EMERALD SQUARE

Valerie Hanley-Holden walked through Emerald Square with a determined look on her face. She was carrying a set of files in her purse that she needed to deliver to her new lawyer that was working on her attempt to gain sole control of her father's fortune.

She needed to get shares of the fortune from her brother Michael Hanley, her adoptive sister-in-law Leslie Moore, and her half-sister Felicia Bale. She had to go about obtaining the money from Leslie secretively, since only a few adult Hanleys knew that she was even related to them. Felicia and her husband also knew, but that was it. It was nearly as well kept a secret as the fact that Felicia was really Valerie's sister.

Felicia would be easier to manipulate, hopefully. Then Valerie would have to find some way to get her brother to sign away his claim to Kevin Hanley's fortune. But one way or another, Valerie planned on paying her father back by stealing everything out from under him. Valerie just hoped she wouldn't have to take drastic measures again, like she did when she burned down his storage department three months ago.

As Valerie continued walking, she bumped into someone and nearly dropped her purse. When she looked up, Valerie realized that she had just run into Robert Bale.

"Robert…watch where you're going," Valerie snapped.

"You know, your last name might be Hanley, but it doesn't mean you own Emerald Square," Robert retorted.

Valerie sighed loudly for Robert's benefit. "I'm really not in the mood to listen to you whining about how the Hanleys are ruining your life. You know, your wife doesn't possess that irritating sense of paranoia that you do. You could learn a thing or two from her."

"Ex-wife," Robert corrected.

"Excuse me?"

"Felicia and I are getting a divorce," Robert explained. "She hasn't already asked you to be a bridesmaid at her wedding to Michael?"

"Robert, that's ridiculous," Valerie insisted. "Felicia would never marry Michael."

"Oh, really? Is she just sleeping with him then?"

Valerie's eyes widened. "That's disgusting!"

"Yes, it is," Robert agreed. "But that didn't stop them, did it?"

"Airing your dirty laundry in public? Why is that such a common theme in this town?"

Valerie and Robert turned to see Ariel Hanley approaching them, with a smirk on her face. Valerie rolled her eyes; she really didn't want to get into another argument after having to even be within ten feet of Robert.

"Ariel," Valerie said, greeting her.

"Aunt Valerie," Ariel replied.



HANLEY HOME

Akilah Moore slipped into Ariel's room and started to look around for any more clues to explain what she had just seen. It appeared as if Ariel had frozen two men and shattered their bodies before Akilah's eyes, but that was impossible. It couldn't be happening.

Akilah came across Ariel's closet and opened it, expecting to scoff at how many clothes Ariel owned after being in Marquette Cove for less than three months. But she was shocked when she a found body lying on the floor.

"Jessica!" Akilah cried. "Oh my God…she killed you!"

That was Akilah's immediate reaction, until she realized that Jessica might still be alive if Ariel hadn't broken her into thousands of pieces like she had the two men from earlier. Akilah touched Jessica and tried to wake her up, but she didn't move.

"She's freezing," Akilah said. "I can barely even move her…I need to find something to warm her up."

She walked over to Ariel's dresser to find some sort of hair dryer that she could use to warm Jessica and melt the ice from her skin, but as she did she found some type of crystal resting on Ariel's dresser.

It seemed as if the crystal was glowing, but Akilah figured it was probably just reflecting the light in the room. She tried to move the crystal out of the way to keep looking for something help Jessica, but she accidentally knocked the crystal onto the floor.

"Oops…" Akilah cried out, as a bright light began to burst from the crystal.

"Oh!" Felicia Bale cried out, as her scotch glass slipped from her hands and crashed onto the floor. The glass didn't break, but it did spill scotch on the carpet in the living room. "Oh, Michael…I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Michael Hanley said, smiling. "I'll have the maid take care of it in the morning."

"No, I should clean it up," Felicia insisted.

"I've got a better idea," Michael said. "How about we get you out of this constricting wheelchair for a while?"

"I was…I was hit by a car, Michael," Felicia reminded him. She was finding it difficult to form sentences now that she had so much to drink. "I can't exactly…move?"

"Here, let me help you then."

He held out his hands for Felicia to take them. Reluctantly, she took his hands and allowed him to lift her out of the wheelchair. Michael picked her up so that she wouldn't have to walk, and then he started toward the door.

"Where are we going?" Felicia asked.

"Upstairs for a bit," Michael said.

Felicia giggled. "Lead the way!"



WATSON HOME

"I think Vanessa should come home with us," Nikki Vicman said, speaking of her sister Vanessa Phillips. She was sitting in Vanessa's bedroom, watching television with her husband, Marcus Vicman<, while attending to Vanessa's child, Eamon.

"Nikki, I told you that you can't go around dictating what happens in your sister's life," Marcus said. "If she wants to move back to Paris with us, she'll make that choice on her own."

"I just think that it would be a healthier environment for her son," Nikki insisted. "Away from all the people in this town judging him because his father is a rapist."

"I understand completely, baby," Marcus said. "But Ryan's going to jail, trust me. Then Vanessa can decide if she wants to move. Her whole life is here."

"Her family isn't," Nikki snapped.

Nikki and Marcus continued going back and forth about Vanessa moving to France, as Alexis Lopez stood outside the bedroom window watching them. She had hurried over to Vanessa's house as soon as she finished talking to her, realizing that Vanessa was probably the person who had stolen her baby.

"That jealous bitch," Alexis growled. "She's got her damn sister in there manhandling my baby!"

Alexis was going to get her baby back if it was the last thing she ever did…and not a single person was going to stand in her way.

"I hope you believe me," Duncan Kincaid said, sitting next to his niece, Julia Mitchell, on the couch in his living room. He was attempting to explain his past in Seattle to her, after she witnessed Gregory Black attack him for being an alleged rapist.

Duncan wanted Julia to understand that he didn't actually rape Kelly, her father's ex-wife. He wanted her to know that he hadn't murdered her. He wanted his niece to be able to trust him, despite what her father was telling her to do.

"I do," Julia insisted. "If my father is so hell bent on making me hate you, then I'm guessing you haven't actually done anything wrong."

"Sounds like my brother has railroaded people in the past," Joel said.

"It's like, his middle name," Julia said. "So trust me, I'm on your side. And Greg and Kimberly will be too, once they do that background check on you."

"Thank you," Duncan said, standing up. "You want something to drink?"

"Actually, I should probably get going," Julia said. "I've got to get home…curfew and all."

"I understand. Feel free to stop by whenever you want."

"You know I will," Julia said, standing as well.

Julia walked to the front door and opened it up, preparing to leave when she ran into someone who was about to knock on the door. It was her mother, Anna Mitchell.

"Mom!" Julia cried. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here, young lady?" Anna demanded.

"Visiting me," Duncan said, joining them at the door. "Hello, Anna."

"Duncan," Anna said. "Julia, you should get home."

"Fine," Julia muttered. "Whatever."

She walked out of the apartment, leaving Anna and Duncan alone.

"Mind if I come in?" Anna asked.

"Sure," Duncan said. "Can I get you anything?"

"I won't be staying long," Anna said, walking inside. "I'm here to tell you to stay away from my daughter."



WATSON HOME

Alexis walked to the front door and opened the glass case holding the porch light. She remembered that Vanessa kept a spare key there, back from when she used to stake out to house to see if Vanessa was on to her relationship with Ryan months ago.

Now it would come in handy when she wanted to get her baby back from Vanessa, the thief who had stolen her baby and tried to make Alexis think she aborted it.

"I won't let her get away with this," Alexis whispered.

Alexis removed the key and used it to unlock the front door, knowing that Marcus and Nikki were still in the bedroom. Now she needed a plan that involved getting them away from her child so she could get him back.

Luckily, the phone in the living room rang. Alexis closed the front door and hid in the foyer, watching as Nikki left the bedroom and went to the phone to answer it. Alexis tried to contain her glee as she realized that she now only had to get through Marcus to get her child back.

Alexis entered the bedroom, where Marcus was sitting on the bed with his back to the door. He was holding Eamon, rocking the baby back and forth. Alexis angrily removed one of her shoes and approached Marcus, holding it in the air.

She swung, hitting the back of his head with the sole of her shoe. Marcus cried out, but she hit him again before he could make another sound. The heel of her shoe was thick enough to knock him out with three more swings.

Alexis picked up Eamon from Marcus's arms and wrapped the child in the blanket from his crib. Then she smiled as she left the bedroom and walked back toward the front door.

Nikki was still on the telephone when Alexis exited the house.



EMERALD SQUARE

"We're having an adult conversation, Ariel," Robert said. "Maybe you could run along."

Valerie resisted the urge to smile, wishing she could say the same to the niece that irritated the hell out of her. She had been glad when Ariel was shipped off to school, and Valerie couldn't wait until she had Kevin's fortune, because then she'd be able to cut off Ariel and her brother, Eric.

"Whatever," Ariel said. "I just thought you might like to know that your wife is at the mansion living it up with my father. Like the whore she is, I guess."

"Goodbye, Ariel," Robert snapped.

"Wait a minute," Felicia said, grabbing Ariel's arm. "Living it up? How?"

Ariel pulled her arm away from Felicia. "She's getting drunk and coming on to my father like a —"

"That's enough," Valerie said, cutting her off.

"I told you," Robert said. "She's still in her goddamn wheelchair, but she can't even wait until she gets into bed with Michael."

"Wheelchair?"

"Felicia was an accident when she…she was hit by a car," Robert said.

"Oh my God," Valerie said. "I…I didn't know."

"Yeah, and now she's at the mansion getting drunk with Michael," Ariel said. "How about that?"

"Michael is drinking too?"

Ariel frowned. "No…I don't think so. Just the whore."

"Felicia is a friend," Michael corrected her. "Robert, however, is too busy trying to paint me as a harbinger of evil for me to give a damn about. Felicia may be with Robert for now, but not for long."

Valerie closed her eyes, suddenly becoming sick.

"And when she finally wises up, there is no doubt in my mind that she will find happiness with me," Michael continued.

"I have to leave," Valerie said quickly, bending over to pick up her purse.

She hurried out of the study, then stopped in the living room and leaned against the wall.

Hearing Michael describe his feelings for Felicia, watching his body language as he talked about her…it was enough to make Valerie vomit.

I don't know how long I can pretend Felicia isn't our sister, Valerie thought before rushing out of the house.

"Oh God," Valerie gasped. "I have to get to the mansion…I have to stop Michael."

Valerie hurried off in the other direction, hoping to get to the mansion before Michael could have a chance to lure an intoxicated Felicia into his bed. Wondering what was happening with Michael and Felicia that Valerie felt compelled to interrupt them, Robert decided to follow her.

"This town just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Ariel muttered.



HANLEY HOME

Jessica Reyes opened her eyes and tried to figure out where she was. Glancing around the room, she realized that she didn't recognize it at all. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by Ariel though, so she struggled to rise to her feet.

Jessica noticed the open door in the room and stumbled out into the hallway, where she finally figured out that she was still in the Hanley mansion.

She started toward the stairs, deciding that she needed to get outside as quickly as possible.

When the bright light in the room vanished, Akilah found Jessica rising to her feet. Akilah tried calling out to Jessica, but it was as if Jessica couldn't hear her. In fact, Akilah could barely hear herself since her voice seemed to be echoing constantly.

"What the hell is going on?" Akilah demanded.

She noticed the crystal on the floor and saw that it was still glowing. She walked toward the crystal and tried picked it up, but she stumbled and fell forward. When Akilah landed on her stomach and cried out, she realized that her voice wasn't echoing anymore.

"Huh?"

Akilah rolled over onto her back and watched the crystal, finally noticing that it was still emitting a ray of light across the room. Whatever the crystal was, it must have freed Jessica and created some type of echo field beyond the rays of light coming from it.

"This is too weird for me," Akilah decided, standing up. "But I've got to go after Jessica, so that Ariel doesn't run into —"

Before Akilah could finish her train of thought, a hand wrapped itself around her mouth to silence her. Akilah squirmed as the stranger pulled her back into the echo field. The stranger then snatched up the crystal from the ground, allowing another bright light to flash in the room.

Once the light had subsided, Akilah and the stranger were gone.

After finishing his conversation with Detective Kincaid, Vincent Moore decided to take a walk on the grounds at the Hanley mansion. He walked away from about fifteen minutes before decided that he was going to head back inside and see if his sister was still there.

He knew that he shouldn't have just left her in his room, but he wasn't really in the mood to hear a speech from his mother in Akilah's words. They wanted him to come back home and move out of Michael's mansion, but Vince wasn't going to do that until he was ready.

Right now, Vince couldn't stand to stay in the house where his father once lived…the house where his uncle had lived and tried to destroy their family. Vince would rather stay at the mansion, which had come to feel oddly comforting to him.

As Vince headed toward the front door, he noticed someone emerging from it. Vince gasped when he realized who the person was.

"Jessica!" Vince cried. "What are you doing here?"



WATSON HOME

Vanessa Phillips unlocked the front door to her house and stepped inside, calling out to her sister. Nikki hung up the phone just as Vanessa returned the house and walked to the door to greet her sister.

"How did it go?" Nikki asked.

"I tried getting Alexis to see that she needs to testify against Ryan for him to go to jail," Vanessa said. "But she wasn't willing to listen to reason."

"You should just hire Michael to have someone kill him," Nikki suggested.

"Nikki, honestly," Vanessa said, sighing.

"I'm sorry," Nikki said. "But don't worry about Ryan right now. I want to talk to you about something."

"About what?"

"I want you to move to Paris with me and Marcus," Nikki said.

"Oh no, we are not talking about that now," Vanessa insisted.

"Vanessa, come on!" Nikki cried. "You and Eamon could start a new life."

"Eamon and I are just fine in Marquette Cove," Vanessa said. "And speaking of Eamon, how's my little guy doing?"

"He's in the room with Marcus."

Vanessa started toward the bedroom. "Let me check on my son."

"Vanessa, this conversation is not over," Nikki said, following her sister. As they entered the room, they found Marcus lying on the bed with a pool of blood lying next to him on the bed. "Oh my God, Marcus!"

Nikki rushed to her husband's aid, while Vanessa began to search frantically for her child. But she couldn't find Eamon next to Marcus or in his crib. He was gone.

"Eamon!" Vanessa cried. "Someone took my baby!"