A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Fifty Eight
Shortly before noon, Marah pulls into the parking lot of Dj's youth center. She sits there for a moment before she opens her door to get out. Locking the car, she looks around at the depressing view surrounding the center. Pulling her purse around in front of her, she walks quickly to the door. Pulling it open, she walks inside as Dj leaves his office. He stops for a moment, staring at her before he walks up. "Good afternoon, gorgeous." He says, slowly moving his eyes down her body.
"Down brother." She says, holding out her hand. He takes it as she says. "I'm your sister, Marah Lewis."
He drops her hand and stares at her and then turns away from her. "I've got nothing...
"I didn't come here to extol the merits of our father. I came to meet my brother."
"I'm not your brother. I'm not his son. I have no family, so leave." He demands, turning back around.
"Gees, Dad wasn't joking when he said you were angry. But what exactly are you angry about?"
He walks up to her again, getting in her face. "You want to know what I'm angry about. Your father used my mother for his own basic pleasure and then left her with me."
"A fact he knew nothing about until you came to Springfield. If your so pissed at the fact that he slept with your mother, why would you come looking for him. And why would you have a youth center, just as he does."
"I didn't come "looking for him". And I had this center before he became all righteous and built his across town."
"Is that why you turned him down when he suggested you both join together. My dad is many things and he's not perfect but when he commits to something, it's not because he wants to be rewarded. And if he knew you existed, he would've been there."
"Really!" He says sarcastically.
"Yes, really. He would've been there, no matter the consequences. He's a good man."
"He's so good that he slept with a woman he barely knew just hours after the coast guard called off the search for your mother."
"I didn't say he was perfect. I said..."
"I heard what you said. I'm not interested in hearing the praise of Mr. Joshua Lewis. Now will you please go?"
"No." She pauses for a moment and then continues. "This show is about more than my father." She says, crossing her arms.
"What would you know about it?"
"I might know more about than you think."
"Really, in your perfect upper middle class life with your mom and your dad there with you, you know what I'm feeling."
"My dad has been there, my mom hasn't always been there. It's tough figuring out that the two people you idolized the most aren't perfect."
"What would you know about it?"
"Have lunch with me and we'll discuss it." She suggests, uncrossing her arms.
"Why would I have lunch with you?"
"Because, no matter how angry you are, you're family and Lewis's don't turn their back on family. Grandpa Hawk told me that on many occasions when I was mad at my mom for something, so about lunch?" He looks at her and then shrugs his shoulders as if to say he didn't care one way or the other. "I'll meet you at the Beacon hotel, in an hour. Do you know where that's at?"
"You mean that fancy place out by the lake."
"It's owned by my Aunt. I have another errand to run and then I'll be there." She says, turning to leave.
An hour later, Dj parks in front of the Beacon. Getting out, he walks into the hotel as Reva looks up from the front desk. She watches as he walks into Olivia's "I wonder what he's doing here?" She mutters.
"Who is doing here?" The clerk beside asks.
"Oh what..." Reva says, realizing that she said that out loud. "It's nothing. Can you handle..." She looks up again and notices Marah walking across the lobby headed for Olivia's as well. "I'll be right back." She says, as the clerk watches her walk away.
Walking into Olivia's, Marah looks around until she spots Dj sitting in the far corner where very few people could see them. She walks up to his table and sits down. "I wasn't sure you would actually show up." He says.
"Why?" She asks, as he looks at her. Her jaw clinches when she realizes what's he's implying.
"You're mind seems to be made up about our father and this situation."
"And you've had such a great life, being his daughter that you want me to have this joyful experience."
"Was your life so terrible before you found out the truth? Your mother and father loved you. Your father had to have, he raised you didn't he."
"Whether my life was good or not, doesn't matter. They still lied."
"And you can accept that fact and what happened, or you can continue like you are. But our Dad deserves better than this."
"He's not..." He says, holding up her hand.
"I thought maybe you would've settled down and put a lid on the angry man syndrome, you're clinging to, I guess not." She says, moving to get up.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"You seem to have made up your mind. And I don't have time to try and convince you to change it." She sits there for a moment and then she moves to get up.
"Wait." He says, and she turns to him. When he doesn't say anything, she moves to get up again. "I'm not good at this." He sighs. "I was totally shocked when I found out that the man I thought was my father wasn't."
"How did you find out?"
Reva walks into Olivia's. She looks around for Dj and Marah, finally spotting them at a back table. She walks towards them, nodding to different guests as she goes.
For a moment he looks at her. "I found out after I went to have myself tested to see if I could be a donor for my father. He needed a transplant because he was dying of cancer." He says, as she looks at him. "And to be honest I'm not angry at Josh. Like you said..."
Reva walks up at that moment. "Marah." She says, staring at Dj. "What are you doing here?" She demands
"Mom." Marah says, but Reva ignores her.
"I asked you a question. What are you doing with my daughter? You may not want anything to do with your father, but you will not try to destroy her father for her."
"Mom, wait." Marah says.
"Marah, stay out of this, you..."
"He's my brother. I sought him out." Marah says and Reva pauses.
"You sought him out, why?"
"I wanted to talk to him." She says, as Reva continues to stare. "So can we do that?" Marah asks.
"Yes, I guess you can." She says, slowly backing away.
When she's far enough away, Marah turns back to Dj. "Where were we?"
"We were talking about our father." He pauses to look at her and then sighs. "If I'm going to be honest with myself, I'm not angry at Josh. I'm still mad at my mom for betraying my... well the man that I thought was..."
"He's still your father. You don't have to give him up."
"He's gone." Dj says, looking sad. "I think about the way my mother humiliated him. How he had to have felt when he found out she was pregnant, knowing he couldn't ever have children, knowing I wasn't his son. It makes me so angry that she would do that to him."
"Speaking from experience, people do things without thinking about the consequences and they do them to the people they love the most. Alcohol causes people to do things they would never do when they were sober."
"You said speaking from experience, did you sleep with someone one while you were drunk?" Marah looks away for a moment. "You want me to talk, but you can't... we can't..."
"Yes, I did." She says, looking at him with sad eyes, he stops and stares at her.
"Everyone does things they aren't proud of. Nobody is perfect and the testament of any relationship is how you handle those mistakes. A few years ago, this situation would've torn my family apart. I know it happened when my Dad found out about my other half brother Jonathan. They are together even though Dad's done what he's done.
Now you can choose to continue to fight against our father and your mother or you can learn to accept what's happened and get on with your life. And if you do that, you might find out that you have a family that will love and support you, including my mother. My dad doesn't want to replace your father. He just wants to know his son. What you decide to do about your mother, that's your decision. But before you become all high and mighty remember you are only human. You will make mistakes and our parents are the only two people in this world who will love us no matter what we do." She says, looking at him. Her phone rings at that moment. "I'm sorry, I need to get this." She says, reaching for her purse. He sits back and watches her as she answers her phone. "Hello, Marah Lewis."
"Marah." Adam says.
"Why are you calling me? We have nothing else to say to each other Adam."
"I just want..."
"To explain, the designs you stole explained enough. This is a violation of the court order, contact me again and I will be forced to inform my lawyer." She says, hanging up.
"Is there a problem?"
"Nothing that hasn't been handled, legally, and just think about what I said along with this too. Have you ever listened to Will Smith?"
"The rapper..."
"Yeah."
"Well he has a lyric in one of his songs that you need to think about. "Anger inside will consume you too. You continue like you are, and it will eat you up inside." She says, getting up.
"You're not going to eat?"
"No, I've actually lost my appetite." Marah says, getting up. He looks up. "Just think about what I said." She says, as he stands up.
"I will." He says, before she turns to walk away.
Reva was waiting when Marah walks out of Olivia's. "What were you doing with him?" She asks, walking beside Marah.
Stopping, Marah looks at her. "I told you. I wanted to talk to him. I know how he feels." She says, pointedly looking at her.
"Okay, so maybe you do. But he's not interested in having anything to do with your father."
"He's not really angry at Dad. It's more about his mom." Marah says, walking across the lobby away from Olivia's, in case Dj, comes out.
"So what did you tell him?"
"Basically that he can continue to be angry at Dad and his mom or he can accept what happened and get on with his life. And that if he does accept that he might find that he has a family that will love and support him, including you. I also told him that Dad doesn't want to replace his father. He only wants to know his son." She says, as Reva looks at her. "What?"
"I don't know. I suppose I expect you to tell him about finding out about Jonathan."
"I mentioned it in passing but only to say that it is a testament to a person's relationship how they handle things like this. That you and Dad are together now but if you knew about a few years ago, I doubt that would've been the case."
"I can't say what would've happened." Reva says, as Marah looks at her skeptically.
"Okay, we probably wouldn't've lasted." Reva says, with a small smile. "How are things going with your little venture?"
"It's not a big secret." Marah says with a smile. "It's on a small hold right now."
"What! Why?"
"Uncle Richard wants to look into some money he was planning to invest."
"Look into it, I don't understand."
"It's nothing serious. He just wants to make sure everything is okay." Marah says, as one of the staff comes up.
"Mrs. Lewis." She says.
"Yes." Reva says, turning to her.
"We need your assistance in the conference room."
"Alright, I'll be right there." She says, as the young girl nods. She turns away as Reva turns back to Marah. "I have to..."
"It's okay. I've got things to do. Oh Mom, can you not tel Dad that I went to see Dj. He didn't want me to contact." With a smile, she nods. Marah smiles and then leaves as Reva turns for the conference room.
Jeremiah is lead into the interrogation room. His lawyer is already sitting at the table when he comes in. He doesn't bother to stand up as the officer brings him over to the table. Unlocking the cuffs, after Jeremiah sits down, the officer attaches them to the loop on the table and then steps back. "That will be all." The lawyer says, nodding the officer leaves.
When the door closes, Jeremiah immediately demands. "What's taking so long? You're supposes to get me out of here!"
"I told you before Mr. Whitmere. I'm doing everything I can but we have several things work...
Jeremiah leans forward. "I don't want excuses, get me out of here, now!"
"Sir, there's not a lot I can do. You have Federal and now state charges pending against you."
"State charges! What state charges?"
"There is a tape recording of your orders to have your sister kidnapped and threats you made towards her husband."
"How, in the hell was there ever a recording of anything I said about my sister and her back sliding husband"
"Comments like that will only prove their case, Sir."
"Only if they hear me say it, and what I tell you is privileged. I want you to get me out of here, today."
"I can't do that, Sir. You're held without bond."
"Then get another bond hearing."
"The prosecution will only allow that if there was extenuating circumstances, something you would have to prove. Until your trial, you have to remain here." His attorney replies, standing up.
"Where are you going?"
"Mr. Whitmere, I have other clients. When it gets closer to your trial I will be here to discuss our defense strategy." He says, reaching for his briefcase. He walks out of the room with Jeremiah staring after him.
Blake pulls up to the farm. Shutting her car off, she looks at the house where Hart had lived for so many years and now belongs to Cassie and Richard. Opening the door, she gets out. Closing the door, she walks up the walk towards the house.
Cassie's putting in a load of laundry when there's a knock at the front door. Closing the lid on the washing machine, she leaves the laundry room as Blake rings the bell. "I'm coming." She calls, walking across the living room. When she pulls the door opens, she's surprised to see Blake standing there.
"Can I come in?" Blake asks, tentatively.
"Sure, but why did you use the front door. You've always came in through the kitchen."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm still sort of learning things again." Blake says, entering the house after Cassie steps back.
"How are you doing?" Cassie asks, as she shuts the door.
"It's a little disconcerting to realize I've missed so much time." She says, turning to her. "You seem to be doing alright." She says as Cassie leads the way into the living room.
"I am doing really good." Cassie says, sitting down on the couch. Blake sits down on the other end. "Have you spoken with Harley?"
"No. She's still upset about the website." Blake says, looking down at her hands.
"You'll have to give it time."
"I wasn't really looking to hurt anyone. To be honest, I don't even know what I was thinking when I started it." Blake says, settling a little deeper into the couch. "I know I was tired of the pretense and it hurt to watch everyone moving on with their lives while Ross was gone."
"We didn't mean to ignore..."
"Oh I know that. You had your lives to live. You got a second chance though." Blake says, glancing at their wedding picture on the mantel. "You remarried."
"Yeah, we did. Last summer, after we got back from San Cristobel. We wanted to get remarried, but it was also for practical reasons." She says, as Blake looks at her. "He was declared legally dead. He wanted to make sure that when he's actually gone, the kids and I will be covered. Not that, that is going to happen anytime soon."
"How did you find out that he was alive?"
"Jeffrey?"
"Jeffrey, how...?"
"He came to San Cristobel. After Josh left me..."
"Wait, you and Josh were together!"
"Yes, for a brief time. But after he was released from jail..."
"He was in jail, why was he in jail?"
"After Tammy's death, I went a little nuts, you know that. Well the night Alan married Doris, he was shot. The weapon that was used was exactly like a gun that HB had so Frank came to interview me. Once Josh realizes I couldn't remember what I had done the night of shooting, he confessed to shooting Alan and he was sent to prison."
"But he didn't, actually..."
"No, Doris's daughter Ashley actually came forward and confessed to shooting Alan and Josh was released, but while he was in jail, I couldn't see him, only Reva could."
"Why Reva?"
"Josh and I weren't married. We were only living together and Reva is the mother of his children, so she was able to see him. After he was released, we tried to make it work, but the pull to Reva was too strong. They realized that while he was in jail. So after he left, I decided that I needed to take a break from Springfield. So I packed Rj up and I went to San Cristobel. It was the last place that I remembered being me, and being happy. I was tired of running."
"Running, what do you mean?"
"After Josh left, I realized that I had be running from one thing to another all to keep myself from facing the fact that Richard was actually gone and that I had to come to terms with it. I planned on spending the summer in San Cristobel and then in the fall, I would see where everything was. Jeffrey changed my plans however."
"When did all this happen?"
"Sometime in early June, I left Springfield right after school was out. Jeffrey came to San Cristobel shortly after that. His agency had contacted him about Camille and once William sent her back to the States, she was arrested. They sent in Jeffrey to get her confession. After that, he realized that he had to tell me that Richard was actually alive because once Camille was charged, he would have to explain why she was only charged with attempted murder in Richard's accident instead of murder. Would you like something to drink?" Cassie asks, moving to get up.
"Umm sure." She says, as Cassie gets up.
"I'll be right back." She says, going into the kitchen as Blake looked around this living room. The place still had the same feel as it did when Hart owned it, but it was different."
She's lost in her thoughts when Cassie comes back with two glasses, one of tea the other water. Blake looks at her as she sits down. "So, he told you about Richard being alive."
"Yes, that's how Ava met William. She came with him when he came to San Cristobel. He came back to Springfield after that weekend and not too long after that Richard woke up from his coma."
"So Richard is alive. What happened with Will? How did you find out that he was actually your son?" Blake asks, after taking a sip of her tea.
"I was with Richard in DC when we found out that Will was in the hospital for a high fever. After he woke up, Richard progressed really well, well enough to be released from the agency's hospital and we flew to San Cristobel to be with Will. He had caught some sort of infection and it was causing problems with his liver again. So as a precaution, Will's doctor suggested that we all be tested, except for William, to see if we could be a donor, but only if Will needed one. So I got tested along with Richard and Rj."
"That's standard isn't it, to test family before looking for outside donors."
"Yes, it's standard. Part of the testing is a DNA test."
"Richard was Will's uncle, so their DNA should be the same."
"And that's what the doctor's found, but when they tested mine with his, there were too many similarities for me to only be his adoptive mother. Our DNA matched 99.9%."
"Which wouldn't be the case, if you were only his adoptive mother, is that what you're saying?"
"That's correct." Cassie says, taking a drink of her water.
"So what happened?"
"William had the body of the infant we buried at the palace exhumed and then had DNA test run on it. William matched 99.9% with him, with me not matching at all and Richard matching 25%. So the obvious conclusion was that Will was the child that we thought died."
"So how did it happen? How did you end up adopting your own child?"
Cassie sighs and then says. "In a name, we adopted our son because of Edmund."
"Of course Edmund, so what did he do?"
"Well, he tried to order my doctor to give an injection that would induce my labor, but he refused. But you know Edmund and so did my doctor. Edmund would've found some reason to have him locked up or killed for refusing to go along with his plan. So he made another suggestion, he agreed to leave a syringe laying by my bed with the correct dosage to induce my labor. Edmund's men gave me the injection and then left."
"I don't understand where Camille and William came into this."
"Well, Camille was at the hospital the same day that I was given the injection. Edmund's men approached her. Her baby, the one we buried had been born stillborn, so they made her and offer. She would take our child, Will, and we would get her baby. She agreed. And once I delivered Will, he was given to Camille and she left the hospital with him."
"So the part about wanting to get back to the states was all an act, when you found her in the garden."
"No, I think that was real. She had no other choice and then when Dax approached her about forcing Richard to put the vote to the people about the monarchy or democracy, she saw her chance to make even more money, but it meant continuing Edmund's lie, so that's what she did."
"And all that happened because Will got sick."
"Yeah, it was a wild summer, in more ways than just that." Cassie says, reaching for her water glass."
"Why aren't you drinking coffee?" Blake asks, noticing the water.
Cassie takes a drink and then sits the glass down. "It's not the best thing for me right now." She says, sitting back.
"Why?"
"I'm pregnant." Cassie says, waiting for her to explode. She simply stares at her. "Did you...?
"There is no way you're pregnant. Dr. Sedgwick said..."
"I know what she said. I know what the other doctor's said as well. But I am pregnant." Cassie says with a smile.
"How far along are you?"
"I just finished the first trimester."
"And you've already told everyone."
"Yeah, well this is a bit of a miracle. She's a miracle." Cassie says, laying her hand on her stomach."
"So you know it's a girl."
"No, it's just what me and Richard want."
Blake looks at her for a moment before she says. "Because of Tammy."
"No, no, we both want a girl because we have the boys." She says, as Blake nods.
"So, you're pregnant and Sam's pregnant. Not something I would've ever guessed about Jeffrey. But she's pregnant. It is his child?"
"Of course it's his. And Ava's pregnant too." Cassie says, as Blake looks at her.
"His daughter is pregnant too. So he's going to be a father and a grandfather in the same year!"
"Yes." Cassie says.
"Oh that's just too funny." Blake says laughing. "For a man that insisted that he wanted to be alone, he jumped off into the deep, deep end."
"Jeffrey was never that to me." Cassie says, getting up. Blake follows her. "When we together, he liked being attached to someone. He tried to cover it up, but I knew." Cassie says, getting her glass and going into the kitchen. Blake brings her glass as well.
"Does Richard know about your time with Jeffrey and Josh?"
"He knows about everything." Cassie says, looking at her.
"Edmund too!"
"Yes. Jeffrey told him about our time together, but I told him everything else."
"Why would Jeffrey tell him about that?"
"You don't know why Jeffrey looks so much like Richard. It all came out after the poisoning." Cassie says, putting her glass on the counter. She turns to Blake. "During the last year that Richard and I were in San Cristobel, he received numerous death threats. Threats that his advisers took seriously enough, to bring in a decoy, that decoy was Jeffrey. Jeffrey needed a new face and his agency and the government of San Cristobel needed some way of protecting Richard."
"Why did Jeffrey need a new face?"
"Umm, apparently he got a little too personal with his last assignment. He slept with the assignment's wife. His boss found out and rigged the brakes on his car to fail, causing an accident that messed his face up. That's why Olivia didn't recognize him when he first came to Springfield. When Richard's life was threatened, the agency sent in Jeffrey as his double.
He and Richard became very close and Richard made him promise to protect and care for me and the kids. So when Richard woke up, Jeffrey was there. Richard kept praising him for watching over me and Jeffrey couldn't let him think he was perfect so he told him about it all. Not just that we were in a relationship before Josh, but that he slept with me while we were still ruling San Cristobel."
"How did Richard react?"
"Oh I think if he could've gotten out of his bed on his own. They would've come to blows. It's since calmed down and Richard realizes that not all of what happened was Jeffrey's fault and this better not end up on the internet, Blake Marler."
"I'm so over that Cassie." Blake says, after a sigh as Cassie smiles. "Gees, make one website that tells everyone's secrets and everyone expects you to blab everything they tell you."'
"You can't blame us for worrying Blake." Cassie says, picking up her glass again. She turns for the living room.
"I know. I guess that's why Harley hasn't been around to see me."
"Wait, she hasn't seen you."
"No, not sense I first woke up. I thought she would come by after I was released, but she hasn't."
"Have you called her?"
"A couple times and she'll talk to me, ask how I'm doing, chat about her boys and my kids, but there's something there that we can't seem to move beyond."
"Maybe I should talk..."
"No, I don't need you running interference between me and Harley. We'll work it out, we always do. So, you have Richard and Will back. Jeffrey's married, about to become a father and a grandfather in the same year."
"Aren't you going to ask about Harley?"
"No, I'll find out about her when she decides to talk to me again." Blake says, glances at the clock. "Gees, is it that late. The kids will be home soon." She says, reaching for her coat as Cassie glances at the clock.
"Wow, it is late. The boys will be home and I still have to get everything ready for tonight."
"What's going on tonight?"
"Oh, it's a fund raiser at Towers. You should come, if you feel up to it."
"Well, we'll see." Blake says, walking towards the door as Cassie follows her. Turning in the doorway, they hug before she leaves and Cassie closes the door.