Note: This was going to be a short chapter, but then I realized that Chapter 20 was also short, so I combined them. My story is going to be 25 chapters long now instead of 26.

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Alexis's Office

Alexis was pacing back and forth, nervous, she was about to tell her daughter that her father was in town and wanted to meet with her. She wasn't sure that she could do it but maybe talking to her daughter she could make the decision to talk to the man that broke her heart so long ago. Suddenly the door to her office opened and in walked Sam, looking nervous, she moved towards her mother and said "Mom? What's going on? You sounded so strange on the phone."

"Well..." Alexis started, then paused, "I... Maybe you should sit down. I have something to tell you."

Sam sighed, taking a seat in front of her mother, "Does this have something to do with why the Zacchara's want my family over for dinner?"

Her mother gave her an odd look that Sam couldn't decipher, "Yes... Well you see-um. When I was about seventeen, I met this guy at a bar. My friends and I used to sneak in and pretend we were college students. Then one night, there he was, his name was Tony. Everyone called him Tony Z, but he never told me why and I never knew his last name. We met up at the bar a few times and then one night he was acting different. Not bad, just not how he usually was. Everything changed after that. We... we well" her mother trailed off, looking sheepish.

Sam stared at her mother, shocked. "Are you trying to tell me that you had sex? Is this Tony my father?"

Her mother gasped, then took a deep breath, "Sam! Well, yes, I guess I am. Tony is your father. I never knew for sure, but I think that his family was in into some dangerous stuff. He never said so but sometimes I got the impression that his family was powerful. After I found out I was pregnant I was taken from school by my father. I was afraid he'd take you away. And in the end, I was right, he made me give you up. But before that, I wanted you, so I plotted and planned to try to find a way to get out of that house and away from them. I didn't want you to be raised in that family, just ask Nikolas how horrible they all were. Well except Stefan, he was kind of nice. But my plan failed, and my father gave you away. I begged and begged him to bring you back. I even told him I would find you and together we would go far away from the Cassadine's. Then one day, right before I was to go back to school, my father came to tell me that you and the family that adopted you were dead. Killed in an auto accident. The rest you know, he lied, and you were alive, and we found each other again." Alexis gave her a sad smile.

Sam moved forward and pulled her mother into a hug. She wondered if her mother connected Tony to Anthony. Sam was sure that they were the one and the same man. "You think that Anthony and Tony are the same person, don't you?" she asked.

Sighing Alexis went behind her desk and sat down in her chair. "Yes. And I'm afraid to go to him. I was sure I had loved him once. And maybe I still do. But I've heard things about him that scare me more than anything. I know that I had an affair with Sonny but Anthony, from what I've learned is far more dangerous. What do you think we should do?" she looked up at her daughter in dismay, wanting her to know her father but she was afraid of them getting hurt. What if everything that she'd learned about Tony was true. He'd be a monster! Could she really bring such a man into her children's lives?

Sam's voice cut into her thoughts, "I think that we should give him a chance, you know, get to know who he is not his reputation. Ever since I learned that you were my mother, I've always wanted to know who my father was. Now is my chance. And if he's like what everyone says why did he save my daughter from his? It makes no sense. He has not made a move on Sonny or Jason since he's been here. Give him a chance just like I did you." With that Sam turned and left the office.

She was going to tell Jason that they had dinner plans. She was ready to meet the man that might be her father. Jason wouldn't be happy about it, but she had to give the man a chance to know the family he lost. She wasn't really worried about Tony, she was worried about Claudia, she seemed unstable. The vibe she got from her, was like the feelings that she got when around one Elizabeth Webber Spencer. Like with Liz, she would give Claudia the benefit of the doubt but watch out for the dagger about to be plunged into her back when she wasn't looking. Claudia and Liz just seemed to be made of the same cloth.

Back in her office, Alexis sat frozen, gaze locked on the closed door, maybe her eldest daughter was right. What did she have to lose by getting to know the man she once loved again? The answer was just her heart. That in mind, she made her choice.

Penthouse (this is where chapter 20 originally started, in case you were wondering)

Sam was locked in a battle of wills with Jason, why did he have to be so stubborn? "Jason, you worry too much. Anthony said that he would hurt us, besides my mom is going and if Alexis is right and Tony and Anthony Zacchara are one in the same then we have nothing to worry about. If she's right, then that man is my father." She pleaded.

Jason rocked on his feet, he knew that Sam wanted to meet with Anthony to verify that he was in truth her father but he wasn't so sure that he wanted to put his little family in danger by meeting with the man. The name could just be a coincidence and if it were then they all were in danger. But when she looked at him like that, he couldn't say no. Damn!

"Sam.." Jason started only to be cut off by Sam's interjection of "Look, Jason, please, he could be my father. We don't have to take the children we could leave them with Sonny or Carly… I just need to know. Besides my mother is going too."

Sam put her hands together as if in prayer, pleading with Jason. She needed to do this; it was her chance to talk with the man her mother believed was her father. Even if he weren't the same guy this meeting could protect her family, they could set up a truce.

Jason looked at her in defeat, "Fine, but the children don't go. They stay with Carly" he stated in a voice they gave no room for arguments. She rushed forward, throwing her arms around Jason in a big hug, she gave him a heated kiss. She laughed and smiled at him. Stunned, Jason hoped that he wasn't making a huge mistake.

"Thank you! Better get dressed dinners in 2 hours. I love you." Sam rushed out of the room to excited to hear Jason's soft reply of "I love you too."

Zacchara Mansion

Claudia searched though her father's desk, there must be something here, something that would tell her why it was so important for Sam Morgan and Alexis Davis join them for dinner as if they were family. Ha! As if her father knew anything about family, he didn't care about her. He'd killed the only man shed ever love. After going through all the other drawers, she came to one that was locked, well that had never stopped her before. Claudia was determined to get into that drawer, it held the answers, she was sure of it. Finally, after minutes of picking the lock, it clicked, and she pulled it open.

That's when she saw it, tucked under some random papers. A file folder, she opened it and there it was. A picture of a young girl, maybe about seventeen. She was hugging a collage aged version of what appeared to be her father. It was obvious that the picture was taken shortly before the marriage to her mother. They looked so happy. The girl in the picture was familiar but Claudia couldn't place her. She knew that she'd seen an older version of this girl somewhere, but it just wouldn't come to her. Wait…. she had it…. the woman was…. Claudia smirked as she looked at the picture, thinking out loud she remarked, "Alexis Davis, how on earth do you know my father? And what should I do about it when I find out?"

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