Chapter 1

Present Day

Lulu Spencer's father had once told her that there were two kinds of people in the world. The con man who made his living off of running scams and the mark, the intended target of the con game. Which side you chose was the deciding factor in one's direction in life. At an early age, Lulu made the decision that she was never going to be anyone's mark. She spent years distrusting love, instead building a life focused on a career that she could care less about. Along the way, she had made mistakes. The kind that changed lives and shaped who she was as a person today. She learned from those mistakes the best way that she could, by building a wall around her heart and protecting herself from anyone and anything that could hurt her. That wall had stayed strong, protecting her for a long time, until that one day that she found herself in Jake's and met a guy in serious need of a haircut.

You see, love was the ultimate con game. A deception of the deepest form. It could make a person change who they were, just to make someone like them. It could make a body obsessive, morphing into something that was never seen initially. It corrupted your thoughts, your actions and infiltrated your heart, until inevitably it destroyed you. At least, that was Lulu's opinion before she met and fell in love with Dante Falconeri. Luke Spencer said that was her downfall. She had failed to learn the biggest lesson in the game of cons. You never let your feelings get involved, because inevitably the con artist became the mark.

Detective Dante Falconeri had walked into Jake's that night, the perfect mark in Lulu's game. He was overly cocky, easy on the eyes and overzealous in his approach of her. He had no problem letting her know how much he wanted to date her and she had no problem telling him how much she wanted to see him fail. She was a Corrinthos supporter. He was intent on bringing down the organization, mobster by freaking mobster. She was bored, hating anything to do with relationships, let alone love. She had been betrayed by her family, her past boyfriends and even her friendships. She was bitter and cynical and his advances annoyed her. But, he didn't stop and somewhere in the following months, his cheesy pick-up lines had become endearing.

She enjoyed their banter and found herself seeking him out. The day that he told her that he loved her was monumental, the wall that had surrounded her heart, crumbling around her. The fact that she was able to return his love was surprising to her, as she had forsaken it for so long. So, why in the last few days had she allowed her trust in him to be swayed. How was it that she could so easily believe the lies that were placed before her very eyes. If she could turn back the clock a few hours she would, telling him how wrong she was. If she could turn back time several weeks they could have averted the whole thing and she wouldn't have found herself in her latest predicament. But, she was a Spencer and cynicism ran in the family. Trust was just a word and actions spoke louder.

So, where did it all go wrong, she thought, as she stood staring down the barrel of a gun outside the nursery at General Hospital, pleading for her life. At what point in the game of love had she become the mark.

Two weeks earlier

Spinelli listened in as the valkerye discussed her diabolical plan with the dark-haired one. It couldn't be. Did his ears deceive him? The original blonde one and her duplicitous one were pawns in the valkerye's own machinations. He was deluded by the assurance of the original one's proclamations. He was so sure that the duplicitous one would cause her harm, that his very nature was in truth, deceptive. How else could he have deceived Stone Cold and Mr. Sir, so completely. The Jackel stayed hidden in the shadows, eavesdropping on their conversation, his need to stay honor-bound to the C's, clouded by his knightly obligation to the fair Lulu. This did not bode well, he thought to himself, quietly extricating himself and leaving the metro court in seek of his Maxinista.

"So, what's it going to be, Brook Lynn? Are you with me, or against me? Because I promise you, Brook Lynn. You do not want to be on my bad side," Carly Jax told her, standing with her hands folded, waiting impatiently for a response.

"What you are asking me is impossible? Dante and I grew up together, we are friends. He trusts me," Brook Lynn answered with a New Jersey accent. She was at odds because she really needed the money, but didn't know if she wanted to risk her friendship with Dante.

"Exactly. He trusts you, Brook Lynn. He will never see it coming," Carly said, amazed at the ingenuity of the plan.

Dante had destroyed her life, ripping it to shreds, piece by piece, starting with his deception as an undercover cop. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when she returned the favor, pulling everything away from him that he cared about, before watching his dreams blow up in his face.

It was everything that he deserved. No one messed with Carly, or her family and got away with it. And god forbid if anyone got in her way, well, it was just their sorry luck as they would be mowed upon by her path of destruction.

"It'll never happen, he loves her. I know Dante. He will never cheat on her," Brook Lynn told her. She had seen how he looked at Lulu and how she looked back at him and had known instantly that they were more than occasional lovers.

"I never said that he had to cheat, Brook Lynn. Just that it had to APPEAR that he cheated. Just get me a picture or a video. I don't care how you do it," Carly answered, deviously.

"You have to know how much something like this will hurt Lulu. I thought that she was like a sister to you?" Brook Lynn asked, wondering why Carly was so hell bent on destroying Dante and Lulu.

"She chose Dante over family. She threw me, Jason and especially Michael under the bus. First, when he was undercover, but more importantly when Michael's welfare was at stake. She made her bed, now she can lie in it and be burned with the consequences right along with Dante," Carly replied, angrily.

"My only question is how badly do you need the money. You can't pay your creditors and one call from Jax and the government will be pounding at your door, ready to book you for credit fraud," Carly said, in an intimidating voice.

"The Quartermaines are out of the question, or you would have called them already. Your parents have cut you off and have gone so far as to leave the country to get away from your financial burden. You're on your own. So, just how badly do you want my help?"

"The fact that Dante grew up with you is an advantage. You're already halfway there, Brook Lynn. You just have to seal the deal with a picture and fifty-thousand dollars will be at your fingertips," Carly said, trying to entice Brook Lynn.

"So, what's it going to be? Are you with me?" Carly said, reaching for the phone, "Or are you against me?"

"I'm with you," Brook Lynn answered, reluctantly, "But, this is going to take time. I going to need a stipend to set me up and I'll need an apartment," Brook Lynn demanded, thinking about all that she could acquire from Carly Jax.

"Consider it done. Might I suggest the loft on King Street," Carly told her, "It's one floor below Dante's. But, you'll have to pay with cash. I don't want a money trail leading back to me," Carly replied. She didn't want Dante or Lulu catching on to her plan until it was too late.

She wanted to watch the noose tighten around their necks, see them dangling desperately in the wind, right before she snapped the life from both of them.

…...

Maxie sat at her desk, trying to find the words to tell Lulu her suspicions of Brook Lynn. The girl had hooker written all over her, Maxie thought, as she recalled the outfit that Brook Lynn had worn to Jake's and the way that she had practically leaped into Dante's arms. The girl was on the prowl and Maxie had no intention of letting her continue her obvious pursuit of Dante, or any other male in the vicinity of Port Charles.

As far as Maxie was concerned, Hooker Lynn could return to where ever the hell she came from. Maxie didn't buy for a minute that she was here to visit family. Brook Lynn had barely kept in touch with the Q's since she left several years ago, so why her sudden appearance now. It just didn't add up and Maxie's best-friend radar was on high alert. Lulu was a friend to Brook Lynn, why, Maxie never understood. Brook Lynn made no effort to hide her feelings about Lulu stealing Dillon from Georgie and Maxie's sister was Brook Lynn's best friend. Maxie always found it odd that Lulu and Brook Lynn formed a bond, but then again who was she to talk. No one ever expected Lulu and Maxie to become friends. They hated each other until Logan Hayes came along. It was because of what they had been through, each seeing a side of the other that they might never have known existed, that they were able to put aside their differences and form the bond of a true, lasting friendship. All owed to the torment of Logan Hayes.

Brook Lynn, on the other hand, Maxie couldn't see her standing by Lulu, being a true friend when another friend was in need. No, Maxie had Brook Lynn pegged from the moment she saw her, a manipulative shrew, who couldn't even hold a tune. Why every guy at Jake's was falling over her skinny ass, Maxie would never understand, but she would be damned if she would let the little viper anywhere near Lulu's man.

"So, Lulu, what did you and Dante do after you left Jake's? I overheard what Hooker Lynn said about you, Dillon and Georgie," Maxie asked her, curiously.

"Maxie, be nice. Brook Lynn is a friend." Lulu replied, knowing that Maxie was just looking out for her.

"With friends like her, who needs enemies. If you don't watch your back. She is going to swoop in on your man, Lulu. I've seen her kind in action," Maxie warned her.

"First of all, I trust Dante. I know his heart. Secondly, the only reason that you are concerned about Brook Lynn is because you feel threatened by her. Face it, Maxie. She is competition for the available men in Port Charles," Lulu said, truthfully.

"Too bad the man she has her sights on isn't available, huh. I got my eye on her, so you can rest easy that she won't get her claws into Dante, or Johnny, or anyone else for that matter," Maxie assured her, organizing the files on her desk.

"You're with Spinelli, why do you care if Brook Lynn has her sights on Johnny? Dante would be thrilled because that would mean his mom wouldn't be dating him," Lulu answered.

"She is a black widow, where men are concerned, Lulu. Take my advice, if you don't keep an eye on her, the shrew with the fake accent is going to ensnare every male in Port Charles into her web, starting with Dante."

"Well, Dante and I love each other. So, that will never happen. I trust him and he trusts me," Lulu replied, knowing that it was the truth.

She had come a long way from her adolescent relationships with Dillon, Logan and even Johnny. Dante had taught her what it truly meant to love someone, to give yourself to someone so completely that you didn't know where you began or your partner ended. They understood each other and there was no way in hell that either of them would ever let anyone come between them.

"Maxie, relax. Brook Lynn is a good friend, you'll see. I know that she can seem a little rough around the edges, but she has a good heart. She is like a sister to Dante," Lulu said, trying to reassure Maxie.

"Just give her a chance. I know that once you get to know her, you'll see what Dante and I do," Lulu told her.

"Maybe, but don't count on it," Maxie replied, not falling for Brook Lynn's act for one minute.