May 7, 2019

Hello! Quick little warning here that not everything in this chapter is exactly as it appears. But I cut it where I did because it seems like the way it would be done on the show, haha! And also because it was getting way too long for me to combine this part with the next one. I'm a little nervous about this one, but hopeful that you'll enjoy it!

Sam came out to meet Liam and Fallon for lunch that day, but he wasn't in a very good mood when he arrived. After all: "I can't believe you're making me hide things from Steven. Again."

"After everything he's been through," Fallon argued as he settled into his seat across from them, "he does not need to be worried about me or Blake. Or you, for that matter."

Liam passed Sam a menu. "We just need to set up a plan, and then we can work towards being free of Adam. Steven isn't talking to him anymore, is he?"

"No," Sam confirmed. "Not as far as I know, anyway. I've kept an eye on things as best as I can."

Fallon sighed a little, but she couldn't blame him. Steven was good at hiding things whenever he wanted to. Hell, he'd kept his relationship with their mother secret for nearly ten years. "Right. Well, basically, we need you to use whatever acting skills you have to distract Adam."

They quieted down as the waiter came by, each of them careful not to act like they were up to anything. But when their orders had been given and they knew they'd be left alone for a little while, Fallon spoke up again.

"We just have to use these documents Jeff designed to finally get rid of him."

"I just can't believe Blake doesn't see him for what he is," Sam muttered, shaking his head.

"Well," Liam said after taking a drink from his glass, "it's been said that villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged."

Fallon's brow furrowed as she looked over at him in surprise. "Where did that come from?"

Liam shrugged, though a sort of amused embarrassment appeared on his face. "Jean-Luc Picard."

Sam snorted. "Nerd."

"Okay, okay," Fallon cut in, waving a hand that ended up settling on Liam's shoulder. "Here's the plan. You need to distract Adam. Maybe tell him something's wrong with Alexis. Even if he doesn't really care, he'll have to pretend he does, which is great for us. Once he's out the back door, we'll get Anders to let me and Liam in. But you have to rush him out in case he locks his door behind him. That way I can sneak in and plant the fake evidence."

Liam lifted a hand to pat Fallon's. "So Anders and I will stay downstairs to keep an eye out for Adam. If he comes back, we'll tell him he has to help us carry out some of Fallon's things."

"Anders has it all boxed up," Sam nodded. "But how do we get Fallon out without him becoming suspicious?"

"I'll make a break for the kitchen and go out the back," she suggested. "We'll figure something out in the moment if we have to. But the longer we wait, Adam's going to dig in somewhere and find a way to hit us first. Or, if we're lucky, he might think that he's sitting pretty with me in New York. If he doesn't know I'm back yet, maybe he'd believe that you're there," she turned to Liam, "to gather some things I need at the apartment for when I get back?"

"It's worth a shot."

The waiter arrived with their food, and the interruption actually led to them eventually having a relatively pleasant lunch, discussing their relationships and how they were all doing outside of the Adam mess. In truth, they all seemed happy for each other despite outside forces trying to destroy things, and by the time they finished their meal and Fallon refused to let Liam cover it, they were resolved to get their plan over with as soon as possible.

Adam had barely made it home and up to his room in the Carrington manor before he heard Sam shouting from downstairs. Adam stilled, his brow furrowing, but didn't think much of it. Sam had a loud sort of personality that Adam was getting used to, now, but no one in that house ever seemed to shout for the eldest Carrington child.

Or so he thought. A few moments and several rushed, ever-louder footsteps later, Sam burst through the door, making Adam spin around defensively.

"Adam!"

"What?"

Sam hesitated, attempting to catch his breath, before he blurted, "Alexis. She- something's wrong. She's asking for you." Sam waved him towards the door as Adam put on a worried expression. "Come on!"

Sam all but pushed Adam through the door and towards the stairs so he could lead the Carrington demon child out the back door. As they went, he turned and gave Anders, who had been hiding in the doorway to Blake's office, a thumbs up.

Once the back door opened, Anders walked up to the front one and pulled it open as well, letting Liam and Fallon in. She gave Liam's hand a squeeze, thanked Anders, and then rushed upstairs, her pulse racing. She made it to Adam's room and ducked inside, looking around almost frantically for his laptop.

Downstairs, Liam and Anders kept an eye on the back door.

"Whenever he comes back, we act like I just got here?" Liam checked, earning a nod from Anders. Liam found himself grateful that Fallon had a father figure like Anders, no matter how complicated the relationship. In truth, Anders was probably doing it mostly to protect Blake, but from what Liam had been told, Anders' reaction to finding out that Fallon was in danger had been strong. "Thank you," he offered sincerely, extending a hand towards the older man.

Anders took it without hesitation. "This isn't the first time we've almost lost her. Blake may not see that properly, yet, but he will." At Liam's obvious confusion, Anders released his hand and shifted his weight a little. He'd thought someone would've mentioned it during Liam's time around the family. "Fallon was kidnapped once. On her birthday, last year. It seems kidnapping is a common occurrence for Carrington family members."

Liam shook his head, glancing up the staircase at where Fallon had disappeared to. Blake's office door opened, surprising both Liam and Anders into spinning around.

"You," Blake scoffed at Liam. "What do you want?"

Anders spoke up first. "I've packed up Fallon's things and Mr. Ridley came to start collecting them."

Liam nodded, but Blake practically smirked in response. "She couldn't be bothered to come get them herself?"

"She isn't back from New York yet," Liam claimed.

"Of course she isn't," Blake nodded knowingly. "She's still got you doing all of her work for her, though."

Liam stood up straighter at that, entirely willing to go toe-to-toe with Fallon's father if he had to. The man couldn't have been more wrong, considering where Fallon was at the moment. But Blake held up a hand.

"Anders, see him out. If she wants her things she can come claim them herself."

Liam looked to Anders in question, neither of them moving. Until Anders finally stepped towards the front door and opened it, pointing outside. Liam's eyes widened slightly, but he trusted Anders more than he trusted Blake's temper if he didn't comply. Blake, seemingly pleased that he was being listened to, wandered back into his office but left the door open.

Liam stepped outside, quickly turning around to face Anders. "I'm not leaving her up there. And he'll just see her come down when she leaves, as well."

"I know. I will take care of Blake. Just wait here."

Anders shut the door and Liam let out a curse under his breath. As Anders walked into Blake's office, attempting to come up with an excuse to close the man's door, Adam walked in from the kitchen, heading towards the stairs, unnoticed.

Fallon shut Adam's laptop, having hidden the files away and installing the virus like Jeff told her to. Ironically, she felt a little less upset about using the same thing that had destroyed her before than she'd expected to be. On the other hand, that virus had led to her meeting Liam. So perhaps it wouldn't be so awful this time, either.

She put it back exactly where she'd found it, and started towards the door. That was when she heard the footsteps. But no one was talking, so it couldn't be Liam, Anders or Sam, right? They would've made noise to warn her, or at least sent her a text. She looked around, considering hiding in the closet. She never got the chance, though, because the door opened – and her eldest brother walked in, looking furious. That fury twisted when he saw her, and Fallon couldn't tell if he was more upset, or curious, or just confused.

"You're home," he said casually.

"I am."

"... And in my room." His eyebrow lifted, and Fallon didn't miss the fact that he lingered in the doorway to block her from leaving.

Thinking fast, she did her best to look genuine. "I was hoping... Well, Dad doesn't know I'm here, and you know he and I on the outs. I thought maybe you could convince him to let me come back."

Once she'd said it, Fallon recognized that it wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. Now she had to stand around and act like she cared if he said yes or no. Perhaps it was best to just cave as soon as he refused, so she could storm out and escape.

"Really?" He asked. "Is that why Sam just pulled me out to Mother's room for no reason?"

Fallon feigned surprise, then rolled her eyes. "Well, that's Sam for you. A little overeager. But he's spending so much time with Anders now that I guess I'm not surprised that he's here."

"You could've just called if you needed help, sis."

As if she'd ever want to give him her phone number. "I know," she sighed. "But sometimes it's easier to get things done in person, don't you think?"

Adam nodded, stepping slightly to the side to open a drawer on a dresser that was up against the wall. Fallon's eyes darted to the door and then back to him, not really wanting to pass that closely to him. "I agree," he replied finally. When his hand lifted from the drawer, he had a gun in his hand.

"Whoah," Fallon gasped, backing up and holding up her hands. "What the hell?"

Adam turned the barrel of the handgun on her, while his free hand reached back into the drawer, unrolling a bit of fabric to reveal a pill bottle that sounded nearly full when he shook it.

"Adam," she tried again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a choice, Fallon. Either you take these, which will cause an admittedly more prolonged harm, but will be done of your own volition – or you and I will take a walk on the vast Carrington grounds, not unlike what happened to Cristal."

Fallon had known he was unstable and dangerous and willing to do whatever it took to get her away from the Carrington name, but if only Adam knew just how eager she was for that same thing to happen. It was only when he'd started laying down real threats against her that she realized he could do this very same thing to anyone in her family or on their household staff. It was only then that she had made up her mind to come back. So- "Why me?"

"You're an enigma, Fallon. I can't pin down what you're doing like I can with everyone else. Not all the time, anyway. I'd started to think I would have to go through Liam to get to you, and here you are, asking for my help. As if I would want to provide that sort of help when I know you don't trust me. If I did help you," he explained, taking a step closer to her, "then you'd only get in my way. And get back in Blake's ear."

"So I come off as a threat to you."

"Of course. When I started studying the family to make sure I'd be welcomed back, you were the one who had made the news time and again for being clever and ambitious, albeit a bit dramatic sometimes. But who among us isn't, really? I mean, look at where you are now, baby sister."

Fallon knew she should've come up with a better excuse. Asking to get back into the fold had likely just confirmed Adam's theories about her. She felt certain that if he understood just how close he was to the truth, he would've been even more angry with her. She half believed he would've shot her right there for everyone to see.

"If it's up to me," she began slowly, after a few moments of consideration, "I'd rather take that walk."

He tilted his head, seemingly somewhere between amused and exhilarated. His thumb released the gun's safety. Fallon hated the look on his face, but refused to break eye contact. "Whatever you want," he agreed, dropping the pill bottle back in the drawer and covering it up again. The gun went into his jacket pocket, but Fallon could tell very clearly that it was still pointed at her. He gestured for her to lead the way out.

She took a couple of calm steps, hearing the way he casually lingered behind to lock his door. As soon as he started to do so, Fallon bolted.

Anders finally managed to get Blake's door closed and rushed back to the front door, letting Liam in. He hadn't heard anything from Sam, and started to tell Liam as much when they heard a shout from upstairs, followed by the absolutely distinct sound of a gunshot. If that hadn't been enough to make both men race upstairs, Fallon's scream would've done it.

"Fallon!" Liam yelled, making it to the top of the stairs only to throw both hands up at the sight of Adam, his gun shifting between Fallon and, now, her boyfriend. Anders came up behind Liam as various other doors and cries of concern lifted from the first floor.

Fallon had yanked open a door to block herself from Adam's sight, before ducking down to the floor, making him miss by inches as the bullet shattered its way through the wood of the door above her head. She made eye contact with Liam, mouthing an apologetic, I love you. He swallowed roughly and nodded, afraid to keep his eyes off of her brother for too long.

"Easy, young man," Anders began cautiously. "If you put that away, you won't have done any real damage. A door is fixable. A person may not be, and with that person will go your freedom."

"I'll be taken away regardless, just like last time."

"Your father bailed you out, last time," Anders pointed out, attempting to just calm Adam long enough that someone else with access to the gun room could find them.

Speaking of their father, Blake rounded the corner from the staircase, taking in the sight before him. Adam, aiming the gun back and forth between everyone and looking downright monstrous. Fallon, wiping tears of shock and fear off of her cheeks. Liam, absolutely fuming but trying to keep himself calm – and Anders, the voice of reason, as ever.

"What is this?" Blake questioned, his words stern and dripping with warning. None of them seemed to know who that warning was directed at.

"I'm just defending myself," Adam claimed, waving his free hand at Fallon. "She broke into my room-" Fallon's head lifted sharply to glare at the door like she could burn him even through it, "-and was trying to dose my drink with some sort of pills."

"That's not true," she growled, still too afraid to stand back up. "He said I could either take whatever the hell those pills even were, and earn myself a slow death... Or he could shoot me somewhere on the grounds. I chose neither."

She looked up at her father, desperate and heartbroken that he hadn't taken her side straight away. Had she really ever done anything awful enough to earn that mistrust? Had Blake not learned his lesson the year before during that very kidnapping Anders had recently explained to Liam? She may have been a Carrington, but Fallon was just as fragile as any other human being when it came to weapons like guns.

Blake stared back at her for a long couple of moments before shaking his head. "Just put it away, son. She can't do anything to you."

Fallon's jaw dropped, and both Liam and Anders looked to Blake with a mix of fury and disbelief.

"But-" Adam attempted, shutting up when Blake lifted his hand almost unnervingly calmly.

"It's fine. You can just put that back in the gun room and we won't bring it up again. As for you, Fallon," Blake looked back at her again, "You and your boyfriend should leave before anything worse happens."

Nobody moved at first, but Blake finally just walked right up to Adam and removed the gun from his hand without fear or even any real protest from his son, emptying out the ammunition onto the floor. Only then did Fallon shove herself to her feet and rush down the hallway to all but crash into Liam as he drew her into his arms and then turned them around so he was standing between her and her family. Anders reached a hand out to Fallon's upper arm, patting soothingly even as he stared at his employer. At the boy he'd raised and now couldn't believe in.

"Well?" Blake snapped. "Go."

Liam and Fallon both shot disgusted glares at her father before he hurried her away, quietly making sure that she wasn't hurt. She didn't respond at all until they were outside on the front driveway, where her shock turned into ragged breaths and panicked gestures as she dug out her phone and placed a call to Bobbi Johnson.

"Fallon-"

She shushed him but pressed further into his arms as the call connected. "Yes. Hi. Um- Can-Can you pull up the bug in Adam's room? There's something you need to hear."