Sami found Carrie at her desk, head in her hands, a resignation letter glowing on her computer screen. “Don’t P. R. directors ever get to go home?
” Sami asked. “Carrie, what’s the matter? ”
“I’m so sorry, Sami,” Carrie said. “I would understand if you never forgave me.
I’ve hurt so many people. ”
Sami shook her head. “If there’s one thing I learned in my ordeal on death row, it’s that life is too precious to waste it looking back. I’ve been given a second chance.
You and I haven’t been close in a long time, and I’d like to change that. Maybe you’d have dinner with me tonight at Tuscany. It could be a new beginning for us. ”
Across town, Austin cornered Ali.
He had received anonymous photos of Mike and Carrie together in Las Vegas, intimate photos, signed “a concerned friend. ”
“Did you send those to me? ” Austin demanded. Ali denied it.
“What a horrible way to be tipped off that your wife is cheating on you. ”
“The pictures didn’t tell the whole story,” Austin said. “I caught them. I caught them alone in the room.
”
Ali’s face crumpled. “He used me, Austin. He got me into bed with him, made all kinds of promises, broke every single one, and then when he was done, he dumped me. He dumped me like yesterday’s garbage.
”
Mike, meanwhile, confided in Nancy. “It’s Ali. She’s still distorting what happened between us. We saw each other a little while back.
It didn’t work out. It happened around the time she was being considered for the head nurse job, but I had no way of knowing that. ”
“She’s making an issue of it now? ” Nancy asked.
“I think somebody’s manipulating her. Maybe her mother. Claire McIntyre’s had it in for me ever since the unpleasantness at Tuscany that night. ”
Craig was indeed whispering in Claire’s ear.
“Since Mike is not taking Ali seriously, this might be a good opportunity for her to make the next move and have the hospital served. Once the board sees that Mike could cost them millions in damages, they would dump him as chief of staff. ”
Claire smiled. “But one more shoe to drop first.
Mike’s P. R. director, Carrie Reed — Ali told me Mike’s involved with her. I see the potential for an even bigger scandal, don’t you, Dr.
Wesley? ”
At the mansion, Vivian threw a party to win sympathy, surrounded by her nephew Nicholas and her enemies. Kate arrived, determined to expose her. When Vivian begged Victor to forgive her, claiming she was dying, Kate cut through the performance.
“Your past offenses have been far too egregious,” Kate said. “Someone should have stopped you a long time ago, before you stole my child and made me spend a year in hell, caused Victor’s first stroke — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. ”
Victor agreed. “Some wounds never heal.
Some things are unforgivable. ”
Bo arrived with Gina, telling Stefano, “I’m here to support my father. All that’s going to change tonight. I’m going to put the past to rest.
”
Vivian grew rattled when she saw Lili Faversham, the woman whose paintings had been stolen. But it was Nicholas who seemed most unnerved. When Vivian warned him, “I don’t want you anywhere near that horrid Faversham woman,” Nicholas only stared at her. Lili smiled warmly at him.
“I must say I am pleased to have such a handsome young man in my employ. You work at my bank. ”
Nicholas forced a pleasant smile. “Actually, Miss Faversham, you’re my boss.
”
John brought Marlena to the party, worried that seeing Stefano might trigger more memories. “I have to be here for Vivian tonight, Doc,” he said. Marlena fretted privately. The strain was causing him headaches, and she feared the evening was having a very negative effect on him.
Stefano greeted them all like old friends. “What a lovely surprise. I had no idea you were going to grace us with your presence tonight, Marlena. ”
Then Bo stepped forward.
“Came to settle a score. ”
Stefano raised an eyebrow. “Bo, this is a party, not a battlefield. ”
Bo’s eyes were cold.
“I’m aware of that, big guy. I’m here to support my father. ”
Vivian clapped her hands for attention, playing the gracious hostess, then spotted Gina. “Who invited her?
” she hissed. Gina smiled. “Well, I did. I hope you don’t mind.
”
Vivian’s jaw tightened, but she forced a bright smile. “Bo, I’m so glad you’re here. Victor’s here. I know he wants to see you.
”
Later, Vivian pulled Bo aside, her voice low. “Are you ready to rock ’n’ roll? ”
Bo nodded. “Stefano will never know what happened.
”
Lili extended her hand to Celeste. “Let’s mingle, shall we? ”
Stefano studied Gina through narrowed eyes. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were going to be here?
”
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, Steffy. Bo absolutely insisted that I come. ”
Stefano shrugged. “Let him scheme and plot all he wants, as long as my masterpieces are safe.
”
Inside her private office, Carrie stared at her resignation letter, then picked up the phone. Things were going to slow down at the hospital very soon, and Mike was not the kind of man who could lean on her for support. Not anymore. She had hurt too many people, and she was done hiding.
The party dragged on, lies stacking on lies, old wounds reopening, and revenge simmering beneath the champagne and canapés. Vivian played the dying martyr. Kate refused to let her get away with it. Bo prepared to reveal what Stefano had done with the stolen paintings.
Nicholas tried to keep his own secrets buried. And somewhere in the crowd, Marlena watched John wince at the pain in his head, and she knew that tonight would change everything for all of them.
