Jason and his family entered the large foyer of the Malucci Mansion. Immediately, his eyes scanned the surrounding area for Elizabeth. The ominous feeling he had ever since hearing of Rocco's death was only magnified by the knowledge that Anthony hadn't allowed Elizabeth to speak to Emily. Jason was certain that he needed to remove Elizabeth from her current situation before Anthony was able to harm her anymore than Jason was sure he had already done.

As Jason proceeded further into the room, his gaze fell on Elizabeth. She was seated next to Anthony receiving condolence calls from Rocco's many friends and associates. Jason stood frozen by the vacant expression she wore. It tore at his heart to know that the woman he loved more than his own life was in so much pain and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to take it away. The voice in his heart screamed for him to run to her and wrap her in his embrace, yet his feet remained rooted where he stood. Elizabeth lifted her eyes and they locked with Jason's. Instantly, she felt a wave of relief wash over here. All at once Elizabeth looked away as she recalled Anthony's well placed threats.

".........Morgan and his father will be here tomorrow. I so much as see you look at him all bets are off........."

Elizabeth shifted nervously in her seat. She could feel Jason's gaze trained on her. She fought every urge within her not to lift her head and look at him. Elizabeth focused her energy on those people passing before her. The endless line did little to stop her mind from swirling with thoughts of Jason. She wasn't able to sit there any longer.

"Where the hell are you going?" Anthony strained to keep up his appearance of the grieving son. He was anxious about the meeting between the families he had called for.

"To the ladies room. If you must know," Elizabeth whispered.

"That better be the only place you are going!" Anthony murmured in her ear as he leaned in and pretended to kiss her tenderly on the cheek. "Steer clear of Morgan! Do you understand me?" Elizabeth nodded as she bit her lower lip to hold back her tears.

"Excuse me." With those two simple words Elizabeth glided across the room only stopping for a brief moment at the bar. She hadn't even waited for the man behind the high mahogany surface to acknowledge her. Elizabeth reached for a glass and the three-quarters full bottle of vodka and fled the room that was suffocating her. She was relieved to find the balcony empty. Effortlessly Elizabeth poured the crystal liquid from the bottle and downed it without a moment's hesitation. For the last two days this had been her way of coping. The guilt at her part in Rocco's death devoured her whole. If she had been home that night, Elizabeth knew she could have stopped what happened. She wouldn't have let Rocco die. A sob caught in her throat as Elizabeth poured herself another stiff drink. How was she going to survive this? How was she ever going to live with herself? How was she going to live without Rocco – or Jason?

"Elizabeth," Jason's soft voice came up from behind her. She threw back he head and finished the remnants of the vodka in her glass never turning to look at him. She couldn't. She couldn't let Jason see the fear and guilt in her eyes. "Elizabeth." Jason walked to the railing and stopped her from pouring herself another drink. "Are you all right? Emily tried to call you yesterday but Anthony wouldn't allow her to speak to you. I was worried about you," Jason sighed as his hand grazed her soft cheek. Instantly Elizabeth backed away from his touch. "Elizabeth?" Jason was noticeably confused.

"You shouldn't be here," she strained to control her cries.

"Why? Why shouldn't I be here? Elizabeth, you are the one who shouldn't be here."

"This is where I belong."

"WHAT?!?" Jason couldn't hide the shock at those words.

"You need to go back inside."

"Not without you. What's going on with you Elizabeth?" Again he attempted to stop her from lifting the bottle of vodka to her glass.

"Nothing." She jerked the bottle from his hand and filled her glass to the rim. Jason watched as she defiantly drank its contents.

"I need to get you out of here. With Rocco gone," Jason stuttered as he saw the tears fill her eyes. "I'm so sorry," he sighed, "but you can't stay here. I have a place for you to go. A place to hide you until I am sure that Anthony isn't a threat to you any longer." Jason took her hands in his. For a moment Elizabeth let herself be lulled into thinking that she could just disappear. That it could all just be that simple. That she could just let Jason whisk her away, yet nothing would be that simple again.

Elizabeth pulled her hands back. She knew that if she were to just drop out of sight Anthony would hold Jason responsible. Which would put Jason and the rest of his family in even more danger from her husband than they already were. As appealing as the idea was to run and hide with Jason, Elizabeth couldn't let herself be responsible for anymore destruction. "You should go," she instructed him again.

"I'm not going anywhere without you. Don't you understand that?" Jason sounded desperate and frustrated that he couldn't get her to see that she was in danger.

"My place is at my husband's side," Elizabeth nearly choked on those words.

"Excuse me?" Jason did a double take.

"Anthony needs me. For god sakes his father just died. I need to be by his side. We must preserve Rocco's legacy."

"Elizabeth?" Jason wasn't able to wrap his mind around the things she had just said. They made no sense to him at all. Yes he knew how much she adored Rocco but the sudden need to stand by her husband floored him.

"Jason, please just go. You need to go!"

"NO!!"

"Please... ...if you ever loved me you will just go!"

"Jason," Johnny's voice interrupted the beginning on an argument.

"What??" he barked.

"Your father is looking for you. It's time."

"I'll be in in a minute." He focused his attention toward Elizabeth again who had yet to turn and face him. "Elizabeth?" Jason reached out and stroked her back.

"You father is waiting," Johnny forced. Jason's eyes toggled between where he was expected to be and where he wanted to stay. His heart was torn. Elizabeth's behavior puzzled him to no end. Why was she suddenly so willing to play the part of Anthony's devoted wife? That made no sense to him. "Jason!" Johnny called again.

Elizabeth heard the clicking of Jason's heals against the stone of the balcony. When the door slammed signaling she was alone again, sobs wracked her body.

Anthony easily took the seat that had always been occupied by his father and watched the others file into the room. He was enjoying his position in the cat bird seat. He had waited to be the man in control for some time now. He planned on savoring every minute of it. He waited for each of the others to be seated. "Good afternoon gentlemen," Anthony began. "Given the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this meeting, I think it's time we discuss the division of power... ..."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Anthony," Joseph interrupted him.

"That's a first," Anthony laughed. "It's nice to see that you have finally come to your senses."

Jason sat beside his father clenching his fists at Anthony's disrespectful display. What angered Jason all the more was his father's nonchalant attitude to the remark. "What's this all about?" Jason barked unable to control his emotions.

"Jason," Joseph's tone was almost scolding in nature. "Let's give Anthony the floor. I would like to hear what he has to say."

"What?" Jason did little to hide his disbelief.

"Continue please," Joseph said to his friend's son.

"Thank you," Anthony smiled smugly as the hairs on the back of Jason's neck stood on end. His eyes darted sideways to stare hardly at his father. "As I said before, I think that the time has come for the power among the families to be distributed more evenly."

"Distribution has always been even," Carl Tejada remarked.

"Maybe for your family," Anthony countered. "With my father gone, I believe it's time that a renegotiation of sorts takes place between the Morgan family and the Maluccis.

"Anthony......" Michael Rossetti began.

"Let the boy speak," Joseph stopped the man across the table from him.

"What they hell are you doing?" Jason leaned in and whispered in his father's ear. Joseph artfully ignored his son's question.

"Thank you," Anthony smiled gleefully. If he had known it was going to be this easy, he would have taken action some time ago. "About our renegeotiation... ..."

"Yes about that," Joseph spoke. "I have it on good authority that the Malucci assets are to be divided among the remaining families." Jason's head shot up in shock at his father's words.

"WHAT?!?! What the hell are you talking about?" Anthony's delighted smile faded quickly.

"It was Rocco's wishes that upon his death the Malucci family operation was divided among the others in the organization." Joseph offered an explanation.

"LIKE HELL IT WILL!!!" Anthony bellowed as he rose from his seat.

"It's all stipulated in here." Joseph produced a thick envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "Rocco made his wishes very clear. It's all there in black and white." Joseph laid the envelope on the table in front of him.

"Is this some kind of joke?!?" Anthony yelled as he reached for the envelope.

"Hardly, Rocco was very specific in his intentions. The Malucci family will no longer be a part of our organization."

"THE HELL WE AREN'T!!!" Anthony shouted as he fumbled with the thick envelope. There it was in black and white. The words that Joseph had just made known to all those seated there. There was his father's signature. Even in his death Rocco had been able to play one final trump card. Anthony squeezed the pages under his tight grasp. Without warning Anthony ripped the document to shreds before the eyes of the others.

"I have the original," Joseph stated.

"THIS IS MY HOUSE NOW!!! THIS IS MY MEETING TO RUN!!! I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHAT THAT PIECE OF PAPER SAYS – THERE WILL BE NO DIVISION OF POWER AND ASSETS!!!!" Anthony seethed. Peter Longhini, Carl Tejaga and Michael Rossetti watched as Anthony virtually came unglued before them. His ranting and ravings continued as he paced the room like a trapped animal. All of his paranoia about the Morgan family conspiracy spilled forth with vengeance. "You won't be rid of me that easily!!" Anthony hissed.

"Son," Carl Tejada began, "It's a difficult thing losing your father so suddenly... ..."

"TO HELL WITH THAT!!" Anthony barked. "It's them!!" He pointed in the direction of Joseph and Jason. "It's always them!!! If Reggie had just done his fucking job... ..." Anthony stopped himself but not before Jason had caught the tail end of the remark. Suddenly a light bulb clicked off in his brain. He recalled the frantic voice of the man alerting him to the bomb set to blow in the warehouse the other day.

"Anthony," Joseph's tone was strong. "You will obey your father's final wishes. He had his reasons for doing what he did and my instructions in carrying out his wishes were quite specific. Am I making myself clear?" Joseph's ominous comments were not lost on the others in the room. "As of today, the Malucci family is no longer part of our organization. You will still be afforded the same protection under the umbrella of the Morgan family but your decision-making powers will no longer exist. Gentlemen." Joseph directed the others toward the door leaving Anthony to stew in his own rage.

Jason did a frantic search of the funeral for Elizabeth. Given the bomb his father just dropped regarding the fate of the Malucci family, Jason was certain that his original idea of sending Elizabeth away until it was safe needed to be executed now more than ever. Not to mention that her earlier explanation of needing to stand by her husband wasn't sitting all that well with him. There she was near the bar nursing what Jason assumed had to be her hundredth drink. "We need to talk," he said as he took her by the arm.

"No we don't."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" he questioned.

"Nothing why?" she slurred.

"Elizabeth!" Jason shook her gently in the hope of sobering her up some.

"What?!?" The stale smell of vodka on her breath nearly bowled him over.

"ENOUGH!!" he yelled ripping the glass from her hand. "You are coming with me!" Jason ordered.

"NO!!" Elizabeth wiggled out of his grasp. "I can't... I can't," she cried.

"Yes you can. I will protect you!" Jason countered.

"Look where protecting me go Rocco... ..."

"What? What do you mean where it got Rocco?" Jason forced her eyes to meet his.

"Nothing – forget it, okay? Just leave me along. For your own good just GO!!!" Elizabeth screeched.

"I'm not going anywhere without you Elizabeth!" Jason held steadfast to his conviction.

"GO!! If Anthony can kill his own flesh and blood – his own father," Elizabeth gasped. "It won't take anything for him to kill you too!!"

"What?? What did you say?" Jason asked obviously confused by her statement. "Elizabeth, what did you just say?"

Over Jason's shoulder she saw Anthony emerge from Rocco's study. "You have to go Jason. We're done. It was a mistake ... ... all of it... ... you and me... ... it was all a big mistake."

Jason watched her tear through the crowded room. He was still trying to wrap his mind around her words. She had basically said that Anthony had been responsible for his own father's death. Could that have really been true? Was Anthony really that much of a monster that he would kill Rocco -- kill the man that had raised him? Jason's eyes rested on Anthony as he took his seat again and began receiving condolence calls once more. In his heart Jason knew the answer to those questions. Yes – Anthony had done exactly that. He had killed his own father. Jason's first thought was to go directly to Joseph with this information. He knew that his father would never have stood for Anthony having a hand in Rocco's death. Jason contemplated if addressing Joseph would gain him the desired response or if he would be hitting just another brick wall as he had been for months now. The name Reggie popped into Jason's mind once more. In his gut he knew that Reggie, whoever that man may have been, was the key to this all. It was time that this Reggie and Jason met.