A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Seventy
Reva waited to the next morning before she picks up the phone and calls Marah. Marah is at her flat in Paris when the call comes through. "Hello, Momma." She says, picking up the phone.
"Hi baby, how are you doing?" Reva asks, smiling.
"I'm doing well. We're on a break between shoots. So Adam and I are going down to the Riviera. What's going on in Springfield?"
"Why do you think something is going on?"
"You don't call unless something is going on. Is Dad alright, are you alright?"
"You're dad and me are fine. So are your Uncle Billy, your Aunt Cassie and Uncle Richard, everyone is fine."
"So why are you calling?"
"I do need to tell you something and it concerns Jeffrey."
"Jeffrey, what would you need to tell me about Jeffrey? We've been over for years now, and I already know that he's gotten married."
"I know, but something has come to the surface and it affects you. A few months ago, I overheard your father ordering one of Lewis attorney's to destroy a file. I confronted him but he wouldn't tell me what was going on, we argued and Billy overheard us. To make a long story short, Billy looked into the matter and we found a file in your Grandpa HB's personal papers from a detective he had hired to find his third son. We both confronted Josh and he admitted that he knew that HB had had another child. The report stated that Jeffrey was the third son."
"Jeffrey!"
"Yes."
"But that means I slept with… he's my… uncle. Did he know that when we…?"
"No, Jeffrey had no idea he was related to you when you were with him. He didn't know about this until I told him what we had found and asked him to submit a sample for a DNA test, which he did."
"A DNA test, how did you run a DNA test."
"From some of the hair in your locket. We got the results back a few days ago and I told him about them. He was as shocked as you are and concerned about you. He wanted to call you but I told him that it would be better if this came from us."
"I slept with my uncle. I don't believe this."
"Marah neither one of you knew you were related when you were involved with him. He had given up on knowing who his father was after his mother was murdered. He didn't even know his full name until that time."
"What is his full name?"
"It's Jeffrey Harland Billy O'Neill."
"She named him after Grandpa and he didn't know it."
"Apparently no one ever used his middle name. I'm telling this because I wanted to prepare you. Some of the press in Springfield has found out about this and there will be articles about it. Jeffrey made a statement last night on the late night news cast to help control the story but I want you to be prepared if they try to contact you."
"I'm in Paris, are they seriously going to contact me here."
"I don't know, they might and if they do I want you to remember that you didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't do anything wrong. I slept with…."
"You didn't know he was your uncle. I know this is a shock and hard to accept but please don't feel guilty."
"Momma, I have to go. Adam's here and we are leaving."
"Okay, you will call me if you need me."
"I promise."
"I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too Momma." Marah hangs up as Adam comes into the room.
Jeffrey walks into his office after finishing a meeting with Billy about the plans for the loft. He's walking through when Stacey comes back from filing some papers he had left for her. "Mr. Mayor. I have a message for you from Ms. Spencer." She says, walking over to her desk and Jeffrey stops and turns back to her.
"You have a message from Olivia, for me." He asks, as she picks up the envelope that Olivia had left with her.
"Yes sir, she came by about an hour ago and she left this for you. She said to make sure you got it as soon as you came back from your meeting." Stacey says, as Jeffrey takes the envelope.
"Thank you. I'll be in my office." He says, walking over to his office.
"Yes sir." She replies, sitting down at her desk.
He walks into his office, closing the door behind him. He walks over to his desk, sitting down before he looks at the envelope. A part of him is curious as to why Olivia would come by his office and leave him a letter and another part of him didn't want to know what she had to say. Reaching for a letter opener, he slits the envelope open and pulls out the letter. Recognizing the Beacon letterhead, he realized that she hadn't written this from her office but her room. He folds it open and recognizes Olivia's handwriting.
"Jeffrey,
The best I can say about our relationship is that we've had a rocky one. It started in San Cristobel and the Embassy party and it's continued right up to a few weeks ago. I know I've been a bitch you, Sam and Ava. I know I've made an uncomfortable situation so much more complicated by my attitude and actions towards you and Sam. She makes you happy, I can see that. Even when I was insisting that you belonged with me, I could see what she gave you.
You're going to have questions about what has happened. I can't tell you why I did what I've done. I don't know what was going through my mind. It all seems like a fog, but I know that I have to face it. When I told you I was sorry for all the things I've done in the months since we broke up and you found Sam I meant it, please know that. I am sorry.
By tonight you're all going to know the extent I went to try to make you see that you belonged with me. Ava will need you over the next few months. She's going to be incredibly angry with me. You both will and I seriously doubt that you will be able to forgive me for the things that I planned to do. Where I'm going, I doubt that I will be back for a very long time, maybe never. I've given custody of Emma to Ava.
The Spaulding's do not know this and when they find out I want you to help Ava keep custody. I don't want Emma growing up in the shadow of Alan, even if he is convicted. He will still be in contact with and control of everything Spaulding. I've also given Ava my share in the Beacon. Again, I want you to know how deeply sorry I am for what I've done and what I had planned to do. I hope that one day you can forgive me."
Sincerely
Olivia.
Jeffrey rereads the letter, trying to make sense of it. When he finishes it for the second time, he picks up the phone and calls Ava. The phone is just beginning to ring when Stacey buzzes him. "Yes." Jeffrey says, hanging up the phone.
"Sir, you daughter is here to see you. She says it's…."
"Send her in." Jeffrey says, standing up and walking around the desk as Ava opens the door.
"Dad, I don't understand." Ava says, walking into the office.
"You got a letter from Olivia too."
"Yes, she left a letter, custody papers for Emma and a bag for her. She's talking about going away for a long time, maybe never coming back. She said that she had planned to do something you and Sam and that she hopes that we can forgive her. Do you know anything about this?"
"No, I just got my own letter." Jeffrey says, reaching for the letter that was still on his desk. "It basically said the same thing. Do you know of any plans that she made towards me and Sam?"
"Of course not, if I had I would have told you."
"Maybe we should go to the Beacon and see if we can find anything out there." Jeffrey says folding up the letter and putting it in his breast pocket before he takes Ava's hand, they leave. "Stacey, I want you to cancel all of my appointments for this afternoon. I'm going to be out of the office handling personal matters."
"Yes Sir."
"Thank you." He says, turning to Ava. "Let's go and see if we what can find out anything."
"On the way you can tell me how the report went. Did it do any good?"
"I talked to George before I met with Billy. I believe the reaction is mixed."
"So some believe the news report and some believe the Journal."
"Yes." Jeffrey says, as he holds the door to the car open for her. She gets in and he goes around to the driver's side. Getting in, he puts his seatbelt on before he starts the car. A few minutes later they are on their way to the Beacon. "How is it going at the house?" He asks, as they drive out of Springfield.
"Good, the painters were on site today along with Sam."
"She's busy getting the interviews setup for her practice."
"I spoke with a couple of companies about soundproofing the study…."
"I'm not sure that's what I want to do now. I'm going to go over to the house and look at the private garage you were talking about. I'm thinking it would be better to have a place outside the house for me and the band to practice. And it'll be beneficial to have a study in the house too. If it's not too much work, I might tackle remodeling the garage area, with Billy's help." Jeffrey says, as they pull into the parking lot of the Beacon. He finds a place to park and then turns the engine off. "Are you ready?" He asks, turning to Ava.
"Yes, let's go." She says, opening the car door and getting out with Jeffrey getting out as well. They walk into the Beacon together. "Where do we start?"
"I suppose we should talk to her assistant first." Jeffrey says, walking across the lobby with Ava following her.
When they reach Olivia's office, he holds the door for Ava before he walks in. Olivia's assistant is at her desk and looks up when they walk in. "Mr. Mayor, Ms. Peralta, can I help you?"
"We need to know if you've seen Ms. Spencer today." Jeffrey says.
"Yes, briefly this morning she was here. She told me to cancel all of her appointments for today because she was handling a personal matter."
"Did she tell you what that personal matter was?" Ava asks.
"No ma'am."
"Do you mind if we look in her office?"
"Of course." She says, nodding towards Olivia's office.
Jeffrey and Ava walk into Olivia's office. Everything seems to be in place, except on her desk, files are scattered across the desk. "It looks like someone searched her desk." Jeffrey says, as James walks up to the door.
"They did." James says, as Jeffrey and Ava turn around.
"James." Ava says. "Do you know what's going on?"
"I don't know the whole story but I know what your mother wrote in her letter to me." He says, handing her the letter.
Ava reads and when she gets to the part where Olivia admits to planning on kidnapping Jeffrey, she looks up. "Is this true?" She asks James.
"I don't know. I know that a Detective Mallet was here to question her about some evidence he had found at an inn going towards Oakdale. He also searched her car and recovered a vial of drug called GHB.
"The date rape drug… Olivia had that! Why?" Ava asks.
"She was going to use it to drug me." Jeffrey says, looking at James.
"That what she said in the letter and she was going to frame Sam for it. But Olivia swore to me last night that she didn't know anything about a plot to kidnap you."
"Well, she's not exactly going to admit it would she? Do you know where she went?" Jeffrey demands.
"No, I haven't seen her all day. I was busy dealing with Sarah… she didn't return to Lon…."
"I think it's convenient that she disappears and you're the only one to know why?" Jeffrey says, taking a step towards James.
"I didn't know anything about her plans. I'm as surprised and baffled by this as you are."
"That might be true, but then again she might have told you everything and you got her out of the country."
"Dad, wait. I don't think James knew about this. He's only known Mom a few months now and they've only been together a few weeks."
"He defended her at Jon's bar, when she slapped you." Jeffrey says, turning to Ava.
"No, he didn't. He suggested they leave, that's all."
"I seriously didn't know anything about this." James says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Is you're private jet still here?"
"No, I sent JR to try and track down Sarah. As I was saying she didn't return to London after the wedding."
"I think we need to go see Mallet. He can tell us the whole story." Ava says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Alright, but if you helped her escape I will see that you're prosecuted for aiding and abiding a fugitive." Jeffrey says, looking at James.
"Let's go." Ava says, turning Jeffrey towards the door and following him out the door with James following her.
After she is booked, Mallet leads Olivia to a holding cell. She not in there long before one of the patrolmen comes to take her to make her phone call. She calls Mel and then the patrolman takes her back to the cell. Mel arrives about twenty minutes later, and they are given a room to use. A patrolman is leading Olivia back to the cell when Jeffrey, Ava and James walk into the station. Jeffrey walks up to the desk sergeant's desk and says. "I would like to see Detective Mallet."
"Yes sir, Mr. Mayor." The desk sergeant replies, picking up the phone and dialing Mallets extension. "Sir, the Mayor is here to see you." He says into the phone. He hangs up a few seconds later. "He'll be right here." He says, to Jeffrey.
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, turning to Ava.
They are standing around each other, but no one is talking when Mallet comes up. "Jeffrey." He says and Jeffrey turns to him.
"Mallet." Jeffrey says, turning to him. "We've come to see what is going on with Olivia.
"I figured as much. If you will follow me, I'll explain what's going on." He says, leading them into the station with them following behind him. Mallet holds the door open for them and then closes it behind himself as he walks in. "As you know Jeffrey we had sworn statement made by Ralph Schultz alleging that he was involved with a plot to kidnap you."
"Yes, you were to keep me advised if you found any substantial evidence to this plot."
"I know, and I was investigating and came across some circumstantial evidence that tied Olivia to the place where Schultz claimed you were going to be held."
"He said you also found GHB in her car." Ava says, nodding towards James.
"That is true. We did find the drug in her car."
"Then why didn't you arrest her yesterday." Jeffrey asks.
"I wanted to find more concrete evidence before I did. But that doesn't matter. She came to me this morning. She confessed to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. She was read her rights. She waived having an attorney present and she made a full confession. She was planning on kidnapping you with the help of Ralph Schultz and Reginald Simmons. It was supposed to happen right after Richard and Cassie's wedding, according to her statement."
"Why didn't she carry it out?" Ava asks?
"Because of you Mr. Marshall, she said she met you and you made her realize that everything Jeffrey and Ava had been trying to tell her was the truth. And after Schultz was arrested she decided not to go through with the plan. She told Simmons, to clean up everything at the inn, which he did pretty much and to leave town. She had forgotten about the drug until we found it in her car yesterday."
"I can't believe she was going to kidnap you and frame… she was planning on framing Sam for it." Ava asks, looking at Mallet.
"Yes, that was the plan as well. Originally Mr. Schultz was supposed to drug Jeffrey just enough to make him drunk and then when he left the wedding, Schultz was to cause and accident, take Jeffrey and then move Sam into the driver's seat to make it look like she was driving. What was to happen after that, she didn't say but I'm sure she was going to find a way to frame Sam for the kidnapping as well."
"I don't believe this. She hated me that much, hated Sam that much." Jeffrey says, sitting down at the table beside them.
"No, I don't think it was that. I think she was truly confused, maybe temporarily insane with jealousy. It's a powerful emotion jealousy and it will make you do things you wouldn't normally do."
"Well this is like something Olivia would do. She tried to kill Ava after Emma's accident. I can totally see how she could do this." Jeffrey says.
"And maybe you're a little bit responsible for this, Mr. Mayor." James says.
"Me! She went after me, after Sam every chance she got." Jeffrey says, getting up.
"And maybe that was because she didn't feel like you were listening to her."
"You've got no idea what I went through with her. Even when we learned that I wasn't the one that raped her in San Cristobel and she swore she didn't see me as the man she thought raped her. But every time we would get close, she would pull away, but yet she didn't want me to be involved with anyone else either. She couldn't make up her mind what she wanted and I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life jumping through hoops, trying to please her, trying to make up for my part in what happened in San Cristobel."
"Let's settle down here." Mallet says, stepping between Jeffrey and James. "I don't think that Olivia wanted blame place on anyone other than herself, that's why she came in confessed this morning. She's taking responsibility for what she's done."
"What happens now?" Ava asks.
"She's been charged and processed. She's spoken with her attorney. There will be an arraignment."
"She could be release then." James asks.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Jeffrey says. "If she's released, who's to say you won't help her escape."
"Dad, you need to settle down. James isn't responsible for what Mom's done." Ava says, turning to Jeffrey. "I think he was helping her and I believe he's the reason she didn't go through with this plan. When will she be arraigned?" Ava asks, turning back to Mallet.
"She will probably be arraigned tomorrow morning."
"What will happen?"
"She'll go before a judge and the DA will present his case and her confession will be presented. If Olivia's attorney doesn't make any motions against the confession then sentencing date will be set and then the judge will decide whether to grant bail or keep Olivia in jail until sentencing."
"Alright." Ava says, looking at the clock on the wall and noticing the time. "I'm going to have to get Emma." She says, as Jeffrey looks up at the clock.
"Okay, I'll drive you." He says, turning to her. "Mallet, I'll be speaking with Chris about this."
"Yes sir, Mr. Mayor." Mallet says, nodding as he opens the door.
They leave and Jeffrey says nothing to James as they walk out of the station. He leads Ava to his car and holding the door for her, they get in and he drives off. When they pull into City Hall, he pulls up beside Ava's car, turning his off he turns to her. "Are you okay?"
"Honestly, I don't know what to feel right now. And I can't really dwell on that, because I have to explain this to Emma."
"If you need me, you know where to find me." Jeffrey says, reaching for her. They hug for a moment before she sits back.
"I'll call you if I need you." She says, opening the car door. She gets out and unlocks her car, getting in, she starts the car before she turns and waves to Jeffrey before backing out of the parking place.
Jeffrey sits in the parking lot for a few moments, considering going back into the office but then decides to go to the loft. He wanted to be alone for awhile to think.
Reva walks into Lewis. She hadn't gone to see Josh after she left Jeffrey's the night before because she was afraid of what she would do or say. Josh is in his office when she walks in. He looks up surprised to see her. "Reva."
"Josh." She says her tone even.
"What do you want?"
"I wonder did you see the new last night." Reva asks, walking over to his desk.
"No, but I did see the article in the Journal this morning." Josh says going back to the work he was doing before she came in.
"That's all you have to say?" She asks, sitting down across from him.
"What do you want me to say? The reporter overheard Jeffrey and I arguing. He tried to question me. I told him I had no comment. What else do you want?"
"What else do I want? I want you to stopping acting like this don't involve your family, your brother…."
"He's not my brother."
"He is your brother. He is HB's son. But this article doesn't affect just Jeffrey and Sam, it also affects Marah."
"She's not in Springfield."
"The press can still contact her in Paris. She's making a name for herself over there. And their press could pick this story up and she had no idea what's going on because neither one of us bothered to tell her until this morning."
"You've been so focused on Jeffrey…."
"Do not put this on me. Jeffrey is your brother…." Josh starts to say something but Reva talks over him. "Our family, you won't accept that and I've been trying to convince my husband that I love him and only him. I don't want anyone else, least of all his brother. You don't have to worry about Marah. I have already called her. I called her this morning because it was too late to call her after I left Jeffrey and Sam's"
"Why were you at Jeffrey and Sam's?"
"Jeffrey called me and asked me to come over with Billy. He needed to tell me something. Once he told me and Billy, he made a formal announcement on the late news cast." Reva says, getting up and walking over to the window.
"You couldn't have asked him to tell you over the phone. You had to go over to his loft." Josh says, as Reva turns to look at him.
"That is exactly what I'm talking about. Our daughter could be affect by this and you're more worried that I was at Sam and Jeffrey's loft. Sam was… I'm not going to do this with you. You believe whatever you want to believe. I only came to tell you that Marah's been told. She was surprised when I told her, but I reassured her that Jeffrey knew nothing about being related to her when they were together and that she had nothing to be ashamed of." Reva says, going back over to his desk. She picks up her purse and then turns to leave.
"Reva." He says, and she stops. When he doesn't say anything else, she leaves. "Damn it." He mutters, hitting the desk with the side of his fist. "You keep that up and you're going to loose that girl for good." Josh hears HB say in the back of his mind. "Oh, shut up old man." He mutters picking up the work he was doing when Reva came in.
Jeffrey walks into the loft. Going upstairs, he grabs a pair of jeans and t-shirt as he pulls off his tie. He lays his jacket on the dresser in the closet before he leave and goes downstairs. Going to the bathroom, he takes the bandage off his ribs before he gets in the shower. Turning the water on as hot as he can stand, he stands under it, letting the water wash the day away and the heat relaxes him. Closing his eyes, he lifts his head and lets the water run over his face. He's still standing there when Sam comes home. "J." She calls, walking into the loft.
"I'm in here." He calls, reaching for the shampoo. He washes his hair and then takes a quick shower before he gets out. Drying off, he slips his jeans on before he goes grabs a towel, the t-shirt and bandage. He walks out of the bathroom as Sam comes out of the kitchen. "Hi." He says, leaning over to kiss her when she walks up to him.
"Hi, I thought you wouldn't be home until later."
"I had Stacey cancel my appointments for the afternoon."
"Why?" Sam asks, taking the bandage and begins wrapping it around his chest.
"I had some personal business to take care of." Jeffrey says, putting the t-shirt on after she finishes with the bandage.
"Is everything okay?" She asks, looking up. She sees something in his eyes and she moves closer to him. "What's wrong? The press release, it didn't work."
"No the press release is fine, it seems that the town is drawing its own conclusions based on whether they ever liked me or not I suppose. No this is something else." He says, taking her hand and leading her over to the couch. "This has to do with Olivia." He says, sitting down and she sits down beside her.
"Alright, did she do something again?" Sam asks.
"She's done something. When I got back from my meeting with Billy, I had a letter from Olivia, apologizing again for everything she has done to us and basically saying that she was going to confess to something she had planned."
"What?"
"Do you remember when I told you that Frank told me about a plot to kidnap me?"
"Yes."
"It was true and Olivia was behind it. She planned it with the help of Mr. Schultz and a Reginald Simmons."
"She planned to kidnap you."
"Yes. Frank and Mallet have been investigating Mr. Schultz's statement and apparently they did find some evidence that tied Olivia to something. She apparently decided to confess on her own. She went to Mallet this morning and made a statement. She's in custody now and will remain there if I have anything to say about it. And since she's in custody we have nothing to worry about anymore."
"I haven't been worried, but this was a real plot. They could have kidnapped you."
"It wasn't going to happen, Frank made sure we were protected."
"Wait, that's why there have been more patrol cars around here, I met three of them on the way home. Two of which were on our street."
"Yes, Frank stepped up patrols because I refused protection…."
"Jeffrey!"
"I'm a federal agent, Sam. I can take care of myself."
"Maybe under normal circumstances but right now you're not normal. You're still recovering from the accident."
"We're getting off topic here and once I tell you what happened you'll know that I won't need protection anymore. Olivia went to Mallet this morning and she confessed to planning to kidnap me and frame you for the kidnapping. She's in custody right now and will be arraigned tomorrow morning and provided that her attorney doesn't submit any motions to delay the case. The judge could pass sentence then or set a sentencing date."
"If they set a date for sentencing could she be released until that time?"
"I'm going to talk to Chris and ask him to demand that she not be given bail. Not only because I don't want her free to try something but I also don't trust Mr. Marshall."
"James, Cassie dad, what does he have to do with this?"
"She confessed to him before she went to Mallet. James has the means of getting her out of the country illegally."
"You think he would help her escape. They haven't known each other that long."
"I would rather not take that chance."
"What happens to Emma?"
"She gave custody of Emma to Ava as well as her share of the Beacon. That's what I was doing this afternoon, finding out what was going on with Olivia."
Sam sits there for a moment before she says. "She was actually going to kidnap you, how?"
"She was going to let Mr. Schultz drug me with GHB…."
"GHB! That could have killed you with the prescription you're taking, not to mention if they gave you too much."
"According to what Mallet says, he was supposed to give me only enough to make me drunk, not knock me out."
"And then what?"
"They were going to hold me at an abandoned inn going towards Oakdale. After they took me, Schultz was supposed to move you to the driver's side to make it look like you were driving after he staged and accident."
"They planned all of this."
"Yes, according to Olivia's confession."
"Why, did she say why?"
"We both know why?"
"She wanted to get you away from me."
"Yes."
"What changed her mind?"
"She says it was James. I think it was because they were about to be caught and she cut her losses."
"You don't believe she's had change of heart. You think she still wants you."
"I can't believe she would give up that easily. She's been completely focused on you for months now?"
"I don't know. She did apologize to us at Richard and Cassie's wedding."
"And you think that means she changed her mind."
"I don't know. What I think about her changing her mind doesn't matter. She's confessed and conspiracy to commit kidnapping is as serious as actually committing the crime, whether she's changed her mind or not, she's going away for a very long time. I'm just glad that she didn't go after you. I would have to hunt her down if she would have gone after you for anything."
"It's over and she's locked up. She won't be able to hurt us anymore." He says, as she moves over to him. He wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly. "We've been hit from both sides this week."
"We have had a lot of stuff happen in the last few days."
"And here we thought our life together would be simple."
"It is simple as long as you remember that I love you."
"And I love you. Are you hungry?"
"Yes, let me go fix…."
"Let's go out, maybe Towers."
"Alright, but let's go to Company instead, we didn't really get to enjoy our dinner last night."
"Alright, Company it is." He says, releasing her and getting up. They leave a few moments later.