MELASWEN STUDIOS
MARQUETTE COVE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

Akilah Moore logs onto Gawker on her Blackberry, scanning the current stories for whatever it is Darin is talking about. Once she finds it, she drops her phone in shock and slides back from the table.

"What is it?" Blake Thomas asks.

"Oh God," Akilah says, turning to Blake with a now sympathetic expression. "Blake, I'm so sorry..."

Blake rises from his seat and snatches Akilah's Blackberry, scouring the page himself. There is a video at the top of the page that's unplayable on the Blackberry screen, but the website has produced images from it.

"Is that...oh God, that's me!" Blake cries, dropping the phone and backing away from the table.

He didn't need to see more than a flash of the images to realize that the video was of himself and Eric Hanley having sex. Something that would have been a minor embarrassment but now that Blake had won a walk-on role on The Blackthornes, it was sure to be plastered across countless blogs.

"Is that my brother's bedroom?" Akilah demands. "Did you and Eric..."

"We...he was recording Vince," Blake says.

Disgusted, Akilah stands as well and shoves Blake, almost ready to slap him. "Are you kidding me? You two were —"

"No! I didn't know he was, that's why I broke up with him on Thanksgiving!" Blake clutches at his stomach, feeling as if he's going to vomit. He stumbles back, leaving his script on the table. "I...I have to go..."

He grabs his jacket from the back of his chair and hurries out of the room.



EMERALD SQUARE FITNESS CENTER

Eric Hanley jogs rapidly along the treadmill in the Emerald Square Fitness Center, keeping his breaths in short bursts. He wipes away a bead of sweat from his forehead and turns up the volume on his iPod.

"Love me, hate me, say what you want about me," Eric sings along to the music, oblivious to the figure approaching him in the gym. "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to —"

Eric's voice trails off as his headphones are ripped from his iPod. He cocks his head and finally sees Vincent Moore standing next to the treadmill, a death glare transfixed on his face. Something he no doubt got from his mother.

"Vince," Eric says, still jogging. "What can I do for you?"

"I saw your tape."

Eric feigns innocence. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Vince snaps. "You know what tape I'm talking about. All you ever do is masturbate and read Gawker."

Eric turns off the treadmill. "So what if I do?"

"Who recorded it? And why the hell are you and Blake getting it on in my room?"

"Because I just love rubbing up against your bed sheets and..."

Vince punches Eric in the face, causing him to stumble back and fall onto the treadmill.

"Wrong answer."

"Ow!" Eric cries. "What the hell is wrong with you? It's not like you're on the tape!"

"Why the hell is my room being recorded?!"

"Don't blame me," Eric says. "I only hotwired the camera system that Michael already has in the mansion."

Vince narrows his eyes. "So you did record it. And you leaked it online? You and your depraved boyfriend?"

Eric shrugs. "You're forgetting the important thing here, which is that I wouldn't have been able to do any of that if there wasn't already a camera set up in every room at the mansion."

"You're pathetic," Vince says through gritted teeth. "But I'll deal with you later. Where there aren't witness."

"Looking forward to it"! Eric calls out as Vince storms out of the building.



MELASWEN STUDIOS
MARQUETTE COVE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

"This is turning into quite the bust," Yolanda Holland says, putting on her coat as Akilah stands next to her, typing furiously into her Blackberry. "We should have never come to Chicago to film any of this."

"Are you sorry the show came here? Or sorry you came here and got into it with my mom?"

"Look at you. Not even looking up from your typing screen and still with these personal questions."

"It's what I do," Akilah says, finally looking up at her aunt. "Sorry."

"No, don't be," Yolanda says. "You're right. It's my own fault what happened at Thanksgiving. Before I left town...I did something horrible to your mother. For a good reason, but it was..."

"Look, a lot of crazy shit has happened to my mom. With my dad dying and coming back, and our uncle Derek going crazy and trying to kill her, it's been kinda rough. Maybe she just needs to know you're sorry."

"Maybe."

Yolanda sighs, rubbing at her forehead. "I need some Botox. All of this is making me wrinkle out."

"I should get home," Akilah says. "Vince is gonna flip when he sees this video. And I know I don't want to miss those fireworks. I'm totally calling Julia too."

"You know, I never did ask you. How is your father back? I thought he was..."

"Dead. Yeah. It's a long story, all we know is we thought he died in a car accident, but he turned up at the beginning of the summer thinking he was Michael's dead wife."

"And where did he show up?"

"At the mansion."

Yolanda frowns. "That doesn't sound right. None of this is...none of this is making sense."

"Tell me about it," Akilah says. "But I should get going."

"I'm coming with you," Yolanda insists. "I think I need to finally clear the air with my dear sister. And get to the bottom of what's been going on at that mansion."

HOLDEN HOME

Darren Reynolds just nearly misses a cell phone being thrown at his head as he enters the house. He manages to catch the phone in his hands, staring at Felicia Bale is shock.

"Oh Darren, I'm so sorry," Felicia says. "I didn't mean to..."

Darren laughs. "Naomi Campbell me?"

"Ah, yes."

She takes her phone back from him and shoves it into her purse, then she returns to the mirror to check her appearance. Her run-in with Robert frazzled her, more than she wants to let on to Darren.

"What's wrong?"

Too late.

"I saw Robert leaving," Darren says. "What did he do this time?"

"Making things up, as usual. I don't know how I was ever married to that man."

"He used to be a different person."

"No," Felicia says, shaking her head. "He has always been this person. The kind of person that would abuse his own son and then try and make it Alec's fault! And now Aaron's."

Darren raises an eyebrow. "Aaron? What's he got to do with anything?"

"He's probably just jealous that Aaron is contesting Melissa's will, as well he should," Felicia says. "But he came here saying something about Aaron molesting Kyle when they were younger...the whole thing sounds utterly ridiculous. Aaron has been a pillar of this community for years."

"True," Darren says. "But so was Robert."

"Did you want something, Darren? I have a meeting to get to."

"Just dropping off some Christmas presents," Darren says. "They're in my car, but I can bring them by later."

"No, no, bring them in, you can lock up behind yourself."

Darren nods. "Sure. And I also have some bad news."

"About?"

"It seems that Ricard Branch skipped out on going back to prison. He made a run for it," Darren says. "I should have expected something like that."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Felicia says. "I've found that people are...rarely, if ever, what you want them to be."



HANLEY HOME

Robert Bale stands in the middle of the garden outside the Hanley mansion, which is now nothing more than frozen ground and clumps of snow and dirt. He checks his cell phone, waiting for another call from...

"Robert!"

He turns to find Sean Moore poking out from the house, the door from Michael's study to the garden wide open. He motions for Robert to come toward him and he obliges, entering the mansion quickly and shutting the door.

"It's freezing out there," Robert says. "Why in the hell did you...wait a second, I never even...you called me!"

"Yes, I did," Sean says. "Are you getting amnesia too?"

"No, you called me, Sean! Sean Moore called me, not Elizbaeth Hanley!"

Sean forces a smile. "Oh, yeah. I'm back. Sort of. Things are still a little fuzzy."

"That's great news! What the hell is going on?"

"I'm in a bit of a jam. And I didn't know who else to call," Sean says. "And I know we were at least friends, so..."

"More than friends," Robert says, embracing Sean in a tight hug. "You were my best friend. Man, you don't know how great it is to finally have you back."

"Then allow me to be the first to tell you that this beard thing of yours is not a good look for you."

Robert bursts into laughter. "It's gone. But seriously, why did you call me? Why aren't you and Leslie celebrating and getting as far away from this hellhole as possible?"

"Because I'm not going back to Leslie."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"She looks really happy with Michael," Sean says. "So are the kids. And even knowing what Michael did...I've done some horrible things too. And maybe things were so awful just before I left that Michael helped her pick up the pieces, and if she's happy, then I want her to be."

"Is this about that Denise woman being pregnant?" Robert demands.

"No, it's...what? Denise is pregnant? She didn't tell me," Sean insists.

"She was outside on the phone talking to someone, I don't know who. But...if you didn't know, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I started a life with Denise. Leslie has a new life," Sean says. "It's that simple."

"I think Leslie is the one who needs to make that decision," Robert says. "Not you for her."

Sean groans, leaning against the desk. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Robert insists. "Finally, someone who knows I'm right! But wait a minute, you said something about what Michael did?"

"It's a long story."

"Does it have anything to do with a secret lab?" Robert whispers. "Because Felicia and I..."

"That will be enough, Robert."

Robert and Sean turn to find Michael standing in the doorway, a menacing look on his face.

"Sean and I need to have a conversation," Michael says. "Alone."



FOYER

Akilah enters from the kitchen carrying a bowl of popcorn, just the doorbell rings. She opens the door to greet a rather confused Julia, who hurries inside to get out of the cold.

"What's going on?" Julia demands. "I got your frantic message."

"I know you've seen Blake's sex tape," Akilah says.

"Of course I have! It's all everyone's talking about at 312."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you were interning there," Akilah says. "How's that going?"

"It's going really well, actually. I think I'm finally going to get to —"

"Yeah, that's great. Listen, I'm pretty sure Vince is on his way home to kick Eric's ass, so we have totally got to get front row seats to the brawl."

Julia snatches up some popcorn and shoves it in her mouth. "Sounds perfect!"

As the two girls take a seat on the staircase, they are surprised as Vince enters at that very moment, as if on cue. He has a wild look on his face and eyes full of intensity.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

"Eric's not here yet," Akilah says, grinning. "But you can wait here until he shows up."

"Eric's not showing up. I already ran into him," Vince says, slamming the door.

"Dammit," Vince mutters.

"Well, I'm out of here," Julia says, rising to her feet. "I have to get home and see my dad. He's still recovering from the...you know, animal bites or whatever we told the doctor."

"Right," Vince nods. "Merry Christmas."

"You too," Julia says, gently patting Vince on the shoulder before she exits.

"So, no fight?" Akilah says, pouting.

"No fight," Vince says. "But I'm going to our rooms and finding those fucking cameras."

Akilah's face falls. "What cameras?"

"Eric said he hotwired the cameras in the mansion, which means Michael has been keeping tabs on us since we moved in," Vince says.

"Oh, that is hella creepy," Akilah says, abandoning her popcorn on the steps. "Let's go. My room first."



THOMAS HOME

"It's me Darren...I saw the video online and I'm...I'm worried about you. Will you please call me back?"

After checking his voicemail, Blake turns off his phone and shoves it into his pocket. After wandering the streets of Marquette Cove, he has found himself coming across the boarded up remains of his former childhood home.

The home has nothing but awful memories for Blake. It was where he learned that his parents had been murdered, where he kept his brother holed up as he tried rehabilitating him, and where he was the victim of countless manipulations by Zaliphyr...some thing so diabolical Blake has never fully grasped exactly what it was.

Bringing his brother back from the dead seemed like the answer to all of his problems. But now it seems like it was the beginning of every single one of Blake's problems.

He slowly approaches the house, resting his fingers against the almost rotting pieces of wood nailed to his house. As he allows his mind to race to happier times, attempting to erase the memory of his body plastered all over the internet, he hears a crashing sound inside the house.

"What the hell?"

Blake attempts to peer inside, noticing a dark figure moving throughout the house.

"Who's there?" Blake calls out.

Hearing no response, he picks up a fallen tree branch and uses it to tear away at the rotting wood planks. Freeing an entrance to the front door, he opens it and hurries inside, allowing the light to shine inside the house for the first time over three years.

"Is there anyone..."

"Blake," a voice hisses.

Blake turns to the right and is horrified at what he finds. Crouched in the corner, shivering from the cold, is someone he recognizes all to well. "...Chris."



HANLEY HOME

Leslie Hanley enters the mansion, setting her keys near the front door. No sooner than she is able to lock the front door, does she find her sister Yolanda staring at her.

"Get out," Leslie snaps.

"I need to speak with you," Yolanda says.

"How did you get in?"

"I came back with Akilah, then I waited in the living room."

Leslie frowns. "How unfortunate for my daughter that I'm now going to have to ground her."

"I'm here to make things right, Leslie," Yolanda insists.

"There is nothing that you can make right! You slept with husband, Yolanda! You slept with Sean after you told him lies about Vince not being his son! You opened up your legs, seduced my husband, and now there is nothing left for you to say to me, so get the hell out!"

Yolanda, stung by Leslie's words, continues to soldier on. "I never slept with Sean."

"I saw you leaving the house," Leslie snaps. "And I know what Michael did too. Right after you left town, he told me that he paid for you to skip town and he paid for your abortion."

Yolanda nods. "That's what you were supposed to believe, yes. And with Sean gone, I thought it was in your best interest to keep believing that. But now he's back and everything seems to be so screwed up. You're my sister, Leslie. And I want you to know the truth."

"You want me to know lies," Leslie snaps, heading up the stairs.

"Sean's car explosion was a hit! He was upsetting a mob family that Kevin Hanley was involved with, and he needed to go into witness protection to save his life," Yolanda says. "You couldn't know! The only people who knew were Michael and Derek."

"Do you realize how stupid that sounds? How stupid that makes you sound?"

"The only thing I know is that you were lying to Sean, and I needed money to move to Los Angeles and start my career," Yolanda insists. "I would have believed anything! I thought you deserved it for what you were doing to your family!"

"You are a pathetic, depraved bitch," Leslie says. "I'm going to my room. And I want you out."



MICHAEL HANLEY'S STUDY

"What's wrong, Michael?" Robert says, smirking. "Feeling a little nervous? Your world about to come crashing down around you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Michael says. "I'm just wondering what you're doing here with Sean. Or rather, Elizabeth."

"Sean," Robert says. "He remembers everything."

Michael doesn't flinch. "Oh?"

"I don't," Sean says. "I remember everything."

"We need to talk, then," Michael says.

"Yes, we do."

"Let's just skip the talking and get straight to the part where you tell us what you did to Sean down in the basement of yours, Dr. Kevorkian," Robert suggests.

"Or we could talk about the sex you had with your ex-wife down in that basement," Michael says.

Robert laughs. "Yes, it would absolutely devastate my dead wife to find out."

"Aren't you attempting to prove that you really loved Melissa in order to keep the contents of her will away from her cousin?" Michael asks.

"Enough!" Sean cries. "Robert, get out. I need to talk to Michael alone."

"But I —"

"I think you heard Sean," Riley Schaefer says, appearing in the doorway. He shoots a menacing glance toward Robert. "Let's wait in the living room."

"Fine," Robert says. "But I'm ending this tonight."



UPSTAIRS HALLWAY

"You're probably going to start a fight with me for following you," Yolanda says, heading up the stairs behind Leslie. "But I want to clear the air! I want you to know the truth."

"Then how about you stop feeding me that cock and bull story," Leslie snaps.

Akilah pokes her head out of Eric's room, finding her mother engaged in a Mexican stand-off with Yolanda. "What's going on out here?"

"What are you doing in Eric's room?" Leslie demands.

"You didn't hear about the sex tape?"

"The one Eric recorded of himself having sex with Blake in Vince's bedroom," Akilah says.

"Oh," Leslie gasps. "I...I didn't know that. Was Vince there? Is he...is he gay now?"

"No, I'm not gay," Vince mutters, emerging from Eric's bedroom. "Eric was using Michael's security system to record all of us."

Leslie is horribly confused. "Michael's been recording us? He was recording the sex tape?"

"No, Eric recorded the sex tape using Michael's cameras," Akilah says.

"This is like a scene out of The Blackthornes," Yolanda mutters. "Only better written."

"If you hate the show so much, why are you working on it?" Akilah demands.

"So not the topic at hand," Vince says.

"What the hell is going on?"



MICHAEL HANLEY'S STUDY

"If we're going to talk, then let's do it in here," Sean says, bending over and pressing the button next to Michael's desk.

The wall holding up Michael's bookshelf slides open, revealing the dark passageway leading into the basement. The basement housing Michael's secret laboratory.

"Of course," Michael says, motioning for Sean to head down the stairs first.

As Sean obliges, Michael quickly reaches into his desk and removes a handgun. He shoves it into his jacket pocket and follows Sean down into the basement.

"I know everything you did to me," Sean says.

"And that would be?"

"You faked my death. Erased my memory," Sean answers, opening the door to the lab. "And when I remembered, I know that I came back and had you finish the job."

"Yes...that's true," Michael says. "And I —"

"There's nothing you can say that will make up for what you did to me," Sean says. "You're a bastard. You should be killed or at least thrown in jail for the rest of your life...but unfortunately, I know the depths you've sunk to. I've sunk to them myself."

"Have you?"

"Out of love," Sean says. "Everything I've done has been out of love for my family. They were happy. They were living with a cold hearted bastard, but they were happy."



ERIC HANLEY'S BEDROOM

"Is this the camera?" Leslie says.

"Yeah," Vince says, turning on the television in Eric's room as his mother, sister, and aunt crowd around him. "Eric's television is hooked up to the different rooms in the mansion."

Vince aims a remote control at the television, first showing the scene of everyone inside Eric's room.

"There we are. On the screen."

"Oh my God," Leslie says, shaking her head in disgust. "I can't believe that Michael has been...he's been...this is too much."

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch Eric," Vince says, throwing the remote onto the floor. "And then I'm going to hit Michael in the face."

Akilah picks up the remote control. "I wonder what else is on the Hanley Broadcasting Channel..."

As she flips through the various rooms in the mansion, she is surprised to find that Robert is in the living room with Riley.

"What's Robert doing here?"

"Who knows," Vince says. "But I might just hit him too."

Akilah continues changing the channels until she comes across a room she's never seen before. A bright, white room that looks almost like a laboratory.

"What in the hell?"

"Is that Sean?" Yolanda wonders as two men step into the camera's view. "With Michael? Where the hell are they?"

"Is there volume on this?" Akilah asks.

Vince rolls his eyes. "You're the one holding the remote, idiot."

"You're the one holding the remote, idiot," Akilah mocks, imitating Vince's voice.

She turns up the volume, allowing the four family members to hear everything Michael and Sean are discussing in this foreign room.

"But tell me, Michael," Sean says, unaware of the new audience watching him and Michael. "Knowing what you've done to me, and how many people you've lied to for the past few years...how can you even live with yourself?"

Michael remains silent, biting his lip.

But Leslie, Vince, Akilah, and Yolanda remain on the edge of their seats, still completely confused as to what's going on, but unable to pull their eyes away from the screen.

"I'll tell you," Michael says, finally.

He reaches into his pocket and removes his gun, aiming it directly at Sean.

"I'll tell you...and then I'll kill you."