I sat up in a panic, the dark room spinning dizzily about me.

Although I had no idea where I was, the details of the past started to come back to me. I remembered Aremid...and David Banning...and Celeste...

Celeste! She had betrayed me, drugging me with that poison of hers and selling me out to the first available Dimera! How could I have been so foolish as to have trusted her enough to take that drink?

And now this man...Tony Dimera, Andre Dimera...whoever he was...was studying me, sipping his sherry, undoubtedly trying to decide what kind of torture methods to use against me. Hmmm, what would he be in the mood for today? Rape, branding, water torture, burying alive...what?

I began to gasp, feeling nauseous.

"You must relax…"

The man quickly put down his drink and rushed to my side, touching my bare arm. I flinched away from him as if he had burned me.

"D-d-don't t-t-tell me what to d-d-do..." I stuttered, overcome with chills. In my state, I am sure he was not intimidated in the least.

"Lie back..." he coaxed, easing me back against the red velvet sofa bed that I was resting on.

Jeez, I was still in the pink silken nightgown and robe that I had been in when I was packing. Celeste could have at least had the decency to make me presentable before throwing me to the wolves!

"The drug's effect is still very strong. Water would be the best thing. Bart!"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Get water...quickly..."

"Sure, Boss!"

Bart Beiderbecke, I thought. He was notorious for being the henchman for whatever Dimera was running the show at the time. God, this was all becoming too real. This was no longer just a research project. I was living it!

"I didn't mean t-to find about David B-b-banning..." I pleaded in fear. "It just happened. That's all."

"Sssshhh..."

Again, I felt the man touch me, stroking my hair to calm me down, wiping my face with a wet washcloth. The contact was soothing, but I couldn't really enjoy it, knowing that he was going to kill me. Why was he being nice to me if he was going to kill me?

"Renee made me do it..." I confessed. "She won't leave me alone...she..."

I heard the man inhale sharply at the sound of my ghost's name.

Closing my eyes, I begged for deliverance. I prayed that I would die quick and painless. Not like Renee. How frightened she must have been at the feel of that cold sharp knife plunging into her back! Meeting her doom by way of a killer with her lover's face!

"Damn Celeste!" I heard the man hissed. "She must have overdosed the poor girl for she's obviously delirious and raving..."

"Yeah, she's good and plastered, Boss. I don't think I've even been that bad off before. Not even after one of Bonnie Lockhart's Texas-size margaritas!"

"Oh, shut up, Bart!"

"Yeah, Boss...but what are we going to do with her?"

"Wait it out, I suppose, until she gets better."

I heard the dialogue exchanged. I was confused by what I heard. But I couldn't remember what I was confused about.

And on and on, the man kept stroking my hair gently and lazily...as if he were petting a cat. And I drifted off...willing the whole thing to be just a bizarre nightmare...

------------------------------

…Again, I opened my eyes, the nausea replaced with a raging headache...

I looked around the strange room that I was in. I guessed that I was in some sort of sitting or living room, elaborately decorated in tones of dark reds, browns and blacks with dim lighting, no sign of a window anywhere. There was a framed mantle of two crossed Samurai swords on the wall. At least, I assumed they were Samurai swords. What did I know about medieval armory? And there were all sorts of objects d'art from various cultures – from Africa, Egypt, Greece, who knew from where else?

"Oh, good...you seem to be looking better..."

Dimera again entered the room, carrying a tray with a croissant, fruit and tea My stomach growled at the sight of the breakfast, but I couldn't even think about that right now. Pulling the edges of my robe tightly around me, I looked up at the man who had been the object of my study for so long.

Still dressed in his casual dressing gown, the man I assumed to be Tony Dimera was more vibrant and handsome in person than in all of those newspaper clippings and television interviews. Only he looked older than I had imagined. There were more lines around his eyes and mouth. His expression was that of a cynic who had seen too much, had been disappointed one too many times. Gone was the gothic romantic youth of my dreams, that tragic Heathcliff mourning his dead fiancée in the Dimera mansion. The man before me seemed jaded, hardened to the world.

As he looked upon me, Dimera's expression was that of shocked disbelief.

"My God, you look so like her..." he uttered as he sat across from me. "Even more so when you're awake."

Dimera's eyes grew so sad as he looked upon me. Undoubtedly, I reminded him of that tragic night and the woman he had lost.

"I am sorry if I have made you uncomfortable," he said rather quickly, putting the tray down beside me. "It is just that..."

I gasped abruptly when I noticed the scar on his face as he drew closer.

Along the right side of Dimera's cheek was a long jagged scar that marred that infamous Mediterranean visage. I must have stared overly long at the mark for he quickly turned away from me, retreating into the shadows as he covered the scar with his hand.

"Not the sight you were expecting, I suppose?" he grimaced. "I can't say that I blame you. I can barely stand to look in the mirror anymore."

Quickly, he changed the subject.

"I brought you some food and tea. You've been unconscious for some time. You must be starved."

I took a bite of the croissant. It was high quality and very delicious. If only I were in the frame of mind to enjoy food. As it was, I could barely swallow the morsel I had chewed.

"Count Dimera..." I began.

"Call me Tony, please..." he responded suavely with a smile. He needn't have worried about his looks. He was still very handsome. The scar just made him look...dangerous.

"Is it Tony?" I asked, deciding there was no point in beating around the bush. "Or is it Andre?"

My forthrightness was rewarded with a loud boisterous laugh.

"My dear, if I were my cousin, you wouldn't even have survived long enough to converse with me. Just one look at your haunting face would remind him of the biggest blunder he had ever made."

That was true enough, I acknowledged.

Andre Dimera had been a simple boorish peasant in the eyes of the Dimera family, a poor relation. His only saving grace was his talent for mimicry. He could have had it all after taking over Tony's identity. But after he murdered Renee, he was forever at odds with Stefano. Not enough for them to break their evil affiliation. After all, Stefano's grand schemes were all important, even more important than sentiment or grief. But Andre forever had to watch his back after that, never knowing when Stefano would exact his revenge for his daughter's death.

"But when you get down to it," Tony added, "what difference does it make? If you're with Andre, you're with a serial killer. If you're with Tony, you're with an international; terrorist. So does it really matter?"

I still felt better that I was not with Renee's killer. That is, if I could believe him. Did I have any choice?

For a while, there was silence. Dimera was pacing restlessly around like a tiger in a cage. And I was struck with the surreal nature of the situation. Here I was, nibbling away at a croissant and drinking tea, feeling like Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

"So," I began, taking a sip of my Earl Grey. "Are you going to kill me, keep me prisoner or just torture me for a while?"

Tony smiled.

"You do amuse me, Miss Daniels," he said. "You're so deliciously direct."

I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm a reporter. It's my job to get down to the truth. Down to brass tacks, if you will."

Tony sniffed with contempt.

"Oh, please! Now you're sounding like your insufferable employer!"

I bristled at the word 'insufferable'. It was one thing for me to insult Jack, but another thing when others picked on him.

"Jack Deveraux is a good man and a fine reporter."

Tony smirked as I defended Jack.

"Ah, yes, a paragon of Salem society right up there with the late great Doctor Tom Horton! Ask anybody!"

"Now who's being insufferable?" I continued, wiping my mouth with my napkin. "And you haven't answered my question. Is it simply more fun to keep me dangling in suspense?"

"Yes, actually," Tony agreed. "But I can't bear to see a damsel in distress."

I flinched at his condescending tone.

"If you're so chivalrous, then why did you kidnap me?"

"Oh, why does everyone always think the worst about me?" he groaned.

"Um, do you want me to start with the recent crimes...or go back to the early '80s?"

"I am truly wounded to the quick, Miss Daniels!" Tony continued.

I did not believe him. He was playing a game with me. And by the gleam in his dark devil's eyes, I could tell that he was enjoying taunting me entirely too much.

"Celeste led me to believe that you were my champion, going out to Aremid to prove my innocence to the world and clear my name. I haven't had a champion in a long time. In fact, I'm not sure if I've ever had one. Now why would I want to harm the one person on the face of the planet who does not think me a complete monster?"

I tried not to take umbrage at Tony's sarcasm, but it was difficult. I did not like how he made me feel like a romantic fool, trying to turn frogs into princes. Was it possible that Renee was mistaken about her lover? Because in my opinion, he seemed to be a bit of a lost cause...and completely beyond redemption!

"So why am I here?"

"Contrary to what you think about me, Miss Daniels," Tony continued. "I have no intention of murdering you. You seem to be quite the scholar of my life. You of all people should know that I would never kill a lovely young woman. That would be such a waste. No, as a matter of fact, I am now destined to be your champion as it were. For this is the only place where you can be truly safe under the circumstances. Celeste knew that, and that is why she brought you to me."

I was stunned into silence, taking in this revelation.

"You are...protecting me? From who?"

Tony shrugged with a wave of a hand, sitting back into an easy chair across the room.

"My dear young brother, Elvis, of course. I assume you've made the young puppy's acquaintance by now."

I shivered at the memory.

"Ah, I can see that you have!" Tony smiled knowingly. "He has all of the speed, wit and cunning of my father. And all of his worst qualities as well. Elvis is the one who ransacked your apartment and who threatened your life at Aremid."

"EJ's after me because of what I found out about David Banning?" I asked, stunned.

"Not just because of David Banning, although you have definitely proved to be a pest on that score. More importantly, it is because of who you are. You have arrived on the scene right in the middle of a nasty Dimera power struggle, my dear; and that is the worst time to be a Dimera, especially a powerless one!"

"But I'm just a distant relation really," I gasped. "How could EJ see me as such a threat?"

"Perhaps I should explain a bit more clearly," Tony continued. "You are right. Your bloodline is not direct enough to matter much. It is more than that. You are descended from Renee Dimera. You look like her. Renee was Stefano's most loved child. Say what you will about Stefano's cruelty, he did love his children strongly. If he were to gaze upon you, he would see his cherished daughter once more."

"But I thought Stefano was sick or dead."

"Well, a bit of both actually," Tony chuckled. "But my dear little brother Elvis is doing his best to revitalize the old bastard. You see, EJ is the heir apparent, at least for the next five minutes. But what would happen if Stefano knew about you? The Phoenix's affections have always proved to be fickle ones. Little Elvis is threatened by your very existence, of course. If you turned out dead, that would be one less thing for him to worry about. And as I explained, Andre would kill you at first sight."

"And what about Andre?" I asked. "Where is he right now?"

"Probably on the run, I expect, seeing as how he just escaped from jail."

"Andre was the one in jail!" I exclaimed, my head spinning. "Then was he the one to brainwash Marlena Black into thinking she was a killer and...?"

"Oh, it's all a long story...and horrifically complicated," Tony sighed.

"This is all crazy! How can you expect me to believe this?"

Tony shrugged.

"Don't believe me then. I am not holding you prisoner here. Just say the word and I will have Bart escort you back to the outside world. But I warn you, you would not survive for ten minutes."

I thought of the five Ws of journalism. Who, what, where, when and...

"Why?" I asked. "Even if you are telling me the truth, why would you protect me? You're a Dimera too! And you don't even know me."

Again, Tony gazed at me with that sad longing.

"Perhaps Stefano is not the only Dimera prone to sentiment."

I realized it was because I looked like Renee. Truly, I was starting to see how my face was both a blessing and a curse.

"It is because I look like her."

"I suppose that is part of it, yes."

For the first time, I was extremely jealous of my ghost. The way Tony Dimera would get that distant look when he talked about her. That he would show such devotion to her memory decades after her passing. And, of course, when he looked at me, he did not see Leigh. He saw Renee.

"I am sorry if the sight of me makes you sad..."

"Not sad exactly," Tony confided, his eyes clouding over with distant memories. "Those times have long since past. I was a different man back then. A man who gave to charity, who tried to be respected. Always I was trying to wrest myself away from my father's image. I was very young and very foolish. I suppose Renee was one of my greatest follies."

"How so?"

"Father always said my greatest weakness was my fondness for women. In that sense, he was undoubtedly right as I seem to have wasted my life in one miserable love affair or marriage after another. It is true that I am not the best husband material. I have been known to be unfaithful, possessive and selfish. But I hurt Renee the most of all. Knowing me and loving me killed her."

I was sad to hear Tony Dimera talk like that. Somehow I knew that Renee would not have seen things that way.

A curtain seemed to have descended over Tony's expression. Again, he was the hard cynic.

"You seem to bring out a morose side in me that positively reeks of badly-written melodrama," he smiled lazily. "You are a good listener and have a quality that makes people confide in you. I am sure Deveraux appreciates your work on the paper...and takes all of the credit for it."

Again, I almost started to tell Tony to back off about Jack. But the truth of what he said was so on target that I couldn't help but laugh. Once I started to laugh, I couldn't stop. Tony began to laugh too. It was a great relief of our mutual tension.

"I guess you're right about that..." I admitted. "Jack can be a mean boss at times."

"Ah...you have a beautiful smile," Tony said. "You should laugh more often."

"Well, I don't have much to laugh about these days..." I admitted. "With people trying to kill me every other day."

"Perhaps that may change...at least for the time being," he answered. "Mi casa es su casa, as they say. Just think of this place as a nice little resort from your problems."

"I'm not sure I will be able to do that," I answered. "Where are we anyway?"

I again looked around the bizarre living room that I was in.

"This entire house has been constructed underground. Similar to the bunker Hitler would hide out in at the end of World War II. Soundproof with airtight security. But as you can see," he gestured broadly. "I am a man who likes my comfort and aesthetic pleasures. I have tried to make the place like a second home as much as possible."

"If you like to sleep in the Metropolitan Museum of Art maybe..."

Tony again roared with laugher.

"I love your sense of humor, Miss Daniels. You are a refreshing breath of fresh air! So I am assuming that you are going to stay here? I t would be the sensible thing to do."

I had serious doubts on that score. But against all reason, I believed Tony Dimera was telling me the truth about EJ.

"I suppose I have to stay here if I want to remain alive, don't I?"

"Good, that's settled."

"Well, not really. I mean, how long is this all going to go on? I can't just stay down here forever..."

"Oh, EJ's such an egotist that he is getting sloppy," Tony shrugged. "He will be arrested eventually. And then you'll be safe."

"We have no way of knowing if he's ever going to get caught though, and..."

"Miss Daniels, I am sorry but I am a bit tired. It's been a wearing day. Let me show you to your room.""

I resented being cut off. And I hated feeling so blasted helpless against everything.

Taking me by the arm, Tony led me to a grand hallway, leading to several other rooms. Wherever we were, the place seemed palatial if not dismal. More art and paintings. But I could only seem to think about that hand on my arm, so gentlemanly and courtly. And yet, I felt so unnerved and on edge at the proximity of him. Now that I was less afraid, I became aware of just how attractive I found him.

And he was my uncle, for heaven's sake!

We stopped in front of a guest bedroom where I assumed I was meant to stay.

"Here is your room. Bart can get you anything you might need. We are isolated, but I still have the means to get whatever is necessary from outside."

I looked at my watch. Lord, it was midnight. And I was only now awake from that drug. It was going to be a long night as I wasn't the least bit tired. In fact, I was wired from all of the excitement.

"Good night, Miss Daniels," Tony said with a bow as he kissed my hand in grand European fashion.

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or making fun of me. But his warm mouth against my skin made me feel all shivery. It was just a formal gesture. That was all. Why was I making it so personal? Why was I reacting to every little thing like I had never been with a man before?

I pulled my hand away from him quickly.

"Well, I suppose if I'm going to stay here for a while...you might as well call me Leigh." And then I thought a reminder might be called for. "You are my uncle, after all."

He acted as if my last comment had not even registered.

"Leigh," he responded with an easy smile. "The name suits you."

Why did Tony Dimera always have to make little remarks like that? Commenting on my name and my laugh and...it was so unsettling, this inappropriate flirting. He was probably doing it on purpose just to make me feel on edge. Protector or not, he was still a Dimera, after all. And he liked scaring people.

"Good night," I answered before I quickly turned towards the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. My heart pounded as I leaned against the back of the door. It was just nerves. That was all. This was just a nerve-wracking situation...being abducted or rescued or whatever it is that just happened...

I thought about Jack and Jennifer and Shane. All of the people in London and Salem who must know that I've disappeared and are worried about me. Well, when all of this mess is over, I'd explain everything.

...Assuming this mess would ever be over...

And again I wondered just how long I'd be trapped with Tony Dimera in this underground world.