2.04: In Need of a Scapegoat
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Maddalena sat in her office with her phone to her ear. Once she heard Tony's voice on the other side, she released a sigh of relief. "Anthony, I am glad to have finally reached you. I could use some good news."
"Zia Maddalena, what is bothering you?" Tony asked.
Maddalena thought about her talk with EJ the weekend before. "I have news from your brother, EJ. With regret, I have discovered my brother may have actually been innocent in the attacks on Abraham, William, and Samantha. I was too quick to judge my brother due to his past crimes as well as the stain he has left on our family legacy."
Tony was surprised to hear the news as well. He truly believed Stefano was guilty of the crimes considering the things he had done to him and others in the past. "What does that mean?"
With confidence, Maddalena declared, "I will find the real perpetrator. I will clear your father's name of all the crimes."
"How do you plan on accomplishing that task?" Tony questioned. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help.
Maddalena admitted, "It will be difficult due to the fact that mio caro fratello has been killed by the true guilty party. I was informed by your brother that he and Alexandra found Stefano on the pier. Someone had stabbed him and left him for dead. It's all very suspicious because the knife that implicated Stefano was found next to him." Taking a breath, she continued, "EJ then told me he has decided to keep Stefano's death a secret and has told everyone else Stefano has fled town. I struggle with this deeply because this secret could complicate things for our family. The belief that Stefano has fled only makes him appear guilty and hurts the family name as well. It will be hard to clear his name."
Tony couldn't believe the turn of events and questioned if he could ever truly believe Stefano was indeed dead. "Do you have any idea who the real perpetrator could be – the one who set up father?"
Maddalena nodded her head to sound more convincing to Tony sharing, "I have an idea, but I want to be certain before I say anything because too much blood has been spilled."
Tony agreed before suggesting, "It is possible EJ is attempting to do the same. He can clear father's name while getting the one who is truly responsible to come out from the shadows. After he has him or her, he can come out with father's death and how it happened as evidence against this person. The person has to be on edge since their plan didn't work out how he or she wanted."
Maddalena swallowed hard hearing Tony's words of insight on the guilty party. Her plans did not follow through as she had hoped. With Colin gone, she believed she lost a resource in making sure everything didn't fall apart before she could restore the family. Hiding her increased worry, she thought about the scapegoat she had set up before Stefano was even arrested to put her mind at ease as much as possible. She knew she needed to continue to put feelers out there to make sure her new plan would fix everything. She couldn't take the chance in EJ or anyone else figuring things out.
"Zia?" Tony called out due to Maddalena's silence.
Maddalena quickly replied, "Oh, my apologies. I was deep in thought. Tell me about your progress."
Tony cleared his throat before sharing, "I am close to tracking down one of the family members. I believe this one will lead me to another."
Maddalena was pleased to hear something positive. "Keep at it, Anthony!" she encouraged. Speaking with more confidence, she continued, "The family name will be restored to its rightful place."
"I hope so," Tony replied.
Maddalena looked at the time. "Keep your phone close. I will call at another time or if you have new information for me, do not hesitate to call me." Tony agreed and said goodbye. After Maddalena hung up her phone and placed it on her desk, she thought about her scapegoat and whispered aloud, "I cannot afford to make any mistakes, Victor Kiriakis."
