Elizabeth sat across the limo seat from a man who had virtually become her shadow in the last several weeks. No matter where she went he was there. Sometimes he lurked around corners thinking he was out of her scope of vision and other times he was so close Elizabeth could almost feel him breathing. The feeling itself was unnerving. It was like Anthony had this man playing games with her already fragile mind. "Stop the car," Elizabeth instructed the driver.

"No!" the man corrected.

"I said stop the car!" she ordered again. The limo driver's eyes darted between the two. He watched and waited for what was to come next.

"We are not to make any stops," Anthony's henchman offered.

"We are stopping!" Elizabeth forced. "I would like to stop for lunch or does my husband have some problem with that concept?" she spat. Being outside the boundaries of the Malucci compound gave her a bit more tenacity.

"We are expected home. I am sure that Helena would be glad to fix you lunch when we return." The man remained steadfast in his orders. Anthony had agreed to let Elizabeth go into the city to shop for a dress for Emily Morgan's upcoming wedding, but there was to be no deviation from the plan.

"Helena has more important duties to oversee at the mansion. She can't be expected to just drop them for me, besides I would like to go to Gino's. I want pizza," Elizabeth stated.

That simple sentence brought back a flood of memories. She and Emily had been heading out for pizza the day that the brakes had failed on Emily's Volvo. Scene by scene the images flashed before her. Elizabeth pressed her hands hard against the leather seat to stave off the tears as the recollection of she and Jason together in the emergency room washed over her. Jason professing his love to her as he held her tightly was one of the few memories that brought her comfort amidst her private hell.

"Mrs. Malucci," the man began, "we need to get home... ..."

"NO!" Elizabeth didn't want to go home. Home was the last place she wanted to be. Without Rocco there, it wasn't a home to her any longer. It was a prison and Anthony was her warden.

The large man eyed his charge carefully. The determination in her posture was clear. She would have been happy to continue the argument until she had gotten what it was she wanted. Finally he relented. "I should make the change in our plans known to Mr. Malucci," he said as he reached for the phone.

"Fine." Elizabeth smiled slightly please with the fact that in her mind she had won a tiny little victory. "I would appreciate it if you sat at a different table," she said to her ever-present tail when they reached the restaurant. "I would like to eat my mean in peace. She pointed to a table that was directly behind the one she was now seated at among the many that lined the sidewalk in front of Gino's East. The activity on the street was busy and Elizabeth wanted to watch and get lost in the normalcy of the lives all around her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he remarked.

"Why? Are you afraid I am planning some great escape?" she mocked. "You could tie me to the chair like a dog," she scoffed.

"I don't think so," the man answered sarcastically as he took a seat at the table she directed him to.

Elizabeth sat quietly drinking in her surroundings. The goings on around her only served to heighten her feeling of isolation. On the outside she looked as normal as those who hurried passed her on the sidewalk but on the inside Elizabeth knew she would never be like any of them again. "Thank you," she remarked to the waitress as the large pizza pie was placed in front of her. "Be sure you give my friend there," Elizabeth pointed behind her, "a plate. He will be eating too. And bring me another bottle of Penn Pilsner please." Elizabeth waved the empty amber colored bottle before the young woman's eyes.

"Sure thing," the waitress answered as she collected several other empty bottles from the table. Elizabeth continued on with her meal occasionally looking over her shoulder in the hope that her 'friend' had somehow vanished. With each turn of her head though she found he was still there, still watching and waiting for her to make one false move that he could report back to her husband. The pressure of it all had worn Elizabeth into a state of weariness.

"Elizabeth?" Jeff's voice startled her.

Instantly Anthony's stooge stood up. "Easy ... down boy," she chided as if he was her pet. "This is my father, Jeff Webber. Dad this is Marco."

"Nice to meet you," Jeff offered his hand to the large man before him yet he received no response.

"Would you like to join me?" Elizabeth asked much to Jeff's surprise and her own.

"I'm on my way to a meeting actually. I need to finalize some things for my upcoming debate."

"Just for a few minutes," Elizabeth pressed. Jeff scanned his daughter's face as he tried to surmise the abrupt change in her attitude toward him. Elizabeth searched her own mind for a reason that she was suddenly so elated to see the man who had damned her to her current life. The only explanation she was able to come up with was that she was incredibly lonely. Anthony had her every move mapped out for her. He told her when and where she was allowed to go, whom she was allowed to go with – Elizabeth's tiny circle of acquaintances had been reduced to the house servants and the men Anthony had continually tracking her every move. Her father's face, as much as she despised the man for all he had done to her, was a welcome relief. That thought itself illustrated to Elizabeth how low she had sunk. "Would you like a drink or something to eat?" she asked making tedious small talk.

"No thank you," Jeff replied. "Elizabeth, I really don't have time to sit and chat. I need to be getting to my meeting. Did you need me for something?"

She let out a small sigh. Jeff never failed to disappoint her when it came to how self-absorbed he was. That disappointment suddenly morphed into anger as she raised her hand indicating to the waitress she wanted another bottle of beer. "Sorry to have kept you," she jeered as she brought the long neck bottle to her lips.

"What's gotten into you?" Jeff questioned. "Beer? A lady of your standing doesn't drink beer." Jeff appeared to be mortified by her choice of alcohol rather than the apparent fact that his daughter had already had one too many that afternoon.

"Lady of my standing?" Elizabeth mocked him.

"Yes."

"Standing – there is no more standing!" Elizabeth quipped.

"Excuse me?" Jeff was obviously confused by her remark.

"I'm sure you heard me."

"What are you talking about Elizabeth? You are Anthony Malucci's wife. I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate the spectacle you are making of yourself."

"He has other things to be concerned with." Elizabeth almost laughed as her husband's tirade sprang to mind. For her it was poetic justice. If she couldn't have Jason – couldn't have happiness, at least Anthony wasn't able to get his fingers on his heart's desire either.

"ELIZBETH!" Jeff barked at her. He was angry that she had taken to speaking in riddles.

"What?" she returned innocently.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I am talking about the fact that you have lost your strong arm." Elizabeth continued to answer evasively.

"ENOUGH!!" Jeff reached over and grabbed his daughter hard by the arm. Immediately Marco came from where he had been sitting silently listening to their exchange. "What – what the hell are you doing?" Jeff asked as Marco's hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"I could ask you the same question," the large man said.

Without a second thought Jeff dropped Elizabeth's arm. She tilted her head sideways and looked at Marco out of the corner of her eye. His reaction to her father's manhandling wasn't what she expected but was thankful for it just the same.

"Elizabeth, would you please care to explain yourself? You aren't making much sense." Jeff's tone was soft now.

"There isn't much to explain really," Elizabeth answered as she took another long gulp from her bottle of beer. "The Malucci family isn't in 'the business'," Elizabeth lifted her hands in the air to show off mock quotes to encircle those two words, "anymore."

"What do you mean not in the business anymore?"

"Just that. When Rocco died, he made provisions for all of the Malucci assets to be divided between the other families. So it looks like your well of money and power just went dry," Elizabeth stated matter a fact.

Jeff's brain was suddenly spinning out of control. Everything he had been working on up until now hinged on his alliance with the Malucci family. If there was no longer a Malucci 'family' in the sense that Jeff had grown accustomed to, where did that leave him and his political career. "This can't be happening," he finally gasped.

"It is," Elizabeth enjoyed watching the balloon that carried her father's dreams deflate right before her eyes.

"I need to talk to Anthony right away," Jeff said with noticeable panic in his voice.

"Talk all you want. It's not going to change a damn thing. It's done. The Morgan family," the mere sound of anything remotely connected to Jason brought a lump to Elizabeth's throat, "is in charge of it all now. Anthony is nothing more than a figure head, if he's even that," Elizabeth chided.

"Let's go!" Jeff instructed. "I need to see Anthony right now."

"What about your meeting?" Elizabeth mocked him once more.

"To hell with the meeting. I need to speak with your husband right now. I need to do some kind of damage control. I need to do it quick. Let's go," he said again.

"I don't think so." Marco stood between them.

"I can take my daughter back to the mansion. Your driving services are no longer necessary. We have a great deal to discuss," Jeff stated.

"Elizabeth is to returned home with me and no one else." Marco sounded as if he was a robot reciting some pre-recorded message. "You can follow us in your own car if you like."

"Elizabeth?" Jeff looked at his daughter who was standing just beyond the man doing all of the talking now.

"I will see you at the house, father." She knew that as much as she would have liked to go with him, if only for the escape, Marco wasn't about to let that happen. It was useless to argue over it.

Elizabeth found herself again sitting across from Marco in the limo. She watched as the streets of Chicago whizzed by. It wasn't until the car stopped for a red light that Elizabeth let herself look at the large building beside her. The building was the Drake Hotel. She felt her eyes drawn to the upper floors of the building. Vaguely she wondered if Jason could possibly be there at that exact moment looking down onto the city street where she sat. All of the times that they had spent together in his penthouse descended on her with blunt force. Every part of her body ached for Jason. She physically felt as though she was dying a slow death without him. As the light turned green and the limo crawled through the congested street, Elizabeth reached for the mini bar and poured a drink from one of the tiny bottles.

"Mrs. Malucci," Marco began, "You have had enough don't you think?" he asked placing his hand on hers as to stop her from taking her first sip.

"You're job is to watch me. It's NOT to tell me what to do!" Elizabeth shot back angrily. Marco withdrew his hand and let her continue to drown her soul.

The rather harsh voices from behind the door to the room that had been Rocco's study couldn't pull Elizabeth's attention from the ivory envelop that sat on the table in the foyer. She picked it up and let her fingers run over the raised black letters. Without even looking Elizabeth knew it was the invitation for Emily and Zander's wedding. The event was but a few days away. They had sent their RSVP months ago, before Rocco's passing, and it was hard to imagine that she and Anthony were still attending.

The thought of seeing Jason was a double-edged sword for her. There was a large part of her that would have given anything to see him, even if it was only from a distance. But the fear of what Anthony had up his sleeve for wanting to still attend a joyous gathering of a family he despised rendered her terrified. She was just as frightened of seeing Jason and not being able to disguise her true feelings for him – something that would only add fuel to Anthony's already brightly burning fire.

"I SAID I WOULD HANDLE EVERYTHING!!" Anthony's irate voice spilled into the silent foyer startling Elizabeth.

"I have a great deal riding on this." She heard her father say.

"AND I DON'T?" Anthony demanded.

"I'm not saying that you don't ... ..."

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!" Anthony bellowed as he pushed Jeff toward the door. Elizabeth attempted to slip into the living room undetected, but Anthony wasn't about to let that happen. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TELL HIM!?"

"Nothing," she stammered trying to pull her hands out of his grip.

"LIKE HELL, YOU TOLD HIM NOTHING!!"

"I swear I didn't tell him anything!" Elizabeth cried.

"How's he know about Morgan having all the power?!" Anthony questioned as he pinned her body between himself and the wall.

"I don't know... ..." she stuttered.

"WHAT ELSE DOES HE KNOW?!?" Anthony and Elizabeth were now nose to nose. She felt her body quake in fear. In her anger at her father Elizabeth had stepped over a line she knew she shouldn't have crossed.

"Nothing," she said again.

"Let's get one thing straight," Anthony whispered violently in her ear. "If you can't keep your fucking mouth shut," he grabbed her cheeks with enough force to cause her to wince in pain. "Jason dies while you watch!!" he cackled. "Do you understand me Elizabeth?" She was only able to nod her head in response. Elizabeth feared if she were to open her mouth the only thing that would escape would be the sobs that she had held captive within in her for weeks now. "Good girl," Anthony said as he patted her on the head in the most patronizing way.

Elizabeth barely waited for him to be gone before she poured herself a double shot of scotch. Her hands were shaking so badly that she hardly was able to bring the bottle to the glass without spilling its contents on the lacquered surface of the bar. Upon accomplishing the task Elizabeth downed the firewater while Helena looked on.

"Whatever you are going to do Mr. Morgan you best do it soon," Helena said aloud to herself before she entered the room in a vain attempt to offer some sort of comfort to a young girl who was a mere shadow of her former self.

Joseph listened to the hustle and bustle of preparations that were taking place just beyond the door. His daughter's wedding was only days away and he was barely involved in any of it. His mind was so focused on Anthony's downfall that he couldn't even enjoy Emily's excitement. He and Jason were hardly on speaking terms. Either was lucky if they grunted at the other at the dinner table, which served to bring about a wave of arguments with his wife. No matter which way Joseph turned at the moment his life was in a complete shambles.

"Excuse me Mr. Morgan." A voice disturbed his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You have a phone call sir."

"Who is it?" he asked.

"A. Mr. Webber."

Joseph let out a heavy sigh. "Tell him that I am not available."

"He was quite adamant about speaking with you, sir."

"As I am adamant about NOT speaking with him," Joseph stressed. "Tell Mr. Webber I have nothing to discuss with him."

"Yes sir."

Joseph opened the center drawer of his desk and retrieved a manila folder. The information that had been complied so far on Elizabeth's father was anything but glowing. Joseph felt the bile rise into his throat as he thought of all the offenses Jeff Webber had perpetrated against his daughter. It sickened Joseph beyond all comprehension. There was one last piece of information that Joseph was waiting on then the comfortable life that Jeff had made for himself at the expense of his daughter was all about to change. Bringing down Jeff Webber hadn't been part of Rocco and Joseph's original plan but the more and more he researched Jeff's exploits the more Joseph knew he couldn't just let Jeff walk away from all of this unscathed.