Chapter 4

The next morning, Carly was still unconscious. But according to the foetal monitor, the baby's heart was thankfully still beating. Dr Gage noticed something she didn't before. 'I'm getting two separate heartbeats.'

'Really?' Frankie exclaimed.

'Looks like Katerina will have to shop for two when she gets better, she has twins in there. I'll say this again, it's really remarkable her pregnancy remained viable after an attack like this.' Seeing Frankie's worried expression as he stared down at his sister's bruised, swollen face, Dr. Gage added, 'She's strong. She may wake up any time soon, don't worry.'

Frankie paced the room after she left, cracking his knuckles. He had stayed up half the night, reading Carly's journals. He felt very guilty invading his sister's privacy but determined to know if there were other things Rafe hadn't told him. He went through them, skipping the more intimate entries and paid closer attention to the most recent ones. His blood boiled as he read how Kayla reported Carly to the board with the intent of getting her fired and her medical license seized. He felt Carly's pain at how Bo was obviously psyched at being back with Hope, after making a show of not wanting things between them to end. He read about the confrontation between her and Caroline after the disastrous christening. Her daughter Melanie shunning her, her cruel words. Daniel Jonas blaming her. Nicky hanging up on her when she called him.

But what really make Frankie furious was about her seeing Bo and Hope kissing at the docks, listening to Bo telling his wife what went on with Carly had been a mistake. And finding out she was pregnant but wondering how to tell Bo.

'Son of a bitch!' he had shouted.

Piper had listened in silence as he bitterly narrated what he'd found out, rubbing his shoulders consolingly. He had handed Marcus the journal in question, insisting he read it. Marcus was presently rounding off. As Frankie looked at him, Marcus closed the journal, his face unreadable but his clenched fists were enough to tell him what he was feeling.

'I know it's hard for you, the same people you've always regarded as your family would treat Carly like this. And Bo... I never thought he was capable of this.' Marcus said, he and Frankie talking in low tones in the hallway, while Piper and Adrienne stayed with Carly. 'What do you want to do now?'

'Settle accounts.' Frankie said grimly.

Marcus stared at him, his handsome features set in hard lines. 'Let me confront him instead.'

But Frankie shook his head. 'She's my sister, it's my right. I understand, but don't worry, I got this' He pulled out his phone and dialled the number Rafe gave him.

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'What are we going to tell Melanie?' asked Jennifer.

'We can't tell her anything when we don't even know where Carly is,' Daniel reminded her. He had called several hospitals but Carly wasn't registered in any of them. He was still trying to accept what he'd heard from Bo. Carly found severely beaten up in her apartment, the word written on the wall in her blood. An attempted homicide, not a random robbery. 'Did you try getting hold of Adrienne, maybe she knows something.'

'She obviously knows something,' Jennifer said, her voice now hard. 'I tried but she wouldn't take my calls. I went by the station but Rafe wasn't there.'

'Bo said Frankie was there when Rafe found Carly. It's not Rafe we need to talk to, it's Frankie. He obviously told Rafe not tell anybody where she is, not even Bo.'

Jennifer shook her head, bewildered. 'But that doesn't explain why Frankie would hide her from me. Carly's my best friend.'

'He probably doesn't believe that anymore, Jen. Not if he's been hearing things.'

'Oh... I get it. It's because I'm Hope's cousin, right? Are you implying Frankie's holding that against me?' Jennifer snapped angrily.

'What other reason is there for his attitude?'

'That's ridiculous!'

'Ridiculous or true?' Daniel snapped back, his own meanness towards Carly hitting him in the gut. 'Think about it! You sided with Hope over her. And if Carly's really your best friend, you would've called Frankie ages ago to be with her, not Rafe who obviously did!'

Jennifer now looked chastened. 'Well, it's true I had a problem with her being with Bo, but Carly herself made the decision to let him go.'

Daniel sighed, unable to believe Jennifer couldn't read between the lines. 'Bo left her no choice. And he humiliated her, going about with Hope hand in hand real fast after they split up. Maybe not deliberately, but he did. Your families never accepted Carly and Bo from the start, including you. Kayla set out to get her fired. You think Frankie's in town for a grand Brady-Horton reunion?'

Jennifer's eyes suddenly filled with tears, her heart sinking. Daniel was right. Frankie was an adopted Brady but Carly was his flesh and blood, his biological sister. He won't listen to any excuses.

Daniel sighed again. 'I got to find Mel, break it to her gently. And then we'll track Frankie down, make him see sense.'

Jennifer nodded, too upset to say anything.

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Bo conducted his own investigation, calling up several hospitals in the area but none of them had Carly registered. There was a private hospital however, known to be close lipped about their patients registered there. Bo stared at the address. It was on the other side of town where, according to Jennifer, Carly leased a studio apartment. He could use his authority as Commissioner of Police to get information but he was reluctant to give the hospital's administration the idea Carly was a suspect in a crime. Instead, he picked up his call and called dispatch, instructing one of the dispatchers to find out calls for an ambulance in that area within the last 24 hours. Within minutes, he got a confirmation. Carly was obviously taken there.

Bo rubbed his eyes as a great wave of sadness and remorse hit him yet again since he heard the news of Carly's attack from Roman. What was he supposed to say to Carly... how will he be able to face her? Their last encounter at the hospital was bad enough, the expression of sheer pain on her face, the bitterness in her voice.

I know that I was only there until you decided Hope needed you more, or you needed her more, whatever the hell it was.

It had riddled him with even more guilt. And then there was that phone call.

Hope had just stepped into the bathroom when his cell rang. He knew it was Carly because he hadn't yet deleted her number. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet. Yet he was surprised she was calling him, after refusing to return his calls since their breakup and what she said to him at the hospital. He let it ring four times before answering. Their last encounter had brought even more guilt and for a long time, he was unable to focus on anything, regretting he went over to see her in the first place. What did she want now?

Taking a deep breath, he clicked the green button. 'Hi.'

'Are you alone?' was Carly's quiet reply.

'Hope's in the shower. What's up?'

Silence. Then Carly's voice came again as though struggling to ignore the first sentence. 'I need to see you about something important.'

'What is it?'

'It's not something I can talk about over the phone. We have to meet.'

His cell suddenly rang and he immediately clicked on the green button. 'Brady.'

'You're right Bo. We should meet and talk this out. After all, you're ready to explain yourself, aren't you? I'll be waiting at the docks and don't you dare bring that wife of yours with you.' Frankie said coldly before hanging up.

The inevitable confrontation.

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Daniel and Jennifer decided to break the news to Melanie with Maggie present. Jennifer made the call, explained what happened over the phone and told her to come over to the hospital. Maggie arrived, upset at what she heard. 'Have you found out where Carly is?'

'Not yet.' Daniel replied.

'This is terrible. I can't imagine what Mel's going to say.' Maggie thought back at the confrontation between Carly and Melanie she'd painfully witnessed. As far as she knew, Melanie didn't speak to Carly after that, which distressed her. No matter how angry she probably still was, she refused to believe Melanie would shun her mother at her moment of need. Melanie was an aggressive girl and sometimes came off as bratty but Maggie Horton knew her better than anyone else. Her sad childhood was what caused the young girl put up a defensive wall and lash out to hide her vulnerability and loving heart she only exposed to those closest to her.

Melanie was paged and she met them at Daniel's office, surprised at the summons and more surprised to see Maggie with Daniel and Jennifer. 'Has something happened?' she asked.

'Sit down, honey.' Maggie said, leading her to a chair.

'What's going on?' Melanie demanded, staring at their worried faces.

'Sweetie,' Daniel took her hand, holding it between his. 'Something's happened to Carly. She was... she was attacked in her apartment yesterday.'

'What you mean attacked?' Melanie said, her voice trembling.

'She was found savagely beaten, Mel.' Jennifer said quietly.

'Oh my God...' Melanie cried out, bursting into tears. 'No... no...'

Maggie immediately wrapped the girl in her arms.

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Bo found his brother at the docks, staring at the water. Hope had begged to come along, feeling it was best they both talked to Frankie and calm him down. But Bo had refused. He would rather shoulder all the blame than allow Frankie take shots at his wife. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. 'Frankie.'

Frankie turned, straightening up. His anger was all over his face. 'Bo.'

Bo lowered his eyes. 'How is she?'

'Broken ribs, a broken arm, internal bleeding, her beautiful face almost smashed up. The doctors just managed to save her left eye. How the hell do you think she's doing?' Frankie said, his voice trembling with the rage he felt. 'Do you even care at all?'

'Of course I care, damn it!' Bo snapped back. 'Accuse me of anything else, but don't accuse me of not caring about Carly's welfare! You're mad at me, I get it. But you're being unreasonable about all this, not letting us investigate and find out who did this to her.'

'Sure... Team Bo and Hope Brady suddenly playing the valiant cops to the rescue.' Frankie sneered. 'How touching. You honestly think that will make up for what you both did to my sister. What you allowed happen to her?'

Bo shook his head, trying not to visualise his princess bruised and wounded in a hospital bed, his overwhelming guilt overflowing. 'For what it's worth, I already blame myself. I'm sorry.'

'Fuck you Bo, don't you dare apologise to me. Don't you dare.' Frankie shouted. 'You knew how much she loved you. You knew what your family and half the town thought of her. But you just tossed her aside and left her all alone. You exposed Carly to anyone who wanted to hurt her. If you wanted Hope back so bad, why the hell didn't you keep your filthy hands off my sister in the first place?'

Bo bowed his head briefly then raised it, looking Frankie in the eye. 'You have every reason to be angry. Again... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry about everything. You obviously heard the whole story. But please don't blame Hope for any of this.'

Frankie glared at him in disbelief.

'It's not her fault, if you want to blame anyone, blame me.' Bo insisted, determined to get through with him. 'It's my fault. Believe me, I wish things were different. I never meant to hurt Carly, but things... things got really complicated. You've got to understand, I know exactly want I felt for her but there was Hope, the long history...'

A savage punch across his face interrupted him.

'How dare you...' Frankie steamed, punching Bo again before he could draw breath. 'How dare you justify yourself! How dare you ruin my sister's life and expect me to understand!''

His furious words were punctuated by more savage blows.

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Once Melanie managed to calm down, she immediately demanded to know where she was, furious when told they were yet to find out. Jennifer couldn't bring herself to tell Melanie about her conversation with Frankie. Instead, she reassured the girl they were working on it.

'Just find her Dad, please!' Melanie wept, all anger and resentment gone in a flash, replaced by abject fear for her mother.

'We will, don't worry. You need to be strong, okay? Carly will want that.' Daniel said, holding her tear stained face, while Maggie sat protectively next to her.

Melanie nodded, hoping he'll be able to find her soon. Her cruel words to her mother kept coming back to her and she had to force herself not to break down again as she remembered that terrible scene. She would give and do anything to take them all back.