"Yes," Ariel replied. "Technically. But everything's much better now."
"What do you mean everything's better now?" Matt demanded.
"My kidnapper isn't that bad," Ariel replied. "He's kind of cute. His name's Brock."
"Your kidnapper is cute?"
"Well, one of them is," Ariel said. "The other one was kind of ugly. But he's dead. There was this thing with some rival gang members, he got shot, it was kind of ugly...but Brock was there for me."
"Ariel...do you hear yourself speaking?"
"Don't worry!" Ariel said. "He thought I was some rich girl from boarding school he could hold for ransom."
"But you are!"
"Well, I told him that I was only there scholarship," Ariel said. "And he believed me. So we've been together ever since."
"Ariel, you have a home," Matt said.
"So do you, but I don't see you there."
"That's a longer story," Matt said. "I was sort of kidnapped myself."
"Huh?"
"What the hell is going on here?" A deep, booming voice demanded angrily.
Matt and Ariel spun around and found a solid, muscular man walking up the stairs. He narrowed his eyes at Matt and Ariel.
"Ariel? Who the fuck is this?"
"Brock!" Ariel said excitedly. "This is Matt. I ran into him outside...we went to boarding school together. I told him about you being my boyfriend, and us living together now."
"What?" Brock asked, still somewhat confused.
Ariel noticed that Brock's left hand was behind his back, obviously reaching for his gun. Ariel acted quickly and wrapped her arms around Brock, kissing him.
"Don't worry," Ariel whispered. "He's gay."
Brock titled his head and looked at Matt. Matt forced a wide smile, causing Brock to wince.
"He'd better not try anything," Brock said. "My gun's loaded."
She reached for one of the dishes in the sink and ran a sponge over it, scrubbing the remnants of her Thanksgiving dinner from it. She'd ended up having dinner by herself after the argument with Alec.
Jessica hadn't even bothered to check her messages, so she was sure she had a ton from her mother and Alec and the rest of Alec's family wondering where she was. But she wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet.
As she raised the plate to dry it off with a towel, the apartment door behind her opened. Jessica cried out in surprise and dropped the plate, causing it to shatter as it hit a glass in the sink.
"Jessica!"
Jessica turned around to find Jack Atlas standing in the doorway.
"Jack, you scared me," Jessica said.
"Where have you been?" Jack demanded. "You weren't at dinner."
"I had to clear my head a little," Jessica said. "I'm surprised no one came home."
"Darren and I ended up sleeping at his office," Jack said. "He had a lot to do on that big case he's working on. Alec's been worried sick about you."
"I'm sure he has been," Jessica said softly.
Jack closed the door and walked into the kitchen. "Making breakfast?"
"No, I'm just cleaning up some dishes," Jessica replied.
Jack paused when he saw the large amount of make-up on Jessica's face. "Going somewhere? A street corner, maybe?"
"What?"
"Just a joke," Jack said. "You've got on a ton of make-up."
"I hadn't noticed," Jessica said. "I should go and take a nap."
"You didn't notice? But it's only on the left side of your —"
"Jack, just drop it," Jessica pleaded.
"Huh? What's gotten into you, Jess?" Jack demanded.
EMERALD SQUARE
"Are you sure we should be out in public?" Blake asked.
"As far as anyone's concerned, you're still one of my patients," Aaron said. "And we're simply having a session over coffee."
Blake smiled. "I see."
"This week has been spectacular," Aaron said. "Spending more time with you."
"Yeah, it's been fun," Blake said, nodding. "Real fun."
"I hope it's been more than just fun."
Blake shrugged. "Well, you know...as fun as a secret relationship is, I guess."
"It's only a secret because —"
"No, I don't really get that," Blake said. "It's 2007. No one really cares if you're gay or not."
Luckily, Robert didn't know she was home yet, so she wouldn't have to explain her Thanksgiving disappearance act of not answering phone calls.
As she approached the Café, she was startled to find her cousin Aaron sitting at a table outside. She angrily unwrapped her scarf as a wave of emotions washed over her. Aaron had lied to her for years about Tyler. Regardless of whether or not Melissa having a son with Hugh Rogers was true, Aaron had believed it to be true and still kept that secret from her.
Now she wanted to know why.
WAREHOUSE
LONDON, ENGLAND
"Eat your lunch," Ariel said. "I want to go shopping. I'm glad you're staying, by the way. London is so much more fun that Marquette Cove."
"Well, staying for a while at least," Matt said. "Until Shrek tries to kill me in my sleep."
Ariel glanced toward the stairwell, a habitual reaction to note if they were alone, and smiled. "Brock will be fine. I'll deal with him."
"You two don't have a ton of money, how are you supposed to go shopping?" Matt asked.
"Oh, I shoplift," Ariel said. "I mean, I can't exactly use my dad's credit card, you know?"
"I guess not," Matt said. "Wouldn't want Brock knowing you've got enough money to buy whatever store you're shopping at."
"Yeah, that's the kind of sucky party," Ariel said. "But at least he's good in bed. And also, I hate Michael Hanley."
Ariel reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table next to her.
"I need a smoke." Ariel stood up and walked toward an open window in the kitchen. She climbed onto the windowsill and struck a match to light her cigarette.
"Well, I admire your devotion to staying poor," Matt said.
"Want one?" Ariel asked.
"Nah, I'm fine," Matt said. "I should see someone about this cut on my arm, though. It looks kind of sketchy."
"Well, it's a good thing we've got free health care here," Ariel said.
"I've got money," Matt said. "I stole some before I came to London, when I was first planning on skipping out of town. I've got it — fuck! I left it back at West End."
"Well, that sucks," Ariel muttered. "Guess we're stuck pretending we're poor still."
"Yeah, all for the benefit of your loser boyfriend," Matt said.
"He's a not a loser," Ariel said.
"Just a dope who doesn't know you're an heiress," Matt said.
"Not that much of a dope."
Ariel and Matt spun around to find Brock standing at the top of the stairs, holding his gun.
"Brock," Ariel started.
Matt stood up. "Hey dude, what's up?"
"Sit down," Brock said, aiming his gun at Matt. "You two got something to tell me?"
"Um...that depends," Matt said. "How much did you hear?"
"I have something to tell you," Ariel said quickly. Before Brock could respond, a vase flew across the kitchen and hit him in the face. It crashed into him, knocking him unconscious. "We're kind of over."
Matt stared at Brock in disbelief as he sank to the floor.
"I guess we're gonna have to go get that money," Ariel said.
ALEC BALE & DARREN REYNOLDS' APARTMENT
"Maybe she'll want something to eat, since she left without having dinner," Darren Reynolds said, holding the elevator door open for Alec.
"Yeah," Alec said, diverting his eyes. "That was kind of weird."
"She didn't return any of your phone calls?"
"I didn't give her a call," Alec said. "I figured she needed some space, you know?"
"What, did you two have a fight?"
"No, not really," Alec said. "But let's get inside. I want to set this stuff down."
"Jessica, is there something you want to tell me?" Jack continued.
"No," Jessica insisted. "You're being kind of irritating."
The front door opened up, startling Jessica. Darren and Alec entered the apartment, still continuing their discussion. Once Alec noticed Jessica, he clammed up.
"Jess," Alec said.
"Hey," Jessica said. "I was just doing the dishes. I'll get out of everyone's hair."
"How are you?" Darren asked. "You disappeared last night."
"I just wasn't in the spirit," Jessica said. "That's all. I needed some time alone."
Alec headed into the kitchen. "Can you give me a hand with these?"
Jessica flinched as Alec approached her. After an awkward pause between them, Jessica stepped back and opened the fridge to allow Alec to slide the trays in. Darren, oblivious to this interaction, yawned loudly.
"I'm gonna take a nap," Darren said, giving Jack a kiss. "You can wake me up later if you want."
"Yeah," Jack said, hardly paying attention.
Once Darren was gone, Jack stepped forward and took Jessica's hand. He stared Alec in the face.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Jessica?" Jack repeated, not wavering from staring down Alec. "About what happened yesterday? Between you and Alec?"
At that instant, something clicked in Alec's mind. He could feel himself starting perspire as he turned away from Jack and looked at Jessica's face. She, on the other hand, was becoming incredibly pale.
"No," Jessica said angrily. "Just leave me alone, okay?"
Jessica brushed past Jack and went into her and Alec's bedroom, slamming the door shut.
"Women, huh?" Alec said, attempting to diffuse the situation.
Jack shot Alec a disgusted look once more. "I'm gonna go for a walk."
WEST END PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY
LONDON, ENGLAND
"It's hidden in my room," Matt said. "I can get access, you're just gonna have to distract the guards."
"Not a problem," Ariel said. "Let's get a move on it. I'm think we can go to Italy, or somewhere else really nice. Maybe somewhere warm?"
"As long as it's not home," Matt said. "I'd even go to Iraq."
"Stand back and watch," Ariel said, pushing open the front door and striding inside. She stopped at the receptionist's desk and leaned over the desk, staring an elderly woman in the face. "Excuse me, can you help me?"
"Yes?" The woman asked, raising her head from a crossword puzzle.
"I'm here to get my boyfriend out," Ariel said. "Do you know he went and had himself committed? All because he said I was driving him crazy!"
The receptionist was confused. "Excuse me?"
"Where is my boyfriend?" Ariel demanded. "I'm pregnant, you know! He is trying to avoid paying child support is what he's doing! I am not going to have it! Just because I'm American, he thinks he can treat me like he's King James or something! Maybe you've heard about a little something called the American Revolution?"
"Miss, I don't understand —"
"1776!" Ariel cried.
"Miss, I don't want to have to call security," the woman said. "Please calm down."
Matt cracked open the front door and noticed Ariel waving behind her back for him to get on with it. He nodded and took off toward his room while Ariel snatched up the phone from the receptionist desk.
"Yes!" Ariel said loudly. "Call security! So they can drag that deadbeat out by his testicles!"
Matt smirked and stifled a laugh as he headed for the nearest stairwell.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," Dr. Ellis said, leading Simon Holden toward one of the rooms at the end of the corridor. "Your son, Matthew, went missing a few days ago."
"Missing?" Simon demanded. "Did my wife have anything to do with this?"
"No, your son had everything to do with this," Dr. Ellis responded with mild irritation in her voice. "He stabbed me with a syringe and knocked me unconscious."
"Oh," Simon said, frowning. "That sounds like Matt."
"Yes, well we have no idea where your son is," Dr. Ellis said. "And I seriously doubt that he's going to come back here again."
Simon angrily slammed his fist against the wall. "Dammit! This is all Valerie's fault! The things she's done to this family, I will never forgive her for as long as —"
Simon was unable to finish his sentence, however, as someone hurried into the room and ran into him, nearly knocking him off. After regaining his composure, Simon realized that he recognized the person.
"Matt!" Simon cried.
Matt's eye widened with surprise. "...Dad?"
EMERALD SQUARE
Aaron, surprised to see Melissa, remained calm. "Melissa...I'm meeting with a patient."
"Blake, will you excuse us?" Melissa asked.
Blake glanced at Aaron to see how he should respond. Aaron nodded, letting Blake know that he could leave. Blake stood and took his coffee cup, walking away from the table after saying goodbye to Aaron.
"Melissa, that was incredibly rude —" Aaron began.
"Shut your goddamn mouth," Melissa hissed, sliding into the seat across from Aaron. "I know what you did to me, Aaron. I know you've been lying to me about my son!"
Melissa's outburst drew glances from other patrons in Emerald Square. She didn't care.
"Your son? I don't know what...is this about your miscarriage?"
"You know what this is about," Melissa snapped. "Go back to your office and listen to the tape I left there. The one where you talk to Hugh Rogers about the son he was keeping from me?"
Aaron's face went white. "Melissa —"
"Know where I was, Aaron? For Thanksgiving?" Melissa demanded. "Rather than celebrating with my husband, with my child, I was in Atlantic City get blood tests done. To prove that Tyler Rogers was my son."
"You broke into my office?" Aaron asked indignantly. "Melissa, you had no right to break into my office. Those files are personal and confidential!"
"Don't you dare stand here and lecture," Melissa said. "You want me to raise my voice? Talk about you abusing your position and disregarding the Hippocratic Oath in order to keep that secret from me?"
"You don't understand, Melissa," Aaron said. "I did this for you. I did this to protect you from Hugh."
Melissa rolled her eyes. "That's bullshit and you know it. But here's a little tidbit. Tyler isn't my son. So whatever deal you had with Hugh, it was just fun and games."
"He's not your..."
"No," Melissa said, wiping away tears. "He's not. So it looks like your lies were right. All of those nightmares I was having, they were only about the child I miscarried. I don't have a son out there somewhere."
Aaron was speechless.
"But that still begs the question. What exactly did Hugh have on you that would make you keep something so important, so precious from me, Aaron?" Melissa demanded. "What kind of secrets did he dig up about you so he could keep playing his mind games?"
"I don't have any secrets," Aaron said.
"And why do I find that so hard to believe?"
Melissa shook her head disgustedly at Aaron one last time before spinning around and striding out of Emerald Square.
ALEC BALE & DARREN REYNOLDS' APARTMENT
"She's in the bedroom," Alec said. "What are you doing here?"
"I came by to talk to your wife, is that okay?" Felicia asked.
"Yeah, I was just wondering where Phillip is, that's all," Alec said.
"Sara's watching him," Felicia said. "I had some errands to run. And I actually wanted to stop by and talk to Jessica about something rather important."
"I don't know if she's really up for —"
"I can speak for myself," Jessica said, emerging from the bedroom.
Jessica brushed off the look she received from Alec and walked to the door, embracing Felicia.
"How are you, sweetie?" Felicia asked.
"I'm good," Jessica said. "You have something you want to tell me?"
"Well, something to offer you," Felicia replied. "I know that you were interested in staying at home, and you're not taking classes at Fordham Bay with the others, but I don't think you should take yourself out of an education."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're interested in fashion, right?" Felicia asked.
"Of course she is," Alec muttered. "Just look at all the magazines stuffed in the mailbox."
"Alec, why don't you go busy yourself," Felicia said, slightly irritated.
Alec groaned loudly. "Fine, I can take a hint. I'm gonna go for a drive."
Alec grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and headed out the door. Felicia closed the door behind him and then turned back to Jessica.
"I don't know what to do with that boy sometimes," Felicia said, laughing. "Anyway, I want to offer you an internship. Hanley Enterprises is working on the Chicago Spring 2008 Fashion Week, and it could be a great opportunity for you to learn and make some extra money. And let me tell you, it beats the hell out of the Bun Shack."
Jessica smiled. "Wow, I don't...I don't know what to say! It sounds so exciting!"
"Say yes then," Felicia said. "It's the only answer I'm willing to take."
As Alec climbed into his car, he slid his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and scrolled through his address book. Once he found the number he was looking for, he pressed the call button and waited patiently while starting up his car.
"Hello?" A woman's voice on the other end answered.
"Hey Farrah," Alec said. "I hope you're not busy. I'd love to see you."
WEST END PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY
Simon embraced his son in a long hug. "How can you say that? I've missed you every minute of every day, Matt. When I left your mother, I had no idea I was going to be leaving you to this."
"Mom is crazy," Matt said. "I always knew that. I'm sorry she lied to you about —"
"It's a non-issue," Simon said. "You're my son. Do you understand that? I don't care what DNA says, you're my son."
"But my father...he was my uncle too," Matt said, lowering his eyes. "It's disgusting. It makes me sick."
"It's made your mother sick too," Simon said. "The last thing I want to do is come to her defense, but she did what she did because she loves you. In the twisted way that only she can, but she does love you."
"I'll bet she didn't tell you I'm here," Matt said. "You had to find out some other way, didn't you?"
"Felicia figured it out," Simon said. "She told me and I took the first plane I could get."
"Dad, I missed you," Matt said, hugging his father again. "I know I didn't say that enough before, but I really mean it."
"I know that, Matt," Simon said.
"Are we done with the Waltons moment?" Ariel asked, appearing in the doorway. "I'm ready to get back to watching reality television and being a good old fashioned troops-supporting American."
"Good to see you again," Simon said, smiling.
Ariel nodded. "Same to you, Simon."
"Dad, could I get a minute alone with Ariel?" Matt asked.
"Of course," Simon said. "I'm going to have a word with Dr. Ellis outside."
Once Simon left, Matt immediately hurried to his bed and pulled it away from the wall. He then removed a small panel in the wall and removed a plastic bag from it.
"What's going on?" Ariel asked.
"Did you think I was going to leave all of this money behind?" Matt demanded. "I'm taking all of this back to Marquette Cove with me."
"It's not like we'll need it," Ariel said. "We're Hanleys."
"I don't want anyone knowing I have this money," Matt said, raising the plastic bag. "I don't want anyone to know what I'm going to be buying with it as soon as I get back."
"And what exactly are you planning on buying?"
Matt smirked, opening the bag to gaze upon its contents. "Revenge."