Chapter 21

"Why don't we sit at the table for this" suggested Sandy "there's a lot of information for you to take in Marissa."

The three of them sat at the kitchen table and Sandy laid the file on the table. All three stared at it before Sandy spoke again.

"Marissa, this file is in no way complete. This is all I could gather from calling in favors all over Newport Beach and through the police department and D.A.'s office. Obviously, it was done overnight so resources were limited, but I think I've gathered enough to give you an idea of what happened here." He paused and reached to touch Marissa's hand. "All I can say kiddo is that Ryan and Kirsten and I are here for you whatever you decide to do with this information. There's really no easy way to do this so I guess you just have to read it all."

Sandy slid the entire file over to Marissa. She opened it and began to read. Sandy and Ryan sat in silence watching Marissa as she read paper after paper. Ryan read each page after Marissa was finished with it.

When Ryan had called Sandy in the middle of the night he had rambled his theory in three minutes flat. His request at the end had been that Sandy contact anyone he knew on the hospital board, in the various police departments and anywhere else he could think of that could provide information as quickly as possible.

Ryan had hypothesized to Sandy that this was a cover up that took money and influence and could probably be uncovered fairly easily if the source of the money and influence were known. There was only one person who would or could be involved in such a scheme. Julie Cooper.

With that to go on Sandy had been able to feign knowledge of the cover up to gain information from the hospital. He had called the current president of the hospital's Board of Directors who had been merely a board member 8 years earlier, at 3 a.m. in morning. Posing as Julie Cooper's attorney and mentioning the 'incident' with her daughter had then gained him access to the any records pertaining to that. What that had revealed was an unbelievable story of the lengths a mother would go to for her child. Good or bad.

Now Marissa was reading the results of Sandy's investigation. She was learning that her mother was her aunt and her aunt was her mother. She was learning that her mother had found it necessary for some reason to change her name and take her away from all the things that could have helped her regain her memory. She was learning that everything she had believed to be true for the last eight years and even pieces of her life before the accident were a lie, and Ryan was learning the details as well.

Aside from the hospital and name change documents in the file, Sandy had included the police report of the accident and the court records from Volchok's arrest and incarceration. Marissa sat in shock as she finished the file.

Ryan finished reading and looked at Sandy. "That bitch!" he said out loud. "How can I possibly face her without wanting to choke her?" He got up and left the table.

"Where are you going?" asked Sandy.

"To call Julie and fire her ass!" said Ryan.

"Wait, you know Aunt Julie, I mean, my mom?" Marissa pleaded through tears.

"Yeah, she's my partner at ATCO. You would have met her yesterday, if she hadn't ducked out to some client meeting at the last minute. Once I saw you and knew it was you, that kind of got me thinking that maybe she knew something. She acted kinda weird when I mentioned your name, but I never imagined the depths she went to. I can't possibly work with her anymore." Ryan was out of breath and passionate with his anger, as he always was with anything that concerned Marissa.

"Don't call her, I want to see her." Marissa said quietly.

"You WHAT?" Ryan said surprisingly loudly.

"I want to see her. I want to see my 'Aunt Julie" and have her explain to you and me why she did this to me…to us." She smiled at Ryan and turned to Sandy. "I don't want her to know that we know anything about this. I mean, she obviously suspected something, but could you maybe go to her office and tell her that Ryan wants her to come to dinner tonight. A family gathering to welcome Nate. Everyone should be there. I want to meet Seth and Summer and I have a plan."

Marissa filled Sandy and Ryan in on her plan and they both agreed that it would both force Julie into a confession of why and would serve as a small act of retribution for what she had done. The plan was to put Julie into an alternate universe where Marissa had never gone away and was a part of everyone's lives. It was crazy and risky for Marissa, but it could serve two purposes. Firstly, she hoped it would shock Julie into explaining why she did what she did, and secondly, it could help her remember.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to Julie. I'll fill Seth and Summer in on what's been going on. Summer will likely want to come over early. Either that or she'll go into labor" Sandy chuckled "and I'll ask Kirsten to keep Nate away until dinner and try to explain the situation. Marissa, you should call your office and asked to be removed from Nate's case, but not before recommending Ryan as an ideal foster parent" he smiled "but you are now in a conflict of interest." Sandy walked out the door waving leaving Ryan and Marissa to further discuss 'the plan'.

"You know, I feel kind of weird" said Marissa after Sandy had left. "I still don't actually remember anything, but I feel like we are connected and I feel like I could trust Sandy with anything and I've really known him only a matter of hours."

"That's because you can" Ryan commented. "He's always had a soft spot for you. He and Kirsten promised your dad they'd look out for you when he left."

"Oh my god." Marissa suddenly broke down and started crying uncontrollably. "I hadn't even thought about my dad. I don't remember him and Cindy and Julie never talked about him. I want to remember. I want to remember my mom, my dad, Summer, Seth, you, us, and I can't." She buried her head in her hands and sobbed.

Ryan moved next to her and pulled up a chair beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into to his chest.

"It's going to be ok, Marissa. I promise you. Julie is going to fill in the blanks tonight, and maybe you will start to remember." He kissed her forehead as a sign of comfort and she lifted her head to look at him. She wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed into his.

"I think we should practice for tonight" she said suddenly with a smile and pressed her lips to his. Ryan responded immediately deepening the kiss and slipping his tongue into her mouth. Marissa pulled away and stood up looking at him seductively. She took his hand and led him towards the stairs. Ryan followed until he realized what she was doing.

"Marissa, stop." He said pulling her hand back before she started up the stairs.

"What? It's what you want, and what I want. History or no history, I was attracted to you the second I saw you." She was crying again and pleading with him.

"As much as I want to do this, and believe me, I do, this isn't right. I want it to be when you remember and when it's not an emotional reaction to what you're going through right now." Ryan cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. "We have some work to do if tonight is going to work, don't you think?"

Marissa smiled and nodded knowing that Ryan was right. They spent the rest of the day preparing for the evening to come. They worked in the kitchen preparing food telling each other everything about their lives for the past eight years. They laughed and joked and got to know the people that they were in the present without reliving the baggage from the past. If this plan didn't help Marissa regain her memory, that afternoon would be the building block to a new future.