FELICIA BALE'S CAR

Leslie Hanley feels her heart racing at well over 100 miles per hour as sits in the passenger's seat of Felicia Bale's car. After the funeral, both women instinctively checked their Blackberry phones, since there was usually work to do at Hanley Enterprises.

Taking a day off to pay respects to Melissa didn't mean the rest of the world stopped moving. And how, apparently. Leslie had several messages from her son telling Leslie that her missing daughter, Akilah, had finally turned up after two long weeks. She was now at the hospital with Vince.

Felicia, on the other hand, received a message from the last person she expected – her own sister, Valerie Holden. A recent rift between the two women led Felicia to essentially cut Valerie out of her life, but the frantic message from her sister telling her that Kyle Maddock was sitting in a hospital emergency room was enough to get her to the hospital as fast as possible.

In the backseat, Aaron Maddock clutches his stomach as Felicia speeds along the highway toward the hospital.

"Can you please slow down?" Aaron says, feeling the color draining from his face.

"We have to get to the hospital, Aaron," Leslie says, unintentionally snapping at him. She turns to Felicia, speaking in an almost accusatory tone. "We have to get to the hospital."

"I know!" Felicia says, hands firmly planted on the wheel. "I'm going as fast as I can without killing all of us."

"I think I'm going to vomit," Aaron says.

"Just lay down on your side."

"I don't think that will help."

Leslie whips her head back. "Just do it!"

Obliging, for fear of having his own head ripped from his body, Aaron unlocks his seatbelt and crawls onto his side. He grips the door handle, attempting to keep his balance in the shaky seat.

"I understand why Leslie needs to get there," Aaron says. "But Felicia...Valerie's message? It's ridiculous."

"I know," Felicia says. "And I hate leaving Alec alone, but Simon is going to take him back home. For obvious reason, Simon wasn't all that interested in being reunited with his soon-to-be-former wife."

"I don't see why you're both so suspicious," Leslie says. "I thought Sean was dead for six years, and he came back to me."

"But that's different."

"How so?"

Felicia regrets opening her mouth already. She still hasn't told Leslie of discovering the secret lab underneath Michael's mansion a few months back. And judging from the files she found there, Felicia believed that her brother Michael knew something about Sean's current state.

She just didn't know what. And with what Michael knew about Felicia sleeping with her ex-husband, Robert, Felicia didn't want to create unnecessary drama in Robert and Melissa's life until she knew for sure what was going.

But now, with Melissa's funeral having just passed, it seems silly to keep things going on. She just knows now that she will have to get concrete evidence proving Michael's involvement one way or another in order to assuage her guilt over keeping such an important secret from her best friend.

"It just is," is all Felicia is able to say. "But look, we're here."

Felicia pulls into the parking lot at the hospital. As soon as she parks, Leslie hurries out the car. Aaron and Felicia are right behind her.



MARQUETTE COVE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

"That can't be him, can it?" Valerie Holden says, glancing into Kyle Maddock's room where he is still being examined by Dr. Anderson. "He's supposed to be dead."

"I don't know," Robert Bale says, arms folded and staring in the same direction. "I guess that's what we have to determine."

"This is all so odd. Two people coming back from the dead within a two week time-span? It's like an episode of The Blackthornes or something."

"Technically, I don't think they've risen from the grave."

"You know what I mean," Valerie says, rolling her eyes. She glances up and down at Robert's demeanor, frowning at his appearance. "And what is up with this look? You need to shave."

Before Robert can respond, they are quickly joined by Felicia and Aaron, rushing toward the hospital room.

"What's going on?" Felicia says, surprised to find Robert with Valerie. "Robert, what are you...what are you doing here?"

"I was at the prison with Valerie when she collapsed, which is why we ended up here in the first place."

"What were you doing at the prison?" Aaron says.

"Well, there was this slight event where I was ejected from my own wife's funeral," Robert says. "Perhaps you remember it?"

Almost embarrassed, Aaron and Felicia have nothing to say. They instead opt to look inside the hospital room.

"I'm fine, by the way," Valerie says, irritated. "Thanks for asking."

"What in the hell is going on here?" Aaron says, ignoring Valerie. "Is that really my cousin in there?"

"We're not sure," Robert says. "It's all very...Twilight Zone."

"This is all just a bit much to take in. Kyle being alive? On the day of his own sister's funeral?"

"I can't take this waiting crap anymore," Valerie says, opening the door and barging into the room.

"Valerie," Dr. Anderson says, greeting her. "I'm glad you're here."

"What's going on with him, Cyrus? Is this really Kyle?" Valerie stares at Dr. Anderson, then focuses all her attention on the man in the hospital bed claiming to be Kyle Maddock.

She glares at him. "Or are you lying?"



AKILAH MOORE'S ROOM

"You're all set to go, Akilah."

"Thank you," Vincent Moore says to the Nurse in the room with him and his sister. He turns to Akilah to see if she has yet registered any emotion on her face. But her expression is still coldly blank.

"Stop looking at me like that," Akilah says.

"Akilah!" Leslie blows into the room, nearly knocking over the exiting Nurse. "Akilah! Good lord, my baby!"

Almost pushing Vince over as well, Leslie is immediately at her daughter's side, hugging and kissing her. Akilah seems resistant to the sudden bout of emotion, yet she doesn't say anything.

"Where were you?" Leslie says. "What happened to you?"

"She won't say," Vince says, interjecting.

Leslie turns to Vince, confused, then turns back to her daughter. "What? What do you mean you won't say?"

"There's nothing to say," Akilah says. "Vince told me about Dad being alive. That seems more important."

"What's important is where the hell my daughter has been for the past two weeks!" Leslie says.

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Akilah Marie Moore, don't you tell me any shit like that! You were missing."

Akilah sighs loudly. "I ran away, okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"I saw Dad back, and I saw him...I saw him kiss Michael. I saw him tell you that he thought he was Elizabeth Hanley," Akilah says. "So I ran away. I just...didn't want to deal with any of it."

Leslie is stunned. She has no idea what to say, and for a rare moment in his life, neither does Vince.



DR. VICTOR COLLINS' OFFICE

Michael Hanley is about ready to kill his son. But that anger soon dissipates when Victor Collins finally arrives at his office. Now Michael only feels like ripping Victor's limbs from his body.

"Michael, what are you doing in here?" Victor says. "Do we have a meeting?"

"Don't act coy with me, Victor," Michael says. "You know exactly why I'm here."

"I don't have any new developments as far as Sean is concerned, if that's why you're here. If anything, it's a miracle that he seems to realize that something is wrong with him, if not entirely conscious of the fact that he's not a woman."

"I just saw my son in bed with Sean, curled up next to him."

"Vince?" Victor says. "That's a bit odd, but I don't see why it's so —"

"Not Vince. Eric," Michael says, the disgust in his voice ringing in Victor's ears for seconds after he speaks.

Victor quickly turns away from Michael and heads to his desk, as if he doesn't want to make eye contact. No idiot, Michael picks up on it.

"What is going on between Eric and Sean?"

"I don't understand what you —"

"What is going on, Victor?!"

"All right!" Victor says, slamming his hands down on his desk. "I'll tell you! It was Eric!"

"What do you mean, it was Eric?"

"He knows all about you faking Sean's death. And he knows about...the work I did for your father, when he wanted Elizabeth to leave you. He was in the laboratory, and he altered the machines. Eric is the reason why Sean believes he is Elizabeth Hanley."



OUTSIDE AKILAH MOORE'S ROOM

"How's Akilah doing?" Julia Mitchell says, finally arriving at the hospital and finding Chris Server at work near the nurse's station.

"I don't know," Chris says. "You're the one who can go in and find out."

"What use are you if you can't even find out simple pieces of information?"

"If you'll recall correctly, I'm the one who found out that Akilah is Quentin's daughter," Chris says, a smug look on his face.

Julia frowns. "Yeah, and it only took you about a year to do it. Did you go on hiatus or something?"

"Just get inside and do the job you've been told to do."

"Julia!"

Julia turns around nervously, finding Vince approaching her. She lowers her guard when the expression on his face reveals that he hadn't overheard her talking to Chris.

"Hey Vince," Julia says, embracing him. "How is she?"

"Weird," Vince says. "I don't even know how to describe it. Maybe you can knock some sense into her."

"Maybe."

"I'm glad your sister got home safely," Chris says.

"Well, seeing as how she's now in your vicinity, she's probably in danger of getting shot at," Vince says coldly.

Chris rolls his eyes and hugs a clipboard close to his chest. "I can take a hint."

As he goes off, he shoots a pointed glare in Julia's direction. She brushes it off and turns her attention back to Vince.

"Can I see her?"

"Yeah, she's on her way out," Vince says.

"Thank God she's okay," Julia says. "Did she...did she say what happened to her? Where she was?"

Vince shakes his head. "No."

Resisting the urge to smile, Julia instead pats Vince on the arm, playing her disbelief convincingly. "How awful."



HOLDEN HOME

Matt Holden tilts his head back as he insert two eye drops into his corneas. Wincing, he quickly closes his eyes and trudges toward his house. Part of the informal agreement he had with his father involved staying clean and out of trouble, which as far as Simon knew, Matt was doing.

As if Matt could survive his current living conditions without being high most of the time. Aside from his father breathing down his neck, he also had the unwelcome guests of Aunt Felicia, who was mostly judgmental when she wasn't gazing longingly at bottle of scotch, and his soon-to-be-fully moved-in cousin Alec, who wasn't exactly Matt's favorite person before he dabbled in spousal abuse and murder.

He had to switch out one irritating member of the Bale clan for another one. They were like roaches, intent on squirming their way into Matt's family by any means possible. With Felicia flouncing around as a Hanley now, it was almost too much for Matt to bear. Matt liked to reminisce for the days when he only had to contend with the money-grubbing social climbing Moore family.

Matt unlocks the front door and stumbles inside, bracing himself for an assault. He instead finds the house empty. Thank God.

"Hey Matt."

No wonder he was an atheist.

"Alec," Matt says through gritted teeth as he turns around. "What do you want?"

"Simon wanted to talk to you, something your mother," Alec says. "And I think I heard the word dead?"

Matt's eyes widen. "What?!"

Alec mopily shrugs and goes into the dimly lit living room, probably to lie on the couch like he's done the past few days. Mat storms into the living room behind his vastly irritating cousin.

"What did you say about my mother?" Matt says.

"She's at the hospital," Simon Holden says, swiftly entering the room. "We need to get to the hospital."

"She's...dead?" Matt can barely choke out the words. He hates his mother. He wants her to rot in prison for the rest of her life, but he doesn't want her to be dead.

"No, but there's...something I need to tell you, Matthew. It's about your...I can't even believe I'm saying this, but it's about your father."

"You're my father."

"We both know that isn't true. Biologically."

"He's dead."

"Apparently not," Simon says. "The call I received from your mother...she said he's at the hospital right now. And he's alive."

As Matt takes this in, he wildly flails his arm toward the nearby wall, hoping to grab onto something to keep him from collapsing. Simon moves toward his son and embraces him.

Alec stares at the two, utterly confused. "Wait...you're not really Matt's dad?"



MARQUETTE COVE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

"This was all your father's fault," Kyle says, aiming his glare at Valerie, Felicia, and Michael. "He knew that my father had an affair with his wife, and so he's known since I was child that I was related to you all. But I wasn't a Hanley...I wasn't his blood. So I was never anything more than a bastard child he wanted to forget."

"And with good reason," Michael says, arms folded. "This is utterly insane. Kyle Maddock is dead. He hung himself after he discovered that he knocked my sister up."

"I remember," Felicia says, nodding. "We were all at your funeral."

Aaron steps toward the hospital bed, unnerved by the beeping machines and tubes for the first time in his life. The confidence he'd exhibited throughout medical school was quickly fading. "I spoke at your funeral. It was open casket. You were dead."

"I only appeared to be dead," Kyle says. "After I slept with Valerie...Kevin Hanley wanted me out of the picture. He didn't want my true identity leaking to the press, so he had me taken care of. He gave me something...had me drugged. I was out cold. The next thing I remember...I was waking up in some mansion halfway across the globe."

"And why now? Twenty years later?"

Kyle shrugs. "He died. His guards were less loyal, and I was able to escape."

"From where?" Michael says. "Downtown Europe?"

"There's no need to be so flip."

"I want proof," Valerie says.

"Valley Girl...don't you know me? We were we in love, we were..."

"You're my brother," Valerie says, unable to hold back her disgust and vitriol. "You were. I mean...you aren't! You're not him!" She turns to Robert, grabbing the lapels of his jacket. "I want proof."

"What do you want, a DNA test?" Michael says.

"No," Valerie says, moving toward Aaron. "You're his only living relative, so we're going to need your approval."

"Approval for what?" Aaron says, fearful of the tone in Valerie's voice. She's utterly on the edge.

"I want his grave exhumed. We'll look inside and prove that the real Kyle is dead. Then this son of a bitch can explain himself."