Chapter 25

Before Bianca took the poison she said a little prayer, asking god to forgive her and reuinte her with Miranda in heaven. Bianca had committed a lot of sins in the past year, and was now committing suicide. She considered the possibility she'd go to hell, but took that chance to end the pain. Bianca wasn't entirely sure where she was. There weren't clouds or brimstone, just emptiness. But she saw only one person here, someone she'd hoped never to see again, Michael Cambias. He had that smirk on his face, the one that haunted her dreams. Bianca realized she was probably in hell.

Michael: Hello Bianca. Think of me as your guardian devil.

Bianca: Are we in hell?

Michael: Good question. I've been here almost a year, feels a lot longer, and you're the first person I've been able to talk with here. There's no torture and I figure that Hitler and Stalin are suffering worse than we are.

Bianca: And we're stuck together.

Michael: Clearly someone has a very dark sense of humor. I for one was on the verge of more wealth and power than most people dare to dream about, only to get shot and killed mere hours before my father died.

Bianca: You tried to hurt me, again.

Michael: For a long time I was very angry. I found myself able to haunt you, give you nightmares. One night, I actually haunted most of Pine Valley. I helped you remember, hoping you would go to the electric chair. Instead you got off, and found the strength to resist my hauntings. So there I was stuck here, unable to talk with anyone. Able to only watch as you got ready to raise my kid and enjoy my money.

Bianca: Miranda was my child, she had no connection to you.

Michael: Fair point. I wouldn't have been a good father even if I had lived. Then of course something happenned. I won't lie, I loved seeing you suffer at first, especially when you pointed a gun at Erica. I hated my father, but I never tried to kill him.

Bianca: You're right. Maybe I do deserve to be here.

Michael: Maybe you do. Except, I don't really want you here. I've had a lot of time to think, to live, for lack of a better word, with self-regret. Seeing you mourn her, it was clear you possess feelings of love I haven't known for a very long time.

Bianca: Did you ever love anyone?

Michael: Yes, a long time ago. But I choose wealth and power over love. There was a time, I could've had it all with Kendall. We could've been happy, even had kids of our own, but I screwed it up so bad. But there's still hope for you.

Bianca: How, we're both dead?

Michael: Technically, you're not dead, not yet. Hayward is a good doctor, he's given you a chance. You still have time to return to your body and fight to live.

Bianca: I can't go back.

Michael: Exactly how bad is your life, if I'm the better option?

Bianca: What would be the point? To await my execution, to face Kendall after what I did?

Michael: So your life isn't perfect. You can fight at trial, and Kendall will forgive you. You're all the family she has left.

Bianca: Why should I ever listen to you?

Michael: I wasn't born this way you know. I was an innocent once, just like Miranda. But Miranda is in danger of the same thing happenning to her.

Bianca: Miranda is dead. She's in heaven, safe from you forever.

Michael: Actually, she's not. She's alive, but in danger. And despite everything you've done, particularly to me, I still think you're her best chance of being a good person. I don't want Miranda to end up like me. As I recall you went to great lengths to prevent anyone from knowing I was her father.

Bianca: You're lying. I don't know what you're game is but Miranda is dead.

Michael: You didn't think so. You took her from the hospital because on some level you knew who she really was.

Bianca: Bess? No, I can't go there again.

Michael: Okay, don't listen to me. Listen to what your heart is telling you, what you've always known deep inside.

Bianca looked into her own heart, the one she had shared with Miranda. She knew it was true, Miranda was alive.

Bianca: Oh my god, it's true. What have I done. I killed my own mother for nothing.

Michael: There's still time. Go, protect her. Don't you let her end turn out like me.

Bianca: Thank you.