Prologue

"Will I have to take this. Lucas explained apologetically as he glanced at the display on his phone. "It's the Paris office and I've been waiting all morning for their call. Have a seat outside Victor's office. Lauren will take good care of you." He said as he winked and nodded at Victor's personal assistant who was sitting at her desk just outside the office of the CEO of Titan Publishing.

Lauren grinned, blushing as she watched him leave.

"Uh okay." Will replied, shrugging his shoulders in typical 13 year old fashion. "I guess I'll just work on outline for my report." He turned back to face the secretary, mentally rolling his eyes at the love struck look on her face as she watched his father walk away. Will knew that look. Lord knows he'd seen it on his mother's face often enough in the past two and a half years, and on his female teachers' faces and worst of all, on the faces of his female classmates whenever his dad picked him up at school. It was one of the hazards of having parents who were just barely out of their twenties.

Snapping back to the present, Will realized that Lauren had been speaking to him. "Oh sorry. I wasn't paying attention. What did you just say?"

Lauren smiled warmly. "I said that Mr. Kiriakis is in a meeting at the moment, but should be done fairly soon."

"Oh okay." Will replied. "It's okay. I'll have to wait for my dad to come back anyway. He's supposed to ask permission for me to do an internship here next week while I'm on spring break, and then we're going for lunch. It was just a half day at school today."

"Oh really? So you're not going anywhere for the week?"

Will shook his head, frowning. "No. My dad can't take any time off right now, and my mom's too busy working for my Uncle Austin – not that I'd want to go anywhere with her anyway." He quickly added, hiding his perpetual sadness over the state of his parents' relationship with a mask of indifference.

Lauren clucked sympathetically. "Of course." Smiling brightly, she tried to lift his dejected spirits. "I'm sure you'll have a good time here at Titan. We do lots of interesting work here."

"Yeah. I know. My dad and my Aunt Carrie are always talking about it at home. And my Grandma Kate runs Basic Black. They're Titan's competitor."

"Of course." Lauren nodded, not missing the irritation in his tone as he mentioned his aunt's and grandmother's names. It didn't surprise her. She'd only been with Titan in Salem a couple of months, having transferred from the Milan office when Victor's longtime secretary retired, but she'd heard all about Carrie Brady and how she'd gained her job with the company through her friendship with Lucas Roberts after being stupid enough to have her company raided by her ex-husband. Lauren wasn't one for believing all the gossip, but from what she'd observed of Carrie's work, that someone had managed to steal her company so easily wasn't a big shock.

And as for Kate Roberts… She shuddered as she thought of the haughty, condescending woman who despite working for the competition, seemed to spend a lot of time in Victor's office at Titan. She stole a glance at Victor's closed door, recalling his harsh tone as he barked instructions not to be disturbed while ushering Kate inside for their latest meeting.

She turned her attention back to Will, who by this time was absently doodling in his scribbler. "So you're writing a report?"

"Uh-huh."

She tried again. "For social studies?"

Will frowned, not looking up. "No. It's for my living skills class."

"Oh! Well that's cool. You guys are so lucky to have classes like that. When I went to school we just took the basics, you know, the three R's."

"Huh?"

"Reading, writing and arithmetic."

"Oh." Will paused. "Well, we take those too. But this class is supposed to help us cope with the real world."

"I'm sure it does."

Will scoffed. "Doubt it. There's nothing in the class that tells you how to handle relatives dying and coming back to life on a regular basis. Nothing to help you if your grandmother gets amnesia and suddenly acquires a first husband that nobody knew about. Nothing to teach you how to handle your father dating your aunt, and your mom dating your uncle, and all four of them being miserable about it."

Lauren was at a loss for words. "Well…"

"It's okay." Will flashed a rare grin. "My family situation is unique."

"I--." She began but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the telephone. "Excuse me. I have to take this."

"No problem." Will shrugged, turning his attention back to his notes. Twirling his pen, he studied what he'd written so far. 'MAKE CARRIE GO AWAY!' was written in bold block letters, underlined twice. The thought consumed him day after day, night after night. Every time he heard her call his dad 'Looocus' he felt the overwhelming urge to throw things. She was the reason his parents hadn't reconciled. Sure his dad insisted that he hadn't forgiven his mom, but he knew better. It was Carrie's presence that was keeping them apart, and he needed to do something about it before it was too late.

"Will?"

"Huh?" He looked up at Lauren who was walking towards him. "I have to run downstairs for about 20 minutes. Erin, one of the other secretaries will be taking the calls while I'm away from my desk, so the phone shouldn't ring."

"Okay."

She headed for the door, stopping as a thought occurred to her. "If you want, you're welcome to play the card games on my computer. I logged off the network, but you can just re-login under 'guest'. The password is written on a sheet of paper underneath my phone."

"Okay." Will smiled. He wasn't really one for Solitaire, much preferring The Sims, but it was better than nothing.

He waited until she was out of sight before moving over to the desk. Sitting down he typed in the username and then reached for the phone, accidentally hitting a few buttons as lifted it to get the paper underneath. He stopped cold as familiar voices rang out through the speaker.

"Kate. We've been through this before. We need to tell Philip and Shawn the truth. They deserve to know that—"

"NO! Dammit Victor! I will not have my son getting hurt!"

"So you expect me to trade my grandson's future for my son's. How can you ask that of me Kate?"

"Victor, this has to be. I've already watched two of my sons have their lives destroyed by Marlena's daughters. I'm NOT going to let that happen to Philip too."

"Need I remind you that Lucas' destruction was at your hands, not Samantha Brady's? If you'd left well enough alone, they'd be happily married right now. Just because you sacrificed your own grandson's happiness for the sake of your delusional vendetta, doesn't mean I'm obligated to do the same."

"Don't give me that Victor. You know perfectly well that Sami is evil. I can't possibly ever allow her back into Lucas' life or Will's. And hell will freeze over before I let that witch get her hands back on Austin!"

"I don't agree with this Kate—."

Will jumped as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Acting quickly, he hit the release button on the phone, cutting off the intercom.

"There you are Buddy." Lucas grinned as he walked into the room. "That didn't take me nearly as long as I expected. I'm sorry I kept you waiting though." He glanced around the room. "Hey, where did Lauren go?"

"Oh she had to run downstairs. She told me I could use her computer to play a game. I was just getting the password out from under the phone."

"Oh okay. That was nice of her. So did she happen to mention whether or not Victor's in this morning?"

"She said he's in a meeting."

"Ah, I see." Lucas nodded, motioning to the door. "Well let's go grab your Aunt Carrie and we'll give you the grand tour of the place and then go for lunch. We can come back later when Victor's free."

"Sure dad. But can we make it just the two of us?" He asked hesitantly.

Lucas sighed, not missing the silent implication of Will's question. "Sure Buddy – just the two of us."

As he followed his father to the elevator, snippets of the conversation between Victor and Kate played over and over in his head. "We need to tell Philip and Shawn the truth." What truth? What were they hiding? And what could he do with this newfound knowledge?

Chapter One

"Will buddy, you've barely touched your food."

Will shrugged as he absently pushed his pasta around his plate. How was he supposed to eat when his mind was racing a million miles a minute? "I guess I'm just not that hungry."

Lucas gave him a skeptical look, but didn't comment on it any further. "Well if you're about done, I guess I'll pay the check and we can get back to Titan. Hopefully Victor will be able to see us."

Will didn't reply. The memory of the overheard conversation between Victor and his grandmother was stuck on auto repeat inside his head. From what he could tell, he had three options. He could ignore what he'd heard; probably the best option given that he hadn't really heard any specific details. He could tell his dad, but that would just get his dad more involved with his grandmother again, and he certainly didn't want that. Every time his dad went near his Grandma Kate she never failed to seize the opportunity to badmouth his mother. His last option was by far the most complicated, but also the most tempting because of the potential payoff: He could finally live up to his genes and pull off a scheme worthy of a younger Sami Brady and Lucas Roberts.

Oh his parents liked to pretend that they didn't have a scheming past, but like them, Will was a careful listener. Spending so much time at the pub with his grandparents, he'd heard just about every story there was to be told about the antics of Sami and Lucas in their teenage years. He'd also laughed more than once as he listened to friends of his great grandparents marvel over how unlike his parents he turned out to be. If they only knew. Other than a few relatively harmless pranks, like a snake in a tent for example or a well-timed nightmare guaranteed to bring his dad running over in the middle of the night, he hadn't needed to scheme. His parents came together on their own. But now they needed a little push.

"Mr. Kiriakis can see you now Mr. Roberts."

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his dad winked at Lauren. "How many times do I have to remind you? It's Lucas."

"Of course," Lauren blushed at his flirting tone, "Lucas."

"Thanks Lauren. Come on Will. Let's go tell Victor our plan for next week."

If you only knew dad, if only you knew. Shuffling in after his dad, he wondered just how he was going to implement the plan he'd improvised on the way back from the restaurant. If only he could shoo his father away for a few minutes so he could talk to Victor alone. He bit his lip, mulling over what to do when fate decided to intervene.

"It's Paris again." Lucas explained to Victor as he glanced at the display on his cell phone. "I have to take this. Will come on, we can come back later—"

"Don't be silly Lucas." Victor shooed him away. "Will and I are more than capable of discussing his internship alone. Go handle the Paris problem, and I'll keep this strapping young man entertained."

"Thank you sir. This may be awhile."

Will couldn't believe his luck. How perfect! He took a deep breath as he waited for his dad to leave, shutting the door behind him.

"So Will, Lucas mentioned that you'd like to spend your spring break learning the Titan ropes?"

"Uhm, yeah." Will nodded. Okay, I have him alone, now how the heck do I do this?

"Interested in following your father's footsteps into the business world, are you?"

Will shook his head. "No, not really. Business bores me. I'd rather do something in science or medicine – maybe go work with my Grandpa Bill or my Uncle Mike when I'm older."

He waited for Victor's reaction. He expected it would be the same one his Grandma Kate gave him whenever he said that. She just couldn't fathom him not wanting to follow his father's footsteps in the corporate world. On some level he loved his Grandma Kate, but he often wondered about her. For all her claims about her children and grandchildren being everything to her, she sure didn't know him very well.

"It sounds like you have a plan for your future, and in such a noble profession. If you have even half of the Horton medicine genes, you'll make a superb doctor. But with that in mind, I am curious. Your father is the chairman of the Horton Foundation. If your interest is medicine, surely he could have found a position for you at the hospital next week. Why did you choose Titan?"

I chose Titan, because I needed to make sure that my dad and Aunt Carrie aren't spending too much time together. "I wanted to spend time with my dad. He's been so busy since he started working here again, and with Aunt Carrie living with us, it seems like his time is always occupied."

Victor nodded, and Will could feel his piercing gaze studying him carefully. "Will, I get the feeling your not overly impressed with the relationship between your father and your aunt."

Will grimaced. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to those who pay attention. I thought you got along well with Carrie?"

"I do," Will hastily explained, "but she's the reason why my mom and dad haven't reconciled yet."

Victor's expression remained frustratingly neutral. It would be so much easier to do what he was about to do if he had an inkling that Victor felt the same.

"Why do you feel that Will? Your parents had already broken up when Carrie arrived back on the scene."

"True, but they're my parents – they're stubborn – and still in love. I knew it would just be a matter of time before Dad forgave Mom for being Stan, and they reconciled."

"But then Carrie came back."

Will sighed, "Yeah, Aunt Carrie came back."

"And so did your uncle Austin, and now he's involved with your mother. So it's not all Carrie's fault."

"Yes it is. Uncle Austin would drop my mom in a heartbeat if he thought Aunt Carrie would take him back."

"It doesn't seem likely that your father will allow that to happen."

"I know, but there is a way," Will swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath, "if you'll help me."

"Help you?" Victor chuckled. "I learned my lesson with your parents years ago. I'm not going to interfere in that mess ever again."

Will bit his lip nervously, not realizing how much he resembled Sami in Victor's eyes. "I think you'll want to help me after you hear what I have to say."

Victor's eyes narrowed slightly, and the amusement fell from his face. He recognized that tone of voice, having heard it from the young man's mother more than once. "Just what are you trying to tell me Will?"

Will took another deep breath before lifting his head to look Victor straight in the eye. "I know what you and my Grandma Kate did to Shawn and Philip, and if you don't help me get my parents back together, everyone will know the truth."