Written in 60 minutes.

Monday, September 23, 2024

 Port Charles High: Main Office

Elizabeth tugged open one of the double doors leading into the high school’s main office and stopped when she saw Jake slouched in a chair outside the assistant principal’s office, an ice pack pressed to his lip. Next to him, Danny had an identical pack of ice against his cheek, and his right eye was starting to bruise.

“Hey, Mom.” Jake straightened. “Look, we match.” He removed the pack and gestured to his split lip. Elizabeth folded her arms, narrowed her eyes, and her son sighed, slouching back down. “Tough crowd—ow.”

“Mr. Bryan will be right with you,” the secretary said. “He’s talking to the third boy and his father—” She stopped talking, looking behind Elizabeth who turned to find Jason entering through the same door. “And I suppose that’s Mr. Morgan. I’ll let Mr. Bryan know all the parents are accounted for.”

Danny scowled. “Rocco’s probably blaming me, and okay, I started it, but he really—”

“Stop talking,” Jason ordered, coming up next to Elizabeth.

“It’s not the interrogation room, Dad. Relax. Danny and Rocco will get a vacation, not a prison sentence—” Jake closed his mouth when his father shot him a dark look. “Shutting up.”

“Mr. Morgan, Ms. Webber—” a tall man who seemed to be a decade younger than Elizabeth stepped up to the doorway. “Why don’t we all come inside and have a conversation? That is, if our younger Mr. Morgan can handle himself.”

“Hey, tell younger Mr. Falconieri not to say shit about my mother, and I’ll handle myself just fine,” Danny retorted, getting to his feet. The principal’s expression darkened. “Oh, right. Language. Sorry. Not really, but I can’t get in any more trouble, can I?”

“Let’s not find out,” Mr. Bryan said, stepping to the side so that the quartet could file in. Dante was standing by Rocco who was sprawled in a chair of his own by the principal’s desk, holding a towel to his nose, his cheek and lip already swollen. “We have a zero tolerance policy with violence, so Rocco and Daniel will be suspended. I’m afraid that’s not open to debate.”

“And Jake?” Elizabeth wanted to know.

“The teacher says it appears Jake was trying to break up the fight and received his injuries as a result. Still, as he became physically involved, he’ll also be serving a suspension—”

“Oh, come on. That’s bullshit,” Jake snapped, shifting his ice pack. “Ronnie Stinson groped a girl and didn’t even get a detention. I’m sorry I don’t play for the goddamn football team, but I actually got these idiots to stop trying to kill each other. You’re welcome, by the way.” He slapped the pack against his mouth again.

Elizabeth cleared her throat, folded her arms, and looked at the principal who seemed a little taken aback. “I understand you have a policy, but Jake has a point. He was trying to help, and since this happened in their industrial arts class — there were so many dangerous tools—”

“I wasn’t gonna actually shove his hand in the scroll saw,” Rocco muttered. “I just threatened to. He deserves it. Snitch.”

“Asshole.” Danny’s leg shot out and snagged Rocco in the shins, and Rocco started to lunge forward — probably to start the fight again, but Dante grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him in motion.

“I think maybe you can decide Jake’s punishment later,” Dante said, his tone tight. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for these two idiots to be in the same room much longer. You move again, and you’ll be sorry,” he told Rocco who rolled his eyes.

Jason rolled his shoulders, clearly frustrated with the entire situation. “How long will he be suspended?”

“Since Daniel threw the first punch, we’re recommending ten days, and five for Rocco as he was responding.” Mr. Bryan eyed Jake with pursed lips. “I suppose since this is Jacob’s first offense, we can live with a one-day suspension and another of in-school when he returns.” He got to his feet. “And we’ll expect to have a discussion when Daniel returns about keeping them in the same elective. We can’t have this kind of behavior in that classroom.”

“Understood.” Dante tugged on Rocco’s arm. “Get up and start moving.”

“Off to grandmother’s house we go,” Rocco responded in a tone that had Dante’s expression turn positively thunderous.

Outside the school entrance, Elizabeth stopped to face her son who was still wincing., then looked at Danny. “I don’t even actually have the words for the behavior the two of you demonstrated in there. You know better than to speak to authority figures that way,” she told Jake who pressed his lips together. “I don’t care if he was wrong or unfair. And Danny—”

“Any chance you had of not getting double Rocco’s time was out the door the second you kicked him in front of the principal,” Jason bit out and Danny dipped his head. “I thought you were smarter than that.” He looked at Elizabeth. “I know you have to get back to work. I’ll take them home.”

“Okay.” She reached over, squeezed his hand. “I’ll see you when I’m done.” Tossing another disappointed look at both boys, she headed for her car, grateful she’d have time to cool off before she had to handle that situation — and didn’t envy Jason even a little bit.

“Dad,” Danny began but Jason just pointed at the car, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, does that matter?”

“Not right now. Go.” When Danny had started his trudge across the parking lot, Jason looked at his eldest son. “Your mom’s right. We might have avoided suspension at all if you’d kept quiet.”

“True, but I am my mother’s son. And my father’s son. So really, the choices were punching or using my smart mouth. I think we should all be grateful I let the maternal genes win.” Jake tried to smile, but Jason just stared at him. “Okay, maybe we’ll be in the mood to laugh about this later. Much later, obviously.”

District Attorney’s Suite: Robert’s Office

Robert smiled when Molly appeared in his doorway. “There’s a lovely smile to start the day. Have a seat—” He gestured at the seat across from him at the conference table. “What brings you by?”

“Not a particularly happy visit.” She slid into the chair, took a deep breath. “I know that I started this whole thing, and I stand by that decision — and my choice to ask Dante to join the investigation. But I had a conversation with Chase on Friday, and I think you would agree that it might be best if we both recused ourselves. Myself and Dante,” she added.

Robert’s smile faded and he sighed, rubbing the edge of his brow. “Yes, I’d considered asking that after I spoke to Detective Chase. We could seal off those avenues of investigation, keep you and Dante from knowing anything, but it would be simpler to remove you both. I’m willing to take point and I think Chase will be able to handle the investigation from here.” He tipped his head. “We won’t be able to tell you what evidence we develop—if any.”

“I know. But you’ll also be able to interview us, and we can serve as witnesses.” Molly folded her hands on the table, stared down at the wood grain. “I don’t know if they’re involved, but I can’t say for sure they’re not. And that troubles me. My sister — I could see her doing this. The murder. Acting on impulse. She’s a lot like her father — she sees herself as the main character in every story. All roads lead back to her. And she only really cares about herself.”

“Molly—”

“My mother will cover up anything for Kristina. She’s always run interference and held Kristina’s hand. And I wanted to say that I don’t think they’d frame anyone — but that’s just—” Molly faltered. “My mother sat by while Jason was arrested, tried, and convicted for the death of Luis Alcazar — a crime that she later plead not guilty to be reason of insanity.”

Robert sat back. “We’ve pulled the Alcazar case. There was an attempt to frame Jason and Brenda — but it came from other sources. At worst, your mother just didn’t come forward. This — this planting of a gun — that is a very different crime—”

“I know. And it’s what I’m clinging to, you know? I don’t think either of them would go to this lengths, but I also—” Molly exhaled slowly. “I also never thought my sister would draw up custody papers to take away the daughter she begged to carry for me. Or that my mother would help her. At the end of the day, what do we really know about one another?”

Laura & Kevin’s Condo: Living Room

“Ah, home sweet home,” Rocco said, dropping his backpack on the ground and sprawling back on the sofa. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Sit up,” Dante said flatly, kicking his son’s feet off the sofa. “You think this is funny?”

“It sure as shit ain’t sad.” Rocco folded his arms, hunched his shoulders. “Why don’t you go back to your crazy girlfriend? I heard she slugged Aunt Elizabeth in the face.” His smile was malicious. “I hope Aunt Liz kicked her ass.”

Dante scrubbed his hands down his face, sat on the armchair catty-corner to the sofa. “What do you want from me, Rocco? What am I supposed to do? Let you run around, smoking, drinking, getting in fights — you and Danny are best friends—”

“Not anymore.”

“Rocco.”

“I don’t want anything from you, Dad. You can’t give me what I want, anyway, so this conversation is just stupid. You gave my house to Maxie, so I can’t have that. Mom’s in a coma—” He hesitated, stared down at the floor. “And it’s probably not fair to ask you to break up with Sam or whatever.”

His father didn’t answer right, so Rocco lifted his gaze. “Dad?”

“You really don’t like her? Has it always been this way?” Dante tilted his head. “Was I that blind? Did I really miss something so big?”

Rocco grimaced, shifted on the sofa. “It wasn’t so bad at first,” he admitted. “But it got worse when Sam and Danny started fighting all the time. She was always on him, telling him he was her miracle, that it was, like, his duty to be better, to do better. And then he gets this—he gets a real miracle. He gets his dad back, and Sam makes it a miserable experience for him. If Mom came home, and you made it hard for me to see her, if you bitched about her all the time, I’d hate you, too.” He looked away, staring hard at the dark fireplace. “The first time we got drunk, Danny forgot about all of that for a little while. So we started doing it more. Every time you guys would start in on him about his grades or whatever — it was something we could that, like, was just ours. Aiden came along sometimes but it wasn’t his thing, I knew that. And when he didn’t want to, I didn’t make him or make fun of him or whatever. That’s shitty. But—” Rocco shrugged. “We were living a secret life you didn’t know anything about. And you didn’t notice. So we kept going bigger and stupider, I guess.”

“To see how much you could get away with,” Dante said, and Rocco jerked one shoulder up in a half-hearted shrug. “Okay. Well—” He waited. “I haven’t been happy with how Sam handled Jason’s return either. Maybe because I know something about thinking you have to go off and do something and leave your family to do it. I’m sorry that I didn’t see how much it affected you or Danny. That’s on me, and I can’t change it. All I can do is apologize.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“For what it’s worth, Sam and I have discussed temporarily separating for your sake,” Dante said, and Rocco blinked at him. “It’s hard because she’s going through something really awful, Rocco, losing her kids. And I feel guilty leaving someone I love in a situation like that. She’d be alone.”

“So? It’s her own fault. It is,” Rocco insisted. “You begged her to go easy on Jason, and Jason basically did everything she wanted for weeks, and it was never enough. She walked out on Danny, Dad! And, like, me and Danny were getting high down the hall from Scout! You were at work, okay, but Sam wasn’t. She works out of the penthouse. How come she never noticed what either of us were doing? We were coming home with blood shot eyes, and she never even looked at us. I’m not blaming just her, okay, I’m not. Because you suck, too. But it’s her fault, too. And, dude, Dad, she attacked Aunt Liz! She deserves what she gets. Danny’s better off with his dad.”

Dante lifted his brows. “I thought you and Danny weren’t friends anymore.”

Rocco scowled. “Don’t try to trick me. I’m right. You know I’m right.”

“All I know for sure is there are no easy answers, Rocco. No matter what I do, someone gets hurt. But if you tell me that you don’t want to live with Sam anymore, okay. We can find a place for you and me. But do you need me to break up with her? Is that what we’re talking about?”

Rocco opened his mouth, then closed it. “No, I guess not. You wanna date crazy, do it. But I don’t want to live with her anymore. I’m sorry. But like, I’m not either. You know?”

“Yeah. I do.” Dante got to his feet. “I’ll talk to your grandmother — you’re not going to be relaxing while you’re suspended. This isn’t a vacation. You’ve been acting like a moron, Rocco. And it stops now.”

Hanley Federal Building: U.S Attorney’s Offices

Gia knocked on Reynolds’ door, a file in her hand. “What is this analysis I’m reading of John Cates’ computer?”

Reynolds pushed away from his computer, furrowed his brow. “What?”

“John Cates. He was fabricating evidence against Jason Morgan — he was planning to set him up for an assault?” Gia scowled. “What the hell is this? He was a dirty agent?”

“We don’t know what he was intending to do with that voicemail,” Reynolds said carefully. “And keep your voice down—”

“Don’t tell me to keep my voice down. You knew the contents of his internet search history—how were you going to let me sign on a second chair without telling me that we had a compromised agent?” Gia slapped the file on his desk. “Do you have any idea what a headache this is going to be for the bureau when it gets out? All his cases are going to challenged — he was searching for the best ways to bruise yourself, Noah!”

Reynolds winced. “I know, but he was desperate. This was case was different—”

“No. No. No case is different enough that you forge evidence. And you damn well know it.” Gia shook her head. “I don’t like it. And I don’t like that you didn’t just tell me.”

“You’re right. You’re right.” Reynolds got to his feet, lifted his hand in mock surrender. “This has already started to get out — I’ve got a hearing in court tomorrow on another one of Cates’ cases, and that analysis was given to the attorney there by the local cops in Port Charles. I’m probably going to get my ass kicked on that case. ”

“Good. You should. This kind of agent gives us all a bad name.” Gia paused. “Wait. I thought  the Quartermaines’ injunction was due to be heard tomorrow—am I supposed to handle that?”

“Yes. And as a peace offering — your fresh eyes will be good. Caldwell is putting together an FBI search as soon as he can to go over property again. Why don’t you supervise?”

Gia hesitated, then nodded. “All right.” She started for the door, then turned back. “Is there anything else about this case I should know?”

“No.” Reynolds shook his head. “Not a single thing.”

“That better be true.”

+34

Written in 56 minutes. I wanted to do more in this part, but the Liason scene in the beginning took a little bit of extra time, so I wanted to work through it and make sure it was right. See you tomorrow!

Monday, September 23, 2024

Webber House: Master Bathroom

Elizabeth ignored the sting in her split lip, and continued to swirl the toothbrush in her mouth, keeping one eye on Jason in the bedroom sifting through the laundry basket of clean clothes. The weight of her ankle monitor was a stark reminder that this situation wasn’t just moving together and trying to figure out how to blend their lives together. If it weren’t for her case, would she and Jason be anywhere near living together?

Probably not. But then again — they’d have those plans the day she’d been arrested, and that was a bolstering thought. She and Jason might be speed running this stage of the relationship, but they had been traveling down that road again.

She twisted the faucet and spit out the remaining toothpaste. “There’s a dresser in the basement. We should get it out this week.”

Jason stepped up behind her, reached for his own tooth brush. “I don’t really have a lot. Probably no more than two drawers. If that. No point in going to the trouble.”

She pursed her lips, tilted her head to look at him, and he lifted his brows in return. “What?”

“Do you plan to live out of a duffel bag and laundry basket forever?”

“No, but—”

“I mean, don’t you think a judge is going to ask you about this situation?” Elizabeth continued, not even listening to his answer. She left the bathroom, went to her closet. “You’re asking for permanent custody, Jason. I remember when Lucky and I were getting divorced the second time, and I’d just moved into the house. I had to pull out all these payment histories and open a vein to prove that I could run the house — and support the boys. I mean it ended up not going anywhere because Lucky and I settled out of court—” She turned to find him standing in the doorway. “The judge is going to want to know how stable this is.”

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head, disappearing back into the bathroom. She made a face and went to the doorway. “What? You wanted to say something. Just say it.”

Jason rinsed the toothbrush, set it back in the holder, then looked at her. “Yeah, the judge is probably gonna ask, and it’ll be relevant that I’ve been living here since you were arrested — and that I was originally going back to my room at the diner before I realized Danny needed to get out of the penthouse. None of that is news to Diane, by the way, and she would have already anticipated that. But it’s not the only reason you’re asking.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, then folded her arms. “I know that if it was just about Danny needing a place to sleep, he could have shared Aiden or Jake’s room and you could have Cameron’s room. And I was literally just reassuring myself that it’s not why—I just—”

Jason came forward, laid his hands on her shoulders, stroked down to her elbows, then back up again until he was cupping her face. “You want some evidence that I’m planning to stay.”

“Yes.” She sighed, let her head fall forward, and felt him kiss the top of her head. “It’s stupid. We have so many more important things to worry about—”

“This is important, too.” He gently tugged on her arms until she unfolded them and pulled her forward into his arms. “More important. Because this case against you can’t last forever, and neither will this custody issue. But you and me, all of this—I want it to be still be where when all of that is done.”

“Me, too.” She lifted her face to his, and he kissed her, softly, lingering until she sighed and relaxed against him. “I don’t want to miss any steps, you know? I don’t want you to wake up in six months, and realize this isn’t where you want to be.”

“Impossible.” He stroked back of her cheek with his knuckles. “This is where I’ve always wanted to be. And I’m not letting it — or you — go again.”

Port Charles High: Industrial Arts

“I guess he’s not coming,” Danny said, twisting away from the door to look at Jake glumly. “He won’t talk to me.”

“No, I guess not.” Jake tapped a few keys on his school laptop, then looked at his brother. “Stop worrying about it, and let’s just get moving on this project. I’ll even let you run the scroll saw—”

The door to the classroom swung open and Rocco came in then, a green late slip in his hand. He shoved it at their teacher and made his way over to their work station, dropping into the seat next to Jake — instead of his usual one next to Danny.

“Nice of you to show up. Here—” Jake shoved the instruction paper at Rocco. “You can read the steps—”

“Don’t bother. I’m switching classes,” Rocco bit out. “Just as soon as I get Dad to call the school. He doesn’t want me around you anymore,” he said to Danny, and then he added, sneering, “And I don’t want to be around you either.”

Danny swallowed hard, then lifted his chin defiantly. “Good. I can’t stand your nasty ass anyway.” He shoved away from the bench and went over to the scroll saw.

Jake rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay, I changed my mind — no saws when you’re pissed. I bring you home without fingers and it’ll be my fault.” He followed Danny, leaving Rocco alone. “And he’s just mad he got caught, Danny. Don’t pay attention to him.”

“I’m not. I don’t even care about him,” Danny adjusted the strap on his goggles.

“That makes two of us,” Rocco said, swaggering over to join them. Man, I wish I’d seen your mom kick the shit out of Sam. I bet it felt good—”

“You know what, maybe you just stop talking,” Jake suggested. “Or I’ll get Mr. Orlando to, like, give you a new group until you—”

But neither boy was listening to him, because Danny threw down the goggles. “Don’t talk about my mom—”

“Oh, so you’re the only one allowed to call your mom a lunatic? Nah, you had it right. She’s a crazy bitch who’s ruining my life and my dad’s life. Why are you mad that I’m agreeing with you?”

Danny’s face went red, and Jake craned his neck to look for their teacher — across the workshop with another group of students. He took a step towards them, thinking he’d grab their attention and get Rocco away from Danny before—

“Or maybe you’re worried you’re going to end up as crazy and stupid as her? I already know you’re a no-good lying snitch—”

Jake had taken two steps towards their teacher when he heard a crash and grunt behind him. He whirled around to find that Danny had charged Rocco, shoving him hard against their work bench and now the two morons were rolling around on the ground, kicking and punching.

“Fantastic,” Jake muttered as the kids around them started cheering and pulling out phones, crowding around and blocking their teacher’s approach.

He tried to get Danny’s arm to pull him out, but instead Rocco’s fist swung out and caught Jake on the lip, knocking him off balance.

“Son of a bitch—”

Miller & Davis: Diane’s Office

“It’s okay if you want to hand this off to another lawyer,” Jason told Diane again as the older woman sorted through files. “I told you — Elizabeth’s case is the priority—”

“And I’m playing a waiting game on that. Nothing new is coming in until we  get the security footage. The subpoenas are winding their way through the system, and I have to get them through discovery — and you know the government isn’t moving fast—” Diane flicked through another stack of folders. “And even when the injunction at the crime scene gets lifted this week, I still can’t do anything. Maybe, maybe, they’ll let me be present for it so I can get head start on any evidence, but who really knows—I know I have this report somewhere—” she looked at Jason. “Honestly, Jason, we’re spinning our wheels for a while. Even with the hearing to dismiss next week. I’ve prepped my legal arguments, and it’s just a matter of delivering them. I’m looking toward to something that’s not as difficult —” she winced as she sat down at her desk, having located the report she’d been seeking.

“Not that what’s going on with Danny or Scout is a good thing—”

“I didn’t think you meant that.”

“Good. Now—” Diane slid on her reading glasses. “I hope you stopped by the DMV and the post office to do those official changes of address I recommended. The judge won’t just want your say so that your residence is at Elizabeth’s. We’ll need proof.”

“I’m picking them up after this. Diane—”

“But other than that minor quibble, Jason, this is the slammest of dunks you could get in a custody case. Rocco and Danny were living under Sam’s supervision for a year, and apparently getting high and drunk with a minor in the residence. We have ample evidence that Sam has gone out of her way to alienate you from Danny since you came home, and since your official story for being gone is working undercover for the FBI, she’s not going to get a lot of sympathy for that. You’ve been credited with bringing down an international criminal — though he might be in the wind, it’s not really your fault. Furthermore, there are police reports and witnesses that Sam abandoned Danny to your custody last week in the PCPD—”

“The drugs, though — that’s not in the official report.”

“No, officially, it’s not on paper. And what happens in family court is sealed, so I don’t see the government getting any of that information without breaking that seal. So Elizabeth and Aiden aren’t in the records. Not that they did anything wrong, but—” Diane flipped through the pages in her file. “And finally, we have Sam’s antics since walking out on Danny — I have witnesses from the hospital that overheard her loudly confronting Elizabeth — thank you  hospital gossip — and the refusal to sign treatment papers. And all of that is before Sam physically assaulted Elizabeth in front of Danny.”

Jason rubbed his temple. “That’s…it sounds worse when you lay it out like that,” he admitted. “I guess I hadn’t really wrapped it all together like that. I don’t—I don’t blame her for not knowing before they were caught.”

“Why? Because Elizabeth didn’t see it with Aiden?” Diane asked with a half smile. “Rocco and Danny have admitted to doing it more often than Aiden has. And doing it in the home and during the week. They might have masked the smell on their breath, but probably not the clothes. Not every single time. A year is a very long time not to know that two children in your home are regularly getting drunk and high. Particularly when one of the adults in the home is a cop.”

“Okay, but—”

“Jason, I know you don’t like conflict. I know you’ve done everything you can to avoid the vicious battles I’ve seen in Sonny and Carly’s records. But Danny is not safe in Sam’s home. Not right now.”

“I know that. I know—and I started this. I know that I have to make the situation permanent — to make sure Danny isn’t forced back into Sam’s custody until he’s ready — until she’s—I don’t know. Until she fixes herself,” Jason said. “I know this is the right choice. But it’s not one I ever wanted to take.”

“I know—” Diane paused when Jason’s phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket, frowning when he saw the notification screen. “What is it?”

“It’s the high school—” He answered the call. “Yeah, this is Jason Morgan—” His expression went grim, and he met Diane’s eyes. “Yeah. Okay, I understand. Yes, I’ll be right there. Thank you.”

“What’s wrong?” Diane asked as Jason rose, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

“Danny and Rocco got into a fight at school. I have to go down there—”

As soon as he’d gone, Diane sighed and picked up her pencil to make a change in the petition — minor in physical danger in the home.

+35

Written in 72 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Penthouse: Living Room

Dante forced his expression to relax before pulling the door open to reveal a pair of familiar uniformed cops, Dex Heller and his partner—damn it what was her name?—  “Hey, Dex. Uh, come in—” He stepped to the side, shot Sam a warning glance, hoping she’d remember to let him handle everything.

“Hey, Dante. Sam. You remember my partner, Erica Williams,” he said, and the other cop just made a face. Not a great start, Dante thought. “Uh, we just took statements from the security in the lobby.” Dex stopped by the desk. “So we’re gonna talk to you, and then head over to Elizabeth Webber.”

“That’s not—” Dante looked to Sam again before turning his attention to the cops. “That’s not necessary. It’s just a custody thing that got out of hand, you know? I don’t think anyone’s pressing charges—”

“With all due respect, Detective Falconieri,” Erica Williams said, “that’s not up to you.”

“I’m not pressing charges either,” Sam said, her voice a bit rusty. She approached hesitantly. “Like Dante said, tempers are high right now. I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of domestic situations—”

“Ma’am, I understand, but from what we saw on the security footage, it’s not something we can just walk away from.”

And considering Dante had already pulled enough strings to get the weed mentions deleted from their report barely a week ago, he wasn’t going to be able to do it twice. So he was going to have to go on the defense. “Sam, you want to call your mom?”

Sam pressed her lips together. “You saw the footage. You know it was mutual. I don’t need lawyer. I’m not pressing charges. If she wants to, whatever. That’s her problem. I don’t have anything to say.”

Dex cleared his throat. “You, uh, don’t want to tell us how it started?”

“We already told you. A custody dispute. If you need more than that — if charges are going to be filed, then, yeah, I think I’m gonna need my lawyer.”

“Fair enough. We’ll, uh, head over to the Webbers. See what the situation is. We’ll be in touch if we need to.”

“All right. Thanks.”

After Dante had closed the door, he exhaled slowly and then turned to look at Sam. “I hope it was worth it.”

Sam flexed her fingers, the skin at the knuckles broken. Her cheek was already starting to bruise and the red marks at her throat where Elizabeth’s nails had scraped the skin were still visible. “Elizabeth isn’t going to press charges. She doesn’t want cops involved anymore than I do—”

“I’m not listening to this anymore.” Dante snatched up his keys. “I’m going to Laura’s to talk to Rocco. To figure out what the hell to do. You think about how stupid this all is.”

And then the door slammed behind him.

Webber House: Cameron/Danny’s Room

Danny sat up when Elizabeth lightly knocked on the open door. She’d cleaned up since they’d gotten home—tied back her disheveled hair and cleaned the cut on her face that was bruising, but it was hard to ignore the swelling in her split upper lip from where his mother had landed the first blow.

“Hey, Mom,” Jake said, sitting up with Danny. “You, uh, look better.”

“Thanks,” Elizabeth said dryly.  “Go take a ride with your dad to pick up Aiden, okay? I want to talk to Danny — ” she paused lightly. “If that’s okay with him.”

Jake looked to his brother. “You good?”

“No, but you can go,” Danny muttered.

Jake rolled off the bed and a few minutes later, they heard his footsteps thudding down the steps. Elizabeth remained in the doorway, her arms folded loosely across her chest. “I’m sorry about what happened. I should have left and let your Dad handle the situation.”

“It’s okay—”

“It’s not. ” Elizabeth came in and perched on the edge of the bed, keeping her distance from Danny. “I also didn’t have to hit her back—”

“She hit you first. You get to defend yourself—”

“Maybe. But not at your expense. I’ve tried really hard not to let how your mom and I feel about each other affect you and Jake, and I didn’t do a good job today—”

“She didn’t care.” Danny let his head fall back against the headboard, keeping his gaze from meeting  Elizabeth’s. “I knew she didn’t like you. She used to be better at pretending, but like, Jake and I always knew. She thinks you’re trying to like steal me from her, and it’s stupid. You’re not my mom. I know that.”

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, then spoke. “I know she worries about being the second-choice, and as much I don’t understand a lot about her, I do understand that. As someone who grew up not feeling like I fit with my family, it’s awful to think that someone who is supposed to love you doesn’t. Even if it’s not true,” she added when Danny opened his mouth. “Your mom’s running on emotion, and she’s not thinking before she acts.”

“How can you defend her?”

“I’m—” Elizabeth smiled faintly. “I guess I am, huh? Your dad thinks I make too many excuses for people, and he’s not wrong. I just—I care about you, Danny. And I don’t think anyone wins if you and your mom are at war with each other. She’s a human who makes mistakes. Terrible, awful mistakes. But she’s human. And she’s terrified that she’s losing her kids. She’s not handling it well. At all, and for that, I won’t make excuses. But the root of it? I understand. I’d do anything for my boys.”

“Yeah, which is why you’re up here trying to be nice to me and make me feel better about my mother, but it just—” Danny hesitated, obviously unsure if he should keep going, but then after a beat, continued. “It makes me uncomfortable. Like it feels like a lie. You don’t like her. She hit you, and you hit her back, and neither one of you remembered I was there.”

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side. “You’re right. She hit me, and I stopped thinking about you. About my case, and how getting arrested for assault didn’t matter. I wanted to hurt her back, and I hit her back. And I kept going. Because in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything or anyone but myself.” She paused. “But that’s over now. The adrenaline’s faded, and while, yes, in the moment, it felt good to hit her — to cause her pain — I’m left with the consequences, Danny. Trying to understand how it happened — and how I can keep it from happening again. Just like you and Rocco, right? You guys made a terrible choice last Saturday. And the consequences keep coming. Rocco’s handling them in his way, and you’re doing yours.”

Danny absorbed all that, then lifted his eyes to meet hers finally. “Okay. That makes sense. I don’t want you and my mom to fight like that. I don’t want it to be like this with her. She’s—she’s my mom. I love her. And I miss my little sister. This all started because of me, you know? My grades and my attitude. And then — well, you know what me and Rocco were doing.” He sat up slightly, folding his legs. “I want it to go back the way it was before, except maybe I get to see Dad more. And I could, like, have these longer visits where I live with him sometimes.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, then got a notification from her phone. “Someone’s at the door—” She grimaced. “It’s the police. Probably here to take our statements.” She got to her feet. “I don’t think we can go back to how it was — but I promise, Danny, to try to make it better than it is now. It’s all I can do.”

Laura & Kevin’s Condo: Living Room

“I appreciate you letting him stay here this weekend,” Dante said, keeping his gaze on the steps to the second floor — where Rocco was hiding from him. “I don’t—I don’t know what to do. I tried it punishing him, but it just made it worse.”

“I’m a little at a loss myself,” Laura admitted, folding a leg beneath her and looking at Kevin with worry before returning her attention to Dante. “I keep thinking that if I’d handled things with Lucky differently when he was that age, oh, so many things would be different.”

“I didn’t—I didn’t realize he hated living at the penthouse. Or that leaving the house would feel like I was taking him from his mother. Stupid,” Dante muttered. “I should have seen that. I should have known.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “But I don’t know how to fix it.”

“If I may — ” Kevin leaned forward. “I’ve never been in this situation, you understand. Starting a new relationship while my child was living in the house. But I will say — there’s a line between forcing a kid to face the reality of his mother not being here — and pushing him into things he isn’t ready for.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Sam and I are both—it’s not—we’re not—we can’t seem to get on the same page. She’s lost control,” Dante said with a shake of his head. “She’s so scared that Drew and Jason will win full custody — and I don’t think she understands that she’s actually making it happen. Walking out of the station last week with Danny, starting a fight with Elizabeth just before we’re supposed to go to court—I don’t want to leave her. To be one more person she’s losing. But I don’t know how to show Rocco that I’m hearing him, that I care what he thinks.”

“There are no easy answers here, Dante,” Kevin told him. “You’re in a situation where you’re being asked to choose between two people you love. But no mistake, there is a choice to be made here. All you can hope is that you’ll be able to live with what happens when you make it.”

Harborview Towers: Hallway

As soon as Jason had learned the cops had come to the house — and that Elizabeth had sent them away without pressing charges for Danny’s sake — he knew he had to take some kind of action. To get through Sam’s thick skull that she was the architect of her own misery.  It was time for a conversation where he wasn’t going to let her guilt him, to use his past against him.

He already knew he hadn’t been a good father, but his mother was right. He’d made those mistakes, and they were done now. He couldn’t keep letting that guilt drown him — or let Sam use it to get her away.

She swung the door open, her lips set in a mutinous line. “You know, the fact that those damn guards still work for you and don’t give a damn that I said not to let you up here—”

“You don’t like it, Sam, you can move,” Jason said flatly. “Your kids don’t live here anymore, you might as well.”

Her lips parted with surprise and she actually took a step back. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

“You heard me. I gave you the title to this place because it was Danny and Scout’s home,” Jason replied. “But if you don’t want it, sell it. Until you do, I don’t want to hear it.”

“And if you don’t want to hear it, you can leave—” Sam started to close the door, but he slapped his hand against it. “I don’t have to hear you—”

“Yeah, you do. Or I’ll have Elizabeth call Dex Heller back and file charges for assault. So either we have this conversation now, or you can spend the night in lock up. Up to you.”

Sam released her grip on the edge of the door, turned her back and stalked towards the sofa, whirling around when she heard him close the door. “She had no right to come here—”

“To sit in the lobby while Danny asked you to be part of his therapy? Yeah, she’s regretting that, believe me.”

“Don’t act like she’s trying to do me any favors. She never has—”

“Shut up.”

Sam closed her mouth, swallowed hard. Because she recognized that tone. “You don’t get to talk to me like this—”

“I’m done letting you hurt Danny. Don’t — ” He held up a hand when she started to speak again. “I’m done letting you pretend that you’re the better parent because you were here. That’s not going to work anymore. Danny was trying to reach out to you to day, trying to make peace. And he’s talked about wanting to come home, even for an overnight visit because he’s worried about you and about Scout. I  tried to fix things for you with your daughter. I asked Monica to work on getting Drew to drop this custody battle—”

Her dark eyes glimmered with angry tears. “Am I supposed to thank you? This is your fault—”

“Because that’s all that matters, right? Who gets the blame. That’s all you care about is making sure you look good. That someone’s holding your hand and making you feel better. You can’t get out of your own way. You never have—”

“Shut up—”

“I’m done letting you hurt my kids. With hurting my family. Elizabeth has done nothing to deserve the way you’ve treated her for weeks. Nothing but give a damn about our kid—”

“She’s so much better than me, right?”

“Yeah. She is.”

Sam hadn’t been expecting that answer because her eyes grew wide, and her lower lip trembled. “Well, at least you’ve finally said it.” She swiped at her eyes. “I wish I’d never met you. I wish I’d never married you or given you a son — I wish Danny weren’t your son—”

“And I wish Danny didn’t have you as a mother, as long as we’re saying what we really feel,” Jason said. “And believe me, I’m not sure he doesn’t feel the same right now. Especially with what I saw on that security footage. When you rewind this back, Sam, to figure out where you went wrong, getting on that damn elevator to confront Elizabeth — that’s the point of no return. For all of us. Because you know Danny will never forget it. He came to ask you for help, and you made his life worse. I won’t let you do it again. I should have done a better job protecting Jake from you, but I won’t make the same mistake with Danny.”

“Really? Protecting Jake? I didn’t even touch him—”

“No, you didn’t have to. You just let Maureen Harper do the dirty work. Or the guys you hired in the park to hold guns on toddlers,” Jake retorted, and Sam’s face went white. “I made you a promise then, do you remember it? I didn’t keep it then. I let myself believe you had changed. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Are you threatening to kill me again, huh? Is that what this is about?” Sam demanded. “Because wow—”

“No. But I know how to get it done. Today was the last straw. Elizabeth isn’t pressing charges, but that’s not going to stop me from using it in court. I’m getting permanent custody of Danny. Try this again, Sam, and Drew gets a copy of that tape, too. That’s the promise I’m making you”

+44

Written in 66 minutes. Wanted to get the ending right. It’s not quite there, but it’s close enough.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Harborview Towers: Lobby

Dante walked through the double door entrance to the building — and straight into chaos. He saw Danny first, standing off to the side, his cheeks flushed and stained with tears — then the security guards standing near the sofas, and two women on the ground —

Damn it.

Dante rushed forward and caught Sam around the waist just before his girlfriend could grab another chunk of Elizabeth’s hair. Sam’s legs were still kicking wildly as he lifted and shoved her behind him. She started forward again, trying to push past him, but he kept his grip on her tight.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded, looking from her to Elizabeth, bewildered. “Are you insane?”

Elizabeth had a split lip and a cut just below her eye, already showing signs of bruising. She sat up, took a deep breath, then rolled to her feet, running her fingers through her hair. “Ask her that — she went after me!”

“We called the PCPD,” one of the security guards told him. “Couldn’t get them to separate—”

“Great. That’s just great,” Elizabeth bit out, her breathing still a bit fast. “Are you happy now, Sam? Is this what you wanted?”

“I wanted you to get out of my damn life! That’s all I’ve ever wanted!” Sam shot back. “Danny, go upstairs. I’m done with this game—”

Danny swallowed hard, swung his gaze to Elizabeth who grimaced. “You’d better go for now. Your dad’s on his way, and since I can’t take you with me without her screaming kidnapping —”

“What?” Dante demanded, returning his gaze back to Sam. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I came to talk to Mom, and Elizabeth drove me,” Danny said miserably. His shoulders were hunched, and he had both hands in his pockets. “She waited down here, but Mom figured it out, came down and then wouldn’t let us leave—”

“Damn it.” Dante scowled, focused on Sam. “What is wrong with you? Jason has custody—”

“Well, she’s not Jason, is she?” Sam spat. “Go ahead, walk out that door with my son. Find out what happens—you’d understand if you knew what I knew,” she told Dante. “She’s trying to turn Danny against me! She pushed him into therapy, and she’s going to the parent sessions!”

Dante scrubbed his hands down his face, took a deep breath, then looked at Danny. “Go with Elizabeth. I’ll handle the cops,” he told Elizabeth. “Sam might have thrown the first punch, but you should have known better than to show up here. What the hell were you thinking, bringing Danny here yourself?”

“I don’t know, I guess I was thinking about what Danny needed,” Elizabeth snapped. “He wanted to talk to his damn mother! And Jason is over at the Quartermaines trying to talk Drew into dropping this custody bullshit with Scout, so excuse me for thinking that was just as important.”

Dante closed his mouth, pressed his lips together. “Don’t pretend you didn’t realize it would be an issue—”

“Which is why I stayed downstairs—you know what—” Elizabeth held up both hands, palms outward. “I’m not doing this. You want to blame me for this mess, you do whatever you want. I’m done.” She looked to Danny. “If you want to wait for your dad, you can do that.”

“I don’t want to make anything worse,” Danny said. “If I leave with you, won’t it mess things up for you?”

“Only if your mother tries to have me taken in for kidnapping,” Elizabeth replied. She stared at Sam. “Try it. See what skeletons I dig out of the closet to make your custody case harder. Drew says you’re an unfit parent. Whose side do you want me on?”

Sam’s head snapped up and she went still, then swallowed hard. “Jason will just take him later,” she forced out. “Go. If you want to be away from me so badly.” And then she turned, stalked towards the staircase doors, and shoved the door open.

Danny folded his arms. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have come here today—”

“This isn’t on you, Danny.” Dante came forward, put his hands on Danny’s shoulders. “The adults in your life are acting like idiots, and that makes it our fault. I’ll talk to your mother. She’s upset—” He looked over at Elizabeth. “You should both go before the PCPD gets here. I’ll handle it. Go,” he said again to Danny when the teen didn’t move.

“Come on. Let’s call your dad and tell him to meet us at home,” Elizabeth said, gesturing to Danny. “Before he gets here and makes this even worse. I’ll meet you outside,” she added when Danny passed her. Danny, still looking miserable, nodded, then shoved the doors open.

When Danny was gone, Elizabeth looked at Dante. “You want to blame me to make things easier for you, go right ahead. But I brought Danny here to ask Sam to go to those damn parent sessions. He wanted her to be part of them. Both of you. No one knows how to sabotage herself better than Sam.”

“Yeah, well—” Dante shook his head. “You know she’s insecure about you and Danny—you knew she was angry about all this therapy stuff and your involvement—”

“It’s not my job to hold her hand, and make her feel better about herself. But she’s the one that did this, Dante. She confronted me physically in front of Danny. She’s out of control, and as someone who’s seen what happens when she’s not reined in—” Elizabeth shook her head. “God help us all, but especially you.”

Penthouse: Living Room

Sam stalked from one end of the room to the other, her shoulders trembling, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She heard the click and turn of the tumblers a moment before the door opened and was already across the room when Dante came in. “What did you say to her? Why didn’t you come up right after me?”

“I wanted to talk to Danny,” Dante said, his expression grim. He closed the door, his hand laying flat against for a beat before it slid away. “Did you attack her first?”

“You’re taking her side, aren’t you—”

“Did you attack her first?” Dante repeated, louder, his cheeks flushed, and he turned to face her fully. “Damn it, Sam. Did you throw the first punch?”

Sam lifted her chin. “I grabbed her when she tried to leave with Danny, and yes, I did throw the first punch—but she was trying to take Danny—”

“Jason has custody of him right now. I know you hate that, but it’s the way it is. You made it this way, Sam, when you walked out of the station a week ago,” he continued as she flinched, and dropped her gaze.  “And then you refused to sign consent papers, so Jason went to the court. Legally, he had a right to give Elizabeth permission to take Danny anywhere he wanted to go. And she brought him here. To you. Is she right? Was Danny asking you to be part of his therapy?”

Now her mouth trembled. “Yes, but she’s going to be there, too! Like she’s important to him—”

“She is,” Dante said ruthlessly. “And that’s a situation you created. Remember? You said Jason could only see Danny when he was with Elizabeth and Jake. Supervised visitation. And you knew Jason was staying at her house when you walked out on him. What did you think would happen? No, don’t even bother trying to explain yourself,” he continued when Sam opened her mouth. “You can’t. You’re due in court on Monday, and all Drew has to do is find out about this mess today. You’ll look unhinged.”

Sam looked away, her vision blurred from tears. “And she’ll go right to him. You heard her. She’s only too happy to make this into a victory—”

“Maybe I think she was stupid for being the one to drive Danny here, but that doesn’t change how insane it was for you to attack her for it.”

She wrapped her arm tightly around her upper torso, embracing herself. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it. They took my kids from me, Dante. My kids. What am I supposed to do? Just let it happen—”

” I expect you to stop making it worse for you, for Danny, and for everyone around you. Otherwise, Sam, I don’t know how we come back from this. I’m still here because I love you,” he continued when tears continued unchecked down her cheeks. “But we’ve got a problem, and you refuse to see it. You’ve decided Elizabeth is the source of all these problems, and until you let go of this ridiculous jealousy, you’re going to keep losing.”

Webber House: Driveway

Elizabeth pulled her car into the parking spot just behind Jason’s SUV — whose brake lights were still lit, indicating he’d only just arrived, too.

The drive back from the Harborview had been silent — Elizabeth honestly hadn’t known what to say to Danny. Should she apologize? Explain things? She’d tried so hard to be neutral, even positive about Sam where Danny was concerned because it was the right thing to do. But to have Sam of all people threaten Elizabeth with kidnapping — and Sam had thrown the first punch —

Elizabeth had lost her mind, and the whole scene didn’t reflect well on either of them.

She switched off the engine, and Danny barreled out of the car, heading up the sidewalk at double speed. Ahead of them, Jake was out of the passenger side, chasing after his brother.

Elizabeth climbed out more slowly, rolling her shoulder, and Jason was coming towards her, wincing. “It looks worse than it is, I think,” she said when he reached her.

He took her chin in his hands, tipped it to the side. “You’re going to have a black eye.”

“Damn it. I hope I broke her goddamn nose,” Elizabeth muttered, and he sighed, making her feel worse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t start it, but I shouldn’t have tried to finish it either.”

“I’m sure Sam didn’t make it easy to walk away from her. Come on—” He put an arm around her shoulder, and she winced. “Did you hurt something else?”

“We rolled into the chairs, and I think I hit one of the posts—” She wrinkled her nose as they approached the door that Jake and Danny had left ajar in their haste to get inside. “Not my finest hour.”

“I threatened to make Drew disappear,” Jason told her and she stopped, looked at him with surprise. “I didn’t punch him. So you still win for worst day.”

“I don’t know why that makes me feel better,” Elizabeth said after a moment, “but it does.”

Webber House: Cameron/Danny’s Room

Danny didn’t stop until he hit the third floor and threw himself across the bed, burying his face in the pillow. He heard Jake’s footsteps thudding after him. “Go away.”

“Not a chance. Come on—”

Danny felt the bed dip, and he reluctantly rolled over to find Jake sitting on the edge. “They called the cops. Dante said he’ll fix it, but what if he can’t?”

“Yeah, I don’t know.” Jake exhaled slowly. “What happened? Mom’s not exactly one to lose her mind like that—”

“No, but mine is,” Danny muttered. He flopped back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling. “Mom said if Elizabeth tried to leave with me, she’d say it was kidnapping. And Mom grabbed her, punched her. Then your mom got mine by the throat, and it just—” he swallowed hard. “It was bad, Jake. Really bad.”

Jake sighed, laid back next to him, and they laid in silence, both staring at the same white ceiling paint. “Dante’s a good guy. He’ll get the cops to realize it’s not a big deal—”

“People will find out. And maybe Drew will use it to keep Scout away.” He forced himself to continue. “And maybe he should. I was…I was scared today. Of my mom. What she might do if she thinks someone trying to keep me away.” He twisted his head to look at Jake. “I don’t know what I supposed to do. She makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong by talking to your mom or like, I dunno, acting like she’s part of my family.”

“Then your mom is crazy.” Jake sat up, folded his legs. “I’m sorry, Danny, but it’s just the way it is. You’re my brother, which means we’re family. And Mom’s practically your step mom. How come it’s okay for Dante to be like your second dad? She’s a hypocrite.”

“I know. I just….” Danny rolled away, to lay on his side. “I hate it. I want it to stop. But it’s just going to get worse. I just know it.”

Webber House: Kitchen

Elizabeth winced when Jason pressed the ice pack against her cheek. “Ow—” She covered the pack with her own hand to hold it in place.

“Careful, hold still—” He reached for the towel he’d already dampened to blot at the cut in her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have taken Danny to the Towers.”

“Yeah, well, if she’d just stayed upstairs, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Elizabeth muttered. “God, I’m so sick of her acting like I’m the bad guy! It’s not like I stole Danny from her — not that it’s really about that. She still thinks I manipulated you twenty years ago, you know, and it’s so annoying because I was literally on her side the whole time. I told you over and over again to talk to her, didn’t I?”

“I know.” Jason crumpled up the towel, threw it in the trash can. “Dante will probably keep things quiet — this looks worse for her than it does for you,” he added when Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “You’re not the one fighting a custody battle right now. And there are witnesses — you reacted in self-defense—”

“Do you really think the FBI is going to care?” Elizabeth wanted to know. “They’re going to get desperate, you know. We both know they only let me out on bail because they thought we’d make a mistake and lead them to evidence they can use against you. It has to be clear by now we won’t want to do that, so if they can revoke my bail, they will.”

Jason met her worried eyes, then dropped his back to washing his hands, and drying them. “The injunction Michael filed to keep them off the crime scene will probably be dismissed in a few days. And they’re going to go back to search for the missing bullet. They find that—” He shook his head. “It’s hard to sit on my hands and let everyone else look for answers. I’m over at the Quartermaines trying to help Sam, and she’s making all of this harder for everyone. For Danny, for your case—”

“You were trying to help Danny. Just like I was. We both thought the best thing to do was to help Sam win her case against Drew, but honestly, Jason—she was going to file kidnapping charges against me. Yes, they would have been dropped — but she didn’t even think—” Elizabeth looked away. “She never seems to remember how much patience I’ve shown her over the years. I kept a secret for twenty-four hours. She never would have said a word about Maureen Harper if she hadn’t been caught.”

“I blamed myself for creating the situation, so I believed her when she cried, when she claimed to regret it and begged to be forgiven her. But she was never sorry. She’s made that clear. She’s resented you since that summer, and Jake since he was born. You did what you did with Jake Doe and with that maternity test, but none of it comes close to what she did in the park. Either time. Maybe she needs to be reminded of that.”

+38

Written in 57 minutes.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Harborview Towers: Lobby

Elizabeth leaned back against the chair, and flicked through her notes for the next month’s master schedule, reviewing vacation requests and PTO requests. She hoped that Danny’s conversation with his mother didn’t take too long — this wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her Saturday and she was eager to know how things had gone for Jake and Jason with Monica and Drew—

There was a ding of the elevator and Elizabeth lifted her gaze, expecting to see Danny. She was already half-standing, sliding her phone back in her purse when she realized who was striding off the elevator.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam demanded, her face flushed. Danny trailed behind her, a slight edge of panic in his miserable expression. “You have no right to be sticking your nose in my son’s life! You’re not his mother!”

“No, I’m not,” Elizabeth said, forcing her tone to remain flat and even. To treat Sam like an irate patient or an insubordinate employee. The last thing any of them needed was Elizabeth to lose her temper — Danny already looked like he wanted to die.

“Mom—”

“I knew you were going to use this therapy crap to turn him against me!” Sam spat. “You pushed him at this doctor, and you pushed your way into a parent session! You’re not his mother!”

“So you’ve said. I’m just trying to help, Sam, but this was obviously a bad idea. Danny—” Elizabeth gestured towards the front entrance. “Why don’t we head back to the house—”

“Yeah—” Danny started past his mother, but Sam shoved him back and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm before she could take more than a handful of steps.

“You’re not going anywhere with my son! He’s staying here.”

“Mom—”

“Let me go,” Elizabeth said, tugging at Sam’s grasp, one eye on the security guards behind the desk. “You don’t want to do this right now.”

“Danny, go upstairs,” Sam ordered. “You’re not going anywhere with her. I’ve seen through your little game,” she said to Elizabeth. “You think you can turn my son against me the way you turned Jason? It’s not going to work—”

“I’m not doing anything, Sam. Let me go,” Elizabeth repeated, heat crawling up her spine, her chest tightening with fury. “Last warning.”

“Mom!”

“If you try to walk out that door with my son, I’ll call the cops and have you thrown in jail for kidnapping. Yeah, what’s that going to do to your bail?” Sam snarled when Elizabeth jolted.

“Are you insane?” Elizabeth demanded. She started to struggle in earnest now, tugging at Sam’s grasp, lifting her other hand to plant against Sam’s shoulder, intending to push her, maybe to dislodge the claw-like hold on her arm—

But Sam swung out with her free hand, backhanding Elizabeth so hard her head snapped to the side, and she tasted blood in her cheek.

“Mom!” Danny cried. “Stop it!”

Elizabeth touched her lip, saw the blood, then lifted her eyes to Sam’s smug face. Everything screamed in her to let it go. To leave and have Jason resolve the issue — Danny was his son, after all, and he had emergency custody. To engage with Sam any further would put her freedom at risk.

But to have this woman standing in front of her, accusing her of kidnapping — this woman — who had hit her so hard that Elizabeth’s ears were ringing—

She tossed her purse aside and went for Sam’s throat with her free hand, digging in until Sam grunted, released Elizabeth’s arms, and started clawing at Elizabeth’s fingers, falling backwards.

TJ & Molly’s Apartment: Living Room

TJ peered over Molly’s shoulder, then furrowed his brow. “Am I reading that headline right?”

Molly jolted at his voice, looking up and releasing a breath. “You scared me. I thought you were still sleeping.”

“It’s almost noon,” TJ told her, taking a seat next to her on the sofa, a bowl of ramen in his hands. “I have to go back in at four—I know, I hate it, too. But they needed someone to take the night shift—”

“You haven’t had a full night off in so long,” Molly murmured, but she knew it was a futile conversation. TJ was as devoted to his career as she was to hers, and it was just something they were going to have to work around.

“Next weekend, I promise. But that headline about your mom, is that for real?”

Molly turned her tablet around so that TJ could see for himself. He cradled his ramen in one hand, and reached for it, balancing it in his hand, using his thumb to scroll. “Your mom plead not guilty by reason of insanity to a murder?”

“Luis Alcazar. More than twenty years ago. It was just after my sister was born. She was premature, you know. Kristina.” Molly sighed, braced her head on her fist, and her elbow against the back of the sofa. “I think it’s part of the reason Mom has so much trouble letting Kristina hit rock bottom — she nearly died at birth, and then Mom lost custody for eight or nine months while she was in treatment. But…” Molly bit her lip. “She never told us about the diagnosis. Dissociative identity disorder. It’s not genetic or anything—”

“But there are genetic factors that can influence it,” TJ murmured. He leaned forward, setting his bowl down on the table so he could focus on the article more intently. “What made you look this up?”

“Jason and Brenda Barrett were convicted of this man’s murder. It was overturned, thank God, and Mom was charged, but—” Molly chewed on her bottom lip. “I think the reason she never told us about this — about the disorder or the case — I don’t think it was real. This isn’t a disorder you have for a minute and then just recover from forever. Mom went through rehab for her alcoholism. This should have come up in the intake, and it didn’t.”

“You think your mom faked it to beat the charges?”

“Maybe. This guy set a bomb that killed Mom’s little sister — the first Kristina. Mom had a motive, you know? But either she was lying to us our whole lives about this illness — or she was lying back then. And if she lied back then—”

“She let Jason and that other woman get convicted for something they didn’t do.”

“Yeah.”

TJ handed her the tablet back without further comment, picked up his lunch. Molly was grateful for his lack of reaction — she hadn’t really been able to articulate what troubled her about the case history she’d seen on Chase’s board.

“I’m starting to feel like I don’t understand or know my mother or my sister at all,” Molly admitted. “After what Kristina’s said — what she was planning — my mother standing by letting it happen —” She looked at TJ. “They’re suspects in Cates’ murder. I can’t know anything about that part of the investigation, but I know Chase hasn’t been able to eliminate them.”

“Molls.”

“I started this. I—” Her throat was tight. “What if I started this whole crusade and it turns out my own family did it? How do I live with myself, TJ?” Her eyes burning, she closed them, feeling the tears slide beneath her lashes.

She heard the clink of the bowl hitting the table again, and then TJ pulling her into his arms.

“You did what was right, Mol. You saw an injustice and tried to fix it. Everyone makes their own choices, you know? Including your mom and Kristina. How could you live with yourself if you’d done nothing and another innocent woman was sent to jail?”

“I know.” She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “I can’t stop this from happening. It’s out of my hands.”

Quartermaine Estate: Monica’s Room

“I wish I could tell you I have any influence over Drew,” Monica said, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea, her blue eyes faded and tinged with exhaustion. “But I’m not sure he’ll listen to anyone. Except a campaign manager.”

Jason grimaced. “I know. And I hate even trying to ask you—” Every time he saw his mother, she seemed to have diminished more and more. Just like the final visits with his grandmother, and it weighed on him — the loss of the woman he’d wasted so much time pushing away.

“But you’ll do whatever you have to for your family,” Monic said. She set the tea down and reached for his hand — then squeezed it as best she could, though the pressure was light. “I feel the tension, too. Drew’s clashing with everyone, and this business with taking Scout away from her mother—” She paused. “I’ve never pretended that I approved of Sam — which I know carried little weight with you —”

“It’s okay—”

“Let me say this.” She patted his hand. “I never thought she was a good match for you. Too much like you,” she added. “Addicted to adrenaline, to living fast, to taking risks, and not thinking much about the future. You needed someone to keep you grounded. Tied to not only today, but yesterday and tomorrow. But there was nothing I could have said to you that would have influenced your choices.”

Jason was quiet for a moment, taking in her words, acknowledging, at least to himself, the truth in them. “But?” he prompted.

“I have seen glimpses of Sam showing some real maturity, some growth. She’s not a bad mother. Or one to put them in danger.” Monica’s lips twitched slightly. “She’s not that different that who I was when I raised you and AJ, you know. I loved you both so  very much. Your father and I both did. But neither one of us could see past our own needs. Our own selfishness. And it made us…careless parents,” she said, after considering the words. “I see that in Sam — and I’ve seen it in you.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded. “I haven’t been a good father for most of Jake or Danny’s lives. I’m trying to do better now. But it’s hard. To know the right choices. I left them. I left Jake. I let someone else take on being his father. I thought it was better for him—” He shook his head. “But it wasn’t about him. It never was. It was about me. And not wanting the guilt of being the reason he was hurt. He’d already been kidnapped, Elizabeth had already been in so much danger, and Michael —” He stopped, unable to speak of the horror that had befallen Michael as a child.

“You made mistakes, Jason. All parents do. Your father and I made them over and over again. I didn’t hold on tight enough to you boys when you were children, and then — when it mattered, I tried to hold too much and I drove you away—”

“It wasn’t just you,” Jason said, and Monica smiled sadly.

“It started with us. I was your mother, and I should have done  better by you. The guilt never fades, Jason. For all the ways you fail your children. But you can’t live in the past. You can’t let it steal the future. You’re here today, trying to do better. Which is more than I can say for Drew. He’s not ready to stop being selfish, and until he is, I’m not sure we can convince him that putting Scout through this custody battle is hurting her and Danny more than helping anyone. But I promise I’ll try, and for as long as Scout is in this house, I’ll make sure she’s looked after—”

“I know you will—” Jason was interrupted when the door to the bedroom was thrown open and Jake strode in, a phone in his hand. “I thought you were keeping Scout occupied—”

“I was, but—” Jake thrust the the phone at him. “You need to talk to Danny and we need to go. Sorry Grandmom,” he said as an afterthought.

Jason took the phone, but he could hear Danny’s panicked voice even before it reached his ear. “Please! Stop! Mom!”

“Danny?” Jason demanded, getting to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“You have to stop them! Mom attacked Elizabeth, and now they’re fighting, and they’re going to call the cops, and you have to—Mom! No!” Danny’s voice faded, and Jason realized he must have dropped or put down the phone because he could just hear faint sounds — and he recognized the sounds of a grunting, voices shouting—

“Damn it,” he muttered. He hung up, and looked at his mother. “I have to go—”

“Go. Go. Call me later,” Monica ordered.

“Let’s go,” Jason told Jake, gesturing towards the door. And hoped they got to Harborview before the police did.

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