Part 34 - Chapter 6 - See You in Court

"I had a lot of fun today. I'm glad you invited me along," Chloe said as she and Eileen returned to the house.

"I'm glad you came," Eileen said sincerely. "I wouldn't have accomplished half of the things I got done today without you. You were a huge help."

"I'm glad to do it. What are friends for?"

"I feel a lot better about getting the wedding together after today. I'm so glad we got the locations booked and found a photographer and caterer for the same day. That's a huge relief."

"And don't forget the band," Chloe said with a smile.

"I knew you wouldn't, after your blatant flirting with James."

Chloe feigned offense for a second before laughing with her friend. "It paid off didn't it? I got you a band, didn't I?"

"Yes, thank you. It was nice of James to offer to help us find a band after I decided not to use his club."

"He seems like a nice guy," Chloe responded with a dreamy smile. "You know, if it would help you out, I can handle everything having to do with James and the band . . . I'm kind of disappointed you didn't decide to use the club after all."

"Because you might get to see more of him if I did?" Eileen teased.

"What's wrong with that?" Chloe replied. "Ok, I'll stop now. It's your special day. You get to call the shots."

"I'm so excited," Eileen gushed. "Everything's coming together and it's starting to feel so real now. I can't wait to tell Lawrence about everything we did today."

"Do you think he really wants to hear all the details? I mean, most guys aren't into dresses and invitations, and centerpieces and matching place settings. He might not be as into it as I was today."

"I won't go into too much detail, but I'm sure he'll want to know how things are going . . . We were really having a good time with it today, weren't we?"

"Sure. Can you believe that some people get paid to do this kind of thing for a living?"

"Like professional wedding planners?" Eileen asked as an idea was starting to form in her mind. "You now, we could do that. We worked well together today and I think we had great results. What if we tried to do something like this for a living?"

"Seriously?" Chloe asked. "You know, I think that sounds like a great idea."

As the judge returned to the courtroom and was about to call an end to the recess, Zara turned around and whispered to her sister, "Have you seen Mom?"

When Cassie shook her head, Zara took one last look at the closed doors before turning forward in her seat again. Serena had been there with her during the recess, but when the bailiff had called them in, she said she was going to make a quick trip to the restroom before returning to the courtroom with the rest of the group.

Zara thought for sure that Serena would be back by now. If she didn't return soon she was going to miss the judge's decision.

As the bailiff secured the courtroom doors and the judge took his seat, Silas noticed a small piece of paper under his foot. He reached down, pretending to scratch his ankle and palmed it in his hand. He brought the paper up to his lap and unfolded it under the table.

In the back alley a van will be waiting.

Silas looked up as the judge started to call the court to order, but before he could say a word, he was interrupted by the blaring sound of the fire alarm as thick black smoke began to seep up through the floor vents.

Recognizing his opportunity, Silas dropped to the floor, under the cover of the thickening smoke. He saw the bailiff and security guards come after him, but he lost them in the chaos. Out of sight, Silas made his way to the back alley and freedom.

Reese paused as she opened her car door. She was about to leave the courthouse, but she felt another tightening pain in her abdomen.

These pains had been happening off and on all day. At first she thought it was just the baby moving and then she thought maybe they were false contractions. She'd been trying to ignore them, hoping they would go away, but instead the pains were only getting stronger.

If she didn't know better she would think she was going into labor, but it was way too soon for that. Her due date was still several weeks away. She was starting to think that something was really wrong.

Instead of getting into the car, Reese turned and started to go back into the courthouse to call for help.

Before she could even step back onto the sidewalk, the front doors flew open with a puff of smoke and she could hear the fire alarm inside wailing. As the people inside started to file out of the building, she spotted Blaine and Cassandra among the group and she stopped where she was. The last thing she wanted, especially right now, was to run into them.

She stepped backwards and quickly got into her car before they could see her. She was just going to have to drive herself to the hospital. She just hoped she would be able to make it there alright.

As Blaine stood next to Cassandra, waiting for news of what was going on inside the courthouse and if they would be able to go back inside, a movement caught his eye. He looked up to see a familiar looking car driving past. "Was that Reese's car?" he wondered. "Or am I just imagining things?"

"I'm worried," Zara said, interrupting Blaine's thoughts. "Mom's not out here. Do you think she's still inside somewhere? I hope she's alright."

Cassie just shook her head. "This is too much. I've got to sit down. I think I'm going to pass out."

"There's a bench over there," Blaine said. "Maybe we should move away from the building where there's more fresh air."

"While you do that, I'll find out if anyone has seen our mother," Zara said as Blaine and Cassie walked away.

"What's going on?" Vanessa asked as she approached Logan, after hearing him on his police radio calling for backup.

"We're not exactly sure, but we're trying to find out," he answered hurriedly. "I'm sorry I can't talk now, but they need me inside."

"Back in there? Is that safe?"

"Should be. There doesn't seem to be a fire or anything toxic inside. The security guards are already in there, looking for Silas. He's missing."

"What?" Vanessa asked in shock. Her eyes caught Zara's who was walking over just in time to overhear the news.

"Sorry, I've got to go. I'll tell you more when I know anything."

After managing to slip away from the guards and everyone else in the courtroom, Silas made it out into the alley behind the courthouse without being seen. As the note had promised, there was a van, plain white and unmarked, waiting with the engine running just a few yards away.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Silas headed for the driver's side door to find out who his mysterious blonde helper was.

"Serena?"

"Get in the back, Sebastian, and lay low."

Silas took a step backwards. This didn't seem right.

"Why should I?" he asked skeptically.

Serena opened the door and got out of the car. "The smoke bomb I planted was only a short distraction. In another minute they'll be back here looking for you. If you don't want to get caught again you have to go now."

He looked around anxiously as he weighed his options. He knew Serena was right, the guards were already looking for him and could come back here any second. He had to get out of here, but he didn't trust Serena.

The last time they'd met, she'd made clear just how much she despised him. He doubted she was really trying to help him. Of course he could just play along with whatever she was doing and use her just long enough to get away, but without knowing what she was up to, that plan was a gamble. He wasn't sure which was riskier, going along with Serena or not.

With no time to waste, Silas decided to try a third option. He stepped forward, attempting to push Serena aside and get in the van himself, but she was a step ahead of him.

Serena quickly pulled out a gun, concealed in the folds of her long skirt and fired.

The first shot made him stagger backwards and fall to the ground. The second and third and fourth were to make sure the first had done its job.

Serena stood over Silas's motionless body, making sure there were no signs of life. "Now you can never hurt me, our daughters, or anyone ever again."