Chapter 15

It didn't taken Zach long to make the connection between Max and Leo. Chris had known this, or else he wouldn't have stalled so long in telling Zach who his contact was. Max had shown up with his "aunt" at Zach's casino four years ago. Based on the date of Leo and Vanessa's disappearance, factoring in their plastic surgery, the timing was right. Chris had been in Pine Valley during that period, and he had been tracking Vanessa's criminal activities. Max was currently showing interest in Greenlee and Bianca – two people that Leo had loved very much. Zach was convinced that Max was Leo. His behavior in Rio fit. Chris must have rescued them, and in the process of recruiting Vanessa he had somehow talked Leo into go along with it.

David shook his head. "No, there's no way Leo would have let Greenlee think he was dead. I've no doubt my mother would jump at the chance to avoid jail. But Leo? Chris wouldn't have had anything on him."

"Chris must have convinced him somehow. Max was very unhappy in Rio. I've never met another man more miserable in his own skin. I realize now that he was longing for Greenlee."

A muscle worked in David's jaw. "Do you realize that if he really is Leo, that this makes twice now that you've helped Greenlee's husband fake his death? Twice that you've played an instrumental part in destroying her world?"

Zach gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm well aware of what I've done."

"Not that I believe for a second that this joker is Leo, but if he was as pathetic as you say, why didn't you help him? Why did you sit back and let Chris manipulate him?"

Zach wanted to give him the same excuse that he had given Kendall - that Max had made his choice and Zach's interference would have just made things worse. But he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. All he could see in his mind was Greenlee's devastation after Ryan took off. He remembered Kendall describing to him how hard she had taken Leo's death. He glanced at David, his voice gravelly, "Let's go pick up your passport. You can come to Paris with Ryan and I. Meet Max. If he isn't Leo, you can still help us find out what happened to Greenlee."

-----------

Greenlee sobbed as the contraction wracked her body. She wanted it to be over with, wanted the baby out of her. Adding to her stress was worry over what would happen when she did have the baby. Would Madden take him away before Erica could keep her promise to protect him?

Madden was checking to see how far she had dilated. Her progress was very slow, another point of frustration. She also hated when he examined her. His touch made her skin crawl. Greenlee held more tightly to Erica's hand, taking a tiny measure of satisfaction when La Kane winced at the strength of her grip.

Greg straightened, looking pleased. "You're very close now. I was getting concerned, but you've progressed quite rapidly in the past hour." His smile was obsequious. "We're almost ready."

She glared at him. "I hate you. You're a filthy pig, and I wish I had never set foot in your clinic!"

Madden chuckled. "That's right, Greenlee, energize yourself with your anger. You need all the strength you have to give birth." Greg's beeper went off. He glanced at it. "It's Anastasia, the nanny. I must go attend to Gregory. I'll be back soon."

Erica stepped forward. "Let me go. I want to see my grandson."

He shook his head. "Not yet, Erica. If you behave, you'll see him in due time." He turned and left the room. Erica grabbed a priceless antique figurine sitting on the dresser and threw it against the wall.

Greenlee breathed deeply. "Tell me that one of the pieces is sharp enough to use as a weapon."

Erica stared at the wreckage in disgust, shaking her head. "They're too small. This is insane! There has to be something I can use. I'll do another search. Maybe he'll be gone longer this time." She went over to the bed and stroked Greenlee's hair. "Are you going to be alright?"

Greenlee winced. "I'll be fine, Erica. Just find something…anything. He has to be stopped." Erica nodded and left the room.

--------------

Lena adjusted her blouse to reveal more cleavage. Bianca looked away. Raising one eyebrow, Leo said, "Are you sure you want to do this? We don't know what this guy is capable of."

Bianca turned her gaze back to Lena. "It's not too late to back out. I'm sure Max and I can handle it."

Lena shook her head, and hitched her skirt a little higher. "I know men like him. He will not say a word if another man is in the room. I'm not afraid of him. We'll be taking him on together, and Max will be right outside the door."

Bianca sighed and looked down at herself. "Well, what should I do to look more…alluring?"

Lena gave her a once-over, smiling slightly. "Not a thing," she said softly.

Leo cleared his throat. "We're all set then. Let's get this show on the road."

They took the elevator up to the fifth floor and found the pilot's room. Leo hid around a corner while Lena knocked on the door. After a few moments, the pilot answered. Striking a seductive pose, Lena indicated Bianca. "I decided to take you up on your offer…and I brought a friend. I hope you don't mind."

The pilot stared at the two of them like he just hit the jackpot. Smiling widely, he opened the door wider and motioned them in. As soon as he closed the door, Leo crept out from his hiding spot and went to stand near the door.

Inside the room, Lena sat down on the bed, crossing her legs so that her skirt hitched up even more. Bianca hid a smile and sat also. The pilot, who had introduced himself as Richard Johnson, opened up his miniature refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of French wine. "I just picked this up after I left the bar, so it isn't quite cold yet. Want some, anyway?"

The ladies nodded their assent, and he proceeded to open the bottle. Bianca smiled demurely. "Lena tells me you're a pilot. How exciting. What's it like to have hundreds of lives in your hands, day after day?"

Pouring the wine into plastic cups, Richard shook his head. "I'm not a commercial airline pilot. I fly a private jet. I don't usually have many passengers."

Her eyes widened in awe. "Really? Who owns the jet? Is it someone famous?"

Richard tilted his head. "Yes, but I'm not at liberty to say who it is."

Lena pouted. "Well, it must be fascinating to fly a celebrity around."

The pilot shrugged and took a gulp of wine. "It has it's perks. I wasn't too thrilled with this particular flight. There was a baby on board and he cried a lot."

Lena and Bianca exchanged quick glances. Lena made sympathetic noises. "A baby! How tedious for you."

Bianca gasped. "I know who it is! Brad and Angelina just had their baby. It was them, wasn't it?"

Richard rolled his eyes. "No, no, no. I don't work for actors – they're too temperamental. My boss is a doctor."

Bianca wrinkled her nose. "A doctor? How boring! I thought you said he was famous. Or did he resurrect someone from the dead?"

He frowned at her. "Doctor Ma…my boss is a brilliant fertility specialist. He's in high demand all over the world."

Lena shuddered. "He makes babies? Bianca's right, doctors are boring. I think pilots are much, much more interesting." She flashed him a dazzling smile.

There was a knock at the door. Scowling, Richard went to go answer it. A man in a security uniform had Leo's arm in a firm grip. "Sir, one of the other guests alerted us to this man loitering outside your door. I thought you should be informed before I throw him out."

The pilot put his hands on his hips. "Who the hell are you?"

Lena shot to her feet. "Max! How could you? Did you follow us, here?"

Richard turned to her. "You know this man?"

Bianca stood. "He's our boyfriend."

The security guard dropped his hand from Leo's arm. "Our?"

Leo shook his head. "I was only gone two days. I should have known you two would get restless."

Lena pouted. "We were bored. It's no big deal, darling. You know that we always come back to you."

Richard and the security guard watched, agog, as Lena and Bianca walked over to Leo. Lena kissed him on his right cheek at the same time that Bianca kissed him on his left one. He draped his arms around their shoulders. Lena gave Richard an apologetic look. "Perhaps next time, mon cher."

They made a casual, but swift retreat. Once they were outside the hotel, Bianca sagged against the side of the building. "I can't believe we made it out of there."

Leo shook his head. "I should have been more discreet in my eavesdropping. Did you guys learn anything?"

Bianca clasped her hands. "Yes! It was Doctor Madden's jet, and the pilot mentioned Spike."

Lena nodded. "Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to find out where they went after they left the airport."

Bianca whipped out her cell phone. "Now that we know Retcon Industries is one of Madden's dummy corporations, we can find out what other assets he has under that name. I'll get my people at Cambias to work on it. Meanwhile, I want to go say goodnight to Miranda. We should probably try to get a little sleep until it's time to pick up Kendall." She smiled ruefully, knowing that sleep would continue to be difficult.

Lena tilted her head. "How are Maggie and Miranda?"

Bianca smiled. "They're doing fine. Miranda is simply thriving in Paris."

Lena's smile was bittersweet. "I am so glad that you are happy. I…I think I always suspected that you and Maggie would end up together."

Bianca frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lena shook her head. "I shouldn't have said anything. It is all water under the bridge."

Bianca gave her a stern look. "No. I want you to tell me. Did you have these thoughts when you and I were still together?"

Lena glanced over at Leo, who had discreetly turned away and was contemplating the airplanes take off in the distance. She cleared her throat. "When I was in Poland, trying to pursuade you to come see me, I couldn't understand what was going on - you had all these excuses that didn't make sense. I decided in the end that the real reason you didn't want to leave Pine Valley was because you were falling for Maggie. So, I removed myself from the picture."

Bianca shook her head. "Oh God, Lena! I never wanted to come to Poland because of Miranda. Even though I thought she was Babe's little girl, I couldn't leave her. I understand why you felt the way you did – my behavior didn't make any sense to me, either. Why was I choosing someone else's child over the woman I loved? But now that I know the truth, it makes perfect sense. She was my child. I knew deep down that she was mine, and I couldn't leave her."

Lena nodded. "When the truth came out that Bess was really Miranda, I finally understood. I realized that was why you couldn't bring yourself to leave Pine Valley. But by then I had already ended it between us." She looked away, tears welling in her eyes. "We – we just weren't meant to be together. You belong with Maggie – the signs were there all along."

Bianca held up her hand. "What are you doing? Are you trying to justify our breakup by saying it was fated for me to be with Maggie? That's bullshit, Lena. It wasn't fate that tore us apart, it was circumstances. Babe let me believe my child was dead. Your mother was dying and you needed to be with her on another continent. Those things don't work well to nurture a relationship."

Lena swiped at the wetness on her cheeks. "Why must you be so logical? Don't you realize that it is easier for me to believe we were never destined to be together? I have never stopped loving you, Bianca. I lay in bed at night wondering what would have happened if I had just held on a bit longer. If I had waited just one more month, you could have come to visit me in Poland with Miranda in your arms. I gave up too soon. On you, on our love." Her voice cracked, her expression stricken.

Bianca grimaced, her own eyes welling up. "How am I supposed to deal with this? It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that it was over between you and I. I feel like we're ripping open old wounds."

Lena clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry, Bianca. None of this is your fault. You were right not to come to Poland. If you had, you might never have known the truth about Miranda." She sighed. "Whether or not you and Maggie were destined to be together, there is no denying that you are happy with her."

Bianca wearily rubbed her forehead, sniffing. "Yes, yes I am happy with her. But that doesn't mean I couldn't have been happy with you. I guess we'll never know, will we?" She glanced over at Leo. "I need to make some phone calls." She turned and walked towards the parking lot, trying to force herself not to run.

Leo gave Lena a compassionate look. "For what it's worth, I know how you feel."

Lena gazed at him, her eyes infinitely sad. "I know you do, Leo. I hope you find Greenlee." With that startling statement, she turned and walked in the opposite direction.