The warden looked at the clock on the wall of the death chamber. Midnight was less than an hour away. Samantha Brady had sixty minutes to live. In the car racing toward the state penitentiary, Lucas Roberts gripped the edge of his seat.
“Floor it, Harry. ”
“I’m going the speed limit already, sir. You don’t want to get stopped. ”
“Just hurry, all right?
We’re running out of time. ”
Nicole tried to calm him. “Lucas, try and relax. ”
“How, Nicole?
How? Sami’s going to be executed in one hour. ”
Austin shook his head. “I wish I could stop the damn clock.
”
Eric pulled out his phone again. “We’ve got to catch a break soon. My dad and Kate are still at the hospital with Roberto. He may be the only one who can save Sami’s life.
”
At the hospital, Roman Brady was losing his patience with the dying man in the bed. “Roberto, what the hell are you talking about? You told Billie there was a contract out on Franco, that the Moroni family wanted him dead. ”
Kate stepped forward.
“Roberto, tell him what really happened. ”
Roberto’s voice was weak but clear. “The one who murdered Franco was Sami. Sami’s guilty.
”
The words hung in the air. Roman stared at him, disbelief turning to fury. At the prison, Marlena held her daughter’s hands through the bars of the holding cell. “John promised me,” Marlena said.
“Stefano said he would call the governor and get him to issue a stay of execution. ”
John pulled her aside, his voice low and angry. “What’s the idea of involving him of all people, Doc? ”
“I don’t care.
We both know how powerful he is. ”
“And we both know there is always a hell of a price to pay whenever that bastard does a favor for anyone. ”
“That’s all right. I’ll do anything that he wants — anything.
”
Sami waited in her cell, the weight of the countdown pressing down on her. Reverend Orin approached her gently. “I thought you’d like to say a prayer. ”
Sami looked up at him, exhausted.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I regret, but I didn’t do this one, Reverend. I know I’m innocent. I don’t deserve to die. ”
Outside, a crowd had gathered on both sides of the prison gates.
Some held signs demanding justice for Franco. Others chanted with all their strength. “Save Sami! Save Sami!
”
A woman shouted into a microphone. “You are killing a young mother and taking her away from her little boy, and the real killer is still out there! ”
Inside the viewing room, Lucas stood apart from the others. Nicole watched him closely.
“Lucas, what are you doing? ”
“I need a drink. ”
“No, Lucas! You have been sober for months.
Nothing is worth backsliding. ”
“I’m not so sure about that. Oh, my God. I can’t believe it’s come to this.
I told her — I told her this would happen, but she wouldn’t listen to me. ”
Nicole stepped closer. “Told who? What are you talking about?
”
Lucas shook his head violently. “Nothing. Forget it, all right? Forget it.
”
The news came just after nine. Roman burst into the waiting room, his face twisted with rage. “You bastard! ”
Abe grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Hey, hey. Come on. Let’s go. ”
“You’ve been lying all along!
”
Mickey Horton appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on? Did Roberto talk? ”
“Yeah, he talked.
He talked. ” Roman’s voice cracked. “He admitted he’s been blowing smoke. There is no hit man.
”
Mickey’s face went pale. “My God, that means… ”
“I know. I know what it means.
” Roman turned away, his hands shaking. “What do we do now? ”
In the hospital room, Kate leaned over Roberto’s bed. “What the hell are you trying to pull?
”
“I told the truth, which is more than you can say, Kate. ”
“You really aren’t getting this, are you? You are dying, okay? You are dying.
Your sister and mother are going to be all alone with no one to protect them except me. And I will do that. I promise you, I will take care of them for the rest of their lives. All you have to do is confess to killing Franco.
”
“No. Absolutely not. ”
Kate stepped back, her face hard. “Oh, God.
”
In the cell, Sami sat with her mother, their hands clasped between them. “You know, I keep thinking this is some nightmare. I’m going to wake up, and I’m going to take Will in my arms and tell him how relieved I am to find out that this is all just a horrible dream. ”
Reverend Orin spoke softly.
“You must ask for God’s help. ”
“It’s too late. I have less than an hour. It would take a miracle.
”
Marlena squeezed her daughter’s hands. “I may have that miracle for you, Sami. ”
Back in the waiting room, Eric paced by the window. “Dad’s got to call.
What is taking so long? ”
Austin shook his head. “Roberto’s all we’ve got. ”
John stepped forward.
“Not necessarily, Austin. We may get help from someone else. ”
Carrie frowned. “What?
Who? ”
“Stefano DiMera. ”
Bo looked up sharply. “How the hell did he get involved?
”
“Marlena went to him. She begged him to use his connections to put a little pressure on the governor. ”
Austin rubbed his eyes. “If Stefano could save Sami, right now I’d take help from anyone.
”
In the cell, Marlena broke the news to her daughter. “I went to Stefano and asked for his help. ”
“What did he say? ”
“He said that he would talk to the governor and ask him for a stay of execution.
”
Sami’s eyes widened. “Mom, I just can’t believe you went to him. I know you hate him. I know all those terrible things that he did to you.
”
“Oh, Sami, I’d do anything for you. I would even change places with you if I could. ”
Sami’s voice broke. “Mom, I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry for everything I ever did. ”
“It’s in the past. It’s all over now. It doesn’t matter.
”
Sami looked down at her hands. “When I was a little girl, I remember when you went away. I used to cry myself to sleep every night. I thought it was my fault that you left.
I thought maybe if I tried really hard to be a good girl, maybe you’d come back. But you didn’t. So I just stopped trying. Mom, I hated you for leaving.
”
“Honey, you were just a little, tiny girl then. ”
“But I wasn’t little when you came back. I was old enough to know better. You tried so hard to be nice.
You tried so hard to make up for all the time that we lost. And I didn’t care, because I was so angry. I just wanted to hurt you. ”
“You were still a little girl.
You were just afraid of being abandoned. You were afraid that if you got too close to me again, that I would leave you again. ”
I’m not afraid anymore. ”
Marlena pulled her close.
“I’m never going to leave you, not ever. ”
“I know, because now I have to leave you. ”
Marlena’s arms tightened around her. “Honey, I’ve got you, baby.
I’ve got you. Listen to me. Whatever happens, you’re always going to be able to feel my arms around you. ”
Sami sobbed against her mother’s shoulder.
Sami pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. Her hands trembled as she held it out. “This is a letter that I wrote to Will. I was wondering if you would hold on to it for me and make sure that he reads it when he’s old enough to understand what happened.
Because I really want him to know that I wouldn’t have left him for the whole world, just like I know you never would have left us. ”
Marlena took the letter. “Of course, honey. Of course.
”
“You know, Mom, I know what it was like at his age — all those nightmares. ”
“Oh, of course. You had those nightmares, too, didn’t you? I remember.
You were so small, and I would hear you crying in the night, and I’d rush into your room and scoop you up and hold you and rock you. Sometimes I’d even sing to you until you felt safe again and went to sleep. ”
Sami looked up at her with wide, childlike eyes. “Mom?
I’m having a nightmare now. Would you sing to me? ”
Marlena pulled her daughter close and began to hum. Softly, then gently, she sang the lullaby she had sung so many nights when Sami was small.
Sami closed her eyes, listening, letting herself be held like a child one last time. In the waiting room, Roman stood frozen near the window. Mickey came up beside him. “The Supreme Court’s already turned us down.
”
Roman’s voice shook. “How could Roberto lie to us all this time? He was our last shot. I can’t think.
I can’t say — Sami, I am so sorry. I let you down. I am so sorry. ”
He turned to Kate, his eyes wet.
“Kate, what am I going to do? I know Sami didn’t kill Franco. Who did? Who is the real killer?
”
Nicole watched Lucas from across the room. He was pacing, sweating, muttering to himself. She walked over and put a hand on his arm. “You told her all along?
Told who, Lucas? What are you saying? ”
“Nothing, Nicole. Just forget it, all right?
Forget it. ”
“No, it’s not nothing. I’ve never seen you so upset. What does this have to do with Sami?
How do you think you can help her? ”
Lucas didn’t answer. He just stared at the clock on the wall. The minutes kept draining away.
Eric hung up his phone and walked back to the group. His face was gray. “I just talked to my dad. ”
“Did Roberto clear Sami?
” Austin asked. “He said there was no hit man. ”
Carrie gasped. “My God.
That means that—”
“Without his statement… ” Eric couldn’t finish the sentence. They all knew what it meant. There was nothing left.
At the hospital, Kate was still leaning over Roberto. She had one last card to play. “All you have to do is confess to killing Franco. That’s all.
Just say the words. ”
Roberto turned his face to the wall. “No, absolutely not. ”
Kate’s patience snapped.
“What the hell are you trying to pull? You are dying. Your sister and mother are going to be all alone with no one to protect them except me. And I will do that.
I promise you, I will take care of them for the rest of their lives. ”
Roberto didn’t move. “I told the truth, which is more than you can say, Kate. ”
Her face hardened.
“Oh, God. ”
The reporter’s voice crackled over the television in the waiting room. “We have just received word. Samantha Brady’s execution is underway.
The first drug has been administered. We are seconds away from the lethal injection. ”
Bo turned to the others, frantic. “Where’s Roman?
”
Marlena rushed in, her eyes wild. “What — what happened to Stefano? I was so sure. ”
John took her arm gently.
“I’m so sorry. ”
Marlena’s face crumpled. And then Lucas broke. He shoved past Nicole and ran toward the death chamber, his voice tearing out of him.
“Stop! Stop! Don’t kill her! Don’t kill her!
I killed Franco! I did it! ”
The room went silent. The technicians looked up.
The warden turned. A guard stepped forward. “It’s too late, son. ”
Lucas stared at him.
“What? ”
“No. No! No!
”
They held him back as, behind the glass, Samantha Brady drew her last breath.
