Disclaimer: see chapter 1

She was asleep by the time he got back to the suite that night. He and Bianca had holed up in his office, trying to figure all of this out. They were at a standstill till they found a reporter who would do anything for a quick buck. For the right amount of money, he told them the whole story. He had planned to tell Kendall the whole story as soon as he got back to the suite, but she was asleep and looked beautiful and peaceful, he let her sleep, thinking he could tell her in the morning. What he found when he woke up was her side of the bed empty and a note on the bathroom mirror, telling him to sleep in and she would be back in time for lunch. He cursed himself and quickly got dressed.

Bianca found her coming out of one of the conference rooms with the DA. She nodded at her sister and shook the DA's hand. He walked away and Bianca made a beeline for Kendall.

"So, you're really going to do it? You're going to testify against our mother?" Bianca was stunned that it had come to this.

Kendall pulled her sister over to a bench. "Binks, I know that you believe in this whole happy family thing, that we all should be able to put our difference aside in the name of the family, but Erica has made it very clear that she will never accept Zach. She left me no choice – she made me choose and I choose the one person that believes in me, supports me no matter what, loves me for who I am, not who he wants me to be. Erica has never been able to do that for me. I've come to terms with it, Bianca, I really have. I love you, Binks – you're my sister and my best friend, but forgiving Erica for trying to kill Zach isn't an option for me right now. I don't know if it will ever be."

Kendall saw the DA stick his head out and wave her into the courtroom. Kendall hugged Bianca quickly and stood up. "I'll talk to you later, Binks." With that, Kendall was gone.

Bianca knew that this was wrong. She was about to head into the courtroom when Zach came running around the corner. "It's about time!" she yelled at him.

"Sorry. Kendall, in her infinite wisdom, turned off the alarm this morning. She was gone by the time I woke up. Where is she?" Bianca just pointed toward the courtroom. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the proceedings.

The courtroom was packed. Jackson, Ryan, Josh and most of the town filled Erica's side of the courtroom. The reporters and other media were sitting behind the DA's table. They looked up to see Kendall in the middle of her testimony.

"… then, an eyewitness came forward to myself and Babe Carey to tell us about what had happened at the casino that day."

"And what did that eye witness tell you, Ms. Hart?"

"He said that Erica had snapped and stabbed Zach on purpose, that she was trying to hurt him." The DA smirked at Erica and turned back to Kendall. "Thank you Ms. Hart." Kendall turned toward the judge, who waved her off the stand.

"Do you have any other witnesses?"

"No your honor."

Jackson turned around to see Bianca and Zach standing at the back of the courtroom. "Approach your honor?" he yelled, shooting out of his chair. Jackson and DA approached the judge. Bianca had called him the night before, but she wasn't sure when she called if Zach was going to be able to get through to Kendall. The judge nodded and sent Jackson and the DA back to their tables.

"Mr. Montgomery."

"Your honor, I would like to call Zach Slater to the stand."

Kendall hadn't seen him come in and whirled around in her chair, staring at him walking down the aisle. He pushed open the door and smiled down at her. He kissed her lightly on the top of the head. "Everything is going to be fine" he whispered to her before proceeding to the stand.

Zach was quickly sworn in. Jackson approached him and stood there, staring at him. "Mr. Slater, I have been informed that you have something to add to these proceedings." Zach nodded. "Well, go ahead then."

Zach could feel Kendall's eyes on him, boring through his skull. He cleared his throat and stared straight ahead. "Three days ago, Ms. Kane and her production crew were at my casino filming some segments for her show, New Beginnings. Now, most everyone knows that Ms. Kane and I have a contemptuous relationship at best, but we were trying for the sake of her daughter, Kendall Hart…"

"Who you are involved with" Jackson stated.

"Yes. That afternoon, I was working the floor and had walked into a back room where there had been a spill – several bottles of water and liquid soap had tumbled off a shelf and we were waiting for the janitorial crew to come clean it up. I had left a message with Ms. Kane earlier in the day that I would like to speak with her when she a moment and she just happened to take that moment to find me. She followed me into the room, not paying attention to where she was walking. She slipped in the liquid and fell, all of the contents of her purse falling onto the floor. I bent down and picked up a pocket knife, along with her wallet and other items, that had fallen out. It caught my eye because of the unusual carvings it had on the handle. So, I asked her about it. She took it from me and flipped it open as she stood up, explaining that you, Mr. Montgomery, had given it to her for extra protection. She was showing me the carvings on the blade as well. Without thinking, I took a step toward her to return the contents of her purse to her when I slipped as well, falling forward toward her. She instinctively reached her arms out, forgetting the open knife was in her hand and…"

"That was how you got stabbed?" Jackson asked.

"Yes, yes it was."

"Well, Ms. Hart just testified to a very different story. Are you saying she lied to the court under oath?"

Zach finally got the nerve to look at her. The hurt and disbelief on her face was unbearable. All he wanted to do was go over there and wrap her up in his arms and try to make her understand, but he knew that he was the only one that could stop all of this from happening and that it needed to be stopped now.

"No, Mr. Montgomery, she wasn't lying. Ms. Hart was lied to. According to a source I tracked down yesterday, Ms. Hart was approached in the hospital by someone looking to profit from the accident, so that person lied to Kendall convincingly, telling her a skewed version of events."

"And that person was…"

"Josh Madden, Erica Kane's executive producer."

Jackson turned and glared at Josh, who looked shell shocked. Jackson quickly turned back to Zach. "And why did Josh Madden lie to Kendall Hart about the stabbing."

"Well, I'm not sure about all the details, Mr. Montgomery. You will have to ask Mr. Madden to find out for sure, but from what I've been able to find out Mr. Madden has been working to humiliate Ms. Kane since the moment she hired him. He has done several things, including canceling appearances and erasing tapes, to make it look like Erica is incapable and needs to be replaced by, and I can only assume this, him."

Jackson nodded at Zach, silently thanking him for his help. Jackson looked up at the judge. "I have nothing else your honor." The courtroom was silent as Jackson walked back to his chair. Erica smiled at Zach, also thanking him.

Zach looked up at the judge. "Mr. Slater, I appreciate you setting the record straight. In lieu of these new facts, I am going to dismiss the charges against Erica Kane. Ms. Kane, you are free to go. Oh, and Mr. Madden, please do stick around. I'm sure the DA and Derek Frye would like to have a few words with you." With that, the judge banged her gavel and headed back toward her chambers.

Zach got out of the chair and started across the courtroom. Kendall hadn't moved. When he said she had been lied to, she dropped her head and started at her hands in her lap. Bianca and Babe were trying to talk to her right now, but all she kept doing was shaking her head. He knew he needed to get to her, to make her understand why he had to do this.

Zach felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Erica. She took a deep breath. "Zach, look… ok, I know I've been… let's just say less than civil… to you recently and you had no reason to come in here and save me today, but you did and that says a lot. I am truly thankful and you have my gratitude."

"Erica, it needed to be done and I was the only one that could do it."

She grasped his hand and squeezed. "And I am willing to try, I mean really try, with you. I can see that you really do care about Kendall and I know she loves you. I just wasn't ready to admit that to myself."

Zach leaned down and kissed Erica on the cheek. "Thank you. I would like that. But, right now, I need to…" Erica just nodded and released his hand.

Zach turned back toward Kendall. He knew she was crying, that she was confused and hurt at what had just happened. He walked over and crouched down in front of her, putting his hands on her knees.

"Kendall…" She shook her head, refusing to look at him.

"Kendall, please, just…"

"How could you?" she said, barely in a whisper. She looked up at him and the look on her face broke his heart.

"Kendall, if you would just…"

"You made a fool out of me, Zach. You let everyone know that I'm a dupe, that I'm the go to girl when you are looking to set up Erica because I will buy just about anything. You don't…" the tears started falling down her face. He tried to wipe them away, put she pushed against his hands roughly. "You don't get to make me feel like that. You say you love me, that you support me and my decision, but then you…"

"Kendall, it wasn't like that. Josh was out to destroy your mother and you and the rest of your family. He needed to be stopped. You just happened to…"

The anger burst through the top and she shot out of her chair, pushing him back in the process. "I what, Zach… yeah, got made a fool of. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" She turned on her heel and ran out of the courtroom. All Zach could do was watch her go, knowing he had caused her pain again. Bianca, Babe, Jackson, and Erica came up to him, so no one saw Ryan slink out of the courtroom and follow Kendall.

TBC….