A/N: Happy Saturday! Oh wait, it's not Saturday, is it? It's the middle of the week, and I'm updating! Surprise! I hope you're good with me updating early. Thanks as always for reading, reviewing and following! It's appreciated! This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Russ watched as the elder woman paced back and forth anxiously by the lake. It was 2:15, fifteen minutes past the time he had told her to meet him there, and he was making her wait, making her squirm. Russ had been there thirty minutes early to scope out the area. He wanted to find a good hiding place where he could watch Carol Walker without being observed himself. He also wanted to make sure she hadn't been followed and had come alone as he had instructed. His plan would blow up in his face otherwise. For it to work, it had to be just the two of them. Well technically, that wasn't an accurate statement. They weren't alone. Russ was wearing a wire, and Pete was staked out nearby in a car listening and more importantly, recording. If all went as planned, Russ would have his money and then some, and Pete would have his revenge.

After waiting a few more minutes, Russ decided it was finally time to make himself known, especially since it looked like Carol had had enough and was getting ready to leave.

"Carol, good of you to meet me!"

"You're late, Mr. Payne."

"Please call me Russ. Sorry about being late. It couldn't be helped though."

"How did you get my number?"

"Ah, let's just say that I have my ways." There was no way that he was going to tell her that Pete had used a contact to get her cellphone number. "Would you like to have a seat?" Russ indicated a nearby park bench.

"I'm fine and don't plan on being here that long. What do you want, Mr. Payne?"

He had to admit the old broad was tough, nothing he couldn't more than handle though. "First things first. You didn't tell anyone about this meeting, did you? You didn't tell your lawyer?"

"You told me not to."

Russ smiled. He knew the answer because they had been tracking the calls she had been making from her cellphone for the last week. She didn't need to know that either though. It was probably best that she didn't because it wasn't legal. What they had done to coerce the customer service representative into cooperating with them wasn't legal either. "Excellent! Now, we can get down to business. I have a proposition for you, one that I think you'll find more than fair to all interested parties."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about my dear niece Samantha."

Carol's jaw clenched at the mention of the girl she considered to be her granddaughter.

"I thought that might get your attention. From where I stand, I have something that you so desperately want, a true familial connection."

"We are Sam's family."

"Not really. You see, Samantha and I are related by blood. We share DNA. Now granted, I don't really know her, and she's been living with you and your family. The courts, however, really like that whole DNA thing, and it gives me an edge in the whole custody fight. Judges like to keep biological families together. It pulls on their heartstrings to be able to reconcile families, and I am an expert on playing those strings like no one else."

"Like you said, you don't even know Sam. Why would you want custody? We love her and want her."

"Here's the thing, I don't want her and don't really care anything about her. To me, she's the means to an end."

"And what end is that?"

"In a word, money."

"If you're saying what I think you are, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. My family does not have a lot of money, Mr. Payne. You're sorely mistaken if you think otherwise."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am. What do you mean?"

"I believe if you think hard enough, you might just come up with something."

Carol's eyes widened in shock when she realized what he was referring to. "Her trust fund! You want her trust fund!"

Russ grinned. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen! I figure it's the least her side of the family owes me."

"The least they owe you?! Are you insane? Do you have any idea of what Sam has been through? She lost her parents and her home. She was put into a foster family that abused her over and over again, and you have the nerve, the gall to say she owes you?! She's a girl and owes you nothing!"

"Whatever. It's obvious we're not going to agree. We've all had our struggles. You don't see me whining about it, do you? No, I'm doing something about it. I'm taking control of the situation. I'm taking my lemons and making lemonade with the help of my dear, sweet niece and that nice little pile of cash she's sitting on."

"We can't touch that money. It's in a trust and administered …"

"Yeah, that's not really my concern or problem. It's yours. If you want to keep her, you'll find a way to get that money."

"And if we don't?"

"It's simple. I'll still get the money, and you can kiss Samantha goodbye because you're going to lose her. My way at least, you get to keep her."

"What are you going to do if you get custody of her? Like you said before, you don't want her."

"Short term, I'll keep her. Long term, I'll only have her for a couple of months, just until I get my hands on the money. Then, I'll turn her back over to the state because I just don't see it working out for us. She strikes me as a moody kid, a little on the depressed side. My wife and I will try to help her as best we can, but Samantha does have a record. So, it's been established that she is troubled."

"Do you know what that would do to her?"

"Yeah, don't really know and don't really care."

"You're despicable. What's to stop me from going to my lawyer and telling her everything?"

"It will be your word against mine. I have nothing to lose whereas you have everything to lose. Who do you think the court will believe? Me, the long lost uncle trying to connect with my only remaining family or you, the desperate, old woman clinging to a girl you're not related to in any way to complete the family your son wasn't man enough to give you?"

Carol slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you?"

Russ simply smirked as he rubbed his jaw. Did he push a little too hard? Maybe. Did he care? Not really. Frankly, he was done playing around with these people and just wanted to get the hell out of Pine Valley. "I'm in a charitable mood today so I'll let you have that one. Do something like that again though, and the price will go up. You know what? I'm not feeling all that generous now that I think about it. Add $5,000 to it. Get me my money, or I'm taking your 'granddaughter'. Got it?"

"When do you want it by?" Carol gritted out. Her hand stung badly, but she wouldn't give this vile man the satisfaction of knowing that.

"We're back in court in 2 ½ weeks. I'll give you until the day before to get it to me. If you don't, all bets are off. Do you understand? Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal. There is no way in hell that I'm letting Sam live with the likes of you."

Russ smiled. "Great. We're both on the same page then. It's a pleasure doing business with you. Was that so hard?" When no answer was forthcoming, he simply continued. "See you soon, Carol."

/

After watching Carol walk away defeated, Russ hoofed it back to the car where his lawyer was waiting.

Pete eyed his client. "How's the jaw?"

"The old girl packs a wallop. Did you get it?"

"I did."

"Do you think we have enough?"

"Definitely. I got a guy who can work wonders with recordings. By the time he gets done with this, he'll make it seem like she was bribing you with the full knowledge of her attorney. So …"

"Even if they don't get me the money, the court will rule against them and grant me custody which will give me control of it, and you …"

"Will get to report this breech of ethics and misconduct to the state bar and get Marissa Tasker disbarred." Pete laughed. He may have been hesitant about this plan earlier, but he was all in now. He had to admit that he was hoping the Walkers couldn't get the money because he really liked the idea of his nemesis getting disbarred and experiencing the disgrace that would come with that. Maybe a copy of the doctored recording might still make its way into the hands of the head of the state bar.

"What do you think the odds are of her contacting her lawyer about any of this?" Russ asked as he interrupted Pete's daydream of impending revenge against Marissa.

"I think you gave her a pretty good scare. You definitely got under her skin. Given both things, I don't she'll tell her. We'll know soon enough though thanks to your trip to the Walker household."

Both men smiled remembering their adventure a couple of days earlier. They had come to the conclusion that just tracking Carol's cellphone wasn't enough insurance for them. They needed more and decided it was better to be safe than sorry. So while Pete kept watch, Russ broke into the Walkers' home and planted a bug in their family room. It was easy to do because they had absolutely no security system in place unlike Marissa. The men had discussed bugging the lawyer's home but quickly dismissed the idea when Pete remembered hearing about the redhead getting extra security around the time of the Brennan incident. He was fairly certain she would have had the same amount of security installed in her new home. The last thing the men needed was to be caught breaking into and bugging the lawyer's home.

"Yeah, I think that was a very good move on our part. This recording equipment was definitely worth the investment."

/

Bianca opened the front door and smiled. "Hi, Susan."

"Hi, Bianca. If I could say, you look beautiful." The trusted babysitter offered as she followed the brunette inside.

"Yeah? Thank you. When Rissa and I went shopping for something to wear tonight, I saw this and fell in love with it. You should see Rissa's. She's just … wow."

Susan laughed. She loved how much the couple gushed over each other. It was clear to anyone that they loved each and were perfect together. From what she'd picked up about their history in the time that she knew them, both had been through a great deal, and if anyone deserved to be happy, it was them. They gave her hope that she'd find her own special someone one day.

"Thanks for watching the kids for us."

The babysitter adored AJ, Miranda and Gabby as well as their mothers and was always happy to help, and as a grad student, she could always use the extra income. "It's no problem at all. They're great kids, and I love 'em. So, this shindig is at the Yacht Club?"

"Yep. My beautiful, charming and brilliant wife will be formally introduced as a full partner of the newly minted law firm of Thompson, Stevens, Montgomery, Cortlandt and Tasker."

"We're also celebrating the firm's anniversary, B. Don't forget that. It's not all about me no matter how much you keep insisting it is." Marissa smirked as she entered the room. "Hi, Susan. How are you doing?"

"I beg to differ, Rissa. You are definitely the star of this evening's festivities, and you are absolutely gorgeous and glowing. There is no way anyone will be able to take their eyes off of you." Bianca gave her wife a chaste kiss.

"Hi, Marissa. I'm good." Susan chuckled at seeing the redhead blush. "I have to agree with Bianca. That dress is amazing on you, and you really do have a glow about you."

"Thank you, Susan. And B, you are the only person I have eyes for tonight, tomorrow, the day after, the day after that …"

Bianca chuckled and rewarded her wife with another kiss. "Smooth talker. See, Susan, I was right about the charming part, wasn't I?"

"I think you both are good with the charming part."

"Susan!" AJ exclaimed happily as he jumped down from the last step from the stairway.

Miranda and Gabby quickly joined him in greeting their babysitter.

"Hey, munchkins! You're Moms look very pretty tonight, don't they?"

"Yep, they really do. Mom says they are going to dance tonight." Miranda loved to dance and had danced the night away at their wedding reception.

"We are, and I'm really looking forward to it. I do love dancing with your Ma."

"That makes two of us." Marissa agreed. "And I will be dancing with the most beautiful woman there."

The couple had been looking forward to this night out for quite some time. While they loved the date night they'd had recently, tonight was different. The firm was pulling out all the stops for this black-tie affair, and the couple followed suit when they went shopping for their dresses. Both laughed when they noted that they believed Erica would approve of what they had decided on, that they were up to her standards. While they loved the idea of dressing up, what they were looking forward to the most was dancing with each other. It was something they didn't get to do all that much. So when they had the chance, they grabbed it with both hands. Another perk of the evening would be meeting up with the Buchanans. Viki and Clint as well as Bo and Nora would be in town to attend tonight's function. Bianca was looking forward to catching up with Viki and introducing all four to her wife. Marissa couldn't wait to finally meet them either. She'd heard nothing but good things about all of them. She was probably the most anxious to meet Nora though. The woman had an excellent reputation as a prosecutor, and Marissa couldn't wait to pick her brain.

"While they're doing that, we're going to have fun of our own."

"We're still having our movie marathon?" AJ asked.

"Yep, and you're Moms said we can make our own pizza."

"Popcorn too?" To Gabby, having popcorn while watching a movie was an absolute must.

"Duh? Of course you can have popcorn. It wouldn't be a movie marathon if you didn't, Monkey." Marissa kissed her youngest on the top of her head.

"Okay, your Ma and I need to go. We can't have the guest of honor be late. Be good for Susan."

The kids nodded as hugs and kisses were exchanged with their mothers.

"Susan, call either of us if anything comes up." Marissa offered as she grabbed her purse and followed Bianca to the car.

"I will. Have fun."

/

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Phil? While this is the firm's anniversary, it's also announcing Marissa Tasker as a partner, and you know how Pete feels about her."

Phil waved off his brother. "Yes, Nate, I'm more than aware of his feelings for her. He's shared them with me repeatedly. He blames her for being let go from the D.A.'s office."

"Yes, he does, and it's completely unfounded. That young woman is no more responsible for that than his mother. Your son was fired because of his own actions or should I say inactions. You'll never be able to convince him of that though. I can't help but think that he's going to cause a scene of some sort tonight."

"I'm afraid of that as well, but Barbara insisted that we bring him. She believes he'll be able to use this as an opportunity to network. If you ask me, I think he played the sympathy card with her yet again. He knows how to play his mother."

Pete was standing outside in the hallway and smiled as he overheard his father and uncle talk. Yes, I do know how to play her, and I'm going to keep on doing it for as long as I can. He decided it was time to join the other men. "Uncle Nate, it's good to see you. Where's Aunt Val?"

"She's talking with your mother about the fundraiser they are working on together. She had something she wanted to discuss with her that just couldn't wait. So, she had me stop on our way to the Yacht Club."

"I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that you're going tonight. I would think there would be a conflict of interest for you."

Judge Nathan Taylor eyed his nephew, not missing his sarcasm. "The other judges will be there as well. This isn't the first function of this type that we've attended. As you know, we've gone to similar gatherings for other firms as well as the District Attorney's office. We make sure there is no conflict of interest. I know what you're getting at, and you and I have gone over this before, Pete, several times actually. There was absolutely no way I could hear your case."

"Your uncle's right. If he hadn't recused himself, any ruling he made could have easily been overturned on appeal because of his relationship with you. For you to actually think he would remain on it is absurd. You know him better than that."

"Of course I do. Why would I expect anyone in this family to give me a break?" Pete muttered as he walked to the bar and fixed himself a stiff drink.

"Enough! I have had my fill of your whining. Nate had no other option and did the right thing. I don't want to hear any more from you on this subject. I also want you to remember you promised your mother you wouldn't cause any scenes this evening."

"Yes, I remember, Dad. I'll be good. Scout's honor." Pete threw back the whiskey and quickly fixed himself another, feeling the glare of both his father and uncle as he did. This is going to be one helluva night.

/

Bianca pulled up to the valet stand in front of the Yacht Club. Her experienced eye easily spied the paparazzi milling about the entrance. As Erica Kane's daughter, she had gotten extremely good over the years at spotting them quickly. Before she could point them out to her wife, two valets hurried over to open the car doors for both her and Marissa. The brunette placed the ticket she had been given in her purse before joining her wife on the other side of the car.

Photographers suddenly realized who had arrived and started snapping away. Bianca held out her hand for Marissa. "Are you ready?"

Marissa took a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself. The redhead was more anxious than anything else. Despite what she had said earlier, she knew the spotlight would be on her for a huge chunk of the evening. If it was a courtroom, Marissa had no doubt that she would be fine, but this was an entirely different venue and being anxious was to be expected. Marissa entwined her hand with Bianca's and smiled brightly, feeling calm and reassured almost instantly. "Yes, I am. Let's get this show on the road."

/

A/N: Now, I know this was a little shorter than my usual updates, but I had to cut it off here because if I kept writing who knows how long it would be. The next chapter will be focused on the firm's anniversary celebration. I know this was a little light on regular characters, but it had to be to set things up going forward. Oh yeah, I'm sorry. My evil side has kind of taken over. I'm trying to rein her in, but it's proving to be really hard. I'll do my best though. See you soon!