Sherlock’s mother steps into the picture on Elementary season 4, episode 14, “Who Is That Masked Man?” Learn what happened to Mrs. Holmes in our exclusive sneak peek.

Could this be the most heart wrenching scene in Elementary to date? Sherlock is a man who keeps a steel wall between logic and emotion. There are no touchy-feely moments with Sherlock Holmes. Therefore, what tiny glimpses the detective allows into his personal history are made all the more special. As Sherlock and Joan dig deeper into the assassination attempt on Morland, they finally stumble upon a topic Sherlock has long avoided broaching with his partner — his mother, May Holmes.

Elementary has kept Sherlock Holmes as much of a mystery as the cases he approaches. Season 1 provided an introduction to Irene Adler. In the two-part season finale, Elementary took us back to London, pre-copious drug abuse, and let us walk arm in arm with a different Sherlock. One who bought champagne, stayed the night at another person’s apartment, and cared less about solving the mystery of the woman in his bed and more about letting her mystique wash over him. A corner of normalcy before Sherlock’s world shattered.

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In season 2 we crossed paths with Mycroft Holmes in both London and New York, once again stealing a look at another of the tainted relationships from Sherlock’s past. Sherlock continued to keep his heart protected from the ghost of Irene, this time quite literally hiding it among his bees. Tucking away notes from Moriarty in his apiary, their reunion in season 2 tested his ability to keep the enigma he loves separate from the murderer he locked away.

Moving into season 3, Sherlock retreated to London following the collapse of his partnership with Joan. Struggling to keep himself occupied and away from drugs, Elementary introduced Kitty Winter, a character pulled from one of Doyle’s shorter mysteries, who happened to lure a warmer side of Sherlock from his shell. (The same could not be said of Clyde.) Season 3 marked the first time Sherlock mentioned his mother aloud. Granted, the words “my mother” were uttered to a doll acting as a surrogate for artificial intelligence, but nonetheless we discovered that somewhere buried deep, was another true feeling of love for another human being.

While Mycroft, Moriarty, and Kitty have done their part to reveal tiny fragments of what goes on inside the heart of Sherlock Holmes, each one has ended the same way — with the person out of the picture indefinitely. It is no surprise, then, that the one who has brought about the darker side of his character has stuck around the longest. Morland Holmes’ arrival was met with crossed arms, cutting remarks, and plenty of comparisons to Satan. None of Sherlock’s quips cut quite as deeply as the mention of his long-lost mother, May Holmes.

While Elementary will continue to focus on Morland’s case, another murder pulls Joan and Sherlock to Chinatown where gang retaliation threatens to break out any moment. The lead suspect in the case, however, is not someone Sherlock was expecting.

Tune in to Elementary season 4, episode 14, “Who Is That Masked Man?” tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS.