Written in 58 minutes.

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Monday, October 7, 2024

Port Charles Courthouse: Conference Room

It was raining again.

The brief respite the day after the accident hadn’t lasted more than twenty-four hours before the grey storm clouds swept back in, but this time it was a storm blowing off the lake that kept the streets of Port Charles under flash flood advisory.

Alexis hadn’t returned to her neighborhood since that night, and wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to go back knowing she’d have to pass by her daughter’s accident scene every time. The creek had subsided from the raging monster it had been, but it was still swollen from the downpour, threating to spill over the banks. She wouldn’t take the chance.

“I don’t understand, Mom. I thought you said that the surveillance photos they got from Dad’s weren’t proper or something. How are they going to use them?”

Alexis turned away from the window, looking at her daughter — at the only daughter that would still talk to her. Kristina had been released from the hospital the day before, the only remnants of her injury were fading bruises on her face and a stitched cut above her forehead. Her mouth was pinched, her nose crinkling as if she’d smelled something rank.

Alexis kept waiting for reality to hit Kristina, for the gravity of the situation to set in. She hadn’t been present when Kristina had learned about Sam’s death, but Sonny’s recounting suggested that Kristina hadn’t shown much emotion at all. Maybe it was denial, maybe it was that kind of grief that paralyzed —

Or maybe, Alexis decided reluctantly, watching Kristina sift through the photos and documents that had arrived in the first group of discovery, maybe Kristina just couldn’t be bothered to care about any of it.

She sat across from her daughter, laid a hand on the photo Kristina was looking at, waiting for the younger woman to look up. “It’s time that you and I had a conversation. A serious one. An honest one,” she added when Kristina opened her mouth to protest. “You did this. You took the gun from your father, and you shot John Cates. You did this, Kristina. That is not in dispute. Not with me.”

Kristina pursed her lips, then sat back, folding her arms. “Oh, really? You got it all figured out?”

“No. I don’t. I know what you did to him, and I know why. But that’s where it ends. This—” Alexis tapped the photo of Kristina in her father’s office, the metal box in her hands. “This makes sense to me. It’s this—” She flipped through until she found the still from the security video on Elm Street with Kristina standing by Elizabeth’s open trunk, the same metal box in her hands. “This is where you lose me, Kristina. And it’s what’s going to kill your defense of temporary insanity.”

“I wasn’t aware I was planning a defense of insanity,” Kristina said. “When did we decide that?”

“It’s the only defense I could have worked with. But this, and framing Elizabeth with a false tip to the police—”

“They can’t put that on me—”

“You replaced your phone right after it was called in, Kristina. A reasonable jury will believe that you called in the tip. Especially since you’re the one who put the damn gun in her trunk. This shows that you knew what you did, you knew it was wrong, and you were trying to cover your tracks. This is what puts you in jail for life, do you understand that?”

“You’re going to make it go away. Or Dad. He’ll make some phone calls—” Kristina looked towards the door. “I haven’t seen him since the hospital. Since he told me—” Her voice wavered just a little. “Since Sam.”

She wanted to hold on that to that tremor, to believe that Kristina was beginning to understand what had happened — but Alexis wasn’t stupid.

“Your sister was putting the pieces together, too, wasn’t she? She realized that you weren’t sabotaging Elizabeth’s bail just for her? You couldn’t be doing it only for that reason. If you were only trying to help Sam, you’d have immediately come forward when it became clear we all thought she sent that email. You knew what we believed, Kristina. All of us. And you let it happen. You were happy to let Sam take the fall.”

“That’s not true. We were going to tell you—” She jolted when Alexis slapped her hand on the table so hard the glass of water lifted slightly. “Mom.”

“Spinelli recorded the conversation, damn it. Sam was going to force you to come forward, she knew you’d done something more—the more you ignore reality, Kristina, the harder it’s going to be help you. You did this. You murdered that man, you framed Elizabeth, and you—” Alexis straightened, swallowed hard. “You’re the reason the car went off the road. What did you do? Did you try to go for Sam’s phone?”

Kristina looked away, pressed her lips together. “You’re acting like I wanted it to happen like this. None of this is my fault.”

“No? Then who do we blame, Kristina?” Alexis demanded. “Who is the villain?”

“Jason.” Kristina looked at her mother, angry tears glittering in the corner of her eyes. “If he’d stayed dead, none of this would have happened. Dad and Ava wouldn’t have started fighting over Avery. Sam and Danny wouldn’t be arguing. And John Cates would never have gone after Dad or me. This is Jason’s fault. Maybe my daughter would even be alive—”

Alexis sat back, staring at Kristina, her chest tight. “Sam chose to make custody a minefield with Jason. And Danny chose to drink and make a fool of himself. And you chose to take a gun from your father, and shoot a man in cold blood—”

“I didn’t—” Kristina huffed, looked away. “I didn’t plan it that way, okay? It’s not like I was going to—I just got the gun in case. And I was following him around so that I could get him alone. Make him drop the charges. I just—I just wanted to scare him, okay? But—he—” Tears slid own her cheeks. “He was blaming me for Adela’s death—”

“Irene,” Alexis said softly and Kristina stopped, her eyes wide. “My granddaughter’s name was Irene.”

“How can you say that to me—”

“I should have said it months ago. The second you attacked your sister for naming her daughter the day we buried that sweet baby. I should have—I should have done so many things, Kristina.” Alexis pushed her chair back. “I’ll make some calls. I’ll get you a lawyer. Every defendant is entitled to good representation.”

“Mom—where are you going—” Kristina lunged out of her seat, seeing her mother move towards the door. “I’m supposed to be arraigned—”

“I’ll handle it today, but I can’t be your lawyer, Kristina. I could have if you’d come to me after you’d done it.” Alexis took a few steps back toward her daughter. “I’d have done almost anything to protect you. But not like this. Not after you tried to destroy Elizabeth’s life—or after your actions led to your sister’s death. I can’t do this. I won’t.”

“Mom—I didn’t—I just—I thought they’d arrest Jason! Or that he’d confess to get Elizabeth out of trouble!” Kristina tried to reach for her mother, but Alexis held out her hands to stop her. “I thought if he confessed, he’d go away, and everything would be the way it was supposed to—”

“But he didn’t. And you didn’t back down. You kept going. And going. Until you took Sam down with you. I can’t—I can’t stand by and let you think this is okay. I won’t. I’ll be in the hallway until they call your case.”

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee: Cargo Dock

Jason scribbled his name at the bottom of a form, then handed it a supervisor. When he returned inside to the main floor, he saw a familiar figure standing near his office. “I thought you’d be at the court house,” he said.

He opened the door, and gestured for Sonny to go in first. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know really. I guess—we haven’t seen each other since…” Sonny stopped, rubbed his chin. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to you. They, ah, don’t really make a greeting card for this kind of thing.”

“There’s nothing to say, Sonny. Kristina tried to frame Elizabeth for murder and dragged Sam into it. Now Sam’s dead and Kristina’s going to jail. For the rest of her life, I would think.” Jason crossed to the coffee machine. He wanted something to do with his hands, wanted something to focus on. To stop himself from asking the obvious.

“I didn’t suspect her, Jason. Not in any real way that mattered. Not until that last day.”

Jason turned, looked at him, but said nothing, letting the uncomfortable silence linger. “And when you did suspect her, you and Alexis went out to confront her. What was the plan, Sonny? Were you going to turn her in, exonerate Elizabeth?”

“We…hadn’t really gotten that far,” Sonny said, but looked away. “I don’t know. I want to tell you that I’d have done anything I could to get Elizabeth out of this, but…I don’t know,” he repeated. “Diane had a good case for trial. She probably wouldn’t have been convicted.”

“Yeah. That’s what I figured.”

“Jase—”

“We don’t really have anything to say to each other, Sonny.” Jason crossed to his desk, his coffee in his hand now. He set the mug down. “You would have protected your family. I know that. You’d have made sure Kristina was safe and out of the country, and then maybe you’d have thought about Elizabeth. Maybe.”

Sonny slid his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. “I wouldn’t have felt good about it—”

“But you’d have done it anyway.”

“You’ve have done it for your family—”

“I thought—” Jason stopped, then shook his head slightly. It didn’t matter. “My sons wouldn’t have done this to someone else. When Danny thought Elizabeth might go to jail because of what he’d done, he tried to tell the judge to take him instead. Immediately. Did you know that?” he demanded. “He jumped right up in court. Took accountability. Something Kristina clearly doesn’t understand. I hear that she turned down a deal already.”

“It was a shit deal—life in prison, no parole—you think that’s fair? Cates was scum!”

“Yeah, he was. And if she’d asked me to help her cover it up, I’d have done it. No questions asked, Sonny. I’d have burned that gun in acid, broken it into pieces, and made sure it never turned up,” Jason said flatly. “That’s not what Kristina chose to do. She lied her way into Elizabeth’s house, stole her car keys, planted a murder weapon in her car, and then made sure the FBI went looking for it. They locked her up, Sonny. For nearly a week. You think Elizabeth deserved that?”

“No—”

“You think Jake deserved to be interrogated and have his life torn apart by the Feds? Danny being followed around and questioned? You think they deserved that? That only happens because Kristina frames Elizabeth and drags us into the investigation. She was under house arrest, Sonny. Had to sign documents so that Aiden had guardianship. Kristina knew all that was happening. And it wasn’t enough for her. She threw Danny under the bus, made sure his drinking was on federal record. And that wasn’t enough either, was it, Sonny?” Jason demanded. “Because she was willing to let everyone believe Sam was sabotaging Elizabeth, too! And now Sam’s dead. If you ask me, life in prison is too good for her. Be grateful I’m letting it go at that.”

“What does that mean?” Sonny demanded, heat rushing to his cheeks. “What are you threatening—”

“I’m not threatening anything, Sonny. That’s not how I operate and you know it. I’m telling you that Kristina decided to make herself my enemy when she attacked my family. Which she did repeatedly for weeks. Letting her rot in prison is the least of what she deserves.”

Jason walked past Sonny, dragged open the office door. “I wasn’t going to have this conversation with you. We didn’t need to put any of this into words. Because you know what you were planning to do, what you would have done if you’d reached Kristina first last week. You know and I know that when it came down to it — you were going to protect your daughter and my family wasn’t even a factor. I’ve spent enough time on you, Sonny. Wasted enough. Don’t come back.”

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