Chapter 8

Carly checked her phone for what must have been the hundredth time since Jack and Nicky had left. Carys noticed the older woman's anxiety and did her best to soothe Carly. They had gone on a mini shopping spree to gather clothing and toiletries for Nick and her and were now on their way to the market to round out the kitchen supplies.

"I'm sure they're fine. Nick did promise he'd call Bo and let him know what they were up to, and I'm sure Nick will call you the moment he's done with Vivian."

Carly nodded absent-mindedly, but didn't seem to take Carys's words to heart. Carys suspected that Nicholas's absence wasn't the only thing occupying Carly's thoughts and said as much.

"I miss Bo," Carly admitted, then blushed. "I know that must seem ridiculous considering that I just saw him a few hours ago, but it's the truth. He's been my rock though all of this. When I first came back to Salem, he put his life on hold just to help me with my mine."

"He seems to love you very much," Carys said, smiling.

"He does, but we still have a lot of issues to work through." Like his marriage to Hope, Carly thought to herself.

Carys seemed to read her mind when she asked, "You mean because of his marriage? Nick gave me a bit of background on you and Bo. He said that Bo thought Hope was dead when you two were together?"

"That's right. Hope turned up alive a few years after I left Salem with Nicky and Lawrence. You know, part of me can't help but wonder how different things would have been if I'd never left."

"Why did you leave?" Carys asked. "I mean I know that Nick was part of the reason. He told me that he'd asked you and his dad to be a real family, but I've seen the way that you and Bo look at one another. If the bond between you then was anything like what I've witnessed, then I don't understand how you could have left Bo. Even love for a child would have a hard time overcoming that kind of connection. I'm sorry if I've been too forward," Carys apologized when Carly looked hurt. "Sometimes my mouth isn't connected to my brain. Nick tells me so all the time."

"It's all right. Tact isn't exactly my strong suit, either. Besides, on the surface you're right. But once again you have to factor Vivian Alamain into the equation."

"Surely Vivian can't have wanted you to be with Lawrence?"

"Oh, she didn't. In fact, she didn't want me with anyone." At Carys's questioning look, Carly went on. "She buried me alive. But first she framed me for the murders of some of my patients, and then she drugged me so that everyone, including Bo, would think I was dead. I came to inside a custom built coffin complete with an intercom system so that Vivian could torment me until I did die from lack of oxygen."

"Hell's bells!" Carys exclaimed. "How in God's name is this woman still walking around free?"

With detached clarity, Carly relayed the tale to Carys, from how Lawrence had rescued her to losing her memory of the previous ten years and thinking that Lawrence was really James, the man he had pretended to be when they'd first met years earlier.

"Lawrence, always willing to seize an opportunity, kept me hidden away for weeks until Bo and his brother, Roman, turned up on the doorstep demanding answers. Lawrence told them about the memory loss and said it would upset me too much – according to the doctor that he'd hired – to be confronted with reality. They left, but a few days later, Lawrence and I ran into Bo and woman named Billie Reed."

"Did that trigger your memory?"

Carly shook her head. "No. I didn't know either of them from Adam's housecat. But Lawrence thought it would be best to get me out of Salem while my memory was still basically Swiss cheese so he made plans to shuttle me out of the country on his private jet."

"What happened then?"

"Billie Reed found out what Lawrence was up to and brought Nicky to the airport. He called out to me and just like that, I remembered everything. Lawrence told me that he was taking Nicky back to Alamania and that I could come if I wanted, but he felt it would be best for Nicky to get him away from Salem. I thought about it, what life would be like for Nicky with two parents who loved him, and truthfully, I did love Lawrence. He'd finally become the man that I always thought he could be, and I believed we could make a family.

"So I went to Bo and told him everything. I felt like I at least owed him that much. And then Nicky, Lawrence and I left. We had about a month together before Lawrence fell ill. It was all downhill after that."

Carys let out a breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding. Her heart broke for the woman next to her in the car. What Carly had survived through those long years at the hands of a madman – it was enough to tear a weaker person to shreds. But Carly wasn't weak. Carys believed that with every fiber of her being. And she also believed that Carly would emerge from this battle even stronger than before. But there was a long road ahead of them, no doubt.

Regardless of the challenges they faced, they would face them better with full stomachs. When in doubt, eat, or so Carys's grandmother had taught her. This was running through Carys's mind when they pulled into the parking lot of the market. In contrast, Carly was praying to any god who might be listening that she wouldn't run into anyone she knew. With her edginess over Nicky's confrontation with Vivian and her anger at being parted from Bo, she doubted she could keep her temper in check if she had a run-in with any of the many members of the "I Hate Carly" club.

Blessedly, there was no one Carly knew in the market, and she tagged along behind Carys as the girl loaded down a shopping cart with every kind of food item known to man. Laughing, Carly asked, "Are you feeding an army?"

"Close, Nick and Jack are bottomless pits. Individually, they'll eat anything that doesn't move, and together, they can destroy a kitchen in one sit-down. And my grandmother always taught me that food can cure just about anything that ails you. I've often thought that one of her homemade chocolate cakes presented at a UN summit could actually bring about world peace." Carys explained all this as she put the ingredients into the cart to make that very chocolate cake.

"I could certainly use a little peace."

"You'll have it," Carys spoke with confidence. "I've never seen Nick fail when he puts his mind to something. We'll get you out of this trouble, you'll see."

"You, ah, seem to have a lot of faith in my son," Carly said.

"I do, and so should you," Carys replied without hesitation. "He's the best man I know, and he feels just awful over how badly things have gone between you for the past few years. From the moment he read his father's journals, he's thought of nothing but getting to you. I thought he'd wear a hole in the carpet of the plane on the way over here."

"Above all, I just want my children to be safe and happy. Beyond those two things, I don't really care what happens to me." Carly spoke with absolute conviction, and in that moment, Carys realized that it was love for her children that had sustained Carly all these years. She only hoped that Nick would somehow be able to get through to his sister, Melanie. For Carys knew of one stop that Nick was planning on making that his mother knew nothing about.

Nick had taken a few of his father's journals with him and was planning on dropping by the hospital for a little impromptu family reunion. Knowing the ruckus his mother would likely raise, Nick had sworn Carys to secrecy, promising that he would reveal all to Carly later in the evening. As she and Carly made their way to the checkout, Carys whispered a silent prayer that for once, fate would swing in Carly's favor.

Nick watched amazed as Jack wheedled Melanie's room number out of the charge nurse. No woman could resist him once he turned on the charm. Nick stayed just out of sight, two of his father's journals clutched under his arm. The plan was for Jack to get the room number to Nick and for him to stand guard, while Nick went into speak with his half-sister.

Half-sister, that was a staggering thought for a man who less than 48 hours before had not even known he'd had a sibling. Still, despite all the turmoil associated with his new-found family member, Nick had to admit that the idea itself was not altogether unpleasant. He'd always wanted a younger sibling, though he had always pictured a brother. He recalled asking his mother once for a younger brother only to be told that it was impossible. His eidetic memory instantly processed that the conversation with his mother had to have taken place mere weeks after Melanie had been born and subsequently taken. Even then, his mother had been trying her best to protect him, despite the fact that her own heart was shattered.

Nick was interrupted in his stroll down memory lane by Jack. "She's in 801, Nick, but Nurse Jamie told me there's a police guard on 24-hour watch. We may need to re-think our plan."

Nick looked around and could just see the door to 801. Fortune must have been smiling on him for at that exact moment the policeman on duty left his post and headed towards the restroom. Not pausing to think further, Nick clapped Jack on the back and walked briskly to the door. He cast a furtive eye around the floor and seeing no one other than Jack paying the slightest bit of attention he opened the door to the room and slipped inside.

The blonde in the bed looked up at his arrival, and Nick instantly knew her for his mother's daughter. "Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want?" The questions were fired at him rapidly, but Nick, unfazed, walked slowly across the room, pulled the lone chair up beside the bed and sat down before answering her questions just as quickly.

"My name is Nicholas Alamain. I'm your half-brother, and I'm here to discuss our mother. I want you to drop the charges against her and give her a chance to explain her motives surrounding your, for lack of a better word, adoption." Having shocked Melanie into silence with his replies, Nick leaned back, waiting for the words to sink in. He waited approximately 2.5 seconds before the explosion occurred.

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" Melanie shouted at him. "I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't my 'brother,' half or otherwise, and that crazy bitch shot me in cold blood, and now she's going to pay!" Melanie sat back after her tirade, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "Okay, thanks for stopping by. You can leave now. Have a nice life."

Nick gave her smirk back to her and said, "I don't think so, 'Sis'. I'm not leaving until I've said my peace. I've got some information that I think will interest you. All I ask is that you hear me out, take a look at what I've brought and think it over. After that, it's up to you to decide what to do. Now who can say fairer than that?"

Melanie didn't respond, but she didn't make a move to throw him out on his ear, either. He took that as a good sign and launched into his spiel. "I know you've accused our mother…"

"Crazy Bitch," Melanie interrupted with a deceptively sweet smile.

"Our mother," Nick repeated with his own small smile, "Of trying to murder you. I also know that you know that's a load of crap. Deep down, you know she was trying to save you from my bat-crazy aunt. You're just pissed at Mom because you think she threw you away when you were born. I'm here to rectify that opinion."

"You seem to know an awfully lot about me considering we've only just met."

"We share the same genes. I made it my business to learn as much about you as possible." With that Nick withdrew the two journals that he'd brought and passed them to his sister.

Having no visible alternative, Melanie accepted them and asked, "What are these?"

"The cold and calculated ravings of Lawrence Alamain, my father. He's the man who forced our mother to give you away when you were born. He promised to let you live if Mom vowed to never see you again. He was actually going to kill you when you were two days old. But it's all there, in his own handwriting. I marked the passages that I thought would be the most enlightening. I think my father's words will change your attitude towards our mother. God knows, they certainly changed mine."

"And what if they don't?"

Nick shrugged and said, "Then at least I know I've tried. As I said, the rest is up to you. Well, I've taken up enough of your time. I'll leave you to your reading. I hope the next time we meet it will be under much more pleasant circumstances." Nick turned towards the door, then stopped and once more to look at Melanie. "I always wanted a little sister," he said with a winning smile. He got out of the door just as Melanie hurled a pillow at him.

Grumbling at her aim, Melanie managed to hobble out of bed, get the pillow and haul herself back in the bed. She was winded, but it felt good to move under her own power. Thus far, Daniel and Phillip had let her take only very short walks with one of them supporting her on either side. Settling back against her pillows, Melanie huffed and puffed out her frustration over her visitor. Yet, before she could stop herself, she seized the first of the two journals and began to read.