A/N – Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you like the progress!

Chapter 38

Andrea knocked on the door to her mother's suite. Her stomach was turning over, so she took a languid breath, trying to calm her nerves.

The door swung open and her mother stepped back to let her in without a word.

Without prompting, Andrea sat on the couch and placed the file on her lap.

Gloria sat down and studied her daughter for a minute. "Did you read the documents?"

"No. I don't care what he has to say." The envelope was currently burning a hole on her dresser.

Gloria sighed. "You were always such a petulant child. To my utter shock and dismay, your father left you our house and some money. It's more than you deserve."

Andrea was shocked, but quickly recovered. "He didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart, which is an ironic saying because there was no good in his heart. He wanted me to feel guilty for leaving and act like he was the better person."

"Your father was a man's man. He was tough, smart, and did what he had to in order to toughen you up."

"So beating and emotionally abusing me is what I deserved, right? Let me tell you something, in case you haven't noticed, I'm an adult now. I know the difference between what is deserved and when someone was just sick and abusive. I sincerely doubt that if he was hitting you, that you would feel the same way."

Gloria rolled her eyes. "You think he hasn't hit me? Who do you think he took his anger out on when he lost his punching bag?"

Andrea remained silent.

"The difference between you and me is that I fought back and he didn't do it again. If you had just grew a spine and pushed, he would have stopped. It's what he wanted."

Andrea was fuming. "You both are so sick that I don't even know where to begin. Did you ever love me?"

"No. You were an accident and not the first one."

Andrea was reeling. "What?"

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Sarah smiled at Francis as she walked by. Cody tilted his head as he watched Francis grin.

"Does she know that you like her?"

His boss's eyes snapped to his.

"I'll take that as a no."

"You can tell?"

"After seeing that mushy smile? Yes."

Francis chuckled. "She's been through a lot and isn't ready for a relationship."

"So, what is your plan?"

"To be there for her and hopefully, she'll eventually realize that I'm good for her."

"That could take forever," Milo said from around the corner.

Francis shook his head. "You two are worse than girls."

"Make that three," Nathan said with a grin as he strode towards them.

"How about you concentrate on what you're doing?"

"You want me to stop and get some pastries for Jason's welcome back?" Cody asked.

"Great idea. You know he wouldn't want us to make too big of deal, so that should do," Francis said.

The guys were glad that he was returning.

"It will suffice until he's back on his feet and we take him to Jake's," Nathan added.

"Oh, we're definitely making that happen," Cody said.

"Alright, ladies, back to work."

"Tell Sarah I said hello," Milo said before ducking to avoid Francis's hand.

Francis picked up his phone and made a call.

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Jeff walked up to Sarah. "Have you seen your mother?"

"No."

He called Elizabeth and then Steven and was told the same thing. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"I think she went to see her mom."

Sarah's eyes grew big. "I'll sign you out."

Jeff took off and headed to the Metro Court.

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Gloria clasped her hands together. "I had a boy. We were just starting out and your dad was traveling a lot on business. He never even noticed because we didn't see each other after I was five months. I had the baby and gave it up for adoption before he returned."

Andrea's mouth dropped open.

"My body. My choice."

Andrea almost defended her father, but instead clamped her mouth shut.

"He was five years older than you. When I accidentally got pregnant again, he was home so I had to go through with it. When you came out, of course all you did was cry, so we didn't bond."

"I was a baby. You have to be the coldest woman I have ever met."

"That would be my mother. Now, I would like you to sign over the house to me. I don't care about the money. I have plenty of it."

Andrea snapped out of her haze and stood. "No."

"What?"

"You heard me. No."

Gloria rose. "I know you hate me, but let me have the house and you'll never have to see me again."

"I'm gonna do you one better. Consider yourself evicted. I want you out of there in two weeks."

"Two weeks! That is insanity. Andrea, you are being petty."

"Tell me something, mommy dearest. Is my dad the father of my brother or was it someone else?"

Gloria's mouth dropped open. "I am nothing like you."

"You got that right, but I know you cheated on dad."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"He knew. There are pictures taken by a private investigator." She pulled them out and scattered them on the coffee table. "You called me a slut when you were stepping out on that monster you married."

"Everyone needs to be wanted. Your father had issues and I turned to someone else. I won't apologize for it. He deserved it."

"That's an interesting theme with you. I think I'll jump right in. You deserve to be thrown out on your pompous ass. You deserve to have nothing actually, but I'm not going to get bogged down in revenge. You mean nothing to me. For all I care, you can slither away and never be heard from again. I'm done with you. I want you out and then I'm going to either burn or raze that house to the ground. Whatever money he gave me will be donated to Elizabeth's charity."

"I will not leave."

"Then you'll go down with it."

The intensity of her daughter's words made her seethe. "I should have known you'd be a bitch about this."
"Takes one to know one. You no longer have a daughter and you are dead to me. I'm free. I thank God that my brother didn't have to grow up with the likes of you two. He dodged a bullet. I'll send you a formal eviction notice as soon as the title has changed. Have fun packing."

"You won't get away with this."

Andrea smiled. "Have a rotten life mother. You have no home and no family. And if you try to do anything against me or come near my family again, I will release those photos to the hometown paper. You better be gone by the morning or I might not be so gracious." She sauntered into the hallway and after the door slammed shut, she heard glass shattering a few beats later and raised her hands in the air and did a funny dance.

Jeff smirked as he watched her.

She caught a glimpse of him in her peripheral vision and then their gaze locked. "Hi."

"Hi. I came to rescue you."

She smiled. "No need. I handled it."

"You handled it?"

"Yes. My father left me the house and some money."

Jeff's brow raised.

"Exactly. I just evicted her."

"Good job."

She slipped her arms around his waist. "Thank you. Do you know anyone in Colorado that has demolition equipment?"

His head tilted. "Um, why?"

"I need to knock down that eyesore." She was far from being okay about the conversation she had just had, but the thought of being able to destroy that house was making her almost giddy.

"I'm sure we can hire someone."

"No. I want to do it myself."

He chuckled. "Only if you promise to wear a hard hat. I don't want that pretty little head of yours to get damaged."

It had been a long time since he had flirted with her. She bit her lip and he almost groaned at the sultry look on her face.

"Dinner tonight at the house. Don't make any plans."

Jeff smiled. "Okay."

Andrea was going to seduce her husband and give him a night that he wouldn't forget.

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"Will you stay with me tonight?" Jason asked as he brushed a lock of hair off her face.

"If you want me to."

"I do."

"Okay. I can pick up some clothes on the way home from the hospital."

He wished she didn't have to go, but understood that she had a lot to do for the foundation. "Have you heard anything about Kylie?"

"No. It has been quiet. Hold on." She took out her phone and dialed Johnny's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I just wanted to ask how she's doing."

Johnny got up and shut his door. "It's good hearing your voice. She's okay. Why don't you stop by?"

"You think it's safe?"

"Well, even though we aren't together, visiting me would make sense. You usually don't run into my neighbors anyway."

"I do have some of your clothes I could drop off."

"Perfect."

"I have to stop by my apartment on the way home from work. Just let her know that I'm coming."

"They will be excited. Can you stay for dinner?"

She looked at Jason. "No. Sorry, I have a date."

Johnny slowly smiled. "Jason?"

"Yeah."

"I'm happy for you."

"Are we weird?"

Johnny laughed. "Maybe, but I'm glad that we're still friends."

"Me too. See you later."

"Bye."

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Kylie is doing fine. Johnny told me to stop by, so I'll do it on the way back here."

"Dinner is at 6:30."

"Okay. I'm going to go get some work down and then I'll be back afterwards."

"I'll miss you."

"Me too."

They kissed one last time before she left.

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Sarah groaned. "Go away."

Stefan walked into the locker room. They were the only ones inside. "No. Please talk to me."

"There is nothing to say."

"Sarah, I love you."

She shook her head. "You don't get to say that to me. I'm done."

"You don't mean that."

"Do I look like I'm not done?" she asked, pointing to her face.

He hit a locker with his fist in frustration. "It was her. She bullied me and I was a fool. I agreed to lure you in and once I got to know you, I realized how good we could be and I never did anything else. I swear."

Sarah closed her eyes. "Don't you see? Good people don't do what you did. I get that you're not totally horrible, but Stefan, you used me regardless of the outcome. There's no going back. You need to get help and get away from your mom or you're never going to be happy."

He sat on a bench. "You were my way out."

Felix walked in. "You okay?"

Her eyes briefly softened. "I'm fine. Thank you Felix."

He wasn't too sure about that, but he left.

"You need to do this on your own. Deal with her and why you did what you did. Stand up for yourself."

A tear ran down his cheek. "I need you to know that it was because of you that I realized how toxic my family was. No matter how damaged you think you are, Sarah, you're beautiful inside and out. You have a big heart and I'm sorry if I did anything to set you back. I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Part of her wanted to go to him and comfort him, but she remained frozen. "For a while, I actually felt like I was lovable. I've made so many mistakes. I'm tired."

The door opened and Francis walked in. His gaze went from her to Stefan and then back again.

Her eyes filled with tears and Francis almost growled.

"You're coming with me." He didn't give a shit what Stefan wanted. His only instinct was to get her away the situation.

She wiped a tear away. "Okay."

Francis held out his hand and then glared at Stefan.

"Take care of her."

Francis nodded. "I will."

Sarah took his hand and Francis led her out of the room. They went several doors down and then he steered them into an empty room. He shut the door and then pulled her into his arms as she cried.

"It's going to be okay."

She gripped the back of his shirt and sniffed. "I feel bad for him."

He lifted her chin. "Are you sure you don't want him back?"

"I don't. It's done. I couldn't do that to myself."

"He says that he loves you."

"I don't want that kind of love."

The pad of his thumb brushed against her cheek. "What do you want, Sarah?"

"Someone like you." The words had escaped her mouth before she could censor herself and he noted how surprised she looked.

There was so much he wanted to say, that he knew she needed to hear, but he decided that it wasn't the time. She needed slow and steady and he was okay with that. Sarah deserved to be spoiled and respected. "That's a good start."

She sighed and leaned against him again. "Thank you for coming to rescue me."

"You can thank Felix."

She chuckled. He was very protective of all the staff. "I'll make Elizabeth whip up some brownies for him."

He pulled back. "You'll hook me up too right?"

She laughed. "Francis Corelli. I didn't know that you could be bought."

He grinned. "In case you didn't notice, I like to eat."

"I did. Now, you just need to teach me how to cook."

"Deal."

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Elizabeth made several calls, making some travel arrangements for a couple of families. Before she knew it, she was running late. Gathering her purse, she made sure she had everything and then dashed into the hallway.

"Where's the fire?" Felix asked.

"I'm running late. Walk with me."

"Okay."

"How is Lucas?"

Felix grinned. "Delicious."

"I heard you got caught by his mom."

"Mortifying…."

"We'll have to do dinner one night."

"I would love that. How's your boyfriend?"

Liz blushed.

"That good."

She got in the elevator and he followed. "We haven't gotten that far, but his mouth is sinful."

"I knew it."

"Want to visit Piph with me tomorrow night?"

"I'd love it."

"I'm making brownies."

Felix's eyes grew big. "Oh, I'm definitely there then."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Bye."

He watched her hurry towards her car with a big smile on his face.

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Gloria swung her door open. "Who are you?"

"I'm Helena Cassadine."

"And?"

She ignored the slight. "From what I've heard, you and your daughter don't get along."

"What do you want?"

"I need information about her pregnancy."

Gloria was surprised. "Considering your attitude, don't you have people that can get you that information?"

"Oh, I'd rather it come from you so the knife will twist harder."

Helena pushed past her and made herself comfortable.

"And why would I tell you anything?"

"Because you don't like her and probably want to throttle her by now."

Gloria sat across from her. "Why do you want to hurt her?"

"The Webbers are a pain in my ass. I need leverage in case Jeff follows through on his threats."

"While I would love to take Andrea down a few pegs, I'm afraid she has something on me that I would rather not come to light. Therefore, I'm going to have to turn you down."

"Suppose I help you with your little problem?"

"I don't think that you can, besides, I'm not stupid. Given your apparent penchant for revenge, giving you any leverage would probably be my undoing."

Helena stood. "Well, if you change your mind, call me." She handed her a business card.

After she was gone, Gloria poured herself a drink. The trip had not gone as she had planned. She had been hoping that Andrea was weak and would give her the house to make her go away. Revealing the pictures was well played. Maybe she could release a slightly altered detail about Andrea's childhood and make it look like it was Helena's doing. Yes. One way or another, her daughter was going to pay for her insolence.