"That's why I'm stuck in this stupid thing?!" Ivy cried, once again interrupting Kay. "I got struck by lightning? On top of EVERYTHING else that's happened to me, I got struck by lightning?!"
"I know, but things like that happen a lot here in Harmony," Kay remarked offhandedly. She didn't have time to keep digressing; at any moment, Ivy might have to deal with somebody else, and then she'd have to know the right things to say. Kay had been trying to tell Ivy everything about her life now, but the problem was, Kay didn't know everything. Having been so recently discovered as Ivy's daughter, a great deal of the woman's life was still a mystery to her. She had rather apologetically explained that fact to her mother, who had been quite shocked that Kay had been raised by Sam Bennett, but even more so that the future her and Kay had grown so close in such a short time.
"Yeah, well, you were the first person in ages who ever seemed to actually care about me, and not just the trouble they thought I was causing," Kay had said simply, and changed the subject when she saw Ivy's quizzical expression, just beginning to form a question that she would most likely not want to answer.
"Mom," Kay said, still using that moniker even though it wasn't quite true anymore, "you have to focus. We can't afford anybody getting suspicious, and any odd behavior will be noticed right away in this house! It's full of your enemies. Now, another thing that you need to know is—"
Kay was promptly cut off by a maid, the one she knew as Phyllis. Kay cursed inwardly, knowing that she had to be careful around this servant, who was loyal to Theresa and absolutely hated Ivy. Forcing a smile, Kay asked, "What is it, Phyllis? Is there something wrong?"
"No, Miss, at least, I don't think so. I do have a message for you, though. Your grandfather wishes to speak with you in his study right away."
Kay bit her lip, knowing that if Alistair wished to have a word with her, refusing him was not an option. Kay wanted to give Ivy a quick warning about what she should do until Kay came back, but she didn't dare, not with Phyllis practically breathing down her neck. If that maid saw anything out of the ordinary, she would without a doubt report it to Theresa without delay, and who knows what her step-mother would do with it? Damn that David, if only he had stuck around a little longer, but he had insisted upon getting back to the Bennett house for a while to check on John and see if he, or Grace, needed anything.
"Thank you, Phyillis; I'll be going right now. Bye Mom; I'll see you soon." Kay rushed out of the library, with Phyllis close behind, who thankfully didn't seem to notice the odd whimper and look of panic that Ivy had given the departing Kay. I'm sorry, Mom, but I didn't have any choice. I hope you can handle yourself alright on your own, Kay worried, comforted somewhat by her opinion that her mother certainly appeared to have enough brains and inner strength to avoid tripping herself up.
Too preoccupied to even be curious about what Alistair might want with her, Kay approached the study, hoping fervently that, whatever it was, it wouldn't take too long.
*****
Calling upon her entire inner reserve, Ivy did not start hyperventilating as soon as Kay had left the study. If she could only stay calm, she knew that she could handle any situation that might arise. After all, she reminded herself rather proudly, how many people could find themselves in my situation and remain this composed?
Attempting to do something constructive until Kay returned, Ivy mentally went over the entire population of the mansion at the present, so that she would be prepared for anyone that she might see. There was, of course, Julian Crane, that awful man that she hadn't been able to stand at that one party she'd been to. What could possibly have made her marry THAT creep? His father was there as well, and she'd need to watch out for him, and Rebecca Osburn, make that Hotchkiss, was staying there as Julian's mistress! That one had really thrown her: she knew her friend could be ruthless, but even Ivy had never dreamed that she would sink that low. As if that weren't confusing enough, Rebecca's daughter Gwen had resided there as well, formerly dating her son Ethan, who had wanted to marry Pilar's daughter, who somehow had gotten herself married to Julian, and had had to break things off with Ethan, who for some unknown reason was still living at the mansion! Apparently, all of these people, now had a vendetta against her for reasons that she did not really know, except Ethan and possibly Gwen…
Ivy's head was now swimming, her brain suffering from information overload. Just as she was about to go over the facts again, a middle-aged Hispanic woman walked in, who, though clearly quite older, was nevertheless unmistakable as Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald, her maid, friend, and confidante. Forgetting herself for a second, Ivy happily exclaimed, "Pilar! It's so good to see you!"
Pilar frowned suspiciously. "I'm here to talk to my daughter, Ivy. And what are you up to now? You're talking like we're still friends."
Ivy, irritated that she had momentarily forgotten the role that she was playing, covered herself with a laugh. "I'm not 'up to' anything, Pilar. It's just that I've been thinking about us, and hoping that it's still possible to repair our friendship."
"After what you've done to my Theresita?!" Pilar yelled with a fury that Ivy had not even imagined Pilar could possess. "If it hadn't been for you, well, maybe her life wouldn't have been the disaster it's become. I'm sorry, Mrs. Crane, but we will NEVER be friends again!" With that, Pilar stormed off, presumably continuing her search for Theresa.
Ivy simply couldn't believe it. Kay had warned her that the friendship had lately taken a nasty turn due to her anger at this Theresa, who had supposedly exposed Ivy's secret, but Ivy had been totally unprepared for that. She had never seen her friend that upset, or even knew that Pilar could be so harsh. A highly unpleasant question began to gnaw at Ivy: what exactly had she done to Theresa to make things this bad?
As if on cue, a pretty young woman of obvious Mexican descent marched in purposefully. "Mama? Are you in here?" Upon noticing Ivy, the girl's features instantly contorted into a mask of pure loathing. "So, Ivy, would you like to gloat again about how I'm never gonna have Ethan now, and that you've won after all?"
"Uh, no, I wasn't actually planning on it," Ivy replied, deciding to play it safe and say as little as possible.
"Good, because you might have ruined my life, but you certainly haven't won. I may be trapped with Julian, but I'm Mrs. Crane for good now, and you're going to live to regret every single thing you've ever done to me. You took away my life, and I will take away yours."
The young woman appeared to be dead serious, and Ivy didn't think that she had ever seen someone whose eyes were quite so close to bulging out of their sockets. "I…'took away' your life?" Ivy asked, hoping that she would get some sort of explanation without revealing herself.
Theresa looked even more furious, if such a thing was possible. "So, you're going to deny it again, are you? I know that you and Rebecca got me executed by sending me that fake surveillance tape that showed Ethan killing Julian so that I would confess and get the death penalty. Oh, I'll never be able to prove it, I've accepted that," she laughed contemptuously. "But mark my words, before I'm done with you, you'll wish that the authorities had caught you. You know, I've been doing a little thinking about it all, and I've come to realize that you have got to be the coldest-hearted bitch in all of New England! I can understand trying to protect yourself and Ethan when you thought I was just a lying little gold-digger, but your entire plan depended on the assumption that I loved Ethan enough to die for him! You actually sat there and watched what we all thought to be my death, and saw me DIE to protect your son, never telling his 'secret' even as I received the supposedly lethal injection, and you just let it happen! Personally, I don't know how you manage to get up in the morning, remembering what you've done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my mother now, but we'll talk again soon, and Ivy: be afraid."
Ivy stared after her in absolute horror. She had wanted to know what she could have done to make Pilar hate her, and, well, getting her daughter executed for murder would certainly do the trick. If what Theresa had said was true (and Ivy had a wretched suspicion that it was), then she richly deserved all of the hatred she had gotten, and more. Kay had told her about Julian's supposed murder, and of Theresa's near death, but her daughter had obviously been unaware that she had done that! To actually frame someone for murder by playing on their love for her own son…
"Oh, God! What sort of person am I here?! Am I really this much of a monster?" Ivy sat with these horrid thoughts in her head for what seemed like ages, when she heard the door open yet again. Ivy's face lit up, hoping that Kay had finally come back, but her hopes were dashed when she saw that it was a rather professional-looking African-American woman who seemed to be a doctor. She had clearly come straight from the hospital, as she still had her name tag pinned onto her coat. By straining her eyes to the fullest, she could just barely make out the name 'Dr. Eve Russell' on the tag.
"Hello…Dr. Russell," Ivy said with a feigned cheerfulness. "What are you here for?"
The woman shot her a quizzical look. "Don't you remember? I have an appointment with you today. To see how you're doing with your injury."
"Oh yes, of course I remember. It must have just slipped my mind!" Ivy laughed a bit, but stopped when she realized that Dr. Russell did not seem amused at all. Oh great, does SHE hate me too?, Ivy wondered.
The doctor proceeded with the checkup, giving her an examination and asking questions whose answers Ivy made up randomly. Finally, she finished with, "And as for the prescription, you've been sticking to it this time, right? You haven't been overmedicating yourself again?"
"No, of course not!" Ivy declared, while speculating that maybe she was also addicted to painkillers. She did feel a bit shaky and edgy, and it was possible that some of that could be due to her body's withdrawal, and not just her reaction to being catapulted into the future.
"Good," the doctor said. "Although, if it weren't for the Hippocratic Oath I took, I'd prescribe you a fatal dose with no hesitation. It wouldn't be any more than you deserve."
"Why, I don't know what you're talking about!" Ivy cried truthfully, shocked by her doctor's abrupt contempt.
"Oh come on, Ivy! You had my daughter drugged so that you could threaten my family and intimidate me into falsifying the DNA results into saying that John is Grace's son! With everything you've done to me, I can hardly be blamed for wishing you dead. But, as your physician, I'm obligated to work to insure your health and well-being. Your condition is stable, but unchanging. You're doing relatively well, but have not shown any noteworthy improvements. I'll check back on you in a couple of weeks." Dr. Russell then left the room, her entire demeanor brightening up with the knowledge that she could now leave the mansion.
"So, now I'm an addict who drugs innocent girls in order to advance her evil machinations!" Ivy laughed hysterically for a moment, but her laughter soon turned to tears as the weight of it all caught up with her and she broke down completely.
*****
"Hello, Grandfather," Kay said politely, noticing that Julian was also present. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
Although he seemed to struggle, Alistair managed something that resembled an actual smile. "Well, I'm not getting any younger, and I need an heir to take over Crane industries and head the family when I'm gone. For a long time, I thought that Ethan would be my heir, but, as the entire world now knows, he's not a Crane. I've been reluctant to reinstate Julian, for obvious reasons, and have had no other strong contender since. It's a situation that has caused me a great deal of anxiety, since the family cannot continue without a proper heir."
"I'm sorry, but I really don't see what any of this has to do with me," Kay said directly.
"I'm getting to that. I haven't found anyone in the family to be worthy of such a position. That is, Kay, until you entered the picture. Congratulations, I have decided to name you my heir."
"What?!" Julian cried indignantly. "That's preposterous!"
For once, Kay had to agree with her father. Kay may have been many things, but she certainly wasn't stupid. There was no logical reason that she could think of for her grandfather to do such a thing. "Why would you do that? You barely know me, I don't have the right education, and I wasn't even raised a Crane! Plus, I've heard that you won't give any positions of power to a woman, and even if you've changed your mind about that, why not Sheridan or one of my sisters?"
Alistair smiled again, though once again it was forced. "My dear Kay, sometimes one can just…sense a certain quality right away, with hardly any acquaintance. This is merely just such a time. In fact, your overall worthiness was so strong that it overruled my former, shall we say, 'prejudices' about women in power."
While Julian sputtered furiously, Kay inwardly dissected her situation. She couldn't deny how alluring Alistair's offer seemed: if she became Crane heir, then she would one day be one of the most powerful people in the world, able to determine the tide of world events! However, despite her attraction to the prospect, Kay simply could not believe what he had just said. It still didn't add up, and she could sense the insincerity in both his voice and his mannerisms, as if he was being forced against his will to say the things that he had uttered. Because of this, Kay refused to be impressed until she got a satisfactory explanation behind her grandfather's behavior.
Eventually, it seemed that Alistair had determined that Julian had been allowed to fume for quite enough time, Alistair dismissed him, saying that he needed to discuss specific arrangements with Kay. Once they were alone, Kay glared and asked frankly, "All right, why don't you tell me what's really going on? Because I don't believe a single word that you just said."
"Good. That speaks well of your intelligence, at least. You're right; if it were up to me, I wouldn't name you my heir."
Kay stared at him, not comprehending. "I don't get it, then. You run everything, so why would you do something that you don't want to?"
Alistair sighed resignedly, forced to reveal his secret at last. "Well, Kay, that's not really exactly true. You're likely to believe this even less than anything else, but there's no way around telling you. I'll explain everything, or rather, Cassandra will." As he said her name, the woman whom Kay had been introduced to as her second, or third, or whatever cousin drifted out from a dark corner.
If Kay had been confused before, she was downright baffled now. What did this girl, whoever she was exactly, have to do with anything, especially her new status? True, there did seem to be something strange about this relative, with her creepy white skin and unsettling bearing that somehow suggested that she was very dangerous, but nothing that pointed even remotely towards an explanation.
"Hello, Kay," Cassandra smiled eerily, though Kay got the feeling that whatever it was with her, Cassandra didn't mean her any harm. "I hope that you don't have to be anywhere right away, because we need to have a good, long talk so that the two of us might get better acquainted."