HANLEY HOME

"Michael Thomas…he's alive?!" Vincent Moore demanded.

"Yes," Antonio said. "He's back from the dead."

"No fucking way," Vince said. "That's…impossible."

Vince walked away from Antonio, attempting to process everything he had just heard from him. He couldn't have possibly heard what he thought he just heard. Of course, if Vince knew the truth about the entire situation that was unfolding in from of him, he might better understand what was happening.

Zaliphyr had managed to take over Antonio's body once again, but by doing so this time, he found that the process had knocked Antonio in a trance-like state. Now, he was unwittingly answering every question that Vince asked him.

"What the hell is happening?" Zaliphyr wondered aloud, his thoughts merely echoing inside Antonio's head. "I can't even move!"

Vince continued his conversation with Antonio. "You're wrong. This is ridiculous. You're like, Manson lamps tripping right now."

"No, I am correct," Antonio insisted. "Michael Thomas is alive."

"But…how could…how the hell could Blake resurrect his brother?" Vince demanded. "But then again, I'm standing in my room talking to an ex-angel. How should I know who can resurrect who?"

Vince's train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. His first thought was to have Antonio disappear as quickly as possible, but then he remembered the last time Michael entered the room while Antonio was there.

"It's a good thing I'm the only one who can see you," Vince muttered. "Except when you're at school…although actually, you don't really go to school anymore, do you?"

"Here you go, Mrs. Bale," Riley Schaefer said, pushing Felicia Bale into the Hanley mansion and stopping her wheelchair in the foyer.

"Thank you, Riley," Felicia said. "But you might as well get used to calling me Ms. Grant."

"Excuse me?" Riley asked, slightly confused.

Michael Hanley entered the foyer from the living room. "Don't tell me you and Robert are finally getting a divorce."

"Hello, Michael," Felicia said. "Lurking in the shadows, as usual."

"You know me," Michael said. "Thank you, Riley. I'll take things from here."

Riley nodded and closed the front door, before he headed up the stairs and into his own room. Once he was gone, Michael took the reins of Felicia's wheelchair and pushed her into the living room.

"So, you and Robert are over?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Felicia said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here…but I didn't have anywhere else to go. You're one of the few people in Marquette Cove I feel closest to."

Michael raised an eyebrow, choosing to interpret Felicia's comment as an admission of her feelings for him. But he didn't realize that she only felt close to him because he was her brother.

"Don't feel sorry," Michael said. "I'm here for you, you know that. So…tell me what happened."

Vince opened his bedroom door and found his sister, Akilah Moore standing there. Vince greeted Akilah and gave her a hug.

"What's up?" Vince asked.

"Nothing," Akilah said. "Just stopping by to check on your new home."

"You mean stopping by to get me to move back in with you and mom?" Vince demanded.

"Yes."

Vince rolled his eyes, just as the doorbell rang. The maid had the day off, so Vince sighed when he realized he'd probably have to get the door himself. "I'll be back."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Ariel Hanley asked, entering the hallway from the stairwell.

"Didn't you just hear the door?" Vince asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not a maid," Ariel said.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes yet again, Vince walked past Ariel and headed down the stairs to get the door. As he did so, Ariel watched him leave. She smirked and turned back to face Akilah.

"What's wrong with him?" Ariel demanded.



MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Ryan Phillips sat on the cot in his jail cell as Melissa Maddock entered the cell. The guard closed the cell behind her, and she set her briefcase down on the floor. Ryan remained seated while he talked to her.

"So, you're going to get me out of here?" Ryan asked.

"Hopefully," Melissa said. "If you're innocent, that is."

"Oh, that's a prerequisite now?"

"You're telling me you're not?" Melissa asked.

"I'm not in the mood to play games, Ms. Maddock," Ryan said.

"I'm sorry," Melissa apologized. "I've been having a rough day, that's all. But I'm committed to your case. All that matters is that the jury believes you're innocent."

"Good," Ryan said. "Because once I'm off the hook, then we can move on to your next job."

"My next job?"

"Getting me out of here isn't the only reason I hired you," Ryan said.

"What's the other reason?"

"You're going to make Alexis Lopez pay for trying to ruin my life," Ryan answered. "I want her locked in a psych ward, and then I want them to throw away the key."



LOPEZ HOME

Alexis Lopez stumbled into her house, attempting to process all of the thoughts that were running through her mind. She was remembering conversations with Ryan, Vanessa, Samantha, and Allison…all of them centered around her child.

"My baby," Alexis said. "What happened to my baby?"

She remembered hearing Ryan insist that she had aborted the baby, back when he first found out she was pregnant. But Alexis knew that was impossible. She hadn't aborted her child, but it was still missing.

"Someone…someone stole my child," Alexis realized.

"What the hell are you going on about?"

Alexis glanced up and saw her father, Victor Lopez, standing in the kitchen. He was frying eggs and wearing a dirty pair of jeans and a wifebeater, as usual. If he weren't Hispanic, Alexis would be tempted to call him the epitome of white trash.

"My baby. Someone stole my baby."

Victor laughed. "Baby? I think you need to go back to that hospital."

"Shut up," Alexis snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"I have to find my baby, and you're not helping."

"Go to your room," Victor said. "Now."

"I told you to shut up," Alexis said.

"Don't make me put you in your room," Victor said. "You know I will."

Alexis glared at him. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

She lunged at her father and scratched at his face with her fingernails. Victor cried out, stumbling back into the refridgerator. Alexis grabbed the handle of the frying pain and threw the boiling eggs at his face.

Victor screamed as the eggs burned his skin. He tried to wipe his face clean, but before he could, Alexis swung at him and hit him in the face with the pan. Victor slipped and fell to the floor, still crying out for help.

"You're not going to keep me from my baby!" Alexis screamed, hitting him again. "You're not going to keep me from my baby!"

Kimberly Black reached into her purse for the keys to her apartment as she stepped off the elevator. Approaching the apartment, she realized she didn't need her keys when she saw that the door was open.

"I'll kill you first, do you hear me?! I'll kill you!"

Startled, Kimberly rushed into the apartment to find her brother, Gregory, attacking her new roommate, Duncan Kincaid. She also saw a young girl she didn't recognize standing next to Greg crying out for him to stop attacking Duncan.

"Oh my God, Greg!" Kimberly cried. "What are you doing?!"

She grabbed her brother by his arm and pulled him back, separating him from Duncan. Then she stepped between them to keep Greg from attacking him anymore. "Duncan, are you okay?"

Duncan slowly climbed to his feet, gasping for air. Kimberly whirled around and pushed Greg back.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kimberly demanded. "Did you flip out or something?"

"You're not rooming with him," Greg said, breathing heavily. "He's a rapist."

"What? That's impossible," Kimberly said. "That's just…impossible."



HANLEY HOME

"Felicia, I'm so terribly sorry," Michael said. "I had no idea that Robert and Melissa were carrying for God knows how long."

"It's fine," Felicia insisted. "I'll just have to get used to life without Robert."

Felicia wiped tears away from her face, attempting to keep her composure. She didn't want to break down in front of Michael, even though part of that was the reason why she had come. Michael was the only person she could break down in tears in front of now, except for Valerie.

But Felicia couldn't get in contact with Valerie; she had hardly spoken to her since Ryan and Vanessa's wedding three months ago. It was as if Valerie was avoiding everyone, however, not just Felicia.

"Would you like a drink?" Michael asked.

"No, I don't drink," Felicia said.

Michael shrugged and stood up to get himself a drink. "Suit yourself."

Felicia frowned. "Actually, give a scotch. Dry."

"Now we're talking," Michael said, grinning.

As Vince descended the stairs, he noticed Michael talking to Felicia in the living room. He watched as Felicia downed a glass of scotch while Michael laughed and ran his fingers through her hair. Vince almost felt the urge to interrupt them, but he decided that whatever was going on was none of his business since Michael had been nice enough to let him stay in the mansion.

Vince continued on his way to the door, where he opened it and found Detective Joel Kincaid standing outside. Vince folded his arms and shot Joel an annoyed look. "Have you come to arrest me again? Hoping third time's the charm for finding Damon's murderer?"

"I'm not really in a joking mood right now, Vincent," Joel said.

"Oh, that's right," Vince said, nodding. "You don't joke. You just wasn’t the facts, sir."

"Are you done?"

Vince rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm done. What do you want?"

"I'm here to ask you a few questions about Jessica Reyes," Joel answered.

"Have I been accused of attacking her again by her looney tunes boyfriend?" Vince demanded.

"No, she's missing," Joel said.

"Oh," Vince said. "Wait…what? Jessica's missing?"

"Yes," Joel replied. "So, do you want to tell me where she is?"

"And what the hell makes you think that I know where she is?"

"I'm gonna go find my brother," Akilah said. "I've got to get going."

"Fine by me," Ariel said, hurrying to her own bedroom.

Ariel entered the room and closed the door. Akilah started toward the stairs, but paused when she heard Ariel cry out from her bedroom.

"What are you doing here?!"

"We've come for you, princess," a man's voice said from Ariel's bedroom.

"What the hell?" Akilah wondered aloud, moving to check out what was happening in Ariel's room.



MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Melissa said, picking up her briefcase. "I'll be willing to take your case, but not if you want to hire me merely to exact revenge on a teenage girl."

"She has ruined my life repeatedly!" Ryan insisted. "Doesn't anyone care about that?"

"No, I think they're a bit more concerned about you sleeping with her," Melissa snapped.

"Now, there you go again," Ryan said. "You don't see me accusing you of sleeping with anyone, do you?"

Melissa clenched her jaw as her thoughts instantly turned to the last time she had slept with Robert, which was when his wife walked in on them. Ignoring her memories, Melissa returned to the task at hand.

"I'm a lawyer, not a mercenary for hire," Melissa said. "I'm a professional, and I would like for you to treat me as such."

"Whatever," Ryan said.

"You need to keep your temper under control," Melissa said. "Otherwise, we may have a problem on our hands…I'm going to speak with the DA, see if I can get your bail hearing moved to tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Melissa said. "Bail hearings tend to take weeks to occur in this town. I'll be in touch."

Melissa called for the guard to release her from the cell. Once he returned, he opened the cell and let Melissa leave. As she walked towards the elevator, she removed her cell phone and dialed the number that Hugh Rogers had left for her on her phone the other day.

"I'll have your money tonight," Melissa said. "The…the first payment."



DUNCAN KINCAID & KIMBERLY BLACK'S APARTMENT

"I'm sorry, it's true," Julia Mitchell said softly. "My…my uncle is a rapist."

"I'm not a rapist," Duncan insisted. "I swear to you all, I'm not. I was arrested, but the case was thrown out."

"On a technicality," Greg corrected.

"I'm a free man," Duncan said. "The court doesn't think I'm a rapist."

"That's not what your brother told me," Greg said.

"My brother?"

"Detective Kincaid gave your case file," Greg said.

"My father sent you after my uncle?" Julia demanded.

"He told me the truth about him."

"My brother hates me," Duncan said. "He's angry that I had an affair with his wife years ago…he blamed me for her death. But I didn't kill her, and I didn't rape her either."

Kimberly frowned. "I need a moment alone with Duncan."

"Kimberly, no," Greg snapped. "I want him out of here today."

"Greg, please," Kimberly said.

Greg sighed and reluctantly stepped out into the hallway. Julia followed him, closing the door behind her as he left.

"Tell me your father wasn't lying," Greg said. "Your uncle is a rapist?"

"With my father, you never know," Julia muttered. "But if he's sending you after Duncan instead of the cops…I'm inclined to believe my dad is once again being a massive jerk."

"I want the truth," Kimberly said.

"I'm telling you the truth," Duncan promised. "You can check out my records if you want, you can even talk to the judge in Seattle who threw out my case."

"This is…this all sounds so crazy."

"I know it does, but I'm asking you to trust me," Duncan said. "Besides…if I was some crazy rapist, I wouldn't move in with someone and pay rent just to force them to have sex with me."

"I guess you're right," Kimberly decided.

"See?"

"Well, no…I'm talking about what you said about contacting the judge in Seattle," Kimberly said. "That other thing you mentioned is kind of creepy."

"Sorry," Duncan said, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Hands."

"Oh, sorry."

Duncan pulled away from Kimberly. "I'll let you check out my story first. Then you can see if you want my hands…I mean, me living here."

"And I'm doing it today," Kimberly said. "So if it's not true, you're out by midnight. Or earlier, if I find out earlier. It could even be in an hour."

"Fine by me," Duncan said.



LOPEZ HOME

Alexis stopped hitting her father with the frying pan when she heard the doorbell ring. She dropped the pan onto the kitchen floor and wiped the blood from her hands with a dishtowel. Then she tossed that onto Victor's body and headed to the door.

When Alexis opened it, she found Vanessa Phillips standing on the porch. It took most of Alexis's strength not to attempt to strangle Vanessa that very moment.

"What do you want?" Alexis demanded.

"It's good to see you're back home, Alexis," Vanessa said. "I was worried about you."

"I'll bet you were."

"Just so you know, Ryan has been arrested. He won't be able to hurt you anymore."

"Ryan never hurt me," Alexis insisted. "He's in love with me. I had his child."

Vanessa nodded. "I know you think you're having his child, Alexis. But it's not true. You can't possibly still be pregnant now. Did he make you get an abortion?"

"I don't want to talk about this," Alexis said.

"You don't have a baby anymore," Vanessa said. "Because of what Ryan made you do. You have to tell someone about it. The police…your father…even me. Just tell someone."

"I don't have a baby…" Alexis's voice trailed off.

"That's right, Alexis."

"I have to go," Alexis said quickly, slamming the door in Vanessa's face. She peered through the window and watched Vanessa sadly shake her head before leaving the porch. Closing the blinds, Alexis leaned against the door and stared into the kitchen at her father's unconscious body.

"I don't have a baby because of you, Vanessa," Alexis decided. "You're the one who stole my baby."



HANLEY HOME

"Get out, right now," Ariel snapped, glaring at the two men in her bedroom.

"I'm sorry, your highness," Larry said. "But we have been sent to retrieve you. You have to return home."

"Please, come with us," Moe said, nodding.

"I don't think so," Ariel insisted. "I'm not going anywhere, and there's no way you two are going to make me."

As Ariel argued with the two men, Akilah spied on them from the hallway. Akilah was shocked to hear the two men talking as if Ariel weren't even a human. But she had to be misunderstanding them, because what they were saying was impossible.

"I'm sorry," Ariel apologized. "But I'm not leaving."

Ariel balled her right hand into a fist and swung as Larry, knocking him unconscious. Moe lunged at her, but she kicked him the chest and sent him flying into the wall. Ariel set her foot back down on the ground and smiled.

"And all without breaking a heel," Ariel said, picking up Larry from the ground and locking lips with him.

Once Larry had been frozen into a block of ice, Ariel moved her efforts to Moe and did the same. Akilah watched in horror from the hallway, realizing that what she had overheard was true. Ariel wasn't human.

Ariel lifted both Larry and Moe into the air and slammed their bodies together, causing both to shatter upon impact. She dusted her hands off on her pants and then started toward the door, prompting Akilah to hide in an adjoining room.

When Ariel was gone, Akilah left the room and watched her descend the stairs. Akilah then slipped into Ariel's room and started to look around for any more clues as to what was happening. Akilah came across Ariel's closet and opened it up, first expecting to scoff at how many clothes Ariel owned after being in Marquette Cove for less than three months.

Felicia downed another drink while Michael looked on. From his position on the couch, he noticed Ariel coming down the stairs in a hurry. Michael excused himself and walked over to Ariel, asking her what was wrong.

"Nothing," Ariel said quickly. "There's a hot sale going on, I've got to hurry."

"Isn't it a little late?" Michael asked.

"Daddy, I'm fine," Ariel insisted, kissing her father on the cheek before heading out the door. As she left, she walked past Vince who was still talking to Joel. Michael raised an eyebrow and approached them.

"What's going on here?" Michael demanded.

"Just asking Vince a few questions, sir," Joel said. "About the disappearance of one of his classmates."

"My girlfriend," Vince said.

"Ex-girlfriend," Joel corrected.

"What, are you keeping score?" Vince demanded.

"Hurry this up," Michael snapped. "I don't like my evenings to be interrupted, Detective."

"I'll try my best sir," Joel said, his comment dripping with sarcasm.

"Vincent, I'd like to be left alone in the living room, understand?" Michael asked.

Vince shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Thank you," Michael said, returning to the living room. He closed the doors to the living room so that no one would interrupt his meeting with Felicia. She was too busy drinking to even notice that Michael had barely touched his.

Hopefully by the end of the night, she'd drop her reservations enough to let him seduce her. Once she awoke the next morning, she would forget all about Robert Bale. Michael would see to it.



EMERALD HEIGHTS

Kimberly stepped into the hallway and turned to face Julia. "I've talked to your uncle, and I'm going to check out his story."

"For what it's worth, I believe him," Julia said. "If my father's involved…Duncan's probably Mother Theresa reincarnated."

Kimberly laughed. "Well, that's good to know, I guess."

"Check out his story today," Greg said. "The faster you can kick that bastard out of this apartment building."

"Julia, you can go talk to your uncle now," Kimberly said.

Julia thanked her and went inside, while Kimberly closed the door and leaned against it as she faced her brother. "Gregory…I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"I'm looking out for your best interests, Kimberly," Greg said.

"I know," Kimberly said. "And I love you for that, but you have to trust me on this. I'm going to check out Duncan's story, and if he's telling the truth, which he probably is, I'm going to let him stay."

"Fine," Greg said. "I'm not going to boss you around like I'm your father."

"Thank you."

"But I am going to do something as your brother."

"And what's that?"

"Whether or not his story checks out…if he lays a single hand on you, I'll kill him," Greg promised.