Chapter 21
A rash of kidnappings begin. Fox and Whitney are introduced to a long lost relative.
Lexie stared through the isolation window at Abe. She didn't dare bring Theo anywhere near his father.
Abe looked up and waved. Lexie put her hand up to wave as well. A doctor in an protective suit walked in with a clipboard. Lexie broke off eye contact, then turned and walked away.
Abe had turned himself in, naked and shivering, at the Harmony Police Station. Luis had gotten the call, and together, Lexie and Antonio went down there with him.
When Lexie arrived, she had been more than a bit surprised to see Abe in a standard jail uniform, already enclosed in a cell. It saddened her. For Abe could not control the creature within. He did not belong there.
Meanwhile, Antonio had opted to stay in the car, too embarrassed by his unfortunate condition to be seen in the light.
Luis decided that they had no choice but to call in the doctors. Doctors turned into government scientists. Soon, both Abe and Antonio were quarantined, for public safety's sake.
But at least they were in Harmony Hospital. Lexie had spent enough time here to consider it her second home. Unfortunately, she could not speak to Abe, but just watch him through the glass.
Antonio's situation was not as dire. She couldn't see him, but she could talk to him via an intercom.
It was the strangest thing, Antonio's condition. Doctors and scientists would shave the hair off of Antonio. But he would only look normal for one hour. Then, the hair would grow back, sometimes even thicker. The medical staff was puzzled.
But Lexie was not. She was going to Salem...to her father's trial. And then she was going to do what she should have done when this mess first began. She was going to beg her father for the real cure. Too many people had been hurt. It was time for this madness to stop. And she would meet, whatever condition he asked of her. Just as long as Abe and Antonio could get their lives back.
Once Lexie decided this, she walked out into the hallway, where the nurse's station was. She was so lost in thought, that she almost didn't notice the chaos that was taking place, on the other side of the hallway. Almost.
The elevator doors had opened, and paramedics came running off with Simone Russell on a stretcher! She was sobbing.
'My baby! My baby! Help me save my baby! Please!'
T.C. and John Hastings ran after the paramedics. Lexie stood still and stared after them. She then looked over at the elevators again. Julian and Eve were stepping off.
Lexie walked over to them.
'What's going on?' she asked.
Eve didn't answer her. Julian reluctantly did.
'Simone began feeling poorly at the courthouse. She may lose her baby.'
'Oh my God! Maybe I should call Tony?'
'Why?!' Eve asked, looking her up and down.
'Why, Eve? Because he's the child's father!'
'He may be, but Simone doesn't think so! As far as we're concerned, John Hastings is the father of that baby!'
'Oh please!' Lexie snapped.
'John has been the one by your 'sister-in-law's' side, this whole time. Your brother threw her off of his jet! He obviously does not believe he is the father. Now please leave us!' Julian ordered coldly.
Lexie rolled her eyes and moved past them, towards one of the elevators. She didn't have time for the Crane's or the Russell's for that matter. Because if T.C. and Julian were on the same premises, there would undoubtedly be a fight soon. And she wasn't in the mood to view the drama. She needed to get to Salem and see Stefano.
****
Eve watched as the elevator doors closed on Lexie. She idly wondered what her feelings were about Celeste and T.C.? She then focused in on her husband. Julian pulled on her hand.
'Come on. I think they took her that way.'
Eve nodded, and they walked down the hallway. They found T.C. and John standing outside of an emergency room. John turned and saw the two of them, then tried to leap at Julian!
'YOU MURDERING BASTARD!!!' he screamed. T.C. did not try and stop him, as he flew at Julian. Julian fell backwards, against Eve. They all fell onto the waiting chairs in the area!
'T.C.!' Eve screamed. 'Help me stop this!'
T.C. rolled his eyes, and looked back through the square windows in the emergency room doors.
John was pummeling Julian with his fists! Eve grabbed the back of his hair, which was quite a feat, with all of the oil he wore in it, twisted it, and pulled him up and off of Julian!
John then turned and punched Eve in the jaw! Eve went flying back, past T.C. and into the emergency room, where Simone was being worked on!
T.C ran in there to help Eve. He bent down and cradled her.
'Eve! Oh my God, Eve!'
Eve was unconscious, having hit her head on the floor. A doctor rushed over to her. T.C. looked at him.
'How is my daughter?' he asked him. The doctor shook his head. T.C. looked over at Simone, who appeared to be sleeping. T.C. looked at the doctor.
'The baby?'
'I'm sorry Mr. Russell. But the baby did not make it. Let's get Eve into an examining room.'
Meanwhile, John Hastings was grabbed by Julian, and put into a headlock. Julian, after seeing the unruly youth, punch his wife, used every bit of strength to squeeze the life out of him!
'Let go!' John wheezed. 'Let go!'
But Julian just applied more pressure. It took two orderlies, and Fox, who had just arrived with Whitney, to pull him off of him. But before Julian let go, he grabbed John's pants, and pulled up the bit of underwear he saw peeking out. And he pulled hard!
'AAAAHHHH!' John screamed, as Julian finally released him. The orderlies pulled John away, while Fox grabbed Julian.
'Why is it that I'm always breaking up a fight between you and someone else in this town?!' Fox demanded.
'Ask him!' Julian almost screeched. 'He punched Eve!'
Whitney's eyes went wide when she heard that. She then looked over at John.
'Oh Christ!' Fox hissed, letting go of Julian and hurrying over to Whitney. But, it was too late.
Whitney ran up and punched John in the stomach!
'Hey!!!' one of the orderlies screamed, as John fell to the floor.
Whitney pointed down at him.
'I knew you were no damned good!'
'Whitney, come on! Forget about it!' Fox said, pulling her away. Whitney looked up at Fox.
'What happened?! Why is Simone in danger of losing her baby?'
'I don't know.' Fox answered, eyeing Julian.
'Fox, Simone left that courtroom with Daddy, then my mother left, then Julian. Something happened! And now John has the nerve to punch my mother? After all we've done for him and Simone?'
Fox nodded.
'You're right. Let's see about getting some answers.' he said, and they walked back over to Julian.
Julian was about to walk into the room he had seen Eve go flying in to, when Fox and Whitney stopped him.
'What happened, Father?'
'Yes, Julian, why is Simone even here.'
Julian was breathing heavily.
'I found Eve arguing with Simone outside of the courthouse. Your mother wanted her gone from our house.'
Whitney and Fox looked at one another.
'Why? That doesn't make any sense!' Whitney cried out.
Julian looked at Fox. Fox raised it a brow.
'Spit it out, Father!'
'Oh, Fox, believe me, 'spit' is the perfect word to summarize, why Simone will not be living on the Crane estate!'
'What?' Fox asked.
Julian took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.
'The GIRL, your sister, Whitney, was spitting in the meals she was preparing for me, and God knows who else!'
'Oh hell no!' Fox cried out, scrunching up his face. Whitney began to back away.
'No....she actually admitted it?'
'I do believe your mother caught her! I don't think she wanted the rest of us to know.'
Fox began shaking his head. He then put an arm around his wife.
'Honey, I'm sorry...I know this is a hard thing to hear.'
Whitney blinked back tears.
'When someone spits in your food...I mean that's real hate! And I thought we had all finally brought Simone into our family! But she hated us all along!
Just then, a doctor and T.C., helped carry out an unconscious Eve out of the room Simone had been worked on in. Julian ran over to them.
'What the hell?!' he screeched.
'She fell and hit her head on the floor, Crane! The doctor and I will get her to an examining room!' T.C. yelled.
But Julian had had enough of T.C. Russell for one day! He shoved him away from Eve! T.C. began to charge towards him, but Fox and Whitney jumped between them.
'Stop it, Daddy! You're making things worse!'
'They can't get much worse, Whitney! Simone lost the baby! And it was all Julian's fault!'
'NO!' John cried out.
Simone was wheeled out of the room as well. She looked as if she were asleep. T.C. walked over to John, who's eyes were on Simone.
'She's going to need you when she wakes up. You've got to pull yourself together.'
But John sank to the floor and wept.
****
Slowly, Eve began to come to. She blinked, when she saw an anxious looking Julian, sitting beside her.
'Julian? Are you alright?'
Julian picked up her hand and kissed it.
'Am I alright?' he repeated. 'My heart almost stopped when I saw you being carried out like that! Needless to say, that little sludge, Hastings, has been told to get the hell off of our property, immediately.'
Eve nodded, then tried to sit up, but found herself feeling whoozy. Julian jumped up and pushed her back against the pillows.
'Don't try and get up. Just lay back and rest. '
'How is Simone?'
Julian shrugged.
'I don't know, Eve. And at this point I'm beyond caring.'
'Julian..'
'No, Eve! We came here to offer support, and instead, you end up being a patient here! Besides, if I have to look at that ex-husband of yours, God knows what I may do to him!'
'Julian!' Eve cried out, shocked.
'Well I'm sorry, darling, but his behavior was reprehensible! While I was fighting off that 'teen titan', I specifically heard you ask T.C. for help. He did nothing and that is why you are lying here this instant!'
Eve reached up and touched his hand. He clasped hers.
'I want to schedule exams for the whole family...you, me, Fox, Whitney and the twins. I just want to make sure that Simone's spitting, hasn't caused us to get sick.'
'Darling, she said she was only spitting in my food.'
Eve sighed tiredly.
'As if that isn't bad enough! I don't trust her! I hate to say it, but I don't trust my own daughter! And she hated the twins! Julian, babies are susceptible to every kind of illness...if she's done anything to them...'
Julian reached down and held her.
'Everything will be alright now. We know what she was up to and we'll be okay. I swear it.'
****
Fox and Whitney sat in waiting room chairs, near Simone's room. Whitney tossed aside the magazine she had been trying to read. Fox reached over and touched her hand.
'It will be alright.'
'How? I can't believe she was spitting in our food, Fox! I mean, do you remember how happy she seemed to want to cook for us? To care for Evan and Erin? I don't know what I'm going to say to her...or even if I want to ever speak to her again!'
Fox rubbed her hand, then looked up. Someone was standing over them. Fox and Whitney looked up.
'Can I help you?' Fox asked.
The man, looked to be in his mid-twenties, and was a well dressed African-American man. Fox slowly stood up. The man was light-skinned and...and looked absurdly like Julian Crane!
Whitney stood up as well, eyeing the man. She felt as if she were looking at a female version of her own mother!
'My name is Preston Hart. I was at the courthouse when I saw all of the commotion. Is the young lady that was hurt, is she alright?'
Whitney was about to answer, but Fox motioned for her not to say anything.
'Okay, Preston Hart, why do you care?'
Preston smiled at him. Fox thought he would puke! His smile was so like his father's it gave him the creeps, and a sinking feeling, as to who 'Preston' was.
'Because that girl was one of my sisters.' Preston answered, then looked at Whitney.
'You must be Whitney.'
Whitney did not answer, but looked at Fox again. Fox spoke.
'You're saying that your parents are...'
'Julian and Eve Crane. I was hesitant to come here, since Grandfather said they did not want to see me, but I thought...'
'Excuse me?' Whitney asked. 'Who...what Grandfather?'
Preston looked at her as if she were crazy!
'Grandpa Alistair.'
'GRANDPA ALISTAIR!' Fox almost screamed. 'Oh, that's rich! I could only call him Grandfather, and here you get to call him Grandpa Alistair!'
'Fox, please!' Whitney cried, feeling more and more stressed as the minutes went by. This was her brother. Not Chad. If only this Preston had come forward a long time ago, none of what Chad had went through, would have been necessary.
But Fox was not through with him.
'By calling him 'Grandpa Alistair', you're implying that you and Grandfather have some sort of relationship?'
Preston began to shake his head.
'Yes, of course I do. I've known him all of my life.'
Fox pulled Whitney away from him.
'I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I don't trust this guy!'
'He looks like Mom.' Whitney murmured.
'I think he looks like Father, and it's creeping me out! But that's not the worst part! How in the hell could he have known Grandfather all of this time?'
Whitney looked from Preston, to Fox.
'That is really sick! My mother always suspected that Alistair knew where her son was, but to have had a relationship with him!'
'Yeah, and did you hear that stuff he said about Alistair saying that my father and your mother didn't want to see him?'
Whitney shook her head, then froze. Julian was coming out into the waiting area. He saw them and walked past Preston, and over to them. Preston's eyes seemed to light up in recognition.
Julian smiled at Fox and Whitney.
'Eve is going to be fine, but she really wants us to get tested, since Simone could have been spitting in all of our food. What are you two looking at?'
Fox turned Julian around, so that he could see Preston.
'Your long lost son is home.' he said quietly.
****
Ivy walked out of a side door of the courthouse, totally exhausted. She had just finished testifying what a total bastard, Alistair Crane was.
He had been sitting there, down in the defendant's chair, smirking at her. She spoke of how she was forced into a marriage with Julian Crane, which was orchestrated by Alistair and her own father. Ivy also made it clear that Alistair was very capable of murdering someone...specifically children that didn't fit the Crane image.
Alistair's lawyer then got up and attacked her, making her out to be some money grubbing social climber, that could have made a different choice! Ivy had felt like spitting on him! Both she, and Alistair knew damned well that she had had no choice! And it was Alistair that had cost her everything...Sam...a life with Sam...and Sam again!
Ivy realized that Fox wasn't in the room when she had testified. Actually, no one from the Crane family, with the exception of Alistair himself, had been there. She wondered where they had all went?
Ivy walked to her car, relieved that the media was not hounding her for once. She had had it with this whole 'secret daughter' story, and made a mental note to make Simon Cowell pay, for not keeping it a secret! Now her life was ruined, as was their daughter's.
But, there was a small part of her, that was secretly proud, that a daughter of hers was going to be marry into the Royal family. Or at least, she almost had. That counted for something.
Just as Ivy was wondering, whether she should actually make an attempt to reach out to her daughter, an ugly, brown van pulled up beside her. A little too close.
Ivy turned. Her eyes widened as the door swung back, and she was pulled in! The door slid shut and the van screeched off. A few people in the parking lot shouted, having seen the kidnapping. But it would turn out later, that no one would remember the license plate number.
END OF THE TRIALS OF LIFE. IN PART 6 OF THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT: THE HARMONY KIDNAPPINGS, WE WILL FIND OUT WHO PRESTON'S ADOPTIVE PARENTS REALLY ARE, AND FIND OUT WHO IVY'S CAPTORS ARE. MEANWHILE, IT WILL BE JULIAN AND EVE VS. ALISTAIR, IN THE FIGHT TO WIN PRESTON'S LOVE. ALL OF THIS CAN BE READ ON PRISCILLAPAL'S FAN FICTION at http://priscillapal.hypertransitory.com/
A rash of kidnappings begin. Fox and Whitney are introduced to a long lost relative.
Lexie stared through the isolation window at Abe. She didn't dare bring Theo anywhere near his father.
Abe looked up and waved. Lexie put her hand up to wave as well. A doctor in an protective suit walked in with a clipboard. Lexie broke off eye contact, then turned and walked away.
Abe had turned himself in, naked and shivering, at the Harmony Police Station. Luis had gotten the call, and together, Lexie and Antonio went down there with him.
When Lexie arrived, she had been more than a bit surprised to see Abe in a standard jail uniform, already enclosed in a cell. It saddened her. For Abe could not control the creature within. He did not belong there.
Meanwhile, Antonio had opted to stay in the car, too embarrassed by his unfortunate condition to be seen in the light.
Luis decided that they had no choice but to call in the doctors. Doctors turned into government scientists. Soon, both Abe and Antonio were quarantined, for public safety's sake.
But at least they were in Harmony Hospital. Lexie had spent enough time here to consider it her second home. Unfortunately, she could not speak to Abe, but just watch him through the glass.
Antonio's situation was not as dire. She couldn't see him, but she could talk to him via an intercom.
It was the strangest thing, Antonio's condition. Doctors and scientists would shave the hair off of Antonio. But he would only look normal for one hour. Then, the hair would grow back, sometimes even thicker. The medical staff was puzzled.
But Lexie was not. She was going to Salem...to her father's trial. And then she was going to do what she should have done when this mess first began. She was going to beg her father for the real cure. Too many people had been hurt. It was time for this madness to stop. And she would meet, whatever condition he asked of her. Just as long as Abe and Antonio could get their lives back.
Once Lexie decided this, she walked out into the hallway, where the nurse's station was. She was so lost in thought, that she almost didn't notice the chaos that was taking place, on the other side of the hallway. Almost.
The elevator doors had opened, and paramedics came running off with Simone Russell on a stretcher! She was sobbing.
'My baby! My baby! Help me save my baby! Please!'
T.C. and John Hastings ran after the paramedics. Lexie stood still and stared after them. She then looked over at the elevators again. Julian and Eve were stepping off.
Lexie walked over to them.
'What's going on?' she asked.
Eve didn't answer her. Julian reluctantly did.
'Simone began feeling poorly at the courthouse. She may lose her baby.'
'Oh my God! Maybe I should call Tony?'
'Why?!' Eve asked, looking her up and down.
'Why, Eve? Because he's the child's father!'
'He may be, but Simone doesn't think so! As far as we're concerned, John Hastings is the father of that baby!'
'Oh please!' Lexie snapped.
'John has been the one by your 'sister-in-law's' side, this whole time. Your brother threw her off of his jet! He obviously does not believe he is the father. Now please leave us!' Julian ordered coldly.
Lexie rolled her eyes and moved past them, towards one of the elevators. She didn't have time for the Crane's or the Russell's for that matter. Because if T.C. and Julian were on the same premises, there would undoubtedly be a fight soon. And she wasn't in the mood to view the drama. She needed to get to Salem and see Stefano.
****
Eve watched as the elevator doors closed on Lexie. She idly wondered what her feelings were about Celeste and T.C.? She then focused in on her husband. Julian pulled on her hand.
'Come on. I think they took her that way.'
Eve nodded, and they walked down the hallway. They found T.C. and John standing outside of an emergency room. John turned and saw the two of them, then tried to leap at Julian!
'YOU MURDERING BASTARD!!!' he screamed. T.C. did not try and stop him, as he flew at Julian. Julian fell backwards, against Eve. They all fell onto the waiting chairs in the area!
'T.C.!' Eve screamed. 'Help me stop this!'
T.C. rolled his eyes, and looked back through the square windows in the emergency room doors.
John was pummeling Julian with his fists! Eve grabbed the back of his hair, which was quite a feat, with all of the oil he wore in it, twisted it, and pulled him up and off of Julian!
John then turned and punched Eve in the jaw! Eve went flying back, past T.C. and into the emergency room, where Simone was being worked on!
T.C ran in there to help Eve. He bent down and cradled her.
'Eve! Oh my God, Eve!'
Eve was unconscious, having hit her head on the floor. A doctor rushed over to her. T.C. looked at him.
'How is my daughter?' he asked him. The doctor shook his head. T.C. looked over at Simone, who appeared to be sleeping. T.C. looked at the doctor.
'The baby?'
'I'm sorry Mr. Russell. But the baby did not make it. Let's get Eve into an examining room.'
Meanwhile, John Hastings was grabbed by Julian, and put into a headlock. Julian, after seeing the unruly youth, punch his wife, used every bit of strength to squeeze the life out of him!
'Let go!' John wheezed. 'Let go!'
But Julian just applied more pressure. It took two orderlies, and Fox, who had just arrived with Whitney, to pull him off of him. But before Julian let go, he grabbed John's pants, and pulled up the bit of underwear he saw peeking out. And he pulled hard!
'AAAAHHHH!' John screamed, as Julian finally released him. The orderlies pulled John away, while Fox grabbed Julian.
'Why is it that I'm always breaking up a fight between you and someone else in this town?!' Fox demanded.
'Ask him!' Julian almost screeched. 'He punched Eve!'
Whitney's eyes went wide when she heard that. She then looked over at John.
'Oh Christ!' Fox hissed, letting go of Julian and hurrying over to Whitney. But, it was too late.
Whitney ran up and punched John in the stomach!
'Hey!!!' one of the orderlies screamed, as John fell to the floor.
Whitney pointed down at him.
'I knew you were no damned good!'
'Whitney, come on! Forget about it!' Fox said, pulling her away. Whitney looked up at Fox.
'What happened?! Why is Simone in danger of losing her baby?'
'I don't know.' Fox answered, eyeing Julian.
'Fox, Simone left that courtroom with Daddy, then my mother left, then Julian. Something happened! And now John has the nerve to punch my mother? After all we've done for him and Simone?'
Fox nodded.
'You're right. Let's see about getting some answers.' he said, and they walked back over to Julian.
Julian was about to walk into the room he had seen Eve go flying in to, when Fox and Whitney stopped him.
'What happened, Father?'
'Yes, Julian, why is Simone even here.'
Julian was breathing heavily.
'I found Eve arguing with Simone outside of the courthouse. Your mother wanted her gone from our house.'
Whitney and Fox looked at one another.
'Why? That doesn't make any sense!' Whitney cried out.
Julian looked at Fox. Fox raised it a brow.
'Spit it out, Father!'
'Oh, Fox, believe me, 'spit' is the perfect word to summarize, why Simone will not be living on the Crane estate!'
'What?' Fox asked.
Julian took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.
'The GIRL, your sister, Whitney, was spitting in the meals she was preparing for me, and God knows who else!'
'Oh hell no!' Fox cried out, scrunching up his face. Whitney began to back away.
'No....she actually admitted it?'
'I do believe your mother caught her! I don't think she wanted the rest of us to know.'
Fox began shaking his head. He then put an arm around his wife.
'Honey, I'm sorry...I know this is a hard thing to hear.'
Whitney blinked back tears.
'When someone spits in your food...I mean that's real hate! And I thought we had all finally brought Simone into our family! But she hated us all along!
Just then, a doctor and T.C., helped carry out an unconscious Eve out of the room Simone had been worked on in. Julian ran over to them.
'What the hell?!' he screeched.
'She fell and hit her head on the floor, Crane! The doctor and I will get her to an examining room!' T.C. yelled.
But Julian had had enough of T.C. Russell for one day! He shoved him away from Eve! T.C. began to charge towards him, but Fox and Whitney jumped between them.
'Stop it, Daddy! You're making things worse!'
'They can't get much worse, Whitney! Simone lost the baby! And it was all Julian's fault!'
'NO!' John cried out.
Simone was wheeled out of the room as well. She looked as if she were asleep. T.C. walked over to John, who's eyes were on Simone.
'She's going to need you when she wakes up. You've got to pull yourself together.'
But John sank to the floor and wept.
****
Slowly, Eve began to come to. She blinked, when she saw an anxious looking Julian, sitting beside her.
'Julian? Are you alright?'
Julian picked up her hand and kissed it.
'Am I alright?' he repeated. 'My heart almost stopped when I saw you being carried out like that! Needless to say, that little sludge, Hastings, has been told to get the hell off of our property, immediately.'
Eve nodded, then tried to sit up, but found herself feeling whoozy. Julian jumped up and pushed her back against the pillows.
'Don't try and get up. Just lay back and rest. '
'How is Simone?'
Julian shrugged.
'I don't know, Eve. And at this point I'm beyond caring.'
'Julian..'
'No, Eve! We came here to offer support, and instead, you end up being a patient here! Besides, if I have to look at that ex-husband of yours, God knows what I may do to him!'
'Julian!' Eve cried out, shocked.
'Well I'm sorry, darling, but his behavior was reprehensible! While I was fighting off that 'teen titan', I specifically heard you ask T.C. for help. He did nothing and that is why you are lying here this instant!'
Eve reached up and touched his hand. He clasped hers.
'I want to schedule exams for the whole family...you, me, Fox, Whitney and the twins. I just want to make sure that Simone's spitting, hasn't caused us to get sick.'
'Darling, she said she was only spitting in my food.'
Eve sighed tiredly.
'As if that isn't bad enough! I don't trust her! I hate to say it, but I don't trust my own daughter! And she hated the twins! Julian, babies are susceptible to every kind of illness...if she's done anything to them...'
Julian reached down and held her.
'Everything will be alright now. We know what she was up to and we'll be okay. I swear it.'
****
Fox and Whitney sat in waiting room chairs, near Simone's room. Whitney tossed aside the magazine she had been trying to read. Fox reached over and touched her hand.
'It will be alright.'
'How? I can't believe she was spitting in our food, Fox! I mean, do you remember how happy she seemed to want to cook for us? To care for Evan and Erin? I don't know what I'm going to say to her...or even if I want to ever speak to her again!'
Fox rubbed her hand, then looked up. Someone was standing over them. Fox and Whitney looked up.
'Can I help you?' Fox asked.
The man, looked to be in his mid-twenties, and was a well dressed African-American man. Fox slowly stood up. The man was light-skinned and...and looked absurdly like Julian Crane!
Whitney stood up as well, eyeing the man. She felt as if she were looking at a female version of her own mother!
'My name is Preston Hart. I was at the courthouse when I saw all of the commotion. Is the young lady that was hurt, is she alright?'
Whitney was about to answer, but Fox motioned for her not to say anything.
'Okay, Preston Hart, why do you care?'
Preston smiled at him. Fox thought he would puke! His smile was so like his father's it gave him the creeps, and a sinking feeling, as to who 'Preston' was.
'Because that girl was one of my sisters.' Preston answered, then looked at Whitney.
'You must be Whitney.'
Whitney did not answer, but looked at Fox again. Fox spoke.
'You're saying that your parents are...'
'Julian and Eve Crane. I was hesitant to come here, since Grandfather said they did not want to see me, but I thought...'
'Excuse me?' Whitney asked. 'Who...what Grandfather?'
Preston looked at her as if she were crazy!
'Grandpa Alistair.'
'GRANDPA ALISTAIR!' Fox almost screamed. 'Oh, that's rich! I could only call him Grandfather, and here you get to call him Grandpa Alistair!'
'Fox, please!' Whitney cried, feeling more and more stressed as the minutes went by. This was her brother. Not Chad. If only this Preston had come forward a long time ago, none of what Chad had went through, would have been necessary.
But Fox was not through with him.
'By calling him 'Grandpa Alistair', you're implying that you and Grandfather have some sort of relationship?'
Preston began to shake his head.
'Yes, of course I do. I've known him all of my life.'
Fox pulled Whitney away from him.
'I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I don't trust this guy!'
'He looks like Mom.' Whitney murmured.
'I think he looks like Father, and it's creeping me out! But that's not the worst part! How in the hell could he have known Grandfather all of this time?'
Whitney looked from Preston, to Fox.
'That is really sick! My mother always suspected that Alistair knew where her son was, but to have had a relationship with him!'
'Yeah, and did you hear that stuff he said about Alistair saying that my father and your mother didn't want to see him?'
Whitney shook her head, then froze. Julian was coming out into the waiting area. He saw them and walked past Preston, and over to them. Preston's eyes seemed to light up in recognition.
Julian smiled at Fox and Whitney.
'Eve is going to be fine, but she really wants us to get tested, since Simone could have been spitting in all of our food. What are you two looking at?'
Fox turned Julian around, so that he could see Preston.
'Your long lost son is home.' he said quietly.
****
Ivy walked out of a side door of the courthouse, totally exhausted. She had just finished testifying what a total bastard, Alistair Crane was.
He had been sitting there, down in the defendant's chair, smirking at her. She spoke of how she was forced into a marriage with Julian Crane, which was orchestrated by Alistair and her own father. Ivy also made it clear that Alistair was very capable of murdering someone...specifically children that didn't fit the Crane image.
Alistair's lawyer then got up and attacked her, making her out to be some money grubbing social climber, that could have made a different choice! Ivy had felt like spitting on him! Both she, and Alistair knew damned well that she had had no choice! And it was Alistair that had cost her everything...Sam...a life with Sam...and Sam again!
Ivy realized that Fox wasn't in the room when she had testified. Actually, no one from the Crane family, with the exception of Alistair himself, had been there. She wondered where they had all went?
Ivy walked to her car, relieved that the media was not hounding her for once. She had had it with this whole 'secret daughter' story, and made a mental note to make Simon Cowell pay, for not keeping it a secret! Now her life was ruined, as was their daughter's.
But, there was a small part of her, that was secretly proud, that a daughter of hers was going to be marry into the Royal family. Or at least, she almost had. That counted for something.
Just as Ivy was wondering, whether she should actually make an attempt to reach out to her daughter, an ugly, brown van pulled up beside her. A little too close.
Ivy turned. Her eyes widened as the door swung back, and she was pulled in! The door slid shut and the van screeched off. A few people in the parking lot shouted, having seen the kidnapping. But it would turn out later, that no one would remember the license plate number.
END OF THE TRIALS OF LIFE. IN PART 6 OF THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT: THE HARMONY KIDNAPPINGS, WE WILL FIND OUT WHO PRESTON'S ADOPTIVE PARENTS REALLY ARE, AND FIND OUT WHO IVY'S CAPTORS ARE. MEANWHILE, IT WILL BE JULIAN AND EVE VS. ALISTAIR, IN THE FIGHT TO WIN PRESTON'S LOVE. ALL OF THIS CAN BE READ ON PRISCILLAPAL'S FAN FICTION at http://priscillapal.hypertransitory.com/