Chapter 23- Precious Souls

Sam headed over to Kelly's to meet Harmony for some coffee. Drew wanted to pick up Danny and Scout from Lila's Kids to take them out for dinner, so Sam didn't need to rush.

As she neared closer, Harmony stood rubbing a crying Sasha's back and handed her a pamphlet. A man in a suit stood with his back to Sam.

"I'm so sorry that Jason did that to you," Harmony said softly. "The Almighty V has free housing for all. We can lead you to him. You don't ever have to be alone again."

Sam walked over to them. "The Almighty V?" She finally faced the man, handlebar mustache above his upper lip. She groaned. "Francesco Marchesi…"

He grinned.

"Oh, you know Francesco?" Harmony smiled. "He's a messenger of the Great and Almighty V."

Sam scrunched her face. "A messenger? You've got to be kidding me."

Francesco smoothed out his mustache with his index finger and thumb. "Only few have seen the Wonderful V. He is the answer. He will provide peace for all of Port Charles."

Sam shook her head. "Sasha, you can not fall for this. They are not looking out for your best interest."

"But Jason kicked Sasha out of his penthouse," Harmony said. "She's alone and pregnant."

Sam sighed and looked over when Elizabeth and Cameron walked into Kelly's but turned her attention to Sasha.

"Well, technically he offered to buy me my own place," Sasha said pushing tears off her cheek with her thumb. "But it felt that way… And I don't want to accept his handouts."

"Sasha, they are taking advantage of you when you are in a very vulnerable place," Sam said.

"We are simply lending a hand to a girl that the world has let down," Francesco said. "We can offer more than the world can offer. Hope. Peace. A Family. Order."

Sasha swallowed hard and lowered her gaze. "I—I need to think about this…" She took off, carrying the pamphlets with her.

"Do you have children, my love?" Francesco asked Sam.

Sam glared at him. "You only kidnapped them a couple times…"

He handed her a pamphlet. The cover said A Light for the Children of V-Town with our new Children's Leader Nelle Quartermaine. "We have excellent children's programs."

"Nelle?" Sam laughed. "No chance in Hell. And V-Town? Who do you think you are, Jim Jones?"

The door to Kelly's opened and out walked a boy around Danny's age and another boy slightly younger, both with curly dark hair and carrying milkshakes.

"Father?" the older boy spoke. "Is it time to go now?"

"Almost." Francesco wrapped his arms around them. "I'd like to introduce you to a very beautiful lady. These are my children, Luca and Rafaele."

Harmony smiled warmly at them. "Such precious souls."

"They will be attending any and all of our children's programs," Francesco continued. "Perhaps they could befriend your little ones."

"I hope these precious souls are able to escape your clutches somehow!" Sam ripped up the pamphlet and hurled it at Francesco's face.

Francesco smiled. "Come along, children. The pretty lady needs time to be in the correct state of mind." He walked away with his children.

"Please…" Harmony walked to the door and opened it. "Let me buy you a coffee."

Sam rolled her eyes and walked in.

"Okay, so Aiden and Violet are with Uncle Steve, and Jake is with Jason," Elizabeth said as they walked by. "How come you wanted to come to Kelly's?"

Cam shrugged. "Just for some one on one time, especially since Ric is out of town right now."

Sam and Harmony took a table at the back.

"You really should come to our next meeting," Harmony said.

"You really should get out before you get too deep again," Sam corrected. "Willow came home in tears today!"

Harmony cleared her throat. "Francesco is nothing like Shiloh. I told Willow that. And I appreciate you giving her a place to stay, but I'm her mother. That's my job."

"It's your job to protect her, not hand her over to cult leaders!"

"V-Town is not a cult," Harmony said. "It's a community. A family."

"That's what you said about Dawn of Day."

"This is different," Harmony said. "The All-Powerful V is going to bring this town together in love and unity."

"You can not trust the Marchesis. They are mobsters."

Harmony raised an eyebrow. "You were married to a mobster. The Marchesis have turned from their ways since coming to know the Amazing V."

"They kidnapped my children. They bombed my ex-husband's car. One of the kids shot my father in the head. Then he caused a car accident killing two people and injuring a child."

Harmony shifted awkwardly in her chair.

"Alessandro killed the police commissioner and probably the mayor and the DA. They are involved in a Cassadine mind mapping plan to take over Port Charles. Do not hand Willow over to them or you're going to answer to me."

"Is that a threat, Ms. McCall?"

"Oh, it's not a threat, it's a promise."

"Does that mean you're going to pretend to join just to bring everyone down like you did with Shiloh?" Harmony asked.

Sam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "No. I won't do that to my kids again. But just because I won't go in on the offense, doesn't mean I won't be on the defense if necessary." She seized her purse and walked into the bathroom.

Sam whipped her phone out and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" Alexis' muffled voice came through the other end.

"Mom, I'm so infuriated!"

"What happened?"

"The Marchesis are starting a cult."

Alexis groaned. "Where does this all stop?"

"It's ridiculous! They're going at all angles to get everyone under their control. And guess who they've recruited already?"

"Who?"

"Harmony and Nelle."

"Why does that surprise me?"

"Harmony's already trying to recruit Willow and Sasha. And Francesco tried with me."

"Please tell me—"

"I didn't give in, don't worry," Sam said. "And I'm not going to take them head on again, unless of course if it comes down to defending my kids."

"Good. I should hope not."

"But I'm really worried about Krissy. I'm sure she's near the top of Harmony's recruitment list. And after her breakup with Chase…"

Alexis sighed. "That leaves her in a very vulnerable place. I'll talk to her."

Sam slipped her phone away. When she stepped out of the bathroom, Harmony was gone. Jason and Jake were standing next to Elizabeth and Cameron's table, when suddenly…

Cam yelled, "Now!"

Trina darted out from behind the counter and she, Cam, and Jake dashed outside, locking the door behind them. They laughed through the window and waved at Jason and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth groaned. "Cameron! Jake!" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jason." She walked over to the door. "Unlock this right now!"

But Cameron, Jake, and Trina took off in the opposite direction.

Sam sighed. Of course she'd be stuck in here with them…

"Cameron!"

Jason frowned. "I think this is my fault."

Elizabeth turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"I mentioned to the boys I wanted to talk to you without Ric present. But I didn't mean like this."

"Jason… if you're going to go on about Ric again, I don't want to hear it."

"But you have to understand. You're a victim of mind control. I was too."

She shook her head. "We've been over this. I have not been brainwashed. You are not Cameron's father and we were only together one night, when we conceived Jake."

"That's not true."

"Look, maybe you're feeling guilty about not being there for Jake all these years, but you need to accept that Ric is going to be his stepfather."

"Cameron told me he tried to hurt him."

Elizabeth stared at him. "Ric wouldn't do that. He loves the boys."

Jason sighed. "It's Valentin, Peter, and the Marchesis. They're trying to bring Port Charles under submission. They hypnotized you to want to marry Ric."

"Jason, do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now?"

Sam cleared her throat making her presence known. "He's telling the truth."

"Sam, I didn't know you were here," Elizabeth said. "Why are you agreeing with him though? He's the love of your life."

Sam sighed. "He's not. I know he's telling the truth because my mind was messed with too. They exchanged some of my memories for yours."

Elizabeth scrunched her face. "Say this were true, why is it that you both know all this, but I don't?"

"Because at the last procedure my dad arrived before they got around to erasing our memories of it," Sam said.

"They only got to you, Sonny, Carly, and Alexis," Jason said. "Though Andre restored Alexis' memory of it."

Elizabeth took a deep breath when they heard a clicking sound at the door. Ric stood there fuming with Cameron and Jake as Trina unlocked the door.

Ric pushed the door open. "Cameron's at it again. He sent me a fake email from a client to meet her in Beechers Corners this morning. It wasn't until I arrived and waited for over an hour that I re-read the email and realized."

"Yeah! Anything to separate you from Mom's hip for five seconds!" Cameron said.

"Cameron, that's enough," Elizabeth said. "All of you. You need to accept that I love Ric and he is good for us." She slipped her arm around his waist. "Let's go home to Aiden and Violet."