BALE HOME

Akilah Moore knocked on Alec Bale's bedroom and waited for him to respond. A few seconds later, Alec called out for Akilah to enter. She smiled and pushed open the bedroom door where she found Alec sitting at his computer typing on AOL Instant Messenger.

"Hey Alec," Akilah said.

"Hey Akilah," Alec said. "What's up?"

"I was just coming by to see how you're doing," Akilah replied. "I know your dad moved out today, and I just wanted to know if you needed anything."

Alec frowned, turning around to face her. "It's not me who needs anything. My mom's going through a lot right now."

"I'm sorry," Akilah said.

"No, it's fine," Alec muttered. "I guess heartbreak's just running rampant all over town lately. I mean, me and Jessica…"

Akilah tensed up at the mention of Jessica's name, hoping that Alec wasn't going to go into another monologue about his great love for Jessica Reyes. It was enough to make Akilah vomit the first time she heard it, but all of the other times made her want to kill herself.

"Yeah, that's a shame," Akilah said. "But she's back together with my brother now, so I guess it's for the best."

Alec laughed. "Yeah, like that's going to last."

Akilah was about to say something, but Alec's computer registered the sound of him receiving an instant message. He turned back to his computer, surprised that it was a message from Jessica.

"Whoa…imagine that," Alec said.

"What?" Akilah demanded.

"Looks like your brother and Jessica just broke up," Alec replied.

"Dammit," Akilah grumbled.



Marquette Cove Public Library

Duncan Kincaid sat at a table in a secluded area of the library, going of a stack of newspapers he had pulled. Oddly enough, Marquette Cove hadn't put most of their newspapers online yet, and still housed older issues in the library.

He was currently looking up newspapers that dated back to when he first lived in Marquette Cove with his brother and Kelly Crane was first murdered. To escape the looks everyone in town was giving him, Duncan moved to Seattle to forget about everything but was soon tried and convicted for murder.

Now he was living back in Marquette Cove after being released from jail, where he found that his brother was also living since his ex-wife and daughter moved to Marquette Cove in his own absence. Though Duncan had been released from jail after it was proven he didn't murder Kelly, he still had to prove his innocence to his family.

"There's got to be something in these newspapers," Duncan said. "Something I didn't notice back then, something that can prove that I didn't harm Kelly….wait, what's this?"

He picked up a newspaper with a headline about a serial rapist in Fordham Bay. Duncan checked the date on the paper and realized that it was from two months prior to Kelly's death. Duncan didn't quite know if the article would help, but he needed to find out more about this rapist and if they were ever caught.

As Duncan stood up to search for more newspapers, the gloved figure who had been watching him before stared at Duncan through a bookshelf. The gloved figure could also see someone at the end of the shelf, taking pictures of Duncan. Smiling, the figure approached the photographer.

"Are you getting what you need?"

"Pretty much," the photographer replied. "But I have to get going. This should be enough though."

"Good," the gloved figure responded. "I've been waiting for our plans to take effect...it looks like it will be happening sooner than we thought."



Hanley Home

Vincent Moore stared at the ceiling while lying on the floor in his bedroom. He had just returned from the police station where he was giving Detective Joel Kincaid more information on Erin Maddock's murder. Now that he had a moment to himself, Vince was thinking about Jessica.

Vince couldn't believe that it was really over between them.

"Of course it's not over."

Vince glanced to his right and found Antonio, his usually-absent guardian angel, standing next to the bed. Vince rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the ceiling. "I've decided to not be a psycho this school year. Which means no stalking people anymore…or at least, getting arrested for stalking."

"You're in love with Jessica," Antonio reminded him.

"You know, I thought I was too," Vince said. "But maybe I'm really in love with Kelli. Or maybe I've never been in love. I'm only seventeen…I'll figure it out eventually."

Becoming agitated, Antonio tried coming up with another way to get Vince interested in winning back Jessica. Most of his plans hinged on getting Vince angry enough to want to get Jessica back that he used his powers for dark purposes.

"Look, you're never going to do better than Jessica," Antonio insisted.

"Damn, if you're into her that much why don't you date her?" Vince demanded. "You can become corporeal, right? Unless some of your parts don't work, I don't see the problem."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Antonio cried.

"Man, stop acting weird," Vince said, sitting up on the bed. "You're giving me a migraine."

"I don't need to —" Antonio stopped speaking as his eyes flashed a bright red color. Vince watched, startled, as Antonio began to twitch uncontrollably. Antonio grabbed the edge of Vince's dresser and attempted to keep his balance. "What is happening…Vincent, you have to…"

Antonio stopped moving.

"Antonio?"

"Yes, I am Antonio."

"Antonio, what the hell is going on?" Vince asked, climbing out of his bed and touching the angel on his arm. Vince was then struck a strong surge of energy that sent him flying back onto the bed. Gasping for air, Vince clutched his chest as he realized that he had foreign pieces of information from Antonio's mind filtering through his own.

He could also hear someone yelling at him to leave Antonio's memories alone, but he realized that it wasn't Antonio.

"Oh my God," Vince gasped. "What the hell?"

Antonio suddenly stood up and glared at Vince. He swung at him with a fist, but Vince used his psychokinetic abilities to send Antonio flying into the wall. As Antonio crumpled to the floor, he vanished in a flash of red light.

"No fucking way," Vince said. "What just happened?"

Michael Hanley entered the operation room located in the secret basement of his mansion, looking for Dr. Victor Collins. Victor was busy working on the patient they had in the room — Sean Moore, who had been there for nearly two years.

"Victor, what's our progress?" Michael asked.

"We're ready for the patient's relocation," Victor answered. "All of the necessary information has been implanted."

"Perfect," Michael said. "I've been waiting for quite some time to move this third phase into action, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Now with Vincent living under the same roof as his presumed dead father, and my own nephew nosing around like a damned Hardy Boy…I don't want to make any mistakes."

Sean sat up on the operation table with a blank expression on his face. He was now wearing jeans and a shirt, along with socks and shoes that Victor had provided him with for the relocation. Victor smiled and walked over to join Michael next to one of the desks in the room.

"This has turned out better than I imagined," Victor said. "I should win some type of medal for this."

Michael smirked. "Yes, you've been a great asset to my family over the years, Victor. I thank you for that."

"Have you prepared everything in our patient's new home?"

"Of course," Michael said. "Now, all wee need to do is make sure he's viable for walking."

"I already have, sir," Victor said. "There's nothing to worry about. Everything should go as —"

Victor's face froze in shock.

"What is it, Victor?" Michael demanded.

"The patient!" Victor cried.

Michael turned back to the operation table, to find that Sean was no longer seated there. Michael's face fell and he rushed to the table, grabbing the sheet Sean had been resting under and flung it to the floor.

"Where the hell did he go?!" Michael cried.



Holden Home

Valerie Hanley-Holden sat in the living room, going over the version of her father's will that she had stolen from his safety deposit box. In his will, he stated that his entire estate and all of his assets were to be given to his children in equal shares. There wasn't a clause for his biological children, which unfortunately meant that Sean Moore was entitled to the money. But he was dead, and so Valerie needed to get his shares from his wife, Leslie.

"Not even a clause for his bastard children, like Felicia," Valerie muttered.

She immediately felt guilty for thinking of Felicia that way, but her feeling soon subsided. She wanted to repay her father for his crimes against her and her family by torturing him with the fact that she was going to inherit his entire fortune.

She had already stolen shares from Michael by getting him to sign them over unwittingly, but Michael had no idea as of yet. Now she only had Leslie and Felicia to contend with. But Valerie needed a plan.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of her doorbell ringing. Valerie quickly gathered up the will and shoved it underneath the couch cushions. She hurried to the door to see who it was and saw Robert Bale through the door's glass windows.

Valerie rolled her eyes and opened the door. "What do you want, Robert?"

"I want your help," Robert said.

"That's about as likely to happen as Oscar Wilde marrying a woman," Valerie snapped.

Robert frowned. "He did marry a —"

"What do you want?" Valerie demanded.

"How much do you care about Felicia?" Robert asked.

"Obviously I love her like a sister," Valerie said. "More than you do, I'm sure."

"That's where you're wrong," Robert said. "And I want to prove it."

"By divorcing her?"

"She's divorcing me," Robert pointed out.

"Because you've been banging your law partner?"

"I want to keep her away from your father's influence," Robert insisted. "And your brother's."

Valerie was about to slam the door in Robert's face, when she realized that Robert had just given her the chance she needed to get everything she wanted. Swallowing a sarcastic comment she intended to direct at Robert, Valerie instead stepped back and invited him inside.

Sean stumbled out of Michael's study and into the living room, glancing around at his surroundings. He couldn't remember being there before, and everything seemed new and foreign to him. Curious, Sean continued to look at the objects in the room.

He was soon startled by the sound of footsteps approaching him, and Sean quickly exited the living room and rushed toward the mansion's front door. He struggled to unlock the front door, but as he did, Sean pulled open the door and rushed outside.

Once Sean was gone, Vince descended the stairs carrying his cell phone in hand. He dialed Blake Thomas's number and waited for him to respond.

"Vince, what's up?" Blake asked.

"Code fucking red," Vince said, nearly out of breath.

"Something happened?"

"And something major is about to happen," Vince said. "We've got to meet somewhere safe."

"Um…my old house?" Blake asked. "No one's there…except for my sort of not-dead brother."

"I'll get there as soon as I can," Vince said, hanging up the phone.

Vince approached the door and noticed that it was standing wide open. Rolling his eyes, Vince headed through the door and closed it behind him.

"Riley," Vince muttered. "I swear…I should start cutting from his paycheck."

Michael raced up the stairwell that led into his office, hoping desperately that Sean hadn't run into Vince upstairs. If he ran into any of the servants, Michael could simply have them killed. But murdering Vince would do nothing to further his plans.

Victor followed after Michael, also hoping that Sean hadn't run into his son, but for a much different reason. He could end up being one of the people Michael killed if that were to happen. "Is he here?"

"No, he's not," Michael said. "I want to check the entire mansion. If he's not here, then we're going to have to move outside."

"Right away, sir," Victor said, heading for the living room.

Michael grabbed his arm before he could leave. "If anyone finds Sean, I'll have to kill them. But the first person I'll be killing is you."

Victor kept a calm face. "Of course, sir."



WATSON HOME

Nikki Vicman opened the front door to her sister's home and found Vanessa's husband, Ryan Phillips, standing on the porch. He was the last person Nikki wanted to see, especially since she had convinced Vanessa to return to Paris with her and Marcus.

"Go away, Ryan," Nikki snapped.

"I'm here to see my wife," Ryan said.

"She doesn't want to see you," Nikki said. "She already told you she's leaving town, what else is there to say?"

"Honestly, that's none of your business," Ryan insisted. "Now let me see my wife, before I have to —"

"Before you have to what?" Nikki demanded.

"Nikki, stop," Vanessa said, appearing in the doorway carrying her son, Eamon. "It's good that you showed up, Ryan."

"It is?" Ryan and Nikki asked, almost in unison.

Vanessa nodded. "Yes. I wouldn't want to leave without at least letting you say goodbye to your son."

"So your decision is final then?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, it is," Vanessa said.

"You're damn —"

"Nikki, honey!" Marcus called from the living room. "I need your help with something."

Perfectly aware that her husband was only trying to get her to keep quiet, Nikki rolled her eyes and obliged, letting Ryan and Vanessa have a moment alone. Vanessa stepped forward and handed Eamon to Ryan.

"Hey there, little guy," Ryan said, smiling at Eamon. "It's your daddy."

Vanessa smiled as well, seeing for the first time how much Ryan really loved Eamon. It made her decision hurt even more, but she needed to do this for her own sanity, as well as her child's future. "I'll give you a few minutes with him. Come on inside."

"Thank you," Ryan said.



BALE HOME

Akilah frowned as Alec focused his attention on having an AIM conversation with Jessica. Somehow, that girl always found a way to come in between something that Akilah wanted, without fail. Either that, or she had to ruin Akilah's life in some other way…by screwing over her brother.

"She just doesn't know when to quit, does she?" Akilah muttered.

"What's that?" Alec asked, still focused on the screen.

"I think we should go out," Akilah suggested. "The night is still…well, technically it hasn't even been born yet, so let's go out and do something."

"I'd love to," Alec said.

Beaming, Akilah unfolded her arms and walked over to Alec's chair. She leaned against it and rested her head on his shoulder. "Really? That's great! I'll call a restaurant and maybe we could —"

"But I can't," Alec finished. "Jessica really needs someone to talk to, she wants me to stop by and see her."

Akilah froze, hiding her anger. She regained her composure and started toward the door, not bothering to respond to Alec.

"Maybe we could take a rain check?" Alec asked, not noticing that Akilah had already left his bedroom. By the time he looked up to see what her answer was, he saw his door standing wide open.



HOLDEN HOME

"Are you sure about this?" Robert asked, seated across from Valerie on the couch staring at the papers now lying on the coffee table.

"Of course I'm sure," Valerie snapped. "You asked for my help, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…maybe I should let Felicia have her father's fortune," Robert said. "It would help her get back on her feet."

"That old bastard isn't dying anytime soon," Valerie said. "And this is your guilt talking. I already gave back my share because of what that bastard did to me…Felicia should do the same."

"Maybe I could just ask her to," Robert suggested.

"Coming from you? She'd take the money just to spite you," Valerie said.

"But what about —"

"And unfortunately, she's still upset with me over revealing her secret to you and Michael," Valerie answered, anticipating Robert's next question. "This is the only way."

"This just feels so deceptive," Robert said. "I've already hurt Felicia enough."

Valerie took Robert's arm. "But Kevin will hurt her even more. So will Michael, you know my brother. You were best friends with him once."

"He's already tried to ruin our marriage," Robert agreed. "He helped…he made me think he was sleeping with my wife."

"So keep Felicia away from him," Valerie said. "Trust me."

Robert forced a smile. "Thank you for helping me, Valerie. I know you're only doing this to help Felicia, since we don't have the best history."

"Of course," Valerie said. "But maybe this is a first step to getting over that…both of us helping Felicia get everything she deserves."