Ingrid's pregnancy unleashes a storm of unforeseen dangers created by David's mother, Ina, in an attempt to end their marriage. Ingrid stands up to her as no one ever has because she loves David more than she fears his mother. Conrad leaves the state to avoid a confrontation with Frank Irwin. He drops back into Ingrid's personal life months later with surprising consequences. He warns Ingrid of impending danger while David is in New York. David returns to live his worst nightmare. Ingrid looks for answers where David's heritage is concerned, facts that can shake the very foundation of the Black's name and change David's future. David faces a scandal after Ingrid confronts Van Newton with her suspicions that prompts him to admit the truth that he fears will cost him his son's respect, if not his love. The media picks up on the tragedies in David's life and he confesses all on National Television. Ina is the key to David's hopes and fears, being the only one who can unlock the truth that will at last answer the questions hanging in the balance between life and death, one answer that would either set him free or turn his life into a living hell for which there was no escape. An investigation by a ruthless and determined detective, who leaves no stones unturned, leads to the source of an incredible scheme of greed and duplicity that spanned more than twenty-six years and finally ends in an explosion of deadly violence as the story unravels to a surprising, almost unfathomable, climax.