Many thanks for your reviews and patience. You rock.

Here is the next chapter written over several days…

Partially Edited... I'm exhausted; I'll reread it sometime tomorrow.

Chapter Seven

What She Deserves

--- "Wake up chipmunk."

Alexis was tickling her little feet in an attempt to wake her. Sam laughed as she attempted to hide them from her mother's grasp. She curled herself into a little ball and covered the bottom of her feet with the palms of her hands.

--- "Mommy, stop!"

Alexis crawled into the bed and pulled her daughter to her.

--- "Stop? Why would I do that? This is so much more fun!"

She tickled the little girl in the stomach and under her neck, causing her to squeal in delight; Alexis loved the sound of the child's laugh in the morning.

--- "It's your first day of school, silly! You don't want to be late, now do you?"

Sam reached up and began to tickle her mother back, causing the woman to laugh aloud with her.

--- "But, I want to stay with you."

She lifted her daughter into her arms and carried her into the kitchen.

--- "I know you do, baby, but it's only for a few hours."

She sat Sam on the stool, grabbed a couple of bowls and spoons, and placed them on the island. She then held out two boxes of cereal in her hands.

--- "Okay, so which one are we eating today? Peanut Butter Crunch or Coco Puffs?"

The little girl licked her lips and smiled.

--- "BOTH!"

Alexis made a face at her daring daughter.

--- "Both?! I don't know how tasty that would be."

Sam bounced up and down in her seat.

--- "Hmm-mm! It's gooood!"

--- "Ooookay! I'm going to trust you on this one, BUT if it's nasty, we're having brussel sprouts for dinner."

Knowing her mother hated the vegetable just as much as she did, Sam shrugged her shoulders; she decided to call her bluff.

--- "That's fine! I LOVE them!"

She kissed the little girl on the top of her head.

--- "Liar."

--- "Am not!"

She placed both boxes of cereal onto the counter before grabbing the milk from the fridge.

--- "Well, be prepared to eat them because I don't think this mixture is going to be very good! Now you pour a little bit of Peanut Butter Crunch into your bowl, and I'll pour Coco Puffs into mine, then we'll switch."

Sam nodded and grabbed her assigned cereal box.

--- "Okay!"

Alexis knew that she needed to get up and face the monsters that threatened her child's security. While she wanted nothing more than to pack a bag and run away with her daughter by her side, being a law student, she knew she had no rights to Sam. In addition, she knew that a life on the run was not the type of life she would have ever imagined raising the beautiful girl snoring softly in her arms. She would not dare offer her beautiful girl a temporal sense of security; Sam was worth more than that. She deserved more than that.

As she lay there holding Sam in her arms, Alexis could not help but feel as though she had failed her; if she had fought harder for her daughter, surely they would not be in such a predicament. If she had stood up to the man who never gave much of a damn about her, a man who never once tried to prevent all that had happened to her from the time she had moved into his household without a single thought or upset, she could have protected her daughter. If she had allowed her voice to actually be heard, for once in her life, her daughter would have known, from the moment she exited the womb, what it was to be loved.

Flashback

Five months pregnant and fresh off her flight from Maine, Alexis walked, with Stefan by her side, into the library where Helena, Stavros, and Mikkos sat. Despite the physical abuse that had been inflicted upon her at the hands of two of the three people watching her every move, in that moment, Alexis had never been more terrified in her life. She knew with every step that she took into the large Cassadine library, the less of a chance she had to run away.

As she made her way toward the couch facing those people, Alexis realized the irony of the situation in which she had found herself: her child's life was at the mercy of people who did not give a damn about the life of its own mother. If she were not so terrified, Alexis would have laughed; this was yet another cruel joke life played on her.

--- "Good Afternoon Cousin Mikkos, Stavros, Ma'am."

She dared not ever refer to Helena as Cousin; the woman made it quite clear that she wanted no familial ties to the young girl. As a result, she referred to the woman as nothing but Ma'am.

Mikkos nodded his head to the girl in acknowledgment of her greeting. He watched as Stefan, ever the gentleman with his cousin, allowed her to take her seat in the facing chair, before sitting beside her.

--- "Alexandra."

Stavros feigned a cough, as he called her a whore. Helena pursed her lips and looked her up and down in obvious disgust.

--- "I see the little bastard could not help herself but create her own bastard. Well, let me make this quite clear to you, Alexandra, if you think for one moment that we are taking care of yet another free-loading little—"

Mikkos shook his head and squeezed Helena's knee, indicating his desire for her to remain silent. He stood up and walked about the room for a moment thinking of how he would proceed. After some time, he cleared his throat as he prepared himself a drink.

--- "Alexandra, I do not understand how an intelligent girl like yourself managed to put yourself into such a disgraceful position such as this."

Stavros, a hateful soul who lived for making the girl feel worthless and below even the worse degenerates in the street, interjected into the conversation.

--- "Father, I think it's quite obvious; she is an ungrateful whore. Here you go spending thousands of dollars to send her to the States so that she could have an excellent education, and this is how she repays you. She is a dishonorable, unworthy, piece of trash—"

Stefan felt his blood pressure rise with each insult Stavros threw at the girl. He wanted nothing more than to stab the twenty-five year old mama's boy in his ice heart, thus killing both he and their insufferable mother; she would certainly be unable to live without her adoring son.

--- "Why don't you shut your mouth you revolting son of a bitch?"

He ensured to glare at Helena as he stressed the final word. At twenty-three, Stefan was no longer the tortured and tormented child he had once been; he was no longer afraid of the people sitting across from him. While Alexis may have been bashful and shy in the face of such mistreatment, he could no longer tolerate it; he would not stand idly by as his dear cousin was insulted by two of the most detestable people he had the displeasure of knowing.

--- "You have your nerve Stavros. You sit there, practically at your mother's breast and call Alexandra the most deplorable names no man, or woman for that matter, should ever call another woman—"

Helena stared at her younger son with a profound hatred. Every time she looked at the boy, she wondered why it was she had not aborted him the moment she found out that she was pregnant with him.

--- "You, of all people, you pitiful piece of garbage, have YOUR nerve. Your brother is more of a man than you will ever be—"

Mikkos, fed up with the fighting, took his glass and threw it against the fireplace.

--- "Enough! Stavros, I want you to leave."

The young man would have argued with his father, but he decided not to bother; he had a new wife to return to.

--- "Fine."

Once he was out of the room, Mikkos looked to each member of his family. He was quickly losing patience; he wanted this situation resolved efficiently and expeditiously.

--- "We are not here to discuss your hatred for one another. This is about Alexandra. I would like to know how this happened."

Alexis, aside from greeting the family when she entered the room, had remained quiet; she had learned long ago that her voice was worth less than the servants of the Cassadine household. Therefore, when Mikkos directly spoke to her, she was at a loss for words, so she simply shrugged her shoulders.

--- "It was a mistake."

Helena jumped up from her seat and got into the girl's face.

--- "You better believe this is a mistake. It's one that we're going to eliminate first thing in the morning."

The color in Alexis' face paled as she protectively put her hands on her bulging stomach. The thought that she would be forced to give her baby away made her sick to her stomach; never in her life had she felt more love than with her baby growing inside of her. While Stefan loved her, it was not the same as the love she felt from her little tadpole swimming inside of her.

The baby signified a person who, from its first breath, would look into her eyes and know that she would do everything in her power to protect her and keep her safe; that child, would be loved in a way that Alexis never was. In turn, she knew that her baby would love her the same. Regardless of anything and everything, her baby was her salvation. It would be a day of reckoning before she allowed the evil woman before her to destroy that.

For the first time in her life, Alexis looked Helena directly in the eyes and stared defiantly at her.

--- "I won't let you kill my baby."

Helena knew it was a mistake allowing the girl to be sent to an expensive boarding school in the States. In fact, it was a mistake to have allowed the freeloading waif into her home in the first place. As far as she was concerned, the girl was just as much of a mistake as the animal growing inside of her.

And now, sitting in her home, having been given all of the luxuries in the world, she had the audacity to not only speak back to her, but to do so in the most arrogant and disrespectful fashion. Helena was appalled and disgusted by Alexis' newfound bravado. She smacked the girl in the face.

--- "We will not be forced to have yet another good for nothing bastard in this house."

Stefan nearly pushed the woman away from his cousin before she had a chance to assault her again, but Mikkos intervened; he pulled his wife away from the pregnant teen. Despite his disappointment in the girl, he never supported his wife's obvious hostility toward her.

--- "Helena, that is the last time you will touch her."

In response, Helena glared at her husband for his interference with the discipline of the children in their home; this was always her domain.

--- "Excuse me, but this child comes to us pregnant at fifteen, with no job, and no money of her own, and now we're supposed to raise this thing for her?"

Alexis felt a fire burning in her at the insults being thrown against her child. Her child may not have had a voice, but she certainly was beginning to find hers.

--- "My baby is NOT a thing! I never asked you for anything and I certainly won't be asking you for anything in regard to my child. I'll raise her on my own."

Mikkos held fast to Helena who threatened to hit the girl once more.

--- "I would like to speak to Alexandra alone."

Stefan stood to object, but Mikkos shook his head; he had already spoken to his son about the situation. Therefore, he simply nodded his head, gave his cousin a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room.

Helena, on the other hand, was not pleased. She knew that despite his cold-hearted demeanor, her husband had a soft spot for the pitiful urchin. She would not stand for yet another mouth to be fed at the expense of her family's pocket.

--- "Mikkos—"

He immediately stopped her mid-sentence.

--- "Helena, I mean it."

While she was in no way a subservient wife, Helena knew when to leave well-enough alone. She gave her husband one last glare before walking out of the room.

Once they were alone in the room, Mikkos made himself another drink before addressing Alexis who was sitting as quiet as a mouse on the couch rubbing her belly soothingly.

--- "This is a disgrace, Alexandra—"

She shook her head in disagreement as she spoke softly to the man who took her into his home.

--- "With all due respect, Cousin, but my baby is not a disgrace."

He was shocked that she would respond to him; it seemed that her time out of the country was changing her. He was not sure, at the moment, whether the change was for the better or the worst.

--- "I apologize. I do not mean to insinuate that your child was a disgrace, Alexandra. It is the fact that you are fifteen years old and pregnant that is disgraceful. You are too young to raise this child—"

Her heart began to race in her chest at the thought that she would be forced to abort. She would sooner die before she allowed such a thing to happen to her baby.

--- "Cousin—"

He put his hand up to stop her from continuing; he would not allow her new attitude to become a habit in interrupting him as he spoke. She may have been pregnant, but she was still a child; he was the head of his household.

--- "Alexandra, you need to complete your education and make a life for yourself before you think about raising a child. You have too much to still learn in this life."

When he saw that she had begun to silently cry, he walked to his desk and retrieved a few tissues, which he handed to her.

--- "I will allow you to have your baby, but you will give it up for adoption."

Alexis' heart felt as though it had been ripped from her chest at the thought that she would allow the child to live within her for nine months, and then hand her over to another person. She was at a loss for words; the only thing she could do was cry.

--- "You will have other children. Giving this child away is the best thing you can do for it and for yourself."

--- "HOW!"

Mikkos cleared his throat and retook his seat on the couch across from her.

--- "You will get your education and mature. Your baby will live with a family who can afford to take care of—"

She wiped her tears as she continued to hold her belly with her free hand.

--- "Her. My baby is a girl."

He wanted to smile at the thought that she was having a little girl as it would seem to rewind the clock on the passed eleven years of her misery-filled life, but he thought better of the idea. He needed to remain serious.

--- "It is too soon—"

She shook her head.

--- "Cousin, I know this baby more than I know myself. She's a girl, and she is beautiful."

There was nothing more to be said on the matter; he simply nodded his head and took another sip from his drink.

--- "Alexandra, your child will have a better life than what you've had. I know that I was not always here to protect you, and I do not know if this is why you have gotten pregnant, you wanted someone to love and someone to love you, but it cannot be this way. You are no good for this child—"

She went to interrupt again, but he shook his head; there would be no discussion on the matter.

--- "You will continue with your education, and one day, by the grace of God, you will have another child whom you will be able to shower with the love you would have given this one. After speaking with Stefan about your condition, I managed to find a couple that will raise your child for you as their own. She will be raised and fed by adults, as a child should be. Her parents will watch her grow up, rather than grow up with her. The couple will love her the way she deserves to be loved."

--- "Please!"

He shook his head.

--- "It has been decided. Now, you will return to your school tomorrow morning. I will ensure that the school knows that you will be taking some time off in the spring to handle this."

Alexis knew that there was no point in arguing any further with the man. Once his mind had been made up, his decision was unalterable. In five short months, the best part of her would be taken and given to someone else.

End of Flashback.

He promised her that her daughter would be loved the way she deserved to be loved. The memory disgusted Alexis as she held Sam in her arms. This was the way she deserved to be loved. Any less was insufficient.

Mikkos handed her baby to people who did not love her child at all. She wondered to herself if this was his definition of what her baby deserved: an abusive, emotionally destructive home with two alcoholics. Regardless of what he may have thought about her supposed disgrace of a child, Alexis knew that her daughter was worth more than the people outside of her door.

She gave her daughter another kiss on the top of the head.

--- "You deserve to be loved more than anyone in this world could possibly love you. But, baby, of any mother, any real mother walking this earth, no one can and will love you more than I can."

Sam stirred in her sleep; she whimpered as she gripped her mother's shirt.

--- "Mommy—"

Alexis' heart broke at the realization that her daughter was having yet another bad dream; it was evident that Sam was calling for her help. She passed her hand up and down the child's back to reassure her of her presence.

--- "Samantha, Mommy's here with you. She's not going anywhere."

As she felt Sam's grip loosen on her, Alexis hoped that the nightmare had ended. She did not want her child suffering in neither her sleeping, nor waking hours.

--- "My baby girl, you are priceless to me."

She was ready to fight to ensure that the worthless trash outside of her room knew this.

Alexis held Sam's hand in her own as they walked toward her school. Sam gripped her mother's hand tightly as they approached the doorway, causing Alexis to stop in her spot. She knelt down to her daughter's eye level.

--- "What's the matter, chipmunk?"

Sam's little eyes filled with tears at the thought that she would be left alone with people whom she did not know for several hours. She was uncomfortable with the idea.

--- "Mommy, I don't want you to leave me!"

She smiled at her daughter and wiped the fallen tears from her cheeks.

--- "Sammy, it's okay; Mommy's not leaving you—"

--- "Are you staying with me all day?"

She gave her daughter a kiss on the nose.

--- "Sweetheart, you know Mommy can't stay with you. She has to go to her own school. But listen to me; you'll be fine because you know what?"

Sam wiped the tears from her face.

--- "What?"

--- "There's a bunch of other kids in there who don't know anyone either. You'll make friends, and soon, you won't need your Mommy."

Sam wrapped her arms around the woman.

--- "That's not true! I always need you, Mommy."

Alexis lifted her tiny daughter into her arms.

--- "And I need you, Chipmunk. And besides, I need you even more because you have to eat all the brussel sprouts at home for dinner tonight!"

Sam laid her head on her mother's shoulder as they walked into the school.

--- "It wasn't THAT bad, Mommy."

Alexis tickled her daughter slightly causing the nervous child to laugh.

--- "It was too sweet and just yucky! That'll be a combination we never make again,"

--- "Okay!"

When they arrived at the classroom, Sam gripped her mother more tightly.

--- "I don't want to go."

Alexis sighed at her daughter's continued apprehension. She did not know what else she could tell the child to put her at ease.

--- "Samantha, we talked about this. You have to go to school—"

--- "Are you going to be here when I get out?"

She passed her hands through her daughter's hair.

--- "I will be the first one outside of the school waiting for the cutest little girl to come out running into her Mommy's arms. Okay? Have I ever lied to you?"

Sam shook her head.

--- "No."

She put the girl down so that she might walk into the classroom like a big girl.

--- "So, I won't lie to you now, Chipmunk."

Stefan watched the drunken couple for some time as they walked about the living room and dining area passing their hands all over Alexis' belongings. The mere sight of the couple enraged him. Aside from the obvious, their lack of concern for the child he viewed as his niece, there was something about the couple that seemed off to him. Their desire to keep a child they clearly had no money to provide for, along with their evident hatred, or dislike, for her, made it strange that they traveled such a distance to take her back. This did not sit right with the man; one would have thought that such people would be rejoicing at their unloaded burden.

--- "What is it you're after?"

Cody retook his place on the couch and smiled at Stefan.

--- "We want our kid back."

Stefan leaned forward to get a better look at the drunken man in front of him.

--- "No, you want money. Your wife came here with Samantha, saw her new home, and realized that this was a windfall for her."

Cody disregarded the man's inquiry. He looked at him in his custom made suit, shiny shoes, and perfect speech; he knew that every minute Stefan sat across from him, he was judging his attire. He knew that his bargain and thrift store jeans and t-shirt, his beat-up sneakers and unshaven face disgusted the man. In fact, Sam, having been with the people for just one day, was already given a makeover. As far as he could see, that little girl's family had pockets deeper than the deepest ocean.

--- "So, what is it your family does that makes them so… rich?"

Stefan glared at the despicable man as his suspicions were confirmed.

--- "We worked."

Evelyn returned his glare as she sat beside her husband.

--- "You hear that Cody? They worked. That's how they managed to get that platinum gold sticks stuck up their asses. We need to find us some jobs like that! Those plastic spoons we put in Samantha's mouth for the past six years were not worthy of her rich blood! It's no wonder she's such an ungrateful little b!tch."

It was as though she made such a disparaging comment for Stefan's benefit; she wanted to get a reaction out of the man. Stefan, on the other hand, refused to give them the satisfaction of angering him.

--- "I suppose it's a good thing Samantha is back where she belongs."

Cody scoffed as he began flipping through Alexis' law book.

--- "I hope she enjoyed her day of pampering because she's coming right back to New Jersey, where she belongs."

Stefan bit his tongue in response to Cody's comments, but would not tolerate the man defacing his cousin's expensive books with his grimy hands.

--- "Close those books, please. I doubt you will be able to comprehend anything inside of them."

Cody was growing fed up with Stefan's sideways comments concerning his and Evelyn's class and intelligence. He closed the book and approached the man.

--- "What's your problem? Huh? That kid is mine. I want her back."

The man before him had a slovenly appearance, bad teeth, an obvious dandruff; Stefan was disgusted that he had been so close to such filth a few minutes prior.

--- "Sir, I suggest you take a few steps backwards before speaking to me. The stench emanating from your body is disgraceful."

Cody's face reddened at the insult.

--- "You've got some nerve!"

He balled up his fist and moved to punch Stefan in the face, but being accustomed, thanks to Stavros, to fighting, Stefan ducked and quickly kneed him in the groin. Cody fell to the floor in pain.

Evelyn, shocked at what she had just witnessed, jumped up to his aid; Cody put his hand out to stop her.

--- "I got this, Ev. I don't want you to get hurt."

Stefan laughed to himself as he saw the man struggle to get to his feet. It pained him to think that Samantha had spent years with such pathetic people; that child deserved so much more than this.

--- "Yes, I'm sure you don't."

Evelyn, sober enough to realize that her husband was not much of a fighter while under the influence, disregarded his order, and moved to help him.

--- "Get up you useless piece of sh*t. You're embarrassing me letting this suit kick your ass!"

Cody glared at his wife.

--- "F*ck you b*tch!"

He pushed her out of the way and lunged at Stefan. Noticing the man's instability on his feet, Stefan quickly stepped out of the way and pushed him back onto the floor.

--- "Sir, I am trying my best to be kind, but you are pushing my buttons. You do not want to cross me."

Evelyn looked from her husband on the floor to the well-composed man brushing off his suit. She was embarrassed that her husband allowed a man who more than likely, in her mind, knew the meaning of hard work, humiliate him in such a way. She pointed an angry finger at Stefan.

--- "Leave him alone! We just came here for what's ours."

Stefan disregarded the woman speaking to him. Having grown up in a household where his mother took no mercy on his cousin, and certainly none on him, either, Stefan had no respect for such women who had the audacity to call themselves mothers. Despite this, he would have hated to verbally abuse her; unlike the man on the floor, it was not his style.

--- "Now, I suggest you remain on the ground like the piece of dirt you are, or have a seat on the couch so we can discuss how you will leave my cousin and her child alone."

Evelyn angrily shook her head in disagreement.

--- "I told you already that we're not leaving here without the kid."

Stefan watched as Cody slowly made his way to the couch; he was grateful that the drunkard learned his lesson, so that he would not have to touch him once more.

--- "What interest do you have in that child? It's evident to me that you hate her—"

Cody sat on the

--- "We don't hate her."

Stefan scoffed as he opened Alexis' cabinets in search of glasses so that he could pour glasses of water for these unwelcomed guests; he hoped that it might sober them.

--- "You have a funny way of showing it. What is it that makes you think you could take the child, drop her at Alexandra's doorstep, filthy and clearly abused, allow that young woman to care for her and bond with Samantha, and then take her away? I'm sorry, but I will not allow it."

--- "And neither will I."

Everyone looked to the direction from where the voice had come; Alexis had just stepped out of her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and approached the couple.

--- "It'll be a cold day in hell before I allow you to take my child away from me."

Evelyn stood and smiled at the young woman.

--- "Well, put your coat on, little girl, because that kid in there is coming with us."

Alexis was ready for a full-blown fight with the woman. If she had had anything in her hands, she would have used it to kill the woman who had pledged to take care of her daughter. As her mind went back to the memory, she became increasingly incensed; it was in those two reprehensible people her child had been entrusted. This was what Mikkos that her child deserved. The entire situation made her sick to her stomach.

--- "Who the hell do you think you are? Sam is not an object; she's a human being. She is a beautiful little girl who is sweet and gentle. She deserves respect, caring, and nurturing! My God, she deserves to be loved and not treated like a punching bag! What kind of person barters with a child for food?"

Evelyn crossed her arms against her chest and smirked at the young woman.

--- "I'm the woman who gave that worthless kid of—"

There was that word again. Alexis saw only red; she was on top of the woman within seconds. Before she took the first punch, however, Stefan was pulling her off and yelling at her in French.

--- "Think, Alexis! Despite how drunk and filthy this woman is, she holds the cards in her hands."

Alexis yanked her arm back from her cousin as she watched Evelyn drunkenly scramble back to her feet as her husband had done only minutes prior.

--- "The hell she does!"

She switched back into English so that the couple could understand her. She turned again to face Evelyn.

--- "As a woman, as a mother, and God do I say that in the loosest sense of the word, how could you treat Sam the way you have? She has bruises all over her, and flinches with every touch. You have my daughter so frightened of you that she urinated on herself—"

--- "And you! She's a little pig."

Alexis moved to smack the woman, but Stefan once again held her back. As much as he would have also liked to strike her, he knew they both needed to remain calm.

Evelyn, seeing that the young woman would not harm her, laughed and continued to speak.

--- "She really is a pathetic little thing, six years old, yet looks like she's about three—"

Alexis struggled in Stefan's arms.

--- "That's because you don't FEED her!"

Cody stood up to defend his wife. He would not stand for these rich people to insult his wife's mothering or their ability to feed their children. He worked hard for the little that was on their table, and would not have anyone think any differently.

--- "HEY! We feed her!"

Alexis was astounded; she could not believe the man would stand in front of her and lie to her face the way he just had.

--- "Are you kidding me? Your wife JUST said that Sam looks as though she's three! She is weightless in my arms. Her little body is practically emaciated because she doesn't get anything to eat from you people. For the first time in her life, she was able to eat without worrying that if she didn't clean after herself that she wouldn't be able to have a meal later! God, you're animals!"

As Evelyn was about to interject, Cody continued on with his previous statement.

--- "Look, lady, we do the best we can. While you were growing up with a silver spoon in your mouth, we were taking care of your kid to the best of our abilities—"

Alexis shook her head.

--- "By making her feel like sh*t?"

--- "NO! By showing her that she has to work hard for everything. Just because you ask for something, it doesn't mean that you deserve to have it that minute. We're teaching her the value of hard work."

Alexis broke from Stefan's grasp and walked up to the man. While he stood several inches taller than she, she was not in the least bit intimidated. In fact, coming from a childhood where she faced two people scarier than this slovenly waste of skin, she felt quite confident.

--- "You are a sad excuse for a man, you know that? In all the time that Sam has been with you, you've given her NOTHING! All these toys and books you see around this room, and the clothes that you obviously put your filthy hands on in my drawers and closet, Sam was amazed to see. You have made my daughter think she was not deserving or worthy to receive even the smallest token of kindness! The only thing that child thinks she deserves is a beating for sneezing too loudly! That's what you consider good parenting?!"

--- "I never laid a hand on Samantha—"

Alexis rolled her eyes at his defense.

--- "Wow, that must make you father of the year. You sat around and WATCHED as that BITCH abused my baby—"

--- "It wasn't like that—"

Alexis refused to allow the man to think that his actions, or lack thereof, were acceptable. Whenever she undressed Sam and saw the fresh and old marks all over her tiny body, anger raged within her; she wanted to kill the people responsible for hurting her child the way they did. And there they were, standing in her living room, attempting to excuse the hell in which they put that little girl.

--- "It wasn't like that? How was it then? Sam, in the past day, has told me that she's a pig, garbage, and is worthless. I tell her that I love her, and she doesn't even believe me! What kind of lesson did you think you were teaching her by having her feel so lowly of herself? You people make me sick!"

She then moved to Evelyn. She needed to get everything that was going through her mind out; she needed to have her peace.

--- "Alexis—"

Stefan moved to stop her, but Alexis put up her hands.

--- "Stefan, I just want to talk to her; I'm not going to touch her—"

Evelyn rolled her eyes.

--- "Yea, you'd better not!"

Alexis shook her head as stared at the woman for a moment. Of the two people, without question, she hated Evelyn more than words could ever describe.

--- "You call yourself Sam's mother but you ridicule and mock her. You beat her like cattle and refuse to feed her. What kind of mother allows her child to be so frightened of her that she cowers in fear?"

--- "One that demands RESPECT. That brat knows that she better act right or she'll get it from me."

Alexis stepped back from the woman before her hand, rather her fist, connected with her cheek. She had spent years living in a home where she was pushed around and beaten by a woman who seemed to hate her simply because she breathed. When she held Sam in her arms and felt her shaking in fear with each step Evelyn took toward them, Alexis was taken back to her own painful childhood; she would have never imagined that her own child would be subjected to such treatment.

--- "No, it's not respect you're getting! You're abusing her. And let me tell you something, you put your hand on my daughter for the last time."

Evelyn smirked at the girl's naïveté.

--- "Little girl, you've clearly forgotten that this isn't up to you. That kid, is ours and we have more of a right to her than you do at this point. So, call the cops, do whatever you want, but that kid is coming with us."

Alexis stared at the woman before speaking to her cousin in French.

--- "Call the police, Stefan. I will be damned if these people take my daughter from me."

Stefan nodded and moved to the kitchen, but was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object, causing Alexis to turn in shock at the loud thud.

--- "STEFAN!"

She ran to help him, but was careful to not turn her back on the couple. There was blood on the floor where he lay. Alexis was terrified for her daughter, and then for herself. Considering the husband's assault on her cousin, there was nothing to stop her from thinking that he might attack her as well, and then take her baby.

--- "What the hell is wrong with you!? And you think that I'm going to allow you have my daughter?"

Cody smiled at the young girl.

--- "I don't think you've much of a choice."

When the school bell finally rang, Sam was overjoyed; she had been anxiously awaiting the end of the school day so that she could once again be in her mother's arms. While she liked her teacher, and found the other children to be nice, she missed her mother.

After the teacher led them outside, Sam saw her mother leaning against her car; she waved to her.

--- "There's my chipmunk! Come to Mommy!"

Sam smiled and ran into her mother's arms.

--- "MOMMY!"

Unfortunately for her, the person she had seen from a distance seemed to have transferred right before her eyes.

--- "Sorry, kid."

A new, yet familiar, sense of terror went through the child's body.

To her utter shock, Evelyn, who managed to sneak into the bedroom, in the time Alexis ran to Stefan, had snatched a now clearly distraught Sam from the bed.

The little girl reached for Alexis, but Evelyn smacked her hard on the bottom in an effort to prove her point: Sam belonged to her. She screamed in shock and pain as she continued to scream out to her mother.

--- "Mommy—"

Alexis felt tears well in her eyes as she saw her daughter scream out in pain; she stood, almost frozen in her spot. She was afraid to leave Stefan's side, but terrified and pained for her daughter.

--- "LET HER GO!"

Sam continued to reach out to the woman she had grown so attached to in the passed day.

--- "MOMMY, please!"

Cody yelled at his wife.

--- "Will you go already?!"

Alexis quickly ran toward the woman who was now moving quickly to the front door with her daughter in her vile arms, but Cody grabbed the young woman's arm.

--- "Sorry sweetheart, that's not happening."

She wrestled to free her arm, but despite his drunkenness, he was quite strong.

--- "Let go of me! Sam!"

He laughed as he hit Alexis in the back of the head with the same statuette with which he had hit Stefan moments earlier.

--- "No, no, no, little girl. I think it's past your bedtime."

Witnessing her mother fall unconscious to the ground, Sam fought harder in Evelyn's arms. She cried for Alexis in a strained voice.

--- "Mommy, you promised! You promised me!"

Evelyn gave her another hard smack.

--- "You SHUT up this instant! That little bitch does NOT want you; you're nothing. You're coming back home with us, where you belong."

The child was choking on her own tears. She found herself crying over the fact that she was not only going back with the McCalls, but that she had believed that a perfect stranger actually loved her enough to not lie to her. She cried because she allowed herself to believe in the words of a kind person simply doing kind gestures. She cried because she had allowed herself to think she deserved such a loving family.