Chapter Two

"Come on, Eugenia. Where the hell are you?" Sami muttered under her breath, tapping her foot against the floor nervously. Most of the guests had finished arriving almost half an hour ago, but Eugenia was nowhere to be found.

She better show up soon. Lucas has to find out the truth tonight. Sam turned to Lucas, who was sitting in the chair next to her talking to Philip. A soft smile chased the worried scowl from her face. After all these months of being alone, it would feel so good to be in his arms again.

She longed to tell Lucas what was going to happen that night. She had come close to telling him a few times, but uncertainty had stopped her. If by some remote chance Eugenia didn't reveal the truth, Sami didn't want to risk disappointing Lucas by making a promise that wouldn't come true. Then he would doubt her even more.

She was dying to tell someone what was happening though. When her gaze swept over the restaurant once more she was searching for both Eugenia and someone she could share her secret with.

Seeing a slender, hunched over form at the bar, Sami rose from her seat. She walked over to Nicole and sat down on the stool beside her.

"Hey, Nicole. Still upset about losing Brady to Chloe?" Sami asked cheerfully, even though she already knew the answer.

Nicole slid her glass back and forth along the surface of the bar without looking up. "Be quiet. Ugh, I don't know why I snuck into this stupid opening night. Brady won't give me a second of his time. And why are you talking to me in public? People are going to get suspicious."

"I don't think anyone will have time to be suspicious of me after tonight. They'll be too preoccupied with Kate." Sami replied smugly.

"Really?" Nicole took a long drink from her glass, unimpressed by Sami's prediction.

Sami nodded, a proud grin on her face. "I scared the shit out of Eugenia earlier today. She thinks that Kate's out to get her, so she's going to tell everyone how she and Kate set me up to save herself."

"That's nice," Nicole said flatly.

"I just have to find Eugenia." After a few more minutes of seeking out the woman, Sami finally spotted her. Sami barely contained a squeal of relief as she left Nicole to make her way over to where Eugenia was lurking.

"It's about time," Sami hissed once she reached Eugenia. "Where were you?"

"Don't get so excited." Eugenia cast a frightened glance in Kate's direction. "I was getting everything set up so everyone can hear the tapes, and I was trying to do it all without letting Kate see me. Give me a break. My life is on the line right now."

"I know that," Sami said. "Then what are you waiting for? Tell everyone the truth!"

"I'm trying to get my nerve up. This isn't easy for me," Eugenia whined.

"Maybe dying would be easier," Sami suggested sarcastically. "Just get it over with." Sami pushed Eugenia out of the dark corner of the restaurant. Eugenia frowned at Sami irritably, but continued on to the center of the restaurant, a remote control in hand.

No one paid attention to Eugenia as she cleared her throat. Eugenia grew visibly frustrated and used the remote to turn off the music.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, but there's something I need to bring into the open. I don't know how to say this, so I'll let this do the talking for me." Eugenia pressed another button on the remote and the familiar voices of Kate and Eugenia streamed through the restaurant's sound system and filled the room.

No one spoke as they took in Kate's words. There was only one person not listening to the taped phone conversation being played. Sami didn't need to know every detail of Kate's plot. She just needed all of Salem to know what a heartless bitch Kate truly was.

While everyone else listened, Sami observed. She noted the way Kate seemed torn between wanting to strangle Eugenia and wanting to crawl under the nearest table and hide. The lines on Sami's father's face had deepened from shock, disgust and anger. Her mother shot daggers at Kate with her eyes as John shook his head in disbelief. Then there was Lucas.

He grew paler by the second. Every word sounding from the speakers appeared to be a separate stab into his heart. Sami could see the pain and horror etched so clearly onto his face it was hurting her. She wished there had been another way to win him back, a way that wouldn't have hurt him so much. Unfortunately, showing him the truth about his mother had been the only way.

Eugenia's tape ended and a sea of murmurs filled the restaurant, but no one dared to speak. The acidic words of victory Sami wanted to say to Kate were on the tip of her tongue. She was about to say them but thoughts of Lucas stopped her. Sami decided that gloating wouldn't make Kate any more miserable than she was already going to be anyways.

Eugenia prepared to bolt but Kate stopped her by breaking the silence.

"What's wrong with you?" Kate demanded before turning back to the crowd. "It isn't true. Eugenia played you a fake tape. I bet Sami had something to do with it."

"Don't even try it, Kate," Sami responded disdainfully. "You lost. Suck it up."

Roman took a step away from Kate. "How could you do something like dis, Kate? You promised to watch over Sami for me at our wedding. Not only did you break that promise, but you lied about it."

"Roman, please..."

"No, Kate. We got nothing to say to each other. I'm going to divorce you as soon as possible. I want you out of my life." A smile leapt to Sami's face at his words. This was her dream come true.

"You really set Sami up?" Philip chimed in. "That's sick, mom."

A noise similar to one a wounded crow would make erupted from Kate's throat. She faced Eugenia angrily. "We were supposed to be partners."

"You were gonna kill me!" Eugenia exclaimed. "I had to do something."

"I was not!" Kate screeched.

"Save it, honey. Sami told me all about your plans." Eugenia said.

"You believed something Sami told you?" Kate threw up her hands. "You're a disgrace."

"Oops." Eugenia was clearly embarrassed.

"Actually, Kate, what you did was much more disgraceful." Marlena told her coldly. "Stay away from Sami from now on."

Kate tried to ignore the fury radiating from Roman and Marlena. She eyed John hopefully. "John? You understand, don't you?"

John wouldn't look her in the eye. "I understand that believing you was a huge mistake." John's face was filled with shame as he looked to the other side of the restaurant. "I should have done something to help you, Samantha. Please accept my apology."

Kate couldn't believe it. Everyone was taking Sami's side. She wanted to disappear, but she went to Lucas instead.

"Lucas, let me explain–" Kate tried to defend herself.

Lucas didn't even let her finish, "I don't want to hear it. You're not going to be a part of my life anymore. I'm cutting you out of my life and out of Will's."

"No!" Kate latched onto Lucas' arm desperately. "Give me a chance to explain. It's the least you can do after all the sacrifices I've made for you."

Kate's begging continued until everyone in the restaurant was watching Lucas expectantly. Lucas knew it was going to be hard to make his mother understand that he wanted her out of his life, and he couldn't do it with all these people watching.

"Let's go outside." Lucas headed for the front doors of the restaurant. Kate hurried after him.

Lucas passed Sami before leaving the restaurant and hesitated. He swallowed hard, his throat contracting painfully as he searched for words.

"Sami," he managed to croak, his eyes burning from the effort of holding back tears. "I'm so sorry."

His undisguised hurt made Sami's heart sink, her jubilation over exposing Kate short-lived. She reached for his hand, but he was still walking and she barely grazed his fingertips. Before she could go after him, her mother was at her side.

Her mother's hand rested on her shoulder. "Let him go. He needs to cut himself free of her without an audience."

"But I want to see him do it. I want to watch Kate lose him, just like she watched me lose him."

"Sami, this is going to hurt Lucas as much as it will hurt Kate. I'm sure you don't want to see him hurting." Marlena said.

"You're right. Maybe I don't want to see it." Sami agreed. "I just want us to be together again."

Marlena pulled Sami into a hug. "That's going to happen soon, sweetie. Once he's done with Kate, he'll come back for you."

Sami peered at the door Lucas had walked out of and sighed, hoping it wouldn't be long before he came back inside to find her.