She was convinced now, more than ever. Alison stood in front of her mother, Claire, with a look of absolute certainty that made Claire’s stomach clench. Claire had just delivered the news she thought her daughter would celebrate: her attorney was back from the custody hearing and ready to drop the bomb on Mike Horton and file the sexual harassment suit. “Sorry, Mother.
I’ve changed my mind. ”
Claire stared at her. “What? ”
“He’s sorry,” Ali said, as if that explained everything.
“When I saw Mike earlier, he apologized for yelling at me that day in the O. R. ”
Claire felt a wave of disbelief and fury. “He apologized?
After months of misery and humiliation, that’s all he offers you? An apology is nowhere near enough. It’s insulting if he thinks he can placate you with faux remorse at this stage. We are going ahead with the lawsuit.
”
“Everything has changed since Mike got back from Vegas,” Ali insisted. “His so-called affair with Carrie is history. Now that he’s been rejected, he’s going to need someone to comfort him, and I am just the woman for the job. ”
“That’s not love, Alison.
It’s an obsession. It’s a sickness,” Claire pleaded. “I thought you were finally beginning to see that. ”
“My future is with the man I love,” Ali countered, her voice hardening.
She looked at her mother with a sudden, sharp defiance. “Well, that’s too damn bad, because it’s not your choice, Mother. Now that he’s been rejected, Mike’s going to need someone to comfort him, and I am just the woman for the job. ”
Claire could only watch, horrified, as her daughter’s delusion took root again.
Ali wasn’t just planning to drop the lawsuit. She was planning her wedding. Across town, Alice Horton was having a tense conversation with her grandson, Mike. She knew why he had cut his keynote speech short and returned to Salem.
She’d seen Carrie at Will’s custody hearing. “Lucas was awarded full custody,” Alice said. Mike was stunned. “You’re kidding.
”
“Seems the judge was very impressed with Lucas’s new wife. ”
“New wife? Who’d he marry? ”
“Nicole Walker.
”
Mike could barely process it. He’d left Austin and Carrie in Las Vegas, a confrontation that had ended everything. Austin had lost the little boy he loved, and now he was also losing his wife, who had confessed her love for Mike. “So Austin lost custody of Will,” Mike said, the weight of it settling on him.
“Yes, that’s the sad part of the story. The poor man was heartbroken. ”
Mike felt a tremor of guilt, but it was pushed aside by his own overwhelming feelings for Carrie. He had to explain it to his grandmother, to make her understand that this wasn’t some cheap affair.
“I love Carrie, Grandma. I love her with all my heart. I’ve never loved anyone like this before in my life. ”
Alice was unmoved.
“You can rhapsodize all you want to, dear, but the fact remains that she is a married woman. You are in a high-visibility job. If this affair became public, it would do great harm to this hospital and to the Horton family name. ”
“I understand the need to be discreet, and if Carrie gets a divorce…”
“That is what she’s planning to do?
”
“We haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet. She’s been racked with guilt. ”
“Well, she should be, and so should you. ”
“What about fighting for what you want, Grandma?
Isn’t that something you taught us? ”
“No. I never taught you to fight for what doesn’t belong to you. ”
But Mike wouldn’t be swayed.
He was going to follow his heart, no matter the cost to his legacy or to Austin. A few blocks away, Austin was facing the final death of his marriage. Carrie had followed him, begging him to understand. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I never stopped loving you,” she said.
Austin’s voice was cold, hollowed out by the day’s losses. “Are you going to tell me you don’t love Mike? ”
He didn’t wait for her answer. The truth was all over her face.
“This didn’t start in Vegas,” he accused. “This started months ago, when the two of you were kissing at Green Mountain Lodge, when he was holding you close when you were sick at Tracey’s cabin. ” He paused, the memory sharp and painful. “That’s where I was hiding out with Sami and Will.
When you and Mike came in, I couldn’t believe what I saw. ”
Carrie’s eyes widened. “You saw us? Why didn’t you say anything?
”
“Because the two of you would have called the cops. ”
The accusation hung between them. Austin pulled out his own pain, remembering the anonymous emails with the photos of Carrie and Mike together. “Somebody e-mailed me some really nice photos.
But it doesn’t matter, because you both looked really happy. Maybe you’ll last longer than we did. ”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wedding ring, the one he’d taken off in Las Vegas. “It’s about time we made it official.
It’s over, Carrie. ”
“No, Austin. You just lost Will. Please, let’s not make a decision we will regret.
”
But Austin was done. He had lost his marriage, lost Will, and he was not going to lose anyone else he cared about. “I’m not going to let Sami lose her life,” he said, more to himself than to her. He had to find a way to save her.
Meanwhile, Nicole was in a private room with Eric, who was desperately trying to break through her resolve. He held out the engagement ring he had given her. “I gave this ring to you first, Nicole. You said you’d marry me.
We can still have the future we dreamed about. I put a down payment on the house, the one where I proposed. Tell Lucas you want a divorce. ”
Nicole’s face was crumpled with pain and guilt.
“Eric, please don’t do this. Don’t make this harder than it already is. ”
“Why? I know you love me.
Just be honest with me. Did Kate and Lucas blackmail you? Did they threaten you? ”
“No one forced me to do anything,” she insisted, her voice breaking.
“I made the decision to marry Lucas. It was what I wanted. ”
“You’re the one who needs a fresh start, Eric. Without me.
”
Eric stared at her, his world crumbling. He had promised her a life, a home, and children. He had believed in her completely, and now she was telling him that the future he had pictured was gone. He couldn’t understand it.
Just days ago she had been happy, wearing his ring. What could have possibly changed her mind? Kate and Lucas had to be behind it. They had to have found some leverage, some secret from her past, some way to control her.
But Nicole wouldn’t crack. She stood by her story, even as it shattered the man she loved. While the lives of those in Salem were spiraling, Sami Brady was fighting for her own survival. She was on death row for a murder she didn’t commit, a crime her vindictive ex-husband Lucas had confessed to in his own heart but was too afraid to expose.
She was not going to let Lucas raise her son Will, not when she knew the truth about him. Sami had feigned a hysterical collapse to get a moment of peace, her mind racing with a desperate plan. She overheard the nurses discussing her, planning to give her a sedative if she acted up again. She waited, her body tense, until one nurse, Rita, was left alone with her.
As Rita approached to check on her, Sami struck. She quickly subdued the startled nurse, silencing her cries for help. “Shh, it’s okay! You’ll be okay!
”
She dragged Rita into the corner, stripped off her uniform, and hastily put it on. Trembling, she adjusted her cap, her eyes scanning for an escape route. She just had to get out, find Will, and take him away from Lucas. She stepped out of the cell, trying to look as casual as a nurse, but another guard called out, stopping her.
Her heart hammered in her chest as he approached. She had come too far to be caught now. A short time later, Lucas was reveling in his victory. He had full custody of Will and a beautiful new wife.
He watched his son play with the mountain of toys he had bought, his heart full. His life was almost perfect. There was only one thing that could make it better, and he was determined to get it. His mother, Kate, stood beside him, proud and satisfied.
But Lucas had a shadow over him, a dark secret he was trying to outrun. “Mom, we can’t let Sami be executed,” he finally said. “She’s Will’s mom. I can’t live with her death on my conscience, not now, not ever.
”
“Honey, Sami is not going to die. The appeals are going to go on for years,” she dismissed. “I made up my mind. I have everything I want now.
I have Will, I have a future with Nicole. But I want Sami off death row. I will not have her punished for a crime that I committed. ”
Kate stared at her son, the weight of their shared secret hanging in the air.
He was serious. Lucas was going to confess to the murder they had framed Sami for. Across town, Mike had found Carrie, who was trying to pull away from him. She was wracked with guilt over what she had just done to Austin.
Mike pulled her close, refusing to let her go. “I know what you’re going through. I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. I’m not going to let you do it to us,” he promised.
Carrie looked into his eyes, torn between her past and her present. She had just effectively ended her marriage to Austin, and the guilt was overwhelming. But Mike was her future, and he was holding on fast. Back in her mother’s living room, Alison was dialing her attorney.
She had already forgotten the lawsuit. Her only thought was securing her future with Mike, whatever it took. She was waiting for her chance, ready to comfort him when his break-up with Carrie became final. He was going to realize that she was the one who truly understood him, that she was the one who truly loved him.
And nothing, not her mother, not reality, was going to stand in her way. Just then, from across the street, a man watching the prison entrance dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his heel. He knew the guard’s schedule. He had been watching for weeks, waiting for Sami Brady to try and make her move.
He smiled, cold and patient. She was a dead woman walking.
