Chapter 33- Where the Heart Is

"Jason, what happened?" Sam said groggily in her hospital bed.

"It's okay, just take it slow," Jason said. "You're in the hospital."

A nurse in pink scrubs walked to the doorway.

"My baby?" Sam said softly.

Jason rose from where he sat.

The nurse smiled and walked in. "Yes, this is your baby."

Sam sat up a little and the nurse handed her the baby and she immediately stopped crying. Tears fell down Sam's cheeks as she looked into her baby's bright blue eyes. "My baby." Sam kissed the top of her silky brown hair. She smelled like sweet milk and a kind of clean she'd never pinpointed before.

"I'll come back to check on you both soon," the nurse said before leaving.

"She's so beautiful," Sam said. "Sweet Lila."

Sonny walked in and smiled. "Her stem cells saved Kristina. She's going to live."

"Hear that, baby girl?" Sam smiled down at her. "You're a hero already."

"Oh Samantha…" Helena's voice announced hers and Faison's presence. "Are you getting ready to say goodbye?"

Sam furrowed her eyebrows and held Lila close. "What are you doing here?"

"You need to leave." Jason stepped closer to them, but Faison jabbed a needle into his neck. He instantly dropped to the floor and Sam screamed.

Sonny grabbed Faison's wrist, but Faison managed to stick a needle into Sonny's neck too.

Helena grinned and stepped closer to Sam. "Another illegitimate child from Alexis' line."

"WHAT?"

"Oh, don't worry a little hair on your head, Samantha, you won't remember this."

Helena reached for the baby.

"Don't touch her!" Sam shouted.

"I will not allow Alexis' grandchild to be raised any higher than a commoner."

"Alexis… what are you talking about?"

Helena seized the baby from her arms, and she began wailing.

"No!" Sam cried. "You give her back!"

Helena lifted a necklace with half a heart hanging from it. "This should do the trick to confuse her if she tries to look for you one day."

"What?" Sam tried to climb out of bed, but Faison pressed a syringe into Sam's arm. "Stop it!"

Everything began to blur.

"I'm sure the couple that Mitch Lawrence has in mind will care for the child… maybe." She turned to Faison. "Take this piece of vermin to Llanview, Pennsylvania. Salvatore has the address."

Sam bolted awake, breathing heavily. Alexis was at her side.

"Sam? Honey, are you okay?" Alexis asked.

"I-I have to find my daughter. I remember her. I remember everything." She pushed away the covers and hung her legs over the side of the bed. "I have to find her!"

"Sam, you need to calm down. We will find her, but you need to stay in bed until Andre examines you."

"Please, I need to find her…"

Alexis sighed. "I will go get Andre. And we'll get right on looking for her. Just stay here… please…" She headed for the door and disappeared.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Sam slipped out of bed and wrapping her arms around her belly, where her baby used to be, she reached the hallway.

"Willow, you really should check out V-town," Sasha said, sitting in a wheelchair in her regular clothes and holding her baby. "It's really helped me a lot. Especially your mom." She smiled up at Harmony who was standing behind her.

Willow crossed her arms and huffed. "You can't be falling for this. They're just going hurt you in the end."

"Honey…" Harmony said softly and walked closer to Willow. "V-town wants what's best for us. This isn't like D.O.D."

Sam leaned against the doorway.

"Yes, it is! They're going to use both of you and make you even more susceptible and vulnerable until they've taken everything from you!"

"Willow," Harmony said. "The Almighty V—"

"The Almighty V?" Willow laughed. "How do you even know that's a real person?"

"Messenger Alessandro and his brother have seen him." Harmony smiled. "And he's going to reveal himself tonight in a very special service."

Willow groaned.

"V-town has given me and my baby a home," Sasha said. "They're going to keep us safe from Sonny and Carly."

"They want the baby for themselves, to build up the next generation to follow them!" Willow shouted. "That's what cults do! That's what Nelle is doing. She took Wiley. She's gathering up all the children to hand them over."

"Nelle is our children's leader," Harmony said. "She wants good things for the children."

"She wanted to eat a teenaged boy!"

Harmony shook her head. "The world likes to spread vicious rumours… especially about the Great V's chosen ones. I'm taking Sasha home now. The All-Loving V has free housing for all. You should come with us. He can give you refuge and a family."

"You were supposed to be my family."

"I still am," Harmony said. "Please… come with us."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. Not while you're still a part of V-town."

Harmony clenched her jaw and raised her voice. "The Almighty V will not always let people in. You need to decide now before it's too late. Or you will live to regret it."

Sam stepped closer to them. "Leave Willow alone. You heard what she said. She wants nothing to do with V-town."

"Willow, please," Harmony lowered her voice again. "You don't have Michael anymore… I'm the only family you have. But the All-Loving V can give you more family. Please, think about it… Come tonight. You won't regret it."

She pushed Sasha's wheelchair and they disappeared down the hallway.

"Are you okay, Willow?" Sam asked.

"This was a mistake…" Willow said. "I shouldn't have come to visit Sasha."

"Your mother shouldn't be pressuring you."

"But maybe she's right… she's the only family I have. Spinelli keeps hitting dead ends."

"You have more to live for. You don't have to join V-town just because she says so."

"It's just so typical! I really wanted to believe she changed and wouldn't do this again. I don't even think I want to find my birth mother. She'll probably turn out worse than Harmony or Nina!" She reached for a necklace under her shirt and ripped it from her neck and hurled it at the wall. "I-I need to go somewhere to think." She hurried down the hallway.

Sam turned towards the necklace, until she heard her mother's voice. She was coming down the hallway with Julian and Andre.

"Sam! What are you doing out of bed?" Alexis asked.

"I'm fine," Sam said. "But I need to talk to Spinelli."

"What about?" Julian asked. "I'll call him, but you need to let Andre examine you."

"Just tell him that Helena took my daughter to Llanview, Pennsylvania and that a man named Mitch Lawrence was going to give her to a couple."

"Will do." Julian pulled his phone out.

"Come on." Alexis took Sam's arm.

"Mom, I'm fine. It was just a…" Sam turned her head towards the necklace again.

"You don't feel dizzy or nauseous?" Andre asked.

"No…" Sam said and pulled away from Alexis. She slowly made her way over to the necklace, mouth slightly agape.

"What is it?" Alexis asked.

Sam knelt over and lifted the half-heart golden necklace in her hands. "Her broken heart is a lie…"