Chapter 19

It was morning at the Brady house. Chelsea had already left for her internship at the hospital, Hope was bringing Ciara to preschool, Alicia was asleep in her bed, and Bo was sitting drinking a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. "Shane Donovan. What brings you here so early?"

"Nice to see you too, Bo. I have some more footage from the disc that I thought you night like to see." Shane came in and brought a disc over to Bo's laptop. "May I?" He asked holding the disc up ready to put it in the disc drive.

"Go right ahead. So what exactly have you found now?" He asked him.

"I'm afraid you're not going to like this. By the way are we alone? Is Hope here? She might want to see this too." Shane looked around listening for any sounds.

"Hope's brining Ciara to school. Alicia is sleeping upstairs. It's just you and I." Bo came over to the couch to view the disc.

"So, you agreed to let her live here with your family even though she is potentially a dangerous person?" Shane asked him.

"She's not a dangerous person. Look, Alicia told Hope and I all about what Stefano did to her. She went along with his teachings to keep from being punished. She isn't a killer. And more than that, she's my daughter. She's my and Hope's flesh and blood. There isn't an evil bone in her body." Bo was angry. He knew his daughter. She could never be what these clips on the disc made it look like she was.

"Bo, I think you need to see what I found on the disc. You might change your mind about your daughter." Shane put the disc into the drive.

"I don't care what you've found on this disc. I know my daughter!" Bo was irate now. He stood up and went to walk off but an image caught his eye on the computer screen. Alicia was doing target practice. Her target was a picture of Hope.

"She left you. She abandoned you. She never loved you. Kill her!" Stefano was barking into Alicia's ear. Alicia pulled the trigger and fired off five rounds; all of them a direct hit. "Good. Ha hah hah." Stefano threw his head back and laughed. "My most prized pupil. I am so proud of you." He gently stroked the side of Alicia's face smiling at her. Alicia returned the smile. She looked happy.

"What the hell is this?" Bo asked looking stunned at what he was seeing on the disc. "This can't be true. She looks to pleased with herself. She told us she just went along with his plans to make him think she was cooperating." Bo was pacing the room. He didn't know what to think. Alicia was so kind and loving, but this girl wasn't the girl he knew. The Alicia he knew was fragile, not this monster he saw staring back at him on the computer screen.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Alicia had just entered the living room. "You seem upset. Did something happen?" She asked him. Her face was full of worry.

Bo looked at her and started yelling. "Did you lie to me again? Are you trying to get close to us so you can finish the job Stefano sent you here to do?""What are you talking about?" Alicia's eyes started to tear up. She wondered what set her father off to think she was working for Stefano. "I don't work for Stefano. I already told you what he did to me. How could you still think I could work for that man?" Alicia was crying uncontrollably now.

Bo wanted to reach out to her, but he wasn't sure what to believe anymore and he wanted some answers. "I just saw s video of you using pictures of your mother for target practice. You care to explain that!" Bo crossed his arms and held his ground.

"I… I already did. I told you I had to go along with Stefano or he'd lock me away in the dungeon. Why don't you believe me anymore?" Tears were pouring down Alicia's cheeks. She didn't like the way her father was looking at her. "I could never hurt Mom if that's what you're thinking."

"I don't know what to think. I see what's on that damn disc and I hear what you're telling me, but you got to understand the visual of you looking so proud at what you accomplished for Stefano has really made my head spin. You say you were afraid to be locked up, that you went along with what he was teaching you, but how could you look so happy after firing rounds into your mothers face?"

"I would never hurt my mother!" Alicia screamed at him. "She's the only person that ever truly loved me. She was the only person that ever cared about me. Why would I want to hurt her? Stefano is evil. He hurt me. Do you honestly think I would choose to follow him over being with my family?"

"I want to believe you. I really do. I know what you've been through, but Alicia, a picture speaks a thousand words. Look at the video and tell me why I shouldn't believe what I'm seeing?" Bo pulled her over to watch the video. Alicia turned her head away.

"I don't want to see it! I don't want to remember what he did to me!" She kept crying out to him. "Daddy, Please. I would never hurt Mom. I swear to you." She stared intently at his eyes pleading with him to believe her. "Daddy?"

Bo pulled his daughter into his embrace. He knew in his heart that she could never hurt Hope, He saw how much she loved her mother just from the little time they'd known her. Alicia clung to him sobbing. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I just don't know what to think when it concerns Stefano. I've seen what he can do to people." Bo held Alicia's face in his hands so he could talk to her face to face. "I'm sorry. It's just seeing you firing bullets at your mother's face made me angry. I know in my heart you could never hurt your mother." Bo held on to Alicia and hugged her tight.

"I was picturing his face when I shot at it. I knew I had to cooperate with him. He's the one I was thinking about when I fired that gun; not mom."

"I hope the old man burns in hell for everything he's put this family through."

……

"Bo?" Hope called out as she walked in the front door.

"In here!" Bo hollered from the kitchen.

"Hey Brady." Hope walked over to her husband and kissed him. "You going in to work today?" She asked him. "I thought you'd be gone by now. What happened.?"

"Bo bit at his bottom lip. "Shane came by and showed me some more footage from the disc."

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" Hope reached around Bo's waist hugging him.

"Your probably not going to like the sound of it. I didn't like what I saw on the disc and I confronted Alicia about it. Before you get upset with me, everything is settled now. I saw her firing rounds at you. Your picture to be exact. She looked happy with herself. I got mad. I didn't know what to think. I mean she's been telling us she had to play along so Stefano wouldn't hurt her and here I jumped to the conclusion that she could actually hurt you when I know in my heart she never could."

"How did she react?" Hope asked him.

"She was upset as well she should be. I could see in her eyes how hurt she was by what I was asking her. I know how much she loves you."

"But you wanted to be sure she wasn't lying to us." Hope interrupted him.

"Yeah. I mean everything Stefano has put this family through I have to wonder if what she's telling us is true or not. You were under his control and did things you would never normally do. I just thought maybe she might be too."

"Bo, think about it. If she were working for Stefano, she wouldn't be running away from him. She's afraid of him." Hope was reasoning with him.

"I know. I do. You didn't see the video Hope. It caught me off guard. I appologizd to her after. I told her I believed her." Bo said.

"Where is she?" Hope asked him.

"She's upstairs resting." Bo answered.

"I'm going to check on her. I want to drive into work with you. I think we should bring Alicia to Kayla's house. I don't want to leave her here alone. I know Steve and Kay wouldn't let anything happen to her. And I know Alicia trusts Kayla. Will you wait for me?" Hope kissed Bo and went up to check on Alicia.

Alicia was resting on her bed when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."

"Hi sweetie." Hope came over and sat down next to Alicia. "How are you feeling today?"

"Dad talked to you, didn't he?" Alicia could tell by the anxious look on her mother's face.

"Yes he did. Are you okay?" She asked her again.

"Yes. I just wish he knew me so he wouldn't keep second guessing everything I do. But then again, you don't really know me either. How come you always believe no matter what and he doesn't?" Alicia asked her mother.

"Your dad believes you. He's just had to deal with me being under Stefano's influence and he wonders sometimes if you're not.""I'm not. I already told you both why I did what Stefano asked me to do. But Mom, I would never willingly do anything to hurt you." Hope placed a finger on Alicia's lips silencing her.

"I know you would never hurt me. And I know why you went along with what Stefano made you do. You need to see your father's side in this. I did some very hurtful things to him and the family and our friends because of what Stefano did to me. Your dad is just concerned about you. He wants to make sure you weren't brainwashed in any way or had a chip implanted in you that could change the Alicia we know to the one on that disc." Hope tried explaining to her.

"He never brainwashed me." Alicia told her mother.

"How do you know that he never brainwashed you?" Hope's curiosity was piqued.

"I was born with a photographic memory. I would know if he ever tried to brainwash me. I remember everything form my life." Alicia looked down at her hands twisting the top of the sheet in them. "Sometimes I wish I could forget, but the memories are always there both good and bad."

"So that's how you remember so much about me. You were just a child when I left." Hope brushed the hair out of Alicia's eyes.

"I remember everything about our time together." Alicia reached down to the locket that hung from her neck and twirled it around on the chain.

"Is that the locket I gave you when you were little?" Hope asked her pointing at the locket.

"Yeah. I've always kept it with me. You said as long as you were in my heart and I was in yours, we'd never truly be apart." Alicia smiled at her mother. "I know you didn't remember me because of what Stefano did to you, but I think you still carried me in your heart. I always felt you near whenever I looked inside the locket and saw you smiling back at me."

Hope reached out and hugged Alicia. "I wish I had remembered you sooner. You wouldn't have had to spend your entire childhood with a mad man. Your dad and I would have stopped at nothing to find you and bring you home."

"I'm just glad I'm here now." Alicia sat back and looked at her mother. "My childhood wasn't entirely with Stefano. I had you and the memories of you were forever in my heart. So in a way, you were with me the whole time I was growing up."

"Hope you coming?" Bo hollered from downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Alicia asked her. She looked worried her mother and father were going to leave her alone.

Hope noticed the look on her face. "I have to go to the office for a little while. Would you like to stay with your Aunt Kayla while I'm gone?"

Alicia hugged her mother close. "I'm sorry I'm being such a baby." She told her.

"You're not. You have every right to feel apprehensive after everything you've been through." Hope held her face in her hands. "I won't be gone long. I think afterwards we should go to lunch and maybe do a little shopping. This room of yours could use a makeover. It still has that guest room feeling and I want you to feel like it's yours. I could get your dad to paint it whatever color you want.""Even pink?" Alicia beamed.

Hope laughed. "Even pink." She winked her eye at her. "Let's get moving before your dad leaves without us."

……

"Bo, Hope. I'm glad you're both here." Abe said walking into Bo's office. "I heard from Celeste. She wanted me to tell you she's sorry she kept your daughter from you, but she was under the impression that Alicia was dead and didn't want to bring her up since Hope had no memory of her. She thought it was best to keep you from having to grieve for a child you didn't even know about."

"That makes no sense at all. Why wouldn't she tell us about our child? We had every right to know we had a daughter out there." Bo got up from his desk and went to close the door. "I could have searched for her. I know what Stefano is capable of doing. I wouldn't have stopped looking for my daughter or believed she was dead without a body to prove it. She kept us for our daughter and that is something I will never forgive her for.""Bo. She believed Alicia was dead." Abe tried to calm him down.

"How exactly did she say she died?" Bo asked him.

"She said she was killed in a fire shortly after Hope resurfaced."

"How convenient." Bo was livid. "She was the one who started that fire if my memory serves me correct."

"Bo. You yourself know Celeste came to Salem around that same time."

"She was still working for Stefano then." Bo's anger only grew. "She should have told us. Even if Alicia was dead, we had every right to know."

"Bo. We have our daughter back now. There's nothing we can do to change the past." Hope slid her hands up the front of his chest and leaned her face against his back.

"She felt guilty, because she believed Alicia died in the fire she herself started. That's the real reason she didn't want us knowing about our daughter. She'd have too much explaining to do, not to mention a little jail time for manslaughter. This had nothing to do with not wanting you to have to grieve over a child you barely knew or even remembered." Bo pulled Hope's hands off of him and walked out of the office slamming the door behind him.

"Hope. I don't know what to say." Abe looked at her sorrowfully.

"Abe. It's okay. Bo needs some time to think. It's been a rough day for him. I don't hold Celeste's actions against you. She has a lot more explaining to do as far as I'm concerned." Hope and Abe talked for awhile longer before he left to go home. "Brady, I hope you're not doing anything stupid."

……

Bo was rounding a curve in the road when he noticed Vito duck into the abandoned mills. "Guess Higley was telling me the truth after all. What are you planning Stefano?" Bo pulled over to the side of the road and got out of his car. He crept up to the mills and drew his gun before entering. Bo crept inside looking all around his surroundings for any sign of movement. He walked along the wall his gun out in front of him. Vito was sitting in the corner of the room looking over some papers. He never heard Bo creeping up on him.

"Freeze Vito! Put your hands up where I can see them." Bo walked over to Vito and pushed him against the wall slapping cuffs on him in the process. "You have the right to remain silent…." Bo read him his rights and walked him out to his car. He shoved him into the backseat and drove off.

……

"Bo I was worried you weren't coming back." Hope went to him the moment he stepped into his office. "Where did you go?"

"I went for a drive. Good thing too." Bo told her.

"Why?" Hope's eyebrow arched on one side. "What happened?"

"I ran into Vito. He's being booked right now." Bo was grinning from ear to ear like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"You arrested Vito?" Hope couldn't believe she heard him correctly.

"Yup. That bastard is going to fry right alongside Higley."

"Did you give him the Brady justice before bringing him in here." Hope asked hesitantly.

"No Hope. I kept my cool even though every cell in my body wanted me to bash his face in for hurting Alicia. The last thing I want is for him to get off on a technicality of police brutality."

"I can't wait to tell her the good news." She kissed Bo and walked to the door before turning around. "By the way, Brady, you have some painting to do when you get home. Hope you're up for it." She winked closing the door behind her.

"Painting? What on earth is she talking about?" Bo nodded his head and went to work.

……

Hope knocked on Kayla's door. "Hey Hope." Kayla greeted her. "Are you here to pick up Alicia?" She asked her.

"Well that and I wanted to invite you to have lunch with us. So what do you say to a girls day out?" Hope asked her as she walked into the apartment.

"I would love to go to lunch with you. But I can't. Joe isn't feeling well. I think he's breaking a tooth in and I just don't want to leave him." Kayla told her. "Raincheck?"

"Definitely. Where's Alicia?" She asked Kayla when she didn't see her daughter.

"Stephanie dropped by with Chelsea a little while ago and they took Alicia with them to Salem Place. Alicia mentioned you were going there with her later and thought you could just meet them there." Kayla said. "I hope it's alright she left with them. I know how worried you are about her. I just thought she could use some fresh air and time with people her own age."

"Of course it's fine. I actually have some good news. Bo just arrested Vito. So I can rest a little easier knowing Alicia is safe for the moment."

"That's great. You must be so relieved. Poor thing has been through so much these past few weeks. Listen why don't you stay for a cup of coffee before you go meet up with the girls. I'm sure they're fine on their own." Kayla dragged Hope over to the couch and poured her some coffee. "So did my brother do anything to him?" She looked over the rim of her cup at Hope.

"Funny you should ask that. I asked him the same thing when he came back to the office." Hope laughed. "He doesn't want anything to go wrong with this arrest. He's playing it completely by the book this time."

Kayla and Hope chatted for awhile before Hope left to join her daughter at Salem Place. Alicia was shivering in her thin red jacket. Hope remembered Alicia had come to them with only the clothes on her back. She could only go on borrowing clothes for so long. Hope decided to make it an all around shopping spree for the two of them. She felt like celebrating. "Hi sweetie, Steph, Chels. Have you been having fun?" She asked them.

"We've been showing Alicia the sites." Chelsea told her. "I hope you don't mind us taking her out with Vito on the loose and everything? We've been really careful."

"Well, Vito has been arrested.""He has?" Alicia jumped at the news. "Really?"

"Yes. Your dad arrested him just a little while ago. You don't have to worry about him anymore." Hope lovingly touched Alicia's face. "Are you girls done showing her the sites? I thought maybe we could do some shopping."

"I have to get to work. Sorry Aunt Hope. Maybe some other time." Stephanie said her goodbyes and left.

"I actually need to get back to the hospital as well." Chelsea told her.

"Okay, really guys am I that old that you don't want to be seen shopping with me?" Hope jokingly asked.

"No. Of course not. I would love to stay and shop with you, but I really need to get back. I've been gone longer than I should've." Chelsea hugged Hope and Alicia and left.

"Is it really safe for me to go out in public without looking over my shoulder?" Alicia asked her mother.

"I think so. I don't think Stefano will try anything right now. We have two of his men in lockup. He'll be keeping his distance from you for the time being." Hope took Alicia's hand in hers. "So are you ready to do some shopping? I think we should go clothes shopping first. You need a whole warddrobe."

"Mom, that's too much money. You can't do that." Alicia told her.

"I have some money saved up that I was keeping for a rainy day. And although it isn't raining, I would love nothing more than to spoil my daughter just a little." Hope and Alicia walked through the mall stopping in many boutiques buying out half of them. They had lunch got their nails and hair done and shopped some more. The two of them were sitting at Java Café with bags surrounding their feet when Julie and Melissa caught up with them.

"Hello ladies." Julie was the first to speak. "Taking in a little shopping I see."

Hope laughed knowing her sister all to well. "We were just heading home to decorate Alicia's room. Want to help?"

"We'd love to. Wouldn't we Julie?" Melissa turned to Julie who nodded her head in agreement.

"Great the more the merrier." Hope rose form her seat and began gathering her belongings. "I think we better get home before your father does so he doesn't see exactly how much we bought." She said looking at all the bags in her hands. They all laughed and made their way back to Hope's house.

……

"Hope?" Bo called out as he came up the stairs. "What's going on here? Are we having a party and you didn't tell me?" Bo walked into Alicia's room which was empty of all it's furnishings. "What's going on?" He looked around the room to see Julie, Doug, Melissa, Hope, Alicia, Maggie and his mother all there.

"Grab a brush and start painting." Hope threw a paintbrush his way. "We're having a decorating party." Hope winked at him.

"So this is what you were talking about when you said I would be painting when I got home. Mind if I get out of this suit first?" Bo was pointing out the door getting ready to leave the room.

"Hurry back. We'll be saving a wall for you." Hope laughed.

"A wall? There are …" Bo motioned with his finger to count the people in the room, "seven people here and I have an entire wall to myself? Why am I the odd man out?"

"Because we love you." Hope went over and kissed Bo trying to avoid getting any paint on him. "Besides, we moved all the furniture so it only seems fitting you should have a wall to yourself." Hope smiled at him.

Bo kissed her again. "Can't argue with that. But tell me who's moving all the furniture back in here?" He asked her.

"Well, I thought since you have all these strong muscles that you could do it." Hope looked at him seductively.

"Cute. I think I might need a little incentive." Bo licked his lips.

"How's this for incentive?" Hope pulled Bo into a passionate kiss that lingered on for a few moments. "There may be more where that came from after the job is finished."

"Works for me." Bo turned on his heel and left to go change with a broad smile across his face.

Hope went back to painting with a devilish grin on her face.

"After all these years, Hope can still get Bo to do almost anything with just a seductive look." Julie laughed.

"Julie!" Hope's face crimsoned.

"Come on Hope, you know she's right." Melissa chimed in.

"You guys, stop ganging up on me. I thought you were all on my side?" Hope laughed pointing at each member of her family. Alicia looked on and smiled at the scene. She was happy to be part of this family. "Okay, everyone back to work." Hope ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Everyone responded saluting her.

The room was finished being painted and the family was in the living room enjoying some take out. "Is it always this much fun to decorate a room?" Alicia asked.

"Whenever there is more than one Horton or one Brady involved in any event, it's always going to turn out to be a lively affair." Julie told her as everyone laughed agreeing with her.