"Di-DiMera?", Sydney stuttered.

"Yeah. I take it you're familiar with my family. Apparently, they're pretty famous around here. Actually infamous would probably be a better word", Anthony acknowledged.

Sydney bit her lip. For as long as she could remember, her family had ingrained it in her head that the DiMeras were the very face of evil. Now, one of them was standing in front of her. But Anthony didn't look evil. He looked like a normal guy. Maybe her family was wrong. Maybe there were good DiMeras too. And wasn't Theo related to them? She didn't know him very well but he had seemed like a nice guy. And he was apparently good enough for Ali's best friend to date. Maybe Anthony was a nice guy too.

"Yeah. Um…my mother is a Brady. I don't know how much you know about the Brady-DiMera feud…", she trailed off.

"Oh yeah. I've heard all of the stories. I'm a DiMera and even I think that most of the people in my family are jerks. But I've never met most of them so…"

"Have you ever met Stefano?"

"No. Not that I remember anyway."

"I've heard that he's pure evil", Sydney breathed.

"I have too. Believe me. My mom isn't exactly one of his biggest fans", Anthony said with a slight chuckle.

"So did Stefano start the feud or what? Why do our families hate each other so much?", she wondered.

"You never heard about the Santo/Colleen thing?"

"No. Who are they?"

"Santo DiMera was Stefano's father. Colleen Brady was Shawn Brady's older sister. Long story short- they fell in love. It was forbidden, obviously. He was married and she was in training to become a nun. Anyway, he got her pregnant. I bet you know who their son is", he revealed.

"No. Who?"

"John Black."

"Wait! John Black as in my mom's step dad? No way!", she gasped.

"Yeah. Anyway, Stefano held his father's indiscretion against the Brady's for decades."

"I cannot believe that my grandmother's husband is some kind of Brady/DiMera hybrid!", she exclaimed.

"I'm kind of surprised that you didn't know that already", he admitted.

"Me too. I can't imagine why nobody ever told me! That is huge! Wait a minute. If John is a DiMera, that means that his kids and their kids are DiMeras too. That would explain so much about Tiffany."

"Tiffany?"

"Tiffany Black. School snob. She has hated me for as long as I can remember. She is definitely one of the evil DiMeras."

At that moment, the bell rung over the loudspeakers.

"Looks like it's time for class. But I'm pretty sure the Brady-DiMera history is much more interesting than whatever we're learning in there", she smiled.

"I guess we should get going then", he suggested.

"Ok. Come on", she said as she led him down the hall.

While her kids were in school and her husband at work, Sami Hernandez was shuffling through the family's mail.

"Bill, bill, bill…", she sighed. Then, she came to a letter personalized to Sydney.

Sami knew it was wrong to peek into her daughter's mail. It was probably nothing anyway. But curiosity got the best of her. She pried the envelope open and took out the folded piece of paper that she opened up and began to read.

"My dearest daughter, it has been many years since I have attempted to get into contact with you", she started off.

"E.J. You have got to be kidding me!", she exclaimed furiously before continuing to read the letter.

"I do not know that you will get this letter, but I sincerely hope that you do. I honestly do not know how much you know about me…if anything. If I know your mother as well as I think I do, you probably don't even know that I'm your father. Let me start out by telling you who I am. My name is E.J. DiMera. You're probably horrified now because I have no doubt that the Bradys have told you nothing but bad things about my family…about your family. Because whether your mother likes it or not, you are a DiMera. I wish I could see you now. You're probably the most beautiful girl in the world. I remember the first time I held you. You were the center of my universe. You still are. I wish I could have been there all those years. I wish I could have been the one that you called "dad." Though I'm sure that Rafe is a far better one than I could ever hope to be. I hope you know that I have had a lot of regrets in my life- most of them concerning your mother. But you are not one of them. You and Johnny- you two were the only things that I ever got right. I made so many mistakes, Sydney. In all honesty, I probably didn't have any business being someone's father to begin with. I let your brother down in the worst way possible. I couldn't let something happen to you too. Your life became a thousand times safer the day I walked out of it. If you want to meet me, I would absolutely love to see you. To see the beautiful girl you've become. If you don't, I completely understand and I respect your wishes. Just do me one favor. Live your life to the fullest. Follow your dreams. Do it for me and for your mother. You are our legacy. The proof that for one brief moment in time, a Brady could love a DiMera. Your happiness is the most precious thing in the world to me. Just remember, no matter what, I love you. - Dad", Sami finished with tears freely flowing down her face.

She couldn't help but be affected by the letter. She knew she shouldn't be. She had heard all the talk from E.J. before. The fact that she fell for his games so easily is probably the reason Sydney existed in the first place. But he sounded so sincere. And there was a small part of her that wished that E.J. could see Sydney now. He was right. She was beautiful. And she looked just like him. It was impossible for Sami to look at Sydney and not see E.J. The proof that for one brief moment in time, a Brady could love a DiMera.

"But what if I never stopped loving you?"