I know, I know. It's been FOREVER since I updated this story and most of you have forgotten about it but it's time to finish it. My love for it was recently renewed and I have a newfound drive to complete it. I hope some of you are still reading and, if you're feeling generous, please review!

Chapter 29...

"This is insane," Sarah shook her head, walking back and forth. They were at Owen's apartment, trying to make sense of what they'd discovered that night. According to Martin Greenburg, Jacinda Bernahl and Savannah Holbrook lived in the apartment that was supposed to have belonged to Michael.

"It is," Owen agreed, sitting at his desk, looking at side by side pictures of Jacinda and Savannah on his computer. "But that doesn't mean it's wrong."

Sarah studied the pictures again. She'd looked at them before and the only similarity she found in the two women was the shape of their eyes. Could a person really change that much with plastic surgery? Jacinda had obviously had work done, her face was a little too perfect. But could she really be Savannah?

"This doesn't make sense," she shook her head.

"Aren't you the one that said Savannah may be hiding in plain sight, enjoying her handiwork?" Owen asked. After talking to Martin, he was convinced.

"I did but I didn't think she could be this far engrained," Sarah explained. "Married to one of Mark's best friends. Working for Cory. This is just unreal. Maybe Martin was wrong. His ID probably wouldn't hold up in court. Maybe I led him somehow."

"You didn't lead him," Owen shook his head. "He chose Jacinda's picture all on his own. Come on, Sarah, I know it seems crazy but forget about Martin for a second. Think about that credit card statements. All those flights to and from New Jersey that Cory couldn't have taken, that she knows nothing about. Think about that."

"Has Yvonne called yet?" Sarah asked.

On the way back from the Greenburg's, Owen called Yvonne and told her what was going on. She had called in a favor with the police department to have someone run a check on Jacinda.

"Nothing yet," Owen shook his head, still staring at the pictures.

"I still can't get a hold of her or Mark," Sarah said, looking down at her phone. She'd tried calling both of them several times but they weren't answering. She'd left messages but so far she hadn't heard anything back. If Jacinda really was Savannah, she wanted to warn them right away.

"They're supposed to be back in New York in the morning," Owen reminded her.

Sarah sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I just hope the news can wait that long."


The Next Morning…

Savannah watched from across the street as Taylor pulled out of the parking garage behind the wheel of Cory's BMW. She was fresh out of the loony bin and Cory had moved her right into her house and given her the keys to the castle. She was incredibly trusting. She was also incredibly stupid.

Savannah smiled looking down at her set of keys to Cory's building. She'd made copies before she returned all of her keys just in case she needed them. She certainly did now. Cory and her stupid little friends were getting way too close. Now her parents were dead and it was all their fault. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? Why couldn't they just accept that Dawn wasn't coming back? She could feel her shoulders growing tense as she thought about it. She couldn't understand why so many people cared so much about Dawn. She was a useless human being. Her only contribution to the world was Savannah's beautiful baby girl. She gripped the keys tightly in her hand, feeling them dig into her palm. She needed to stop thinking so much. When she got angry she got sloppy and she couldn't afford that. Not when she was so close.

"She hates me Gram," Cory said, putting the dogs bowls down on the floor. She was trying to get their food set out before the doorman brought them back from their walk. When her grandmother called asking how she'd gotten along with John's parents, Cory almost didn't answer. There was no point in trying to hide it though, her grandmother could always get it out of her.

"She can't hate you dear," Jeannette insisted. "She barely knows you and anyone who knows you loves you."

"Oh she can hate me," Cory insisted. "And she does. She caught us about to have sex in his kitchen. And then she saw Hunter hugging me and apparently misinterpreted that. She probably thinks I'm some nympho."

"Well if you were there wouldn't be anything wrong with that," Jeannette laughed. "But you're not. I'm sure John's mother will realize that sooner or later."

"We'll see," Cory sighed. "Alright, I'm gonna jump in the shower. I've gotta pick John up from the airport in a couple hours. We'll see you and Stephen for dinner tonight."

"I'll see you then sweetheart," Jeanette said warmly before hanging up.

Cory pulled off her t-shirt and jeans on her way to the bathroom, dropping them in the hamper by her bathroom door. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower but before she got in, she remembered that she'd left her cell phone in the living room. It had died the night before and she couldn't find her charger anywhere so she'd waited until she got home to charge it. She hadn't touched it since, using the house phone instead, so the battery had to be full. She pulled her robe down from it's hook on the bathroom door and slipped it on before going to get it. She grabbed the phone from the charging station on the coffee table and turned it on as she walked back toward her bedroom. She frowned when the screen informed her that she had 7 new voicemails. 4 were from Sarah, 3 from Owen. She was about to listen to them when she heard a rustling noise coming from Taylor's room. She frowned, knowing Taylor had left already and the dogs weren't in the house. She pulled her robe closed tighter, slipping the phone into her pocket for the moment and walking toward the room. She could feel her heartbeat growing faster as she reached the doorway. The door was cracked and she pushed it open, peering inside. Everything seemed to be in order, Taylor had even made the bed before she left.

Cory frowned. She just knew something was amiss. She could feel it.

She was turning around to check the bathroom across the hall when she felt a blinding pain in the side of her head.


Chris smiled when he saw Taylor walk into the restaurant. It still tugged at his heart to see her looking so healthy. She was wearing a navy blue pea coat, her blonde waves flowing from underneath a white knit hat. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold but she looked happy.

"Hi," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey there," he smiled. "How are you?"

"Freezing," she laughed, taking off her hat and setting it down beside her. "Other than that, I'm okay. You?"

"Pretty much the same," he answered. He was glad she'd asked him out to lunch. There were some things he wanted to talk to her about. Although now, sitting across from her smiling face, he wasn't sure how to approach them. She was obviously doing leaps and bounds better and he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize that but he still had questions about the things she was seeing in the hospital. He thought back to the mutilated teddy bear that Paula found. There was something going on and as much as he wished he could keep her away from it, he was fairly certain that Taylor was at the center.

"I'm just glad Cory's car has heated seats," Taylor laughed, taking off her gloves. "You should see that thing. It's amazing."

"You got a roommate and a car?" Chris smirked. "I'm jealous."

"Cory's been great," Taylor smiled. "It's just so weird, you know? I feel like I'm lying to her and that's the last thing that I wanna do. But at the same time, the only thing I can think of that would be worse is telling her that Frank is her father."

"She really doesn't know anything at all about her real father?" Chris asked.

"Not that I know of," Taylor shook her head. "And I don't want to be the one to tell her and Jessica."

Taylor was about to say something else but then her phone chimed. She gave Chris an apologetic look before pulling it out of her purse, "Sorry, I just have to check it. I've taken over everything for Cory since…"

Taylor trailed off, reading something on the phone. Her blue eyes darkened and Chris frowned, concerned.

"Taylor?" he reached out, touching her hand.

"Huh?" she seemed to snap out of it, looking up at him. She forced a smile, shaking her head, "I'm sorry I uh..It's just a cancellation for one of Mark's signings."

"Are you sure that's it?" he asked.

Her face had gone pale but she kept her smile on, "Yeah, that's all."


Savannah stood over Cory, swinging the club at her head again. She slipped and missed, hitting the floor. It didn't matter. She was already unconscious. A giggle escaped her as she thought about the way the other woman's body crumpled when she hit her. She looked down at the club in her hand, considering hitting her again. Before she could, she was startled by a sound near the front of the apartment. She stopped moving, listening for it again. She recognized it as keys. Someone was opening the front door. She could practically hear her heart beating in her ears and she rushed to the back door, yanking it open and slipping out before whoever it was got inside.


Mark squinted against the light, yawning as he rolled over onto his back. He was on the couch in his hotel room. He'd fallen asleep a few minutes after he checked in. He hadn't slept much at all the night before. He couldn't stop thinking about Dawn. He kept thinking about what things would be like if she was still there. He missed her so deeply. He missed the sound of her voice, the smell of her hair. Lately he couldn't seem to close his eyes without seeing her face. He reached over, picking up his cell phone. He figured he'd find out what Cory and John were doing that night. He didn't want to be alone. When he turned the phone on, it started ringing as soon as it picked up a signal.

"Hello?" he answered, seeing that it was Sarah.

"Oh thank God," she said, sounding out of breath. "I've been trying to call you for hours."

"I turned off my phone," he explained groggily, sitting up. "Is everything alright?"

"Not entirely," Sarah explained. "I hate to do this over the phone and it's gonna sound crazy but…We think Jacinda could be behind Dawn's disappearance."

"Jacinda?" Mark frowned. "Sarah, that isn't possible."

"It is, Mark, I swear," she insisted. "Listen, Owen and I are on the way to Cory's right now. I'll explain everything. Can you just meet us there?"

"Yeah," Mark said, instantly feeling wide awake. "I'll be right there."


"Baby?" John dropped his bags just inside the door, closing it behind him. He'd taken an earlier flight after his appearance got cancelled and he couldn't wait to see her. He was barely awake when she left for the airport that morning. He frowned, knowing she was home. The doorman had asked him to tell her he'd bring the dogs up shortly. He walked through the living room, figuring she was in the bedroom and she hadn't heard him.

"Babe?" he called when he got to the hallway. He stopped walking when he saw her. She was lying on the floor in her bathrobe.

"Cory!" he yelled, rushing to her side. He pulled her up into his arms, tapping the side of her face, "Baby, wake up."

She didn't respond at all and he held her close, sitting her completely upright. He saw blood trickling down the right side of her face

"Oh my God," he scrambled to get his cell phone out of his pocket, while still holding her up.

He could feel her shallow breathing and he dialed 9-1-1, using his shoulder to hold the phone to his ear as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the living room.

"9-1-1, What's your emergency?"


Dawn could hear the front door slam open and she cringed. Every time that Savannah came back she wondered if it would be her last day. She still couldn't figure out why Savannah was keeping her alive but she knew, whatever the reason, it wouldn't last forever. Eventually, Savannah was going to kill her. She certainly wasn't about to let her go after everything that had happened.

For once, Dawn wasn't feeling horribly nauseous. Whatever Savannah and Jim were giving her, they'd laid off for a few days. She didn't feel normal but she felt better than she had recently. She hoped that Savannah had Shelby with her. If she was planning on leaving her with Jim, then that meant Dawn could convince him to let her hold her little girl again. The prospect of getting to hold her baby, to touch her tiny hands and feet and see her absolutely perfect face; that was the only thing that kept her going.

"Good morning sunshine," Savannah sang cheerfully walking into the room.

Dawn was immediately frightened. Savannah looked positively giddy.

"You won't believe the day I've had so far," Savannah smiled. "And it's only gonna get better."