CHAPTER 15

Sam looked on as her father worked furiously trying to open the mechanical lock that was keeping them away from where they assumed Valentine was keeping her mother. She saw how frantic and worried he was about her and her mom and then she thought of how close she had come to loosing him. She hadn't realize until that moment just how important he had become to her.

Thoughts of how she had been forced to wait outside of the mansion, while Jax ran in to try and rescue Julian and Jerry after the bomb had gone off. Jax had been able to find Julian but Jerry was still missing and presumed dead. Sam wished she could muster some sympathy up for the loss of the psycho but all she could think of was the fact that it was one less crazy psychopath obsessed with her mom. And she was not sorry for that.

She looked at her father and thought about the wildcard that life had thrown at her after so many years of thinking she was alone and unwanted by the people she thought were her parents. She had been raised by two abusive criminals and she in turn had turned out to be a criminal and con artist just like them. She had thought that it was all she would ever be capable of doing. And then, by some crazy stroke of luck she had ended up in Port Charles where she had met Alexis Davis. Alexis Davis, attorney extraordinaire, and the women Sam had grown to hate, not because Alexis had ever done anything to her. No, Sam thought, if a therapist was to have analyzed her back then they would have said what she felt was something akin to jealousy and admiration for the women who Sonny Corinthos had wanted back on his side more than anything but who set out to destroy her because she had walked away. During her early days in Port Charles she had turned a blind eye to anything that didn't surround the wants and needs of Sonny, Carly and Jason. Secretly she had found it amusing the way Carly would attack Alexis for not leaving Sonny alone when it was Sonny who constantly sought out Alexis.

Sam had secretly admired the way Alexis would slice through the "infamous" three with just a well chosen word that would silence them even while it sent them scurrying. That had been years ago and in the last few years, with Sonny helping Alexis with her cancer and Ric, most if not all the bad will they had against each other had been put aside. Sonny would rather be on Alexis's good side that bad side.

Sam remembered how she resented Alexis when she first discovered that she was her mother. She hated knowing that this beautiful, smart, loving women was her mother because she could see what her life would have been like if Alexis had raised her. She saw it in the way she showered Molly and Kristina with her love every time she saw them together. Because of the hurt Sam had fought Alexis the whole time Alexis was trying to forge a relationship with her. Sam was always afraid that Alexis would turn her back on her embarrassed by what Sam had done when she was a con-artist. To her surprise, and happiness her mom had not pushed her away even after everything that happened with Ric. Alexis pushed her away into Sam's life even when Sam had dug in her heels and fought her and now here they were closer than ever.

When Sam had taken the time to learn just how much she had been by wanted by Alexis the hole in her heart felt ready to burst as her childhood dream of being loved was fulfilled. She learned how she was cruelly ripped from her young mother's right after Alexis had given birth to weak to fight her father's men as they took her baby. Her mother had bee made to believe that her baby was dead so that she wouldn't look for the child. And for many years she had believed that until she had found her father's cryptic note that lead her to start her search once more. Sam rejoiced to learn that rather than abandoned she had been kidnapped. Taken away from a mother who would have cherished and nurtured her. Learning the truth made Sam's heart flood with a desire to love Alexis and let her mom love her unconditionally.

Recently, when she had most needed him, like a fairytale her father had come back from the dead. And to make it even more unbelievable he loved her and he loved her mother . They had started behaving like a regular happy family, but now Alexis had been taken away from them. Sam could see the pain in her father's eyes, where lightness and happiness had seemed to engulf him before, now the pain of potentially losing her mother was like a dark blanket wrapped around him. As she watched him work she realized that if her mother was lost to them her dad would soon follow.

"I got it" he looked back at her with a triumphant smile. "Honey, you come with me and we will follow the same plan. We find your mother and you get her out. Jax and I will keep them off of you as you make a run for it. Get to the plane and leave, do not wait for us. Do you hear me?" Sam didn't want to agree, she didn't want to leave him, she wanted him to know she loved him and did not want to lose him either.

"Dad" Julian looked back at her trying to hide the overwhelming emotions at hearing her call him Dad for the first time. "I love you" she said not able to stop her eyes from welling up with tears. Julian stepped towards her and enveloped her in a hug.

"I love you too sweetheart" he dropped a kiss on top of her head and went back to the door pulling out his gun. Sam and Jax did the same as they moved in behind him to follow him into the house. One way or another this would end.

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Alexis stared at the grotesque scene in front of her as she was forced to sit at one end of the table while Valentine sat at the other. Unable to comprehend what was right in front of her she turned to look at the two bodies propped up closest to her. She felt a tear slowly make it's way down her cheek as she look at Stefan's lifeless body. As she looked at his battered body she was able to imagine just how terrifying his last few minutes in this world must have been. He had obviously struggled as was evidenced by the black and blue marks all over his face, his knuckles still bloody from where he had managed to inflict some damage of his own. Her eyes kept moving, finally reaching his throat where she could see the cause of his death. His throat had a deep slice from one side to another. Her mind trying to make sense of what had happened to her brother, took note of all the wounds on his body and face cataloging each and every one. She finally managed to gain enough courage to look into his open eyes, which seemed to have been frozen in fear. Alexis longed to reach out to him and offer his body the dignity and love that he had not been shown before he died but her bound arms kept her from reaching out. The gag in her mouth prevented her from shouting out her anger at the man who had done this to her brother. She tried to focus solely on her brother not wanting to looking at the others that had been included as guests to this nightmare dinner. But that was not to be as Valentine called to her.

"My lovely Natasha" Valentine's voice, though spoken softly, seem to thunder in her ears causing her to jump and look at him. Her emotions and senses heighten by the adrenaline rushing through her body, making her sensitive to the sounds around her. "Please do not be rude Natasha, acknowledge our other guests." he extended his arms to encompass the table. "I knew you wouldn't want to get married without father here" Alexis refused to participate in the farce but was left with no choice as she suddenly felt rough hands firmly take her head and forcefully turn her towards where her father was propped up.

Alexis felt her breathing become labored as she took in the mummified remains of Mikkos Cassadine. His eye sockets empty, puffs of stringy, dry, brittle hair barely staying on his skull. His leathery skin sticking out of the suit he had been put into as it fell off his shoulders. "Father, was angry at first." Valentine pontificated as if nothing out of the normal was happening. "He never wanted me to have anything that I wanted, but I was able to convince him that you were born to be mine. And to show him how great we will be together, I have decided to allow him to attend our wedding."

She could see out of her periphery as he got up and moved around the table. She tensed up, thinking he was going to approach her instead he stepped out of her line of vision. "Now, I noticed you looking at our wonderful Stefan but I don't think you've noticed our Stavros here on your left" again her head was forcefully turned so that she was looking directly at Stavros. "I thought he should be here, as he was the one who prevented me from having you to myself all those years ago." She took in Stavros 's frozen remains and couldn't help thinking that with his wide open eyes, frozen in anger, and a scowl marring his face he was still the same Stavros from her childhood.

She remembered hearing that he had died , once again, at the hands of Dante, who after rescuing his wife from the frozen cryogenic chamber had managed to throw Stavros in it and put him in the same condition his wife had been forced to endure. She couldn't say she cared that the psycho was dead but she hated the fact that he was seated at the table as a witness to her torture and humiliation like he had been once before.

Valentine moved on from Stavros and with false glee introduced their next guest. "And lest we forget our wonderful Stepmother" Alexis didn't even attempt to struggle when her head was turned again.

The women who had made her childhood a living nightmare, was propped up, dressed in a white suit and jewels adorning her. Her hands, which were propped on the table had been adorned with diamonds and sapphire rings. Helena, who was the main character in many of Alexis's nightmares, seemed to still be judging them from her perch. Helena had made Alexis's childhood a waking nightmare and made it a living hell for her as a teenager until she was able to get away. Helena had taken a special kind of pleasure torturing her because Alexis was the product of an affair between her husband and his whore, as she often called her mother. Alexis had always assumed she would die at Helena's hand but she had outlived her stepmother and for that she felt a moment's triumph .

"I thought she should be a witness to our union and see with her own eyes that after everything she did to us she did not manage to destroy or kill us. Two abandoned children, at the mercy of her evil and vindictiveness now grown and ready to be happy. That will be our revenge against her my dear" He finally looked at her and then behind her. "Thaddeus, Philip it is time for our wedding meal to commence". She felt the gag and binds being removed by the man behind her.

As their meal was served she heard her mother's aria begin to play softly in the background. Alexis looked around her, desolation taking over as thoughts of all her loves one who had died because of violence begin running through her head. Her beautiful mother's throat being slit by Helena, her sister Kristina dying in an explosion meant for a mob king, Stefan killed brutally by a psychopath that should be dead, and now her Julian was dead because he had tried to rescue her. Tears marred her face and her vision became blurry wondering what she had ever done to deserve the punishment of losing everyone she loved and how much more she would be made to pay for being born to a king and his mistress.

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After a three hour hike in rough terrain, and after Julian and Jax had taken out two of the guards located by the sewer grates they had finally made it to the tunnels below the mansion. All three were exhausted but they continued to run as quick as possible through the maze of cells, quickly looking into each one hoping that Alexis was being held in one of them.

"Julian, over here" he heard Jax whisper.

Julian ran quickly towards the Aussie, who was standing in middle of one of the cells, concern marring his gaze. Julian felt bile raise in his throat as he immediately recognize the stench of blood in the cell. He looked around trying to find any sign of Alexis when he noticed the blood stains scattered all around the cell as if an animal had been slaughtered. He had to fight to keep breathing at the thought that it was Alexis's blood covering the walls. The Aussie was speaking but it was all muffle Julian could only think of a life without Alexis and he wanted no part of it. Julian let the anger flow through him as he started formulating a plan on how he was going to make Valentine pay for taking her away from him and her children. He turned to Jax, who started shaking him as he yelled something at him. Julian was unable to hear him above the pounding in his heart. Finally, Jax grabbed him by the arms and shouted into his face. "Alexis... is... alive" was what he was able to make out. When he read the words coming from the Aussie's mouth the pressure in his ears escaped and he was able to breath again and he was able to hear Jax finish "Stefan was in here. This was Stefan's cell". He felt weak from the strong emotions of loss that he had felt when he thought that Alexis was dead.

"How do you know that" Sam asked. She had come up behind the pair and asked the question that Julian couldn't get out. Julian could see the tears tracks that had fallen from his daughters eyes as she too had thought they had lost the most important person in their lives.

He picked up a male finger that had a ring containing the Cassadine Crest. "Do you recognize this?" he held up the ring so that both Julian and Sam could see it.

Julian recognized it immediately "I saw that on Stefan's finger when he came to the lake house." He reached for it confirming it was the same ring he had seen the man wearng. He felt bad that Alexis had lost her brother but he couldn't help the rush of relief that rushed through him at the renewed hope that she was still alive somewhere close by.

Sam pivoted as she tried to look for any clues that would help them in their search for her mother. By the corner of the bed, hidden between the wall and the bed, she notice a small wicker basket. She walked over to it and pulled it out setting it on the bed. She was confused by the object's existence in the cell and started pulling at the bedding searching for any clues that would help her locate her mother. When she pulled at the bottom sheet she found a small note hidden under it. She started reading it and couldn't contain the gasped that escaped her.

Julian was doing his own search of the cell when he heard Sam gasp. He immediately turned to her and saw she was reading a note. Fear once again filled him but the need to know what was in the note helped him choke out the question "What does it say"

Sam looked at her father pain filling his eyes. She knew this note would only make this search twice as difficult but he now knew there was note and there was not a way around not telling him. So she began reading.

Ms. Cassadine:

If you get a chance to read this letter I hope that you can forgive me for allowing you to believe, for even one second, that the child you are holding was a product created from you and Valentine.

I found your father's journal after I returned to the island and it was only by dumb luck that I know this information. Your father knew that he would have to take your daughter and Julian away from you for your safety and hers. But he wasn't as uncaring as he may have led you believe. He knew the love you and your Julian had for each other and he had hoped that one day, if he couldn't give you back your daughter and Julian, he could give you another child created from the same love. He had the doctor harvest your eggs and Julian's sperm was harvested for freezing. He meant to give it to you once he was able to procure your safety. Unfortunately he never got the chance.

Helena, as you know, has always hated you, but she would do anything for her son. And before Stavros met Laura he wanted you. When she found out what your father had done, in Helena's twisted mind she thought giving him a child created by the two of you would somehow bind you to him. Helena was going to use Stavros sperm to fertilize your eggs, but Valentine stole your eggs before she could do anything about it.

As you know your father locked Valentine away for years and Valentine was thankfully unable to implement his plan. When he came back to the island it was his intent to use his sperm to create a child created from the two of you. When I learned what he intended to do I switch out his sperm with Julian's. The baby belongs to you and your Julian.

Please do not let Valentine know what I have done as my family would be put in ,mortal danger if he knew. I hope you can save yourself and protect your little boy. I am sorry I am too much of a coward to do anything else to help.

Damien

Julian could swear that his heart stopped beating. Another child created from his and Alexis's love. A little boy that was also being held hostage by this madman.

Sam couldn't speak, she had a little brother that neither she or her parents knew about. She was amazed at the look of complete and utter elation that crossed Julian's face before it turned murderous. She would have stepped back if she didn't know that Julian would never hurt her. She was about to reach for him when she saw him perk up.

"Can you hear that" Julian asked. Sam and Jax stopped and listened. It was very soft but they could hear the crescendo of the opera singer.

"Oh god" Julian and Sam heads jerked towards Jax

"What" Julian demanded, scared at the implications of the music.

"Kristen Bergman" Jax explained. Julian continued to look perplexed, but Sam just let out a soft gasp

"Who is Kristen Bergman" Julian hissed. Frustrated and scared of what the name could mean to Alexis's safety.

"Kristen is Alexis's mom" Jax finally answered knowing that he probably knew more than Sam about Alexis's history with the Cassadines. "When Alexis was seven years old Helena slit Kristen's throat in front of Alexis." Julian swore wondering how any one person could survive the hell she was subjected to and still be the most gentle, loving, caring, fair person in the word. He couldn't stop thinking of just how beautiful she was inside and out.

"Son of a bitch" Julian swore wondering what kind of tortures Valentine was subjecting Alexis too. Unable to wait any longer Julian turned and charged towards where he had seen some stairs "let's go" he said without waiting. He was going to save Alexis and their baby and he was going to make sure every last Cassadine that had hurt would never see the light of day again.