I work 70+ hours a week.
I haven't reread this chapter in months... So, let's just say this isn't exactly edited.
Chapter Fifty-One
A Mother's Love
She sat in the dark of the den waiting for him to arrive. Knowing that he had never made it to the prison to visit their son, she was certain the reason was... good, to his standards, of course. The consequences of the reason was a different story. If her husband was made to be the winner in the never-ending war that he waged against the Cassadine-Corinthos family, she would lose. However, if he was made to be the loser, she would win.
Of course, it depended on how one looked at it.
Upon recounting what Robin had just done to the medical records of those sitting in the room, Jason stared at the group. Squeezing the bridge of her nose as she counted to ten numerous times, Alexis sat on the arm of the chair on which Luke was seated. With her feet on the coffee table and undoubtedly thinking of the implications of what had been done, Kristina was looking as pale as ever as she sat between her namesake and older cousin. And Sam, seated with her husband, looked as though she either had not heard a word that had been said or she simply no longer cared about the curveballs life had thrown at her family. However, in spite of all of the reactions to his news, it was Stefan who had finally spoken up on the matter.
- "What an imbecile that child is," he said with a note of disgust he did not bother to hide from the man whom Robin had considered a best friend. "What in the world has possessed that girl - in whom none of us have confided, I might add - to take it upon herself to interfere in matters that do not concern her?!"
- "She was only trying to be useful," Tina attempted to defend the woman. "She wanted to hel-"
Stefan threw up his hands in annoyance.
- "I do not believe any one of us requested her assistance in this matter, darling," he quickly rebutted. "With our plan as it had been, we always had a way to defend the birth certificates of that precious child. . .error," he slowly said as he paused for effect between each word. "The records of Kristina Cassadine and Kristina Corinthos-Cassadine born on similar dates in the same hospital in Greece were easily confused on the day a premature Danielle Natasha Cassadine was rushed into this very same hospital after a home birth. THAT was what made this plan work. YOUR cosmic Gods, or what have you, darling, were in our favor in every way upon that child's birth, and this fool-"
- "She isn't a fool, Stefan," Jason defended his friend.
Luke cleared his throat.
- "She might not be a fool, Jason, but she definitely isn't too bright," he dryly spoke. "I mean, I might not care for this family," he stopped to look over at the women that surrounded him, "with the exception of a few, of course," he said with a wink. "But one thing I do know is that they're thorough and think things through. Why in the world did she think they needed her help?"
- "Because she knows that Warren has been snooping around looking for answers that we weren't planning on giving him anytime in this millennium, that's why," Alexis spoke up. She casted a quick glance at her two daughters for their reactions to what had just been said. Their unresponsiveness worried her. "So, complaining about the fact that she did what she did is not going to do anything for us. It's already done. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"
- "This is ridiculous!" Tired of the discussion already, Sam stood to her feet. When all eyes fell on her as though anticipating that she would have something to say on the matter, she simply removed her husband's hand from her own and walked toward the staircase. "While you guys figure all of this out, I'm going to go see my daughter," she said. "I'm not dealing with this anymore. When you come up with a plan to eliminate Warren and Kiefer from our lives rather than tweak this cover-up some more or sit around and talk about things instead really doing anything, then come find me."
When Stefan moved to stop her, Alexis held him in his place. She knew her children well enough to know their breaking points; Sam, was a mere mile away from there.
- "Leave her alone," she said as she watched her eldest daughter climb the staircase. While she in no way supported killing the man - that is not the type of person they were - she knew they needed to stop him before he used the information he had found against them. "Listen, she's right-"
- "You want us to kill him, Alexis?" Tina incredulously asked her sister. "Surely-"
But Alexis put her hand up to stop her from continuing.
- "Like anyone else in this room, I'd love to see that son-of-a-bitch burn in hell for the crap that he's done to not only this family, but to his poor wife and even to his son," she began. "But if I had wanted to participate in his demise, I would've allowed my husband - who clearly is on his own rampage - to do so a long time ago." She sighed as the memory of seeing her husband's car turn toward his old territory. Alas, that was not where her attention needed to be. "No, we need to figure out how to stop him and make him pay for the crap that he's done and covered up. Like his son, the man belongs in prison."
- "But he's got Auerbach in his back pocket, Alexis," Lucky shook his head in disgust. "He's got something on that man that is allowing him to get away with beating his wife into a pulp-"
For once, Nikolas disagreed with his brother.
- "To be fair, Melinda is not making the situation any easier given that she refuses to press charges against the man," he rebutted. "Regardless of the amount of times she has found herself hospitalized because of him, she refuses to press charges. You should already know that the PCPD isn't going to do anything until..."
He did not want to say the words in front of his younger cousin, but she did him the favor in finishing his statement.
- "She's dead." Kristina quietly responded. She covered her face as her mind allowed her to play images from what could have been if she had allowed herself to remain in a relationship with Kiefer. Had she done as he had pleaded in placing the blame for her attack on another man, he would have been free, and their relationship would have undoubtedly continued. She would have had his baby and raised her with him as though he were a good man taking on the burden of raising her rapist's child. She would have made him look like a noble hero, rather than the abuser that he had been and would have certainly continued to be behind closed doors. And like Melinda, she would have lied and hidden the obvious truth until one day the only escape from such a life would have been death. "I think it's fair to say that the only way Warren will ever be caught is if he kills her. Even Auerbach wouldn't be able to save him. After everything he's done to protect him, there's no way he could cover up a murder."
The thought of the woman's death brought chills to every person in the room. As foolish as they found her, they could not help but to pity her. For what other reason than loneliness and fear would she have stayed with him throughout the years? They all could have hated her for allowing Kiefer to be raised in an environment he would later mimic, but they could not. For love, women and men alike have done foolish things.
- "Unfortunately, that is a true statement," Stefan reluctantly agreed. "But that is not to say we wish such things upon the poor woman. There must be some other way."
Alas, the young woman knew better. There was no other way to be had.
- "But don't you get it? She has to die," she stated in a tone so chilling her family stared at her with their mouths agape. But, like her sister, she seemed unaffected by anything that had been said or that had come from her mouth. It was as though she was possessed. She put herself in the position of a mother... her mother. The woman had always stated that she would gladly give up her own life if it meant sparing the lives of her children and granddaughter. Putting herself in Melinda Bauer's shoes, Kristina was suddenly filled with a sense of clarity and understanding for the position in which the woman had found herself. The solution was obvious. "And she knows that. Mrs. Bauer knows that we won't kill him. Unless Daddy gets to him first and ends it, the only way Dani, her granddaughter, will ever be safe is if she let's Mr. Bauer kill her because then Auerbach would be forced to put him away."
And like her daughter, after looking past the horror of the situation, Alexis understood this. From the moment her children came to be, she had become their sacrificial lamb. She would remain as such until the day she took her final breath on this earth. In spite of the mistakes Melinda had made in her life, this was one commonality they shared. It terrified her.
- "Well, we can't let that happen," she said. "I know that she wants to do the right thing for Dani... and possibly Kiefer, but this isn't it." She shook her head. "If Warren has spies in the hospital viewing the security footage, I have no doubts that those same spies have the ability to hack into the medical records. If they've done that, they'll definitely have already found out that they've been changed-"
Jason nodded in understanding and agreement.
- "And after going to Auerbach to let him know about what you've done, he's going to go home-"
- "To Melinda," the women of the room said in unison. They looked at one another as they realized that if they were correct, things would escalate far more quickly than they were prepared to handle. Alexis jumped up from her seat. "You need to find Sonny, Jason," she said. "If Warren is angry enough, he'll take it out on Melinda who's still on the mend from his last knock-out round. And if Sonny's on his way over there, I'm sure Warren'll find a way to pin it on him."
Luke sighed heavily.
- "At least my rivalries with this family ended up in friendship... of sorts."
Lifting the man's chin to place a kiss on the lips of her oldest and dearest friend.
- "And I want you to know that in spite of everything, I appreciate you," she smiled much to her brother's audible chagrin.
- "I don't think I heard you clearly, Natasha," he beamed. "Wanna gave these old lips another smack-a-roo."
When Stefan took a step forward, Alexis glared in his direction.
- "My husband likes you enough to allow for only one kiss, Luke," she smiled grateful for the light moment the man created. "Now, I think it's time Tina and Stefan paid a visit to Mac while Jason and I tracks down Sonny."
Kristina moved to stand between her aunt and uncle.
- "I'm going with them," she spoke matter-of-factly. When she felt her uncle take hold of her shoulders as though to stop her, she turned to face him. "This isn't up for discussion,Uncle," she looked him in the eyes. "If you're going to go talk to Mac about something that directly affects me, I'm going to be involved. I'm the one that got us all involved in this, and I'm tired of having you guys protect me."
- "It's our job, Twinny," she said. "When you and your sisters and cousins were born-"
The emotional young woman shook her head.
- "Not this time," she adamantly disagreed. "I'm not going to let you guys take the fall for something that I caused!" She put her finger up to stop their attempts at telling her that the attack and rape were not her fault. She knew this. However, it was not that for which she blamed herself. "I'm the one who convinced Sam to side with me on everything. I mean, she would never have gone against me when I was giving her a baby. I manipulated her in that way. Everyone knew that the baby would never get taken from us, but I just... I didn't..."
Alexis pulled her into her arms. Regardless of how the girl might have felt from the moment she had given Sam her child, her daughter was a mother. And she made the woman incredibly proud to call her her daughter.
- "No matter what blood flows through that child's veins, my love, Danielle will always be a Cassadine," she forcefully stated as she held the young woman's face in her hands. "She is no more a Bauer than you or anyone of us are. Not one of us view her as anything but the beautiful gift to this family that you gave to us. When we wanted to prevent her existence even before we knew who she was, you fought for her. And you taught us that she was an innocent. Don't you ever worry about how she might be viewed - especially to those outside of this family. If they think anything other than what we know to be true of that incredible little life you brought into this world, then they're ignorant, and they don't deserve to know her."
Tucking her daughter into her side with her arm wrapped around her shoulders, she turned to her brother and sister.
- "Please take care of her," she nodded to them as she released her girl into their care. Looking at Kristina one last time before the young woman left, Alexis could not help but see the tiny four year old who had clung to her every second of the day after her return to her safekeeping. She wiped her reddened nose. "Nikou-" she cleared her throat before turning her attention to her nephew. She took his hand into her own. "I would really appreciate it if you-"
He already knew what she would ask; he would bring his cousins to Wyndemere where they would be safe. There was no telling what the day might have in store for them. Placing a kiss onto his aunt's cheek, he nodded in agreement.
- "Lucky and I will take the girls to Wyndemere," he said. "Don't worry about Sam; we'll keep her-"
She patted his cheek. Her nephew had always looked out for his cousin.
- "She's..." her eyebrows furrowed together as she held back her emotion. "Just... just keep her safe."
She jumped in her seat upon hearing the front door slam shut. "This is it," she told herself as she breathed in and out. It would be less than a minute before he would find her. Depending on his level of anger, he might first find his way to the bar to pour himself his drink of preference. Or, he might be already drunk from the rage of whatever it was that made him appear foolish to whomever he had found himself that morning. If the latter were true, he would find her. And she would learn to what extent the Cassadine-Corinthos family had continued to take steps to beat him at his own game. She would learn how deeply their need to protect her grandchild had angered him. She would gain full clarity on how profoundly she had finally won.
Her goal, of course, was to do what she had failed to do her entire life: protect her child... and now, her grandchild.
Tuning out the sounds of her family's discussions on how to proceed from the never-ending drama that had been their life over a stupid, albeit noble (if one had ever existed), lie that had been told, she stood in the doorway watching her daughter sleep. Her pride and joy, the best gift that she had ever received in her life, slept soundly on top of her aunt. While the little girl had not been born from her, she would have given her life for her daughter. She would have done anything to spare her baby from any heartache. And yet, looking at the girl as she slept, Sam could not help but feel as though she had broken her little girl's heart.
- "My sweet jellybean," she muttered as she took a step into the bedroom closer to the bed. "I'm so sorry."
Although being one to sleep soundly, and perhaps it was the desire to hear the voice she had so desperately missed over the last few days, the four year old's eyes began to flutter open.
- "Mama?" Dani mumbled in her sleep.
Hearing the girl, Sam immediately stopped in her spot. She was nervous. What if Dani rejected her? What if she was angry with her? And while she would not blame her daughter for feeling as such, Sam knew that she would not have been able to handle the rejection. She needed her.
- "Mommy?"
But Dani was fully awake now. For a moment, she was confused as to where she slept, but turning to look up at the person on which she slept, she stuck her thumb into her mouth as she rested her head on the teen's chest. With her head turned away from where Sam stood and tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, she assumed that she had dreamt the sound of her mother's voice. She missed her.
- "I'm here," Sam finally found the strength to take another step toward her baby who had clearly not noticed or sensed her presence in the room. Before Dani could move too quickly to wake Molly, Sam was at her side. "Mommy's here," she whispered as she caressed her cheek. "Mommy's so sorry."
Reaching for the woman to hold her, Dani smiled in relief at her sight. When her mother gently lifted her from her aunt, and carried her to the corner of the room. She had not left her. She had returned for her.
- "Are you mad at me?" she quietly asked through silent tears once Sam had enveloped her into her arms. Anyone who would have walked in to find them would have pitied the sight of the reunion between mother and child. They huddled so closely together they looked as one. "You left me with Ant, and you never came back! I wanted you!"
Much as her own mother had done with her at Dani's age whenever she was upset, Sam held the girl against her chest as she rocked her back and forth. Holding her daughter's hand - the one that was not tightly gripping her shirt - she placed a kiss onto it.
- "Mama can never leave you, Jellybean," she whispered in Greek into her ear. She kissed the top of her daughter's beautiful crimson head. "She's so sorry she made you think that she was mad at you." When Dani looked up to match her own teary gaze, she smiled. "Are you mad at Mommy?"
Dani shook her head. She reached up to touch her mother's lips, her cheeks, her nose, and her eyes. Her tiny fingers traced the bags that had formed under her mother's eyes for lack of sleep. She frowned.
- "You look tired," she responded in the same. "Did you miss me? Ant said she bets you can't sleep without me because you miss me. But..." she looked away from the woman. "How come you didn't want me?"
- "Oh DaniNatty, I have always wanted you," Sam promptly corrected her. "Don't you ever believe anything less than that. Okay?" When Dani nodded, she continued. "Mommy was just very very sad-"
- "I don't like it when you're sad," the child frowned.
- "I know you don't, Baby," she covered her face with kisses. "And because I know you don't I thought it was better to have you stay with your Auntie Tina and Uncle Stefan. They took good care of you, right?"
Nodding in response, Dani could not deny how well her aunt, uncles, and cousin had cared for her. Without even realizing it, they had taken extra precautions to ensure that she was happy at all times. She loved spending time with them. But there was no hiding that she was not as happy as they had wanted her to be.
- "I had an accident on Ant when I went to sleep," she shamefully spoke into her mother chest. "She said she wasn't mad, but I don't like to have accidents, Mommy." She shut her eyes as she felt her mother's lips barely connect with her forehead and the gentle pats on her bottom as Sam caressed her uncasted arm. She heard her quiet words acknowledging what they both knew to be true. And feeling all the love and emotions she had missed over the last few days, she snuggled closer into the woman. She looked up at her. "Is the bad man gonna take me away?"
- "What?" Sam gasped in shock. "What in the world are you talking about, Danielle?" But when her big hazel tearful eyes stared at her wanting an answer that would put her fears to rest, she felt her heart crumble to pieces. "Sweetheart?"
Turning to look back at the bed where her youngest aunt slept, Dani repositioned herself in her mother's arms so that she was on her knees so that she could look directly at the woman. Tears welled in her eyes as her mind went back to the morning stop with her aunt at the diner. Throwing her tiny arms around Sam's neck, she cried softly.
- "The bad man... he... he made Ant and Grandpa Luke mad!" She sniffled. Her grip on the back of Sam's shirt tightened. "He said... he said..."
When her baby cried harder into her neck, Sam could not help but to cry herself. Although Dani was not born from her, she was nevertheless connected to her... because she reminded her so much of Kristina at that age.
- "Oh, honey," she said as she attempted to get her girl to look at her.
- "Is the bad man daddy's daddy?" Dani hiccuped.
There was no denying that this beautiful little girl had come from the shy young woman downstairs. Yet, she was hers... Sam's. For the first time, as she caressed with her finger the wet tear-filled cheek of this child with whom their entire family was in love, she truly understood what Kristina missed... what she could never have, but would always want. She understood everything her sister had said to her, the pain, the hurt, the rejection she felt when this child to whom she had given birth did not light up for her as she would for the person who raised her, and how she did not curl into her so that they became one, or seek comfort in her when she was sad or distraught. Her sister was a mother without a child, and Sam could not... would not... deprive her sister any longer.
- "Shh...shh... I'm here," she quietly whispered into her daughter's ear as she ran her fingers through her hair. "The bad man is not your daddy's daddy."
Although only four years old, Dani was certain that she had understood what it was the man had purported to say about her. She looked into her mother's dark eyes for some understanding.
- "Then how come he said his son is my daddy?" She pleaded with the woman for understanding. "He said... he said to Grandpa Luke and Ant that I'm his granddaughter. Is it true?"
Sam took her daughter's face into her hands. Placing the gentlest kiss onto her nose, she connected their foreheads. Never once did her beautiful bright little bundle of joy break their eye contact; when she was determined, she became relentless. Oh, how similar this child was to her.
- "You're a very special little girl to Mommy," Sam finally spoke after some time. "You are her gift. Her very very special gift..." Hearing the door open, she looked up to find her husband. She met his gaze. "To Mommy and Daddy... from your Auntie Krissy. And no one will ever take you from us," she stressed. "Mommy and Daddy will not lose you. We will do whatever it takes to protect you."
Having awoken and silently listened to her sister comfort her niece, a tear rolled down Molly's cheek.
- "Melinda!" He screamed for her as he stormed toward the den. He felt his blood pressure rise with each step that he took. He tried everything to control himself so that he would not hurt this woman. In each instance, when something had happened to upset him, he always knew that he should not blame her, but she was there, and he needed her. And perhaps it was not a traditional need that was deemed socially acceptable, but she was his wife; it was her duty to support him. Unfortunately, at the moment and given the stress they were under ensuring their son's future and freedom, the support was perhaps greater than she, and even he, had expected. "Where the fu-"
He stopped in his tracks when he saw her seated in the dark in the room. He intended to say something, but upon flipping on the light, the sight shocked him into silence.
- "I'm right here, Warren," the battered woman calmly replied. Seated in front of his desk with her back to the door her hands remained folded on her lap. The man's gun, however, was placed within his line of vision at the corner of the desk. "I take it you're here to... talk?"
Slamming the door shut behind him and reaching for the closest bottle at the bar, he stepped further into the room and closer to his wife.
- "Mac, we have a problem-" Tina began as she stormed into the man's office.
Seeing Stefan, Kristina, and Luke follow behind her, he rose from his seat.
- "Yes, Tina, we do," he said holding out the copied file for her to see. "So, do you want to tell me how I'm supposed to not arrest every single one of your family members including my own niece for fraud? Did you guys really lie about Dani's parentage and change hospital records just so you could keep the Bauers away from her?!"
Kristina recoiled at his anger.
- "'JUST so we could keep the Bauers away from her,' Commissioner?" She shook her head in disbelief. His nonchalance... anger... everything... was like a smack in her face. She touched her cheek from the sting. "Kiefer Bauer beat me, raped me, and left me to die on my living room floor, Mac! Mr. Bauer beats his wife within an inch of her life at least four times a year. And with all due respect, but in spite of all of that you have the nerve to act as though we did what we did for some trivial cause?" She threw the file at him; she did not need to see what was inside. She already knew. "We were SAVING her life! And I'm sorry, but I'm sure if this had been Robin-"
Rubbing the beard he had not found the time to shave, Mac groaned. Everything Alexis said was true; he knew this. But much as she was, he was the law. And in this situation, it would have worked on their side.
- "Kiefer would have hung for this," he said. "But, Kristina, I'm sure your mother must have told you that that no judge in his or her right mind would have allowed-"
- "Oh, you mean, like the one who signed off on his release from prison so he could attack my niece again?" Tina spoke over him. "Or the one that continued to allow him to stalk and harass her for over a month before finally putting him back in prison where he belongs?" Slamming her hand on the table she glared at him. She was the family pacifist, but when it came to their safety and well-being, she became one of the lions in her sister's pack. "That woman is somewhere under that growing thumb of Warren Bauer. I don't know what he has on her or on Auerbach, but my nieces and that beautiful little girl were in danger from the moment we found out that Dani existed, and my family and I were would have been damned if the law failed them!" Tina understood that she was on the line for her role in their fraud. She had conspired to alter medical records both in the US and in Greece. And although she had not a clue of where this would lead them, she was fully prepared to accept the consequences. Lowering her voice, she stepped around the desk to face him. "Mac, we're sorry Robin got entangled in this," she continued. "But we didn't want to let anyone know about this for this exact reason. We didn't want an innocent bystander sucked into this mess-"
- "Believe me, I'm sure she did this to herself," he admitted. "But I can't say I'm happy with you all anyway."
- "And maybe you shouldn't be, but we did what we thought was best... at the time," Tina agreed. "Look, I don't have kids of my own, so those girls and my nephews are my life. I'm sure you get that." When Mac nodded in understanding, she smiled. She had spent the majority of her life with her nieces and nephews by her side. From the time she was ten, she had a constant companion in Sam, followed by Nikolas, Kristina, Molly, Spencer, and finally Dani. She had never felt the need to have children of her own as her love for those six lives sustained every motherly bone in her body. She would die for them. And if need be, she would gladly be imprisoned for them if it meant they might be free. It was for that reason she had always stood beside her beloved sister. "Mac, I won't apologize for agreeing to purport myself to be my niece's surrogate. And I definitely won't apologize for not encouraging the girls to take a chance and let the law completely sever the Bauers' ties to that beautiful little girl when we all know how well that would've turned out. Like I said, I'm genuinely sorry Robin got involved, but that's about all. My family and their well-being is my first priority."
Stefan stepped forward to stand beside his sister and niece. Before his sisters' marked presences in his life, things had not always been easy for him; he had nothing to keep him going each day. Their existences, along with that of his nieces and nephews had changed all of that. Standing beside two of the eight most important people in his life, he was reminded of how deeply his love and pride went for them. They were worth every sacrifice he had made in his life.
- "Alright, now that we have this all squared away, what are you going to do about this, Commissioner?" He asked. He was not one to mince his words in anyway for anyone. He simply wanted to know what he needed to do to help his family. He would do whatever necessary. "Are you arresting any of us?"
With a shake of his head, Mac sighed.
- "Come on, Mac," Luke finally spoke up. "Seeing as the Bauer's wouldn't have had anything to do with that baby either way, there's nothing you can do to this family for what they did. And really, all they did was lie." He scratched his chin. "If you really think about it, the only person who did anything illegal here was-"
- "Luke!" Tina glared at the man, silently threatening him from making any further comments on the the matter. Given his silence and playful smile in her direction, he got the picture. She shook her head before turning to address the commissioner. "I'm sorry, Mac-"
- "No," Mac answered after a moment. He could not deny anything Luke had said because it all was true. While the family had not in any way attempted to implicate Robin in their mess, it nevertheless happened. This was something he was going to need to handle. "There's nothing to indicate that any of you had anything to do with the changing of the medical records. Unfortunately, I will have to bring my niece in for questioning. And I-" He stopped speaking upon hearing the knocking on his door. "Uh, excuse me for a moment," he said to his visitors. "Come in."
Stepping into the office, Auerbach hesitated at the sight of the elder Cassadines and Spencer, but quickly recovered. He knew he needed to hide whatever embarrassment he felt toward them.
- "Commissioner Scorpio, a word please?" He said whilst making eye contact with only the man.
Ignoring the man's presence, Stefan spoke before the commissioner could respond to the district attorney.
- "Listen, the reason we've come here is to tell you that we have reason to believe that Mrs. Bauer's life is in danger," he stated. "And if you are saying this information - which I can only assume has come to your hand through his - is believed to be true and altered by someone other than Bauer, that animal is going to kill her. We'll then have a bigger issue on our hands. He will take out his anger on her and murder her with his bare hands. At that point, your office," he looked over at Auerbach. "And yours, will be forced to see what kind of monster you've allowed to manipulate you and murder a defenseless woman."
- "All your comments are noted, Mr. Cassadine," Auerbach dismissively replied. "However, if you must know, the reason I've come here is to inform the Commissioner that an actual crime, and not one of pure speculation has occurred."
When all eyes fell on the district attorney, Mac instinctively gripped the back of his chair. 'Please tell me they didn't kill the boy,' he prayed to himself before clearing his throat.
- "What's going on, Mitch?" He said while attempting to sound calm in spite of his fear that his friend's husband might have done something he neither could take back nor be saved.
It appears that Kiefer Bauer was the victim of a brutal attack in the prison showers." He paused when the people in the room all gasped in shock. "He's dead."
Taking slow steps toward his wife, his fists balled more and more tightly as the fury built within him. He watched as she kept her back to him as though he were no one. And this made him angrier. He fumed. Reaching mere feet behind where she sat - a distance at which she would normally flinch and shake at his proximity and power over her - he stopped. Something was not right. Something was... wrong.
- "Mel-" But he was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "Hello?"
