Part 5
Elizabeth awakens and suddenly she remembers what connection she has to Esme. "I'm remembering", Elizabeth says.
Esme smirks, "what do you think you know?"
Elizabeth takes a deep breath, "Helena, Helena Cassidine."
Esme nods her head and says, "she really hated you, and more so your ex-husband and his family."
Elizabeth replies, "but do you know why? Do you know what hell she put Lucky through as revenge? She brainwashed him, she conditioned him. She did the same to my son Jake. She falsified paternity records to make us think Nikolas was Aiden's father. Has she done the same to you? Was I part of this plan from 20 years ago? I am not Laura and Lucky is not his father! And Helena is Dead!"
"Hmmm, but a curse is still a curse. You are a Spencer, correction, former Spencer, and you along with his family and that grandson of hers broke Lucky from one of those curses."
Elizabeth pleads, "that grandson of hers, she loved him. She loved her great-grandchild, Spencer. Do you think she'd want you to hurt them?"
Esme replies, "as you unequivocally stated, Helena is dead. She can't tell me what to do anymore. Her precious grandson poisoned her; and Spencer, well, he abandoned me. He dropped kicked me to the curb and chose your family over me. You and your bastard kids, especially Cameron over me. I don't care what happens to him anymore."
Elizabeth sighs. She knows nothing she can say will change how Esme feels and all she can hope is her kids will be protected. She hopes by now people will figure out it was Esme who caused this and hopes Sonny will protect her children. She doesn't care what happens to her as long as they are safe.
"Fine, you hate me, want to blame me, I accept that. I doubt you'd believe I knew nothing about what Helena did, and if I had I would have tried to stop it."
Esme replies, "that's not good enough. Whether you live or die doesn't matter to me, but I'll make sure the curse lives on in your name. I guess I won't need to worry about poor LuLu as she's in a coma and while Laura and Valentine share custody (Victor does not have Charlotte in this story), she is still a Cassidine, and I don't want to cross him. I know Helena wanted revenge on Natasha, sorry, Alexis, and any of her kids, but so far, she's done nothing to me and I think Sonny has her and her kids protected by now. The only ones on my radar are Laura, you, and your kids. I'd love to go after Lucky and Ethan, but alas they are not in Port Charles or are my concern right now."
Spinelli:
Dante has dropped off copies of the security tapes and Spinelli is carefully going through them. The tapes inside don't show much. It shows Elizabeth stumbling down the hall and off to an employee break area and out an exit door. He was able to make out a shadow from the emergency lights, but no clear view of who is with Elizabeth. He followed Elizabeth out the back door and someone covered in black swiped a generic key card to unlock the back door and Elizabeth followed them out. From there Elizabeth was helped into a dark sedan and the car drove off with the license plates obscured.
Nikolas called Spinelli and asks him a big favor. "Could you make copies and notes of the tapes and deliver them to me without telling anyone? I'm looking into this myself, but I don't want to interfere with the investigation unless I find something with fresh eyes."
Spinelli replies, "Princely One, do you dare suggest I am derelict in my duties to the law-abiding ones?"
Nikolas says, "No, but Elizabeth is one of my best friends and I want to help if I can. Her kids are worried about her as are my mother and Kevin. Please let me help, but don't say anything to anyone, not even Sam."
Spinelli gives up, knowing Nikolas must have a good reason, and decides to trust his instincts. "I'll make copies before I hand over what I've found to the PCPD."
Laura, and the boys:
Dante reviews the tapes and the notes, and he concurs even if it was Esme who took Elizabeth, they have no proof. He gives the news to Laura who drives over to Elizabeth's house to break the news to her grandkids.
Laura explains to Cameron everything she knows and what the PCPD knows. They all believe Esme is responsible for everything Elizabeth has suffered through, they only wish they could prove it. Cameron blames himself for allowing Esme into their circle of friends. He wishes Spencer had never met her.
Crying he asks, "Grandma, why has Esme done this to mom? Did she substitute her sleeping pills? Or when she stopped taking them did she put them in her food or drink? How could I let her into our home? How am I going to tell Jake and Aiden? I'm supposed to be the man of the house now. Franco told me to look after my mother when he thought he might be dying from the tumor."
Laura hugs her grandson, "Cameron sweetheart. Don't beat yourself up over this. It is not your fault. It is not Spencer's fault. We will find your mother. I'm going to stay with you until she comes home safely."
Cameron wipes his eyes and they wait for Jake and Aiden to come home from school. Laura and Cameron gently break the news to them. Jake runs to Laura, and she envelops him in her arms and holds him tight. Cameron pulls Aiden onto his lap and promises him mom will be home soon.
Nikolas and Jason:
Nikolas updates Jason on what Spinelli found. "Jason, Spinelli made copies of the tapes and analyzed them, He couldn't find anything on them that points to Esme, but it does appear that Liz did not leave of her own accord. Whoever took her knew where the cameras are. Here are the copies he made. You can look at them before you decide to move forward or contact him. They found a car that matches the car seen on the tape that Elizabeth got in."
Jason thanks Nikolas and says he will review them by himself. Nikolas leaves to see his mother and the boys. Jason wants a status on how Jake and his brothers are the next time they see each other.
Jason watches frame by frame from the time Elizabeth left her room to her getting into a dark sedan. He sees the shadow and surmises it's a female with a small frame, slightly taller than Elizabeth. He watches her stumble down the hall and sees a hand occasionally reach out to steady Elizabeth's balance.
He watches Elizabeth stagger out the door and the slight female frame covered in black help Elizabeth to the passenger side of the dark sedan, and she goes to the driver's side, adjusts the seatbelt and the mirror and she drives away. The license plate is obscured. Jason notes this was an unfamiliar car to the driver because she had to adjust the seatbelt and the mirror. Jason looked at the notes about the abandoned car and noted it. was wiped down. Jason thinks she drove Elizabeth someplace, then drove to a vacant lot and dumped the vehicle. Then she either walked back or got a ride back to the place where Elizabeth is being held. He calls Nikolas and tells him he's ready to meet with Spinelli. He has an idea about where they might find Elizabeth.
Nikolas leaves after visiting with his mother and their family. He calls Spinelli and asks him to get his laptop and they are going on a little trip. He drives and takes him to Jason.
Laura and Kevin:
Kevin arrives at Elizabeth's house after treating patients. The boys are in their rooms and Cameron is playing his guitar softly. "Laura, I'm sorry I had to leave suddenly, but I wanted to finish our conversation earlier. There was a conversation Esme had with me that seem strange. She asked questions about the psyche of…"
Cameron walks into the room and crosses over to get a glass of juice from the refrigerator. He sits with Kevin and Laura, and they discuss what Esme was asking Kevin about. They all agree it was odd and didn't know what to make of it and if it was relevant to Elizabeth's disappearance. Nikolas stops by briefly to comfort Laura and reassure her everything was being done to find Elizabeth. He's poured all his resources and contacts to find her. He needs to go but loves her and will be in touch soon.
Kevin locks up and he and Laura head to the guest room.
Jason and Spinelli:
Nikolas picked up Spinelli and drove him to the safehouse where Jason was staying.
Spinelli follows Nickolas into the safe house. Spinelli is shocked and surprised and runs to Jason and tries to hug him, but Jason stops him and puts his hands on his shoulders. There is no time Spinelli. I will tell you everything later, but I need you to focus! We need to find Elizabeth!
Spinelli sputters, nods his head, and says he will comply. "What do you need?", he asks.
Jason replies, "that abandoned car that was found and wiped down? I need you to hack into the GPS. Nikolas said the car was stolen and is currently in the impound lot. Here is the information on the car, but I think for sake of argument, we will say this Esme person is the one who took Elizabeth. I think she drove Elizabeth someplace and later took the car someplace else. She could have returned to where Elizabeth is or left her there and moved on to someone else. If we can get the last location before the car ended up abandoned, that might be where Elizabeth is."
Spinelli takes out his laptop and quickly begins his hacking into the car's dashboard. Soon he has a destination. Nikolas offers to drive and Jason takes Spinelli along to keep him from telling people.
Elizabeth:
Elizabeth awoke and Esme was gone. She struggled against the ropes and they only got tighter. She couldn't scream and she felt helpless. She breathed in deeply from her nose and tried relaxing. Her stomach rumbled and she thought of her kids and who would take care of them if she was not found. She knows Laura is there, but she does not want anyone in her family to take them. Cameron is legally an adult, but far too young to take the responsibility of raising his brothers, not to mention the money. She breathes in and out again. She can't help it but the worst-case scenarios were running through her mind
Rush to Save Elizabeth:
As Nikolas is speeding to the motel, Jason answers all of Spinelli's questions and explains why he chose to stay dead. He also makes him promise not to say anything to anyone.
They arrive at the motel and Jason finds the clerk and asks questions about the guests there and then describes Esme. The clerk feigns ignorance and Jason grabs him by his shirt and yells, "if you don't give me the right answer or the real key, I will kick in every door until I find who I am looking for!"
Nikolas, apologizes to the clerk and says nicely, "if I give you a hundred, can you help us out, and then my friend here kick in all your doors in the place?"
The clerk gives Jason the key but says "the woman paid for 3 days, but left yesterday."
They rush to the room and Jason unlocks the door and…..