A/N – Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you enjoyed the fun. I wanted to write Audrey a little differently. Now back to the drama lol. * leeleelayla5 - Probably won't concentrate on Asa or OLTL. I have to many other couples I'm juggling. Sorry.

If you missed it. I posted a chapter on Thursday. Now, onto Friday.

Chapter 46

The next afternoon, Andrea took the letter off her dresser and sat on the porch. She found a comfortable corner and put her reading glasses on. For a few minutes, she just stared at the envelope and finally, she carefully ripped it open.

A couple of keys dropped out and she put them aside before slowly unfolding the papers.

"Andrea, I'm sure you were shocked to receive this. Unfortunately, it means that I have passed away. I always knew where you were. I just never felt the need to reach out to you. Maybe I was hoping you'd come crawling back on your hands and knees."

She rolled her eyes and then continued.

"By now, you've been informed about my will. I'm sure that you're curious about that and the keys, so I shall explain. I simply wanted you to never forget everything I said or did to you. Giving you the house was a way to insure that you wouldn't and no one turns down money. Every time you spend it, I want you to remember who gave it to you. Unlike you, I have forgiveness in my heart. I forgive you for being insolent and childish. I forgive you for being a whore and spreading your legs and getting pregnant when you knew that it would bring so much shame to your family. Unfortunately, you are my child. I had you tested as well as your brother when I found out about his existence. That's right, I knew about him. Your mother probably threw it in your face the first chance that she got. You see, she isn't capable of forgiving anyone.

He is closer than you realize. It's your fault that I didn't claim him. I found out he existed when he was ten. You were already a brat by then and I knew you needed discipline and to be isolated. If he were around, he would have probably tried to protect you, if I was unable to sway him. In order to control you, I had to have order. By keeping you in line, your mother realized that I would leave her alone. That is why she didn't defend you. She knew her place. You were weak. Instead of fighting, you cowered. Little did I know that you would choose to run. That did shock me. I didn't think you had it in you. It was well played, but I always knew where you were and could have easily shattered your world. You're probably wondering why I didn't. If you haven't noticed, I like playing games. If I had brought you back, then none of what is about to happen could take place. I hope that you're sitting down."

Andrea paused for a moment to catch her breath. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she needed to find out who her brother was. She heard the door close from downstairs and figured that it was her husband or the maid and quickly continued.

"There are two keys in your possession. I'm not going to tell you what they will open, but the contents are in two of the locked rooms in the house. The first key will lead you to the identity of your brother. The second will give you the identity of your real mother."

Andrea gasped. "What!" She gripped the letter as her eyes fought to find where she had left off.

"That's right my darling daughter, your mother didn't give birth to you. I cheated on her and got someone pregnant while I was on a business trip. Your mother died while giving birth to you. In essence, you killed her. The reason Gloria hates you so much is because she was forced to raise you. I swore her to secrecy. It was the only way to save our family reputation. That is why she hates you, Andrea. She gave up her child and had to raise one that wasn't hers. I hated you because you ruined everything. My marriage was never the same all because I was noble and brought you home. You were a constant reminder of my one mistake. So, you had to be punished. Have fun with the hunt. You were always very nosey. I'm sure you won't find my hiding places too difficult. Goodbye, Andrea. Never forget me. Your father."

As her hand lost it grip, the pages of the letter floated to the ground. Andrea started to shake and then completely lost control.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Steven took the keys from his father's hand. "Thanks dad."

"Keep her in one piece," Jeff said. The older model Porsche was his guilty pleasure. He was going to leave for his shift, but Steven had called and asked if he could borrow his car for the evening.

"I just didn't want to take her in the truck."

"I think she'll enjoy the ride." Jeff paused. "Did you hear that?"

Steven stilled as he listened and that is when they heard the first crash and then Andrea's screams pierced the air and he took off up the stairs as the sound of shattering glass permeated assaulted his ears. Jeff was right on his heels. He threw the bedroom door open and his mother was standing in the middle of the room, barefoot with glass strewn everywhere. "Mom! Don't move."

Her head turned and they were stunned at how devastated she looked. Steven ran to her and picked her up as she started to crumble. He gently placed her on the bed. "Mom, talk to me."

She was crying so hard that she couldn't speak. Jeff nudged in and held her against his body, waiting for to calm down.

"Get my bag. There is a sedative in there," he said. "It's in the closet."

Steven moved quickly and retrieved it and then took the medicine out and gave his mother a shot. They waited for her to fall asleep and then he covered her up.

"Can you go get the vacuum? It's in the hall closet downstairs."

"Okay." Steven took off.

Jeff spotted the letter and started to read it.

Steven returned and started picking up the bigger pieces and put them in a trashcan and then he turned on the vacuum. By the time he was finished, he looked over at his father who was seething.

"What does it say?" He figured it was the letter from her dad.

"Well, he explains the abuse. He's making her go on a scavenger hunt at the house to find out the identity of her brother and apparently, her mother."

Steven frowned. "What?"

"You heard me. Gloria is not her mother and that is why she hated your mom so much. Apparently, her father had an affair."

"Unbelievable."

"I just think this is the last straw for her." He knew she was probably angry more than anything, but he had never seen her react like that.

"What can I do?"

"Can you call Sarah over here? Tell her what happened and that she needs to stay the night. She had the day off. I have a surgery at 4:00 that can't be postponed."

"Okay, but I can cancel my date and stay."

"I don't think your mother would want that."

"Can you stay until Sarah gets here?"

Jeff nodded. "Yes." He had just enough time.

Steven left and Jeff pushed his wife's hair off of her face as he wondered just how shattered she would be.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Jason grinned at the look on Elizabeth's face. They were in her office and were about to leave when he lifted her onto her desk and kissed her senseless. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and he was waiting for her to say something.

"Is that why you locked the door?"

"Yes."

"How do you expect me to ever work in here again if you kiss me like that?" She swore she had lost her brain cells. Her chest was still heaving and he had definitely made her wet.

With hooded eyes, he kissed her again, slowly, making sure he made her moan as he nipped on her lips and mated with her tongue.

Elizabeth fisted his hair and her hips bucked as she gripped him tighter.

"Mmmmm." The lower timber of his voice made her shudder.

She sucked on his tongue as her hand traveled to the bulge in his pants and she rubbed making Jason hiss against her lips. He playfully bit her chin and then his sinful lips travelled down her neck as he laid wet kisses on it. Her head fell backwards as he kissed the lop of her breasts.

"Jason…" She wanted him so badly.

She tried to inch closer, but she heard him gasp in pain and her eyes snapped open. "What's wrong?"

His jaw was clenched.

"Is it your leg?"

He nodded and she pushed herself back and got off the desk, grabbed a chair, and then pushed it behind him and made him sit. She lovingly stroked his face. "Talk to me."

"I got a cramp. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. I could have hurt you."

"Elizabeth, until a minute ago, I was more than okay."

She smirked. "Don't change the subject."

Her phone rang and she picked up. Everything was coming together for the funeral. He watched her hang up the phone and turn towards him. "We need to go. Can you walk?"

He nodded and stood as she handed him the crutch.

"Let's go."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Sarah rushed into the house and headed upstairs. Jeff stepped out into the hallway and they embraced as Francis watched.

"She's still asleep. She'll be out for a couple of hours."

"I can't believe a father would do that to their child. The head games he unleashed on her then and now are beyond disgusting."

"I know. All we can do is be there for her."

"Does Elizabeth know?"

"Not yet. She has so much on her plate. She can't be everywhere and she's still not sleeping through the night. I figured I'd tell her tomorrow morning."

Sarah nodded. "We bought clothes. Francis is going to stay too. I'll put him in my room and I'll stay with mom."

Jeff kissed her on the top of the head. "Thank you."

She pushed the door open to the room and then kissed her mother on the forehead. When she spotted the letter, she couldn't help but read it. Francis ended up holding her while she cried.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Emily opened the door to the mansion and saw a forlorn Steven standing there. Her smile quickly dissipated. "What happened?"

"Is Elizabeth here?"

"Not yet. They stopped at her apartment to get some clothes. If something is wrong, we don't have to go out."

"I—I don't want to disappoint you. I just don't know if I'll be good company."

She caught a glimpse of the car and started putting two and two together. "Is that your dad's?"

"Yeah."

"Come in." She pulled him upstairs to her room and he plopped onto the bed. For a few minutes, she held him and he just enjoyed her energy.

She pulled back and took his face in her hands. "Talk to me."

His eyes filled with tears and that is when Liz burst into the room.

"Emily!" she said loudly as she waved a bag in front of her. When her eyes met her brother's, she swallowed hard. "What happened?"

"We weren't going to tell you until tomorrow."

"Why wait?"

"You're not sleeping and you're a worry wart."

"Tell me now," she demanded.

Hearing her tone from down the hall, Jason made his way there.

Steven explained and when he was done, Elizabeth was furious.

"Is she with dad?"

"No. He had a surgery that he couldn't cancel. Sarah is with her and before you go any further, I think it's good for them. They need this time together. You know what I mean."

Her shoulders slumped. "I know." Sarah and her mother were getting along again and it would be good for them to lean on each other. "You think she's going to crash and burn?"

"No. I think she was just so angry and he's dead. She's held all that in for years. It's not like she can yell at him for being such an asshole."

"What's in your hand?" Steven asked curiously.

She handed it over and Steven gasped when he saw what was inside. "I can't believe you were holding out on me."

"I would have brought you some tomorrow."

He took a brownie out and bit into it and Emily snatched the bag and grabbed one.

"She's going to want to confront Gloria."

"I know, but there's a lot of things going on right now. I think she'll wait," Steven said.

The trial was almost here and the funeral was the next day.

"Well then, we'll all plan to go. I'm not letting her go back there alone."

"I agree."

Jason put his arms around Liz's shoulders. "Are you guys still going to go out to eat?" he asked.

"No, we'll eat here," Emily said.

"Come on. You know how upset Cook gets if you let your food get cold."

Emily smirked, liking that he was starting to get the dynamics of all the people in the house. Steven took her hand and they went to the dining room.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Francis finished cooking some pasta. Andrea had woken up and he had already set some tv trays in the bedroom. She needed to eat, and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Upstairs, Sarah played with her mom's hair as her head laid in her lap.

"I shouldn't have let him get to me."

"Face it. You're human."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just used to putting on a brave face."

Andrea closed her eyes as her daughter's nails lightly raked her scalp. "That feels so good."

"Dad likes it too. I know it's killing him that he's not here."

"I know, but that patient needed him."

"Just know, he wasn't happy about it and he'd rather be here for you."

She opened her eyes. "My parents were sick and twisted and I won't let them win. I'm going to go to the house and get what I need and then tear it down."

"And Gloria?"

"I haven't decided yet. Part of me thinks that she's too beneath me to even acknowledge anymore. Nothing I say will matter to her anyway. In fact, she'll be happy she got to me."

"This isn't about her. It's about you. Can you handle not saying anything?"

"I don't know." It wasn't like her to let something like this go. She needed to decide if kicking Gloria to the curb and destroying the house was enough. "Do you think Spinelli could research something for me?"

"Sure."

"I want to know if he can find out if Helena leaked my pregnancy to the press. If it wasn't her, then I know it was Gloria."

"I'll ask him."

"Thanks."

She got up to go to the bathroom and yelped.

Francis had come through the door with some drinks and sat them down and made her sit. "What's wrong?"

"I might have a shard in my foot."

He lifted it up. "Yeah, you do."

"I'm on it." Sarah said going to retrieve some tweezers.

"Does it hurt bad?"

"Not until I stepped on it."

Sarah came back with a first aid kit and handed Francis a flashlight. He held it while she quickly removed the glass and then put some peroxide on the small cut. Francis watched her take out a bandaid and press it until it was on firmly. "Alright."

"Thank you," Andrea said before hobbling to the bathroom.

"Maybe we should vacuum one more time after dinner," Francis suggested.

"Okay."