Musical Inspiration:

Special Death - by Mirah

For Everything A Reason - by Carina Round

Time To Say Goodbye

Chapter 22

Family Ties

.~*~.

With the palms of his hands, Jason rubbed his blurry eyes. He had only had about 30 minutes of sleep in the last 36 hours. Between pushing back on the Russians, the search for Brenda, and taking the brunt of Alexis Davis' anger, he was running on pure adrenaline.

Sam's funeral was planned for tomorrow and he was told, via punches and harsh accusations, that he would not be welcomed to attend. Nikolas backed his aunt's request vehemently.

All Jason could do was apologize to the family and let them know she died saving Elizabeth's son.

Despite his words, Alexis blamed him and his mob activities for her daughter's death. He couldn't refute her claims.

A lot of damage and injuries had been caused due to the Russian retaliation. Sonny and he took it upon themselves to rebuild and replace jobs that had been displaced. The city was once again quiet and under their control. Mostly. They still had one organization to deal with. And deal with them, he would.

Jason walked into the empty warehouse to see a lone figure sitting in the middle of the room. The man's hands were cuffed behind his back and a coffee sack was placed over his head. It had taken a while to retrieve the man but his guards found him held up in a bar outside town.

He pulled the bag from the man's head and watched as he took some deep breaths of air.

"What the fuck, Morgan?" Johnny said as his eyes came into focus.

Jason stood in front of him and crossed his arms. "Time to start talking, Johnny."

"I'm not saying a word until I see my sister."

Not taking his eyes off the younger Zacchara, Jason called out to his partner, "Sonny."

They both turned slightly to see Sonny rolling a wheelchair into the room. Red heels edged the stirrups and two cuffed wrists lined the arm supports. A fabric bag also covered the woman's head. When the chair was placed in front of Johnny, Sonny lifted the bag to reveal a half-conscious Claudia.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Johnny yelled, eyeing his sister in concern.

Sonny circled the woman menacingly. "Nothing." He stopped in between both of the siblings. "She's just a little dehydrated. She's been sitting in a hole thinking about her life choices."

"Don't tell them shit, Johnny," Claudia wheezed out.

"You might want to ignore her advice because this is how it's going to go." Sonny bent down in front of the youngest Zacchara so that he was eye level. "We are going to ask you questions and you're going to answer. Otherwise—" Sonny tilted his head, "she gets a bullet in one of her appendages. And vice versa," he added, taking a peek at Claudia. "Are we clear? Good."

Jason questioned Johnny first. "Where's Brenda?

"Your wife? How the hell should I know?"

"You've been stalking her, leaving flowers, and gifts so don't play dumb."

Johnny crinkled his eyebrows. "I never sent her anything. You asked but I never confirmed. I was just trying to get a rise out of you. Jesus, Morgan, are you that jealous?"

Jason let the zing go and continued, "Your guard, Tom, dropped it off."

"I don't have anyone on my payroll named Tom."

"Bullshit," Jason said and took out his gun.

While Johnny wiggled in his seat letting out a, "Woah— woah, easy." Claudia raised her frantic voice to overlapped his, "He's not lying. Tom doesn't work for my brother."

Both men focused on Claudia.

"What do you know about it?" Sonny asked.

Claudia attempted to swallow before speaking. She grimaced as she did so. Still, her cracked voice managed to sound relaxed. "Look, someone contacted me in Italy. They said my father was out of commission and that if I wanted Port Charles he would make it available. I never met with him, only his lackey, Tom. All correspondence prior, went through letters."

"What's the guy's name?"

"He called himself Jon A. Antiguas," she confirmed.

At that reveal, Jason kicked a lone chair across the room and linked his fingers behind his head. The ghost who had been after Brenda all these years resurfaced. Jason was more worried than ever. They had been chasing this guy forever and still had no leads on who he was and now— now, he actually had Brenda.

"I need those letters," Jason ordered.

"Whatever. Can we go now?" Claudia asked.

"Not so fast. I want to talk about Kate," Sonny insisted.

Claudia groaned. "God, Corinthos, we've been over this. I had nothing to do with that. It was Karpov's organization."

"Who you were aligned with," Sonny pointed out.

"No. I was just being friendly with them on Tom's request. You can't fault me for looking out for my own family. I didn't want to be on this guy's bad side. Look where it got you."

Sonny took a step closer. "Are you telling me this Antiguas guy was the one that shot Kate?"

"I doubt he was the one with the gun in his hand but you can be sure it was under his order. This guy has a serious beef with you and Morgan's wife. I was only sent to town to make waves and reap the benefits when he dismantled you from the inside out."

"Jesus, Claudia, what the hell did you get us involved in?" Johnny questioned his sister, exasperated.

"I was taking back our legacy," she said without a hint of remorse.

Sonny signaled for Jason to follow him to the side of the room, a good distance away from the siblings' ears. "Where the fuck is this guy, Jason?"

"We never found him. I had a lead after Mexico but it never turned into anything. The last trouble Brenda had was two years ago. We hadn't heard from him since."

His partner shook his head. "This has been going on for 5 years. That means he's patient. He timed his revenge and that's dangerous."

"And now he has Tom on board, who's been by her side long enough to know how she thinks. If she tries to escape, he'll be 2 steps ahead of her," Jason said. Brenda being held somewhere was the only option his mind would allow. Anything else was unacceptable. "I just don't know what part Juan plays in all this. Why not tranquilize him like Bryan. Why take him?"

"You're sure he's still missing?"

Jason nodded. "Elizabeth said she hasn't heard from him and he hasn't shown up at work."

"Maybe start with that. If Juan has a link to this guy, it might lead us right to them."

Finishing their conversation, both men walked over to their hostages.

"You got your information so how about you let us go," Johnny suggested.

"On one condition," Sonny spoke up, "I want both of you out of Port Charles. Sell off your piers, get out, and take Trevor with you. If one of you steps foot over the border again— you're both dead. Another organization tries to move in and says they have anything to do with the Zacchara organization— you're both dead. I even hear the Zacchara name attached to anything in Port Charles—" Sonny gave them a mock smile and slowed his words to stress his point. "You are both dead." Pausing, he looked at them sharply. "We clear?"

"You son-of-a—" Claudia growled out but was cut off by her brother.

"Claud, let's just move on. It's not worth it." He stared at his sister with pleading eyes. "Please."

It looked like Johnny was tired of the mob life and his sister was truly now seeing it. She agreed reluctantly. "Fine."

Both siblings hugged when they were released from their bonds. Jason hoped for Johnny's sake his sister would keep her end of the bargain. The kid was never meant for this life.

"Let's head to your place. I want those letters," Jason said as he followed them out.

.~*~.

Sitting with a plate in her lap, Brenda took another bite of lasagna. She guessed that Tom was being generous. He never failed to provide them with a decent meal every day. Tom had a solid schedule going with her and Juan— breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bathroom breaks.

Brenda had been hoping during one of those breaks she could try to escape. Unfortunately, the bathroom was directly across the hall and had no windows. Anything that could be used as a weapon was taken out of the rooms and he always had his gun handy. During his time with her, he had been a good guard so she wasn't surprised.

As she finished her last bite, the door to their room opened. Tom always had to retrieve their plate and cups directly since neither she nor Juan's chains allowed them to go very far.

"Why are you doing this, Tom?" she asked, her tone sad. It was not the first time she asked this question. She let her eyes water as she looked at the man. "I like to think we were somewhat friends. We spent so much time together. How can you do this?" she asked, finally letting the tears flow.

Tom sighed. "I know the tears are fake. You've used that trick to get out of parking tickets and long lines."

Brenda glared and wiped her eyes. "Maybe my eyes are watering because I have had the same contacts in for 2 days."

"I'll see if I can get you some solution," he said taking her dishes.

"I'm kinda sore too. I'm not used to sleeping at such an odd angle. Can you switch the shackle to the other ankle?"

"Nice try," he deadpanned. Grabbing Juan's dishes as well, Tom exited and shut the door behind him.

"I thought you had him for a second there," Juan commented.

Brenda shook her head. "That was a distraction. I knew he would never buy the 'fragile me' act."

Juan scooted forward and watched her as she lifted the edge of her mattress. "A distraction for what?"

"This," she said, smiling and holding up a fork.

"A fork? You distracted him for a fork? Why not take the knife?"

Brenda bit her lip in concentration as she began to bend the metal. "He would have noticed the knife missing, and besides, if I took the knife, we wouldn't have this." She held up the fork which now only had one prong sticking straight up. "A lock pick."

.~*~.

Jason slammed his car door shut as he spoke into his cell phone, "Spinelli, where are you?"

"Your grasshopper has departed the aerodrome and is moments away from our temporary abode."

"Good. When you get to the safe house, I want you to scan the letters on the desk and compare the writing with the cards Brenda received. Also, do another records search. Maybe Antiguas wasn't as careful as he thought," Jason ordered as he walked up the steps to the house in front of him.

"I am your ever-faithful servant."

Jason closed his phone and knocked on the front door.

After a moment, he could see the small curtain push to the side, and Elizabeth's face peek through. She opened the door and gave him a reluctant smile. "Jason, come in." She gestured to the living area. " Have you heard anything on Juan— or Brenda."

"No, I still have my men looking and Cooper is leading the search from the department," he said, standing in front of the fireplace, trying not to glance at his sleeping son in the pack and play. "Has Juan told you anything about his past?

"Just that— when his singing career bottomed out he fell on hard times. What does that have to do with anything?"

Running a hand through his hair, Jason shook his head. "I don't know yet. He might have just got caught up in things but I want to make sure. I want to check out where he works and lives."

Elizabeth walked over to her desk and grabbed a pen and paper. She spoke as she wrote, "He works at an office building on Quartz Lane and lives at— Anderson Apartments. I'm not sure of the number. He said it was small. I think he was embarrassed to bring me there," she finished with a frown, handing him the addresses.

"I'll figure it out."

A squeal in the room drove their attention to the little boy who was now awake from his nap. "Da," Jake said sitting himself up and gazing at his father.

Jason gave an emotional smile to his son and went to step forward but stopped himself.

Elizabeth swallowed and peered her head downward. " Jason," she whispered, "about Jake, I can't— "

"I know," he stopped her from the speech he was sure he knew the words too. There would be no more visits with his son.

"I'm sorry."

Jason nodded and left as fast as he could without turning back. It was too painful to look at the son he would never hold again.

His phone rang as he got behind the steering wheel of his car. "Yeah."

"Stone Cold, I have analyzed the letters collected from the 'Daughter of Darkness' and from Venus' cards that were attached to her unsavory gifts. They are indeed a match. However, I also spotted something unusual in my assessment. Our 'Hidden Demon' addressed the female Zacchara as, 'Claudia On it Ana Zacchara'. It is clearly an anagram since her middle name is Antonia. See, if you shift the letters—"

"I know what an anagram is, Spinelli. Get to the point."

"Right. Well, the Jackal pondered the likelihood that our demon may have too used an anagram since no references can be found for a Jon A. Antiguas. I have fed the information into the program I designed to filter any possibilities of a different alias. However, due to the vast amount of letters, it may take some time to sift through."

"Okay. Just let me know if anything useful comes out of it," he said before ending the call. He didn't have time for riddles.

.~*~.

Jason scanned the mail slot again, looking for any indication which apartment was Juan's.

Earlier, he had checked out the printing company Juan worked for and didn't find anything amiss in his cubicle. Jason also questioned one of his co-workers and found that Juan was a typical employee. He came to work on time, didn't cause trouble, and never socialized much with anyone. He was barely noticed. That sparked a red flag for Jason.

If Juan was attempting to start a new life in Port Charles then why did he go out of his way to distance himself from other people? Aside, from Elizabeth, he didn't seem to have any friends. He wondered if the guy was running from something.

Realizing his search was leading nowhere, Jason looked past the mailboxes to the door, just down the hall. The sound of a sports game playing too loudly filtered through its edges and singular cheering accompanied it. Moving closer, he spotted the fake camera in the corner, and the manager sign on the door.

After a few knocks, Jason was greeted with a cloud of smoke and a large man in a stained jersey.

"Yeah?"

"I need to know which apartment is Juan Santiago's," Jason said, trying not to flinch back as another cloud of smoke billowed his way.

The manager shifted his cigar to the other side of his mouth. He began his speech like a practiced mantra. "Due to privacy laws, I cannot legally disclose a tenant's address, phone number, financial status—"

Jason shoved a 50 dollar bill in the man's hand.

"Second floor. Apartment 2C. He's as quiet as a mouse, that guy. I'll give you his social for an extra hundred."

Ignoring the offer, Jason entered the stairwell and exited on the second floor.

He walked down the hall of doors and thumped on 2C. He didn't expect an answer but he always tried to be careful. Only receiving silence in return, Jason pulled out his pick kit and went to work on the lock. A few practiced finger wriggles later, he heard the click. Twisting the knob, he walked inside quietly.

Taking in the floor plan, Jason could see the apartment was obviously run down. The patterned wallpaper was peeling and the fake wooden floor was covered in scuffs. There was a worn couch in the middle of the room and a small TV that looked like it was picked up at a yard sale. In the corner, there was a folding chair and a makeshift dining table made from plywood. Jason was actually starting to feel sympathy for the guy.

There were no photos hung or any type of decoration. It was simple and the items in the room were only there to serve a purpose.

Jason walked over to the refrigerator and opened it to find leftover Chinese food and a bottle of ketchup. The more he checked on things, the more his theory seemed likely. This was not a home. It was a temporary stop. Maybe Juan got on Antig s' bad side too.

Venturing further into the apartment, Jason found three doors. The first was a bathroom that had seen better days. He didn't browse there long.

The second, was the bedroom. Though it was small, there was enough space for a bed and a tiny closest— which was lined with crates that held a good amount of clothes. A few trash bags stood out as well. Opening them, Jason found some winter coats and some shoes. Realizing there was nothing telling in the room, he exited and moved to the third door.

It was locked.

In fact, as Jason studied it, he could tell it was a new lock. It was the expensive kind that required an intricate key, making it much harder to break into. Now, why would he need this?

Bending down on his knees, Jason began his task. It was definitely going to take some time.

With some frustrating grunts and a few cuts on his fingers, he finally heard the gears slip into place.

Stretching upright, he pocketed his tools and opened the door with anticipation. He stepped through and flicked the light switch.

Nothing could have prepared him from what his eyes were seeing. Though his mind fought with him that Juan wouldn't have something like this in his apartment willingly, the evidence was there.

It was like a sick twisted shrine. In the center of the room was some macabre type sculpture. Half of it was pieced together with pictures of Sonny's first wife Lily. The other side— the other side's pictures were of Brenda.

Stumbling away from the two different eyes staring back at him, Jason eventually noticed the rest of the room. A small panel of candid pictures were dedicated to Sonny. Taped along with them, were blueprints for some of their warehouses and docks. Strings wrapped around thumbtacks lined a pattern that linked to profiles of people associated with his partner. His own face was one of them.

What scared Jason the most was the amount of material on Brenda. Images, articles, and some of her own personal items made up 75% of the room. Brenda was in a lot more danger than he could have ever imagined. They made a mistake. This wasn't about revenge. This obsession was much darker.

Still stuck in the horror of what this could mean, Jason didn't look at his phone when he heard it ring. He simply pushed the button and brought it to his ear.

"Stone Cold! I know who it is! The anagram data came back. Jon A. Antiguas stands for—"

"Juan Santiago," Jason finished in an unnerving tone.

.~*~.

"How's it going?"

Brenda blew out a long breath. "I wish I had something thinner like a bobby pin or something but it's catching the groove so I think I'll have us out of here in no time," she said, squinting at the shackle as she maneuvered the fork. "At least we don't have to escape a yacht."

"Does that happen a lot?" Juan asked.

Brenda let out a small laugh. "You'd be surprised."

"I bet you miss your daughter."

Stilling her movements, Brenda swallowed back her emotions and continued her fight with the lock. "I do. As long as I know she is safe I can focus."

Juan crossed his legs leisurely as he laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "You and Miguel should have had kids. I wouldn't have minded siblings."

Brenda snorted and shook her head. "My and Miguel's relationship was based on friendship more than anything. Babies were not part of it."

"Yeah, but he might have actually kept them with you."

Once again stopping her actions, Brenda turned to look at her cellmate. "Juan, you do know that Miguel loves you, right? And Lily did too. They didn't tell you they were your parents when you were younger because they saw how happy you were with your adoptive family. They checked on you though."

"I just wish things could have been different." He sighed. "I rarely speak to both of my fathers. Miguel is always busy touring and Armando, well, he's become somewhat of an alcoholic. And as far as mothers go, I never got to really have one. My adoptive mother died from cancer when I was young and then I come to Port Charles to find that my birth mother got blown up in a car bomb."

Brenda flinched at the reminder of Lily's death. She couldn't manage to look into the eyes of her old rival's son after that. "I'm sorry about Lily, Juan. You'll never know how much."

The fact that Lily was killed due to Brenda's foolish obsession with Sonny always made Brenda feel shame. At the time, she was a young stubborn girl who only cared about getting Sonny back, not caring that he married Lily or the mob ties that came with her. Brenda had pursued Sonny relentlessly and Lily got caught in the crossfire. She died pregnant via a car bomb meant for Sonny. It was orchestrated by Lily's own father for Sonny's transgressions with Brenda. If she hadn't insisted Sonny leave Lily, if she had just let them find some semblance of happiness, Lily and her child would still be alive.

"Are you really sorry, Brenda? Didn't Sonny come back to you in the end? He may not have married you but you were back together."

"What?" Brenda said, startled by the harsher tone of Juan's voice. She lifted her head to realize he was standing closer than he should have been. Her eyes traveled to his unrestrained ankle. "How did you—"

"Oh, this?" He stuck out his shackle free foot. "You're not the only one who's a good actor." He gave her a Cheshire grin.

Brenda was so stunned by the turn of events, she couldn't comprehend what was happening. "I don't understand."

"It's pretty simple. You robbed me of a mother. Now, you're going to pay for that sin, and then, you're going to make up for it."

Attempting to shuffle away from Juan proved unsuccessful as he grabbed an arm to hold her in place. Brenda tried to scream but it was too late. A plunger of cold liquid was shoved into her neck and she could feel it's effects taking hold instantly. Her eyes drooped and her last thoughts were of fear.

.~*~.

Maneuvering himself around construction equipment, Jason took a wide step over a pile of sawdust and continued on his way to the stairwell. Harborview towers took a hard hit from the bombing but thankfully, only the first three floors were affected before the sprinkler system kicked in and doused the fire. Some of his men informed him it was safe enough to venture back up to the penthouses, which were untouched. He had just reached the door when his name was called out.

He spun and looked an Elizabeth in surprise. "You shouldn't be here," he informed her.

"Is it true? What they are saying about Juan, is it true?" she asked twisting her hands around the handles of her purse. "Cooper Barrett brought the police to my house to question me. They said that they found evidence in Juan's apartment that he was behind Brenda's abduction."

Jason closed his eyes and breathed through the anger that surfaced from the memory of that room. "Yes."

"And what happened with Jake?" She stared at him with pleading eyes, begging him to tell her anything other than what she already knew.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"So, I did this. I trusted a monster with the truth about my son and invited him into my home." She shook her head and sniffled. "I'm so stupid. I thought I knew him— guess my instincts were right the first time around."

"He had all of us fooled."

"Stone Cold!" Spinelli came running through the lobby with a rushed Sonny behind him. "There's been contact," he sped out, waving his laptop in the air.

"Take it to the penthouse," Jason ordered. He gave a nod to his partner who hastily followed after Spinelli. "Go home, Elizabeth. It's not safe here."

"But—"

Jason didn't hear the rest of her words because he too went rushing up the steps.

As soon as they entered his old penthouse, Spinelli began talking in rushed sentences. "The Jackal was with Mr. Sir pulling up blueprints for boundary lines— since the Godfather is looking to purchase property after the untimely demise of the Greystone—"

Sonny waved his hand in a circle. "Move on."

"Right. Right." Spinelli nodded. "While perusing the data, an anonymous file pinged for my attention." He turned the laptop for Jason to view. The file title was labeled: Jon A. Antiguas has something for you to see.

Jason leaned closer to the desk. "Open it."

Spinelli clicked on the icon and wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "It is a secure web address." With a tap of his finger, the page lit up in the browser.

It took a few moments for it to load properly, when it did, a video began to automatically play. All three men sucked in a breath at the sight of Brenda sagging against the weight of her wrists tied to two separate poles. Corded wires seemed to be attached to the back of her and were hooked to different kinds of machinery. The one that stood out the most happened to be a heart rate monitor.

"Oh, good. My audience has arrived," Juan said popping his head into the camera's view. He gave a grin and a wave as he did so. "Now, we can get things started. First off, congrats on figuring out that I was Jon A. Antigua all along. To little to late, right?" He backed away and pulled a chair over to sit down in.

"Spinelli, can you track where this video came from?"

"Uh, Stone Cold, this is a live feed—" he began but paused as he saw the anxiousness on his bosses face. "You grasshopper will scour for a location."

"I guess this is the time for my evil monologue," Juan continued rubbing his hands in a dramatic fashion, "It all started when my singing career tanked. I was broke and looking for work when I was approached by a man who used to work from my grandfather— Rivera, not Santiago. He said that good ole abuelo left me something in his will. 5 million dollars to use as I see fit. However, there was 42 million dollars waiting for me as well. Of course, the larger sum came with a stipulation. Half for the death of Brenda Barrett and half for the death of Sonny Corinthos. Not bad, heh? And, yes, Corinthos is still alive and breathing but— 21 million dollars is still a good chunk of change."

"Spinelli, work faster," Jason demanded.

"I researched everything I could on both of you. Brenda was obviously more accessible so I focused my energy there. I almost had her a few times too but Jason Morgan always liked to step in and mess up my plans," Juan playfully glared at the camera. "You have no idea how annoying you are, Jason. I thought I was going to have to make up some complex strategy to get you out of the picture. Instead, I hit the motherload of information with Liz. Its a shame, under different circumstances, I think me and her could have worked out but Jake was just too tempting not to use as a distraction. He never would have been hurt, you know? I wouldn't have permanently taken him from Liz. She's a good mom. She deserves her kids."

"Are you getting anything?" Sonny asked the hacker, his voice muffled through his thinned lips.

"The feed is scrambled. The IP keeps switching locations," Spinelli said, his voice frantic as he continued to let his fingers speed over the keyboard.

"Now—" Juan walked over to Brenda's sagging form. "I think the big question is— what am I going to do next? Well, the answer is simple. I'm going to collect my money." He reached for one of the wires that lingered behind Brenda. "This is line here— can send an electric shock through Brenda's body. I've tested it a few times on her but we haven't got the right voltage down. The last zap gave her a seizure so that might be why she's not very talkative."

The desk Jason had been leaning on cracked at the added pressure of his hands around its edge. "Spinelli, get the God damn location," Jason all but shouted.

"I— I can't." The kid choked out.

Jason couldn't do this. He couldn't watch her die like this. His breath was labored as he stared at the screen— he felt completely helpless. All he wanted to do was run to her and stop this. At this point, he would beg Juan on his hands and knees. He'd trade himself and take her place. Jason needed to do something. "Then, find a way for us to talk back to him."

Spinelli's eyes widened with the realization. His head bobbed up and down like a piston. "The Jackal can reverse the interception and insert our own DNS."

"C'mon, sleeping beauty, time to wake up." Juan patted Brenda's cheek and received a whimper in return. "There she is! Rise and shine. Come on, we have an audience and it's time for the grand finale."

Brenda shifted her feet attempting to stand and take some of the pressure off her wrists that were holding her up. Her legs faltered and she let out a yelp of pain as all of her weight shifted back to her arms.

"If you needed help, all you had to do was ask," Juan joked, attempting to grip her waist. She flinched back as far away as she could from him.

"Don't— touch me," she gulped out.

"Stone Cold, we're in," Spinelli said with a tap of a key.

Jason positioned himself right in front of the camera. "Get away from my wife!"

Juan's head whipped back towards his own screen. He looked shocked but quickly masked his features with a smarmy grin. "Clever. Very clever. Hi, Jason."

"You don't need to do this, Juan. You want money, I've got money. You can have it, just let her go."

Stepping away from Brenda, Juan moved toward the camera. "Ya know, at first it was about the money. Being broke sucks. But then, I got the full story of what actually happened to my mother. A marriage between friends to get Sonny out jail, Sonny's agreement with my grandfather to be a good husband, and my mother's love for him, hoping it would be returned. Only one thing stood in their way— Brenda Barrett and her refusal to let go of Sonny. She is the reason my mother is dead."

Sonny was quick to refute his claim. "Listen to me, Juan, it was never Brenda's fault Lily died. Finding out your mother was pregnant, it made Brenda and I let go of the past. We were both moving forward with our own lives. Lily and I were fine, we worked it out. I was excited to be a father. Your grandfather and his misinformation is what killed Lily. He never bothered to confirm anything before he had his people set the bomb. You feel you need revenge? Get it with me. You tell me where you are and I'll take her place."

"Oh, Sonny," Juan tsked, "Don't think I haven't thought about it— I have. But this," he gestured to Brenda, "this seems more fitting. An eye for an eye and a good lesson for you. You watched Lily die, now, you get to watch Brenda."

"Lily would never want this," Sonny yelled.

"You'll never know, will you?"

Jason could tell this approach wasn't working. "Would Emily?" He watched as Juan stilled. "My sister loved Brenda. If you cared anything for her in the past, you wouldn't do this."

"It is what it is, Jason." Juan shrugged and turned back to Brenda. "You might want to say your goodbyes."

Panic and anger were warring in Jason. "Don't do this, please, don't do this," he begged.

At the same time, Sonny was standing from his seat and slamming his fist against the desk. "We will find you and we will kill you. It will be slow and painful. You'll wish for the days of being a broke has-been!"

"Jason," Brenda whispered voice spoke out. Her previously closed eyes opened to show the glassiness of her emotions. Fear, love— acceptance. Her head tilted against her outstretched arm. She gave him a sad smile and a nod as tears began to wet her cheeks. "It's okay. It's okay. Let me have my goodbye."

"Bren, not yet," Jason pleaded.

She swallowed and shifted to more toward the camera. "I love you. I really love you. I never thought I could be as happy as we were. Thank you for that. Thank you for being my best friend, for loving me, and for making me a mother." Brenda had to take a deep staggered breath to be able to continue. "Please tell her every day I loved her. Please tell my daughter I'm sorry I wasn't there for her," Brenda sobbed out.

Jason didn't bother to wipe his own tears away as he stared back at her. "I love you, Brenda."

"I know." She smiled.

"And I'm done with this," Juan said, reaching past her and pushing the button on a machine attached to Brenda.

All at once, the feed froze and lagged into flickering lights. The sounds of Brenda screams were the only intact part of the transition. While Jason's yells of 'no' and 'stop' echoed around the penthouse, Spinelli was covering his eyes and shaking his head as if trying to awake from a nightmare. Sonny fell back into the chair and covered his mouth in shock, mumbling something along the lines of 'I can't believe the bastard did it'.

The sound the followed Brenda's silence made Jason's own heart stop. It was a long continuous beep. One note that played for the departed— Brenda's heart monitor was flatlining.

When the feed came back, he could see for a fact that Brenda sagged motionlessly and the monitor confirmed her heart was no longer beating. Jason's world just fell apart around him. He couldn't look away from the screen that showed his wife no longer breathing. The woman he loved was dead.

"Huh, that was a little anti-climatic," Juan's voice said. He walked into the center of the camera and tilted his head, studying Brenda's body.

"I'm going to kill you," Jason whispered out, detached from his own voice.

Juan turned to the camera once more and smiled. "Have fun trying to find me. 21 million dollars buys a lot of hiding places. Bye Jason." With a wave, the feed ended.

Staring at the black screen, Jason was unable to move. He tried to convince himself that didn't just happen. There was no way that just happened.

He wasn't sure how long his numbed body stood in place with his unfocused gaze on the laptop.

It was Spinelli's cries that filtered in first.

"Venus is—" The kid couldn't even finish his words.

"Jason," Sonny's voice said, a hand placed itself on his shoulder.

He moved further away from the comfort as his brain rebooted and told him everything that happened was in fact real.

Again, he looked down where the computer sat, it held the last images he'd ever see of her. And the desk— the desk where he sat and did work for an organization that ruined so many people's lives. Without warning, he flipped the damn thing over. Spinelli jumped away frightened but he didn't care. He took the chair and slammed it over and over again breaking the wood and cracking the plastic and glass.

Jason vaguely noticed Sonny ushering Spinelli from the penthouse.

He continued his damage on the offending pieces in front of him but it wasn't enough. This whole place was bought and paid for with blood money. In his angered haze, he decided he was going to destroy it all. He screamed as he did so.

.~*~.

Moments after Juan shut his own laptop down, Tom scurried from behind the closed door. The man looked at Brenda's body nervously.

Juan could see the regret on his face and rolled his eyes.

"Sir," Tom began. "You said you weren't going to kill her."

"I believe I told you not to worry because after this was said and done, Brenda wouldn't be dead. I never said I wouldn't to kill her."

"I— I don't understand."

Juan sighed. Good help was so hard to find these days. "Just charge up the defibrillator, over there," he said pointing to the small machine by her side.

Rushing to listen, Tom did as he was told and stood back.

"Cross your fingers." Juan joked and quickly placed the stickers on Brenda's skin. With his hand hovering over the button, he smiled. "I'm not done with you yet, Brenda."