EMERALD CHURCH

Vanessa Phillips sat in a chair next to her husband, Ryan Phillips, who was holding her hand. Standing next to them were Nikki and Marcus Vicman, Vanessa's sister and brother-in-law, respectively. All three were attempting to calm down Vanessa after a car bomb had exploded outside only a few hours ago.

A few of the guests had been able to leave, but the majority of them were still stuck in the church answering police questions. The entire church was swarming with cops, people were being interviewed everywhere in the church, and most of the street outside was blocked off as the forensics team was taking care of Derek Moore's car.

"I'm fine, really," Vanessa insisted. "I don't need everyone watching over me like this."

"We're concerned, that's all," Ryan said. "No one wants our baby to get hurt if you overexert yourself."

"I won't," Vanessa said. "I will be fine. I'm just…I don't know if we should be going on our honeymoon now."

"What?" Ryan demanded.

"Vince is one of my students," Vanessa explained. "His uncle just died. I'd feel horrible going to California."

"Look, this is all very horrible, but we've already paid for our plane tickets," Ryan said. "And you won't be able to fly soon enough, what with being pregnant and all."

"Ryan, this isn't about the money," Vanessa snapped.

"For once, I agree with Ryan," Nikki said. "Why torture yourself over this, Vanessa? You've been through too much today. You deserve to enjoy your honeymoon."

"Nikki's right," Marcus agreed.

"Of course I'm right," Nikki said. "Now, let's find that Detective Kincaid and see about getting you two the hell out of here."

"Why am I being questioned?" Matt Holden demanded, folding his arms and glaring at Detective Joel Kincaid. "It's because my last name is Hanley, isn't it?"

"Technically, your last name is Holden," Joel replied. "And I'm covering my bases. So if you can spare me the teen angst, I'll get on with my line of questioning."

"You don't have to answer any questions without a lawyer," Simon Holden, Matt's father, said as he approached with his wife, Valerie.

Joel groaned. "What is wrong with you people? I'm asking everyone the same questions."

"Let's hope so," Valerie muttered.

"What was that?" Joel asked.

"Nothing," Valerie replied quickly.

"I would have gotten you a glass of water, but I couldn't find any glasses," Julia Mitchell announced, returning to the pew Akilah Moore was sitting in with Julia's mother, Anna.

"It's okay," Akilah insisted.

"There's a bubbler over there somewhere," Julia muttered.

"Thank you, Julia," Anna said, taking Akilah's hand. "Honey, maybe I should take you home with your brother."

"Yeah, if I can drag him out of the Hanley mansion long enough to give a damn," Akilah said. "I don't…I don't know how to deal with this. He was my uncle, and now he's gone. Just like my father."

Michael Hanley stood outside the church, smiling as he looked at the wreckage outside. Today was a day to be remembered, now that he had finally gotten Ryan Phillips and Derek Moore out of his life. Ryan would be married to Vanessa and take care of the child that Michael couldn't let anyone know was his, and Derek was now charred to a crisp.

"Finally, a happy ending everyone can be proud of," Michael said.

"So, you did do it."

Michael turned around to see Vincent Moore exiting the church, frowning at him.

"Do what, Vince?" Michael asked.

"You killed my uncle, right?" Vince asked.

"Of course not," Michael said quickly. "Whatever would give you that idea?"

Vince smirked. "Nothing. Forget I said I said anything."

Before Michael could finish questioning Vince, Antonio Gomez cut in between them and grabbed Vince's arm.

"Please, excuse us," Antonio said, dragging Vince to the side of the church.

"Ow! Let go of me!" Vince cried, hitting Antonio. "What the hell are you doing?"

"We have work to finish," Antonio said. "You can't go off getting sidetracked!"

"My uncle just died, Antonio," Vince reminded him. "I'm hardly in the mood right now to play teen witch."

"You didn't even like him," Antonio snapped. "He killed your father."

"I have to find my sister," Vince said, walking away. "We'll talk later."

Antonio folded his arms as Vince stormed off, more than mildly upset at this turn of events. He didn't care one way or another about Derek dying, but it would have been much more satisfying if Vince were directly responsible for Derek's death.

"Way to go, Hattori," Zaliphyr laughed, appearing next to Antonio.

"Temae," Antonio retorted, turning away from Zaliphyr.



BALE & MADDOCK LAW OFFICES

Robert Bale woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. He hadn't been sleeping for long, since there was still light coming in through his window. Either that or he had been sleeping for longer than he normally did. He tried standing up to answer the phone, but he couldn't muster the strength to just yet.

As Robert turned his head, he saw a naked woman lying next to him. He was about to utter his wife's name, when he realized that the woman had red hair, not blonde. It was Melissa Maddock, his partner at the law firm.

"Shit," Robert grumbled, now completely awake.

He sat up on the floor and realized that he too wasn't wearing any clothes, and there was an empty bottle of vodka lying next to him. He wanted to say that he didn't expect things to go so far with Melissa, but he knew in his heart that it wasn't true. After everything he'd been through with Felicia over the past year…all of her secrets and the time she'd been spending with Michael Hanley had driven him to this point.

But now that he had slept with Melissa. Now that he was officially having an affair, it felt different. Robert felt different. The phone stopped ringing, and Robert climbed to his feet and grabbed his boxers. He put them on first, and then he slipped on pants and began looking for his socks.

Melissa stirred slightly as Robert began to button his shirt. The phone began to ring again, and Robert staggered to his desk to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Mr. Bale, it's Akilah."

"Hey…Akilah. What's going on?"

Robert rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate on listening to her.

"We need you to come down to the church."

"Why, what's going on?"

"Derek…my uncle…he's dead."

"What?" Robert demanded.

"I'll explain everything once you get here," Akilah said. "Just, please…come down here as soon as you can."

"Of course," Robert said, hanging up the phone. "Shit."

Robert glanced at Melissa and frowned. He wanted to be here when Melissa awoke so she would know that he hadn't just been using her for sex…but he didn't have a choice right now. Robert grabbed his jacket, tie, and shoes from the floor and headed for the door.



EMERALD CHURCH

"Thank you for taking care of Alexis," Jessica Reyes told Father Thomas Grady, who had just presided over Vanessa and Ryan's wedding, as they finished their conversation. "She's been through a lot this year, I wish I had been here when she collapsed. I wish her father had been here."

"She's a very sweet girl," Father Grady said. "I'm just glad she's doing better."

Jessica thanked Father Grady again, and then she headed toward her best friend, Alexis Lopez, who was seated in one of the pews. Jessica slid into the pew next to Alexis and took her hand.

"Are you okay, honey?" Jessica asked.

"No, I've got a headache," Alexis said. "I've had one all day…but it got worse after we found out about…"

"Vince's uncle," Jessica finished. "How horrible. There's been too much death and loss in this town lately."

"Well, it's a good thing it didn't ruin the wedding," Alexis noted. "Something good happened."

Jessica frowned. "That's debatable."

"What?" Alexis asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Jessica insisted. "I'm just surprised the wedding went off without a hitch. Considering that Mr. Phillips was the groom."

"Mr. Phillips? Did he do something?" Alexis asked.

"I'm glad you finally told Vince the truth," Alexis Lopez said, taking a sip from the soda sitting in front of her. "You know how I am with secrets."

"You seem to be able to keep them pretty well," Jessica Reyes, Alexis's best friend, replied.

Alexis sighed. "Do we have to talk about that now? I'm trying to enjoy a healthy a relationship here."

"So you admit that this relationship is unhealthy?" Jessica asked. "I mean, Mr. Phillips is a teacher, Alexis. You can't have any kind of relationship with him that won't be…well, gross."

"It's only unhealthy because he's still pining for Samantha," Alexis insisted. "But once I —"

"I don't want to hear about your schemes, Alexis. Especially when they're concerning a woman on her deathbed."

"It's not about Samantha. It's about the baby I'm carrying."

"The baby Ryan thinks you're carrying," Jessica said. "And…I can't believe we're even discussing this. Alexis, this is not what normal people talk about."

"I should go talk with him," Alexis said, standing up.

Jessica grabbed Alexis's arm.

"I don't want you anywhere near that man," Jessica whispered. "He slept with you, Jessica. And you're underage. Who knows what else he's capable of."

"No," Jessica said quickly.

She wanted to tell Alexis everything, but she knew that with Alexis' amnesia, it would be hard to do anything about the situation until Alexis was in the right state of mind. She didn't want to upset her friend, especially with everything that had occurred today.

"If something's wrong, you have to tell me," Alexis insisted. "I've been worrying about Mr. Phillips too…he keeps giving me these strange looks…he threatened me earlier."

"He threatened you?"

"Something about me ruining his wedding," Alexis said. "I have no idea what he was talking —"

Ryan pulled Alexis closer to him, running his fingers across her bare back. He gently kissed her neck, her soft moans echoing in his ear. Alexis ran her own fingers along Ryan's chest and passionately kissed him.

Feeling her body start to quiver once more, Alexis clutched Ryan's back and allowed him to pull her body even closer to his.

Ryan kissed Alexis, letting his tongue caress hers. He brushed back a strand of her hair and turned Alexis onto her back. He collapsed on top of her and continued to make love to her.

"— Oh God," Alexis gasped.

"What's wrong?" Jessica demanded.

"I have to find Ryan before he can sleep with someone else," Alexis realized. "I have to stop him and remind him that he's in love with me, not Vanessa!"

"Got everything?" Ryan asked, glancing at Vanessa as she entered the living room.

"I'm all ready," Vanessa replied.

"Alright, I'll grab your bags for you," Ryan said. "The limo is waiting to take us to the airport."

"Great," Vanessa said, taking one final look at the living room.

She hadn't moved in with Ryan yet, but she was going to be moving in after their honeymoon. She loved her apartment, but she knew that she would be able to make this place a home. That is, assuming she and Ryan were still married by the time she returned from California.

Vanessa still had plans to uncover all of Ryan's secrets, and a part of her knew that once she did, things would be over between them.

Ryan returned from the bedroom carrying Vanessa's two suitcases, and then started toward the door. He turned back to smile at her. Vanessa forced a smile and approached her new husband, kissing him on the lips.

"Ready to go on our honey, Mrs. Phillips?" Ryan asked.

"Can't wait, Mr. Phillips," Vanessa replied.



MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Joel sat down at his desk, where the information he had requested from Officer Grady was now resting. Joel was hoping that the answer to the Damon Johnson murder would be in the information.

He opened the folder next to his phone and quickly skimmed the information. All of it was familiar; he had looked over the case countless times in the past year. Finally, he came across what he had been looking for.

A set of unidentified fingerprints had been found at the scene of the crime. They belonged to someone who didn't have a prior record. Which could mean the murderer was a criminal who had never been caught, or a minor.

Luckily, the minor Joel had in mine would be easy to identify. He picked up the phone and called the forensics lab.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kyle," Joel said. "I'm gonna need you to run some prints for me. I think they belong to a minor."

"A minor with a record? Those prints are gonna be sealed," Kyle replied. "You'll need a court order."

"No, not a minor with a record," Joel said. "And either way, I've got a way around it. The station has that annual event where freshmen from high school come down and find out what it's like to be a police officer, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"And they each get a copy of their fingerprints afterward," Joel said. "Right?"

"Yeah…I think I get it now."

"We keep those prints on file?"

"Of course," Kyle answered.

"Great," Joel said, grinning. "I want you to run the prints I'm about to have Grady take over to you."

"What's going on?"

"With any luck, I might just put the little prick who's been slipping through our fingers for months on this Johnson murder case behind bars," Joel said.



EMERALD CHURCH

"What?" Jessica demanded, listening to Alexis' ramblings.

"I have to find Ryan and Vanessa," Alexis said.

"Excuse me, what?" Jessica demanded. "Are you mental?"

"I have to go, Jessica," Alexis said.

Alexis stood up and hurried to the front of the church, where Marcus and Nikki were now talking to Kimberly Black.

"So…where are the newlyweds?" Alexis asked.

"They left," Kimberly said.

"For the reception?"

"There's not going to be a reception, honey," Nikki said.

"It was canceled on the count of the extremely blown up guy outside," Kimberly pointed out.

"What?" Alexis demanded. "You can't not have a reception! That's stupid! They paid for all that food!"

"Then feel free to stop by the Hanley mansion and eat it," Nikki snapped. "Michael paid for all that stuff, and he doesn't mind. He's certainly got the bucks to pay for every single person in Marquette Cove's wedding reception."

Alexis groaned. "Are they outside? I wanted to wish them well."

"They're at Ryan's, getting their things before they leave," Marcus said.

"God dammit," Alexis muttered.

"Alexis, you're in a church!" Kimberly cried.

"Oh, shove it, Barbie," Alexis snapped, whirling around and hurrying out of the church.

"Here's the phone," Vince said, handing his cell phone to his sister, Akilah. "I told mom about Derek…she wants to talk to you."

"Thank you," Akilah said.

Vince covered the receiver with his hand. "And make sure you don't tell mom about me moving into the Hanley mansion right now."

"And why shouldn't I?" Akilah demanded.

"You're moving in with Julia and her mom," Vince reminded her.

"Then you should move in with Alec," Akilah said. "Or at least, you could if his bitch of a girlfriend weren't —"

"Don't talk about Jessica that way," Vince said, shoving the phone in Akilah's direction.

Akilah took the phone away from Vince and began to talk to their mother, as Vince felt someone touch his arm. He turned around and found Kelli Anderson, his ex-girlfriend, standing next to him.

"Hey Vince," Kelli said.

"Hey Kel," Vince responded.

She gave him a hug and he held her in his arms for a few moments before they pulled away from each other.

"I'm sorry about your uncle, Vince," Kelli said. "I know you two weren't that close, but this has to be hard on you."

"Thank you," Vince said. "That means a lot."

"Do you want to go for a walk or something?" Kelli asked.

"I would, but we have to go over to the morgue," Vince said.

"Today?"

"Just want to get it over with," Vince explained. "Robert is going with us."

"Well…if you ever want to talk, I'm here," Kelli said.

"I know," Vince said. "Thank you."



PHILLIPS HOME

Alexis slammed her fists against Ryan's door; finally realizing that no one was going to answer it. The limo wasn't even outside; so that meant they were both gone. They had left for the airport, and Ryan was quickly slipping out of Alexis' grasp.

"No!" Alexis cried, through tears. "I won't let you have Ryan! I won't let you have Ryan!"

"Alexis, I need to ask you something," Ryan said.

"Go ahead," Alexis allowed.

"Are you…are you sure I'm the father of your child?" He whispered.

Alexis looked disgusted.

"Of course I'm sure," Alexis snapped. "How could you even ask me that question?"

"You have to get an abortion, Alexis," Ryan said. "You can not have this child, do you hear me?"

Alexis took a deep breath as more memories began to flood back to her. Once she was able to regain her composure, Alexis realized what she had to do.

"So that's the reason why he wanted me to get an abortion," Alexis decided. "So he can get married to that bitch Vanessa and run off with her!"

Alexis rested her palm against her stomach, hoping to feel her child kick. She felt a little shove and smiled, knowing that it was now up to her to protect her child and make sure Ryan realized the error of his ways.

"I have to find Ryan and keep him from sleeping with another woman," Alexis cried, narrowing her eyes. "I won't allow him to do that…not while I'm carrying his child."