Chapter 4
Lorenzo heard her and came out of the bedroom, retying his tie. "What's wrong?" he asked her.
"Alex was here," she lifted the purse to show him, as water fell off the sides. "Oh God, I had heard the door. . .I called your name out. . .she must have heard!"
Knowing she was right, Lorenzo shook his head. He then grabbed his jacket. "I'll go and find her," he said. He knew how impulsive Alexandria was and her quick temper would often get her into trouble, and he did not need his 18-year-old daughter landing herself in jail. No matter how angry she was at him right now, he needed to find her.
Just as he was about to walk out the door with Sara following, someone stepped in front of them, making Sara jump in surprise. It was Sonny.
Sonny was equally surprised to see Lorenzo Alcazar in his sister's hotel room. "What the hell are you doing here Alcazar?" he asked. He had wanted to talk to Sara alone.
Sara looked at Lorenzo and then her brother. "That would be no business of yours Mr. Corinthos. . . now, if you will excuse us, we have to find my friend," she said, moving past him to follow Lorenzo.
"Sara, we need to talk," he said. He knew that Alexandria was probably with Jason, since he had sent him to look for her. Sonny needed to know who she really was and what her plans were.
That stopped both of them and Sara turned to Lorenzo. "Will you call me when you find her?" she asked, putting her hand on his arm.
"Of course," he said and then left the two alone, wanting to be there to protect her from Corinthos if she needed it.
Turning around, Sara walked into the room and started picking things up around the room, putting Alex's purse on the table and hiding the dress in her hands as she went into the bedroom shutting the door behind her as she came out. "What do you want Mr. Corinthos?"
"I know it was hard for you to do what you did," he said. He wasn't sure what to say, but he wanted to make her understand. "It was a shock to all of us when you announced that you were my sister and that we have the same parents. I tried to deny it, but you look so much like her, I knew you were telling the truth," he ran his hands through his hair. "I want to get to know you better and I was hoping you would want to get to know your family."
Sara laughed quietly. "I'm leaving Sonny. . . as soon as Lorenzo comes back with Alex, we're leaving. I'm going back to Washington."
Sonny looked at her. "Washington? But you just got here and came to us, why are you leaving?" he asked, not forgetting that she somehow knew Alcazar better than he thought. But now was not the time to be an overprotective big brother, hopefully there would be time for that later.
"That was the plan! Come in and get out as fast as I could. I cannot get caught up in this!" she yelled. "I work for a school teaching young children with special needs to communicate with the world. If they found out I was your sister, it would be over. I wouldn't be able to work in any school in the United States or anywhere!" She wasn't sure if she was exaggerating or not, she had no idea what life as a mob boss really entailed.
Sonny understood then that Sara knew who he was and what he did. "Then stay here," he said. "You can find a job here and get to know us. Not just for me, but Courtney and Ric want to get to know you too," he said. Then he threw in what he hoped would be the clincher. "And I was hoping that my sons and daughter could get to know their aunt."
Another laugh escaped her lips, except this one had a sob attached to it and Sara sat down on the couch. "You don't give up, do you?"
"No," he said with a smile, his dimples flashing. He sat beside her. He wasn't sure if what he was about to tell her would make her stay or drive her away, but she had a right to know. "And I am sure you would want to meet your father."
Her head snapped up to look at him with wide eyes. "He. . . he's alive?" she asked.
Sonny nodded his head. "Yeah, he is. And you're not the first one to think he wasn't. Courtney also grew up thinking he was dead. But he lives here in Port Charles. I'm sure he would want to see you. Maybe he can tell you why he and our mother gave you up," he said quietly.
Nodding, Sara looked over at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "When I found out, I didn't believe that I was adopted . . . not until I found you."
"Then say you'll stay and get to know us, learn about who you are," he said, wanting to get to know her better. Family meant everything to Sonny and he did not want her to walk away.
"I'll try, I can call my boss and tell him I won't be back for a while. . . so, Mike," she said as she stood up. "I guess I get to find out who he is."
Sonny smiled. "We can go over there now if you think you're ready," he said. He had not told Mike about Sara yet. He wanted to see the man's reaction when Sonny told him who she was.
"Oh yeah," said Sara with a sarcastic twinge to her voice, "I can't wait to see the look on his face and hear what his explanation might be."
Sonny laughed and shook his head as he followed her to the door. Before opening the door though, Sonny turned to look at Sara and asked, "How do you know Alcazar so well?"
Sara looked into Sonny's eyes and knew she couldn't lie to him. Even though she just met him, she knew he would see right through any lie she told him and thought it would be best to tell the truth right from the start. "We met two years ago at a bar. We talked a lot and got to know each other a bit. Then he walked me home and we shared a kiss. I haven't seen him again until I arrived here in Port Charles and we spent some time together last night," she said, choosing her words carefully, as she still did not know Sonny that well and was not sure what his reaction to all of this would be.
Sonny looked at Sara, knowing he was going to have it out with Alcazar. He did not like the idea of his little sister having an intimate relationship – or any relationship – with a man he himself did not trust. "You also seem to know his daughter pretty well. What can you tell me about her?" he asked, looking for some information.
"That she's not a part of his organization in any way. Alex barely knew her father while growing up and their relationship has been strained over the last few years. She had to practically be dragged kicking and screaming to see him," Sara said. The events of last night still in her head as she thought about her friend and what she might have heard. What must Alex be thinking right now? Sara wondered. She looked over at Sonny and could see that he was skeptical of Alex. "I met Alexandria when she came to work at the school I was teaching in. She works directly with me in my class and is wonderful with the kids." Sara smiled as she thought of her favorite student. "We have a student who is three-years-old who has only 5 of his brain still intact. His mother, when she was pregnant with him. . .did things that were unhealthy for him."
Sonny nodded and saw how much Sara loved what she did and he admired her for it. He then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and said, "Then I guess I should call Jason and tell him to back off of her."
Sara's head snapped around to look at him and she grabbed the phone out is his hand before the call could go through. "Wait a minute. Back off?" she asked.
Sonny recognized the glint of anger in her eyes, so like his own. "Yeah, well, we all figured out who she was – she definitely has Alcazar's eyes – and I asked Jason to track her down and find out what she was up to," he said, as if there was nothing wrong with it.
Great! I'm sure Alex left here angry and now she's going to be confronted because of who her father is, Sara thought as she hit the send button on Sonny's phone and waited until it was picked up by Jason. "This is Sara," she began when he answered. "Oh. . .well. . . I should let you know that Lorenzo is looking for her. . . yeah," she handed the phone back to Sonny and started walking down the hall and out of the hotel.
Sonny looked at her in shock and shook his head, knowing that Jason was probably staring at his phone and wondering what was going on.
Soon, Sonny and Sara were standing outside of Kelly's and the only person that Sara could see through the windows was a man who was wiping down some of the tables. "He owns a restaurant?" she asked, turning to Sonny.
Sonny shook his head. "No, Carly's mother owns it, but he helps to run the place," he said as he opened the door for her and then followed her inside.
Sara nodded as she walked in, noticing that the man was now looking up at them, surprise clearly evident in his eyes.
Mike was shocked and did a double take. The young woman walking in with Sonny looked like a younger version of his Adella. He looked over at Sonny for an explanation. "Sonny, what's going on here?"
Sonny saw the question and surprise in Mike's eyes. "Mike, I would like you to meet your daughter Sara," he said, gently pushing Sara toward the counter where Mike was standing.
"It can't be," he was shocked at seeing the little girl he had thought of for years.
"I'm afraid so Mr. Corinthos. I am your daughter," she said in a somewhat shaky voice. She then took out the picture and handed it to him. "I found out two months ago who I really was."
Mike took the picture from her and looked at his beautiful Adella. No matter how much he had messed up, he had never stopped loving her and missed her every day. "I never thought I would see you again," he said, still staring at her. "I always knew you would be beautiful."
A blush covered her face and Sara looked down, her long hair covering her face.
Sonny watched the exchange. "You knew about her?" he asked his father. His own relationship with his father had been strained, but they had been getting closer over the last few years. Mike nodded his head. "Adella wrote to me, telling me that she was pregnant after I had left," he said.
"And the two of you decided to give me up?" she asked, her eyes now on Mike, glaring at him.
Mike saw the anger flash in her eyes, so much like Sonny's and Adella's. "I was in a bad situation and could not get to her to be there. By the time I contacted her, she had already made the decision to give the baby up. You see, Adella was a beautiful, strong, and loyal woman, but she felt that she could not give you the life you deserved and felt you would have a better chance with a family who could take care of you. I know the decision was hard for her, but she felt it was her only choice."
Sara shook her head, taking in all that Mike had just said. It was true that the family that had raised her had loved her very much and gave her a great life; she just wished she had known the truth all these years. Sara looked back at Sonny. "Can we leave now, please?" she asked, knowing that she would not be able to stay here any longer, at least not tonight.
Sonny nodded his head and led her out of the diner. Once they were outside, he turned to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. Sara had to look down and closed her eyes, trying to fight not to lose it.
"It's been a big day for you. Why don't I walk you to your hotel so you can relax," he offered, flashing a dimple filled grin.
She nodded and allowed Sonny to guide her with a hand on the small of her back. "How old are my niece and nephews?" she asked, wanting to learn more about her family.
Sonny smiled as he thought of his children. "Michael is nine, Kristina is two and a half and Morgan is a year old," he said, pulling out his wallet and showing her the pictures he carried of his children.
Sara didn't know what made her reach over, but she found herself running a finger down the picture of Kristina, and then the rest of her fingers reached Michael and Morgan. "They're beautiful," she said, her voice slightly choked.
Sonny looked at her as she handed the picture back to him. "Do you have any children?" he asked. He was sure she wasn't married, as he did not see any rings.
"No, I don't," she said with a sad smile.
Sonny didn't press on, figuring she would open up to him in her own time. "If you feel up to it, I would like you to come to dinner, meet them all," he said.
"I would like that," she said, stopping as she looked at the man that was her brother. "It's so weird Mr. Corinthos. . .how much you remind me of someone."
"Who is that?" he asked with a smile. "And call me Sonny," he added.
"You remind me of. . .me," she laughed. "I cannot explain it Mr. . . . Sonny. All I know is that you look like Adella, and the eyes. You have my eyes."
Sonny nodded and smiled. They had reached the hotel. "I'll send a car to pick you up," he said. Sara nodded and smiled and thanked Sonny for all he had done for her.
Sara walked into the room, a smile still on her lips and stopped in the doorway when she saw Alex, who was sitting on the couch, now dry and in new clothes and with a look on her face that reminded Sara that she knew. "Alex. . ." she started.
Alex glared at Sara. She jumped up off the couch. "How could you?" she asked, her voice low but dangerous.
Shutting the door, Sara sighed as she sat down. "We met two years ago Alex. . .way before I even met you."
"Then I take it this isn't the first time you slept with my father?" she asked, anger boiling through her.
Sara bit her lip. "Actually, it was the first time," she whispered. "Alex, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? You knew who he was all along and yet you forced me to see him! The two of you must have had a good laugh at my expense!" she shouted.
Sara immediately stood up, her temper flaring. "Are you crazy?" her voice was low and almost deadly, much like Sonny's could get. "I went there for you and when you left this morning he came over to talk to you, not me. And for your information, I didn't want to see him!" she grabbed her purse and headed for the door, only to stop when Alex's voice called out to her. She leaned her head against the door.
"I don't want to fight Sara," she said. "It's just, after being ignored by him all these years, you were able to get his attention when I couldn't," she said quietly. She sat back down on the couch and curled up in the corner, hating the insecure feelings coursing through her now. All the questions she had asked herself as a child coming back. Why didn't he love her? What had she done wrong? Everything she had done with her life, all that she was capable of, some of which Sara knew about and some of it she didn't, still did nothing to get his attention.
"He loves you," Sara whispered as she turned her head to look at her friend. "Alex, I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too" she said. Alex needed to change the subject. "Where were you? Did you meet with your brother?"
"I met my father tonight," Sara said and went to sit down next to Alex.
"You're father?" Alex asked, sitting up and looking at Sara. "He's here? What happened?" It was easier for her to talk about other people's feelings, but not her own. She left those hidden away where no one could hurt her.
"He knew about me, but he was gone at the time. Adella decided to give me up for adoption thinking it would be best to have other parents. After that I bolted. . . Sonny understood," she finished, running a hand through her hair.
Alex nodded. "So what are the plans now? Do we head back to Washington tomorrow?" Part of her wanted to go back, but another bigger part of her wanted to stay and she wasn't sure why, it wasn't like she had anything here to stay for, and my father does not count, she added to herself.
Sara shook her head. "I am going to call John and tell him that we won't be back for a while. Unless you want to go back. . . I can't Allie."
"No, I want to stay," she said. She needed to stop running and face who she was, but she wasn't sure how to do that yet.
"Will you come with me to Sonny's tonight for dinner? It'll get everyone used to you and me if we go together. . . I want you to come."
"I don't know Sara. This is your family, not mine," Alex said. She had met Courtney earlier that day when Jason brought her over there. Courtney had been nice to her, but Alex was not a very trusting person and felt uncomfortable. Although Jason might be there, she thought to herself.
"You're right, but they need to know that there is nothing wrong, that nothing will happen, and that you are a good person even though your last name happens to be Alcazar," Sara insisted.
Alex looked at her best friend. "Does your family know about you and my father?" Alex asked, stalling for time, not sure if she wanted to go with Sara.
"Sonny kind of knows something is going on," she said, then put her head in her hands. "Oh God, this is embarrassing.
Alexandria knew she was right, it was embarrassing and still hard for her to wrap her mind around. "Look, we don't have to talk about it," she said. "But I will go with you."