Part 30 - Chapter 1 - The Showdown

"I can't believe it," Blaine sighed as he finished relating the scene he witnessed at Reese's house to Cassie. "How could she have moved on so quickly? We just broke up."

"I don't know, Blaine," Cassie said. As much as she wanted to smile and shout for joy, she held her true emotions back and kept a somber and sympathetic tone for Blaine. "Except . . . I hate to say this but, maybe the relationship just didn't mean as much to her as it did to you. I'm so sorry you have to go through this."

"Yeah, maybe it didn't," Blaine said slowly. "I just can't get over seeing her in another guy's arms like that. Do you think something was going on between Reese and James before we broke up?"

As much as Cassie wanted to encourage that seed of doubt in Blaine's mind, she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. "Not that I know of. I never noticed anything between them."

"Maybe she's just feeling vulnerable right now and needed someone to turn to," Blaine suggested. He was trying to find a less negative spin to what he saw, but this new possibility didn't sit any better with him. "You know James better than I do. Would he take advantage of her like that?"

"No, James is a good guy. He can be very charming, but he wouldn't take advantage."

"And why him?"

"I don't know. I wish I had the answers for you, to make you feel better, but it doesn't make any sense to me either. If I was Reese-"

Cassie's next thought was cut off as her sister stepped in from the kitchen. "Cass, could you come in here and lend me a hand for a second?"

When she met Zara's eyes, Cassie knew Zara's interruption had nothing to do with anything that was going on in the kitchen.

"Can I come in?" James asked after he lightly rapped on the hospital room door. When Reese looked startled and started to move from the bed, he motioned for her to stay where she was. "No, don't get up. You probably need your rest. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm ok, I guess. What are you doing here?"

"When the ambulance brought you in there was no one else with you and no one was sure who to call. I thought I'd stick around to check on you, see if you need anything."

"Thanks, but I'm alright."

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"No, not much."

"You're probably wondering why I'm here. I stopped by your office yesterday, hoping you could look over some last minute paperwork for my club, but they told me you called in sick."

"I wasn't feeling up to much yesterday . . ."

"Since I really needed to get that paperwork turned in, I decided to stop by your house. When I knocked on the front door, no one answered. I thought maybe you were too sick to get out of bed or something and I started to feel bad about bothering you, so I was about to leave. Something didn't seem right to me and as I started to leave I realized I smelled gas."

"I called out to see if anyone was home, but I didn't hear any answer. I thought about leaving to call for help, but something, a gut feeling, I guess, told me not to leave. Then I noticed your car was in the driveway, so I tried the door, but it was locked. I didn't want to break in, but I'm glad I did, because as soon as the door was open I could smell the gas really strong. And right away, I found you passed out in the middle of the living room floor."

"Oh."

"I knew neither of us could stay inside for long, so I carried you outside and made sure you were breathing before I went to the neighbors and had them call for help. Do you remember?"

"I remember waking up here last night. Before that, no, I don't remember."

"What about what happened before that? Do you know how the leak got started?"

"No . . .I didn't feel like going to work that morning. I wasn't feeling well. After I called in, I fell asleep on the couch for awhile. I remember trying to get up for some reason. I was going to get something to settle my stomach. Then the next thing I know I woke up here. The doctor's have already asked me all about it and that's all I remember."

"I see."

"They seem to wonder if I did it on purpose, but I didn't. I didn't do anything."

"I never thought you did. I was just curious about what happened. It's not really my business, I guess, but since I was there it kind of feels like it is."

"Hello, Reese, how are you feeling this morning?" the doctor said as she walked into the room.

"Ok."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Jitmakusol," she said introducing herself to James. "And you are?"

"James Spencer. I'm, I guess, an acquaintance of Reese."

"Could you give us a minute alone then, Mr. Spencer. I need to speak with Reese about her test results."

"Sure. I guess I'll see you later. If you need anything at all, let me know."

Once James was out of the room, the doctor took a seat next to Reese's bedside.

"I have some good news for you. Everything looks fine and you can go home as soon as your release forms are filled out."

"Good. Thank you, doctor," Reese said as she started to get out of bed.

"There's just one thing that showed up on your tests that I wanted to ask you about. Are you aware that you're pregnant?"

"What?"

"I wanted to bring this up, because you didn't say anything to the doctors or nurses here, but we always check for pregnancy as a routine and your test came out positive. I didn't know if you just didn't mention it or if you didn't know about it."

Reese sat frozen in shock, unable to believe what she was hearing was true. In a quiet voice she answered. "I didn't know."

Part 30 - Chapter 2 - The Showdown

"I just got the official results in," Lieutenant Kauker said to Logan. "The footprints match."

"So it's definitely the same person causing problems at the Townsend and Burroughs residences," Logan concluded. "Think it could be someone targeting women who are living alone?"

"Looks like it. So far it looks like a male, under 200 pounds, wears a size 11 shoes. Doesn't narrow down our search much."

"Isn't it odd that he actually broke into the Townsend house and didn't seem to do anything, but obviously tampered with the gas line at Ms. Burroughs' house without breaking in?"

"Maybe the difference was with who was home at the time. Maybe Ms. Townsend came home before he had a chance to do anything and he fled while she was calling us at the neighbors."

"Do you think the Summers case is tied in with this? Could the man that was stalking and abducted her be the same one who has turned his attentions to Ms. Townsend and Ms. Boroughs?" Logan asked.

"I don't know, without the evidence to compare, it's hard to say. I think the Summers case is a different situation though. She wasn't living alone when she was abducted."

"But she was when her apartment was broken into and when she was receiving the stalker's notes. Maybe the abduction was the next step and the break in was just to gather information."

"But why try to asphyxiate Ms. Burroughs with a broken gas line?"

"I don't know. Unless the perp was trying to knock her out before abducting her."

"I don't think so," the lieutenant shook his head. "Vanessa Summers comes from a wealthy family, one he could get a ransom out of, the same with Ms. Townsend, but Ms. Burroughs has no one. Even if he was trying to kidnap her, what would be his motive?"

"I have no idea," Logan said, looking at the evidence chart for the Summers' case. "I still think there's some kind of connection, but what could it be? What suspect would be tied to all three women? I'm not sure if we're any closer to narrowing down our suspect as when we started."

"At least we've eliminated one suspect. Justin Jordan's alibi checked out."

Lucy wearily walked into the entryway to answer the ringing doorbell, her confrontation with Craig still weighing heavily on her mind and her heart. "Justin, hello. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

"No, not at all. I'm glad you're here. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk when you stopped by before, but Craig . . ."

"I have to apologize for intruding. I don't want to cause any problems for you. That's the last thing I want to do."

"Don't worry, you haven't."

"Is your husband here now?"

"No . . . I threw him out."

"Threw him out? Are you saying it's over between the two of you?"

"Yes," Lucy said unsurely. "Yes, it's over."

"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't do anything to interfere with your marriage."

Lucy hesitated a moment, trying to imagine how things would have been if he had never come into her life. She could hardly picture her life any other way. "No, it didn't have anything to do with you. Craig and I had problems, we probably did from the start, and I'm sure we would have had the same problems no matter what."

"Still I can't help feeling partially responsible after what happened. I'm truly sorry if I hurt you in anyway."

"You haven't, I swear. You have nothing to apologize for. I have no regrets about what happened and I think I will be better off without Craig in my life. Please don't apologize."

"In that case, at least let me thank you for confirming my whereabouts with the police. I never wanted to put you in that position, knowing it would be awkward for you to admit that we were together that night, but I had no choice. Thank you for speaking up for me."

"It was nothing. It was the least I could do for you."

"Still, thank you." After a moment of awkward silence, Justin started to leave. "That's what I came by to tell you, that and goodbye. I couldn't leave town without making my apologies and saying goodbye."

Part 30 - Chapter 3 - The Showdown

"Sorry they're a little burnt. I don't cook much," Eileen said as she set a plate of pancakes in front of Lawrence at the breakfast table before getting her own plate and joining him.

"They look fine," Lawrence said with a smile as he started to eat. "Thanks."

"This is nice, isn't it?" Eileen remarked.

"It is. It is nice to have someone to share meals with. I'm so used to doing everything alone."

"I love having you here with me. Especially last night. I was so freaked out after the break in, I really didn't want to be here all alone. Thanks for staying."

"You don't need to thank me. It's the least I would do for you," he replied. "I was thinking we should spend the day out together. We should do something special."

"Ok, that sounds great. I'll go upstairs and get ready."

Excited about the prospect of a special day out, Eileen practically skipped up the stairs to get dressed. As she checked her reflection in the mirror and reached over for a hair brush, Eileen heard something fall off the bathroom counter and land in Lawrence's overnight bag. When she looked into the bag to retrieve the dropped item, she saw something that made her gasp. She knew she shouldn't snoop, but her curiosity was too strong.

With a quick glance behind her to make sure she was alone, she picked up the ring box and anxiously opened it. Her heart leapt when she saw what she had suspected and hoped to see, a diamond engagement ring.

"What do you think you're doing?" Amanda demanded as she walked into the living room of her sister's new house. "I told you I'd take care of that."

Alma turned from the shelves where she was putting books away. "I'm just putting a few things away. I think I can manage to stack a few books on a shelf."

"Alma, you promised you were going to take it easy and let us do the work. You're due to give birth any day now and you don't want to overdo it."

"I'm not overdoing it. I feel fine and just sitting on the sofa while you, Andrew, and Edward do everything is driving me crazy. I need to get up and do something and lifting a few books isn't going to hurt anything."

"Ok, if you insist, then sit down and look through this box and tell me where you want me to put these things," Amanda said as she moved one of the boxes closer to the couch. "While you do that, I'll put the rest of the books away too."

With a sigh, Alma reluctantly gave in and followed Amanda's orders. As she looked at the outside of the box, it didn't look immediately familiar to her. It took her a moment to recognize what it was. "Oh, I haven't opened this box since I moved from the old house."

"Really? That was awhile ago, wasn't it? What's in it?" Amanda asked.

"Old photos, papers, and keepsakes from when I was a girl. There was never room for it when I lived at Bernice's or in Edward's apartment."

"Oh, let me see," Amanda said eagerly as she took a seat next to Alma and looked into the box.

"It seems like a long time since we lived in the old house with Mother, doesn't it?" Alma said, becoming more absorbed in her own thoughts than the items in front of her. "So much has changed. It's like it was another lifetime. At the time I never would have imagined that things could have been like this. I didn't think anything was ever going to change from how it was then."

"Really? You didn't?" Amanda asked in disbelief. "All I did when we lived there was think about the future, my career, getting married, having children."

"Well, that's the difference between my life and yours. I never had the chance to hope for any of that. Not after Mother got sick and decided I'd be the one to stay home to take care of her. I didn't think I'd get a chance to do anything else with my life."

"Alma, all this time I had no idea. Is that why you called me a spoiled brat?"

"Yes, but maybe I shouldn't have. Our whole lives it's always seemed like you've been the one to get your way."

"Things aren't always what they seem, are they? Look at us now, you're the one who has it all, a job, a new house, a husband, and a new baby on the way. I'm happy for you. I just hope I will have everything that you do someday too."

"What were you doing out there?" Zara hissed as she dragged Cassie into the kitchen, out of Blaine's earshot.

"Just being a friend. Blaine needed someone to talk to about the breakup."

"Come on, Cass, it's me. You can't play dumb with me. Don't tell me you're being there for Blaine just to be a friend and nothing more. I know better than that."

"Ok, so I like him and I'm not exactly disappointed that he's available now, that doesn't mean I can't be a good friend and be there for him?"

"Uh huh," Zara said skeptically. "And you don't think you're not going to be too biased to be a true friend to him in this situation and not have your own little agenda?"

"What do you want me to do? We are friends. Maybe someday he'll see me as more than a friend, but that's never going to happen if I'm not around to give him a chance to finally take notice of me."

"And you're really going to just let him notice you on his own without interfering like you and Mother tried to before?"

"The love potion," Cassie said thoughtfully. "I didn't think it worked, but I guess it actually did . . ."

"What are you thinking now?" Zara scolded.

"Nothing. I just assumed it didn't work and I'm surprised that it did, that's all."

"Do you even feel the slightest bit guilty about that all? You're messing up another couple's relationship."

"I do feel bad about it," Cassie insisted. "I struggled with the idea of it all along and I wasn't going to go through with it anyway, but then James came in and took it by accident. I only considered it in the first place because I was so desperate. I didn't know what else to do."

"Why should you have to do anything at all? If you're so sure that you and Blaine are meant to be together, won't it happen on its own without you having to do these crazy things?"

"Yes . . ." she reluctantly admitted. "I guess so. I thought that too, but then Mom came up with this love potion idea and I started thinking, why not help things along?"

"I hate to say this, but I'm not sure having our mother live here is the best thing, especially if that is the kind of influence she's going to have on you."

"How can you say that? She's our mother."

"I know, but I'm starting to wonder, especially since the doctors at the hospital suggested that she be evaluated again. I know we thought that she was committed just because Dad wanted to get rid of her and keep her quiet about his past, but the more time I spend with her, the more I start to wonder if there's more to it than that. Maybe she really does need more help than she's getting."

"No, don't even suggest that. We just got her back, I'm not losing her again. Dad was . . ." Cassie paused, something in her mind suddenly clicked and she wondered why she didn't see everything so clearly sooner. "Oh my God. Dad. It was Dad."

Part 30 - Chapter 4 - The Showdown

Reese stood at the desk in a daze as she waited to be released from the hospital. The doctor had been clear when giving her the news and so certain there had been no mistake in the test results, but Reese was left in a state of shock. Pregnant? She couldn't be pregnant . . . well, she knew she could be. It wasn't impossible, but she couldn't believe that it was true. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea. She couldn't even think about it at all yet.

"Reese."

Reese jumped at the sound of her name. She turned around to see James standing just behind her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Is everything alright?"

"Fine," she lied. "I didn't expect you to still be here."

"I don't have much going on right now. Besides I know you don't have anyone else here to give you a ride home, so I thought I'd offer to give you a lift."

"Thanks, but you shouldn't have bothered. I'll be fine. I can take a cab."

"Yeah, I know, but since I'm here already, why not go along and save the cab fare? Unless you have a good reason not to."

Reese hesitated. She wasn't used to accepting help and not knowing why James was being so generous to offer made her extra wary, but she couldn't think of any reason to refuse.

"Are you sure about this?" Blaine asked in disbelief as he drove Cassie, Zara, and Serena to the police station.

"Absolutely," Cassie replied. "I know our father is the one responsible for Vanessa's disappearance. It has to be him. He's back for revenge."

"And she's not the only one he's targeting," Serena chimed in. "I knew something was coming. I sensed it for awhile now. I just don't know how I didn't recognize it was him from the beginning. It all makes sense now."

"But how did you figure it out?" Blaine insisted. "What makes you think it was him?"

Cassie shrugged. "I really can't explain it.

"There are some things you just know," Serena added.

"Ok, that's great," Zara said. "But how are we going to explain that to the police? They aren't going to take 'we just know it was him' as a lead. We're going to need evidence to convince them to take us seriously and since none of us have seen or heard from him in ages, what are we supposed to tell them?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure out something," Cassie said. "This has to help. Even bringing up Dad with them has to do more good than saying nothing. We can't just do nothing at all. We have to try."

Eileen grinned brightly as Lawrence helped her out of the car. She had been anxious and giddy ever since she discovered the ring in his belongings earlier that day, but now that she saw where they were going her nerves were on high. "This is where we had our first date."

"I know. I thought it would be nice to come back here today."

"Definitely."

They had only walked a short way down the sidewalk, when Lawrence paused. "Wait a second."

Eileen gasped as Lawrence bent down on one knee. She couldn't believe this was it. She waited for what seemed an eternity for Lawrence to produce the ring box or to say something to her, but instead he simply retied his shoelace and stood up again. Feeling foolish for jumping to conclusions, Eileen blushed with embarrassment and looked away.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing."

"Are you sure everything's ok? You seem on edge today. Are you not having a good time?"

"No, I'm having a great time. I always do when I'm with you. I just have a lot on my mind today, I guess."

"I'm sure you would after the break in. After a stranger has been in your house it must be hard to feel completely secure."

"It is," she said, grateful for another explanation for what was really on her mind. "It's a strange feeling, especially since I'm living on my own right now."

"It will be ok, I'm sure. I promise you I will do anything to look after you and keep anything bad from happening to you."

"I know," Eileen smiled and wrapped her arms around Lawrence. "I always feel safe when I'm with you."

"Just try to put it out of your mind as much as you can and enjoy the rest of the day."

"Ok, I will," Eileen said, promising to herself to take his advice not only about the break in, but also about the ring she had found. Maybe for today it was better not to think about the past or the future, but to live in the moment and enjoy the day together.

Part 30 - Chapter 5 - The Showdown

"Ok, so I do have an ulterior motive for offering you a ride," James said as he drove towards Reese's house.

Reese turned abruptly from the window where she had been immersed in her own thoughts and looked at James.

"Things are progressing really well with the club and I was hoping you could look over the final paperwork for me soon so I can get things going. I don't expect you to do it right now after what you've just been through, but I'm kind of anxious to get it settled so I can plan the big opening. Any idea when you'll be able to take a look at it or is it too soon to ask?"

"How about tomorrow?" Reese asked wearily. She wanted to get things settled as soon as possible too, but couldn't bring herself to think about anything at the moment. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe she would wake up and find out this whole day had been nothing but a dream. She knew that wasn't possible, but she could still hope.

"Ok, if you're sure you're up to it. I don't want to be a jerk and pester you about it when you just got out of the hospital."

"No, it's fine. Just stop by my office."

"Thanks I appreciate it."

They rode the rest of the way in silence until James stopped in front of Reese's house.

"Thanks for the ride," she said quickly as she started to get out of the car.

"No problem. Are you sure you're doing ok? Do you need anything? I could come in for a few minutes if you want."

"No, I'm fine. I just want to be alone."

"Ok. I know we don't know each other very well, but if you need anything or just need a friend, give me a call anytime."

"Why are you doing all this? You don't have to do all this to get your paperwork looked at quickly. I was going to anyway, it's my job."

"I don't know. There's just something about you I like. If you don't need anything, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the office."

As Reese walked up to the house, she heard James drive away, but didn't look back. She was relieved and terrified all at once to finally be left alone with her thoughts. She had to figure out what she was going to do now.

"Why don't you wait here for now and I'll talk to the police first?" Zara suggested as the group walked into the police station. She was trying to figure out how to put a logical spin on this that would convince the police they had a legitimate lead and she was a little afraid that her mother or Cassie might say something to make the police think they were all crazy.

"Ok, just make sure you convince them it was him," Cassie insisted. "I have to think. There has to be more I can tell them. We have to figure out where they are."

"Concentrate with me, Cassandra," Serena said as she took a seat. "We can find them."

Blaine shook his head as he took a seat along with Cassie and mumbled under his breath, "This is all too weird."

"So what makes you so sure your father is the one behind Vanessa Summers' disappearance?" the Lieutenant asked Zara.

"It just makes sense, doesn't it? My father was furious at Vanessa when he fled town and he's not one to do nothing when he thinks someone has betrayed him. I mean, he got my mother committed to a mental institution for years because he was afraid that she might say something to give away his secrets. Plus he left with very little and he wouldn't be above trying to get a ransom from the McAllistars. Who else could it be?"

"We've been following a few leads, Ms. Barrett, and we have our list of suspects including your father. I don't know what you expect us to do with your accusation. Unless you have evidence to show us that he's been in town or have a suggestion as to where we might find him now, honestly there's not much we can do with what you're telling us. We're already looking into your father as a suspect."

"That didn't do any good," Zara said as she walked back to where her mother was seated. "They already know about Dad and without any other information to add, just telling them it was him isn't helpful."

When Serena smiled at her strangely, Zara looked around suspiciously. "Where did Cassie and Blaine go?"

"Your sister knows where your father is. They've gone to rescue Vanessa."

"Goodbye?" Lucy repeated in disbelief. "Where are you going and for how long?"

"I don't know yet. I may be gone a very long time. Right now I'm not sure if I can see myself ever coming back."

"You're kidding me. You can't leave for good."

"I think it's the best thing right now. There's really not anything here for me and more and more I think being here isn't the best thing for me."

"Do you really think there's nothing here for you?" Lucy said, hurt that he wouldn't even count her as a reason to stay. "I thought you and I . . . I thought you knew how much you've meant to me as a friend and as more than a friend. Since we've met, I honestly can't imagine coping without you and not because of the work you've done for me, but because of who you are and how you've always been there for me. You are so special to me and if there's anything I can do for you in the same way, just name it and I'll do it. Justin, I would do anything for you. And I was hoping now that I've finally seen the light about Craig, you and I would have a chance."

Justin sighed heavily. He knew leaving and saying goodbye wouldn't be easy, but Lucy was making this even harder than he'd imagined. Looking her in the eye and telling her that he was abandoning their chance at a relationship was heart wrenching. It was much easier in his mind when he could tell himself that he was leaving for the sake of her marriage. "I would have liked that, very much, but even if I stay do you really think we would stand a chance? Our situation, the timing, it has never been right. As much as I want it to be, I can't see it ever working between us. Honestly, don't you think we would both be better off just saying goodbye now and going our separate ways?"

"No, no I don't," Lucy insisted. "Maybe it will be hard for awhile or even a very long time, but I know it would be worth it. You and I deserve a chance at least. Please don't leave me like this, not now. We could be so good together if you would just give us a chance."

Justin shook his head. "I can't, not now anyway. Maybe someday once we've both gotten our lives straightened out we might have a chance, but with the way things are now I can't see it happening for us. Both of our lives are a mess and that's no way to start a relationship, especially when your marriage isn't finished."

"It's as good as over, I promise you."

"I'm sorry, but that's not good enough, for either of us. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Lucy."

"But Justin-" Lucy called after him, but she was too late. He was already walking out the door and he didn't look back.

Part 30 - Chapter 6 - The Showdown

"It doesn't look like there's much work going on in here," Edward remarked lightly as he and Andrew walked into the living room where Alma and Amanda were still sitting on the couch chatting.

"Alma was trying to do too much," Amanda explained. "And the only way I could get her to take it easy was to take a break with her."

"Well, that's ok then," Edward said with a wink. "Since it looks like we've got everything moved in and almost everything in the house set up, why don't we all take a break? I think we should all go out to dinner to celebrate. My treat, of course, as a thank you for helping with the move."

"Thanks, Ed. That's really generous of you," Andrew replied.

"And you don't have to do anything to thank us, we're family," Amanda replied. "Before we go though I want to get a few more things put away since I promised Alma."

"I'll help," Edward said as he picked up a book from the coffee table. "So this is it. Our new house is really coming together. What do you think, Alma?" When he looked over Alma had a pained expression on her face. "Alma? Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded. "Fine. I'll think I'll get ready to go." As she stood up she felt a pain in her abdomen that stopped her in her tracks. In a second Ed was at her side.

"You aren't fine. Tell me what's going on."

"I think I'm having the baby."

"Wait, before we go any further, you have to tell me what's going on," Blaine said as he parked in front of an old, abandoned warehouse and Cassie jumped out of the car. All the way from the police station, ever since Cassie and her mother exchanged glances and without any explanation, Serena urged them to go, he'd been trying to find out what was going on and where they were going. Cassie refused to answer any of his questions, only speaking to give him driving directions to this place.

"My father and Vanessa are here."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just trust me."

"Ok," he said doubtfully. "If that's the case, then shouldn't we have told somebody or had the police come here instead of running off on our own?"

"The police aren't helpful. They wouldn't take us seriously and there's no time to waste."

"This is dangerous."

"I know, but Mother knows where we are."

"How? You didn't say anything to each other."

"Just trust me, ok?"

Cautiously, and as quietly as possible, Cassie slowly opened the warehouse door. When no one was in sight, she and Blaine warily walked inside.

They tiptoed their way through the debris and junk left behind, afraid their footsteps would echo in the large space. Blaine followed behind as Cassie seemed to know exactly where she was going. As they reached the middle of the building, Cassie grabbed Blaine's arm and motioned towards the corner, barely whispering, "There she is."

When Blaine saw Vanessa behind the bars of some sort of cage in the corner of the room, he was shocked. He couldn't believe Cassie was right and that she had known exactly where to find her. He started to go forward to help her, but Cassie's grip on his arm tightened and he held back.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Cassie ducked out of sight behind a stack of shelves, pulling Blaine along with her.

"And how is my lovely wife doing?" Silas said in a taunting voice as he walked up the bars of Vanessa's cage.

"I'm not your wife," she spat back. "You lied about your identity and you already had a wife when we were married, remember?"

"Pssh, details. Serena was out of the picture. She was dead to me, just like anyone who has tried to betray me, just like you are now."

"You were dead to me too and I was hoping you'd stay that way for good."

"And let you get away with betraying me? I don't think so. No one crosses me and gets away with it." When Vanessa didn't respond, he came at her from a different angle. "I haven't heard from Mommy and Daddy dearest yet about the ransom money. All this time you blamed me when they shut you out of their lives and out of their bank accounts, but I guess that wasn't the truth was it? As far as they know I'm out of the picture and they still aren't doing anything to help their daughter. I guess they just don't care about you anymore."

"Oh, please, give it a rest. Even if you get the money are you just going to let me go?"

Silas looked up at her with an evil teeth baring grin. "I don't suppose I can do that now, could I? Too bad you had to give away all my wealth. Maybe if I had been able to get my money back when I first broke into your apartment I might have just gone on my way, but then again maybe not."

Silas was about to open his mouth to speak again when he heard a noise behind him. He held very still for a moment listening as Cassie nervously held tighter to Blaine's arm. He turned around suddenly, squinting through the dark space of the warehouse and called out. "Who's there?"

Part 30 - Chapter 7 - The Showdown

"Excuse me, Lieutenant. I need to speak with you again," Zara said as she approached the officer. She tried to ignore his obviously impatient look. "I need your help. My mother and sister might have an idea of where Vanessa is."

"Vanessa Summers?" Logan asked. He couldn't help overhearing the conversation and taking an interest. When he looked over he recognized Zara from earlier questioning. "You're her stepdaughter, aren't you?

"Zara," she replied with a nod. "You have to pay attention to me, this is urgent. My sister thinks she knows where Vanessa might be and she went to look for her. I don't know if she's on to anything or not, but if she is she could be in serious danger. I don't think it's worth taking the risk that she could be wrong."

"Who's there?" Silas called out, as he drew a gun and ventured forward.

Cassie and Blaine drew back, both looking for a place to hide or a way too escape, but Silas had discovered them before they had a chance.

"Don't move," Silas ordered. He grinned as he saw Cassie and Blaine standing motionlessly in front of him. As they cowered before him he let out a self satisfied chuckle. "Look who we have here. Someone else I've been looking for."

Blaine and Cassie looked at each other nervously, wondering exactly what he meant by that statement, but both too afraid to ask.

"Don't just stand there with your mouths hanging open. Step out here into the open where I can see you. Slowly now."

"Dad, I can't believe you're back in town. What are you doing here?" Cassie asked.

"I should be asking you that," he retorted. "But it doesn't matter how you found me. It matters more what I'm going to do with you now that you're here."

"What do you mean?" she asked anxiously, glancing briefly at the weapon still pointed towards them.

Blaine touched her shoulder as he spoke up. "She's your own daughter. How could you even threaten to hurt her or the woman you were married to?"

"My daughters, my wives, they've all been trecherous, all the women in my life. And this girl here," he said nodding towards Cassie. "has been as bad as any of them. I fell for the innocent daughter act once before, because she is my flesh and blood, but it's not going to happen again. You've betrayed me as much as anyone else, Cassandra, and you haven't changed, have you?"

"You can't blame what happened on anyone but yourself," Vanessa spoke up from her corner. "You were the one who lied about everything and deceived all of us the entire time you were in our lives. You are not the one who should be feeling betrayed here."

"Keep quiet. No one is talking to you," Silas snapped at her before turning back to Blaine and Cassie. "Do you think I wanted it to be this way? Everything was fine, until my nephew showed up and you," he pointed at Blaine. "and your little girlfriend started snooping into my life. Before you all came along, we had a good life, didn't we Cassie?"

"My mom didn't," she replied, but Silas ignored her and continued to focus on Blaine.

"Don't think I forgot your parts in all of this. It's not just my dear wife over there, you're all on my list."

"What list?" Cassie asked, her pulse starting to race. "What are you planning to do?"

"I was hoping for something a little more subtle, an accident at the house, say a gas leak at that cute little house you share with that girlfriend of yours or at my nephew's girl's place where he seems to spend a lot of time these days. Then as soon as I collected my money, the money the wifey took from me in my absence, back from the wealthy in-laws, I would be on my way and no one would be the wiser, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Since you decided to drop in like this, I guess I'll have to deal with you directly instead," he said as he lifted his gun and pointed it deliberately at Blaine.

"No!" Cassie shouted as she stepped between her father and Blaine. "Don't do this! I won't let you hurt Blaine."

"Step aside, Cassandra."

"No, I won't let you. You would have to kill me first."

"Cassandra!" He said firmly as he grabbed her by the arm and tried to force her out of the way.

"Let her go," Blaine demanded as he stepped forward and tried to force Silas away from Cassie. He pushed Silas' arm away from Cassie, but Silas wasn't going to give up so quickly. He lunged forward towards Blaine and the two were about to engage in a stuggle when they heard someone enter the warehouse.

"Anyone in here? This is the police."

Silas looked back and forth wildly as he tried to decide what his next move would be. He held up his gun and pointed at each of the others in turn, wondering if he had time to shoot the witnesses and escape before the police came in. After a moment he settled the gun on Blaine.

"Don't do anything rash, Silas," Vanessa said, trying to keep her voice calm and convincing. "It's over. You fire one shot and they'll be on top of you in a second. You won't make it out of here alive if you try anything."

"Shut up," he hissed. He hesitated a second longer as he weighed his options. Seeing only one choice left, he backed away from Cassie and Blaine and started running towards the back exit of the warehouse.

"Over here!" Blaine shouted out to the police. "He's running towards the back."

Silas ran towards the backdoor, dodging boxes and old equipment as he tried to make his escape. As he was about to reach the back door he was stunned to find his first wife Serena standing boldly in his path, blocking his way.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Sebastian?" she said coldly.

Over his initial shock, he pushed her aside. "Out of my way."

Serena was knocked off balance, but quickly recovered. As she regained her balance she grabbed a board and turned around quickly, smacking Silas in the head as she spun around.

Silas stumbled backwards, a grabbed the back of his head in pain. When he looked up, Serena was standing in front of him, blocking his path again and holding the board in front of her as a weapon.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"Serena," he growled threateningly as he reached for his gun. "Move."

"You think you can scare me by threatening to take my life. You've already taken everything else from me, my innocence, my youth, years of my life that I should have spent raising our daughters. You've already taken all you can take from me. Ending my life would be nothing."

"I don't have time for this." He grabbed the board and tried to yank it away from Serena, but she held on with a tight grip. Still holding on he pushed forward knocking Serena off balance and sending her to the floor.

His path clear, Silas reached for the door, but before he could open it and make his way to freedom, he was commanded to stop.

"Freeze!" the police ordered. "Drop your weapon and put your hands up."

Surrounded with several guns pointed at his back, Silas knew he was beaten. It was over. He did as he was told and waited for the police to frisk and handcuff him.

As one of the officers helped Serena to her feet, she stared at Silas venomously. Now that she knew where he was, she was going to make sure he would pay for everything he'd done to her and to their daughters.