#343, "Our Melissa's Cousin" GUASTI COSE
#343 "OUR MELISSA'S COUSIN"
August 07, 2009

MATA HARI'S

The mood of the reception is hard to place. The evening didn't start out in good spirits to begin with, but it now seems to have swung into somber, just bordering on depressing. No one seems all that interested in the fact that Rebecca Maddock is alone at her own wedding reception, looking as if she's ready to send in the clowns.

Alone at her table, she downs a margarita to wash away the entire night's events. Marrying Aaron Maddock had always been the least of her concerns, but at least now, her nightmare can be over.

"Mother."

She turns to her right and finds Kane Li hovering near her, a morose look painted across his face. "Where have you been?"

"I ducked outside for a smoke," Kane answers. "You been sitting here looking all depressed the whole time?"

"No, I was... I mean yes," Rebecca admits. "I have been."

"The wonderful life of Mrs. Maddock."

"Don't call me that."

Kane smirks. "Which name would you prefer, then? You have so many."

"It's time to take the photos," Denise Robertson announces, bounding toward Rebecca with a photographer in tow. "Where's Aaron?"

Rebecca and Kane both shrug, causing Denise to place a hand on a hip and turn emphatically.

"This is ridiculous," Denise says. "Where the hell is he?"

As Rebecca and Kane trade conspiratory glances, Denise wanders off to find Aaron. The photographer takes a test photograph of Rebecca and Kane, wanting to get a picture of the bride and her son. He can't view the photograph immediately, but somehow, he gets the feeling that these wedding photographs will look vastly different than any he's ever taken before.

Love is eternal. Life is forever.
Yet things shall always remain...
Guasti Cose.


PRISON DE PARIS
PARIS, FRANCE

This is not happening.

Sean Moore has been dealt one blow after another, but this one right here... being on the opposite side of a French jail cell of his brother, Derek Moore? It's impossible. He should be dead.

Because Sean killed him four years ago.

"I... I mean... you were stabbed," Sean says, glaring at the man standing next to Monique Davenport. "You were killed."

Monique is unsure what to think now, which Sean can tell by the visible strain on her expression. "Dead? He is standing right here."

"That's not Sean Moore," Sean explains. "And I'm not an impostor. He is. His real name is Derek Moore, and he's my brother."

Monique shakes her head. "These are lies. I met him, and he became my lover... and all of his documents are..."

"Falsified, right?" Sean demands.

Derek is silent.

Sean glares at Derek accusatorily. "So, plotting with Michael Hanley to kill me wasn't enough? Pumping my wife full of heroin wasn't enough? You had to go and steal my identity too?"

Monique backs away from Derek, lowering her cigarette and shaking her head emphatically. "No... Sean, tell him this isn't true."

"He can't," Sean insists. "Because he's not really Sean Moore! Go ahead and admit it, Derek!"

"Alright," Derek says coolly. "I'm not Sean Moore. And he's right, Monique. I am his brother."


MATA HARI'S

Simon Holden finally catches sight of Felicia Bale when he returns from the bathroom. She's seated at table alone, taking a long sip from a glass of wine. He joins her at the table and runs a finger along her arm. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Have you?" Felicia asks, sounding more than a little disoriented. "I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't know."

"It's okay," Simon says, concern creeping into his voice. "Are you... are you okay?"

"No, I was... I had a nosebleed and I fainted," Felicia says. "Robert was supposed to find you."

Simon shakes his head. "I haven't seen him."

Before Felicia can respond, Robert Bale enters the dining room and makes a beeline toward the table. "Simon! I've been looking for you."

"This is turning into some kind of farce," Simon mutters.

"Huh?"

"I've been here the entire time," Simon insists. "I haven't seen either of you..."

"There you are."

The three adults turn to find Michael Hanley approaching in stride. He stops and rests a hand on Felicia's shoulder, coaxing it slightly.

"Let me guess, you've been looking all over for her?" Simon asks.

Michael rolls his eyes. "I haven't the time for any of your smart-ass remarks, you are no longer a part of this family. I ran into Darren Reynolds who told me that Felicia had a fainting spell."

"Funny you should mention that."

"My fainting wasn't funny," Felicia interjects.

"I meant, funny he should mention that I'm not a part of this family," Simon says. "Because neither is Felicia."

Robert tenses up at the moment Simon utters the fact that Felicia is not a part of the Hanley family. He can see the confusion on Michael's face and knows that he must be wondering if Simon needs to be committed. That's because he doesn't know the truth like Robert knows.

He doesn't know that Robert and Valerie Holden cooked up a scheme to pay back Michael and Felicia for tarnishing Robert's name for the past year and refusing to help Valerie get released from prison. Which is why he has to fake a reaction of shock when Simon continues...

"There was a test done at the free clinic, on both of you, to check on any sort of radiation poisoning from the hospital accident," Simon continues. "And the test..."

"The test what?" Michael demands. "Spit it out."

"You and Felicia aren't related," Simon says, folding his arms defiantly. "Looks like your father was up to his old tricks when he told Felicia she was a Hanley. Because DNA doesn't lie... and she is not your sister."


PRISON DE PARIS
PARIS, FRANCE

"So you admit it then?" Sean demands, barely even able to speak. He can feel his gums clamming up, like his entire mouth has gone dry. His body trembles as he grips the cell bars, glaring at Derek and wishing he could leap through them and kill him.

"I admit that I'm your brother," Derek says. "But I'm not... I'm not Derek."

"Excuse me?"

"I've been pretending to be you since you died, because of your connection to the Hanley name. Not that I could do much, not if I wanted to stay out of prison. So I moved to Europe."

"This doesn't make any sense. I never had another brother."

"Yes, you did," the man who appears to be Derek continues. "My name is Curtis Moore... and I'm Derek's twin."

Sean laughs out loud. "This is ridiculous. A third fucking brother?"

"You were whisked away from the adoption agency at the request of Michael Hanley. You were put up with some posh family that kept the secret that you had been inducted into the Hanley hall of heirs... and Derek and I? We got left behind."

"I would have know," Sean insists. "Derek didn't stay out of my life. He showed up when we were in college, we became close. At least until I realized he was so consumed with revenge that he wanted to destroy the life I'd built for myself."

"The life that was handed to you."

"How'd you survive the stab wound? Were you still alive when I dumped you in the lake?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. If you still think I'm Derek, then you should know that he died in a car explosion four years ago. Not from some stab wound."

"And how would you know that?"

"The fucking newspaper?"

"Stop it," Monique says, slapping the man she thought was Sean Moore across the face. "I want the truth! Sean! Derek! Curtis! Whoever the hell you are!"

"Yeah, give us the truth, Derek," Sean says coldly.

"You want the truth? I'll do you one better. I'll give you proof."


MATA HARI'S

If she weren't sitting down, Felicia is sure that she would collapse and fall to the floor from shock. But she is already sitting, and so she instead grips the table tightly in order to keep the blood rushing through her veins. "I'm sorry... but what did you just say?"

"I said you're not a Hanley," Simon answers, crouching next to Felicia and gently brushing his hand against her face. "A blood test proved it."

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Michael demands. "This is preposterous."

"I have the tests in my car. With undeniable proof."

Felicia shakes her head. "No, this is impossible. Kevin told me, he showed me a DNA test... there's no possible way that this can be true."

"He was lying," Simon says. "I had the test run several times."

"What kind of game are you angling here, Simon?" Robert demands. "Is this some way for you to get Felicia away from Michael and into your bed?"

"Don't be so crude, Robert," Michael snaps. "But it does beg the question. Exactly why should we trust these results?"

"We can run them again," Simon insists. "But the test is going to be the same. Felicia, you're not related to the Hanleys.."

Felicia rises to her feet, still struggling to maintain balance. "I don't need to hear any of this."

She stalks away from the table, heading toward the back exit to the restaurant. Michael, Simon, and Robert each follow suit, not sure she should be running out of the restaurant in her condition, let alone after receiving this kind of devastating news.

As she pushes through the exit, she steps out into the alley and tries to make a break for it in her heels. Unfortunately, she slips in a large pool of dark, red liquid and stumbles.

Felicia's screams are heard echoing throughout the restaurant before the men even step outside.



"What do you mean you won't play any Billy Joel?" Valerie Holden huffs, glaring at Lil Rounds, the wedding singer.

"I don't know any Billy Joel songs," Lil Rounds snaps.

Valerie places her hands on her hips. "You know, I spent some time in prison. You'd better check yourself, before you get checked."

"And who's gonna check me, boo?"

Screams interrupt the argument between Lil Rounds and Valerie, prompting Valerie to whip her head toward the back exit. "Are you kidding me?" She stomps toward the door, surprised to find Robert, Simon, and Aaron standing in the doorway horrified.

Valerie checks to see who is screaming bloody murder, and when she peeks at the ground and sees Felicia flailing atop Aaron Maddock's lifeless body, she realizes the screams are because there was a murder.

And if Felicia's screams weren't enough, Valerie soon joins in as well, clutching all three men for dear life.

END OF EPISODE #343

| Previous Episode | Next Episode |