"Don't do anything stupid," Ridge warned as he moved both feet onto the Stella Maris. "Where is your father? Where is he, Liam?"

Liam pulled Steffy close to him and held the gun out toward Ridge. "You're not stopping me. He's going to pay for what he did. He stole my wife and tried to kill me. He deserves everything he gets from here on out."

"Bill is an asshole," Ridge supplied. "He wasn't right to take Steffy from you, but she didn't do anything. Look at her face," Ridge waved his hand out. "She's pregnant and terrified. Do you want that for your baby?"

What the hell? Steffy swallowed hard, listening to Ridge. He knew as well as she did there was no way Liam was the father of her child.

"She loves you, Liam. You're just scaring her. You don't want her to be afraid of you, right? She will never be able to love you the way you want if she's afraid. You let her go. I'll help you get rid of Bill. We can toss him in this water together."

Steffy was horrified by what she was hearing but looked into her father's eyes. He was making a small head gesture that only she noticed, and her heart leaped. He wasn't alone.

"You hate him, huh?" Liam laughed. "You hate him so much, but I think..." Liam waved the gun in his face, and Steffy screamed. "I think you love her more. You know this baby isn't mine. You know she said I sucked the life out of her and he made her feel alive again. You know I'm not letting him have her and that if she doesn't want me she won't make it off this boat."

"Get your hands off my daughter," Ridge warned. "I hate your father, I wish there was anyone else for her, but you aren't going anywhere with my little girl."

"And she's not going anywhere if not with me." Liam slid his finger to the trigger and squeezed. Ridge dove for cover, reaching a hand out to grab Steffy. He drew her from Liam as bullet after bullet popped into his flesh.

Steffy counted about four impactful hits before Liam fell into the water below. She couldn't scream, she couldn't speak. Steffy just looked up at the man who had been in her corner for months and felt a sense of relaxation. Jason.

"You okay?" Jason spoke, running his hand over her face.

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. Bill got hit in the head. He was asleep. How did..."

"Brenda saw someone sitting in a car when she left and said they looked suspicious. She called me, and I called your father. I needed to know who else would be after you. We met up here."

Jason was stripping down, and Steffy stayed cradled in Ridge's arms. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting him out of that water. I didn't shoot to kill because I want to know who helped him pull this off. Whoever is helping him needs to be dealt with."

"Sanchez," Steffy supplied. "He helped Liam fake his death and was planning on sending Bill to jail. I need... I have to check on my husband."

Steffy stood and raced down the steps to get to Bill as he was groggily rising in bed. "Honey, don't sit up too fast," Steffy rushed to his side. "I'm going to get you some ice. Do you need a doctor? I can—"

"Steffy, stop. I'm okay. I'm fine. I heard a voice, and I know it's crazy, but—"

"Liam isn't dead. It was a trick. They're setting you up, and I want to do the same thing for you that you did for me. Let me handle this, Bill. Let me take care of Liam and Sanchez. The biggest part of all this is that your son is alive."

"Did he hurt you?" Bill's fingers instinctively caressed her stomach. "Did he hurt you in any way?"

Bill seemed to have missed most of what she said and let his protective nature take over. All he seemed to be registering was her and the baby. "Bill, did you hear me? Your son is alive. You didn't kill him."

"I can't think about that. I can't..." Bill's breathing became labored. "He tried to set me up. I kept seeing him, I thought I was going crazy. I'd see him around town, or so I thought, and it was making me crazy. I thought I was crazy."

"You're not, and you didn't kill anyone." Steffy put her forehead to his. "I still want you checked out. I want to make sure your head isn't jumbled. I need you at your very best for the rest of this to go smoothly."

"The rest of what?"

"Liam and Detective Sanchez want to send you to jail. You're not going, Bill. I won't allow it. Now, Jason shot Liam. He's not dead, but he's going to talk. He's unstable, but we're going to use this. I know he's your son—"

"I didn't want him dead, Steffy I didn't want him to die, but coming after us again is going to have consequences."

Steffy smiled and tossed Bill his clothes. Get dressed, I'm heading back up. We have some calls to make and some quick decisions."

"I meant what I said," Bill called out to her as she walked up the steps.

"What?" Steffy inquired.

"You're the best thing in my life. Nothing will ever hurt you."

"And no one is going to take you away from me," Steffy assured him. "Just get dressed."

Steffy clutched the phone she grabbed on the way up and sighed, leaning her back against the wall. She wasn't sure what she was going to do or how to explain any of this, but she knew who would.

Liam had tried to kill Bill, and in self-defense, Bill knocked him out, but Bill had also staged a crime that she knew about. Now, not only was she privy, so was a dirty cop. Liam showing up on the boat would help her nail him, but how would she get to Sanchez? His word against Bill's could be detrimental. She needed help.

The phone rang a few times before the intended party answered, Steffy had never been more relieved in her life.

"We need to talk. How fast can you get to the boat?" Once she was informed in a little over an hour, she sighed and closed her eyes. "Good. I'll be waiting, but umm, do you have someone you trust at the hospital?"


Steffy took a seat in Bill's chair, sighing into the air. She ran a hand over her stomach that held her baby and a slew of butterflies. "Mommy is doing this for you and daddy," she promised her child. "I'd do anything for you."

"They say talking to yourself means you're crazy," Justin walked in and laughed. "I know Queen Spencer isn't crazy."

"Queen Spencer is fully intact and ready to do business. You've made arrangements I presume."

"Everything you asked for," Justin nodded with a slick smile. "Dolla is a lucky man. I can't believe he found a woman with such, uh, talents. You look good in that chair."

Steffy only smiled in response. She'd left Bill at her mother's place. She'd insisted they stay with her until their house was fine. Steffy thought it was to keep an eye on her. Ridge had told her about the incident on the Stella Maris, but not many other people were privy to what happened there. They had handled it quickly and quietly.

"I'm so happy I could be here because he can't." Bill had suffered a concussion from the hit to the head and was advised to take a few days off. Taylor, much to Steffy's surprise, was looking after him. They'd had a tumultuous relationship in the past, but her parents seemed to be coming around to the idea that she was never leaving Bill. Not as long as he treated her the way he did, and they both admitted he would do anything for her safety.

"You know once we do this we can't go back. It's either sink or swim," Justin warned.

"I'm aware of the repercussions. I'm not afraid of any two-bit suit. No one messes with my family and gets away with it."

Justin grinned, taking in a deep breath as he swung the office door open. "I'm right here beside you. If you need me, squeeze my hand."

"That won't be necessary," Steffy cleared her throat. "I'm completely ready for every part of this."

Justin stood at Steffy's side like a united front, and Allison escorted in their expected guest.

"Mrs. Spencer," Detective Sanchez held out a hand for her to shake, and with a look and cleared throat, she declined his offer.

"Detective," Steffy sat up, lacing her fingers together. "Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. I was interested to see what information you had on the attack of my husband at our boat. You can imagine the uneasiness I might feel, being in a delicate position and all." Steffy ran a hand over her stomach. She was showing a little now and could use it to her advantage when she wanted to drive a point home.

"I assure you we are working tirelessly to figure out exactly what happened on the boat that day. Your cooperation is much appreciated. We're just looking for credible witnesses to identify whoever attacked Mr. Spencer. It's a shame you didn't catch a glimpse of who did it."

Steffy laughed, and Detective Sanchez looked puzzled. "Is there something I don't know about?"

"When you speak of Mr. Spencer, I find myself wondering which one you mean. There is a Wyatt, my husband, of course, and then there is Liam."

"The deceased Mr. Spencer can't hurt you any further, and as far as your other stepson, I thought you were on great terms."

"Wyatt is everything family should be, and as for Liam, you and I both know he isn't deceased, or maybe you're wondering if he might be this time."

"This time?" Detective Sanchez questioned. "I'm not sure if I follow—"

Steffy stood, and Justin cleared his throat. "It's going to go like this. Whatever you think you have on Bill Spencer, you're going to get rid of. We have your witness. He tried to kill my client and his wife again. Bill made an error in judgment by throwing Liam in the water after their fight, but you made one by letting that lunatic on the loose. Four eyewitnesses can place him on the Stella Maris after you filed a false death report," Justin informed him.

"This is not let's make a deal. Your client broke the law. He has to pay for that."

"Bill was afraid, he panicked, but this, what you did, was criminal as well."

"You have no proof," Sanchez voiced a rebuttal.

Clicking a recording on her phone, Steffy held it up and let it play. A full confession from Liam's lips, beat out of him by Sonny and Jason filtered into the air, and a wicked smile crossed Steffy's lips. She'd covered her bases before calling him there.

"I'm sure you've heard how my husband can be. He doesn't back down, he doesn't lose easily, and for as much as I love him, I can be much worse. I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Make no mistake about it, we have the upper hand. You were brought here to be offered a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" He seemed to hate being in such a precarious position. Steffy knew blackmailing a detective could push her into serious jail time, but she knew she had this battle won. They'd have to watch their backs, but she'd take that hit.

"You make what you have on Bill go away, and I will make Liam's version of things less about you and more about him getting the help he needs." Steffy shrugged.

"How do I know he's not already dead?"

Justin slid him a photo of Liam with a newspaper. "Taken before I got here," Justin advised.

Sanchez rolled his eyes, and after a momentary silence, he nodded and cleared his throat. "Liam was unhinged and tried to kill your husband. He faked his own death and came after you. He will be released into psychiatric care," Sanchez agreed.

"No. That's not the deal. You can't be trusted to get the job done. I will oversee the arrangements. After all, I'm the next of kin fro Liam outside of Bill. He's going to a facility I choose. You will have no contact. You are to control the narrative, or this blows up for everyone."

Steffy tapped her phone again and played back the portion of the conversation she had recorded. She had him admitting to knowing about Liam.

"You are doing your husband no favors. You have to know there is a darkness in him that led him to throw his own son in that water," Sanchez pleaded.

"I can understand why you might be worried about me or think that I don't know what Bill is capable of. I know that man, every crease of him, and he'd do anything to protect me. He'd never hurt his family willingly. Liam lost that sense, and even now, Bill isn't willing to give up on him. You know nothing about his darkness, but also know nothing about his light either."

"And you think you and your baby are safe? What if you become the next problem? What if you and your baby forget this family oath?"

"Me and my child are as safe as we will ever be." Steffy walked to the door and opened it, waving her hand out for him to leave. "And you are as safe as you'd like to be as long as we all understand what would be lost if any of us breathed a word about our involvements."

"No one will hear it from me," Sanchez agreed. He walked to the door and looked back at Steffy before shaking his head. "You're nothing like what I thought. I expected an airheaded, flighty socialite, but you're anything but."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Steffy grinned.

"It was meant as one." Sanchez left the office, and Steffy exhaled. She wasn't sure if it would go as smoothly, but Justin had assured her he'd have her back. He had come through.

"Does this mean it's over?" Steffy looked back for Justin's approval.

"Liam is going to the facility we decided on, and yes. Sanchez would be a fool to speak a word of this to anyone with all the evidence we have it would be career suicide."

Justin had a cousin, Olivia, that was a physician. She just happened to be in town when everything happened, and she took care of Liam after the shooting. Just as Jason said, he was an excellent shot. He missed all vital organs and made sure that each shot hurt like hell.

Liam had been well cared for, and Taylor tried talking to him about his obvious psychotic break. In their sessions, it was revealed that Liam had been the one helping Hope obtain the pills that eventually drove her mad. He felt guilty because she said she was taking them for an injury, and he'd kept feeding them to her.

He'd been so focused on winning against Bill he had ignored the issues in front of him with Hope. He'd come to understand his part in all this, and as much as Bill wanted to hate him, he couldn't accomplish it. Family was so important to Bill, but even he had admitted that Liam no longer fit the mold. He would take care of Liam's stay at the facility Steffy had chosen, but he'd admonished to never see him again.

Ridge of all people, wanted to throw the book at him, but Bill had talked him into seeing that isolation without another loving soul he cared for would hurt Liam more than death. Ridge agreed after a debate to end all debates, and Steffy was surprised when Bill and Ridge ended in a handshake of mutual respect. Maybe hell was freezing over, she thought, or maybe her father was finally accepting her life as is because he didn't want to be an outside spectator as she promised he would if he didn't learn to respect her choices.

"Do me a favor, Justin."

"Anything."

"The next time you and Bill plot without me, make sure the person is really dead."

"Hopefully there won't be more bodies to dispose of," Justin chuckled.

"You never know," Steffy joked. "I say we have about fifty more years together to cause more trouble."

"Well, I'll get the shovels and the black gear."

"And I'll bring the brains. You two clearly can't plan without me."

"We could," Justin said quickly, "but it wouldn't be as fun. Now, on to legal matters." Justin handed her a few papers. "You have to sign the new wills. Your baby and your granddaughter were added."

"Granddaughter," Steffy hissed. "I'm a grandmother at thirty. Never saw that one coming."

"I did," Justin smiled. "The minute I laid eyes on you with Bill, I saw you right here with him. Sometimes you just know."

"You never said anything," Steffy tilted her head. "For a second, I didn't think you liked me."

"I liked you. I've been one of the only people Bill trusted in this world for years, and you came and won his trust with little effort. I needed you to prove you were ready. I was waiting for you to show me that the power you held over him was deserved."

"And did I? Did I show you?"

"More than you know. I definitely feel this. Between you two, you could set the world on fire."

"I'm settling for Los Angeles," Steffy snickered. "And maybe Milan. I hear it's beautiful there. The perfect place to take a woman."

"What are you getting at?" Justin looked puzzled.

"I saw that gorgeous woman leaving your office the other day. So Hillary Curtis, huh? She's gorgeous."

"How did you know her name?"

"I have good friends in high places. They can find anyone anywhere."

Justin sat and began to tell Steffy the story of how he and Hillary met, and she listened, feeling the heat of his story. She was excited for him. Their relationship had the making of an epic romance. She hoped he got it. No one deserved one more than Justin.