehow, maybe beyond HIS reach, while KNOWING that he already had the BOOK that HE made her write!

      So Elena had nothing to REALLY offer, other than the NAME. And it sounds like it WILL be someone known to her.

      And the contemptuous way she spoke of Andrew lets us know it is NOT him. BUT I was right in assuming that Mr. Conspiracy Head HAD to be utilizing Elena’s knowledge.

      But the WAY that prison guard was just indicates to me that he is one of the one’s under Mr. Conspiracy Head’s thumb. AND NOW Mr. Conspiracy Head KNOWS that Elena TRIED TO TURN ON HIM. So I’m rather guessing that Elena does NOT have long for this world!!!

      But Elena was ALWAYS FRIGHTENED by the MAN THAT DEMANDED MIA. And she was willing to pay Mia ANYTHING and to let her be raped by the man, despite what Christian would do when he found it out, because she was SO AFRAID of that guy.

      So WHOEVER that Client was, I feel that HE was the Conspiracy Head. AND HE plans on getting Christian JAILED, if necessary, to get to Ana. So the book is a REAL threat, BUT CHRISTIAN IS RIGHT that Mr. Conspiracy Head WOULD HAVE INSISTED that Elena SEND HIM A COPY.

      So Elena now has NOTHING to bargain with. And since HE has the book, HE has no reason to keep Elena alive. AFTER ALL, Christian can’t get damages from a dead woman, so HE could publish the book, confident that Christian can’t get to him, ESPECIALLY IF he has CONNECTIONS in the PUBLISHING WORLD. So that basically leaves HYDE. At least, I don’t see how Hyde is not involved in SOME way.

      But I imagine that particular guard will snap Elena’s neck shortly. Elena overplayed her hand by assuming that she could STILL manipulate Christian. NOW, with her betrayal, she SHOULD be a marked woman. (And I don’t feel too sorry for her, because she has brought EVERYTHING down on herself AND helped Mr. Conspiracy Head in the process. Like Leila, she will now PAY for her crimes. Unlike Leila, Elena has NO REMORSE for her part in all this.)

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  4. Well this was so intense once again. So many people’s name thrown into the mix now including Jose’s name but who is it? Is it Hyde with Lincoln who? Poor Leila she was sacrificed in this horrible game. I still go back to the business partner Elena had at the club or could it be Christian’s mother’s pimp? Who? How much longer before we start getting clues? I’m glad Christian did not fall for her act. I would start with the prison guard who appears to be acting very inappropriately too.

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    1. I agree. This chapter proves perfectly why this installment of the trilogy is called a STRONGER shade of fifty. CG is growing up and not making stupid mistakes. Love how he handled things here.

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      1. YES, I LOVED how Christian decided to go on the offensive. Instead of reacting, he, too, realizes that Mr. Conspiracy Head has had to have had contact with SOME of the people he works with or knows in order to accomplish all this. AND ELENA KNEW this individual previously, because WHY would she be afraid of him otherwise? Or trust him enough to give him EXTRA dirt on Christian, like which people to target AND WHEN.

        So Christian is not cowering at all but is DETERMINED to protect his family and take this guy out! He has the right attitude, now he just needs the right INTEL. And I am CONVINCED that he will begin to find it out with those BACKGROUND CHECKS. Because THEN, Christian will learn that certain people are “missing” (such as GIA and maybe CARTER). And Christian can begin to target WHO could have possibly seen something or apprehended these individuals. After all, Gia LET the people into Elliot’s residence, in my opinion, because she THOUGHT it was the moving company (or she had been voluntarily working with Mr. Conspiracy Head before and didn’t realize that her time of usefulness had now expired).

        THAT Is the problem with having too many individuals to threaten and having too many people to bribe or to do a job—sooner or later, SOMEONE will make a mistake that will lead Christian to the identity of Mr. Conspiracy Head. So go Christian!!!

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  5. Chills! I have chills down my spin throughout this chap, like reading a thriller. Tara, your writing is too good, and such a treasure for this fandom. We’re so lucky to have you and enjoy this week after week. Can’t love you enough… even though I’m torn between just wanting to know WHO this big bad wolf is right now, or not wanting this story to ever end. Urgh…

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      1. TO KNOW is everything, because once Christian knows WHO it is, he can act accordingly. But yeah, I get your point, because once we know, we are nearing the end. STILL, even WITH the Identity of Mr. Conspiracy Head, he still has to be FOUND, as well as all his cohorts. So I don’t see us being anywhere near the end yet!

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  6. In pins and needles throughout. So fearful of their visit with the BT. The prison guard was very intimidating and one of them?Who is it? Hyde, Carter or? Good Christian didn’t cower to the BT, fearless in fact. Can’t wait to find out. Thanks for the spine-chilling chapter, Tara. Look forward to next. Xoxo daytona

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  7. Wow! The plot thickens. Well, I’m glad Christian wasn’t set on sending Elena to a tropical island and setting her up for the rest of her life. I agree with Christian though, they need to stop just playing defense. I’m curious who hates Christian so much and why? This is clearly personal but it seems like it would be something more severe than stealing someone’s girlfriend or besting them in school as in the case of Carter and Aston. Lincoln seems rich enough but not insane and Hyde seems like he had the capability of being insane but does seem like he would have the resources to pull this off. There was definitely something up with the prison guard. Who ever this is yields a scary amount of power. I wonder if Elena will be endanger anyway now if it comes out she was willing to sell out the head of The Conspiracy for a cushy lifestyle after prison. Thanks for the update!

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    1. Yeah, THAT’S my feeling—Mr. Conspiracy Head WOULD have Elena watched, KNOWING that she would undoubtedly reach out to CHRISTIAN, despite helping HIM, in order to get a payday.

      So I think Elena is not long for this world, as the prison guard will report Elena’s offer and contact. Serves her right. For once, she is NOT in control. HOWEVER, someone that could beat ELENA and outplay her, AND predict what she will do is SCARY!

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      1. I think that was the plan all along…..toake them go see Elena so that he could observe the security arrangements made by them
        I think Elena knows that her time is up and that man has no use of her now that the manuscript is complete and now she wants to strike a deal with Christian ……and we have heard this time and again that the police isn’t helpful to them and Leila also mention that the guy has strong connections with the police

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      2. You know, An, that makes perfect sense. Elena contacted Christian NOW because the book WAS FINISHED and HE had it. She had ALREADY given Mr. Conspiracy Head the names of people to go after, and Ana helped prevent Christian’s ISOLATION by finding out the truth about Welch and Ros. So Elena had NO further use, and SHE KNEW IT too.

        But AFTER she had done EVERYTHING to help Mr. Conspiracy Head, THEN she reached out to Christian to get him to save her. I LOVE that she saw she had NO POWER over Christian, AND that he would NOT help her at all! She had NOTHING left to play, so she is as good as dead!

        Elena was actually short-sighted enough to want REVENGE over everything else, without realizing that SHE would be taken down in the process! She HAS been “out of the game” too long and has met someone as EVIL as herself!

        But I DEFINITELY think that Mr. Conspiracy Head WANTED Elena to make contact with Christian, or HE would have PREVENTED the manuscript being mailed out from the prison! So HE had a REASON to want Christian and Ana at that prison, and MY WORRY is that Christian and Ana may not make it back to Escala. It would be easy enough to cause a car crash, KNOWING what route Christian has taken to the prison. Mr. Conspiracy Head NEEDED Ana and Christian to leave Escala in such a way that HE would KNOW where they were going, so that would indicate that HE has a plan for this, too. Because how ELSE do you explain that Head Prison Guard’s reaction?

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      3. Linc is out of question and I don’t think that the guy that tried to force himself on Mia at d club or that guy meeting Gia have a big enough reason to spend months of his time in taking revenge.
        And I consider it’s not Morton coz the head has issues with Christian and ana is just the best way to hurt him

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  9. I knew Elena had something to do with that, could be her ex husband or maybe jack? Maybe both are involved, I hope they find them and and they can set her up with it to, to get my more time

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  11. Ohhhhhhhhh CG is maaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddd. Elena is going to turn up dead soon…she should have helped him when she could have and just given him the name. This Conspiracy stuff is much bigger and way deeper than he thinks.

    Wish there would have been more of Ana comparing their relationship for specific timeframes from Elena’s book. It probably would have been interesting to have those parallels. To know what happened right before their first kiss…she’s a better woman than me…I think I would have needed a little more time/space to digest what I’d read and compare it to what he was trying yo have with me while he was ‘still hers’.

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    1. The OUTTAKES from ADSOF are revealing. After all, Christian was on his way to meet Elena when he realized that 1) Ana might sleep with Carter that night and 2) he actually DID NOT WANT Elena sexually at that point. AND the last time he had “been” with Elena, he could only complete it by thinking of Ana.

      Christian basically didn’t know what he wanted. Even when he first kissed Ana, he wanted her, but he felt guilty over the whole Elena thing. And Christian didn’t know WHAT to make of his own feelings. AFTER ALL, we NOW know just what kind of hold Elena had over him AND how hard it was for him to break.

      Christian may need to talk with Ana about everything, including when he realized that he actually LOVED Ana. He has never told her about realizing how he wanted a REAL relationship with Ana, and once he realized he truly loved her, there was no one else.

      So when everything calms down, I do think Christian needs to talk it through with Ana. Reading those Outtakes show that once he met Ana, she had a hold over him that he fought to break, WITHOUT success, before realizing that he did not want to fight his attraction to Ana, because he LOVED HER. And THAT is something that Elena NEVER HAD. ONLY ANA ever had his LOVE!

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  13. OMG I don’t think I ever want this story to end. You are such a gifted writer. I never looked forward to mondays before until now, it’s my favorite day of the week now. THANK YOU FOR YOUR STORIES. I’ve been hooked from the first one. Your my best friend in my head.

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  14. Lmaooo I no how Ana feel because I hated reading that outta take when Christian had phone sex with Elena right before coming to the party to meet her, I actually hated any scene with them having sex 😒 I’m thinking it’s more then 1 person who hates Christian in on it. I think it’s like a bunch of ppl who Christian crossed at 1 point all teaming up putting they power together to destroy him🙌🏽

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    1. I really don’t want to think about it….but maybe he could be Andrew and Carla’s son
      After all we all know Carla could obviously cheat anyways

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      1. CARLA’S ACTIONS seem to indicate that she DOES know something that she is NOT telling Ana. Which leads me to think that Stephen Morton COULD be involved somehow. Maybe I am grasping at straws, but I DO believe Carla so quickly went against the Grey family due to some “incentive” by Mr. Conspiracy Head.

        (And Tara said in the comments last chapter that Carla is not gone for good. That does NOT mean that Carla is involved in the conspiracy, but for Carla to come back around after what she has done, Ana either forgives her OR Carla has information to provide that CANNOT be gotten any other way. But you just have to love the way Tara phrased it—Carla could ALSO end up back under the radar if Mr. Conspiracy Head TRIES or succeeds in kidnapping HER. Which considering Carla supposedly REFUSED security, she is ALL ISOLATED in Georgia, which would be an almost EASY kidnapping while Bob was at work.)

        So any way you look at it, Carla WILL factor back into the story, in my opinion. After all, if Mr. Conspiracy Head can’t get at Ana ONE WAY, then he will choose another. And NO MATTER WHAT Carla has done in the past, Ana WOULD want to save her if she was kidnapped.

        But with the type of past Carla seemingly has had, ANYTHING is possible!

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    2. But the hurt is still new….I don’t think ana right now would fall for the fact that Carla is under any danger…

      She may consider Carla’s involvement in all this

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  18. Esto se pone cada vez más intrigante.
    Quien odiara tanto a Christian, y con tanto poder.
    Me encantó que no cediera ante Elena.
    Ahora siento a Christian más fuerte y decidido

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  19. I want to know where CARLA fits into all of this. She was ADAMANT all of a sudden about getting Ana AND Calliope away from Christian. Has she been contacted by Mr. Conspiracy Head? AFTER ALL, Elena has said that Mr. Conspiracy Head will go after ANYONE that is important to them.

    I LOVE Christian’s PLAN. He wants ANYONE that has come into contact with either of them to be looked into. SOMEONE should be able to see if GIA is still alive and out there OR if she just seemingly has disappeared. Another reviewer has already pointed out that Elena KNEW the baby’s name was Calliope. THAT was only ANNOUNCED AT CHRISTIAN’S and ANA’S HOUSE with immediate FAMILY (and Gia and Kate).

    We KNOW Kate would never knowingly help the Conspiracy, but we DON’T know (yet) if Mr. Conspiracy Head had someone go into KATE’S devices while the house was abandoned during the storm. There are SO MANY possibilities for HOW Mr. Conspiracy Head is getting intel!!!

    Also, we DON’T yet know in Tara World IF Taylor has a DAUGHTER. IF he does, then Mr. Conspiracy Head COULD have threatened his little girl. STILL, I don’t think Taylor would sell Christian out without giving SOME kind of indication that he was being forced into his actions. BUT SOMEONE from security SEEMS to be compromised. So either listening devices have been installed by SOMEONE, OR a security team member has been compromised.

    BUT CHRISTIAN’S PLAN should have EVERYONE looked into, from Bob to Carla to Gia to Carter, etc. AND we KNOW that Mr. Conspiracy Head HAS to have some kind of tie to ELENA.

    Elena HAS to know at this point that she is not long for this world since she offered to give Christian the NAME of Mr. Conspiracy Head. Elena is ALL about revenge, though, and you would think that she would want to leave SOME kind of proof about who ordered her killed. So Elena MAY reach out one more time OR leave some telling indicator of just WHO it is.

    Just WOW.

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  20. What a great chapter. I felt so bad for Ana having to read what Elena wrote about her time with Christian. But you know what they say about karma. I feel like Elena’s days are numbered. Looking forward to next Monday.

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  21. Right now, though, Christian and Ana have to make it HOME first. Mr. Conspiracy Head WILL be alerted by a guard that Christian came to visit Elena. And during the time that Christian and Ana were in with Elena, Mr. Conspiracy Head may have had people put into place to INTERCEPT Christian and Ana BEFORE they reach Escala.

    OR there is the possibility of the unthinkable—while Christian is away, Mr. Conspiracy Head breaks into Escala to kidnap CALLIOPE.

    There are ANY number of ways this could go now. But we now KNOW that Mr. Conspiracy Head HAS had contact with Elena AND knows ALL Christian’s weak points.

    But what may be REALLY IMPORTANT to come out of this chapter is the fact that ALL the Greys were made aware of the BOOK. So they will all most likely be at Escala, assuming Ana and Christian make it home okay. Christian WILL discuss with them about Elena’s CONVERSATION and who all MAY be after them. I’M HOPING THAT MIA will then THINK to TELL CHRISTIAN about ANY CLIENT NAMES that she remembers from Elena’s bar. BECAUSE I BELIEVE ELENA’S CLIENT LIST IS THE KEY TO ALL OF THIS.

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  22. Okay, SCARY THOUGHT here.

    CHRISTIAN just came to see Elena. OBVIOUSLY, he didn’t tell the guards WHY he was there to see Elena, BUT IF ELENA TURNS UP DEAD thereafter, then CHRISTIAN would be the likely SUSPECT. After all, the BOOK that Elena was writing could implicate Christian AND SEND HIM TO JAIL for perjury, taking a bribe, etc.

    So CHRISTIAN would have reason to want Elena dead AND would be the person the police would look to regarding her death. AND we KNOW that the BOOK IS STILL OUT THERE with Mr. Conspiracy Head. So there is REASON to either PUBLISH the book now OR give it to police, where it would get “leaked” to the public to SHOW that Christian had her murdered to prevent the release of the book.

    ANY way you look at it, depending on HOW Elena turns up dead, Christian should be investigated. He would have MOTIVE for wanting her dead, and the GUARD can testify that Elena was “cowering” before Christian, and that he yelled at her and was obvioulsy aggitated with her, then she gets “murdered.”

    So Mr. Conspiracy Head may have ANTICIPATED Christian and Ana’s actions of coming to the prison. AND if the police arrest either one of them OR demand that they come to the police station for questioning, then they get SEPARATED in interrogation, and we all KNOW that some of the officers have been bribed by Mr. Conspiracy Head.

    So I think Elena has inadvertantly triggered a possible plan of Mr. Conspiracy Head’s. AFTER ALL, ELENA ADMITTED THAT it was HIM that made her write the book. So he had a PLAN for that book.

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  23. ALL IN ALL, this was an uncomfortable but obviously NECESSARY chapter. We now KNOW that the plan to attack Christian LOOKS so much like a plan of Elena’s because it WAS. She HELPED Mr. Conspriracy Head because he played on her need for revenge. But Elena’s HELPING Mr. Conspiracy Head will get her KILLED, I am convinced (and good riddance to REALLY BAD rubbish, I sadly say). ELENA was played, and it WILL cost her.

    BUT Elena’s confessions to Christian ALSO means that Mr. Conspiracy Head HAD CONTACT WITH ELENA AFTER SHE WAS IN JAIL. So unless the Visitor’s Log was forged, there SHOULD be SOME record of who all came into contact wtih Elena.

    BUT CHRISTIAN SHOULD TRY TO FIND ISAAC, Elena’s former submissive. IF Isaac is not already dead, then he would KNOW Elena’s client list, which should be is instrumental to this. Someone KNEW that Elena would be a good ally to have against Christian. AND knew how to “appeal” to Elena OR force her to do his bidding. (Which Elena wouldn’t do without SUBSTANTIAL threat, once she had to realize the risk to HERSELF.)

    But if MIA will just speak up, then Christian will know to watch that financial advisor of his. But Christian suspects anyone and everyone, and his investigation should AT LEAST reveal who ELSE is also NOW DEAD, as Elena hinted at MANY others being killed by Mr. Conspiracy Head.

    (And someone should investigate on Carter’s whereabouts AND Carla’s whereabouts, as well as Gia’s. Even if these people wouldn’t WILLINGLY help Mr. Conspiracy Head, they could still be “persuaded” to help Mr. Conspiracy Head by means of isolation and torture.)

    But I’m rather sure that Gia is already dead. I think the missing chair is the key, since it had blood on it and had to be removed in order to avoid suspicion. No one would suspect a “moving company” bringing out boxes (that would contain Gia’s corpse) and a chair and other furniture belonging to Gia. But Gia “simply disappearing” and resigning from her employment as well as having her desk completely cleaned off (maybe because Mr. Conspiracy Head wanted to make sure there was no DNA evidence to identify Gia’s corpse once found) is just TOO convenient. But HOPEFULLY, finding that there is NO evidence of Gia being alive will at least give them some clues.

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  24. What a great chapter, (all the story is). It doesn’t say anything about leaving the phones outside, so I’m guessing that they took them inside the meeting area, I just hope that this time Sawyer recorded the whole meeting with Elena. I think it would help them and Carrick, hearing everything said again. Loved it when Christian said that he’s playing offense now. GO GET THEM CHRISTIAN!! Let’s star scoring many goals and make them pay. Push’em back, push’em back, waaay back!! ( Sorry, my son used to play Pee Wee football).
    I guess that those guards are definitely in the bad guy’s payroll. I also think that Elena’s days are numbered after that conversation, HE already got what he wanted from Elena and now doesn’t have any other purpose for her. I have one question, if Elena dies could the bad guy publish her book without her consent or whatever. At this moment I really don’t know who, why or anything else, is doing this because I’m thinking that at the end it would be the least expected person. Thank you Tara.

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    1. MR. Conspiracy Head undoubtedly had Elena “sign” a contract granting him the rights to the book AND the right to publish it. Like Christian said, Elena would NOT publish the book if it was up to her. THEREFORE, Mr. Conspiracy Head has NOT left it up to Elena.

      Mr. Head Prison Guard was REALLY happy to see Christian make contact with Elena. After all, when ELENA now turns up dead, CHRISTIAN and/or Ana could be implicated, being the last ones to see her. IN FACT, that was probably what Mr. Conspiracy Head was waiting for. He KNEW Elena would try to do this when she realized that she had NOTHING left to give HIM. Like Leila, she realized HER fate too late.

      Like you, there is seemingly someone that NO ONE would expect that is behind this. There has to be MORE backstory to WHY the man hates Christian so much that we don’t YET know. And DETROIT may be the answer.

      I even wondered at some point if FLYNN could somehow be behind this. He HELPED Christian move forward AND even repair his relationship with Ana ONLY to be a Hannibal Lecter-type that wanted to destroy what he helped create. ALL because he loved manipulating people. But I just CAN’T see that being the case. Maybe because I WANT the bad guy to be hopelessly bad from the get-go, NOT someone posing has a person that is paid to HELP PEOPLE.

      But there has to be MORE behind HIS motivation to go after Christian. Elena seemingly discounted Andrew Lincoln, so that APPEARS to be a dead end. I JUST wish we knew IF we has encountered HIM previously in the three books OR if it is someone ELSE from Christian’s past (such as his mother’s pimp, a foster parent or foster sibling, etc.). We know LITTLE about Christian’s past, at least at this point.

      I also wish Elena had let us know just WHEN she first got to know Mr. Conspiracy Head. That would have given us SO MUCH more. But NOW, it seems NOT to be a potential GEH employee, since ELENA had to give HIM all the information about who and WHEN to attack. So it STILL all comes back to ELENA’S bar or Detroit for me.

      BUT IF CHRISTIAN RECORDED his conversation with Elena, it does NOT necessarily help him. Christian seemingly THREATENS ELENA in that conversation. So it actually just makes him a potential SUSPECT, which might be why the Head Guard was looking at Christian the way he was. NOW Mr. Conspiracy Head seemingly has someone ELSE to BLAME when Elena turns up dead, if it looks like murder. He may just hang her in her cell, making it LOOK like she killed herself. BUT the OTHER POSSIBILITY is to make Elena seemingly get murdered directly AFTER a visit from Christian and Ana, which would NOT make them look good, ESPECIALLY IF THE BOOK then comes out AFTER.

      So Mr. Conspiracy Head may have a plan after all regarding Elena’s contact with Christian. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES for where this goes next!! But yeah, Elena is as good as dead, in my opinion. No further use for her now, AND it keeps her quiet as to WHO it is.

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  25. We KNOW that Mr. Conspiracy Head EXPECTED ANA to KNOW HIM by his appearance, if not his voice. That almost certainly limits HIS IDENTITY to someone that she WORKED with OR had gone to school with him.

    Carter was graduating at the same time as Ana and Kate. So I DON’T think it was Carter. HOWEVER, Carter seemingly went back to Geogia, and Kate hasn’t had any further contact from him. Like Gia, Carter may be found to have “fallen off the radar.” Carter WAS one of the people that DID know CALLIOPE’S NAME. So he may be dead now.

    We NEVER found out how Astor knew Elena originally. BUT I can’t see ASTOR having that much power. But he was CONSUMED by GETTING WHAT WAS CHRISTIAN’S. He seemed to want money, so he MIGHT have been like Christian, needing money to start his OWN company, which Christian defeated by finding out his connection with Elena.

    I somehow can’t rule Astor out now. He was the ONLY one that EVER gave Christian competition at Harvard. He had an obsessive need to target Christian. THAT part of Mr. Conspiracy Head FITS with Astor’s character.

    Still, if Astor had that much POWER, then he WOULD have a company of his own by now. He ALSO would have had as much influence in the community of Harvard, having been there for AT LEAST six or seven years. And we don’t KNOW what his SEATTLE ties would be.

    HYDE still has PUBLISHING ties and clearly seemed unbalanced at the GEH party. AND he approached Ana there. He would be the one most likely to come up with the idea of Elena publishing a BOOK, since he would have the means to publish it.

    The WAY Elena spoke of Andrew Lincoln showed that she still hated him, but she seemingly was NOT afraid of him. So that tends to DISCOUNT the possibility of him being the Conspiracy Head. BUT ELENA DID tell us that Andrew MIGHT have children out there, AND A ILLEGITIMATE CHILD OF ANDREW’S WOULD BLAME CHRISTIAN FOR TAKING THE LINCOLN LEGACY away from him as well.

    And a son of Andrew’s would NOT necessarily have Andrew’s last name—he would have his MOTHER’S LAST NAME or her MAIDEN name if she was now married. And HE could have gotten employment at GEH in order to personally view Christian’s employees and learn where possible SOFT SPOTS might be.

    Still, I can’t imagine Elena helping a son of Andrew’s. HOWEVER, revenge was ENOUGH to get her involved, JUST as it was for Leila.

    OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS A BACKSTORY FOR MR. CONSPIRACY HEAD THAT WE DON’T KNOW YET. Until we learn his REAL motivation, we may be unable to guess just WHO he is. BUT HE IS HIGHLY INTELLIGENT and OBVIOUSLY able to compete with Christian. Of the people that we KNOW have intelligence AND also know or have worked wtih Ana, that basically leaves Hyde and Astor. Carter couldn’t even get into Harvard Law the way Astor did, so I tend to rule-out Carter.

    But Carla is out there in Georgia, and she is EASILY able to be reached by the COnspiracy Head. And no matter WHERE there relationship is NOW, Ana would NEVER want her mother dead. SO ANA REALLY NEEDS TO OPEN those letters from Carla, because if Carla wasn’t contacted before, she WILL be now. BUT I tend to think Carla WAS given THE BOOK about Christian, and THAT was why she turned against him so entirely. OR she was told by Mr. Conspiracy Head that if Ana and/or Calliope got AWAY from CHristian, then they WOULD NOT BE targeted. Which was WHY she was seemingly so adamant about separating them. (After all, Mr. Conspiracy Head would have been HAPPY to have Ana come away with Carla and be THAT MUCH EASIER to apprehend on her OWN. AND Carla used “Elena” as the reason to tell Ray that Ana needed to be kept away. So it possibly FITS that Carla WAS contacted or approached by Mr. COnspiracy Head in some way.)

    I DON’T see a security team member being the HEAD of the COnspiracy, since WHY would HE call ANa at the graduation? That would make no sense. I’m trying to think of anyone ELSE that would have access to ANA, but we KNOW that the person HAS to have substantial SEATTLE TIES. That generally almost HAS to mean SOMEONE AT GEH.

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  26. IF Mr. Conspiracy Head WERE to be the man that tried to attack MIA at Elena’s club (because EVEN THEN, Elena was SCARED of not complying with the requests of THAT MAN), then that man would have REASON to also put someone in Mia’s life that could compromise or even kidnap her. So that boyfriend of hers should ALSO be investigated, in case someone put him in Mia’s life for a REASON.

    I’m also wondering if ANYONE has threatened Mia. It could have been that someone TEXTED her while she was at the table with the family, and THAT was why she got scared. But there is still some CONNECTION to Mia, in my opinion, that would be a possibility, since MIA would have come into contact wtih ALL of Elena’s clients, at one point or another, since she was “hostess” for Elena AND brought the new clients to Elena’s office.

    They REALLY need to talk to Mia about that club!!! Hopefully, Mia herself will think of this.

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  27. Stephen Morton also cannot completely be ruled out, since Elena ADMITS that the man bent on destroying Christian wants to do terrible things to Ana that even ELENA thinks are too awful. AND Stephen Morton seemingly WAS a person that wanted to threaten and dominate Ana, even from the little we know here. AND if Stephen HAD made ANY kind of contact with Carla, then it could EXPLAIN Carla’s contact, since she would think she could get Stephen away from Ana IF she seemingly got her isolated away from Christian, something Mr. Conspiracy Head CLEARLY wanted to do, but ELENA TOLD HIM WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

    But I still say Elena’s bar/club is the key. EVERYONE she came into contact wtih came through there. And she WAS afraid of that “client” back in the day, enough to even offer MIA to him on a silver platter, WHICH ONLY ANA PREVENTED. Which would explain WHY he wants to get ANA so much!

    So Christian needs to find Isaac, the only other one who would seemingly know EVERYTHING. And Christian NEEDS to talk to Mia and get anything that she remembers. And that needs to be done pronto.

    But that HEAD PRISON GUARD’s reaction that Ana noted is PARTICULARLY disturbing. OBVIOUSLY, the guy is HAPPY about Christian’s visit AND ANTICIPATED this happening, at least in my opinion. So there is a REASON for wanting them there at the prison at that very time. After all, Mr. Conspiracy Head had left Elena ALIVE for the time being, obviously because he still had “use” for her. NOW, however, her use is CLEARLY at an END, AND she has reached out to Christian. So Elena is as good as dead now, and that prison guard will make SURE of that. Elena tried to manipulate the WRONG people.

    But you SEE in this chapter why the book is entitled a STRONGER Shade of Fifty—Christian is not cowering anymore, AND he can see through Elena’s manipulations and even react accordingly. For the FIRST TIME, ELENA COWERED at Christian, realizing that her last ace up her sleave was discovered and couldn’t help her any. And she is OUT of time, having TURNED on Mr. Conspiracy Head by offering HIS name up for money. Stupid, Elena. NOW she has NO ALLIES LEFT who can help her. She has given EVERYTHING to Mr. COnspiracy Head, leaving NOTHING to keep her alive for. Ha, ha Elena. She will truly reap what SHE has sown!

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  28. WOW THIS WAS A FANTASTIC CHAPTER! THAT LOUSY BITCH ELENA, I HOPE SHE DOES GET KILLED! I CAN’T IMAGINE WHO THE HEAD GUY IS BUT COULD IT BE LINC? COULD CARTER POSSIBLY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT? I DON’T THINK CARTER HAS ANY POWER TO HURT CHRISTIAN OR ELENA. I NEVER THOUGHT OF LINC SCREWING AROUND WITH ANOTHER WOMAN WHEN HE HAD THE SHE-WOLF AROUND BODY BEAUTIFUL AND SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN- I’M SICK NOW.ELENA! UUUKKKK I’M SICK NOW! I REALLY HOPE THEY FIND OUT WHO IT IS BEFOR THEY RUIN CHRISTIANS BUSINESS AND HIM AND ANA. AND OF COURSE HE LITTLE PRINCESS. THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING CHAPTER! YOU ARE A MARVELOUS WRITER!

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  29. The Head Prison Guard that directed all the other guards can also not be ruled out as Mr. Conspiracy Head. After all, SOMEONE has had CONSTANT contact with Elena AND would KNOW that the prison Visitors’ Log would likely be checked. A PRISON GUARD doesn’t NEED to sign in as a Visitor, since HE can just meet with her anytime that he wanted to in the prison.

    After all, Elena spent A LONG TIME going over how AND when to go after Welch and Ros and ANYONE ELSE that could be bribed within GEH. That tends to show that Mr. Conspiracy Head had READY and CONSTANT CONTACT with Elena. So that prison guard is either IN on it OR he is behind it.

    SOMEONE hates Christian more than life itself. Someone has a real PAST with Christian that has caused him to focus unceasingly on Christian and nothing else. Elena SHOULD have just come clean to Christian, because it was ALWAYS only a matter of time before Mr. Conspiracy Head got rid of her as well.

    I’m just wondering if this is someone we have KNOWINGLY encountered before, OR IF DETROIT is the backdrop for whatever is happening now. Only new chapters will give us further clues.

    Sigh. Is it Monday yet? Well, yeah, it is. I meant to say IS IT NEXT MONDAY YET??? Now REALLY wanting to lobby Congress for multiple Mondays a week, and I NEVER thought I would say that about the beginning of the work week!!!

    As always, Tara gives us information while leaving even MORE tantalizing questions dangling unanswered and seemingly out of our reach, at least for now. We NOW know about the locket and why Christian increased security.

    But I like that Christian is not cowering in fear. Seeing that Elena HELPED the guy willingly AND that the guy is gunning for Anastasia is what Christian needs to fuel him. Elena WON’T publish the book IF it is up to her. So everything remains in the hands of Mr. Conspiracy Head for now. LIKE LEILA, Elena indicated that the “leaks” are CLOSE to him, and that he has NO IDEA OF JUST HOW CLOSE those helping Mr. Conspiracy Head ARE. (Personally, I take that to mean people like Gia, maybe Carter, or Mia’s friends. And Christian hopefully CAN get more info from the background checks in order to at least eliminate some guesses and narrow in on others.)

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  30. I half expect the first piece of news we receive next chapter is that Elena died overnight. I reckon that guard’s going to kill her.

    Scary stuff right now. *frets*

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    1. AND that assumes that Christian and Ana make it home okay. After all, I think Mr. Conspiracy Head would ANTICIPATE that Christian and Ana would figure out that Elena HAD to be involved in some way and make contact sooner or later. So I think HE may have PLANNED for this—why ELSE would Mr. Head Prison Guard look the way he did.

      So I can’t rule out an AMBUSH on the way back to Escala. Still, everyone KNEW where Christian and Ana were going, so hopefully that WON’T happen. BUT THAT MEANS that Mr. Prison Guard was so happy because another part of the PLAN would fall into place—have CHRISTIAN blamed for Elena’s “murder” that would occur SHORTLY after he and Ana left the prison.

      But yeah, Elena is not long for this world. In fact, Elena might choose to even end her OWN life before letting Mr. Conspiracy Head get to her, because she HAS to know that her death is SURE to be gruesome since she offered to help Christian.

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  31. what a great chapter. oh my I can’t wait for Monday. so much going on my head. I hope Christian has enough time to find out who is behind all the craziness. when they record the call on Ana’s didn’t they recognize the voice? oh elena your next in grave. the prison guard might report everything n the conspiracy head will know that Christian n Ana are on their way back home. is there gonna be an ambush on the way n meet the guy face to face? or is he on his way to calliope. I hope all the greys are there waiting for Ana n Christian and that little calliope is fine. OMG Tara I love you and how I wish to fast forward the days so tomorrow will be Monday. thank you so much for sharing these brilliant story to us.

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    1. And THAT is my other fear—that KNOWING where Christian and Ana are means that Mr. Conspiracy Head chooses NOW to get into ESCALA to get Calliope. After all, CARTER knew the access codes from when he and Kate were last there, AND as far as we know, the codes HAVE NOT been changed since then!

      And with no one making contact with Carter since graduation, he could have EASILY been kidnapped, since WE KNOW Mr. Conspiracy Head WAS in Cambridge at that time. NO ONE worried about Carter due to everything going on with ANA at the time. AFTER ALL, ELENA SAID THAT OTHERS HAVE BEEN KILLED that Christian knows NOTHING about yet. I’m thinking that means GIA is probably dead as well. And CARLA would be an easy one to get to next, since she refused Christian’s security.

      But I think Mr. Conspiracy Head KNEW Christian would come to the prison. And since I am SURE those guards alerted him as soon as Christian and Ana were there, if there WERE a plan in place, then it is either AMBUSHING Christian and Ana on their way home OR breaking into Escala.

      (Uuummm, we KNOW that Christian installed a PANIC ROOM in Escala in the original books, but did he do the same in Tara-World? THAT would be the saving grace if security was able to fight off Mr. Conspiracy Head’s goons for long enough for the Grey family AND Calliope to get into the Panic Room. AFTER ALL, IF THE CONSPIRACY DOES ATTACK ESCALA, then RAY is still there protecting Calliope, and they would HAVE to take RAY down in order to get to her, something Ray is trained to PREVENT, based on his recent military service. AND THAT is something Mr. Conspiracy Head may NOT have prepared for!)

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  32. OMG! That was intense! I was nervous for them as they faced Elena again. The prison guard was creepy as hell and I would want a background check on him as well. Elena said that “He” is close to Christian’s inner circle. Maybe the background checks will help narrow this down because everyone is now suspect. I really can’t imagine what Christian did to this guy to want revenge in this capacity! This definitely keeping me on my toes. Excellent chapter!

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  34. It is a very intense chapter, Christian deciphered all what Elena wanted. She only wants out of prison and away to hide because she is afraid she is going to die next after the Conspiracy head had already used her just like Leila. She helped the man to easily get to Christian, then write a book which the man also has a copy so all that prison visit was useless for Christian and Ana for she did not even give the name. Of course prison guards are all part of the set up by now. All they need is money to bribe them. Whoever is the head is someone that Christian knows, dealt with in business or someone who just hates him.
    This is the time that Christian needs to exercise more power in digging to uncover the man.There is no time to be soft, layback and wait for something to happen. This is the time to be proactive, use all the resources he has and deal with it. This is the stronger Christian we want to get to work and solve the problem. Thank you, Tara.

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  35. Omg, I’m a nervous wreck!!! I was hoping that Elena would blurt out the name, but she is terrified by this man. What’s up with that guard and his bad attitude? Constipation? Ugh, he is probably in on it and has been bribed by the conspirator since the conspirator is most likely visiting Elena. I’m gonna to be thinking about this all week! This story keeps getting better and better! Thanks for the update.

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    1. Elena went straight to jail following the second trial. So Mr. Conspiracy Head HAD to make contact wtih her IN PRISON. That was where HE ordered her to write the book. And it sounds like they spent A LOT of time together. And I just can’t see HIM being threatening if it was JUST phone contact. So SOMEONE got the intel from Elena IN PRISON. So Christian NEEDS to hunt that down, BUT WITH THE GUARDS UNDOUBTEDLY IN ON IT, the prison log would be ALTERED.

      So Christian needs Taylor, Welch and LUKE to use their HACKING skills to get into those prison security feeds, but that will take TIME AND WORK to go through all the data. But SOMEONE will be in there that AT LEAST ANA KNOWS, because Mr. Conspiracy Head EXPECTED Ana to know him by VOICE AND APPEARANCE.

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  36. I hate that vile woman. She is honestly so disgusting and I seriously wish someone would kill her in prison! She is disgusting and evil and I honestly can’t believe that she would be involved in this plot. Actually, I can’t believe it, but I can’t believe that she doesn’t even have one shred of humanity in her to reveal who is after Christian (and everyone he loves). She is so absolutely disgusting and vile.
    I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed in Ana in this chapter…
    While I completely understand that it would be really goddamn hard to read about your fiancée with another woman, particularly someone as vile and disgusting as this Bitch, I was kind of disappointed in her for taking it out on Christian. From the way she was talking, it kind of seemed like she thought that Elena was someone he loved and who was someone who was (still) really important to him–and that Elena was someone he actively wanted to be around. But this is the woman that he absolutely hates. His relationship with her was horrifying and he wants nothing to do with her. It just didn’t seem fair to Christian. Especially when Ana was going back through their own relationship and doubting the fact that Ana has always been special to him. She has always held his heart (even when he was being the biggest freaking idiot in the world), she was always his number one–he would die for her. She had also said that thing about him “unintentionally betraying” her. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, and I wasn’t sure how she could ever think that. He loves Ana and their daughter more than anything, and I know that it would’ve been absolutely horrific and awful to have read that, but her reaction kind of it just broke my heart more for Christian. No one wants their past and all their mistakes constantly being thrown back in their face (not that Ana constantly does that at all), but it just made me really freaking sad for Christian.
    Overall, I thought this was an amazing chapter, but it did leave me rather unsettled. Loved it though lol! Definitely would love some more Calliope! She’s just so freaking adorable!!!
    I hope you are doing well and I can’t wait until next Monday!! 🙂
    (I hope I haven’t said anything that was offensive! I am absolutely a huge freaking fan!!!)

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    1. You didn’t at all, haha. I think Ana would agree with you, her feelings aren’t fair to Christian, she just can’t NOT feel them. She just needs sometime to process, but patience has never been Christian’s strong suit. Lol

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      1. Ahahaha true! Christian is not exactly known for his patience! 🙂
        Can’t wait for more next week!!!

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      2. AND I think Christian also needs to TALK to Ana about that time in his life. AFTER ALL, WE KNOW from the Outtake about exactly WHEN Christian figured out that he absolutely LOVED Ana. And the images in front of his mind in the therapist’s office were NOT just sexual in nature—he saw himself having that CLOSE bond with Ana and having her with him for ALL of their milestones as well as simple things like dates to pick apples!

        Christian has never DISCLOSED that whole process he went through TO ANA–just to US through the Outtakes. When you look over things Christian has SAID to Ana, he often DOES tell her that he loves “her body” even though we all KNOW that it is SO MUCH MORE than that.

        ELENA’s OWN book concludes that Christian was only with Ana because she had to be better to him sexually than Elena. And by Christian’s seemingly AGREEING with this, Ana has REASON to feel insecure when it was the WHOLE PACKAGE that made Ana appealing to Christian in the first place. YES, he found her attractive, but he LOVED that she was someone that COULD outthink him in class and was as kind and attentive to her friends as she was. Ana was MORE to him.

        So Ana just needs to HEAR what we all KNOW—that it was HER very kind and loving nature that drew Christian to her, NOT just her body, since even Elena AND Elliot assumed this much.

        But Christian won’t leave Ana with ANY doubt of his feelings. After all, he refused Elena for TWO YEARS while seemingly having no obvious hope of getting back together with Ana. Christian KNOWS that communication IS the key, so he WILL insist on clearing the air with Ana. (And yes, I think Christian may even be a little hurt that Ana doubts him. But he will understand why she feels the way she does after they TALK.)

        (AND we should ALL remember that Ana JUST had a BABY!!! We KNOW Ana ALREADY felt insecure due to her pregnancy weight gain, so this is the WORST time for her to remember how OUTWARDLY beautiful Elena was. But THAT was ALL their was to Elena–a beautiful body. ANA had the beautiful mind and heart to boot. And THAT is all Christian will need to point out!)

        But I’m ABSOLUTELY SURE that Tara has a wonderfully LOVELY way for Christian to prove his love to Ana. And we ALL will LOVE that scene, especially given all the ickiness that came across in this chapter!

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  37. Can I just say the fact that Ana hasn’t figured out this is Jack Hyde yet is extremely frustrating! She’s a smart woman she should remember his voice and now this book mysteriously turns up? How many men involved in publishing does she know who could have a Vendetta against her and Christian!?

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    1. I can see your point but why would she think Hyde (someone in publishing and assumably not rich) would have this much power and influence over people. Also, as far as she knows, Jack Hyde was upset because he didn’t get the promotion he expected. You would think that with the level of violence and determination to get revenge on Christian it would be from someone who had more against him then just not getting promoted. Though, obviously this person is insane so maybe for an insane person that is enough but I don’t see how he could influence so many people. I definitely can see him being part of The Conspiracy though if he’s not the instigator. And maybe he is ….🤔 ☠️ Shudder !!!!

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      1. I see Hyde as a real possibility IF he was a client of Elena’s through that bar. She would have had to have SOME reason for thinking she COULD trust him. So that implies that she had material of him with the girls at the club or something like that. After all, Elena thinks she DOES have something that Christian could use to take HIM down, but with no one to go after the blackmail material, then she has NOTHING.

        But Hyde seemingly does NOT have the money to pull this off. Only IF he were blackmailing people would he get the money and power to potentially do this. But then, WHY would he still need the job?

        So yeah, Hyde doesn’t make much sense, AT LEAST FROM WHAT WE KNOW NOW. But Mr. Conspiracy Head feels Ana SHOULD remember him. AND I would have thought Ana WOULD have recognized Hyde at graduation, IF it was him.

        But that doesn’t mean Hyde isn’t still INVOLVED, if not the Head. AFTER ALL, Elena gave Mr. Conspiracy Head MULTIPLE names of GEH people he could use, and I would think Hyde would READILY sign up.

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  38. Whoa. Shit just got real. 😲😲😲
    So much good stuff!!! Thank you, Tara.

    And I hope it’s a red herring but I too can’t help but think somehow Taylor or Luke are involved. God, that would suck.

    Can’t wait for next week!!

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    1. I can’t see Taylor going against Christian UNLESS his daughter or Mrs. Jones was threatened, and I don’t think we have received that version of history in Tara-World (meaning, I don’t think we have EVER had any backstory for Taylor. There hasn’t been any discussions regarding his family ties OR relationship-status to my knowledge.).

      Taylor is a former military man and seemingly prides himself on his job. And Luke acutally COULD have actually tried a relationship with Ana back when she was desperate to get over Christian. So I CAN’T see Luke doing anything that would cause Ana to be brutally tortured and killed. AFTER ALL, he saved Christian and Ana from Elena. AND Mr. Conspiracy Head has been working WITH Elena, not against her.

      And I believe Leila mentioned that the NEXT goal of Mr. Conspiracy Head was to go after Taylor IF his stuff with Ros and Welch hadn’t been discovered first.

      There HAVE seemingly been some security lapses, but when you think about just HOW many threat possibilities that Taylor has potentially had to handle AND the fact that Mr. Conspiracy Head has been SMART OVERALL in WHO he has chosen as allies, then it is no wonder that Taylor is spread too thin. Which has made HIRING new security agents a MUST, even though they aren’t people he has worked with before. (Which MAY explain possible security leaks.)

      I think Taylor has suspected people like Gia, but he has had NO definitive proof YET. AND Taylor had to deal with active push-back from Elliot, so Taylor’s job has certainly NOT been easy. PLUS, he has basically had to work on securing TWO different locations across the country.

      So I don’t think Taylor OR Luke is KNOWINGLY involved—however, you never know about security hacks, quite frankly, that could have taken place while Taylor was so hard-pressed with accusations against Welch, Ros and others.

      BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT that I am like you—LEILA AND ELENA have said that Christian has NO IDEA how CLOSE to his Inner Circle that this goes. And Christian has so FEW people in that Inner Circle. So WHO could they possibly mean?????? And is this person working wtih Mr. Conspiracy Head WILLINGLY???

      Like Christian, MIA has made some BAD decisions, especially in regards to Elena. And that contact she had with Elena could POSSIBLY be another reason that Mr. Conspiracy Head came up against Ana and Christian, all without their knowing it.

      SO MANY POSSIBILITIES still out there!!!! NO WONDER Taylor and Luke’s jobs are so hard and potentially lethal!

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  39. Great chapter. I’m glad he caved and they both went and presented a united front. Something is definitely weird with the one guard. Can’t wait to see where you take us. Thank you.

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  40. Both Chapters 36 and 37 are great, Tara. I can’t wait for the next one!

    But WHY doesn’t someone ASK Mia about Elena’s clients at the bar. I would think Ana would remember how much that one man wanted to rape Mia, and I think that was because he wanted to attack Christian through Mia. Is it Stephen Morton, who likely intended to rape Ana if she hadn’t run off to Ray? I assume he had money, which is probably why Carla left Ray for him. So if he had money then, he’s probably richer now and could support the expenses involved in this conspiracy.

    Does Christian have a half-brother who is jealous of his good fortune? Carrick really should go back to Detroit and see what happened to the pimp. Did Christian’s mother have another child before him that she gave up for adoption? What was his mother’s name? Who were her parents?

    SO many questions keep swirling in my brain. Can’t wait to see what plot twist you toss in next week!

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    1. Yeah, I have wondered why no one has asked Mia questions about the client list before now. HOWEVER, prior to THIS CHAPTER, Christian had no confirmation that Elena was involved. NOW, however, Christian KNOWS about Elena’s involvement. His mind will NATURALLY GO TO WHO ELENA has worked with in the past, INCLUDING her girls AND other employees AND THAT CLIENT LIST.

      And SOMEONE should find Isaac PRONTO!! He was arguably CLOSEST to Elena since he was with her at the bar as well as at the sex store that Ana saw them at. ISAAC would know everything.

      But Mia should be NUMERO UNO on Christian’s interview list for information about those in contact with Elena. THAT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT WORRIED ME ABOUT CHRISTIAN’S PLAN—he only wanted to look into contacts within the last 16 months. While that SHOULD give somewhere to start, he NEEDS to go back to the trial-time and WHO was involved with Elena THEN.

      But once it is CONFIRMED to the Grey family that Elena was in on everything, then I think Mia WILL come forth with client information. SO MUCH is going on that I hope Mia will be INSISTENT on bringing any info she knows to the attention of Ana and Christian.

      Quite frankly, I have been wondering what Mr. Conspiracy Head was waiting for. AND I wonder if anyone has checked Christian and Ana’s HOUSE yet. I could see Mr. Conspiracy Head dumping some bodies there to freak them all out AND show them how easy it STILL is to reach them.

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  41. “But the memories that hang heaviest are the easiest to recall. They hold in their creases the ability to change one’s life, organically, forever. Even when you shake them out, they’ve left permanent wrinkles in the fabric of your soul.”
    ― Julie Gregory
    “Pain is pain. You have a right to feel it.”
    ― Barbara Delinsky
    “It is dangerous to exist in the world. To exist is to be threatened. We must live with threats.”
    ― Adam Levin
    “You know what they say: ‘Men have throats and daggers have sharp edges’.”
    ― Raymond E. Feist

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  42. I started reading this series last week and I sooooooooooooooo glad I did. You are an amazing writer. This series has shot to #1 on the all time favorite list, and I going to be sad when it ends especially since I just discovered it. Thank you for sharing your story with us!!!

    Now on to my guess at who Mr. Conspiracy Head is……

    I’m just throwing this out there because I’ve read what everyone else is thinking and I agree with a lot you but why not and another name to the pot. While reading through the comments and story I kept asking my self who could want revenge this much and while I kinda still think it’s Andrew Lincoln, I also thought that maybe it could be the prosecutor from when the Grey’s first took Elena to court and Christian committed perjury. The way Mr. Conspiracy Head is being described makes me think he’s a lawyer and that prosecutor has reasons to what revenge on Christian.

    Some of the reasons that me think it could be him is because 1) Ana was supposed to be kidnapped is Cambridge, but Luke kept getting in the way and so they had to resort to tearing Christian down from the inside of his company rather through Ana. 2) Whi better than a lawyer to know police officers and prison guards and have enough money to pay them. Now I know some of you are thinking about all his connections being in Seattle but what if that is by design. If you can’t be in the city you need eyes and ears in that city. This also goes back to Lelia saying Ana was safe in Cambridge, of course she would be he can’t do the dirty work in his own backyard that’s to dangerous and we know he is smarter than that.

    I don’t know though everyone put out some really good names and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was any of they or combinations of them but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it was that prosecutor. We know how Christian trail effected his dad I wonder what effect it had on the other guy.

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    1. You REALLY may be on to something regarding the prosecutor, ESPECIALLY since we KNOW Mr. Conspiracy Head has police contacts. AND we rather think that Mr. Conspiracy Head would HAVE prison contacts as well in order to work with Elena.

      A prosecutor’s job requires him to work with police officers AND prison guard contacts (at least as to transportation of an inmate and CONTACT the inmate has made) on a regular basis. So that would be NOTHING new to that guy. AND no one would suspect anything from his contact with these individuals.

      But the prosecutor never really worked with ANA. And Mr. Conspiracy Head EXPECTED Ana to know him when he called her at graduation.

      And the ONLY motive for the prosecutor would be because his reputation got damaged, but that doesn’t make sense, quite frankly, since the case was SEALED. And witnesses sadly change their testimony all the time, so I can’t see too much blame, if any, falling on the prosecutor.

      STILL, your theory just brings up ONE MORE PERSON that had reason to be angry at Christian for potentially damaging his career. It is to be suspected that a billionaire would make enemies on his rise to the top, but Christian seems to have a knack for encountering AND working with OR destroying some of the WORST individuals who have a nasty penchance for revenge!!!

      So ANYTHING is still possible. Elena hasn’t really eliminated completely ANY possible suspects, BUT WE KNOW that this IS someone she knows and most likely worked with, because ELENA WOULD NEVER just trust some stranger that said he had an ax to grind against Christian. So IT HAS TO BE SOMEONE KNOWN TO ANA, CHRISTIAN AND ELENA. That DOES narrow the suspect list BUT NOT the possibility of those working WITH Mr. Conspiracy Head from behind GEH doors.

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  43. Well… If I was Ana I would be wishing to return to the past, and never had given him a second chance, or a second glance. I understand that your story is about drama.. drama and more drama without a sense, but Ana REALLY does not have a little of self-love or self-respect?. If she loved herself enough, never would come back with Christian. Is like… all their relationship is around Elena. How boring really! Is just a competition, no about love. I think she just wanted Christian because he did not valorate her. It talks about her low self-steem and nothing more. Women are not our revals… this is just about “romantic love”, please reserch about that and about feminism. This is a toxic relationship hiding into “love”. This guy is a jerk, and is not abour stocolm syndrome, is about selfish and twisted behaviour. Good luck.

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  44. Oh my gosh… the plot thickens. As much as I love this story I’m terrified of the unknown and the evil plot lurking around the corner. Elena is good as dead. Im pretty sure the whole interaction was recorded & seen by the devil himself. I do hope they find the devil and destroy him before he does more damage. Im thinking it could be either Jack, Carter or Jose or one of Elena’s former toyboys before Christian.

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  45. After rereading the chapter I wish Ana would have stayed home. I think if Christian had visited Elena a long he would have gotton much more needed information from Elena. I understand that Ana has been through perhaps too much, especially with the baby and all. However, in this chapter she was all over the place and just needed to stay put and relax. Her emotions was out of control which prevented Christian from dealing with Elena in the manner he’s accustomed to.
    I have read the reviews and I honestly can’t see anyone wanting that type of revenge other than Lincoln, especially after just finishing rereading the first two books. Astor doesn’t make sense to me to be part of the conspiracy. He was given $5000 from Elena to attempt to build or have a relationship with Ana.
    I personally think Carter has been recruited to assist with the conspiracy. Ana to Kate. Trip to seattle. Proposal and most importantly no one has and information about his family. In addition to Carter Christian security team has been compromised. Not sure if it the two new guys or someone who has been there for sometimes.

    If I’m wrong then I would say Mia has the key to all of our questions. But the facts that she hasn’t said anything yet has me puzzled. She makes me think she knows much more than we’re giving her credit for.

    I have so much that I wants to say, but I am starting to reread a stronger shade today. From what I have re-read I haven’t connected the dots with Hyde yet. I Honestly don’t think he has the resources.

    As always Tara you’re absolutely brilliant. I will try and come back later and review.

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    1. And THAT is the thing—who WOULD have resources for all this? ONLY if he had Elena’s BLACKMAIL videos from the club would Hyde have the power to get money enough to do this. And Andrew had lost his whole company.

      STILL, WHOEVER that man is that tried to rape Mia had frightened Elena enough at the time to MAKE her determined to force Mia. And Elena offered a lot of MONEY to Mia, so this guy HAD to be paying EVEN MORE. But THAT GUY is the only guy that Elena seemingly ever feared not complying with his requests. So like you, I feel that guy may be the KEY.

      It almost HAS to come back to Elena’s bar, one way or another. So once everyone KNOWS that Elena has been involved, then everyone SHOULD think to try to find ISAAC and to get AS MUCH INTEL from Mia as possible. After all, she was the HOSTESS at the bar. She saw EVERYONE coming through the doors while she worked, AND she led potential new clients back to Elena’s office. So she HAS to have very important intel that Christian now NEEDS to know.

      But YES, I think Carter HAS now provided intel to Mr. Conspiracy Head, because Mr. Conspiracy Head probably kidnapped CARTER while everyone ELSE was at the hospital. And Mr. Conspiracy Head would have probably “LEFT A NOTE” from Carter to his parents that he needed “alone time” due to the break-up with Kate. SO NO ONE would be LOOKING for Carter, SAME AS GIA.

      So yeah, Elena CONFIRMED that there are MORE DEAD BODIES that Christian knows NOTHING about. So a search for Gia and Carter is probably going to turn up empty. AND I’m even thinking that someone needs to check on Carla’s whereabouts as well, because he isolation makes her a tempting target for someone determined to exact revenge.

      BUT I HAVE ASSUMED from the time we saw Mia PALE at the mention of CHRISTIAN’S FINANCE GUY, that he HAD to have access to money. PLUS that guy would have had CONTACT WITH ELENA. So if that guy is NOT the Conspiracy Head, then he is being blackmailed or bribed by whoever IS the Head.

      I’m with you—re-reads are in order. After all, I can’t see Tara just bringing in someone completely unknown in as the bad guy. This guy claims to PERSONALLY know Ana since he expected her to know him. And Ana IS the narrator of the story. So SOMEWHERE within these three books is the connection. We just didn’t know what to look for. (Oh well, at least it gives us something to reconsider while waiting the AGONIZING HOURS through to next Monday!!!!)

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  46. Dumb question BUT when Christian testified at the trial trying to defend himself from those charges that he didn’t know about Elena’s BDSM club didn’t it come out then that Christian was a victim of hers? Wasn’t that information in the footage with Ana and Elena’s conversation? OR does that not count because that piece of information came out at that trial?

    I can’t believe that they had to visit that bitch in prison but then again that book is very damaging. BUT boy did they get a different explanation than what they thought! So Elena knows who the man is behind killing Leila and trying to ruin Christian. This guy is awful close if he knows his daughters name already. BUT who the heck is he????????

    Elena seemed to be scared of this man, which that in its self is worrisome. AND now Christian is on the war path to get any and all information he can get his hands on. It couldn’t be Carter is it? He is close but not anymore and has been burned by the Grey boys. OR maybe her ex-husband? Okay I might be reaching. 🙂

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    1. BOTH Carter AND Gia knew that the baby was to be named CALLIOPE. And BOTH of these individuals have seemingly made NO CONTACT with Christian and Ana since their break-ups with a Grey member.

      So both Carter and Gia were isolated. Mr. Conspiracy Head seemingly left a “note” of resignation from Gia AND cleaned out her desk so there would be NO REASON to contact OR look for her. So I think she was KIDNAPPED during her MOVE from Elliot’s.

      AND SINCE WE KNOW that Mr. Conspiracy Head was in the SAME town as Carter, I think he grabbed HIM as well after the break-up with Kate. And NO ONE would be looking for Carter if he, too, “LEFT A NOTE” claiming he needed to be alone to deal with the break-up.

      Christian’s INSTRUCTIONS mean that Taylor should be looking for CONFIRMED whereabouts of Carter AND Gia. After all, BOTH of these individuals knew schedules, codes, etc. of the Grey family. And CARTER probably got the codes from Kate, which may not have been changed since then. AFTER ALL, Carter worked with ELLIOT and Christian AT THE HOUSE, so he would have seen any security codes for THAT residence as well.

      So I’m thinking Carter and Gia are most likely dead at this point. I held on to the belief that Andrew Lincoln was behind it all, but Elena did NOT fear Andrew, at least not from the way she talked in the prison cell. But Elena THOUGHT she had information that could help Christian take HIM down. She just wanted to be as FAR away as possible, though, when the attempt was made. NOW, Elena almost CERTAINLY knows that she will be dead by Mr. Conspiracy Head’s brutal hands soon if she doesn’t do the deed herself.

      I’m just wondering if Mr. Conspiracy Head is going to try to IMPLICATE Christian and Ana in Elena’s death. I guess we just have to wait and see! But almost ANYTHING is still possible.

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  47. Hi,

    I have a question. I stumbled across your story and I’m soooooo glad I did. Do I need to read A Different Shade of Fifty First and the other stories before reading Wishing Mr. Grey Was Here? Also, Wishing Mr. Grey Was Here starts at Chapter 35. Is there a way for me to get to Chapter 1 and start from there? Thanks.

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    1. WishingMrGreyWasHere is the site name. Book one is A Different Shade of Fifty, book two is A Broken Shade of Fifty, and book three is A Stronger Shade of Fifty. You should see menus at the top of the page under the site name, and those menus contain the chapters below.

      start here: wishingmrgreywashere.com/2017/01/20/chapter-01/

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  48. u had said this story is far from over. and at all the parts where people keep saying christian loves her, I feel is foreshadowing for the future where due to a misunderstanding created by this person, or whatever. christian will loose faith in ana and they’ll break up and he’ll start hating her because hell be under the wrong impression. like I feel this mystery guy will blackmail ana to make christian hate her and shell do it to save him, and he’ll end up hating, loathing her for a bit. ohhhhh that’d be a such a good angsty part. they could even have a ton of hate angry sex. where christian pretends to hate her but we all know that he really loves herr

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  49. Oh Tara, you continue to hold us breathless and in the palm of your hand. Your writing is absolutely amazing and you are a total master (excuse the expression) of cliff-hangers. Were there no fingerprints in or out of the manuscript’s envelope he sent Ana or on the locket? This man is, if nothing else, highly intelligent as far as strategizing and implementing his over-all plan of Christian’s (and Ana’s) demise. His hatred appears to have no limits, must be deeply channeled and been festering while waiting for the most advantageous time to strike.

    Stephen Morton has remained on my radar for quite some time. He apparently hated Ana even more than we were led to believe, and ultimately the cause for Carla to finally come to her senses and divorce him – albeit too late for her to keep Ana from running to Ray. And, he would absolutely be someone he/we would know Ana could easily identify, as he informed her on the graduation phone call. Ana’s recognition factor of the Conspirator is a paramount clue for us to not overlook. It would also allow us to discount many other suspects.

    I am looking for the Christian connection to Morton – either someone he anihilated in business, could be Christian’s birth-father, someone otherwise linked to Detroit or to the foster parents or??? Every time Stephen Morton’s came up in the story, I held my breath hoping that Christian would have security vet him. I mentioned quite a bit in my previous post – but it was late in the week and I am not sure if it was viewed by too many, so please excuse any repetition. I just cannot get Morton out of my mind. Assuming he has a great deal of money, which he apparently utilized to entice Carla away from Ray, that would go a long way with his position in the business-world and if not a Detroit, ‘relative’ connection, it would give credence to his hatred of Christian if only from a business stand-point. Could he even be the man Mia seemingly recognized? Such a shame that noone present saw the shocked look on Mia’s face. Sawyer would have if he had been present. Again, as mentioned before, it definitely could be a ‘two birds/one stone’ scenario for Morton to destroy both Christian and Ana (and, in essence, Calliope).Stephen Morton would also know Carla’s strongest weaknesses to use in black-mailing her into submitting to his devious plan.

    As nasty and rotten as Carla has been, it just does not make any sense for her to verbally assault Grace and the others with such venom. They were great pals on the yacht, in Paris, familial at the shower and even discussed planning the wedding together. Her anger at Christian would not seem to include his family. It had to be more than Ana’s attack in the alley for Carla to do the unspeakable acts she resorted to at the hospital. She is a selfish, obnoxious person – but her actions were just too ‘over the top,’ even for Carla.

    I just hope that if Stephen IS the conspirator, Carla does not somehow turn out to be the big heroine and give either Ray or Christian info on Stephen’s whereabouts and/or the magnitude and ‘players’ in his conspiracy. That would forever cement her in their lives. And, I do not think, even that, would normally be enough for Christian to forgive her, but if she is instrumental in bringing him down, Christian (And, Ana) would have no choice in the matter. I would rather see Carla removed from Ana’s, Christian’s, Calliope’s, Ray’s and everyone else’s lives by Carla being, even in a small way, a participant in Stephen’s evil plan.

    Monday seems eons away!! Even a tiny, tiny hint would be more than welcome and appreciated!

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  50. OKAY. In reviewing the above chapters for clues, we know the following:

    1) Both Leila AND Elena stated that Christian and Ana were unaware of JUST HOW CLOSE to Christian’s “inner circle” this goes. (So SOMEBODY in Christian’s small inner circle HAS BEEN COMPROMISED, maybe unwittingly.)

    2) Mr. Conspiracy Head knows Ana somehow AND expects her to remember him. And he is rather obsessively focused on Ana KNOWING just WHO is coming after her.

    3) Mr. Conspiracy Head is OBSESSED with making Christian suffer—AND he plans to do horrible things to Ana to make that happen.

    4) Leila had indicated that Taylor was the next potential target of someone close to Christian to plant false evidence against, AND she told Ana to stay close to Luke, as he had kept Ana safe many a time when HE would have otherwise gotten to her. So that basically means we can eliminate Taylor and Luke as being the Conspiracy Head.

    5) Christian and Ana reuniting somehow seems to have triggered all this, in my opinion. So SOMEHOW, that reunion seems to have driven Mr. Conspiracy Head to ACT for some reason.

    6) We KNOW multiple individuals at GEH are involved, as Elena gave NAMES of those she thought would take a bribe to help HIM.

    Given the above, I can’t see Taylor being used against Christian UNLESS Mrs. Jones was threatened (assuming they are together in Tara-World) OR his daughter was threatened (who also may not exist in Tara World). So FOR NOW, unless given something to believe otherwise, I am assuming Taylor AND Luke can’t be involved with the Conspiracy.

    Andrew Lincoln seemingly has MOTIVE and OPPORTUNITY, but Elena spoke scathingly of him, so that would SEEM to discount him. I don’t think Elena would willingly give Christian ANY clues without getting a bribe in exchange, so I’m banking on her comment about “Andrew’s children” is just a red herring.

    Since BOTH LEILA AND ELENA indicate that Mr. Conspiracy Head has gotten CLOSE to Christian’s Inner Circle, then it basically indicates someone CLOSE to the Grey family. After all, the only “close” people to Christian’s Inner Circle are his family and Ana. Then Ros and Welch. ONLY the security people are closer, so if there IS a security leak, it would have to be from the recent hires.

    HOWEVER, I think EITHER MIA OR ELLIOT has been unwittingly COMPROMISED through Mr. Conspiracy Head’s OR Elena’s actions. After all, since Mia WORKED for Elena, she undoubtedly probably had to leave her cell phone under lock-and-key while she worked. ELENA COULD have installed various APPS on Mia’s phone in order to be kept aware of Grey family inner-workings.

    And I think we ALL almost universally feel that GIA was used by the Conspiracy, since her desire for money would make her willing to take a bribe, especially when she began to see that she could NOT secure Elliot. HOWEVER, like LEILA, I think she found herself in over her head and is now dead.

    And CARTER could have unwittingly been a dupe of Mr. Conspiracy Head in any number of ways.

    But ANY WAY you look at it, Mr. Conspiracy Head MUST feel that HE has SUFFERED as a direct result of Christian Grey, so now he wants Christian to suffer in return, PARTICULARLY by losing Ana. So Christian took SOMETHING away from HIM, which he took VERY personally.

    WE know that Christian has CLOSED Elena’s bar, maybe depriving HIM of someone that he could take out his frustrations on. OR HE had a daughter that Elena somehow corrupted or employed at the bar that did NOT get away, like Mia did. STILL, Elena was behind the club, so you would think she would have been targeted over Christian. HOWEVER, Christian gave Elena the MEANS to do everything that she did, and GEH would NOT exist but for Elena’s funds.

    HE has a very PERSONAL loss as a result of Christian. WE KNOW that Carrick’s career was massively impacted as a result of Christian’s LIE at the first trial, and WE KNOW that Andrew lost a LOT of money as a result of said LIE.

    ANOTHER REVIEWER has suggested the PROSECUTOR at the original trial ALSO might have suffered a career setback as a result fo Christian. And THAT PERSON would UNDOUBTEDLY have SEATTLE TIES TO POLICE AND PRISON GUARDS. So at least THAT part fits the overall pattern AND would account for the RAGE factor BUT NOT the obsession with Ana, who really did NOT work with said prosecutor.

    OTHER INTERNS joined Ana at GEH at the same time. AND could be bitter by seemingly seeing Ana rise above them all due to her relationship with Christian. Of that group, Susannah turned out to be a friend of Leila and went in with her regarding allegations against Christian. She would have been fired undoubtedly. MARK had OBVIOUS ISSUES with women, AND he worked directly with HYDE and Barney (and even Welch) alongside Ana at SIP. And Mark always wanted the job that ANA had, AND he felt he deserved it while she did not. But there seems no REAL reason that we know of now to lead a conspiracy against Christian UNLESS there is MORE to him then he seems. (Wonder if he was originally from Detroit? Or felt entitled to a business high life due to CONNECTION to someone ELSE in the business industry?)

    HYDE was disgruntled and would definitely sign up for the Conspiracy, if approached. HOWEVER, why would he have such a low-ranking job if he was as powerful as all this? ONLY if Elena GAVE him the power through her contacts AND blackmail material could I see it being him.

    ASTOR HARRINGTON was a legacy and had money, BUT not enough money to start his own company. And clearly, $5,000 was enough incentive for him to work for Elena AND even risk his Harvard career, if discovered. And he is in Harvard Law now, so his star is rising, not falling. But he DID have the OBSESSION with Christian back in the day. But with Christian leaving Harvard, he was left to shine without real competition.

    We have now had mentioned STEPHEN MORTON in Tara World, and Ana knew enough to get away from him. AND Carla is seemingly gone under a MAJOR personality switch in regards to Christian AND the Grey family. So SOMETHING seems to have spooked her since she was adamant to separate Ana from the Grey family AND tried to influence Ray. And that was BEFORE Ana had any medical issues that would cause her to plan to get Calliope to herself, since there was no reason to think Ana wouldn’t survive the delivery.

    But SOMETHING keeps me coming back to MIA. SOMETHING seriously rattled her back at that barbeque to meet Ray. She supposedly left to “meet friends.” BUT if Mia was being threatened, one would think she would NOW trust Christian to come to him about it. HOWEVER, Mia could have befriended a girl that worked at the Elena’s bar or another employee that she would NOT want Christian to necessarily know about. I just think MIA unwittingly factors into the mix SOMEHOW, either because of someone that she MET at the club or encountered there.

    But Mia’s and Elliot’s choices have introduced people to the Grey family that have reason or motive to potentially come after Christian. And my gut says that there is SOMETHING there that we don’t know YET. I truly think Mia may be the KEY to unraveling all of this. After all, the “being close to Christian’s INNER CIRCLE” is where this seems to turn, and Christian does not HAVE many people in said circle. THAT was why he turned back to Elena in the first place after Ana and his family left him. And ELENA KNEW MR. CONSPIRACY HEAD through some means, or she would not have had reason to trust him enough to work with him. She felt legitimately THREATENED by HIM, so it would be someone SHE would fear, and I have ONLY heard of that in regards to THAT CLIENT that wanted Mia so badly.

    So things seem to come back to what ELENA KNEW BEST. And that was the BAR and those she USED (either clients or workers), INCLUDING MIA. And ANA got dragged into that world SAVING MIA, which ultimately resulted in the bar being shut down. And Elena being put away. So ISAAC AND MIA have critical knowledge, in my opinion, to who is behind this. It STILL comes back to that for me. OTHERWISE, it just leaves HYDE, who would HAVE to have more of a backstory than we know now.

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