I just thought about this the other day. Stefano is bound to find out about EJ's deception, right? There might be fallout for Justin. I can't decide, though. Should I have Stefano have Sonny kidnapped to be used as leverage against Justin, or should I have him have Arianna Grace kidnapped (Kidnapping her would hurt Kate, Rafe, Will, Marlena, Sami, AND EJ [and Justin, indirectly, via Sonny])? This is only the prologue. The kidnapping won't be this chapter, so….tell me in your review: Should Stefano kidnap Sonny or Arianna?

July 23, 2013

EJ was about to burst from excitement. In just two weeks, Stefano would be left with absolutely nothing. No money, no lackeys, no family. To top it off, his wedding to Samantha is to be the week following. Life could not be better!

Just then, his phone rang. He made sure no one was around before answering. "Yes."

"Hey, it's me. I have it." Justin said quietly while walking down the street.

"Good. You weren't seen, were you?" EJ asked.

"No." Justin said, looking around. "I parked down the street around the corner, too. Don't worry- I'm careful."

"I know you are." EJ nodded. "We shall meet in one hour at our usual rendezvous point."

"I'll be there." Justin replied and hung up.

EJ sighed and turned to the doorway, where Sami just walked in. "Hey."

"Hey." Sami walked over to EJ and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Who was that you were talking to?"

"Just a business associate of mine." EJ replied. Well, it wasn't a total lie.

"You've been getting a lot of those lately." Sami noted.

"I know. But, not to worry. In a few weeks, it'll all be over." EJ promised, putting his own arms around Sami's waist.

"Mmm. And what exactly is it?" Sami asked.

EJ just shrugged. "It's just business, honey. Nothing to worry about."

Sami stared at EJ for a minute and gave in. She sighed. "Okay. Well, just as long as the kids aren't dragged into it."

"They won't be." EJ said firmly. "I won't let that happen."

"Okay. I trust you." Sami nodded.

EJ kissed her on the head. "Good. I'm glad."

XXX

Nick walked up to Will and Sonny's new apartment. He has been in therapy for a few months, and he feels a little better. He took a deep breath and knocked. A few minutes later, Gabi answered.

"Hey." Gabi greeted politely.

"Hi." Nick smiled. "Can I come in?"

Gabi thought about that for a minute. "Sure." She stepped aside to let Nick in.

Nick looked around. "Nice place you got here."

"Thank you." Gabi said politely.

"So…how's Rafe?" He asked.

Gabi shrugged. "He's fine. His memory is still messed up and reset back to when he first came to Salem, so it's hard for him to get used to the fact that I'm married three months and my marriage is already on the rocks, I had a baby by my gay ex-boyfriend, Arianna is dead, and EJ and Sami are getting married."

"Oh. Well…hopefully he'll get better soon." Nick nodded.

"Why are you here, Nick?" Gabi folded her arms.

"I know I lied to you and I messed up badly." Nick said.

"Yeah. No kidding." Gabi scoffed and nodded.

"But I really do love you. And I care about you-"

"Oh, please. If you loved and cared about me, you would have been straight with me from the beginning." Gabi rolled her eyes and glared at Nick. "You could have told me you were homophobic against Will and Sonny. You could have told me you don't want Will to raise his own child. You could have told me exactly what you went through in prison. But you didn't. Instead you lied to me, to your family, you bullied and blackmailed Will….tell me: what did you expect me to do?"

"I knew that if I told you the truth, you'd leave me." Nick admitted.

"And you didn't think I'd leave you if you lied to me and blackmailed Will?" Gabi asked.

"I thought I had everything under control." Nick said. "I didn't think it'd end this way."

"Yeah, well, it did." Gabi replied.

"I really am sorry." Nick insisted. He moved closer to Gabi. "I really just want to start over."

Gabi just shook her head. "I'm sorry. But relationships are about trust. And I don't trust you." Gabi shrugged and opened the door.

Nick's shoulders slumped in defeat and he slowly walked out wordlessly. Gabi shut the door and started crying softly.

XXX

Adrienne was getting a little worried about her husband. For the last four months, he's been acting strange and working longer hours. What is going on? She sat on her couch drinking as she waited for Justin to come home. Sure enough, Justin came through the door. Adrienne stood and walked towards him.

"Hey. Where have you been?" Adrienne asked.

"I was working." Justin replied simply. He kissed Adrienne and headed for the living room.

Adrienne sighed and followed her husband. "Justin…you have been working longer hours and you've been keeping something from me for the last four months. What is going on?"

"Nothing is going on." Justin said as he poured himself a drink. "Just business."

"Justin, stop. I can tell you're lying." Adrienne folded her arms. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Adrienne…I'm sorry. But I really can't tell you." Justin replied. "But I promise, it will all be over in just a few weeks."

Adrienne huffed again and shook her head in disbelief. "Fine. But answer me this: is it dangerous? Because if it is, I don't want Sonny to get dragged into it."

"It won't come to that." Justin assured Adrienne, putting his hands on her arms. "I won't let it."

"So, you're saying it is dangerous." Adrienne guessed. Justin's facial expression didn't change. "Oh my God, Justin!"

"I've been very careful, Ade. You're just going to have to trust me on this!" Justin pleaded.

Adrienne held her hands up. "Okay, fine! Fine. For your sake, I hope nothing bad will happen." She walked off. Justin sighed.

'Ugh…sorry, Adrienne.'

XXX

Stefano sighed as he sat down at his desk, drink in hand. Things were going smoothly at DiMera Enterprises. Too smoothly. Something usually goes wrong at this point. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Ah, yes, this is Stefano. I need the minutes from the last meeting on July sixth."

"Actually the last meeting was last Wednesday." The voice said.

Stefano was puzzled. "What meeting?"

"Uh, there was a staff meeting. You didn't know?"

"No I most certainly did not know! Who lead the meeting?" Stefano demanded.

"I'm not sure. Let me find out for you."

"Fine. Good." Stefano hung up and sighed. 'What is going on?' After some thinking, he picked up the phone again. "Yes, is the notebook still in its' case?"

"Let me check for you." After a few minutes, the person at the other end of the line came back. "I'm sorry, Mr. DiMera, but the notebook's gone."

"What! How the hell can it be gone?!" Stefano began to be angry. "Who was near that bookcase recently?"

"No one I'm aware of."

"Well, find out!" He slammed the phone back into the cradle, and sighed in frustration. Then his eyes widened in realization. 'Someone is betraying me.'

XXX

Bernardi sifled through his stack of papers for his assignment. Nobody has yet to discover he's the mole (aside from Sami Brady). So far, so good. His phone rang.

"Bernardi." He answered.

"It is me. Is this line secure?" Stefano asked.

Bernardi looked around. "Yes, this line is secure."

"I need for you to check the surveillance cameras for my office both inside and out. Over the last twenty-four hours, someone has stolen from me."

"Right away."

XXX

A few hours later, Bernardi called Stefano back. "I have some valuable information for you. The camera outside shows Justin Kiriakis leaving the building."

Stefano's eyes flashed with anger. 'Kiriakis.'