Chapter Thirteen

The car pulled up the driveway slowly, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to its presence. The driver gripped the steering wheel tightly, willing her nerves to settle quickly. Chloe tucked her hair behind her ear. Then, she picked up the silver necklace that hung from her neck. "Testing, testing," Chloe whispered quietly into it.

Her cell phone rang a second later. Chloe answered before the phone had completed its first chirp. "Does it work?" she questioned anxiously.

Ethan's voice came across the connection, loud and clear. "Of course the device works, Chloe, my dear. It comes through with amazing clarity."

Chloe turned her necklace over, inspecting the tiny electronic device attached securely to it. "That is so amazing," she said into the cell phone. "I can't believe that something so tiny can be that powerful."

Ethan agreed as he answered her, "I know. It is hard to believe how well the bug works. I'm glad I was able to "borrow" it from ISA headquarters. They still don't know about our mission here. If they did, I guarantee you Stefano would be ready for us. As it is, he will be completely shocked by what the three of you have in store for him."

Chloe heard some interesting noises on the line as the phone was taking abruptly out of his hand. Hope's voice came clearly through the connection. "Here's your pep talk, Chloe!" she said with forced gaiety. "All you have to do is go in there, distract DiMera for a few seconds, and plant the bug without him knowing it. Piece of cake."

Chloe laughed sarcastically at her good friend's optimistic encouragement. "Yeah. Definitely a piece of cake. Remember how well my last meeting with Stefano DiMera went?"

"You don't have to do this," Hope responded, losing her forced cheerfulness. "Greta or I can easily complete this part of plan."

"We could!" Greta shouted loudly from her position in the front seat of the nearby car, making sure that Chloe could hear her response.

"Oh, you guys!," Chloe exclaimed through the phone line, an unexpected smile crossing her face. "You are both so sweet! But, this is something I have to do, for my own peace of mind. I need to be the one who places the bug in that awful mausoleum. It'll help me exorcise my own personal demons from the last time I was here."

"Right," Hope agreed, but a small amount of concern continued to lace her statement. "We're here for you, Chloe. Always. We will be listening. If you get into any sort of trouble with DiMera, I'll come in for you."

"I know," Chloe smiled again as she responded to Hope's unconditional support. "You are absolutely amazing, Hope! I hope one day that Shawn and Bo will realize exactly what they let get away from them. You are the kindest, compassionate, most supportive person I have ever met. They have to be crazy if they can't understand your perspective about the past." Chloe took a deep breath before she continued with her opinions to Hope. "You are only guilty of wanting to protect and preserve your family, Hope. Never forget that."

Hope brushed a stray tear that fell down her face. "Chloe, damn you! Now you've made me cry!" She took a deep breath to compose herself and then ordered Chloe, "Now go in there and kick some DiMera ass!"

Chloe laughed delightedly as the line went dead. "Gladly, Hope, gladly." She knew that Hope could hear her through the bug attached to her necklace, and that she was would be laughing now. "Here we are," Chloe said to her necklace, and to the companions in the car a little farther down the road from the mansion, "ready to begin our final stage. Let's break a leg, girls!"

With that prophetic statement of good luck, Chloe opened her car door and strode confidently up the sidewalk to the impressive door of the mansion. She knocked loudly on the door, beginning to eagerly anticipating this confrontation with Stefano DiMera.

"Miss Lane! I mean, Princess!" Illeanna said, flustered, when she opened the door to the surprising guest on the doorstep. She couldn't believe this woman had come back to the mansion. Illeanna had never found out exactly what had happened the last time she was here, but she had witnessed a broken, destroyed, devastated Chloe Lane exit the mansion. What courage to come back, she thought, hoping it wasn't blind and stupid courage.

Chloe walked over the threshold, not waiting to be invited in by Illeanna. "Good day," she greeted Illeanna with a warm smile. "Is my father in this morning?" Chloe inquired, even though she knew the answer. Stefano's activities had been closely monitored by Ethan since early this morning.

"Illeanna, who is at the door?" Stefano asked as he walked to the hallway from the living room, carrying a rolled-up newspaper with him. He looked up and allowed a surprised look to cross his face before he could hastily wipe it away. He had not predicted this visitor to his house. "Chloe, what a surprise!"

"I'm certain it is," Chloe responded with a sarcastic grin. She walked with continued confidence from the hallway into Stefano's living room, passing him without an acknowledgement of his presence.

Stefano raised his eyebrow as he once again showed his surprise and followed closely behind Chloe. He closed the connecting doors with a snap, in order to give the two of them privacy. "Like I said, this is a surprise. Pleasant or not?"

"Probably, not," Chloe answered, deliberately hesitating on her answer, as she surveyed the room in front of her quickly. When her eyes fell on the object she was searching for, she looked immediately towards her father. "I did not like how our meeting went the other day, at Salem Place, so I have decided to remedy that."

Stefano walked over to his liquor stand and began pouring himself a drink of brandy, even though it was late morning. "Drink?" he asked his daughter politely, who refused with a shake of her elegant head. Stefano drank briefly from his glass, and then asked Chloe, "So, what did you want to remedy about our last meeting?"

Chloe trailed her hand across the mahogany coffee table, keeping her prey in the corner of her eye. Maybe I am more of a DiMera than I would like to admit, she thought as she pondered the consequences of her next move with Stefano. "I wanted to make a few things clear to you. Stefano." She added his name deliberately, letting DiMera know clearly that she did not expect to acknowledge his relationship to her.

Stefano held a tight lid on his sudden fury that her deliberate use of his first name erupted in him, trying to remain calm before his daughter. He couldn't fathom a reason for this sudden visit by her. He spread his arms out in front of him, deciding to allow her to continue. "By all means, my dear."

Chloe slowly sauntered over to the chessboard that was set up across from the sofa. She picked up a pawn from the board and inspected it, in much the same way Stefano had done the fateful day he had ruined her dreams. Only it's payback time now, she thought, her excitement over the imminent downfall of her father overriding any anxiety she felt about meeting with him.

She began her reasons for being there slowly, as she turned the pawn around in her hand. "The last time I was here, you made me your newest pawn. You like to force people to bend to your will, to do what you want them to do. Look at Hope Brady. You took her memory and implanted someone else's in her mind. Hope could not control her actions when you wiped out her cherished memories. You made her become a completely different person! As a consequence of your interference, Hope's world shattered. You watched blithely by as her life crashed around her, and continued to add to it. I'll even bet that you enjoyed her pain."

Stefano watched his daughter closely, trying to interpret the look on her face, but he only meet with failure this time. "Of course I enjoyed her pain, Chloe. And the pain of her son and husband. I knew exactly how Bo and Shawn Brady would react to their precious Hope. They are like puppets, and I so enjoyed pulling their strings, dictating in which direction they would go. I was ecstatic that Bo and Shawn behaved so predictably, blaming Hope for actions she couldn't possibly control. Hope Brady has been one of my best pawns yet."

Chloe nodded as she said, "Hmm. That's true. You seem to have collected a lot of pawns over the years. Your plan for Hope was much more complicated than your plan for me."

"Exactly," Stefano agreed smoothly. He was beginning to realize that Chloe had come her to show her "strength" to him. He could admire her courage. After all, she was a DiMera. "I had two very simple plans for you. One, to make you accept the name DiMera." He laughed suddenly in remembrance. "But you couldn't be bribed. You willingly gave up every chance to become a huge opera star, simply for your ethics! I commend you for your beliefs, my dear, I truly do."

Chloe laid the pawn back down on the board with a sharp snap, and kept her hand trained on the side of chessboard. "Yes, you couldn't bribe me to do what you desired with the first deal. But, in the end, I ended up doing exactly what you wanted me to."

"Ah, yes, plan B." Stefano laughed as he remembered the pain that one caused to the Black family. "I have come to enjoy plan B so much more than my initial plan for you. And you have fulfilled it admirable."

"You've also kept up your end of it. That surprised me," Chloe admitted to her father, meeting his gaze squarely.

Stefano waved his hands expressively in the air. "Think nothing of it, my dear Chloe. I was perfectly willing to end my devious plans for the Black family, as long as you successfully ended your relationship with Brady Black. I must admit," he said with an evil laugh that sent shivers up Chloe's spine, "I have adored the pain your supposedly careless leaving has caused all of the Blacks. And they have never known that I orchestrated the whole set-up! You have taken the responsibility for it!" He laughed snidely as he waved one hand lightly in the air. "So much better than anything else I could have planned for the Blacks."

Stefano placed his brandy glass gently on the table as he continued, "And I was able to prove to you, my youngest daughter, exactly how ruthless I could be. You snubbed me, Chloe, and your heritage. My second plan was aimed at you and the Blacks. You have experienced pain, so much more pain than Brady Black. Your pain has no end. Any pain Brady feels at your desertion should be long gone by now. You, and you alone, have the unfortunate knowledge about the reason for your break-up. Brady continues to be blissfully unaware of your true motives, and is able to move on with his life. Instead, you are caught in that painful tailspin. I believe that you will never recover from the pain of the enforced separation, my dear."

"Well," Chloe countered her father, holding onto her anger tightly and preparing to complete her reason for being her, "I am here to tell you that I will continue to adhere to our deal. But, I will never be your pawn again!" With that, Chloe used both of hands to upend Stefano's beloved chessboard onto the carpeted floor of the living room.

Stefano's response was immediate and furious as the chessboard and its pieces cluttered to the ground. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he roared at her with livid fury painted across his face as he bent down to pick up some of the pieces.

While his head was down and he was busy picking up the pieces, Chloe quickly leaned down and attached the small bug to the bottom of the chessboard. She placed it so it was standing the right way. "Just proving my point, Stefano, dear." She repeated the "dear" sarcastically to her father, pleased with the outcome of this meeting. Chloe looked down her nose at her father and turned around, leaving the room at a dignified pace. She grinned to herself as she saw herself out of the stuffy mansion. I wonder if the bug will be able to pick up any incriminating information, Chloe wondered as she headed towards her car.

Stefano called angrily for Illeanna as he searched for his beloved chess pieces on the ground, absolutely furious at his youngest daughter. "Illeanna!" he shouted loudly, his voice echoing throughout the house. "Get in here and help me clean this mess up!"