Elizabeth was thankful to see the space that normally housed Anthony's car was still empty. She wasn't quite ready to face him. His tirade from this morning was still fresh in her mind. As if her inner voice had spoken too soon, Elizabeth saw his Jaguar roaring up the driveway.

"Where the hell were you?" he barked as her as he slammed the driver's door. Elizabeth sensed instantly that his mood was anything but improved.

"I was out."

"NO SHIT! Where the hell were you?" Anthony's anger from his earlier meeting spilled over into what should have been a simple conversation between husband and wife. Before she could answer, Dr. Aber made his exit from the house.

"How's Rocco?" she asked thankful for the diversion.

"He's resting comfortably. Actually he had one of the staff bring him down to the living room. That makes me believe he is doing much better."

"What's going on here?" Anthony asked looking between the pair.

"Your father had an angina attack this morning."

"AND YOU LEFT HIM ALONE TODAY!?" Anthony jerked his head quickly to look at Elizabeth. His voice boomed as he again come forth with his concerned son act.

"I ... he...." Elizabeth stammered.

"Anthony really, there isn't much more we can do for your father except monitor his condition. Your wife did everything that could have been done," Dr. Aber stressed. "Besides, you of all people should know how stubborn Rocco can be when he chooses to."

"Dr. Aber," Elizabeth began, "are you sure that there isn't anything else that we can do for him?" She wanted so desperately for there to be some miracle remedy. Not only for Rocco but for herself as well.

"I'm afraid not. I would, however, like to have him brought to the hospital. I need to run an EKG just to gauge if any further damage may have been done by today's attack."

"Rocco's not going to like that," Elizabeth stated recalling what he had said that morning about not wanting to be poked and prodded anymore.

"To hell with what he likes or doesn't like," Anthony almost shouted. "He needs to be taking better care of himself." Elizabeth knew, even for Anthony, he was laying the concern on a bit too thick.

"You can't force him," she countered.

"The hell I can't. If I have to I will have him judged incompetent to make his own medical decisions and I will be put in charge of his care."

Elizabeth was horrified by the very thought of that. The idea that both she and Rocco could be at Anthony's mercy terrified her to no end.

"I don't think that will be necessary Anthony." Dr. Aber's voice shook Elizabeth back to the present. "I am sure that your lovely wife will be able to convince Rocco to go to the hospital. With a face like that, I can't imagine there is a man alive who could resist her."

Elizabeth immediately felt her cheeks warm as she blushed at his compliment. "Thank you," she whispered as Anthony's gaze shot daggers at her.

"Just call my office to set up a convenient time for you to bring Rocco in."

"We will do that." Anthony spoke before Elizabeth was able to.

"Dr Aber," Elizabeth began.

"Yes?"

"My leaving him alone today....."

"Elizabeth," the doctor reached gently for her hand. "you did everything right today. Rocco has you to thank for your quick thinking. Don't you worry about a thing."

"Thank you," she said again.

"You're welcome. You can call me any time of the day or night."

"Thank you doctor," Anthony said smartly. Instantly Dr. Aber sensed it was time for him to leave and wasted no time making a hasty exit from the Malucci estate.

"SO WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU TODAY?!" Anthony grabbed Elizabeth hard by the arm as Dr. Aber's car drifted into the backdrop of the horizon. "WHAT WAS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT THAT YOU LEFT MY FATHER ALONE!?"

"You can drop the concerned son act," Elizabeth spit as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Each attempt only served to tighten his hold. "Save it for someone who might even remotely believe it!"

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" he bellowed again.

Absently Elizabeth thought he sounded like a skipping record. "I was working on the benefit if you must know!" she answered finally freeing herself of his tentacle like grip. "Isn't that what you and my father expect? You know, the dutiful wife and loving daughter." Those words had Elizabeth on the verge of nausea. "If you don't mind, I think I will go check on Rocco." Without waiting for a reply, Elizabeth crossed the driveway heading for the door.

Anthony's body shook with unbridled rage. He was so far over the edge at the moment that at any minute he felt as though he could plunge into the depths of no return. Everywhere around him there were forces working against him. The biggest one of them all live within the walls of his own home. His father was the one thing that stood in the way of all that Anthony so desperately wanted. That coupled with Rocco's adoration for Elizabeth was more than he could bear.

"So how did the meeting go with Emily this afternoon?" Anthony heard his father ask his wife.

"Quite well."

"So that's where the fuck you were!" he growled as he stormed into the room. "You leave my father all alone so you can go make nice with the enemy!?"

"What?" Elizabeth was taken off guard.

"Anthony – ENOUGH!" Rocco countered.

"I am sorry that you the Morgan family as the enemy," Elizabeth began. "However, I don't. As a matter of fact, I had lunch with them this afternoon and they were all," Elizabeth stressed hoping that Vincent understood her subtle meaning, "quiet pleasant."

"YOU WHAT??" Anthony fumed.

"I had lunch this afternoon with Emily and her family."

"YOU ARE MY WIFE – YOU HEAR ME? MY WIFE AND YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN SIT AT THE MORGAN TABLE!!" Anthony said inching closer to her.

"Anthony!" Rocco leaned forward. He knew by the look in his son's eyes that he was on the verge of a strike.

Elizabeth too sensed this was just the beginning of the storm that she had done everything in her power to stoke it. Somehow though she couldn't stop herself. She had grown so tired of everything that encompassed her life. Elizabeth had had a taste that afternoon of something normal, well as normal as it could be given the life those around her led and she wanted that normalcy.

"NOT ONLY DO YOU DISRESPECT ME BY SHOWING UP UNANNOUNCED AT THE MORGAN ESTATE FOR A PARTY I DIDN'T EVEN WANT YOU AT, BUT NOW YOU ARE BREAKING BREAD WITH MEN YOU KNOW I DESPISE!!"

"Anthony – ENOUGH!" Rocco's voice grew louder to match his son's.

Choosing to ignore his father Anthony continued with his tirade. "YOU THINK YOU ARE SO SMART? YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN OUTWIT ME? NEVER!!" he cackled. "ELIZABETH, I HAVE BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. WE ALL HAVE. YOU WERE NOTHING MORE THAN A MEANS TO AN END FOR YOUR FATHER...." Without warning the tears fell passed Elizabeth's lashes. Over the years she had learned to never show her emotions but Anthony's spiteful words had been enough to cause the flood of tears to fall. "....JUST AS HE IS FOR ME!" Vincent sneered. "ONCE JEFF GETS THAT SENATE SEAT THERE WILL NO ONE THAT CAN STOP ME!!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that son," Rocco said with his own calculated voice.

"Who are you kidding?" Anthony turned to the feeble man sitting in the wheelchair. "You can barely move under your own power. You really think that you can stop me? I doubt it." Anthony laughed caustically.

"Elizabeth," Rocco turned to his daughter in law. "Would you mind leaving me alone with my son? He and I need to have a talk." He strained to keep his composure knowing how true his son's words were while never letting on he was anything but the Capo he was.

"NO!" Anthony forced. "I've had enough of your talks old man. The time for talking is over! It's time for action. I am through sitting idly by and having everything that is mine systematically taken away from me. Those days are over! Do you BOTH understand me? I'm nobody's fucking patsy anymore! This conversation is over!"

"Nothing is over in this house until I say it's over!" Rocco shouted.

"Not anymore," Anthony said coldly. "Now if you will excuse us, my wife and I are hardly finished with our private conversation." Anthony didn't wait for a reply from his father before forcefully removing Elizabeth from the room.

Rocco watched helplessly unable to do anyting for his daughter in law. In the back of his mind he knew there was one thing he could do, yet it pained him greatly to even toy with the thought.

"Anthony, you're hurting me!" Elizabeth cried as he pulled her into the hallway.

"I plan on doing a hell of a lot more than this if you don't wise your ass up and fast!" he seethed through clenched teeth. "You even so much as think about setting foot at the Morgan estate again, you will wish you hadn't. I am tired of playing games with you Elizabeth. You are my FUCKING wife! Don't think that I didn't see the way you were eyeing Jason Morgan the other night," he sneered. "There won't be any extracurricular activities for my wife. Am I making myself clear?"

"Oh yes – I get it," Elizabeth mocked. "It's do as I say, not as I do!"

Before the words had even fallen from her mouth, Anthony's large hand stung her cheek. "The old man's days are numbered and that means so are yours. You want Jason Morgan – well than I say be warned because everything in this life comes at a price!" Anthony's voice had an eerie almost demonic sound to it.

Elizabeth stared into his cold steely eyes that were completely devoid of any and all emotion. A chill ran down her spine knowing that one day there would be nowhere to hide from her husband's wrath. She backed away from Anthony yet never took her eyes off of him fearing that if she did he would take that very opportunity to strike. He cackled cold- heartedly as he watched her nearly knock over a table lamp in her haste to reach for her keys.

Anthony enjoyed her fear immensely as she tore from the house. He loved the power he knew he wielded and this was only just the beginning.

With shaking hands, Elizabeth made several attempts at getting the key into the ignition of her car. Anthony's sneering face, the sound of his howling laughter and his suddenly not so veiled threats toggled through her mind, conjuring up a sense of terror that she had never experienced before.

The little that Elizabeth once thought she knew about her husband was now null and void. His sudden descent into what she would have termed madness was a sight to see. If she had been a bystander in it all, Elizabeth might have found it interesting to watch Anthony fall, but she knew that, as a partaker, she was bound to end up pinned under the rubble as well.

Absently she checked the rearview mirror for one of Anthony's many men. Elizabeth couldn't imagine that he would let her out of his sight that easily but nothing looked overly suspicious. She headed for the heart of the city in hopes of getting lost in the masses as the streets crowded with impending nightlife. She would have given anything to just vanish. Vanish into the night and never be heard from again. Yet her conscience wasn't about to let her do that. Rocco had protected her and now her gut told her that it was her turn to do the same. Anthony's words of declaring his father incompetent haunted her. She couldn't let that happen. She had to alert Rocco to just what his son was capable of, though something told Elizabeth that he already knew.

She traveled the streets of Chicago without a clue where she was headed. Her only thought at the moment was that she needed to feel safe. The last place she had felt totally protected was with Jason Morgan. Immediately she knew exactly where to go.

Elizabeth offered her car keys to the man she knew to be Ronald and made her way inside the Drake Hotel. Much to her shock, she found Jason Morgan sitting at the end of the hotel bar nursing a shot and a bottle of beer.