Elizabeth stood at the window and watched the flashing red lights of the ambulance and its screaming siren as it climbed the long drive to the front of the mansion. She sipped on her glass of vodka as the paramedics scurried about grabbing the necessary equipment and gurney. Elizabeth chuckled to herself. What a show this was she thought. Anthony had pulled out all the stops for this charade. She swallowed hard as she took another gulp of the clear caustic liquid. It burned a path down her throat into her stomach. Her tears fell continuously. Elizabeth was no longer even bothering to wipe them away. The effort was a fruitless one.

She listened as the voices of the paramedics, just beyond where she stood, confirmed what she had known last night. Rocco was dead. Those three words had a strangle hold on her. She heard Anthony let out a wail as he was given the news that there was nothing else that could be done for his father. That sound sickened her. He was playing his part so very well. Everything had fallen into place just as he had illustrated to her.

Rocco was indeed found slumped on the floor by a servant. Just as Elizabeth predicted it had been Helena. It had been the sounds of her screams of panic that propelled Elizabeth to the living room just as the sun crested the horizon. She stood at the entry to the room and imagined that she had reacted in the same way Helena was, yet for Elizabeth everything that had happened since leaving Jason's penthouse had been a blur, a series of whirling events she couldn't keep straight.

The sight of Rocco's body shrouded with a sterile white sheet being wheeled toward the ambulance made Elizabeth want to vomit. He was gone, truly gone. This wasn't just some bizarre, horrible nightmare. This was real, too real for Elizabeth. For all the months of knowing Rocco's condition had been weakening, it hadn't made it any easier to accept that he was gone to her forever. Gone forever because his very own son had been too cold hearted to stop the event from taking place. Elizabeth felt her stomach roll end over end as Anthony's arrogant admission taunted her. Why hadn't she just insisted on coming home with Rocco last night? Why had she let him talk her into staying at the benefit? Maybe she could have stopped this from happening, she thought as her guilt suddenly engulfed her. While she was pleasuring herself with Jason, Rocco was dying. Elizabeth felt all of a sudden suffocated by the thought that she was just as capable for Rocco's death as Anthony was. She had put her own needs, wants before those of a man who had been the one to enable her to have them in the first place. Rocco had been the one to set her up with Jason Morgan without evening knowing he had done it.

"Jason... ..." Elizabeth whispered as she brought the glass to her lips again. She wanted more than anything to be enveloped by his strong arms right now. How she would have given anything for him to be able to take this pain away. That was no longer an option for her. Anthony had seen to that. Elizabeth didn't doubt her husband's threats. They were certainly real and that terrified her. Last night her life had ended same as Rocco's. No she wasn't dead, but without Jason she might as well have been.

"Don't you think it's a little early in the day for that?" Anthony asked as he entered the room to see Elizabeth pouring herself another healthy dose of vodka. What he didn't know was she was working her way through her second bottle.

"No!" she glared. She could have crawled into that bottle and drown herself but it wouldn't make a difference. Nothing from that point would ever be the same. She wouldn't be the same.

"I need you sober for the funeral tomorrow!" Anthony yanked the glass from her hand almost spilling its contents on the ground. "Remember my dear you have a role to play. I want everyone to see a devastated daughter in law...." That wouldn't be too hard Elizabeth thought to herself. That description fit her perfectly. "...and devoted wife."

"Devoted wife?" Elizabeth scoffed.

"Yes!" Anthony stated firmly. "When the other families arrive here tomorrow, they can't see any sign of weakness in my ranks."

"Here? Did you say here?!?" Elizabeth was shocked.

"Yes. Rocco's memorial service will be held here tomorrow. He will be buried the following day in the family crypt next to my mother. I expect you to be on your best behavior. This isn't acceptable." Anthony waved the empty bottle of vodka in front of her face. "Don't even think of slipping up tomorrow. Morgan and his father will be here. I so much as see you even look at him all bets are off!"

"Here???" Elizabeth questioned again.

"YES!!" Anthony shouted angered by the fact that it appeared his wife wasn't grasping the gravity of his threat.

"Why here?" She had to ask.

"It's time that everyone understands that I am the head of the Malucci family now. I am the one to be reckoned with. I'm not the push over my father was... ..."

"Rocco was a wonderful man," Elizabeth countered in a whisper.

"Yeah, wonderful if you were one of his enemies. It's time that the other families understand that all the rules are about to change."

Elizabeth saw the determined look in Anthony's cold dark eyes. She knew that his vendetta against the Morgan family was just about to escalate. That scared her. She was frightened for Jason and his family. A family that even though she was not a part of she felt loyalty to.

"Not a word to Morgan you hear me?!?!" Anthony wrenched Elizabeth's body to face him. "Rocco's death was accidental. It was a horrible thing. You say anything contrary to that fact you and your lover," Anthony's emphasis on that word was like a thousand needles being pushed through Elizabeth's heart, "will meet a fate worse than my father could have ever imagined. I promise you that!" Anthony sneered as his mouth came down hard on hers. "You are mine now, all mine!! Now be a good wife and make sure breakfast is ready," he said as though it was just any ordinary morning.

"Everyone is in shock...." Elizabeth began.

"I don't give a damn! I want breakfast and the staff will do what I pay them to do. Nothing's changed."

Elizabeth left the room without another word as she headed to the kitchen. For her everything had changed.

Joseph stood alone on the balcony over looking the grounds of the Morgan estate. The idea that Rocco was dead still hadn't truly sunken in yet. His life long friend wasn't the person who was to be dead that morning. Yet that death left Joseph with a dilemma. Word was Anthony was still alive, well and grieving his father's passing. Joseph knew his hands were tied. Without Rocco, he wasn't able to act on their gentleman's agreement. The other families wouldn't stand for a hit on the heels of a death that hadn't been part of the bigger picture or at least a picture they had no clue was taking place. Joseph grabbed the stone railing and forced down the sobs that threatened to smother him.

"Joesph?" Cassandra's soft voice came from behind him.

"I can't believe he's gone," Joseph gasped.

"I'm sorry." Cassandra stroked his cheek softly. She knew this news had been hard on him. He and Rocco had climbed the ranks of their respective families together. Rocco had been the best man when she and Joseph were married. The notion that he was no longer on this earth was a hard pill to swallow even for her, so she could only imagine what it was like for her husband. "Why don't you come inside?" she asked.

"No. I need to be alone. I need to put my thoughts in order." Joseph's voice held a sudden edge to it. There wasn't time for his grief now. He had made promises to his friend and himself. Promises that Joseph intended on keeping. Keeping them though would take some precise timing, effort and a clear head.

"Joseph?" Cassandra questioned him again. She raised her brow curious about the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Would you arrange for flowers to be sent to the service and put a call into my secretary. No...no," he corrected himself. "See that Jason handles making a donations to the Coronary Care Unit construction from Morgan Enterprises in loving memory of Rocco."

"Joseph?"

"What?"

"You just lost someone very close to you. I think you need time to grieve. We have had a great deal of loss in the last few months. It's taking its toll on you, on us." Cassandra reached out and took his hand in hers.

"Could you please make sure those things are taken care of?" Joseph said as he ignored his wife's obvious remarks. He knew her words were true yet he couldn't allow himself to get caught up in all the emotions that surrounded Rocco's death. He had to keep a clear head. He had to keep his family safe. There would be time to grieve when that had been taken care of.

Jason paced from room to room as he tried to come up with some sort of game plan. With Rocco dead, he knew that Elizabeth was in danger. Rocco had been the one thing standing between Anthony and Elizabeth. With him gone, Anthony now had a clear shot at descending on his wife with all the force he could muster. That idea sent Jason into a state of panic. He had to find a way to check on Elizabeth. She couldn't have been coping with this all very well. Jason was well aware of how close she and Rocco were and there was no denying that she had to be taking his death hard. Jason headed down the hall toward Emily's room hoping to enlist her help once more.

"Jason," his mother's voice stopped him.

"Yes?"

"Your father isn't taking all this very well. Would you please speak with him?"

Jason looked into Cassandra's eyes. He surely knew that his speaking to his father wasn't about to do any good. If anything given the way they had been treating one another lately it would only serve to make matters worse. Jason's thoughts were centered on Elizabeth at the moment and he knew that wasn't what Joseph Morgan would want to hear. "Right now I think it's better to leave Papa alone."

"I disagree. He's hurting. He just lost a life long friend. He needs his family's support!" Cassandra was disappointed in her son's reaction.

"He has it. Papa knows that. When he's ready he will come to us...to you Mama. Be patient." Jason smiled.

"I just hate to see him in so much pain," she sighed.

"I know. I know." Jason placed his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her that everything would be all right, even if he wasn't sure that he believed that himself.

"Your father would like it if you made arrangements for Morgan Enterprises to make another donation to the Coronary Care Unit in Rocco's memory."

"Certainly."

"Thank you," Cassandra said as she turned and headed away from him.

"Mama."

"Yes?"

"Don't worry."

"I'll try not to."

Jason waited until his mother was out of sight before he knocked on Emily's door. "Come in," a voice filtered through the closed door.

"I need a favor," Jason replied urgently.

"I wondered how long it would take you to ask me."

"Ask you what?"

"To call and check on Elizabeth."

"So, you'll do it?"

"Jason," Emily sighed, "I don't know if calling Elizabeth right now is such a good idea. I'm sure that everyone is in shock."

"That's exactly why I need you to check on her. She's probably going out of her mind right now. I need her to know that I am here if she needs me," Jason cried in desperation.

"Are you forgetting about Anthony? I mean really Jason, this isn't as simple as you are pretending it is." Emily attempted to be the voice of reason for her brother.

"I don't care!" he shot back at her.

"You need to."

"Call Elizabeth!" Jason forced. "Just offer your support...let her know that she isn't alone. God knows her bastard husband won't be doing that!" he growled.

"No Jason!" Emily returned forcefully.

"What?" He couldn't believe his ears.

"You heard me. No, I won't make the call."

"Make the call!" Jason shoved the phone in his sister's face. "You have been as instrumental in making this relationship work as Elizabeth and I have, little Miss Matchmaker," Jason jeered. "You owe me that much. You owe Elizabeth. MAKE THE DAMN CALL!!!"

Emily forcefully grabbed the phone from Jason's hand. She hated this side of her brother. The side that was purely driven, pure Mafia Underboss. "FINE!" she scoffed.

Helena jumped at the sound of the phone ringing beside her. The images of her boss sprawled out on the floor this morning plagued her. "Hello," the older woman's voice was shaky at best.

"Elizabeth Malucci, please," Emily said to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"I think Mrs. Malucci is resting."

"Resting?" Emily parroted what she had heard.

"Mr. Rocco passed away last night... ..."

"Who are you talking to!?!" Anthony's stern voice caused Helena to jump again.

"They want to speak to Mrs. Malucci... ..."

"Give me that!" Anthony ordered as he tore the phone from her hand. "Who the hell is this?!?!" he barked.

"Anthony?" Emily questioned. The mention of Anthony's name propelled Jason closer to where his sister sat. His heart raced as his thoughts ran wild.

"Yeah. Who is this?"

"It's Emily Morgan. We just heard about your father. I am so sorry." Anthony rolled his eyes as he offered his thanks. "I wanted to check on Elizabeth. I know from working with her on the benefit that she and Rocco were very close. I am sure she's taking his death hard."

"What's with you Morgans!?!" Anthony boomed. "This is my fucking family, NOT YOURS!!! I will take care of my own wife! MAKE SURE YOU TELL THAT BROTHER OF YOURS THAT!!!!" Anthony slammed down the phone before Emily had the chance to say anything more.

"He wouldn't let me talk to her," she said to Jason's questioning stare. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. It was obvious to her that Anthony wasn't as much in the dark about Jason and Elizabeth's affair as they had thought.

"What do you mean he wouldn't let you speak with her?!?" Jason's panic was evident in his voice and body posture.

"He said he would take care of his own wife... ..."

"TAKE CARE OF HER!?!?!" Jason's voice shot up several octaves.

"That's what he said," Emily confirmed.

"THE HELL HE WILL!!!" Jason rushed toward the door.

"Jason!!" Emily called to him. "What are you going to do? You can't just storm his house."

"The hell we can't!" With that Jason was gone in search of his father.

"We need to talk!" Jason forced the minute he caught sight of Joseph.

"Not now," the elder Morgan said absently.

"Yes now! Elizabeth's life depends on it!"

"Jason," Joseph sighed. The last thing he needed right now was his son's erratic behavior.

"What?!?"

"I have everything under control," Joseph said as he closed the door of his study in Jason's face.

"PAPA...PAPA...PAPA!!!" Jason's voice was thunderous as his fists crashed against the hard surface of the door that had just been so abruptly slammed in his face.

Joseph shut out the sound of his son's voice and concentrated on his business at hand. He picked up the phone and started a series of phone calls that would set it all in motion.