Chapter 2

Meanwhile, inside the Crane Compound

"Gwen, you've got to do the right thing," Katherine said. "You've got to give Jane back to Theresa and turn yourself in to the authorities."

"No way am I gonna let Theresa win, Katherine," Gwen replied. "She already took my son and my daughter away from me. I am not about to let her take anything else from me. I swear, Katherine, if I ever see that man-stealing, baby-killing tramp again, I'll kill her—and this time I'll make sure she's dead."

"What was that, Gwen?" Theresa asked as she walked up to Gwen and Katherine in the hallway outside the door to Jane's room. "You're gonna kill me, huh? Go ahead and try, but it's another charge of attempted murder for every time you do—that is, if I decide to press charges."

"What are you even doing here?" Gwen asked. "Why is Little Ethan with you?"

"Ethan spoke to Judge Reilly and got my parental rights re-instated." Theresa replied. "Not only that, but I had a DNA test done on Little Ethan, and guess what? Ethan is his biological father, not Julian. Do you know what this means, Gwen? This means that your adoption of Little Ethan is now null and void."

"I don't understand," Gwen replied.

"Let me put it to you this way," Theresa began. "When you adopted my son, Julian signed away rights that he never had. Not only that, but Ethan got Judge Reilly to re-instate my parental rights. Because Julian signed away rights he never had and I now have mine back, you no longer have any rights to my son whatsoever. Now, if you'll excuse me, my little girl is crying and she needs me."

With that, Theresa went to check on her daughter, Little Ethan following close behind.

"I know she didn't just go in there and put her filthy hands on my baby!" Gwen exclaimed angrily as she entered Jane's room. "I swear I am gonna kill her!"

"Gwen, wait!" Katherine begged. "Please think about what you're doing!"

"I AM thinking about what I'm doing," Gwen retorted as she picked up a pair of scissors and inched closer and closer to Theresa, scissors raised high in the air. "I'm thinking that I should have done this a long time ago!"

"THERESA, LOOK OUT!" Katherine screamed.

"MOMMY!" Little Ethan screamed as Gwen prepared to plunge the scissors into Theresa's back.

Gwen hesitated just long enough for Theresa to put Jane back into her crib; however, she soon realized that she shouldn't have hesitated at all.

As soon as Theresa put Jane back into her crib, she spun around, picked up a heavy vase, and smacked Gwen on the side of her head, thereby rendering her unconscious.

As Gwen hit the floor with a thud, Jane became frightened and began to scream. Theresa turned around, scooped her daughter up, and began to sing to her.

At that moment, Ethan walked in—followed by Fox—to see Gwen unconscious on the floor, Katherine trying to revive her, and Theresa cradling Jane in her arms.

"What happened in here?" Ethan asked.

"Gwen tried to kill me again, but I knocked her out before she could," Theresa replied.

"It's true, Ethan," Katherine stated. "Gwen was just about to stab Theresa with a pair of scissors."

"Daddy!" Little Ethan cried. "That bad lady tried to hurt Mommy."

"Don't worry, little guy," Ethan said. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to your mommy."

"Now that we've established that everyone is okay, Ethan, it's time for you to make your decision," Theresa said. "So, who's it gonna be? Me, a woman who has already given you two beautiful children and can give you as many more as you want, or Gwen, a woman who is barren and can't give you any? Don't get me wrong, okay. I know she tried to give you children; however, the two she tried to give you both died at birth. Apparently her body isn't able to produce any live offspring—it's almost like a Bride of Dracula sort of thing if you think about it; anyway, maybe Gwen's DNA just isn't compatible with yours, Ethan."

"Theresa, look," Ethan replied. "This decision is hard enough—wait a minute, did you say two children?"

"Yes, Ethan, I did," Theresa replied. "Little Ethan is your son, not Julian's, and I have the DNA results to prove it."

"Well, this does complicate matters," Ethan said. "However, it does not change the fact that I am still married to Gwen. I guess what I'm saying is that as much as I would love to spend my life with Theresa, I can't. I'm choosing to stay with Gwen."

"But Ethan—" Theresa began.

"No buts, Theresa," Ethan replied. "I've made up my mind and that's that. There is something I need for you and Gwen to do, however."

"What's that?" Theresa and Gwen asked in unison.

"I need the two of you to call a truce and stop this war between you." Ethan replied.

"Okay, Ethan," Gwen said. If it'll make you happy, I'll stop."

"Thank you, Gwen," Ethan replied. "Theresa, what about you?"

"I'm sorry, Ethan," Theresa replied. "I'm afraid I can't agree to truce for two reasons. First, I will never give up on our love nor will I ever give up on having a future with you. Second, I don't trust Gwen and Rebecca to stick to it. Before you say anything, Ethan, let me finish. You and I both know that as soon as we get home, Gwen and Rebecca are gonna try and cook up some kind of crazy scheme to hurt me and our kids. Ethan, they'll go behind your back if they have to, and you know it."

"I hate to break up this friendly little negotiation," said Fox. "But we really need to get out of here before the guards come back."

"Fox is right," Katherine said. "We do need to go."

"Whoa—wait just a minute!" Theresa demanded. "Katherine is NOT going back to harmony with us. All she's gonna do is steal my father from my family again."

"Well, we'll just have the pilot drop you off somewhere in Europe where Alistair can't find you," Fox suggested.

"Thank you, Fox," Katherine replied. "I'd like that."

With that, everyone left the compound and made their way back to the airstrip and boarded the awaiting jet. After a short time, the pilot make a pit stop in Zurich to drop Katherine off and take on some fuel. Afterward, the jet took off once more, bearing the rest of the group safely back to Harmony.