The doorbell rang again, sharp and insistent, followed by Stefano’s bellow from somewhere deep in the house. “For God’s sake, is no one awake? Eliana! ”
By the time Eliana reached the door, the visitor was already stepping inside.
Gina Williams walked past her without waiting for an invitation. “Finally,” Gina said. “Miss Williams. ”
“So somebody’s still up at chez DiMera, I can see.
Slow night, Steffy? ”
Stefano appeared at the top of the stairs, spreading his arms wide. “Ah. Well, well, well, well, well.
All sorts of beautiful women are visiting me tonight. Thank you, Eliana. ”
“Other women have come calling on you, have they? ”
“Come.
Sit. ”
“Actually, only one — Marlena. ”
“Well, surprise, surprise. To cry on your shoulder, no doubt.
”
“She came here to beg me to use my power and influence to save Sami. ”
“Really? Well, I was listening to the news on the way over. From what I heard, you have absolutely ignored Marlena’s plea for help.
Time is up, and no one to save Sami. ”
Outside the prison, the cameras were rolling. A reporter’s voice crackled through the night air, describing the almost eerie calm that had settled over the crowd. There was no stay from the governor.
At that very moment, Samantha Brady was being put to death. Inside a small room nearby, Tracey collapsed into sobs. Shawn Brady bowed his head, his voice trembling as he whispered the Twenty-Third Psalm. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me…”
John held Marlena as she shook.
“Hang in there, honey. You hang in there. ”
“They’re killing my little girl. ”
“Oh, damn you, DiMera,” John muttered.
“Bastard,” Bo said. “She begged him, Bo, and he promised her that he would call the governor. ”
“His promise isn’t worth spit. ”
“There’s no chance he’ll come through now.
No chance for little Sami. ”
In the death chamber, Sami’s lips moved. “I love you. ”
Marlena gasped.
“Sami? ”
Lucas burst through the crowd, wild-eyed, screaming. “No! No!
Don’t do it! Don’t kill her! I killed Franco! I did it!
”
A guard blocked him. “You’re too late! ”
“No, it can’t be! ”
“Look for yourself!
”
Lucas fought against the hands holding him back, his voice breaking. “No! No! Get off me!
”
The telephone rang somewhere in the chaos. It rang again and again. Then the familiar voice of the announcer filled the space. “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.
”
Back at Stefano’s, the television was on, the news coverage unrelenting. Gina poured herself a drink without asking. “I think I’ll join you in that, Steffy. And perhaps you’d like another?
”
“Yes, yes. Please. ”
“You usually savor your brandy, and now you’re gulping it. Could it be that the usually unflappable Stefano DiMera is unnerved?
Realizing that his attempt to help save Sami, whatever that may have been, has possibly failed? ”
Stefano stared at the screen. “Things are not always as they seem. ”
In the waiting area, Lucas stood gasping, his confession still ringing in the air.
Bo grabbed him by the arm. “Lucas, what the hell is going on? ”
“I did it. I did it.
”
“You did what? ”
“I would never let Sami die, ever. ”
“You killed Franco? ”
“Yeah, I confess.
”
Marlena turned on him, desperate. “Oh, my God, stop the execution. Stop it. Stop it.
Somebody talk to the warden. ”
Bo was already moving. “You’ve got to stop this thing. ”
Roman appeared.
“What’s going on? ”
Marlena’s voice cracked. “What were you thinking? How could you let it go so far?
”
The warden’s voice came through the speaker. “The order has been given to halt the execution. ”
Gina turned to Stefano, her eyes narrow. “Steffy, what did you mean when you said things aren’t quite what they seem?
What did you do? Answer me. Would you please answer me? ”
“Be quiet.
”
The news anchor broke in with new urgency. A helicopter had just landed on prison grounds, unannounced, unplanned. No one knew what it meant. Then Carson Palmer emerged from the prison, and the reporters swarmed him.
Tracey lunged at him. “You monster! What did you do to her? What did you do to my Sami?
”
“Mr. Palmer, you were inside, sir. What do you know? Has the execution taken place?
”
“Well, I was not privy to what actually occurred inside the death chamber. However, at this point, I believe I can safely say that justice has been served. ”
“Meaning that Sami Brady has been put to death? ”
“Yes.
”
“A helicopter just arrived. What does that mean, sir? ”
“I’m sure that means nothing. If you’ll excuse me.
”
The doors burst open. Roman shoved through. “Open it! Open it!
Watch out. Get out. Sami! Sami!
All right, Sami, talk to me. ”
Eric shouted, “Turn that thing off! Sami. Somebody help her.
”
Kate spotted Lucas and froze. “Lucas, what are you doing here? You and Nicole are supposed to be on your honeymoon. ”
“Your son just confessed to the murder of Franco Kelly,” John said.
“What? That — is this some kind of sick joke? ”
“No, Mom. It’s no joke.
”
The medical team worked frantically. Marlena cried out, “Oh, Mike, the I. V. — get the I.
V. out. ”
“I can’t shut it down. ”
“Forget it!
It’s out. It’s out, poor baby. Oh, Mike. Mike, please say she’s okay.
”
Roman pressed closer. “Mike, we got her in time, right? Mike…”
A flat line tone filled the room. Eric screamed.
“Sami! ”
Gina was still pressing Stefano. “Damn it, Steffy. Would you please answer me?
What have you done? Does it have something to do with Sami? Could you at least tell me that? ”
“Would you please let me watch?
”
The television crackled with breaking news. “I have just received word that the execution of Samantha Brady has been halted. That’s all the information we have right now, but the execution of Samantha Brady has been halted. ”
Tracey fell to her knees, sobbing.
“Oh, dear God, thank you. Thank you. ”
In the chaos of the room, Austin had Lucas by the collar. “You killed Franco and let Sami die for it?
What’s wrong with you? ”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I’m sorry. ”
“You’re sorry?
”
“I didn’t know, okay? ”
Kate tried to pull Austin off. “Austin, leave him alone. ”
“Leave him alone — Mom, I’m going to kill him.
”
Carson Palmer stepped in. “What is going on here? ”
Carrie answered. “Lucas confessed to killing Franco.
”
“He confessed! That’s what he just said! He’s lying! That’s why they stopped the execution.
”
The warden shook his head. “That wasn’t it at all. The governor called and ordered a stay. ”
Lucas blinked.
“What? ”
“That’s what that phone call was about? ” Bo said. John’s jaw tightened.
“Stefano. ”
Lucas stared. “The governor? ”
Marlena was at Sami’s side, whispering.
“Come on back to us, Sami. Come on back, you sweet baby girl of mine. Oh, God, please. Please take mercy on my baby girl.
Please spare her. ”
Back at the mansion, Gina raised her glass. “How could I ever have doubted you? Of course you came through for Marlena.
So, what did you do, Steffy — call in some favors with the governor, blackmail him? Come on, give me the details. ”
“I’m as shocked as everyone else about this. ”
“What do you mean?
”
“I never expected this execution to be halted. ”
“Are you saying you weren’t able to help Marlena? ”
“I might have been able to help her, or I might not have been able to help her. I don’t know.
I never tried. ”
Kate was explaining it to the others. “Captain Brady got a deathbed confession from Roberto Barelli. A police stenographer took the whole thing down.
Barelli actually said that he was the one that killed Franco. Roman immediately informed Commander Carver, who called the governor. Then Roman, Mike Horton, and I got into a police helicopter, and we arrived here moments after the phone call came from the Capitol. ”
Eric glared at Lucas.
“That Lucas — damn him for confessing too late. ”
Roman turned on him. “What did you just say? ”
“You heard him.
Weren’t you here when he came in? ”
“No. What the hell are you talking about? Lucas confessed to what?
”
“To killing Franco. ”
The warden was firm. “An unofficial confession wouldn’t have changed anything. We would have gone forward with the execution.
”
Carrie asked the question on everyone’s mind. “But what made the governor change his mind? ”
John looked at Bo. “It must have been Stefano, Bo.
”
“More than likely. ”
Kate shook her head. “No. I can answer that question, Carrie.
It was Roberto Barelli’s confession. It was all Roman. ”
The flat line tone still filled the room. Marlena’s voice broke.
“She could also use our prayers right now. ”
Roman took her hand. “Let’s pray together. Oh, Lord, don’t let her die.
”
“Dear Father, we know our Sami was innocent. ”
“Don’t take her away from us. ”
“Have mercy, dear Lord. ”
The Reverend Orin spoke.
“Dear Lord, you, and only you, know the number of our days. Please, if it is not Samantha’s time to die, bring her back. ”
John nodded stiffly. “Thanks for the prayer, Reverend.
”
“Samantha is a very special young lady, Mr. Black. I’ve spent a lot of time with her over the past few days, and I’m certain she has repented of her sins and is at peace with a God that is merciful and forgiving. ”
“I’m sure her soul is safe.
”
“Would you care to pray with me? ”
“I don’t think so. ”
“I thought you were a priest at one time. ”
“I don’t know.
Please, I can’t share this with Marlena or anyone, but I have my doubts. It’s the reason why I can’t call on my past relationship with God, because… I’m not sure if I ever had one. ”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. God hears every one of our prayers.
”
Austin knelt beside the gurney. “Hey, Sami, it’s Austin. Sami. Sami, come back to me and to Will.
That little boy needs you, and so do I. We love you, Sami. We love you so much. I’m begging you.
You come back to me, okay? You come back to Will. Think about that little guy, huh? Have you ever heard a happier laugh?
What about his smile, especially early in the morning when you go into his room? He flashes his little teeth, and he holds out his arms, just wanting to be picked up. And you look into his loving face. What about that?
There’s nothing better than that, except maybe watching him grow up. Oh, Sami, you don’t want to miss that, do you? Think about it — his first day of school, packing him a lunch, waiting down at the end of the driveway and catching him and holding him when he jumps off the bus. That’s golden, Sami.
Come on. It doesn’t get better than that. That’s worth living for. That’s worth fighting for.
Sami? Sami? Come on, God. Bring her back to us.
Come on, God. Bring her back to us. Please, please, bring her back to us. ”
The monitor began to beep.
In another room, Kate tore into Lucas. “Have you completely lost your mind? How could you be so stupid? ”
“How could you not trust me about Sami and tell me what you were trying to do?
”
“Because I thought maybe that you would screw up, and guess what. ”
“You know, you’ve treated me like a kid one too many times, Mom. That’s what happened here. ”
“You know something?
Rather than throwing blame around, why don’t you help me put a positive spin on things? ”
“Positive spin? What are you talking about? I just confessed.
”
Nicole handed him a glass of water. “Here. I thought you might need this. ”
“Thanks.
I think I need something a hell of a lot stronger than water. ”
Roman came over, his face unreadable. “Lucas, what’s this about you confessing? ”
“It’s just — it’s the only thing I could think of to do to save Sami.
You know, I’m giving you guys more time to find the real killer. ”
“So now you’re saying it’s a lie? ”
“What, that I shot Franco? Yeah.
Yeah, it’s a lie. I couldn’t just let the mother of my son just die like that. How would I ever explain that to Will? No, I couldn’t let Sami be executed.
There’s just no way. ”
Carson Palmer stepped forward. “Well, obviously, we can’t just let this go. I want Lucas taken down to the police station for questioning.
”
Roman nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Why don’t you take him down? I’ll meet you down there.
”
Kate touched Lucas’s arm. “I’ll come, too. ”
Lucas looked at her, exhausted. “I’m ready.
I’ll meet you at home. ”
Eric stood outside, watching the paramedics wheel Sami out. His grandmother Caroline came to him. “And you — how are you, darling?
”
“I’m okay. I’m okay, Grandma. It’s funny. The whole time she was in there, I kept flashing back to when she and I — when we started first grade.
Do you remember? ”
“Sure. You two were devoted to each other. You were inseparable.
”
“They tried to split us up, though. They thought that we depended on each other too much, so the principal came in, and they put Sami in one classroom and they put me in another. But Sami wouldn’t have it. We were going to stick together, and that was that.
”
Shawn chuckled. “Well, when Sami gets something in her head, you know…”
“She went into the principal’s office. She threatened him, said that she was going to call the President of the United States and that she was doing the talking. Do you remember that?
”
“She was feisty even then. ”
“But I remember it didn’t quite come down to that. You came in there, Grandpa. You busted through that door, and you gave that principal a piece of your mind.
You scared him to death, I guess. ”
“I guess maybe I was pretty intimidating, huh? ”
“Well, you did something right, Grandpa, ’cause they kept us together. ”
“Sure enough, sitting side by side.
Very best friends, always. ”
“You know, Sami and I came into this world together. We may not leave at the same time, but I know that this was not her time. Not now, not yet.
I couldn’t lose her now. ”
Roman leaned over Sami. “Sweetheart, you’re going to be just fine. You’re safe now.
I love you so much. Okay, listen, I got to go. I got to take care of something right now, but I’ll see you later at the hospital. Bye, sweetheart.
I love you. ”
Marlena watched him go, then turned to John and Bo. “Well, I guess he came through, huh? Stefano made a promise, and he honored his word.
”
Bo shook his head. “No, he didn’t, Marlena. ”
“What do you mean? ”
“DiMera had nothing to do with it, Doc,” John said.
“It was all Roman. He and Kate got a deathbed confession from Roberto Barelli. ”
Gina was still staring at Stefano. “You didn’t do anything to help, but Sami was saved.
”
“Mm-hmm. Not by me. ”
“Then by who? ”
“Your guess is as good as mine.
”
“I don’t quite understand. Why didn’t you help Marlena? ”
“I couldn’t. I made a pact with Kate.
She’s a very important business partner of mine. If I were to help Sami, then she would think I was undermining her, and Sami is a mortal enemy of hers. ”
“You gave up the chance to have Marlena in your debt. ”
“Not really.
She will be beholden to me for the attempt, the effort, not to speak about the success of the venture. ”
“So, in other words, you’re just going to lie. ”
Stefano laughed. “How could I resist having Marlena in my debt, as you say?
And I will call in that debt when the time is right. ”
Marlena let out a long breath. “It doesn’t matter if Stefano called or not as long as my baby’s all right, and, John, she is. ”
“That’s right, Doc.
That’s all that counts. ”
“I can’t wait to get to the hospital. I want to talk to her. ”
They loaded Sami into the ambulance.
Marlena leaned over her daughter, her voice soft and steady. “Oh, Sami, Sami, Sami, baby, it’s all right now, honey. Mama’s here. You’re going to go home soon.
It’s all over. It’s all over. ”
John guided her away. “Let them take her.
We’ll talk to her at the hospital. ”
Austin climbed in without a word. Carrie looked at Mike. “You’ll be riding with her, won’t you, Mike?
”
“So will I. No arguments. I’m going along. ”
“Is there room for me, too?
Thank you for saving her. ”
Mike looked at her. “I love you. ”
The reporter on the news recapped the night for the viewers.
Lucas Roberts had burst into the room, insisting he was the one who had killed Franco Kelly. But by then, the execution had already been halted by a phone call from the governor, who had new evidence linking a Roberto Barelli to the crime. Within a minute, there were two confessions which contradicted each other. Confusion aside, the big news was that Samantha Brady’s life had been spared.
Bo stepped up to the microphones. “The truth won out today. That’s the most important thing. My niece is innocent.
”
“Your family must be tremendously relieved, Mr. Brady. ”
“Well, yeah, of course we are. We love Sami.
We’ve always supported her. Love and truth — nothing is more important. ”
Marlena shook her head softly. “I know I said I wouldn’t mention this again, but, well, I can’t believe Stefano had nothing to do with all this.
”
John agreed. “Well, that makes two of us. ”
“I’ll have to face what I’ve done sometime. I know that.
But right now I’m just so glad my little girl’s all right. ”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay now.
It’s all over. ”
Nicole found Eric standing alone. “Are you okay? Dumb question, huh?
”
“I almost lost her. ”
“Thank God you didn’t. ”
“It never should have gotten this far. There was no reason for her to suffer.
There was no reason for her to spend even one moment in jail. She should have been home with her son, with her family. But instead, she rots in jail for months. ”
“I guess she’s a victim of circumstance.
”
“Circumstance? How about a victim of your husband? Tell me, Nicole, how does it feel? How does it feel to be married to a murderer?
”
In the ambulance, Sami’s eyes fluttered open. Austin was there. “Sami? Sami?
I think she’s coming to. ”
She looked at him, dazed. “Is this heaven? ”
“No, it’s not.
You’re alive. ”
“I remember the chamber and the drugs — no, I can’t stay. I got to —”
“Shh. No, you relax.
Listen to me. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay, all right? Just relax.
Take it easy. You need to rest, okay? I’ll tell you about everything later. But I will tell you that your dad came through for you, and you were saved.
”
“Really? ”
“Yeah, really. It’s all over, Sami. It’s all over.
”
At the station, Lucas sat across from Roman. Kate was beside him. “Roberto confessed to a murder he didn’t commit? Why?
Why the hell would he do that, Mom? ”
“Because he was dying. He knew it, okay? I offered to help him.
I offered to take care of his family and to protect them, but first he had to confess to the murder. ”
“So why did you send me away? ”
“To keep you from confessing, of course. ”
“Oh, well, that’s a good idea, Mom.
Great. Great plan. Nice going. ”
Roman slid a paper across the table.
“Roberto Barelli’s statement — take a look at it. ”
“Why? I’m sure you’re not lying. ”
“Well, you know what, Lucas?
That brings up a very interesting question. Just exactly who is the liar here? You see, Roberto told me that he ratted out Franco to the Moronis, which led to the hit attempt at the Penthouse Grill. Franco found out and wanted revenge, but Roberto got to him first at the wedding.
Franco confronted Roberto with a gun. Somehow, Roberto got that gun away, shot Franco, wiped off the fingerprints. Sami arrived, fainted. Roberto saw the opportunity and framed her.
”
“Well, there. There you go. You got your murderer. That means I can go.
”
“Not so fast. Not so fast. You see, your confession’s got me wondering, Lucas. Could it be you who killed Franco?
”
“Roman, I told you why I confessed. ”
“Yeah, you did, but I’m not sure I believe you. You see, there can’t be two killers here. So either Roberto’s confession is a lie or Lucas’s confession is a lie.
Which is it, Lucas? We want to know the truth. ”
