SOS Message Board: SOS Message Board -> Heart and Soul

Oakridge General Hospital
Dr. Melissa Stafford’s Office

Natalie fastened Grace back into her pushchair as her appointment with Melissa came to a close. Melissa rested her clipboard on her desk and turned to face Natalie with a warm smile.

“Well Grace seems to be doing fine.” Melissa folded her arms and perched herself against her desk. “But what about you? How are you coping with everything?”

“As well as can be expected, I guess.” Natalie couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened, after all, her relationship with Kyle was almost certainly over, and things with Leo weren’t exactly civil.

Melissa knew too well how difficult bringing up a child alone could be, she’d done the very same herself and saw a lot of herself in Natalie. “It’s definitely tough, but you know if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to listen, I’m here.”

“Thanks, it’s good to know.” Natalie was almost touched by Melissa’s kindness towards her; she hadn’t made many friends since arriving in Oakridge, and it felt like she was making one in Melissa.

Wesley’s Car

Alex struggled to open her eyes as the morning sunlight bounced off the darkened windows of Wesley’s car. She lay across the back seat; her skin sticky, her hair sweaty, her face damp and tear stained; being tied up in the back of the warm, clammy car hadn’t been the most comfortable of nights for her, especially when she had no clue what Wesley was going to do.

“Good morning.” Wesley sat in front of her in the driver’s seat, grinning from ear to ear. It was clear to Alex he had lost his mind completely.

“Why are you doing this?” Alex was determined not to cry as she adjusted herself to sit upright. “Haven’t you fucked my life up enough?”

“Oh, Alex,” Wesley chuckled. “It was you that fucked MY life up when you let me raise another man’s child for over twenty years.”

“And you raping me wasn’t enough?” Alex stuttered, barely able to bring herself to mention the word ‘rape’. Wesley’s invasion of everything Alex thought was sacred had destroyed her confidence, no matter how much she tried to hide it, but her close proximity to the man she once loved, the man who now terrified her, caused Alex’s tough exterior to crack whether she wanted it to or not.

“I didn’t rape you, Alexandra, you were begging for it. And damn well you know it.” Wesley remained chipper throughout the conversation, putting Alex even less at ease. She had no idea what Wesley was about to do, but she was absolutely terrified.

The sound of Alex’s cell phone ringing interrupted the conversation, and Wesley was quick to snatch it from her purse on the passenger seat, glancing at John’s name flashing on the caller display. He quickly yanked the battery out and tossed the powerless cell phone onto the floor of the car.

“Let me go, Wesley. Hate me all you like, but don’t let it ruin your life.”Alex pleaded.

“Ruin my life? You make me laugh, Alexandra, really, you do. My life was ruined, might I add that it was you who ruined it, a long time ago. Now, my life is about to be over, Alexandra.” Wesley laughed eerily. “And so is yours.”



Sterling Enterprises
John’s Office

John flipped his cell phone shut, frustrated at Alex not answering his call.

He sat down on his chair and spun around to face the window, sighing as he struggled to think why Alex wasn’t answering his call.

Oakridge Country Club
Dining Room

“Thank you for meeting me at such short notice, Shane.” Kendall smiled as she sat down opposite the charming older man.

“Not a problem, what can I do for you?” Shane greeted his business partner warmly, the fact that Kendall’s urgent request to meet him was cutting into his morning workout annoyed him, but he did his best to hide it.

“Well first of all, I brought you a few snaps of Grace,” Kendall handed Shane a brown envelope stuffed full of photos of his granddaughter. “But what I wanted to talk to you about was…”

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” came a voice interrupting their conversation. Shane and Kendall both looked up to see Joseph standing above them. “Does your brother know you’re meeting with his father, Kendall?”

“I don’t see what this has to do with you.” Kendall hissed at Joseph, clearly still full of hatred for the man who tried to swindle her out of her inheritance. “Besides, haven’t you got a company to try and steal, or something? Remind me, Joseph, what is it that you actually do these days?”

“Joseph Sterling,” Shane had never been a fan of Jackie’s brother, and time certainly hadn’t changed that. “Isn’t this a surprise? Unfortunately, I think you know you’re not really wanted here so why don’t you do all of us a favour and clear off?”

“Oh Shane, you don’t get rid of me that easily.” Joseph grinned sarcastically. “Although I hear you’re now co-owner of Sterling Enterprises. If that isn’t throwing money down the toilet, I don’t know what is.”

“Well it cant be that much of a money waster if you were so keen to try and steal it from Kendall.” Shane snarled. “I mean I know it must be a terribly bitter feeling knowing that both John and Jackie made something of themselves with multi billion dollar corporations while you ran your father’s company into the ground, but stealing from your own niece? And right after she lost her mother? That’s pretty pathetic, don’t you think?”

“You want to watch your mouth, Baldwin.” Joseph hissed.

“Or what?”

“Look, Joseph, why don’t you stop making a fool of yourself and leave us to our lunch?” Kendall was quick to put a stop to the situation before it got out of hand. “Although to be honest, I’m starting to lose my appetite.”

“You heard the lady, run along, Jo-Jo.” Shane smirked; loving that Kendall had put Joseph well and truly in his place.

“I’d like to say this has been a pleasure…” Joseph began.

“But that would be a lie, wouldn’t it?” Kendall’s eyes began to scan the menu, clearly indicating to Joseph that she had grown disinterested in their confrontation, whether he liked it or not. “Then again, that really is your forte, isn’t it Joseph?”

“This is far from over.” Joseph snapped, feeling himself turning increasingly red as he became more and more humiliated. What made it even worse was that the person doing the humiliating was at least twenty years younger than him, and there she was, already acting as if he didn’t exist. The one thing that Joseph hated was to be ignored, and the fact it was some little girl…his fists clenched as he struggled to remain composed in the public space. After all, the country club was full of gossip mongers, and he wasn’t about to make a show in front of them.

“Do you hear something, Shane?” Kendall faked a yawn.

“Nope, nothing at all,” Shane grinned as he turned away from Joseph, who promptly stormed off, fists still clenched, and suitably put in his place.

Oakridge Mall

Having dropped Grace off at Leo’s, Natalie had hoped to clear her head and get her thoughts in order as she indulged in some retail therapy, but even tempting herself with clothes that showed off how quickly she had got her old figure back following her pregnancy couldn’t stop Natalie from feeling like crap; her relationship with Kyle was truly over. She’d begun to realize just how much she took Kyle for granted, expecting him to put up with all the Leo crap and then even getting mad at him for standing up for her where Leo was concerned.

She glanced across the mall, spotting Kyle emerging from the record store, and rushed over to him.

“Can we talk?” Natalie tapped Kyle on the shoulder. He turned around to face her, but it was clear he didn’t want to be standing opposite her.

“I don’t see what there’s left to say.” Kyle insisted, fearing a conversation with Natalie while he was still raw from the break up would do more harm than good. “You made your choice, Natalie, and you chose Leo.”

“I didn’t choose Leo. I didn’t choose any of this. It just happened. I was just trying to make things work for us. For all of us.”

Kyle rolled his eyes, dismissing Natalie’s explanation, “Well you didn’t make much of an effort to fight for our relationship, did you?”

“I’m trying just now, aren’t I?”

“Well it’s too little, too late.” Kyle didn’t want to be such a jerk to Natalie, his love for her wasn’t something he could just turn off, but he couldn’t face opening himself up to Natalie again, only for her to once again let him down, so making her hate him was the only possible solution.

“But Kyle…” Natalie pleaded.

“But nothing, please Natalie, just face the fact that we’re over. Maybe eventually we can be friends, but please, it’s not going to work, and if we’re honest, it was never going to work.”

Natalie could feel her eyes welling up with tears, but she wasn’t about to break down in public, “You’re wrong, Kyle, you know it. You cant just suddenly fall out of love with someone.”

“Maybe sometimes love isn’t enough.” Kyle knew that he still had to love Natalie, just a little, otherwise he wouldn’t be getting so pent up, but as far as he was concerned, they could never be together.

“You don’t mean that. You know as well as I do that we should be together.” Natalie reached out and touched Kyle’s arm, but he pulled away. “Cant we try again?”

“What would be the point, Nat? As long as Leo Sterling is a part of your life, me and you…us…it won’t work.”

“If that’s how you feel.” Natalie didn’t want to give up, but she just didn’t have the energy to argue; and she wasn’t about to make herself look like a whiny, pathetic shrew when Kyle’s mind was clearly made up. As she struggled for the words, she could feel her heart breaking as it sank to the pit of her stomach. “Then I guess we’re over.”

And with that, Natalie about turned and walked off into the crowd, leaving Kyle at a loss for words, had Natalie really just agreed to give up on their relationship? In his head, it seemed like the perfect solution, but now that it was a reality, he couldn’t believe it.

Marc and Megan’s Apartment

“So how was Vegas?” Jessica asked her younger brother as he handed her a cup of tea, placing himself on the sofa next to her.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Marc joked, not only referring to the fiasco he and Megan had encountered with Kimberley, but the fact that he was now a married man.

“Oh shut up, it cant have been that exciting.”

“You’d be surprised.” Marc couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of irony in his sister’s comment. Vegas had been surprisingly eventful, what started out as a quiet getaway from all the hustle and bustle of Oakridge had been even more dramatic than life at home. “How’ve you been, anyway? It feels like I’ve barely seen you lately. Romance with Rex must be taking up all of your free time.”

Jessica managed an uneasy smile to avoid telling her brother the truth about her strained relationship with her career driven boyfriend. She took a sip of her coffee and flipped her long blonde hair out of her face. “Have you heard from mom or dad lately?”

“As far as I know, dad’s still in London on business. And mom, apparently, has a new boyfriend.”

“Ah yes, the famous Lazlo.” Jessica scoffed. “She seems to be handling the divorce particularly well.”

“When she’s got five million of dad’s hard earned dollars, she’s got no reason to be handling it any other way.”

Jessica couldn’t help but notice that Marc didn’t seem as fond of his mother as he once did; and he had every reason to feel that way; since her divorce with Patrick, their mother had reverted back to acting like a spoilt, selfish teenage girl. Part of Jessica almost envied her mother’s foot loose and fancy free ways, after all, what was the point in being stuck in a relationship where you weren’t happy? A question that Jessica was constantly asking herself as Rex spent more and more time at work and less and less time with her.

“Hey hubby, I’m home,” the chirpy voice of Megan interrupted their conversation as she entered the apartment, stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed Jessica sitting on the sofa. The secret was well and truly out.

“What did you just say?” Jessica almost spat out her coffee at Megan’s slip of the tongue.

“I said ‘honey, I’m home’.” Megan insisted, doing her best to back track.

“No you didn’t, you said hubby!” a wide grin appeared on Jessica’s face. “You guys got married?”

Marc and Megan stared at each other, as if to transmit a message on what to do telepathically. Both newlyweds sighed, their secret was well and truly out.

Wesley’s Car

“Wesley, please.” Alexandra’s heart raced with fear; how could it be that the man that she once loved more than anyone else in the world, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, was now about to kill her? “Surely we can talk about this.”

“The time for talking is over.” Wesley seemed calm, relaxed even, as if he had embraced what he had decided was his destiny, and fully accepted that killing both Alex and himself was the right thing to do.

“So what, you’re just going to kill me? Just like that?” Alex knew that getting an attitude with Wesley wasn’t going to help matters, but if he was going to kill her, she might as well go out with a bang. “My god, you’ve gone totally crazy.”

“And whose fault is that, huh?” Wesley raised his voice a little, but his eerie calmness still remained. “Who was the one that let me raise another man’s son for over twenty years, even though she took off and skipped town? And then waltzed back into my life years later and shattered everything I thought was real?”

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” Alex yelled, slowly realising that if Wesley was going to kill her, she was going to go out with a bang. After all, she wasn’t one to give up without a fight. “What do you want from me, blood?”

“Not quite.”

“Well what then? What is killing me going to achieve?”

“If it means you never get to fuck up another man’s life the way you have mine, then it’s for the best.” Wesley felt almost noble, ridding the world of one life-wrecking wench was doing it a favour, as far as he was concerned.

“You’ve totally lost it, do you know that?” Alex hissed.

“I lost it the day you told me Will wasn’t my son. I lost everything that day, you evil, conniving little slut, so what else do I have to lose? If I’m going down, I might as well take you down with me, right?”

“And what about Ashley? How’s she going to react when she discovers her father killed her mother?” Alex was resting everything on her trump card, but if Wesley had indeed lost it as much as she feared, would the mention of their daughter make a difference?

Sterling Enterprises
John’s Office

“Have you heard from my mom?” Will’s voice distracted John from an important email from Shane about the company. He looked up from his computer screen to see his son standing in the doorway. “I was meant to meet her for lunch two hours ago, but she never showed.”

“Have you tried her cell phone?” John asked as Will entered his office.

“No answer, it’s switched off.”

“It’s not like your mother to leave her cell phone switched off. I called her earlier but it just rang out.”

“Usually I wouldn’t think anything of it, except on my way over here Wesley’s car wasn’t in the drive for the first time in months…so I can’t help but think…”

“…if that bastard’s done anything to her I’ll kill him!” John grabbed his car keys and headed out of the door, followed promptly by Will.

The Masters House
Kitchen

Valerie watched as Kyle sat, staring at his rapidly cooling lunch as he pushed his fork around the plate of untouched food.

“He’s been like this all day,” Valerie whispered to Carrie, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“Just leave him, mom, we’ve all been like this at one point or another.” Carrie insisted, knowing the look on her younger brother’s face was directly related to the other sex, or more specifically, Natalie.

“But it’s just not like Kyle to be this…this moody. You and Kristen, maybe, but Kyle…”

“I’ll stop you there before you offend me any further.” Carrie joked. “Do you want me to talk to him?”

“Would you?” Valerie gushed as a grin appeared on her face.

Carrie smiled and headed across the spacious, homely kitchen to the table where Kyle sat, and perched herself on the seat opposite him. “No prizes for guessing what’s up with you, then. Things not going too well between you and Natalie?”

“They’re not going at all.” Kyle muttered. “We broke up.”

“How come?”

“I ended it, I just didn’t want to be in such an intense relationship, especially when she was always putting Leo before me.”

“He’s the father of her kid, Kyle; she has to at least…” Carrie stopped herself before she was able to complete what would have become one of the most hypocritical sentences to emerge from her mouth considering how she’d treated Greg. “She’s young; she’s confused, I’m sure she just needs time to adjust.”

“I just cant put myself up for such a rejection, Car. What’s to stop her getting back with Leo a few years down the line because all the time they’re spending together with Grace is making them closer?”

“So you’re going to stop it now, just in case she happens to get back with the ex boyfriend, who, if I remember correctly, she despises?”

“Even so, I’m not up for that.”

“Well it’s your choice, Kyle. I’d just hate to see you throw away a shot at happiness because of the slim chance that it might not go your way.” Carrie gripped her brother’s hand across the table and rubbed it reassuringly.

Kyle half smiled, he couldn’t bear the possibility that his older sister was right. Had he really thrown away his once chance of true love because of the possibility…the extremely slim possibility…that Natalie could end up leaving him for Leo?

The Sterling Mansion
Conservatory

Kendall entered the spacious, glass walled room of the mansion to find her brother perched on one of the armchairs, wiping the remnants of cocaine from around his nose as he listened to some music.

“I thought you’d stopped that.” Kendall frowned disapprovingly at her older brother.

“You thought wrong.” Leo rolled his eyes, an icy tension between him and Kendall was still totally evident. “What’s the big deal?”

“It’s the middle of the day.” Kendall sighed.

“Just a little pick me up. Grace had me up most of the night, Kend, and I’m going out tonight.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of Red Bull?”

“So what have you done today?” Leo quickly changed the subject, growing tired of his younger sister’s lecture.

“Not much really, did a little shopping, had a business lunch with Shane, got my nails done…”

“If I didn’t know any better, Kendall, I’d say you were developing a crush on my father, the amount of time you spend with him.” Leo hated the fact that Kendall was still talking to his estranged father, after all the trouble his arrival in Oakridge had caused.

Kendall sighed and rolled her eyes, feeling like she had to defend herself about a high school crush. “We’re business partners, remember? We run a multinational, billion dollar company. A lot of time together is kinda required.”

“Just do what I do with JCo; put someone else in charge and take the money at the end of it all.” Leo didn’t share his sister’s determination to make something of herself, business wise. He’d inherited his mother’s own company, whilst Kendall had inherited John’s, when Jackie died. While Kendall was keen to be involved in the running of Sterling Enterprises, getting a nine to five job with a suit and tie wasn’t exactly Leo’s thing. “It’s so much more fun that way.”

“If you want to do things that way, then that’s your choice.” Kendall perched herself on the seat opposite Leo.

“It most certainly is, my dear sister.” Leo grinned. “It most certainly is.”

Marc and Megan’s Apartment

“Congratulations!” Jessica hugged her brother and his new wife, overcome with a feeling of romance and happiness that she herself had not experienced in weeks. “But why keep it a secret?”

“Well, you know how our families…my family…can be.” Megan chuckled as she perched on the edge of her sofa as Jessica and Marc returned to their seats. “My mother would never forgive me if she found out I’d got married without the full society affair, but it’s just not my thing.”

“Remember Greg and Carrie’s wedding?” Jessica laughed, the wedding day that Carrie had barely any control over was something all of them would care to forget. “Talk about a circus.”

“Exactly,” the last thing Megan wanted was an over the top, over co-ordinated fiasco like her older brother’s wedding. “So you see why we did it secretly?”

“Totally,” Jessica agreed.

“And we just wanted to keep it quiet, just for a while, so you cant tell anyone, Jess, promise?” Marc urged his sister. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his relationship with Megan, totally the opposite, but keeping things quiet kept it fresh and exciting, and he loved that.

“It’s not that we’re ashamed or anything.” Megan quickly jumped in. “But we just don’t want everyone knowing. Not right away. With everything that’s gone on with the custody case and Kimberley doing a vanishing act, it just doesn’t seem right.”

“At least we know Kimberley’s fine now, but still, I don’t think its right for this to be out in the open right now.” Marc continued. “So promise me you’ll keep it a secret?”

“I promise.” Jessica smiled, she was a gossip at the best of times, so keeping something this juicy a secret promised to be a difficult task. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

John’s Car

“Slow down!” Will urged his father, who continued to speed through the streets of Oakridge regardless. John was determined to find Wesley’s car, if only to put their minds at rest. For all they knew, Alex could have been at the salon getting her nails done, but both John and Will had the feeling that something was awry.

“I swear to god, if he’s touched one hair on her head…”

“Look over there! That’s Wesley’s car!” Will exclaimed as they drove past an abandoned warehouse by the riverside. “I’m sure of it.”

Wesley’s Car

“Just let me go, Wesley, let me go and all of this will be forgotten.” Alex pleaded as a tear ran down her cheek, her desperation to escape Wesley’s clutches had taken over, but the chances of her being free were looking increasingly weak.

“This can never be forgotten.” Wesley whispered in a sinisterly loving tone. “Not unless we end this now, once and for all.”

Alex dug her nails into the ropes that bound her arms and struggled to break herself free, but all of her efforts were too little, too late, as Wesley’s gaze was fixed on the river. “Please, don’t do this Wesley…I’m begging you here. You’ve got what you wanted…you’ve scared the shit out of me…you’ve won, Wesley, you’ve made me pay for what I’ve done to you. Just please, please let me go.”

“This isn’t about you paying for what you’ve done to me anymore, Alexandra. This is about making things right for everyone. The lives you’ve ruined; John’s, Will’s, Ashley’s, mine, this is making up for all of that…”

Alex’s heart began to race as her mind began to click that Wesley had well and truly gone insane. This wasn’t the man she married, the man she loved, the man she left both John and Matt for…this was a completely different, psychotic person. It just wasn’t Wesley. He turned the key in his ignition and pushed his foot down on the accelerator, allowing his car to race at an alarming pace towards the river.

“I love you!” Wesley yelled with a look of happiness on his face, as Alexandra gasped for breath, just before the car crashed through a barrier and hurtled into the cold, icy river, plunging below the surface as Alex’s blood curdling scream echoed through the air.

TO BE CONTINUED…

As the valet loaded their suitcases into the back of the cab, Marc pecked Megan on the cheek as he wrapped his arm around her. Megan smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, on a high from their blissful vacation together, minus the sleazy porno director who had put a dark cloud over the first few days of their trip by blackmailing Kimberley.

“Where is Kimberley?” Megan glanced at her watch, clutching flight tickets for herself, Marc and Kimberley, but her younger sister had yet to turn up and they were due to leave for the airport in five minutes at the latest.

“Maybe she caught sight of herself in the mirror and got distracted.” Marc joked. “No, wait, here she comes now.”

Megan turned to see her sister tottering out of the hotel, not a suitcase in sight, only a pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses and her jewel encrusted Sidekick cell phone in her perfectly manicured hand.

“Aren’t you packed?” Megan asked her younger sister.

“Change of plans, Meg. I’m gonna stick around for a few more days and chill out. God knows I need it after these last few weeks.” The way Kimberley spoke, one would be forgiven for thinking she’d been held captive by terrorists, not blackmailed over the phone by some low rent drug dealer who happened to have a video of her in a compromising position. “Besides, I’ve met a guy.”

Megan rolled her eyes; those four words coming from Kimberley’s mouth could only ever end up trouble. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“And not just any guy either, you know Jet Lowery?”

“The movie dude?” Marc knew the name from a few chick flicks Megan had dragged him to.

“Yep. We hung out a few times when I was living in L.A. and I ran into him last night at Pure, one thing lead to another and…”

“That’s enough information thanks, Kim.” Megan certainly didn’t want to hear anything else about Kimberley’s sex life following their recent escapades.

“But anyway, I’m gonna stick around and see what happens.” Kimberley raised an eyebrow. “Jet is brutally hot. Better than any guy Oakridge has to offer.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Marc laughed as the cab driver honked his horn. “We better get going or we’ll miss our flight.”

“Eww, you’re not flying commercial, are you?” Kimberley scrunched her face up, clearly she would rather walk from Vegas to Oakridge than fly in anything other than a private jet.

“Give me a call when you’re coming home, which better be soon, by the way.” Megan gave her sister a hug before climbing into her car, followed by Marc. Kimberley waved them off as their car sped out of the hotel grounds and folded her arms, she had no intention of going home any time soon.

“You know,” Marc leaned over to Megan, a mischievous look on his face. “There is one little pit stop I’d like to make before we get to the airport.”

“Where’s that, then?”

Marc leaned in and whispered in Megan’s ear, a look of shock and amusement appearing on her face. “Are you serious?”

“Well, when in Vegas...”



Strolling out of Fix clutching his triple shot espresso cappuccino, Leo lit up a cigarette and headed over to his sleek silver convertible.

“Nice car.” Shane observed as he approached his son.

Leo rolled his eyes; an encounter with his estranged father was the last thing he wanted. “Can I help you?”

“I have one just like it.” Shane continued, consciously oblivious to his son’s hostility. “One hell of an engine on her.”

“Yeah well maybe you should drive it off a cliff. Preferably with you in it.” Leo took one long draw of his cigarette before blowing the smoke in his father’s direction.

“When are you going to stop with this hostility, Leo?” Shane smiled patronizingly as he wafted the smoke out of his face. “Surely you’ve held this little grudge of yours long enough.”

“Remind me again why you’re talking to me?”

“Because, whether you like it or not, I’m your father.” Shane did his best to restrain his temper, but Leo was pushing it to the limit. “And the sooner you realize that and stop acting like the spoilt brat that Jackie turned you into, the better.”

“Don’t you dare even think about mentioning my mother,” Leo hissed. “At least she took an interest in her kids.”

“That’s right, I’m mistaken. Right, remind me again how many years you spent at boarding schools?” Shane couldn’t stand the fact that Leo saw his mother as such a saint; especially when she was, in fact, a coke snorting, ball busting, card carrying, class A bitch who didn’t give two shits about her kids except from when using them as a bargaining tool.

His fist clenched, Leo tossed his half smoked cigarette to the ground and opened the door to his car. He wasn’t about to give Shane the satisfaction of seeing him lose his temper, instead opting to get into his convertible and drive away as fast as possible. “Stay the fuck away from me, asshole.”

Leo turned the key in the ignition and sped off down the street, leaving Shane on the sidewalk, chuckling to himself. He was more similar to his son than either would care to admit, but Shane wasn’t about to give up without a fight. They were going to be a proper father and son, whether Leo liked it or not.

Sterling Enterprises
John’s Office

John was surprised to have been paid a visit by Will to discuss a present for Alex’s impending birthday, and had decided to order in lunch for himself and his estranged son. Both men sat in an awkward silence, their relationship as father and son had hardly been cemented over the last year.

“So…” Will’s best attempt to ignite conversation failed miserably. “My mom says you two are planning on going away later this month?”

“Nothing’s definite as yet, but we’re thinking about perhaps taking a vacation out west, just by the beach or something for a little getaway.” John explained, although his attempt to ease the tension was quite unsuccessful. “What about you, are you going away anywhere?”

Will couldn’t believe the complete lack of conversation between himself and his supposed father, it was like an awkward chat with a complete stranger, making small talk to pass the time. “I don’t think so, I’d like to travel over to Europe and visit Ashley for a while, see how she’s getting on travelling.”

“Oh really? Whereabouts is she just now?”

“Last time I heard from her she was in Milan.” Will explained. “It sounds like she’s having fun, but I’d like to check up on her in person, just in case.”

“You’re her brother, it’s natural you would be worried and overprotective.” John could feel a slight warmth between himself and Will as the ice began to melt. His cell phone rang and he glanced at it to see Alex’s number flashing on the screen. “I better take this, it’s your mother.” John flipped open his phone and lifted it to his ear. “Hello?...Alexandra…how are you? Yes, lunch tomorrow would be nice…I’m not doing much just now, just having something to eat with Will…yes, really, you sound surprised…well I better go, but I’ll pick you up tomorrow around one? Great, see you later.”

John hung up the phone and slid it back into his desk.

“So things are going well between you two then?” Will raised an eyebrow, one thing he’d never really wished for since discovering he was John’s son was for John and Alex to get together, but now it was happening, he quite liked the idea of having both of his parents together; it was something he’d never really had growing up.

“As well as can be expected,” John had always held a torch for Alex secretly, but the way things ended years ago had meant that being in a relationship with her was never really a possibility, not until now.

Metro Hotel

On the balcony of the luxurious hotel suite that Greg had whisked her off to for the night. Kristen stood sipping her umpteenth cup of coffee that day. She tried her best to clear up the muddle of thoughts inside her head. She loved Greg, and wanted to be with him, but not when he was so eager to keep things quiet. This wasn’t what she wanted, and it wasn’t what she deserved.

“I thought you’d done a runner on me while I was in the shower.” Greg laughed as he emerged onto the balcony, only a towel to guard his modesty. He had hoped that a romantic getaway, even if it was still in Oakridge, would have eased some of the tension between himself and Kristen, but a tense attempt at sex was all that had been gained.

“Do you want a coffee or anything?” Kristen avoided eye contact with Greg, she couldn’t get mad at him for his insistence that they kept their relationship quiet, for now, even if it had been going on for months now, but she couldn’t help be a little angry, even at herself, for the state of her love life.

“No thanks.” Greg felt the chill of the morning air against his damp torso, folding his built arms to keep himself warm. “Let’s go inside, you can warm me up?”

Kristen rolled her eyes at Greg’s proposition. Why would she want to have sex with a man who didn’t want to admit to anyone that he was with her? “I’m not in the mood.”

Kristen headed inside, followed by Greg, and took a seat on the sofa.

“What’s up?” Greg knew fine well what was up with Kristen, but she had picked the worst possible time to go public with their relationship; Greg’s joint custody arrangement with Carrie was still being finalized, so he wasn’t about to blow it by telling her that he was in the midst of a relationship with her sister.

Kristen sighed, Greg playing dumb only served to make her even madder at him. “We’re not seriously going to go back down that road, are we? You know exactly what’s up.”

“Not again, Kristen.” Greg buried his head in his hands, eager to avoid the conversation that he had just unwittingly started. “I cant risk telling Carrie about us right now in case she takes off with Adam.”

“She wouldn’t be that stupid.” Kristen knew her sister better than she cared to admit, and Carrie wouldn’t risk losing Adam permanently by going on the run.

“It’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

“Why don’t we cut the crap here, Greg? What’s the real reason why you’re so keen to keep our relationship secret?” Kristen stood up and faced Greg. “Do you still have feelings for Carrie?”

“I’m not listening to this.” Greg stood up and headed into the bedroom area, reaching for his clothes.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Fresh from a quick costume change into her most fabulous designer bikini and another pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses, Kimberley sauntered along the side of the pool, her massive designer handbag dangling from her elbow as she reached her destination.

“Worth the wait?” Kimberley raised an eyebrow as she stopped where her male companion sat on a lounger.

“Well worth it babe, you look totally hot.” The man lowered his sunglasses with effortless Hollywood ease and admired Kimberley’s slim yet shapely figure in her barely there bikini. The man, Jet Lowery, was the exception to the Hollywood heart throb rule in that he was just as hot, if not hotter, in person; his chiselled cheekbones and mesmerising eyes were enhanced only by his sculpted – but not too sculpted – body and his Colgate worthy smile.

Kimberley dropped her bag next to the empty lounger and seductively lowered herself on top of it, picking up the cocktail that Jet had ordered for her and sipped on it as she soaked in the atmosphere of the young, hip and wealthy that populated this particular area of the hotel.

“Fancy a dip in the pool?” Jet asked, standing up to reveal the true extent of his svelte, muscular body, his loose, long Hawaiian print shorts hanging low off of his slim hips. Kimberley couldn’t help but feel a little turned on at the sight of Jet alone, never mind the fact that he was a mega movie star and was paying her all sorts of attention.

“How about we just chill in the Jacuzzi?” Kimberley winked.

“In that case, we should take it back to the one in my suite.” Jet laughed flirtatiously as he mounted Kimberley and planted a hot, steamy kiss on her. The offer of spending some one on one time with Jet, away from the glare of gawping fans and shady journalists was one that was too much to resist.

The Abbot House

Dressed in his sharpest suit, Wesley Abbot emerged from his house ten times the man he had been for the last few months, not a hint of depression or upset in sight as he eerily strolled into his car for what promised to be an explosive afternoon.

Josh’s Apartment

Natalie’s peaceful afternoon with her baby daughter had been interrupted by Leo’s abrupt arrival; the tribulations of being a single mother, along with the fact that her relationship with Kyle was in tatters, had caused her to totally forget that it was Leo’s day to spend with Grace.

“You could have called first.” Natalie couldn’t help but allow a slight tinge of resentment to leak out as she stuffed the essentials into an overnight bag for Grace while she bounced around in her pushchair.

“I didn’t think I’d need to seeing as we’d arranged this last week.” Leo muttered, too distracted by waving his finger around in front of Grace and watching her eyes follow it everywhere as she giggled. “I’ve got more than enough for her at my place. You don’t need to pack anything.”

Natalie wasn’t about to relinquish total control to Leo; she wanted to have Grace’s outfits, meals and toys pre-set before she embarked on her weekend at the Sterling mansion. “She needs her things.”

“Do I detect a slight chill in the air?” Leo turned his attention to Natalie’s hostile behaviour. “Or are you just giving me attitude because all is not rosy with lover boy.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“That whiny little kid, that’s who.”

“The only reason Kyle got pissed off is because you were constantly pushing his buttons, Leo. What was your problem with him, anyway? I mean what did he ever do to you?” Natalie’s best attempts to keep her temper at bay were failing fast.

“He was a little shit. You could do better. Hell, you have done better.” Leo couldn’t help but feel slightly arrogant when it came to Kyle, feeling vastly superior in every way to him.

“And look where that got me.” Natalie hissed.

“Do you want to watch what you say around my daughter?” Leo began to yell ever so slightly, maintaining an air of cool around himself as Natalie went into meltdown mode, not wanting or needing to be reminded about her break up with Kyle…least of all by Leo, the very guy who had caused it.
“How dare you?” Natalie was taken aback at Leo’s sudden perfect parent routine. “I mean where the hell do you get off?”

“I could start naming the places but we’d be here for a while.” Leo could control most things in his life, but not his sarcasm. “So if you’re all packed up, I’ll be taking my daughter for the night.”

“So you can palm her off on the maid and go out and get wasted? I don’t think so.”

“We had an agreement.”

“Well I’ve changed my mind.”

“You don’t want to do that, Natalie. You really don’t want to start fucking me around when it comes to Grace. I’ve got rights, I’m her father.”

“I cant trust you to take care of my daughter.” Natalie was still reeling from Leo’s condescending attitude; no way in hell was he going to be looking down his nose at her. “So you’re not having her overnight, I’m afraid.”

“Are you retarded? Or are you just that ignorant that you don’t know what’s going on around you?” Leo stood up and folded his arms, overshadowing Natalie. “My family’s lawyer just got Greg joint custody of his son, and the mother was in a stable, loving relationship at the time. She’d have no problem taking Grace away from her over stressed, mentally unstable single mother if I told her to.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Is it a risk you’re willing to take?” Leo paused as Natalie looked down at the floor, an air of awkward silence descending on the room. “Nope, didn’t think so. I’ll have Grace back to you before noon tomorrow.”

Natalie sighed as Leo picked up Grace’s overnight back and pushed her out of the apartment. Defeated, she flopped herself down on top of the couch and buried her head in her hands. She tried her best to think of a way to get herself out of the situation with Leo, but everything seemed so complicated. There had to be a way out, and she was determined to find out.

Flight 1281

On their way back to Oakridge, Marc and Megan relaxed in the comfort of first class as they unwound from their adventure in Las Vegas.

“I cant believe we just did that.” Megan grinned from ear to ear, elated following the events that had just taken place.

“I just don’t know how we’re going to tell everyone.” Marc ran his hand down Megan’s arm to her left hand, and ran his finger over the gold band that had been freshly placed on her fourth finger.

“I’m sure we’ll find a way.” Megan struggled to breath she was that excited.

“I’m sure we will, Mrs Monroe.” Marc smiled as he leaned in for a kiss, locking lips with his new bride as they sailed through the sky.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Her pink silk robe hanging off one shoulder, exposing her lacy bra, Kimberley climbed over her luxurious bed clutching a bottle of chilled champagne and sat up against the headboard as she snuggled up to Jet.

“That totally rocked.” Jet’s voice was sexily croaky; the gravely tone of a heavy smoker, although his bright, youthful skin proved otherwise.

“Well I aim to please.” Kimberley winked; taking a swig of the champagne from the bottle before beginning to drizzle the remnants of the bottle over Jet’s rippling six-pack. She climbed on top of him and began to lick up the champagne as one hand reached inside Jet’s designer boxer briefs, before their lips met and locked in a kiss.

Jet ran his hands down Kimberley’s body and undid her robe, allowing it to slide off of her as he wrapped his arms around her body, not once allowing their lips to part.

Metro Hotel

“What are you saying, Kristen?” Greg asked, unable to comprehend Kristen’s overreaction to the matter, “That because I don’t want to risk Carrie taking Adam way from me permanently, I still love her? That because I’m not shouting our relationship from the rooftops, I don’t love you and I still love her? How can you be so wrong?”

“I cant make this work if you’re still in love with my sister,” Kristen yelled, doing her best to hold back the tears…it was something that had always been in the back of her mind but now she’d said it, things just seemed a hundred times worse. “And you’ve given me no reason now to think otherwise.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know fine well what I’m talking about; dragging her through the courts, blackmailing her about not giving her a divorce, if you really wanted things with Carrie to be over you wouldn’t have been stalling so much. You got joint custody, the divorce is through; you’ve got nothing left to wait for. I put up with this for months, keeping this quiet just because you asked me to for the sake of you getting to see Adam, but you’ve got that now. It’s all official. What other reason do you have for wanting to keep this secret?”

“Kristen…you’re reading too much into things.” Greg insisted.

“Am I? Am I really? Look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t love Carrie.”

“Look, Kristen…” Greg did his best to look Kristen in the eye, but somehow he just couldn’t.

“You cant do it, can you?” the tears began to trickle down Kristen’s face as her voice got louder, her heartbreak audible in her breaking voice, “You cant look me in the eye and tell me you’re not still in love with her, can you?”

Greg didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t thought he still had feelings for Carrie, but now that Kristen was putting him on the spot, something inside him just wouldn’t let him look her in the eye and tell her he didn’t love Carrie.

“Kristen…” Greg reached out his hand onto Kristen’s shoulder, “Let me…”

“Don’t’” Kristen yelled, shrugging off Greg’s hand, “Forget it, Greg, we’re over.”

Picking up her handbag and coat, Kristen couldn’t even stand to look at Greg one more time. She grabbed her car keys and walked out of the suite, closing the door behind her and leaving a confused Greg standing alone. He didn’t realize what had just happened, he knew he wasn’t in love with Carrie, no way could he be after everything that had happened between them, but then, he couldn’t lie to Kristen, so there must have been something inside of him…even just a smidgeon of love for Carrie, he just had to figure out what to do about it.

Safely inside the escalator, Kristen dropped her bag and coat onto the floor and crouched down, bursting into a fit of tears, the agonising pain of her heart being ripped into a million pieces caused her to lose her breath. As she wept, gasping for air, Kristen couldn’t help but feel absolutely devastated, losing Greg was enough, but the sudden dawning on her that every single minute insecurity she had been harbouring was, in fact, reality caused her heartbreak to hurt even more than even she had ever imagined it would. The first man she had ever truly loved had betrayed her in a way that she didn’t know she could forgive.

Downtown Oakridge

As night fell on Oakridge, Alex made her way out of her car, clutching a bag of groceries as she approached her apartment block. Upon dropping the bag and seeing what was soon to be the contents of her refrigerator spilled all over the sidewalk, Alex dropped to her knees and began to scramble as much as she could carry into the remnants of the brown paper bag. Once she had gathered as much as she could, Alex clamoured back up onto her feet.

“Need a hand?” came a chilling voice standing above her. Alex looked up to see the last person she expected or wanted to see…Wesley. Standing in his smart suit, looking incredibly polished, but still, the last person she wanted to see, Wesley’s presence instantly put Alex’s back up.

“Not from you, no thank you.” Alex did her best to brush past Wesley and make her way across the quiet road to her apartment block, but instead felt the disgustingly familiar grip of Wesley around her arm, causing all sorts of memories of what happened between them at Christmas to come flooding back to her. “Get your hand off of me now or I’ll scream.”

“Not until you listen to me.” Wesley muttered through gritted teeth. “And that’s what you’re going to do you evil, vindictive witch.”

“I’m not putting up with this, let go of me right now.” Alex struggled to get free, but it was as if Wesley was possessed, his grip stronger than ever. She let out a piercing scream, but it went unnoticed in the quiet street.

“Nice try, now move.” Wesley dragged Alex, kicking and screaming but now mute thanks to his hand covering her mouth, into a darkened alleyway, her heels dragging along the ground as he tossed her into the passenger seat of his car, locked the doors and sped off into the night.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Holding her Sidekick in her hand, Kimberley sighed as a disgustingly familiar number flashed up on the incoming caller display. Lorenzo was the last person she wanted to hear from, especially given the fact that she wasn’t anywhere near getting his money. Kimberley promptly pushed the reject button before tossing her bejewelled phone on top of her bed.

“You have to answer it sometime.” Megan reminded her sister, eager for Kimberley to understand the severity of the situation that she had put herself in. “I’m pretty sure this Lorenzo guy isn’t going to just go away if you ignore him.”

“Oh really? Because I thought if I just kept rejecting his calls then he would disappear.” As much as Kimberley was grateful that her sister was here to help her, she couldn’t help but snap when Megan stated the obvious.

“Do you know what, Kim?” Megan stood up. “I don’t have to be here. I came here for a relaxing vacation with Marc and all I’ve done since I got here is get wrapped up in yet another of your problems. And the worst part is…you don’t even seem to be that grateful.”

“Oh my god, like how could you say that Meg? You know I’m like totally grateful to you, but you gotta remember I’m a little bit stressed right now.” A little bit was the understatement of the century when it came to describing how stressed she really was, in fact she was wound tighter than Britney Spears’ latest hair extensions.

“Look, why don’t we just give Lorenzo the money?” Megan knew that wasn’t exactly a viable solution considering Lorenzo could easily ask for more, but it did seem like the only way out. “At least that way there’s a chance of shutting him up.”

“I’m not giving that bastard a single cent.” Kimberley was determined not to give into Lorenzo’s demands; the fact that years of partying and shopping all over the world had left a massive dent in her trust fund was only a minor reason why she hadn’t paid Lorenzo off, it was the principle of the matter, and Kimberley was determined not to give Lorenzo a penny; although it was beginning to seem like that was the only option.



Lily’s

Sitting in the ultra modern deli, Rex smiled as the waitress rested their lunches down on the high gloss white tabletop and walked off. He turned to Jessica as she took a sip of her ice water and rested his hand on top of hers. Their conflicting schedules had left barely any time for them to be together, between Rex’s demanding job and Jessica’s budding hobby of planning parties, with Adam’s first birthday soiree being the top of her priority list.

“You’re being a really good friend to Carrie, putting yourself out like this, and for free.” Rex had begun to admire the passion Jessica took in arranging parties for her family and friends, especially when she saw the happiness Jessica got out of it in the end.

“Well I have to build up a reputation, especially if I want to make a go of this professionally.” Jessica couldn’t believe how quickly this was turning into a career for her; with her father’s money and her seductive personality, a career wasn’t something she’d ever needed, but the feeling of working hard at something gave her a buzz that shopping just couldn’t provide. “Pretty soon the offers will be rolling in. In fact, I’m meeting with Shane Baldwin later this week to discuss me organizing a corporate event for him in New York. If all goes well then it could be a steady gig.”

“I’m so proud of you baby.” Rex kissed Jessica on the cheek. “Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be making a fortune out of it.”

“Fingers crossed.” If there was one thing Jessica knew how to do, it was throw a party, so she figured she might as well make the most of her talents. “It’s just good to have something to call my…”

Before Jessica could finish her sentence, the annoyingly familiar sound of Rex’s cell phone interrupted their quiet moment. Rex glanced at the screen, uttering what Jessica had come to know as the four dreaded words. “I gotta take this.”

Rex stood up and flipped his cell phone open as he walked over to the window and muttered into his phone, leaving Jessica picking at her seared tuna salad. She sighed as he flipped shut his phone and walked back over to her, knowing all too well what was about to happen.

“I’m really sorry about this, babe, but they need me down at the station.” Rex’s job was demanding, something Jessica knew from the get go, but it never failed to disappoint her when he had to put his life on hold for some work thing. “I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get home, maybe an early night if you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jessica faked a half smile, she didn’t want Rex to feel bad about having to work; after all, his job was very important and she couldn’t be getting all mad about him skipping out on a lunch date when there were murderers and drug dealers and paedophiles on the loose, but it still didn’t stop it from being a bit of a bummer.

Rex leaned over and planted a quick, passionless kiss on Jessica’s face before grabbing his coat and heading for the door. “Thanks for understanding, babe.”

“No problem.” Jessica muttered under her breath as she pushed the food around her plate with her fork. “No problem at all.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

Upon entering the bar that was becoming unfortunately familiar to her, Kimberley did her best to avoid inhaling the usual scent of stale drink and even staler drinkers. She made her way, followed by Marc and Megan, across the quiet bar to the private room at the back where Lorenzo held his court.

“Do you want us to wait outside?” Marc was keen to be sensitive for Kimberley’s current situation, the last thing he would have wanted if he was in Kimberley’s situation would be for other people to wade in and involve themselves whether he wanted it or not.

“If you guys wouldn’t mind.” Kimberley just wanted to get the situation over with by herself; and as much as she loved having Megan there to help her, there were some things that just didn’t need other people getting involved in.

“Nuh uh, I want to meet this famous rat bag and give him a piece of my mind.” Megan insisted. Kimberley’s feelings were one thing, but when someone was trying to blackmail her little sister, Megan wasn’t about to stand by and let it happen.

“Only if you promise to behave.” Kimberley warned her older sister. After all, the only person who was allowed to misbehave in the Sterling family was herself.

“Fine.” Megan sighed. “But if he tries to pull any shit with you I won’t be held accountable for my actions.”

“Whatever.” Kimberley knew this encounter wasn’t going to be pleasant, but she supposed having Megan there couldn’t hurt.

“Give me a shout if you need me.” Marc reminded the girls of his presence, although he was eager not to intrude where he wasn’t wanted.

Kimberley knocked once at the door before entering, followed by Megan, who closed the door behind them.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Lorenzo puffed on a cigar as he sat behind his desk, with an attractive young girl perched on his knee. Almost too young, Kimberley noted. “What up doll? You ain’t been answerin’ any of my calls?”

“Yeah well she’s hardly going to be in any mood to talk to you, is she?” Megan interrupted, instantly getting Lorenzo’s back up. Kimberley nudged her older sister to stay quiet, a task that she knew would be hard.

“What, is there an echo in this place or somethin’? Oh no, wait, I’m seein’ double.” Lorenzo chuckled as he rested his hand on the barely covered thigh of the girl sitting on his knee. “Who’s the Barbie doll?”

“I’m her sister you asshole.” Megan hissed, edging closer to Lorenzo despite the ominous look Kimberley was shooting her.

“Mimi, doll, would you get me a beer?” Lorenzo winked at the young girl, who obediently got up and left the room, looking Megan up and down as she left. “So, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Closing the door to Lorenzo’s office behind her, Mimi strutted across the room towards the bar and asked the bartender for a beer and a vodka diet coke.

“It’s for Lorenzo,” she noted, ensuring the bartender didn’t charge her.

“Just as long as neither of these drinks are for you” said the bartender. “Lorenzo won’t be wanting me to get his license taken off him.”

“Okay fine, just give me the beer then.” Mimi sighed, unaware that Marc had been watching the entire conversation from the comfort of the bar, where he nursed a bottled beer, eager not to drink it for fear of catching some ungodly bacteria, if the state of the bar was anything to go by. Marc watched as Mimi walked back over to the office, sneaking a sip of the beer on her way. He could just tell that Mimi w as the type of girl who was in too deep when it came to Lorenzo, which could be just Kimberley’s ticket out of Lorenzo’s clutches.

Marc got up and approached the young girl before she could enter the office. “Excuse me, do you have a minute?”

The Masters House

“I thought we needed to talk.” Natalie explained upon arriving at Kyle’s place. Following their row, Natalie had thought it best to give Kyle a few days to cool off.

“About what?” Kyle shrugged his shoulders; he hated being so blunt with Natalie, but he’d had enough of playing second fiddle to Leo. “You’ve pretty much made it clear that you’ll take Leo’s side over mine time and time again. Why should I put up with that?”

“Because you’re the one I want to be with, not Leo, why can’t you see that?”

“Well it doesn’t look that way to me, Nat. You’ve constantly made me feel like second best whenever Leo was involved, and I’m not prepared to put up with it anymore. It’s over, Natalie, and the sooner you accept that, the better.”

“What if I don’t want it to be over?”

“I can’t be with someone who has feelings for someone else.”

“What is it going to take for you to realize that you’re the one I want to be with?” Natalie pleaded.

“I don’t want to realize anymore, Natalie.” Kyle couldn’t help but feel that the last year of his life had been wasted on a girl who didn’t really like him half as much as he liked her. “We’re over.”

Nate & Carrie’s House

Carrie handed Jessica a mug of steaming hot coffee and sat down next to her on the sofa, welcoming a break from the awkward tension that had been filling her house for months since her relationship with Nate went into decline. Of course, Carrie wasn’t the only one having man troubles, she knew that well enough without even having to ask Jessica; she could just tell from her best friend’s demeanor that things with Rex weren’t exactly rosy.

“So how are things with Nate?” Jessica was eager to get the conversation as far away from her own life as possible; the last thing she wanted to do was over analyse the fact that her boyfriend was more devoted to his job than he was to her.

“I have no idea.” Carrie sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. “Like, we seem to be getting on okay, but he still won’t open up. It’s like there’s this great big elephant in the room and neither of us will talk about it. He was totally there for me during the custody case, but I need something more, you know? Like I don’t want all of this stuff to just be swept under the rug and we just don’t talk about what he’s done in the past and we just pretend everything’s okay. I want to be able to know I can totally trust him, and I just feel like it’s never going to happen.”

“Do you think it’s going to work then? Like, I mean, if you’re seriously feeling stressed about it then you really need to say something. Otherwise you’ll only grow to resent him for keeping things from you.”

“I guess you’re right. He’s just really been there for me these last few weeks, especially since Greg won joint custody of Adam. I mean I know Greg’s his father and deserves to see him, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“Yeah, well, at least you’ll get a sense of normality soon.” Jessica hoped her friend would be able to get over the fact that Greg won joint custody, but she knew Carrie wasn’t handling it very well. “It’s just a little shock to the system first. Are the Sterlings invited to the birthday party?”

“Well Greg, Megan and Kimberley are totally welcome, John too, I just don’t want Diane there. But knowing her she’ll find a way to worm her way into the party whether I like it or not. I mean even though we’re having it here, I just know she’s going to turn up, so why irritate her further?”

“If you don’t want here there, she doesn’t have to be there. It is your house after all.”

“But at least if I invite her she wont be causing a huge scene when she decides to turn up, which she will, whether she’s invited or not.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Carrie sighed, this was the very reason she was so against joint custody; if she invited one Sterling she’d have to invite them all, Diane included, and she was adamant that Diane was not going to get her claws into Adam the was she did with her own kids.

Las Vegas, Nevada

In the minutes that had passed, barely any progress had been made between Lorenzo, Megan and Kimberley. Lorenzo wanted money, and neither of the sisters were prepared to pay out in case Lorenzo was to turn around and ask for more, or just leak the tape anyway.

“Look, sweet cheeks, I ain’t gonna be fucked around here.” Lorenzo insisted, taking another puff of his cigar as he waited impatiently for his beer. “This tape is worth megabucks, and I want in on the deal. I’m not gonna be screwed out of money that’s rightfully mine.”

“Okay, so unless you want to be picking your teeth up of the floor, you wont call me sweet cheeks again, and you aren’t entitled to anything. So here’s what’s going to happen; you’re going to take what we give you, and that’s fifty grand, and you’re going to sign over all rights of that tape to us, agreeing that should this tape ever conveniently leak out to the press or to the internet that we are entitled to hold you personally responsible” Megan laid her cards down on the table, astonishing Kimberley with her astute confidence in negotiations, something Megan had definitely picked up from her father.

“Yeah, right, do you have any idea how much your sister’s acting debut is worth?” Lorenzo wasn’t about to let millions of dollars slip through his fingers because of some blonde wannabe Erin Brockovich.

“Do you have any idea who my father is?” Kimberley interrupted, growing in confidence due to Megan’s presence. “Sterling Enterprises is one of the biggest businesses in the world. Sterling Publishing produces some of the biggest newspapers and magazines in the country. You want to go to the papers? Hell, we are the papers.”

“Nice try, blondie.” Lorenzo bluffed, although he was beginning to realize just how deep he had gotten himself into the situation with Kimberley, instead of walking away when the going got too tough.

Before Lorenzo could come out with some more bravado, the door to his office swung open and two police officers barged in.

“Lorenzo Marquez?” said the burlier of the two officers.

“Who’s askin’?”

“Lorenzo Marquez I am placing you under arrest on suspicion of statutory rape” the other officer continued as the pair approached Lorenzo and slapped the cuffs around his wrist and led him out of the office, leaving Megan and Kimberley dumbfounded as to what had just happened, just as Marc appeared in the doorway.

“What did you do?” Megan smiled in disbelief.

“Don’t thank me.” Marc stood aside to reveal Lorenzo’s younger girlfriend. “Thank Mimi.”

Josh’s Apartment

Following Natalie’s disastrous attempt to reunite with Kyle earlier in the day, it had fallen on Josh to pick up the pieces, and plying his younger sister with pizza and ice cream wasn’t working anywhere near as well as he had hoped.

“I just don’t get it, why would he think I would chose Leo over him?” Natalie struggled to make sense of her current situation.

Josh sighed. He wasn’t the best at giving advice, especially when it came to his little sister’s love life. Josh still saw Natalie as a little girl and the very prospect of her having dealings with boys was something that terrified him, not to mention the prospect that she had a daughter. “Maybe it’s just one of those things, Nat. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Natalie wiped a tear from her eye. “But I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Look, you didn’t really think Kyle was going to be okay with this situation for very long, did you? I mean, you’ve got a kid to another guy who’s constantly interfering in your life. That would be trying for any guy, no matter how much he loves you.”

“But I cant just let this go, Josh. I love Kyle.”

“Well if it’s meant to be, you guys will be together eventually.” Josh advised his sister. “Just let fate run its course.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

The cop car door slammed closed and sped off into the distance as Megan, Kimberley and Marc watched Lorenzo being carted off to prison. Aside from charges related to his sleeping with a minor, Mimi had also told the police of Lorenzo’s drug dealing and money laundering operations, ensuring that Lorenzo was locked behind bars for a very, very long time.

“Well thank god that’s over with,” Marc tried to cut tense atmosphere that still hung over them.

“Let’s hope so, anyway.” Kimberley couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort despite the fact that Lorenzo was seemingly out of her life for good.

“Well I for one am totally wiped.” Megan rested her head on Marc’s broad shoulder as he wrapped his muscular arm around her petite frame. “How about an early night?”

“Suit yourselves.” Kimberley’s party girl spirit didn’t take long to resurface. “I’m going to celebrate. Are you sure you cant be tempted to tag along?”

“We’ll be fine with a bottle of wine and a good, long soak in the Jacuzzi.” Megan insisted.

“If you insist.” Kimberley hailed down a cab for herself. “You probably couldn’t keep up anyway.”

Kimberley climbed inside the cab and closed the door, speeding off into the bright lights of The Strip as the sun began to set. Marc and Megan looked at each other and smiled before embracing in a passionate kiss.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Flight 2324
Oakridge – Las Vegas

Fidgeting nervously with her seatbelt, Megan Sterling did her best to take deep, slow breaths as the plane hovered over Nevada. Marc took her hand reassuringly and forced her to look into his eyes, telling her to calm down without even saying a word.

“I feel so bad.” Megan’s feet tapped impatiently on the floor of the plane as her eyes darted all over the place. “How selfish am I going on a vacation when my sister is missing?”

Marc chuckled as he gave Megan a calming kiss on the cheek and put his arm around her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. “Relax. You need a break. You’ve been driving yourself crazy for months over Kimberley, when she’s probably just gone on a vacation, got drunk and lost her cell phone.”

“Kimberley would never go so long without contacting me,” Megan insisted. This was the longest she’d gone without speaking to Kimberley ever since they were little girls. Even when they were living on opposite sides of the world, Megan and Kimberley still kept in regular contact. “I told you, something isn’t right about all of this.”

“Well as soon as we get back to Oakridge we can put every last drop of our energy into finding out where she’s gone. But for now, for this one little weekend, forget Kimberley.” Marc knew not knowing where Kimberley was had been driving Megan crazy, and all he wanted was to de-stress his girlfriend. “Let’s just enjoy ourselves, or at least try to.”

“How am I meant to do that?” Megan could feel the knots in her stomach tightening by the second as she wound herself up about her missing sister.

“Look me in the eye,” Marc ordered, Megan obliged. “And promise me that for this weekend you won’t think about Kimberley.”

“Okay,” Megan sighed, a rare smile appearing on her face as she relished in the knowledge that Marc was only doing his best to care about her, “For this one weekend I will try my best not to think about Kimberley.”

Marc smiled as his lips touched Megan’s and they began to kiss.

“Ladies and gentleman,” came the air hostess’ voice echoing through the plane, “Please fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land at McCarran International Airport.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

Engrossed in her laptop, Kimberley had managed to distract herself from her current situation by looking up her favourite website, Pink Is The New Blog. Sure, it had been a few months since she herself had graced the website, but she still liked to browse it. As she lost herself for a few minutes in Mischa Barton’s latest fashion calamity, a pop up appeared on her screen alerting her to a new email.

She clicked open the email, and her smile dropped when she saw that it was from Lorenzo. It simply read ‘I want my money’, and had an added attachment. She clicked on it but quickly flipped her laptop shut when images of her porn film took over her screen.

Kimberley did her best to fight back the tears, picking up her empty glass and throwing it angrily at the wall. As shattered pieces of the glass flew all over the floor, Kimberley berated herself, wishing she’d never met Lorenzo Marquez or allowed herself to get involved in his world.



The Abbot House
Lounge

Wesley waded through his empty house, cloaked in depression. The once happy family home was now dark and silent. He took a seat on the bottom step of the staircase and buried his head in his hands, still unable to process the mess he had gotten himself into ever since he found out that he wasn’t Will’s father.

He glanced around the once lively home, the deafening silence was too much for him. He picked up his jacket and car keys and headed out of the house, closing the door behind him.

Nate & Carrie’s House
Lounge

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Carrie sat up from the comfort of her sofa and rested her mug and magazine on top of the coffee table. She tucked a loose strand of her long brown hair behind her ear as she approached the door, straightening out her black sweater before grabbing the brass knob and pulling the door open. She stepped back when she saw Greg standing on the porch; the sight of her estranged, soon-to-be-ex husband was the last thing she needed.

“Before you slam the door in my face,” Greg began, clearly admitting that the way he had been towards Carrie in the last few months was a little over the top, although he would never come out and say that, “I just wanted to talk.”

“Yeah well talking hasn’t got us anywhere over the last few months, has it?” Carrie couldn’t hide her complete lack of interest in talking to Greg, and she didn’t make any effort to try.

“Well seeing as our son’s first birthday is approaching,” Greg made his way into the house without even waiting for an invite from Carrie, “I thought that maybe we should try to come to some sort of truce, even if just for now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, Car. Our son is nearly a year old and in that year we’ve barely spoken. I just think that maybe it’s time we put our differences aside, for Adam’s sake as much as our own.”

“Until the next time I piss you off and then you threaten to take my son away from me?” Carrie wasn’t reassured by the legality of the joint custody arrangement, she knew all too well how easy it would be for the Sterlings to take off with Adam, especially if Diane had anything to do with it.

“Our son. And no, I just mean we need to sort something out for now, at least so Adam can have a happy birthday.”

“You know I’m not going to be giving you any drama, Greg, I just want my son to have a great day,” Carrie insisted; the last thing she needed in her life was any more drama, given her current situation.

“Well at least we agree on something,” Greg breathed a sigh of relief, “So I think maybe we should sit down and talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to really talk about, Greg. You don’t want drama, I don’t want drama. Jessica is planning the mother of all birthday parties for Adam, and…”

“I mean about our families.”

“You know how I feel about your mother, Greg, but as long as she’s as far away from me as possible…” Carrie didn’t want Diane there, but all the fighting with Nate had left her with more important things to worry about than the mother in law from hell.

“Well that’s big of you, I guess.”

“Look, I don’t mean to be rude but can we do this some other time?” Carrie perched herself on the arm of her sofa and took a deep breath; she’d tried to mask the fact that her heart was breaking more and more by the second over Nate’s inability to open up to her, “I’ve got so much to be getting on with.”

“Um, sure, I guess that’s fine,” Greg knew something was up with Carrie, he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was, “Give me a call and let me know when you’re free.”

“Will do, thanks,” Carrie walked towards the door with Greg. While she was relieved that Greg was trying to build bridges between them, she wasn’t about to fully trust him again. The Greg standing before her wasn’t the Greg she had married; Diane’s influence was becoming all too evident for her.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Making her way across the stale scented bar, Kimberley did her best to keep a low profile in her hooded jacket and large sunglasses; although judging by the crowd that filled the crummy establishment, she’d have been better in a flannel shirt and carpenter jeans. At least that way she’d have blended in. She reached the back room of the bar and entered, seeing Lorenzo sitting with a pretty young girl.

“You got my money?” Lorenzo barked, looking up from his line of coke.

“I’ve got as much as I can get just now,” Kimberley pulled a brown envelope out of her Chloe bag and handed it to Lorenzo, “It’s five grand.”

“Don’t insult me, Kimberley,” Lorenzo rolled his eyes, although he couldn’t have been that insulted as he slid the envelope into his jacket pocket, “I want the full amount.”

“This was all I could get just now, Lorenzo,” Kimberley insisted, her stomach churning with worry. She knew all too well that if Lorenzo was to follow through on his threat, she wouldn’t be able to show her face around her family again, “I promise I’ll get the rest to you.”

“Mimi, babe, can you go get me a beer?” Lorenzo turned his attention to the pretty young girl who was draped over him. Young was most certainly the key word. Kimberley couldn’t help but notice that the girl looked young enough to be Lorenzo’s daughter. The girl quickly got up and exited the room, leaving Kimberley and Lorenzo alone.

“Lorenzo I-“

“Save it,” Lorenzo stood up and walked over to Kimberley, looking her up and down, “I want three million by Friday, or your little foray into porno movies will be leaked to the press before all of next week’s tabloids hit. The National Enquirer is going to have a field day with this one…”

“I cant get you three million, Lorenzo,” Kimberley insisted. She knew she needed a miracle to get herself out of this one.

“Well then,” Lorenzo winked. Kimberley didn’t know how she’d let herself get involved with Lorenzo. Sure, he was charming, ruggedly handsome and could talk his way out of any trouble and into any girl’s bed, but it didn’t stop Kimberley wishing she’d never met Lorenzo Marquez.

“Lorenzo, please,” Kimberley edged closer, pouting her lips and doing her most seductive glance. Her skin was crawling at the very thought of it, but it was her only hope, “Surely we can work something out that benefits the two of us?”

Lorenzo flashed Kimberley a devilish smile, “I’d rather have the money. But I gotta hand it to you doll, that was truly a sterling effort. No pun intended. I want three million by Friday. Don’t disappoint me.”

Kimberley felt the colour drain from her face. One thing was for sure; she was going to have to come up with the money, she just didn’t know how.

Josh’s Apartment

The last thing Leo expected to be faced with when dropping Grace off at Natalie’s was the silent treatment, in fact he was sure the icy front would have melted by now. Eager to make a quick getaway before things got any more awkward; Leo glanced at the time on his cellphone and slid it back into his jeans pocket.

“Well I better head.” Leo crouched down and kissed his baby daughter, who was still sat in her pushchair, before standing back up again and facing an unimpressed Natalie.

“Yeah I wouldn’t want to keep you from one of your sluts.” Natalie growled as she stood with her arms folded. “Just remember you have a daughter to look after now. Your child support payment’s due pretty soon.”

“Natalie, I’m hardly going to see you go without. You know that.” Leo rolled his eyes. “See you later.”

Leo opened the door to the apartment and began to walk out, just as Kyle approached the door. “Well, well, well. Look who it is. I was beginning to think you went back to the doll house with Barbie, Ken.”

“Bite me.” Kyle’s eyes narrowed as he approached Leo.

“I don’t think there’s much to bite a hold of, Kylie boy.”

“If you don’t get the hell out of my way you’ll have nothing to bite with because your teeth will be all over this floor.” Kyle squared up to Leo, his fist clenched.

“Kyle!” Natalie gasped from the doorway. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Yeah, Kyle, what are you doing?” Leo grinned, loving that he’d got a reaction out of Kyle, especially in front of Natalie. “And in front of my daughter? What kind of example is that, man?”

“That’s enough, Leo, just go.” The last thing Natalie wanted was Leo’s attitude ruining things for her and Kyle, his presence just wasn’t a good thing whenever Kyle was there, and she wasn’t about to put up with it. Leo swaggered down the corridor, laughing under his breath at the mess he had caused.

Kyle turned to Natalie and sighed. “I really can’t believe…”

“Don’t!” Natalie interrupted her boyfriend. “You played right into his hands there. How could you have been so stupid?”

Brentwood Place
Oakridge

Swirling the keys to his new apartment around his fingers, Will strolled along the perfectly manicured street with music blaring from his iPod in his ears. After all of the stress he’d undergone over the last few months, he couldn’t think of anything better than getting settled in his new place and just chilling out. He knew that would probably never happen, but just the thought of it was enough to make Will happy.

He turned the corner into his street, only for a dark cloud to settle over his sunny disposition. Standing at the doorway to his new apartment was the one man he just didn’t want to see; Wesley. Will took a deep breath and psyched himself up; he couldn’t face dealing with Wesley at all. It was inevitable he would have to at some point, but did it have to be now? Will picked up his pace and stormed towards the tall glass doors to his trendy, warehouse style apartment block, hoping that he could charge past Wesley without even having to exchange any sort of contact.

“Will, son, I just want to…” Wesley reached out and grabbed Will’s arm, hoping to slow his son down and yanking out his headphones in the process.

“Get your hands off of me you sick fuck,” Will shook Wesley’s grip off. Wesley may have been able to physically render Alex totally powerless, but that wasn’t the case for his athletic, muscular son, “I told you I never wanted to see you again.”

“I just want to talk to you, two minutes, that’s all I ask.”

“I have nothing to say to you that I haven’t said already. And I don’t want to waste another second of my time having to deal with you.”

“But I just…” Wesley was growing increasingly frustrated. If there was one thing he hated, it was being ignored.

“I don’t give a fuck what you have to say, Wesley,” Will shot the man he thought was his father a look that could send him six feet under, his eyes boiling over with rage and hatred, “So why don’t you just do us all a favour and disappear?”

Before Wesley could say another word, Will charged past him and entered his apartment block, slamming the door shut behind him before Wesley could make his way in. Deflated, Wesley sighed, his stomach churning as he tried to calm himself down. He began to well up with anger, trying to comprehend why he was so stupid as to get himself in such a situation. But what happened wasn’t his fault, not in his mind, it was Alex’s, and she was going to pay for it.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Marc and Megan stood in the elevator on their way back downstairs to take a look around the hotel. Their suite was so luxurious that they couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the hotel had to offer.

“This is just what I needed.” Megan had been hesitant about going away whilst so much was going on with her family, but the prospect of a break from all the stress was becoming more and more appealing as she adapted to her new surroundings.

“I told you so.” Marc smiled, kissing Megan on the cheek. “All you needed was to get away from everything going on in Oakridge and concentrate on relaxing. And that’s just what we’re going to do this weekend; no stress, no drama, just you and me.”

As their lift reached the ground floor, the doors opened, reuniting Marc and Megan with a very familiar face standing waiting for the elevator.

“Kimberley!” Megan was overcome with a mixture of emotions; while she was relieved beyond belief that her sister was okay, she could kill Kimberley for leaving her so worried while she lived it up in Las Vegas. “What the hell?”

Kimberley could feel the colour drain from her face as she struggled to find the right words…for the first time in her life, she was speechless.

“Well?” Megan asked as she and Marc exited the elevator and stood next to Kimberley in the foyer. “Aren’t you going to tell me where the hell you’ve been?”

Kristen’s Apartment

Unravelling themselves from one another as they lay atop the bed, Greg and Kristen basked in the afterglow of a passionate love making session. Kristen swept her thick blonde hair out of her face as she turned and gently kissed Greg’s smooth, muscular chest while he ran his fingers up her arm.

“You know….” Kristen began, starting down a path that she had tried, and failed, many times to tread on. “I was thinking…”

Greg could feel knots begin to tighten in his stomach, knowing far too well what Kristen was about to say. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what was about to come.

“Maybe it’s about time we went public about our relationship.” Kristen could feel Greg stirring next to her, but that wasn’t about to deter her from her mission. She had been quiet about it all for too long, and she wanted a man who she could show off in public, not one who she had to keep quiet about and sneak around like high school children. “I mean, we’ve been together for a good few months now and there’s not really anything stopping, is there?”

“I dunno, Kristen, I mean, this could be just what it takes for Carrie to tear up the custody agreement and then I’m back to square one.” Greg couldn’t risk losing Adam after working so hard to get custody, albeit joint, of his son.

“But it’s a legally binding document, Greg, she can’t just forget about it.” Kristen insisted, eager not to let Greg pawn her off with another excuse, but as she became more and more desperate to win him over, she couldn’t help but begin to wonder just why Greg was so eager to keep their relationship a secret. “And even if she did…”

“Look, can we just not talk about this just now, Kristen?” Greg asked as he leaned in for a kiss, only for Kristen to pull away and roll over in bed, turning her back to Greg in the process.


Josh’s Apartment

“I cannot believe you’re taking his side here.” Kyle spoke through gritted teeth as he entered the apartment, followed by Natalie, who pushed Grace in her pushchair.

“I’m not taking his side, Kyle.” Natalie insisted, growing tired of the constant fighting between her boyfriend and Leo. “You know what Leo’s like, Kyle, and yet you always rise to the bait. You’re making it easy for him to cause drama.”

“Well we wouldn’t have any drama if you didn’t continually invite him into our lives.”

“He’s the father of my child, Kyle, what do you want me to do? Refuse all contact from him? That’s not going to happen, even if I wanted it to.” Natalie couldn’t believe how unrealistic Kyle was being about the situation. Granted, it wasn’t one she wanted to be in herself, but it was reality and it couldn’t be ignored. She was tied to Leo for life now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“But you don’t want it to, do you?” Kyle turned around to face Natalie. “How am I meant to put up with this when you’re constantly taking his side?”

“Kyle, I’m not taking Leo’s side, you just have to realize that things you say and do make this situation even more uncomfortable than it needs to be.”

“Well here’s me making it less uncomfortable.” Kyle headed towards the door. “It’s over.”

Before Natalie could get another word in, Kyle had slammed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the apartment, confused as to what had just happened.

Las Vegas, Nevada

“A porno movie?” Megan leapt up from the sofa that she was sitting on in Kimberley’s suite, barely able to enjoy the lavish surroundings she had found herself in as her sister’s latest troubles emerged. “How could you be so stupid?”

“I don’t know…I…” Kimberley could barely even finish her sentence with Megan in the room; this was the first time Kimberley had seen Megan so angry since they were little girls and Kimberley cut Megan’s ponytail off. Something Diane had never let either daughter forget, especially when they were getting a little too troublesome.

“I mean a porno movie? What could have possibly possessed you? You had to know people would find out about this eventually, I mean did you really think it would be a secret forever?”

“Um, I guess not.” Megan’s rant was the last thing Kimberley needed. Everything her older sister was screaming at her had already been thought about over and over again in her head.

“But then that’s just you all over, isn’t it Kim? Don’t bother thinking about the consequences, just do it and then hope nothing major happens.”

“Calm down, Megan.” Marc interrupted, taking his girlfriend by the hand and looking her in the eye. “You yelling isn’t going to get anyone anywhere. We just need to figure out how to get rid of Lorenzo.”

“He’s not going to go away.” Kimberley insisted, looking up at Marc and Megan as her stomach began to churn at the thought of being permanently in debt to Lorenzo. “Not until he gets the money he wants. And even then, who’s to stop him asking for more? I cant get any lawyers involved…the press would have a field day.”

“Not as much as if your little foray into the world of movies were to be splashed over every tabloid in the country.” Megan didn’t like the situation any more than Kimberley did, but she knew no matter what action they took, Kimberley’s secret would be uncovered. “I’ll call Felicia and see what she can do to minimize the press. And when we get back to Oakridge we’ll speak to Madison about getting some sort of injunction to stop the tape being released.”

“It’s not going to make any difference, Meg. If Lorenzo wants to leak this tape then he will. I cant afford to give him the kind of money that releasing this tape would make him, we’re talking millions of dollars here.”

“How much does he want?”

“It doesn’t matter how much he wants. No matter what I can give him, he’ll just add more to the total. He’s holding all of the cards here.” Kimberley wiped a tear from her eye. “No matter what I do, I’m still totally screwed.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Standing at the bottom of what looked like a never ending set of steps leading up to the courthouse, Carrie took a deep breath, doing her best to calm the rapidly tightening knots in her stomach. She gazed up at the imposing courthouse, its grey columns almost looking like a prison cell from where she stood, and tried not to be intimidated, although given the nature of her current situation, it was hard to be positive.

“Are you ready?” Carrie’s father, Eric, interrupted her daze, holding out his hand as he tried to support his daughter. He couldn’t say everything would be fine, because he didn’t know himself how things would turn out, but he knew there was no use in prolonging the agony.

Carrie wiped a single tear from her eye; she knew what was coming, she just couldn’t face up to the possibility of losing her son, “As I’ll ever be.”

“Just stay calm,” Valerie advised her daughter, placing one hand on her shoulder as her calming voice went straight over Carrie, who was still clearly distraught, “Keep taking deep breaths and concentrate on keeping Adam.”

“I’m not going to be able to compete with whatever hotshot lawyer Greg’s got fighting his corner, though, am I?” Carrie hated to be negative, but she just couldn’t allow herself to get her hopes up in case they were crushed by the judge’s verdict.

“You never know,” Eric climbed the first step of what looked like hundreds, turning to see if his daughter was following him, “Stranger things have happened. Come on, we need to go inside.”

Carrie took one more deep breath, doing her best to gather her thoughts, but they were still swirling around inside her head. She smoothed down her charcoal coloured suit jacket and took the first step of the stairs, unable to imagine what would happen next for her.

---

Inside the courthouse, Greg sat on a bench tapping his foot impatiently; he just wanted to get today over and done with. He looked over as Carrie entered the courthouse before quickly turning to face Megan. He couldn’t be bothered speaking to Carrie, and knew it probably wasn’t wise.

“How are you feeling?” Megan asked her older brother. She knew he would say fine, he’d always say fine, even if he was falling apart inside. A simple half smile from her brother gave Megan all the information she needed.

Greg tapped his fingers on his lap, gazing up at the clock and watching as the second hand crept around at an agonizingly slow pace, “It’s the waiting I can’t stand. I just want to know whether I’ve got Adam or not.”

“Even if you don’t get full custody, Carrie will realize not to mess with you anymore when it comes to Adam. She’ll know you’re serious about letting Adam be a part of our family, whether she likes it or not.”

“I don’t know what that stupid little girl was playing at thinking she could keep Adam away from his family,” came Diane’s voice as she emerged through the crowd, followed by Joseph, “She was happy enough to cash your cheques every month, wasn’t she?”

“The money isn’t the issue, mother,” Greg insisted, his stomach churning with nerves, “I just want to be a proper part of my son’s life, and Carrie seems to think she gets a say in that. Well she doesn’t. I don’t want Adam anywhere near that thug she calls her fiancé.”

“Well from what I hear things are hardly rosy between them, if that helps,” Megan added, knowing it wasn’t any comfort to anyone, but at least she was trying. She flipped her long blonde hair behind her shoulders and looked away from her mother, clearing her throat. No matter what was going on, she still couldn’t get Kimberley’s disappearance from her mind. It had been months since she’d spoken to her sister, and not through lack of trying; phone calls, text messages and emails had all gone unanswered, and despite her family’s reassurance that this was just another of Kimberley’s spur of the moment vacations, Megan couldn’t help but worry.

“Where’s that lawyer of yours, Greg? I want to ask her a few things about the case,” Diane asked, unable to help herself from butting in even when she wasn’t needed.

Greg rolled his eyes; he’d told his mother umpteen times to let the professionals do their jobs and stop interfering, but it had fallen on deaf ears, “Madison will be here any minute, but don’t be pestering her, she’s worked hard for this case.”

“I wont be pestering her, I’ll simply be making sure she’s gotten everything correct,” Diane insisted.

“I think it’s a little late for that, Diane,” Joseph did his best to set his fiancée straight, “After all, we’re only here for the judge’s verdict.”

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Madison Chase explained as she approached the Sterlings, “You wouldn’t believe the morning I’ve had.”

“Frankly I couldn’t care what sort of morning you’ve had. My son’s been through hell waiting for you to arrive, which we paid you to do fifteen minutes ago by the way,” Diane snapped, she’d despised Madison ever since Joseph employed her a few years ago, and that hadn’t changed this time around, even though Madison had done everything within her power to fight a winning battle for Greg.

Madison turned to face Greg, turning her back on Diane in the process, “Again, Greg, I’m sorry. I’m totally confident that you’ll have your son by the end of the day, if all goes to plan.”

“You’d better hope so,” Diane snapped again, further infuriated by the fact Madison had ignored her.

“This isn’t helping anyone, mother,” Megan rolled her eyes at Diane’s attitude, wishing more than anything that her mother wasn’t present at such a crucial time.

“Thanks, Madison, you’ve done a great job on the case,” Greg did his best to stay positive despite the current situation, although all he could think about was the distinct possibility that he was about to lose his son.



Shane Baldwin’s Private Jet

Totally refreshed, Kendall Sterling dropped herself down on one of the leather armchairs in Shane’s luxurious private jet. His suggestion of a little rest and relaxation in Palm Springs following some business meetings in Los Angeles had been just what Kendall needed, and the long weekend had really charged her batteries up.

“Well that was absolutely amazing,” Kendall smiled as Shane, wearing a white t-shirt that highlighted his golden skin, entered the cabin.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Shane agreed as he handed Kendall a glass of champagne before sitting down next to her, “Sometimes you need to just get away from it all or you’ll drive yourself crazy with all the business talk. A long weekend of just relaxing does wonders for your stress levels.”

“You certainly do go through champagne like it’s water, don’t you?” Kendall giggled as she took a sip.

“Well if you can afford it, why not treat yourself?” Shane winked, he had always been used to the finer things in life, “What’s the point in having money if you don’t spend it?”

“So you’re where Leo gets that from,” Kendall placed her glass on the side table as she turned to face Shane.

“How is Leo, anyway? Has he forgiven you for bringing his wicked father back into his life yet?”

“He’s still pretty much giving me the silent treatment, but I’ve not really had a chance to talk to him about anything, between me working so much and him seeing Grace, we’ve barely seen each other for more than five minutes at a time.”

“And how’s fatherhood treating him?” Shane wished he could just ask Leo these questions himself, but with Leo’s ability to hold a grudge he knew it would be a while before they could even be civilized to each other, “I hope Grace isn’t running him too ragged.”

“Like that would happen. He’s still partying every other night but I think having Grace around has calmed him down a little; I mean I don’t know the ins and outs of the situation with Natalie but I think they’re getting on a little better now that Grace is born than when she was pregnant.”

“Well I guess that’s something…” Shane allowed himself to drift off a little, still totally chilled out from his relaxing weekend with Kendall, “You know, when Nadine was pregnant with Lucy we were fighting all the time, but I guess that was more down to her mood swings more than anything.”

“How is Lucy these days? I’ve not seen her since she was a baby,” Kendall had only ever met Shane’s daughter once or twice, but she always wondered why Leo stopped all contact with his other sister when he stopped talking to Shane.

“She’s her mother’s daughter, to say the least. You don’t want to be there when Nadine and Lucy have a fight,” Shane shuddered, “But she’s a good kid. It’s a shame she’s never really known Leo. Sometimes I wish I’d been around more when he was growing up.”

“Well you didn’t exactly get given much of a choice, did you?” Kendall reminded Shane.

“But I could have fought harder…stuck around,” Shane paused, he hated ‘what if’s, but when it came to Leo it was quite hard to put them to the back of his mind.

“Well maybe you sticking around now will be all that matters.” Kendall was hoping more than anything that Leo and Shane could begin to build bridges, but she knew it was going to be far from a smooth ride to reconciliation for the pair.

The Bungalow

Standing behind the bar of the deserted restaurant, Kristen punched some numbers into her calculator with one hand as she jotted down figures with the other. She had decided to avoid the custody hearing, knowing that no matter how strained her relationship with Carrie was, she’d have to stay with her family and leave Greg with his, and that was a situation she didn’t want to put herself in. She picked up her BlackBerry off of the countertop and typed in a text message to Greg.

Good luck today, hope it works out for the best. K xxx

After pushing send, Kristen poured herself another coffee and returned her attention to the staff rota for next week, although her mind was far from committed to the task, in fact all she wanted to do was to see Greg. She couldn’t wait for the custody hearing to be over, if only because at least then she and Greg could meet up and spend some time together without talk of the impending trial. Kristen knew Carrie had been treating Greg horridly when it came to Adam, but at the same time she couldn’t bear to see her sister lose custody of her son.

Oakridge General Hospital

Natalie smiled as she folded a piece of paper and slid it into her handbag, picking up her baby daughter and lifting her into her pushchair. The appointment with Dr. Stafford had gone as expected, and now she was looking forward to nothing more than dropping Grace off at Leo’s and having a long awaited nap.

“So I’ll see you again in a few weeks, and don’t hesitate to call me,” Dr. Melissa Stafford smiled, jotting down some notes on her clipboard, “I know what it’s like bringing up a child on your own and if you’re unsure about anything, anything at all, you have my number.”

“Thanks, Dr. Stafford.” The words ‘on your own’ were the last thing Natalie wanted to hear; while she knew she wasn’t on her own; she had Josh, who was only too happy to look after his first niece, and Leo, who was keen to play daddy when it suited him; things were still far from perfect between her and Kyle. While they had made some progress over the last few months, she knew Kyle couldn’t get over Leo’s presence in their lives and she knew it was going to be a struggle to rebuild their relationship again.

“Please, call me Melissa,” one thing she hated was the formality that so many doctors imposed upon their patients, so Melissa had always tried to take on more of a friendly approach with her patients.

“Well I better get this little lady dropped off at her daddy’s house.” Natalie rolled her eyes, she still hadn’t forgiven Leo for pretending to call Kyle when she was in labour with Grace, especially after she’d just begun to trust him again. “I wonder what pointless designer baby gadget he’ll have bought for her this time.”

“At least he’s taking an interest.”

“Yeah well sometimes I’d rather he didn’t.” Natalie winced; she wouldn’t wish growing up without a father on anyone after the pain she felt when her father died when she was young, but she knew Leo not being around would make things a whole lot easier. “I’m sorry; that was a horrible thing to say, I just wish that…”

“You don’t have to say a word.” Melissa knew of many girls in Natalie’s situation, she’d been there herself at one point, so she’d heard far worse than what Natalie had said. “Just make sure he doesn’t mess you around. It’s important to establish a routine for your baby as early as possible. Have you been feeling okay since Grace was born?”

“Well, just more tired than usual I guess.” Needing her full eight hours of sleep a night, Natalie had found night feeds more challenging than she had initially thought. “I guess it’s just a question of getting used to it. I really better get going now, but I’ll see you in a few weeks for Grace’s next check up.”

Natalie smiled as she left Melissa’s office, but her stomach was filled with dread over seeing Leo, and more importantly, seeing Kyle.

Oakridge Courthouse

Sitting with her parents, Carrie waited impatiently to be called into the courtroom. Just watching Greg sitting down the hall with his family was making her sick to the stomach; her fears over being able to compete with the pricey lawyer the Sterlings had employed were increasing by the second.

She looked up to see Nate entering the courthouse, dressed unusually smart in a sharp suit, shirt and tie. Carrie smiled; whilst things with Nate hadn’t exactly been perfect between her and Nate over the last few months…they were living together but living pretty much separate lives, it was a comfort to see that he was there for her when she needed him. She stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him and closing her eyes.

“Thanks for coming; this means so much to me,” Carrie’s arms tightened around Nate’s broad frame, “I know things aren’t exactly great between us right now, but…”

“That doesn’t matter.” Nate knew it mattered, but this wasn’t the time and place to dissect their strained relationship. “All that matters right now is that you’re okay.”

“I will be as soon as all of this is over.”

The court clerk emerged through the doors and called them all into the courtroom. As their families shuffled in through the huge double doors leading inside, Carrie and Greg’s eyes met and they paused, standing face to face but not speaking a single word. Their split second encounter over, both entered the courtroom as the doors closed behind them.

The Abbot House
Lounge

Sitting alone in his dark, untidy living room, Wesley Abbot raised an empty scotch bottle to his lips and tossed his head back, hoping that another drop would pour out from the glass neck, but when nothing came out, he tossed the bottle onto the floor. He lifted up a photograph and tore it apart, watching the pieces fall onto the floor. He looked down at the remains on the floor, making out Alex’s face from the pieces as he felt his blood boil, her presence had lead to him losing everything he valued the most, and he was going to make her pay.

The Sterling Mansion

Upon hearing the doorbell echoing through the empty mansion, Leo strolled down the hallway and opened the front door, to see Natalie standing on the front porch with her daughter in her pushchair.

“Well if it isn’t my favourite little girl,” Leo smiled at his daughter before looking up at Natalie, “Come in. How’s she doing?”

“She’s fine,” Natalie stated abruptly, still fuming at Leo for pretending to call Kyle when she was in labour, “I’ve made up more than enough bottles, just heat them up when you need them. I’ll be back to pick her up tomorrow morning.”

“Do you want to stick around for a while? I was thinking of taking Grace to the park,” Leo did his best to work his charm on Natalie, but he could tell she was in no mood to be talking to him.

“Save it, Leo,” Natalie snarled, “Because of your lies, I could lose Kyle.”

“And that would be a bad thing?”

“You’re unbelievable, do you know that?”

“Natalie…I…” Leo was trying his hardest to keep things civil with Natalie, but he could tell she was in no mood to talk to him. Natalie bent down over the pushchair and kissed baby Grace before leaving the mansion, and a confused Leo standing with his daughter.

Alexandra’s Apartment

The smell of fresh paint wafted through Alex’s cosy new apartment, the walls a warm shade of cream whilst chocolate brown sofas and walnut coloured furniture were arranged tastefully in the spacious living room. Alex sat down on the sofa with a much deserved glass of white wine and the book she had been engrossed in for the last few weeks. Will entered the apartment carrying a brown cardboard box and smiled at his mother, closing the door behind him.

“Hey mom, this is the last of your stuff. Where will I put it?” Will couldn’t be happier for his mother, she was finally getting on with her life after everything that happened with Wesley, but he couldn’t help but feel a little worried that this was all an act and Alex was ready to crack at any second.

“Um, in the spare bedroom, thanks sweetheart.” Alex smiled as she looked up from her book.

“This place is looking pretty neat, mom.” Will yelled from the bedroom. “I might have to get you to redecorate my place.”

“I think this place was stressful enough, thanks.” Alex laughed as Will re-entered the living room and took a seat on the sofa opposite his mother. “How are you settling in over there anyway?”

“Yeah it’s great, I mean it’s great to have somewhere that’s just mine, you know?” Will had been given the apartment as a gift from John, which was part of Sterling Enterprises’ new property development, The Fairways, overlooking the golf course and country club.

Alex laughed, knowing all too well how great it was having somewhere to call her own after being back in Oakridge for well over two years. “So have you heard anything from Greg about the hearing?”

“Nope, nothing as yet. I was going to go down there but I didn’t think it was really my place.” Will still hadn’t fully adjusted to being a Sterling; and still couldn’t help but feel like an outsider, no matter how welcoming Greg and Megan had been to him. “I think they’re in a mess, though, between Kimberley’s disappearance and the whole custody hearing springing up faster than anyone had expected.”

“Well then, go be supportive.” Alex was eager for her son to fully embrace his new found family, after all, he’d been kept from them for well over twenty years, which was one of Alex’s biggest regrets, especially after seeing Wesley’s true colours. “You are their brother, after all.”

Oakridge Courthouse

The doors to the courthouse opened and the Sterlings and Masters’ made their respective ways outside. Carrie’s hand was gripped tightly with Nate’s, a disheartened look on her face. All she wanted to do was to get home and see her son. Behind her, Eric and Valerie looked at each other, faced with a look of defeat; this verdict was the last thing they wanted.

“Joint custody.” Eric muttered. “What the hell kind of routine is that for a child?”

“Just leave it, Eric,” Valerie urged her husband, hating to see him angry. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“We’ll see about that.” Eric looked at his daughter, clearly shaken up at the whole thing. He wasn’t about to let Greg Sterling take her son away from her.

…

“We’re so happy for you.” Megan smiled as she gave Greg a hug, ecstatic that her brother was finally being allowed to have some sort of say in the upbringing of his son.

Greg couldn’t hide his joy in the decision for joint custody, but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous at the same time. “I just hope Carrie’s going to be alright.”

“Why waste your time caring about that little tramp?” Diane insisted, already planning her grandson’s college career now that Greg had achieved joint custody. “She kept you from your son for nearly a year.”

“She’s still the mother of my child, mother.” Greg knew that Diane’s involvement was going to complicate things a lot more than he wanted, so he was at least keen to keep her attitude at bay.

“Well, we better be going.” Megan turned to face Marc before checking her watch again. “I’ll call dad on the way to the airport to let him know the good news.”

“Alright for some, swanning off to Las Vegas when the mood takes your fancy.” Despite her eagerness to rebuild her relationship with Megan, Diane couldn’t stop herself making sly remarks whenever the opportunity arose. “Especially when your brother has just got custody of his son.”

“Joint custody.” Joseph reminded Diane.

“We’ll see about that.” Diane brushed past the details and turned back to her daughter. “Have you heard from that sister of yours lately? Or has she really done a disappearing act this time.”

“That’s why we’re going to Vegas.” Marc interrupted before Megan had the chance to get worked up over Kimberley’s disappearance. “I thought Megan could use a little break, so this is my treat. But we really better get going. Congratulations, again, Greg. You really deserved it.”

“Thanks man.” Greg smiled as Marc took Megan’s hand and the pair began to walk down the courthouse steps.

“Could you believe my mother?” Megan muttered as they approached the bottom of the stairs. “She cant help herself, can she?”

“Just let her have her little remarks.” Marc put his arm around his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. “She’s not got much else, does she?”

“I guess. But she has got a point. Maybe we shouldn’t be going off to Las Vegas when Kimberley is still missing. It does seem kinda wrong, doesn’t it?” Megan hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Kimberley since she found the note her sister left her. Sure, Kimberley had went walkabout before, but she’d never left a note, which was why Megan couldn’t stop thinking about it…something just didn’t feel right about it this time.

“Kimberley’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.” Marc insisted. “All we’re going to do this weekend is relax. No Greg, no Diane, and no Kimberley.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sat atop a ridiculously large bed, Kimberley turned the volume up on her iPod to try and block out the sound of her Sidekick ringing out. Ever since she had taken off, Megan hadn’t stopped phoning her. The ringing stopped, making it the tenth missed call from Megan that day, but right away it started up again. Kimberley picked it up, noticing that it wasn’t her sister calling this time.

“Hello…okay, I’ll be as fast as I can…okay, half an hour…bye.”

Kimberley hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed, her heart rate increasing as the colour drained from her face, she didn’t have a clue what was about to happen, but she was terrified.

Josh’s Apartment

Shattered, Natalie closed the door to her brother’s apartment and sat down on the sofa. She ran her hands through her thick brown hair before flipping open her cell phone to check for any missed calls or texts. Nothing. She knew deep down there was nothing, but she couldn’t stop hoping for some sort of word from Kyle.

She got up following a knock at the door and walked across the room, opening the door to see Kyle standing in front of her.

“Hey,” Natalie smiled; her voice full of hope over seeing Kyle. Since Grace was born, they hadn’t seen much of each other, “Come in.”

“I thought I should stop by. We’ve got a lot to talk about and I guess there’s no use in prolonging things.” Kyle sat down on the sofa as Natalie closed the door.

“Can I get you a drink or anything?”

“I’m fine, thanks. How’s Grace?” Kyle scanned the apartment for any trace of Natalie’s daughter.

“She’s at Leo’s,” Natalie looked down, the very mention of Leo was something she wanted to avoid, and it was practically the first thing to come up in their conversation, “So what was it you wanted to talk about?”

Natalie knew exactly what Kyle wanted to talk about. It had been playing on her mind for weeks now, but she didn’t have a clue what to say.

“I just thought that we should get a few things out in the open,” Kyle explained, “We need to talk about us, and where we go from here, because I can’t keep playing second fiddle whenever Leo’s in the equation. I’m not in a relationship with him, Nat, I’m in a relationship with you.”

“I know, but you know it’s a complicated situation,” Natalie sat back down on the sofa next to Kyle, “I cant undo what happened between me and Leo, and to be honest, I wouldn’t want to even if I could, because then I wouldn’t have Grace. Leo’s just someone we have to put up with; and I don’t like him any more than you do right now. What he did when I was in labour was unforgivable.”

“Tell me about it. Look, I’m not saying that you have to totally block him out, but just once in a while I’d like my feelings to be considered. I want to be there for you, and Grace, but if I’m just going to constantly be forgotten about then there’s not much point, is there?”

“So are you saying you want to break up with me?”

“No, not even close Natalie, I love you and I want to be with you,” Kyle insisted, feeling that he’d already had this conversation with Natalie and knowing that he’d probably have it a million times over again, but he just couldn’t walk away from Natalie, not now, “I just need to know that I’m not going to be a chore for you. You either want to be with me or you don’t.”

“Of course I want to be with you Kyle,” Natalie took Kyle’s strong hand and gazed deep into his eyes, “More than anything.”

“Well then,” Kyle leaned in closer to Natalie, “What are you waiting for?”

Natalie smiled, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders as her lips touched Kyle’s. She closed her eyes as they began to kiss passionately, Kyle’s hands wandered through Natalie’s flowing locks as their lips parted for not more than a second before resuming their kiss again.

Rex & Jessica’s Apartment

“Okay, well, thanks for calling, Nate. Tell Carrie I’ll be over later.” Jessica hung up her cell phone and turned to Rex, her face overcome with a look of sadness. “The judge awarded Greg joint custody.”

Rex sighed, not knowing what to say. He knew that Carrie would never get full custody when going up against whatever pricey lawyer the Sterlings would hire, but that didn’t make the news any easier to digest. “Well that’s not exactly a surprise, is it? How’s Carrie taking the news?”

“Nate said she’s not too good. Not that you can blame her or anything.”

“And her and Nate…are they okay?”

“I doubt it. But I guess all this stuff with the custody case has been all they’ve been thinking about, rather than their future together. The state of their relationship is the last thing Carrie needs to be dealing with.”

“So are you going over there?”

“Later. I thought maybe we could go get something to eat. I’m so not in the mood to be cooking tonight.”

“I’d love to.” Rex kissed Jessica on the cheek. “But I’ve gotta jet to the station. I’m swamped in paperwork. Some other time?”

“I guess so.” Jessica managed a smile, disguising the fact that she was beginning to feel more and more neglected by Rex as his work took up more and more of his time, meaning less time for them to spend together. The only thing Jessica knew is that she wasn’t about to put up with that for too long.

Shane Baldwin’s Penthouse

“Well, I have to say, I’m impressed.” Kendall smiled as she glanced around Shane’s cavernous new home. An ultra modern, metal and glass spiral staircase illuminated the high ceilings, whilst tall windows gave breathtaking views of the city. Kendall couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable around the entirely white penthouse, scared in case she left a mark on the pristine décor.

“You should be for what I paid for this place.” Shane joked as he took a seat on the white leather sofa. “I just hope I have a reason to stay here. Things with Leo aren’t exactly great right now, but I want to see my granddaughter.”

Kendall still couldn’t believe that someone as youthful as Shane could be a grandfather, especially when he was barely scraping forty. “I’m sure Leo will come around, just give him time to cool off. Besides, he’s probably madder at me than he is at you.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Shane knew his son despised him, although he never quite understood why. Sure, they’d had their ups and downs in the past, but Shane didn’t understand why Leo suddenly cut him out of his life. “But I’m not going anywhere. I’m not about to give up on Leo so easily.”

Kristen’s Apartment

Kristen opened the door to see Greg standing in the hallway. Hardly a surprise, she had been eagerly anticipating his visit for hours. She smiled as he made his way inside, closing the door as Greg took off his jacket.

“So how are you feeling?” Kristen asked as she sat down on the sofa next to Greg. “Today went well for you.”

“I couldn’t be happier.” Greg insisted. “I’m just so excited. I can’t wait to get Adam over to the mansion. I’ve got the nursery all decorated especially for him. Sure, it’s only joint custody for now, but…”

“For now?” Kristen couldn’t help but interrupt. She thought joint custody was what Greg wanted all along, surely he wouldn’t dream of taking Adam away from Carrie the way Carrie had done to him, would he?

Las Vegas, Nevada

Her platinum blonde hair covered up with a curly brunette wig, Kimberley Sterling removed her oversized black sunglasses and scanned the seedy bar. Spotting her target, Kimberley quickly walked across the floor, her boots sticking to the beer stained floor as she reached her destination.

“Well, well, I gotta say doll, brunette ain’t your colour.” a ruggedly handsome man quipped as Kimberley sat down opposite him.

“Whatever, I wont be taking hair advice from someone who uses Danny Zuko as his inspiration,” Kimberley retorted, scrunching her face up in disgust as she glanced around the bar.

“I’d watch that mouth of yours if I was you,” the man leaned in closer to Kimberley, “Especially when I could ruin your entire reputation with one move.”

“What do you want, Lorenzo?” Kimberley rolled her eyes, becoming tired of the constant cat and mouse game she’d been playing with him for months.

“We’ve been through this, I want my money,” Lorenzo hissed.

“I’ve told you, I’ll get you it. These things just take time.”

“I’m not a patient man, Kimberley, time is money and you’re losing me more and more every second you hold out on me. Besides, for a girl with as much money as you, getting me a mil shouldn’t be hard.”

“I cant just get hold of that kind of money like that, Lorenzo,” Kimberley insisted, “I’ve told you I’ll get you it, and I will.”

“Well you better get me it soon, ‘cause if you don’t, then your little foray into porn will be in every back room of every video store from here to Singapore. And don’t even get me started on the internet. If I don’t get my money, then I’ll make this thing so big that Paris Hilton’s sex tape debacle will pale in comparison.”

Kimberley could feel the colour drain from her face as her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She knew she had to play ball with Lorenzo or her life might as well be officially over. Sex tapes were one thing, but a porno…she didn’t know how she could face her family for that one. One way or another, she had to put a stop to Lorenzo’s games before he ruined her life.

Nate & Carrie’s House

Carrie closed her bedroom door and wiped a tear from her eye as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Losing Adam to Greg, even if only in joint custody, was the worst thing that could happen to her. She knew that as soon as the Sterlings, especially Diane, were given an inch where Adam was concerned, they would take a mile.

She could hear her parents fussing over Adam downstairs, showering him with affection so as to hide the fact that Carrie was falling apart over this. A gentle knock at the bedroom door was followed by Nate entering the room, closing the door behind him.

“I thought you could use this.” Nate smiled as he handed Carrie a glass of wine. He edged closer to the bed, unsure whether or not to sit down. Things were far from perfect between him and Carrie, but he wasn’t about to turn his back on her in her hour of need.

“Thanks.” Carrie smiled uneasily, her stomach was tied up in knots over her current predicament, but having Nate there for her was the only thing she needed, no matter how unsteady their relationship was at the time. Despite her attempts to remain calm and poised, Nate’s presence only helped to bring her real emotions out, as the single tear trickling down her face led to the flood gates opening, and Carrie began to weep. “Nate what am I going to do? They’re going to take my son away from me?”

Nate wrapped his arms tight around Carrie, as she began to cry into his shoulders. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay.”

Carrie couldn’t help but feel terrified about the thought of joint custody. She knew all too well what Diane was capable of, and doing a runner with her son would certainly not be out of the question. “But what if they take him away from me permanently?”

“They wont.” Nate reassured his fiancée. “I’ll make sure of it.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Next time on Heart & Soul:
• Kimberley battles against time.
• Wesley snaps.
• Kyle loses it with Leo.
• And lots more.

Will Abbot struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was John’s son, and therefore Megan’s brother. While Ashley and Wesley learned the truth, John persuaded the Abbots to keep Will’s paternity a secret due to the fact that it would be crushing for Megan, who had escaped with her life following Ally’s attempt to kill both her and Marc; when in fact the only person who lost their life that night was Ally.



Before they even had the chance to settle into a normal life, Carrie and Nate were faced with another twist in their lives when Carrie went into labour with Greg’s child, a son who she named Adam. Her already present sister, Kristen, was joined by her brother, Kyle, and their parents, Eric and Valerie, in Oakridge, and the Masters family announced their plans to settle in Oakridge.

Jessica, meanwhile, found herself living with Rex, while Josh grew to resent her for how their relationship ended, however, he had bigger troubles, when he discovered his younger sister, Natalie, was pregnant with Leo Sterling’s child, and that Leo didn’t want to know. Natalie began to see Kyle Masters, but kept her pregnancy a secret to him. When she eventually revealed the truth, Kyle had grown too close to Natalie to end their blossoming romance, and decided to stick by her.



John and Diane’s youngest daughter, Kimberley, arrived in town following years of living in Los Angeles, chasing celebrity. The pampered celebutante soon made her presence felt when she began to party with her close friend and cousin, Leo, while Ashley decided to leave Oakridge behind after a traumatic few months and signed up to travel around the world with her classmates, but not before leaving Leo with a lasting reminder of her when she slapped him in front of an entire coffee shop.

Greg and Carrie butted heads over how to bring up their son, with Carrie determined to keep Adam as far away from Diane as possible. Kristen attempted to build bridges between the pair, which only lead to her relationship with Carrie turning sour, which then led to an affair between Greg and Kristen beginning.



Josh encountered Amber, a mysterious stranger who he had a one night stand with. However, it blossomed into something more when the next time he ran into her, she seemed to have little memory of their night together and furthermore had a young daughter. Josh soon discovered that Amber, was, in fact, April Rose Bradshaw of River’s Edge, Texas, and was suffering from multiple personalities. Her mother, Natasha, arrived in town to escort her daughter back to River’s Edge, but Amber refused. Natasha encountered her old flame, John, who was the one that recognised April, leading to Natasha’s arrival in town, and as they grew closer trying to talk sense into April/Amber, John unknowingly neglected Alex in her time of need.

Alex was struggling to get over the fact that, when she visited Wesley on Christmas Day in the hope of building bridges, Wesley lost it and raped her. She eventually leaned on Will and told her son the truth, causing Will to turn his back on Wesley, which sent Wesley further towards the edge of sanity.



Natalie went into labour when with Leo, who despite promising to phone Kyle, never did, which then put a strain on Kyle and Natalie’s relationship when Kyle began to suspect that Natalie still had feelings for Leo. The ice between Leo and Natalie began to melt when their daughter was born.

When Rex discovered that Michael DiCenzo had been found dead in his penthouse in New York, he asked Nate if he had anything to do with it. While Nate denied any involvement, he persuaded Rex to keep news of DiCenzo’s death quiet to avoid Carrie being faced with memories of the trauma DiCenzo had caused her.



As Greg and Kristen’s love grew stronger, they clashed over whether or not to go public with their relationship. While initially both agreed it would be best to keep things quiet, Kristen soon longed for a normal relationship that didn’t need to take place behind closed doors. As Carrie continued to make things difficult for Greg in regards to his son, Greg turned the tables by stalling their divorce for as long as possible, forcing Carrie and Nate to put their plans for marriage on hold.

Kendall Sterling met with Shane Baldwin, a billionaire businessman who also happened to be Leo’s father. She proposed to sell him half of Sterling Enterprises, but when Leo discovered that Kendall had brought his father back into his life, his reaction caused Kendall to wonder if she had done the right thing, after all.

Diane and Joseph threw a huge party to celebrate their engagement, where Joseph’s daughter, Taylor, was in attendance, and made no secret of her disgust at the plans for her father to marry Diane. Despite her attempts to ruin the night, she was put in her place by Kimberley, who despite having her own issues with her mother, refused to see Taylor ruin a happy occasion.



When Carrie discovered the truth about DiCenzo’s death, Nate admitted he had been keeping it from her, causing Carrie to wonder what else Nate was keeping secret. Kimberley began to receive mysterious text messages, prompting her to quickly skip town without a word to anyone, except a cryptic note for her sister, Megan, that read.

I’m sorry. Don’t hate me…K xxx

Season one was focused heavily on Diane Sterling, who was featured in two major storylines. Diane strangled Calinda Whitehead, a woman who was having an affair with her husband, John, in the first episode, and left her for dead. She was also becoming an unbearable presence in the life of her daughter-in-law, Carrie, who was growing tired of Diane’s constant interference in her marriage to Greg. Carrie’s attempts to move out of the Sterling guesthouse with Greg were always stopped by Diane, who eventually threatened to kill Carrie if she ever took her son away from her.

Elsewhere, teenager Ashley Abbot wanted to enter the Miss Oakridge beauty pageant, and after convincing her father Wesley to let her enter, she found herself the target of her unhinged competitor, Kim Logan, who would stop at nothing to win. Ashley’s constant support, her boyfriend, Nick, spurred her on but eventually Kim snapped and attacked Ashley, leaving her in a coma.

Other characters featured in the series were a group of young medical interns; Ben, Gillian and Nathan. Nathan and Gillian had a fledgling relationship while Ben was romancing waitress Gina Jackson, who worked at The Bungalow for Pamela Lockwood, a woman who had only recently been able to pay Diane off for going into partnership with her at the restaurant when they were younger.



Diane and John grew further and further apart as the case intensified surrounding Calinda’s death, which by this time had been classed as suicide by the police. A stressed John found himself unable to cope with the death of his lover and revealed to Diane that he had poisoned her, which was a shock to Diane as she thought she had killed her by strangulation. John decided to leave town for a while to clear his head, leaving Diane guilt free over the death.

As Ashley lay in a coma, her estranged mother, Alexandra, returned to Oakridge to be with her family in their time of need. Her relationship with Wesley was strained due to his resentment of her for abandoning the family years ago, they slowly began to warm up to each other again, until her fiancé, Matt, arrived in town, much to Wesley’s disgust.



Carrie’s best friend, Jessica, had a one night stand with Will Abbot, Ashley’s older brother, before embarking on a relationship with Josh Denman, Will’s best friend and business partner. Carrie, meanwhile, decided that enough was enough and vowed to get Diane out of her life for good. She contacted Diane’s estranged daughter Megan and paid her to come back to Oakridge to help her get rid of Diane’s influence.

Back in town, Megan met up with high school sweetheart Will Abbot. Initially she felt resentment towards him for the breakdown of their relationship. She advised Carrie to contact her aunt, Jackie, if she wanted Diane out of her life.

Elsewhere, Ashley awoke from her coma to discover that Kim Logan’s looks had been taken from her when Alex’s maternal instincts kicked in and she beat Kim up. Her life resumed to normal as her relationship with Nick grew more intense, although Ashley’s attitude had changed as a result of her experience with Kim, and she was now a stronger person.

Gillian found herself the target of Dr. Quentin Marshall’s sexual harassment and leant upon Nick’s older brother, Nathan, who would eventually save her from an attempted rape by Quentin. As Gillian and her mother, Anna, left town to start afresh, they were driven to the airport by Nathan, who was killed on the way back in a car accident, leaving his brother in mourning.



Jackie Sterling arrived in Oakridge with a surprise for Diane, she had been visited by John and he had signed everything over to her while he began divorce proceedings with Diane, to ensure that Diane was not able to get any of John’s assets. She threw a now penniless Diane out of the mansion, leading to Diane’s departure from Oakridge to visit her sister in London and get the profits of the money Pamela paid her for her half of The Bungalow from her offshore account.

The season finale saw Gillian returning for Nathan’s funeral, where Nick lashed out at her and blamed her for his brother’s death. Elsewhere, Josh proposed to Jessica and Megan received a letter from Diane that caused her to wonder if she’d done the right thing unleashing Jackie on her mother.

Events then moved on one month, as Diane returned to Oakridge and vowed revenge on Jackie. Greg and Carrie discovered they were to be parents, while Ben and Gina returned from Las Vegas a married couple. Diane held Jackie hostage and drove her to the woods, where she planned to kill her. However, a struggle between the women broke out and they battled for control over the gun, leading to a shot being fired as the season reached it’s close.

Season two opened with a funeral, although it was unclear to begin with who the residents of Oakridge were gathered to mourn. However, it was eventually revealed to be Jackie who had died following a battle over a gun with Diane in the season one finale. John had returned to town for his sister’s funeral, and John and Jackie’s brother, Joseph, had also come to Oakridge to mourn his sister.

It was revealed that the verdict on Jackie’s death had too been suicide, although Wesley commented on his feeling that Jackie was murdered. Wesley decided to get Matt out of Oakridge so that he could reunite with Alex, and turned to devious lawyer Madison Chase to help him concoct a plan to get rid of Matt.



Jackie’s teenage daughter, Kendall, arrived in town for her mother’s funeral and dropped a bombshell on John; she was now in control of the assets John had signed over to Jackie before her death (in order to avoid Diane getting control of them in the divorce), and had no intention of giving them back. Joseph saw this as a chance to swindle the naïve teen out of her inheritance.

Josh and Jessica settled into life as an engaged couple, and her father, Patrick. arrived in town, followed soon by her brother, Marc. Megan and Will appeared to be headed towards a reunion until Will got too serious, too soon and Megan called it off. She found herself attracted to Marc and romance quickly blossomed, while Will sunk into a depression over losing Megan a second time around.

His heartache was echoed by that of his younger sister, Ashley, who had been dumped by Nick following his move out of town with his mother following Nathan’s death. She developed an attraction to Leo Sterling, Jackie’s son who had arrived in Oakridge, and following a night out clubbing together, Ashley found herself fixated on the young millionaire, but he was far from interested and just saw Ashley as the latest in a long line of conquests.



A drunk and depressed Will made a scene in front of Jessica, Josh, Marc, Megan and Patrick, who had gathered to celebrate Jessica’s birthday, and drunkenly revealed that he had slept with Jessica before she and Josh got together. Josh was devastated by Jessica’s deceit and ended their relationship. However, they talked out their differences and vowed to be more honest with each other and give their relationship another try.

With Diane back in Oakridge, Carrie began to realize that she would never be out from under Diane’s thumb as long as she was married to Greg, and, feeling that Greg would never choose her over his mother, she left Greg. Upon leaving the Sterling mansion, Carrie was mistaken for Megan and kidnapped by a thug called Nate, who was working for gangster Michael DiCenzo. By the time the mistaken identity was discovered, things had intensified and DiCenzo was now after Nate for having an affair with his wife, Loretta, and Nate and Carrie were forced to go on the run to escape death at the hands of DiCenzo. While Carrie originally detested her captor, she soon found herself falling for him.



Joseph and Diane teamed up to steal Sterling Enterprises from Kendall, even deceiving John in the process. When Leo overheard a conversation between John and Diane, he confronted Diane on her intentions to swindle Kendall out of her inheritance, but Diane talked her way out of it and blamed it on John. Just as Joseph presented Kendall with a pile of papers to sign, with the documents to the company hidden inside, Leo stopped his sister from signing anything and the truth about Joseph and Diane’s plan emerged. Their attraction to each other, however, grew and the pair’s secret relationship was exposed to the family, along with their devious plans, and they found themselves exiled from the Sterling mansion and their family.

Ashley’s fixation on Leo saw her become obsessed with him until he cut her down to size and made her realize that he had only used her for sex. Josh’s sister, Natalie, arrived in Oakridge and became another of Leo’s conquests. However, this was one affair Leo would never forget as Natalie discovered she was pregnant.



Greg, distressed by Carrie’s disappearance while carrying his child, grew tired of his mother’s constant interference in her life and made it clear to her that he wanted her to back off. Diane began to realize how much she had driven both Greg and Megan away and vowed to make things right with her children.

With the case surrounding Carrie’s disappearance intensifying, Detective Rex Davis began to investigate the circumstances surrounding the missing woman, who was unbeknownst to them falling in love with Nate faster by the minute as they hid out from DiCenzo. Jessica began to work with Rex to help him find out as much information about Carrie as possible, and found herself harbouring an attraction to Rex.

DiCenzo and his wife, Loretta, arrived in Oakridge, eager to discover where Nate and Carrie were as well as settling some old scores with Megan, who had witnessed a murder at the hands of DiCenzo when she lived in New York and testified against him. Before they had the chance to, a sighting of Nate and Carrie led them to Mexico, with Rex and Jessica not far behind. Josh grew tired of Jessica spending so much time with Rex and ended their relationship, but Jessica was already fighting an attraction to Rex. While in Mexico, a dramatic shootout ensued, injuring Nate before the police turned up and arrested DiCenzo.



Marc’s ex girlfriend, Ally, arrived in town, and was determined to win him back, but Marc wasn’t so keen to reunite. Ally wormed her way into Marc’s life and caused friction between himself and Megan, but when she realized how in love they were, she drugged and kidnapped them both before attempting to gas them, along with herself, to death.

Wesley’s plotting and scheming with Madison to rid himself of Matt was all for nothing when Matt began to realize that Alex and Wesley still loved each other and left town, but their relationship wasn’t to be, as Alex revealed a secret she’d been keeping for decades; Wesley wasn’t Will’s father, John Sterling was. Will struggled to deal with his mother’s revelation, due to the fact that this meant he had slept with his own sister, Megan.