Part 34 - Chapter 1 - See You in Court

"Chloe! I've missed you," Eileen greeted her friend with a hug and led her into the house. "Come in, have a seat, and tell me how you've been."

"I'm doing alright," Chloe said with a shrug.

"Just alright? I thought you liked living on the islands."

"I did. How could you not love all that sun and sand? It's just . . .things were getting complicated with my love life and I missed all of my friends here. Now, let me see that ring."

When Eileen lifted up her left hand, Chloe sighed. "It's beautiful and you look so happy. I'm so excited for you."

"Thank you. I just can't wait to have the wedding and finally make it official."

"Then let's get busy. What's first on the agenda?"

"Well, Cassie suggested this club a friend of hers just opened as a place for the reception. I told her I would check it out, but I think I'd rather have it at Pheasant Run. That's where I always pictured it."

"What about Lucy?"

"Didn't I tell you? I took your advice and went to talk to her."

"And you made up? That's great!"

"I'm glad I stopped by when I did . . .Have you talked to Lucy recently?"

"No, but I've been meaning to."

"You should. She's had a lot going on lately and she really needs her friends right now."

Craig peeked through the doorway of the nursery as Lucy laid Stuart down in his crib for a nap. He felt a sharp pain of regret at the loss of his family. When Lucy turned and he saw clearly the full round shape of her pregnant belly, his sadness turned to anger. That child that she was carrying should have been his, but instead it was another man's baby.

Lucy jumped back startled, when she saw Craig watching her from the doorway. She quickly composed herself and walked towards him, quietly closing the door behind her.

"I really need to get the locks changed," she grumbled.

"Lucy-"

"What are you doing here? Don't you understand that I don't want to see you?"

"I get that. But we need to talk. About the divorce."

"What about it?"

"I think we should come to an agreement, work this out between the two of us, outside of court."

"I don't think so."

"Just hear me out a second. I think you're going to be interested in what I have to say."

Blaine walked solemnly up the courthouse steps. He'd had mixed feelings about coming here today. He didn't want to see the man who had tried to kill him and Reese on separate occasions, but he did want to see justice served. He wanted to see that Silas paid for all of the crimes that he committed and was put away for a long time.

He wondered if Reese would show up for the sentencing. She had been there when Silas had run him over with his car and she had been the victim when he caused the gas leak in her house, an accident that was meant for both of them. Blaine had given up on any hopes of reconciliation with Reese, but he did still care about her, as a friend, and wondered how she was doing.

His mind was also on Cassie. Silas was her father. He wondered how she was handling all of this. He knew it couldn't be easy for her.

When Blaine walked inside, he saw Cassie standing in the lobby with her mother, sister and step-mother, waiting for the sentencing to begin.

"If you're not feeling well, hon, why don't you go home? You don't have to be here," Vanessa said.

"Hey, what's going on?" Blaine asked.

Cassie only glanced briefly at him before answering Vanessa's question. "It wouldn't do any good. I'd just feel worse at home. I think I need to be here, but something bad is going to happen, I can feel it."

Serena reassuringly patted her daughter's back. "Try not to take it upon yourself, Cassandra. What will happen will happen. I promise you, everything will be alright. Everything will be made right."

Part 34 - Chapter 2 - See You in Court

Amanda turned to the side, checking out her figure from different angles in the mirror.

After going to different costume shops and searching online, she'd finally found a realistic fake pregnancy belly. It was just like ones they'd used in the movies and in high school health classes. It looked and even felt authentic.

Amanda patted her belly as she studied herself in the mirror. She hoped she hadn't padded it too much. She knew she wouldn't look as far along as Reese, but she didn't want to overdo it. It was going to be tricky to make the change look gradual enough to seem real. She hoped she would be able to pull this off.

When she heard the door open behind her, Amanda hastily adjusted her top to make sure none of the body suit was showing. She took a deep breath and turned around nervously, hoping she would past the test.

She watched anxiously as Andrew walked into the bedroom and through into the adjoining master bathroom. A moment later when he stepped out again and headed back towards the living room, Amanda found herself a little annoyed that he hadn't noticed her at all.

"What do you think of this new outfit?" she prompted. "I got it at a maternity shop last week. It doesn't make me look too big, does it?"

"Of course not," Andrew answered automatically.

"I feel so huge," she said. "I think the baby must have grown overnight."

"Yeah," he said as he really looked at her for the first time since entering the room. "But that's good, right? We want it to grow. I thought you were looking too thin for a pregnant woman anyway."

"What do you think now?"

"I think you look great." When he reached out to touch Amanda's stomach affectionately, she flinched back, afraid he would be able to tell that it wasn't just her under the maternity top.

"Sorry," she said nervously. "I think I just felt a little kick."

"Can I feel?"

"No, I think that was it for now . . . I've got to go. I told Alma I'd come over for lunch. I'll see you later, ok?" she said quickly and hastened out of the room.

As Reese put the legal book back on the shelf in her office, she felt a slight tightening in her abdomen. She laid her hand over her stomach. The baby was being really active today. She wished it would stop. With every movement, with every change in her own body. This baby was feeling more real to her. She knew the time was approaching when she would have to give birth to this baby and then hand it off to someone else. It was too hard for her to think about. Until the time came, she was trying to stay focused on her work, holed up in her office, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.

When she turned back to her desk and started to look through her stack of documents, she ran her hand across the adoption papers she had drawn up for Amanda and Andrew to look over and sign. She'd had them ready for days, but somehow she hadn't brought herself to call Amanda yet to tell her they were ready. It wasn't only her mixed feelings about giving up her baby that was holding her back, it was the recent conversation with Amanda that was making her have second thoughts. There was something fishy about the way she wanted to handle this. Reese was starting to wonder if these were the people she wanted to raise her baby.

"Reese," the receptionist's voice called out over the intercom. "James Spencer is here to see you."

"Thanks, send him in," Reese answered. She wasn't sure why James would need to see her. She thought her work for him was finished. She sat down, hiding her stomach behind her desk, right before the office door opened.

"Hi, Reese. How are you doing?"

"Fine. What brings you here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," he said and then grinned. "Not really, I just wanted to thank you again for all the work you did and for all the help you gave me. I couldn't have gotten my club up and running without you. You're a great lawyer."

"That was nothing. Just routine paperwork. It's what I do."

"Well, you do it well, and it was a pleasure working with you. I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Ok," Reese said slowly. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"Listen, you should stop by my club and check it out. I'm planning the grand opening and I'd like you to be there. It will be a lot of fun. I promise you'll have a great time. I'll see to it personally."

"Maybe. I'll try, but I don't know if I'll be free."

"If you can't make it then, feel free to drop by any time to check the place out. Call me. I'll give you a tour."

"Thanks, but I don't know if I'll have time. I've been really swamped here at the office lately."

"Maybe you should take a break," he said seriously. He looked at her with genuine concern. "You look kind of pale. Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Seriously, I think it might do you some good to go out and get some fresh air."

"I'm ok. I have to stop by the courthouse later this afternoon, so I'll get some air then."

"Alright. Well, take care. Stop by the club anytime. It will be my treat."

Part 34 - Chapter 3 - See You in Court

As Silas was escorted into the courtroom, he looked around at the small group sitting the the courtroom, waiting on his sentencing to begin. He'd received two notes from the mysterious blonde. Both were vague, probably intentionally so, in order to keep anyone from catching on if they were to fall into the wrong hands. The notes suggested that someone was planning to help him escape today and implied that that someone would be here at the trial.

The clue that his mysterious helper was a blonde was no help. All four women in the courtroom, all of the women in his life, were blondes. His two ex-wives hated him. He knew Vanessa wouldn't have had a change of heart, but Serena might be crazy enough to want him back, even after the hateful things she had said to him the last time they had met. He hadn't thought his daughters were on his side either, but maybe one or both of them had come around and decided to show some loyalty to their old man.

He studied each woman in turn as he walked to his seat, searching for some clue to who had written the notes, but their faces gave nothing away. He would just have to wait for the signal and see which one was going to come through for him.

"Cassie?" Blaine asked after she had shown no signs of listening to anything he'd said. "Did you hear me?"

She looked at him with a blank expression in her eyes. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Are you sure you're alright? Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Yes. I need to be here. I just wish I knew what it is I'm feeling."

Blaine reached over and held her hand. She was so anxious that she couldn't hold it still. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling. I know your father did some really horrible things. He even turned a gun on the both of us, but he's still your dad. It's understandable to have mixed feelings. Whatever you're feeling is ok. Just remember everything's going to be alright in the end. Once you get through today it will get easier."

Cassie mustered a smile and clasped Blaine's hand. "Thanks, Blaine. Having you here helps. It really does."

"Thank you, Ms. Summers, you may have a seat," the judge said as Vanessa finished her testimony against Silas. She stood up straight, avoiding any eye contact with her ex-husband as she walked back to her seat. She knew what his expression would be without even looking at him and she didn't want to see his smirking face ever again.

She hoped the judge would take her testimony seriously and not just dismiss her as a bitter ex. She had tried to speak calmly and rationally and she hoped she was able to make it clear that she would never be safe or feel secure as long as Silas was free. He deserved to get the maximum sentence and she hoped the judge would agree.

"Next is Detective Logan Varner. Would you please take the stand?"

Vanessa looked up as the judge called Logan's name and smiled at the police officer as he walked past her. He glanced at her briefly with an odd expression that she didn't quite understand.

"Detective, what did you want to say about the accused?" the judge asked.

"I've been investigating this case since the beginning and I was one of the officers that brought Mr. Rochester into custody when he was holding Ms. Summers prisoner.

"Since he has been in custody, he has been a model prisoner. He has cooperated with me and my colleagues in our investigation and has provided as much information as he could to assist us by willingly answering any questions asked of him. Because of this I recommend that Mr. Rochester receive a lighter sentence. He should pay for the crimes that he has committed, but his recent assistance to the police force should also be taken in consideration when deciding his sentence."

"Thank you, Detective. You may step down."

Logan solemnly rose from his seat. He did not feel good about what he had said on the stands, but he knew it was what he had to do.

When he looked up at Vanessa she was glaring a hole through him. Her eyes were burning with anger and betrayal. He wanted to say something, to explain, but before he could even get near her, she was on her feet and headed for the door.

"If that's all. We'll take a short recess and I will return with my verdict," the judge announced.

Logan started to call after Vanessa, but she had already stormed out of the courtroom.

"How can you be hungry again? I just fed you?" Alma moaned over the screaming baby as she prepared yet another bottle. As soon as the nipple was in his mouth, his crying stopped and Alma breathed a sigh of relief. Quiet at last.

"Isn't that a precious sight?" Edward said as he walked into the kitchen and saw Alma feeding Jeremy.

She just glared at him and changed the subject. "I've been thinking about going back to work. The new semester starts soon, so it would be a good time to go back, but I need to let them know soon."

"You don't want to go back so soon, do you?" Edward asked. "Why don't you tell them you want to take another semester off with the baby."

"Because I do want to go back to work."

I don't think that's such a good idea, not right now. He's still so small. He needs more time with you and I think you need more time to rest and recover."

"Rest? When do I get to rest?" Alma muttered.

"Besides," Edward continued on his own train of thought. "I was thinking if we ever wanted to have another baby, a little brother or sister for Jeremy, we should start thinking about that sooner rather than later. The older we both get, the more risks there are involved with pregnancy and there might not be many more years left when we'll still be able to have kids. Also it might be easier to take all of your maternity leave at once and then go back."

Alma looked at her husband like he was crazy.

"We can hire some help around the house, a nanny, if you want. We would need someone to watch Jeremy if you went back to work anyway." Edward paused when there was a knock on the door. "Well, we can think about it."

Part 34 - Chapter 4 - See You in Court

"Oh wow, this place is amazing," Chloe gasped as she and Eileen walked into the empty club. "How come this place wasn't around when I still lived here?"

"Because it's brand new. It's not even officially open yet."

"Forget Pheasant Run. You should have your reception here. Then you could say you had your reception in the hottest club in Bay Pointe when it was brand new."

"Thanks. I hope it's a success," a male voice said.

The girls turned to see James walk in behind them.

"Sorry I'm late. I got held up at an appointment."

"That's fine. We just walked in. I hope that's alright."

"No problem. By the way I'm-"

"James Spencer," Chloe finished his sentence excitedly. "I can't believe this is your club. I am a huge fan of your music and have been since the first time I saw you and Craig Sexton in concert. I can't believe it. I had no idea."

James smiled. "Wow, thanks. I'm glad you enjoy my work. We haven't met, have we?"

"No, sorry. I'm babbling. I'm Chloe and this is Eileen."

"Nice to meet you," he said before turning to Eileen. "So you're the friend that Cassie told me about. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. When's the big day?"

"Soon. It depends on when we can book places and how quickly we can get everything together."

"I probably won't be taking bookings normally, but since you're a friend of Cassie's and this place is brand new and I want to get the word out as much as possible, I might be able to make an exception, depending on what time you want it."

"Thanks, but I've already decided to go with someplace else. I just came by to let you know and, well, we were just curious to see what the club was like. I hope that's alright. It looks really great."

"No problem. I hope you'll come back again when we're officially open for business."

"Wait," Chloe spoke up. She didn't want to leave so soon. "Eileen, don't you still need a band for the reception? Do you still play with a band, James?"

"What did you have in mind?" Lucy asked skeptically.

"I want my son," Craig said bluntly. "I'm not going to leave him behind and I will fight you on this in court if we can't come to an agreement on our own. But what I propose is this, you give custody of Stuart to me and I'll let everyone go on thinking that this baby you're carrying is mine."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Lucy had to check herself to keep from shouting and waking the sleeping toddler in the next room. "There is no way I'm giving up my son. Why would you want custody of him anyway? Your music has always been more important to you than your family. Don't tell me you're going to give up your touring and late nights to take care of him now?"

"I have family who will help and I'll hire a nanny. He's used to being watched by one anyway," Craig replied. "I'm not going to let you bad mouth me and try to turn him against me."

"I would never do that. As I remember you were the one who has been bad mouthing me and calling me a slut. No, I'm not going to let you have custody of him. Never."

"Yeah? Well what do you think all of your fancy country club friends will think when they find out you cheated on your husband and got pregnant by a guy who ran off? Not just any guy either, the hired help. You think anyone would be involved with you or your family's precious country club after that? I don't think so."

"You really think I would give up my son just to save my reputation?" Lucy cried out.

"I do. Look, we can come to an agreement between us or we can let the courts decide, but fair warning, if we leave it to the courts, my lawyers and I aren't afraid to play dirty. If I don't get Stuart, I will take you for everything you've got."

"Get out of my house and don't come back," Lucy hissed. "I'll see you in court."

Part 34 - Chapter 5 - See You in Court

"Vanessa," Logan called out as he walked out of the courtroom and into the lobby.

Vanessa hesitated a moment, trying to get a hold of her temper before turning around to face him.

"Please, don't be angry at me."

"Why shouldn't I be? You know very well the things Silas has done. For years he's been terrorizing not only me, but everyone he's come in contact with, including his own daughters. He's attacked, drugged, kidnaped, locked up, and done countless other things to all of us. The man deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life or worse, and you're suggesting that the judge go easy on him? I'm sorry, but I don't think it's out of line for me to be angered by that."

"I understand," Logan said calmly. When Vanessa responded with a skeptical look, he added. "Really, I do. Do you think I liked going up there and defending him? Because I didn't. I agree that the man is no good. He's a menace who is a threat to anyone who he comes in contact with."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I gave him my word. If he cooperated and gave me the information he knew, I promised I'd speak up on his behalf. He did that, so I had to hold up my end of the bargain. I'm a man of my word."

Vanessa sighed and begrudgingly gave in. "That I can respect, I suppose."

"Besides, no matter what I say, I'm sure the judge isn't going to let him back on the streets again. There's nothing he could ever do to make up for all that he's done."

"Hey, let's go sit down and relax a second," Blaine said as he took a lost looking Cassandra by the arm and led her to a bench in the corner of the lobby. "It's almost over now. In a few minutes the judge will come in, give the sentence, and it will all be over. We can all go on with our lives. It will be alright, I promise."

"I know. I just have this really bad feeling and it just keeps getting stronger and stronger. I know something is going to happen and soon."

"It will be ok," he tried to reassure her.

"But you don't know that. You don't know."

"No, but I know that you've been through a lot because of your father. You stood up to him twice and rescued me from him twice. That takes a lot of guts."

"Thank you for saying that," Cassie said, flattered at his compliments. "It's just I get these feelings, I mean I can sense that something is going to happen. I just don't know what. And since I don't know what's going to happen, there's nothing I can do about it. I feel so helpless and it's frustrating. I just wish I could do something."

Blaine studied Cassie for a moment and realized how genuinely concerned she was. "Cassie, I don't think you realize what a special person you are. You're so strong. You'd have to be to handle everything as well as you have. That's why I know you'll get through this alright too, whatever happens. I really admire that about you."

When Cassie looked over at Blaine she could see the pure admiration in his eyes. He was looking at her slightly differently. It was the way she'd always wished she would see him look at her. She was overwhelmed suddenly by a sense of guilt. "I haven't been as admirable as you think," she confessed.

"What do you mean?"

"There's something I've been keeping from you. I've been dishonest with you."

Blaine looked confused. Cassie had always seemed up front with him. Even though she'd never confessed her feelings for him until recently, he'd always felt like he knew just where he stood with her without a word. Unlike with Reese, who was never really clear about how she felt about him, but he didn't blame her for that. He doubted that Reese was even sure what her own feelings were.

"What have you been dishonest about?" he asked.

"I think I'm the reason you and Reese broke up."

"Why would you think that? You know why we broke up. It was because we wanted different things in life. It didn't have anything to do with you."

"But there's something you don't know about. My mom and I . . . we made this love potion," she said and looked away embarrassed. "When you drink it, it's supposed to make the next person that you talk to fall in love with you. I was supposed to drink it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I set it down and then James got a hold of it and drank it before I could stop him and Reese was there with him . . ."

"Are you talking about the day I moved out of your house?" Blaine asked, as he slowly started to remember that day. "That's why you ran out of the house suddenly?"

"Yes, and I'm so sorry."

Blaine laughed. "You don't have to be. You didn't do anything. Reese isn't interested in James in that way. He had nothing to do with why we broke up."

Are you sure?"

"Positive. Don't even worry about it." He shook his head in disbelief. "A love potion . . ."

When the courtroom doors opened and the bailiff called everyone back in, Blaine took Cassie by the hand and they walked back towards the courtroom together without noticing the door that opened behind them.

When Reese stepped out into the lobby from the office where she had just turned in some paperwork, she was stunned to see Cassie and Blaine walking away. Before she could even think about moving out of sight, someone spotted her. She locked eyes with Serena for a moment before she finally snapped out of her stupor and ducked back into the office.

She could tell by the look on Serena's face that she knew. She had seen the condition she was in. Reese took a deep breath, praying Serena wouldn't say anything.

"Is everything alright between you and Edward?" Amanda asked in a hushed voice after Ed had left the room, leaving her and her sister in privacy. "You both seem a little tense."

"It's just been very stressful with Jeremy."

"This cute little guy? No way. I don't believe it."

"I'm anxious to go back to work, but Ed thinks I shouldn't yet. He's talking about having another baby," she scoffed. "As if one isn't enough for me to handle right now."

"It can't be that bad."

"You'll see."

"Alma? Can I ask you something? It's kind of personal."

"What is it?" Alma asked warily.

"When you were pregnant, how did you and Edward handle . . . being intimate?"

Alma's jaw dropped open and her face blushed a deep red. "I'm not going to discuss that with you, that's too personal. It's none of your business and I'm not going to talk about anything of that nature."

"But we're sisters. Who else do we have to talk about these kind of things with?"

"I don't think we should be talking about these things with anyone. It should be private. I can't believe you would even ask me something like that"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. Let's forget that I even brought it up," Amanda said. She didn't really want to know the details Alma and Ed's personal life, but now that she had found the extra padding to make herself look pregnant, the hard part would be keeping her husband from finding out about it. Eventually the subject was going to come up and she had no idea how she was going to keep her distance from him until the baby was born.

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."