Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Penthouse

The waiting was killing him, Jason had been on edge ever since returning from the hospital with Jake yesterday, he hadn't let his children out of his sight. He'd spent the whole night just watching them sleep, a deep sense of foreboding had followed him throughout the night. Sam had tried to reassure him that everything would be alright, but he just couldn't stop worrying that Liz had played him.

From her seat on the couch, Sam watched her husband pace the room. Every few minutes he would stop by the fireplace and pick up a picture and just stare at it. She could see the worry and beginnings of grief in the hard plains of his face. Her Jason was scared that his friend had lied to him and he was going to lose his son.

"Jason, please you need to get some rest, you were up all night. There's nothing you can do about the situation with Liz right now. So, come on let's go lay down. I called Carly; she's going to come and stay with the kids for a few hours so we can rest." Sam pleaded with him. She didn't know what to do for him, he had just shut down the moment he returned with Jake yesterday.

Jason looked at his wife, he knew she was trying to help but yesterday was weighing on him. He went to her, joining her on the couch, pulling her into his arms, he tried to relax. "I love you, Sam. I just can't get the thought out of my head that Liz, a trusted friend may have lied to me about a child, our child. What did she hope to gain if what she says is true?" he asked her, looking lost.

She sighed, was he really that blind? Her husband was great at protecting the people he loved but not so great at seeing the evil lurking within his friend. So, she once again clued him in on the truth about Liz, "What has she always wanted? It was you, if Liz lied to us and Lucky, she hoped to gain you. By giving you the one thing at the time we believed I couldn't, I'm almost positive she heard me with the doctor that day, I saw her in the hall when I left. Jason, I'm sorry I know you don't want to hear it and I really hate to say this but I'm beginning to believe she has always known just who the father of Jake is, and I don't believe its you. Her actions have proven that she will do just about anything to have you." As Sam wrapped her arms around her husband, she felt a wetness against her neck. Her Jason was crying.

"I am so afraid that your right. How am I supposed to give up my little boy even if he isn't my little boy? How do I forget that I had a son, if in truth Jake is Lucky's?" he asked her, holding her tighter to himself. He just wanted to burry himself in her soothing embrace and forget all the horrible thought floating in his mind.

"No matter what that test says Jason, Jake will always be the son of your heart. Even Liz can't take that away." Sam told him, stroking his neck and back.

Suddenly the penthouse door swished open and Carly came gliding in. "Jason, Sam told me what happened. I promise everything will be ok. You and Sam go get some rest, I'll watch over the children down here, ok?" Carly said. She couldn't believe what was happening, Jason and Sam were finally happy and now Liz has found anther way to disrupt their lives.

"Thank you, Carly. I really could use some sleep. I was up all night just watching the children. I couldn't seem to stop." Jason sighed, Sam and Carly were right he needed to get some rest, he had a feeling tomorrow was going to be painful. He nodded at Carly, who smiled briefly at him, he stood and then took Sam's hand as she led him up the stairs to their bedroom for some much-needed sleep. Once in their room Jason laid down, pulling Sam to him, he closed his eyes and tied to sleep.

Zacchara Manson

Claudia was plotting, Sam Morgan had become any enemy to be vanquished and she planned to deliver a final punishment. She didn't know how or what she was going to do to that woman, but she knew her newfound sister would pay for all the perceived slights she caused. Claudia wasn't in her right mind, she never ever realized that Sam had done nothing to her to cause her pain and anger. She just knew that her father had killed the man she loved for this woman and her beloved bother was singing her praises and she couldn't stand it.

Sam Morgan had to go, she had to die. Claudia had no idea that right at this moment she was being watched and her every move reported back to her father. She had no idea that her thoughts were even being spoken aloud and her watcher was telling all to her father. She had not noticed how far from reality she had become. Only thoughts of revenge against her nemesis existed.

It never occurred to Claudia that her father would prevent her from taking revenge. That once he heard of her plotting to kill her own sister that he would order the man who was her shadow, to "take care of the problem." So trapped in her mind , she never heard the footsteps of her father's executioner come up behind her, she was too far into her own world where Sam would be dead, and Claudia would be the daughter that her father loved and was proud of. She was so immersed in that 'reality', that she never felt the needle enter her neck, she didn't even notice the darkness creeping into her vision. Her last thoughts centered around how peaceful it would make her world to rid herself of Sam Morgan, once and for all.

Lucas had worked for the Zacchara family for almost ten years and in all that time, he had never had to remove a member of the family before. But after he heard and reported what Claudia was planning to do to her own sister, he had no problem taking care of this family member. Her plan was just flat out sickening. And when he told the boss her evil plot, his orders became clear.

Mr. Zacchara told him to make it look like she had left, he didn't want Johnny to know he had ordered the death of his sister. So, after wrapping the body, he proceeded to systematically go through her room, packing it up, making it look like she left. Later she would be found, having been killed in a car accident after leaving the family home in a fit of anger. No one would ever know that her life had been ended on purpose, to protect a young mother, Claudia's older half-sister from her would be killer. Claudia's death would be just another tragic accident in the Zacchara family. Life would go on, Johnny and Sam would become as close as siblings that had grown up together and Anthony would be a doting father and grandfather, never giving another thought to the daughter he had ordered the death of.