Notes: We're doing some fast fowarding for the story now. Don't worry, it will all be explained and there shouldn't be any linger plot holes. If you find any please let me know as I will do my best to rectify them.

Shadow- The conversation between father and son was supposed to be a very foreshadowing part to the overall plot of this story. You'll see what I mean soon enough.

Story-

Two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye. School had finally begun and Damian had a purpose again. Much to his surprise, and gratitude, Sonny paid for everything. That meant to say that Sonny paid for books, tuition, and the vacated apartment above Kelly's that was still his to stay in if he needed an escape. Sonny and he were getting along great, although there were a few finite amount of times that the two were alone together. And even in the rare occurrence that they were alone they wouldn't say much to each other. Still, they felt comfortable around each other, and that was an improvement. Especially considering Carly. She was still as hesitant as she was when Damian first came to Port Charles. Even with Michael's admiration for his big brother, Carly just wasn't having anything to do with him. She was happy that Sonny got what he wanted. She could see that he was grateful for the chances that he got. It wasn't what she wanted, though. She wanted him out of their lives, out of all their lives. She had fooled herself into thinking that she could make it work with Damian, but her heart wouldn't let her accept Sonny's son. Only out of her love for her husband and her oldest child did she keep her reservations to herself for the most part. The occasional venomous comment would come out of her lips, but such slips were few and far between. Miraculously he had found some way to steer Courtney into his camp and away from hers. She still had Jason, though. He would never abandon her.

The search into the accidental drug overdose of Kyle Radcliff was still an open investigation. The police had not spent any time pestering the Corinthos family because they knew that they did not have ample evidence to bring any claims that they may have pinned onto Damian into court and win the favor of the jury. With their luck Damian would prove to be just as good, if not better than, his father when it came to working a jury into his corner. Any further breakthroughs in the case would be dependent on the autopsy, which was due anytime. None of the police officers were bothered by the death of Kyle, most of them were just looking for a way to bring down a Corinthos. It was one of the highest possible achievements for those in the Port Charles force. Scott Baldwin, as always, was the most enthusiastic about the entire situation. He wanted to bring Sonny down more than anyone. Even Ric.

Maxie did not attend his funeral. She couldn't bear to see his body in the casket and then have it lowered into the ground. There was a certain satisfaction that she couldn't dare admit but would never say aloud in the fact that he was dead, there was no way he would hurt her or any other woman ever again. Her heart still went out to his parents. They didn't spend much time with their son, but no parent ever truly deserves to see their child buried. Especially at such a young age. She was slowly getting her life back on track, starting the community college and getting along decently even without the help of Georgie. Her younger sister was so proud, but was also continually bogged down with all the work that she had to do. Rarely did Georgie even have time for Dillon, an outcome that pleased Mac very much. He had stopped trying to force Maxie to tell him what she was feeling, he felt that she would tell him in her own way at her own pace. She hadn't even seen Damian in days. At times she would think about the mysterious new boy that came into town and saved her from her own insecurities. She was thankful that she met him and very thankful that he helped her when he did. When Mac told her about the accusations that had been brought upon him by the police department she was appalled. She didn't believe that he could do such a thing, even if he was the son of Sonny Corinthos. Mac didn't believe it either, which made her feel better about the whole situation. Sometimes she hated the way her father would act when it came to his job. There was so many times that Mac just refused to listen. Dillon was the classic example. He would automatically pin anything that happened with Dillon on him and use it as a part in his campaign against him and Georgie being an item. It was a tactic that he still used to this day, although he had lightened up a bit. He'd no longer threaten to arrest Dillon if he came in and saw them kissing. The cold stare of death was more than enough for them to stop.

Lorenzo had not gotten an answer from Damian regarding the offer that he made to the boy. It was disheartening that he couldn't use Sonny's son against him as originally intended. Recently, however, there were events that allowed him to still get what he wanted. He could be a part in Sonny's defeat. It would all come into effect in a matter of moments.

Port Charles Docks-

Sonny walked down the steps like he had done thousands of times before in his life. He saw Alcazar standing there, looking directly at him with his ice blue eyes. Sonny sneered at one of the many people that had gotten on his bad list. Lorenzo was near the top, if not the number one violator. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"So you received the note," Lorenzo said.

"Yeah," Sonny walked closer, "I got a note from my wife that she wanted to meet me at the docks. Yet I don't see Carly anywhere around here, but you are. Did you kidnap her again? Put her on some yacht in the Caribbean and attempt to woo her away from me yet again? When are you going to understand that she doesn't love you, Alcazar? She wears my ring, she's the mother of my children, she uses my last name."

"I would never lay a finger on Carly," Lorenzo commented, "Unlike some people in this area I care about her too much for actions like that. I don't attempt to put her life in danger, which is something that you've never seemed to have a problem with. Still, I had a professional forgery expert make that note for you. It would be the only way that I could know that you would come into contact with me."

"If I knew that it was you, I wouldn't have come." He smiled, "And now that I know that you're the only person here and not my wife, I'll be going now."

Some of Lorenzo's men quickly surrounded Sonny. He turned to Alcazar and saw the amused look plastered on the taller man. Lorenzo spoke to his men, "No need to shoot Mr. Corinthos, at least not yet." He turned his attentions to Sonny yet again, "Another thing that I've noticed about you since you got your beloved wife back to only further put her and the children that you proclaim to love so much in the way of danger is that you don't walk around with your guards constantly surrounding you anymore. That's not exactly the smartest thing for a man of your power and influence to do when you walk around in the center of your sphere of power. You're getting careless, Sonny. You should know that the careless people are always the ones that die first."

"Carly's going to love hearing about this," Sonny stated, "You claim to love her so much yet you're willing to kill me. You really think that killing the man that she loves will make her fall in love with you?"

"There is no reason to involve Carly in this," Lorenzo remarked, "I wish only to discuss business with you."

"I'm not in the business anymore. Didn't you get the memo?"

"I'll never believe that you just up and dropped the mobster life because of one little incident."

"It wasn't a little incident," Sonny retorted, "I almost lost the woman I loved and our baby because I let you get underneath my skin. Even when I got her back she didn't know anything about our love, she couldn't remember that I love her more than anything else. That bullet cost me everything for a few months, I never want it to happen again."

"I want to move some product in. As always I have to request that you do not do anything to retaliate against my ship."

Sonny rolled his eyes, "If you need to talk with someone about this, talk to Jason. He's in control of my empire now."

Lorenzo was silent for a moment before he conceded, "I never truly believed that you had quit, Sonny. I guess I was wrong. Let him go." The men all dropped their weapons. Sonny started to walk away, "I shall contact Morgan later."

"Do whatever you want," Sonny called as he walked through the crowd.

Lorenzo waited for a minute before he smiled again, "So careless that you didn't even bother to frisk me." Lorenzo dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black tape recorder, "Prepare to have your perfect little world shattered into a thousand pieces, Sonny."

Outside Kelly's-

Damian was walking back to the penthouse when he saw Maxie sitting at one of the coffee tables reading a book under the warm rays of the sun. The two hadn't crossed paths since that day in the hospital. His first instinct was to just pass by, but he opted against it. "Hello, Maxie."

Maxie turned her eyes up from the book and smiled, "Damian, how are you?"

"I'm doing quite well. How are you?"

"I've certainly felt better in my life, but I'm managing to deal with everything pretty well."

Damian smiled, "That is very good to hear. Did they ever find out what it was that he overdosed on?"

Maxie shook her head, "The results haven't come back yet. He really liked ecstasy but he did so many different drugs and was always willing to try something new. It could have been anything."

Damian changed the subject to something happier, "How's college treating you?"

"I don't have to spend as much time in class as I did when I was in high school, that's a good thing."

Damian agreed, "There is a certain benefit to being able to choose when you go to class, isn't there?"

"I just don't like this book that we're reading in my English class," She threw the book on the table, "I've never been much of a reader."

Damian looked at the title, "Bless Me Ultima. I read this book in High School. How far along are you?"

"Second chapter," Maxie replied in a defeated tone.

Damian chuckled, "Almost all books start off at a slow pace, Maxie. Believe me this book will get much better as you get further along. I almost cried at the end." Maxie couldn't help but giggle at the prospect. Damian cocked an eyebrow at her, "What? You don't think that men can be as emotional as women? Just because we didn't all cry when Rose let go of Jack like the rest of the theater doesn't mean that we're emotionless boars."

"Now you're making movie references. You should really spend some time with Dillon," Maxie stopped laughing but she still found the idea amusing.

"Who?"

"My sister's boyfriend," Maxie proclaimed.

"Oh," Damian dug into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, "I'll have to take a rain check on that encounter. I'm already bogged down with work." He wrote down a number on the sheet and handed it to Maxie, "That's my cell phone number, a perk from Sonny. If you need any help with digesting that book don't hesitate to call. Don't hesitate just in case you need a friend, too."

She nodded as she put the number in her purse, "I'll keep that in mind."

Damian gave a shallow wave before he continued down the path, "See you sometime later, Maxie."

Maxie waved back and watched him turn the corner. She looked at the book that was lying on the table and eyed it cautiously. She didn't want to read it anymore. She was already that disheartened with the material. But if Damian said that it would get better as the book went along she'd give it a try. She smiled again thinking about him almost crying as she picked up the book and continued reading.

Corinthos Household-

Sometime later Damian opened the door to the penthouse. Michael was sitting on the ground playing with his toys. The redheaded child turned his head and his face beamed as he saw who had come in, "Damian!"

"Hey, Michael," Damian responded.

"Did you have fun at school?"

"I don't know if I had fun," Damian began, "But I did learn a lot of important things today."

"You look tired," Michael said as he watched his brother plop on the couch.

"Just carrying around these books takes a lot of effort," Damian informed the boy.

"I'll bet I could do it!" Michael exclaimed.

Damian grinned, "I don't think you can, Michael."

"How much you want to bet?" Michael asked sinisterly.

Damian thought about it, "If you can pick up my books with my backpack around your shoulders I will take you to Kelly's and buy you an ice cream sundae. If you can't then you have to take a bath today without complaining to Leticia."

"But I hate taking baths!" Michael whined.

"That's the bet, kid. Take it or leave it."

Michael pondered it, his burrowing his face in deep contemplation, "Fine, deal!"

Damian took the bag off his shoulders and laid it on the couch, "Put your arms into the straps." Michael did as instructed. "Now try and get up." Michael tried his hardest but the heavy medical textbooks had quickly sealed his defeat. Michael continued to struggle, much to Damian's amusement. He cared about Michael a lot. Michael finally gave up. Damian smirked, "See?"

"It's so heavy," Michael's face was redder than his hair. He slipped the straps off his shoulders and stood up, "How do you do it?"

"When you grow up you'll be able to lift it up," Damian replied, "It'll still be hard, but you'll feel better about yourself." He saw Leticia coming down from the corner of his eye, "In the meantime you have to own up to your end of the bargain." He saw Michael looking like he was about to protest, "Michael, we had a deal." Michael hung his head low and rushed up the stairs.

Damian shook his head and went off towards his room when there was a knock on the door. Damian opened it and saw someone with a package, "This is for you."

Damian took the package, "Thank you." He looked at the package and when he looked up the man was gone. He opened the package and saw a tape recorder labeled 'play.' Damian did as instructed.

The recordings within the tape were short, but he could tell that it was his father's voice. During the recording Sonny admitted to being a part of the mob. Damian's face went white. It was beginning to make sense. The animosity that the police have for him and Jason. But Sonny had told him that they were jealous. Sonny pushed the door open as the tape ended. Damian looked over, "You lied."