The joy that coursed through his veins was indescribable.

"Irina," Victor beamed as she appeared in the Wyndemere foyer, "so lovely to see you! What brings you by?"

"I wanted to see you," she replied coldly.

"Did you? I'm glad!" the man walked to her, "What changed your mind?"

"I…" Irina took a deep breath, dread and hesitation filling her, "I sat with myself and realized that you're my father and you bringing me back was meant to be for my benefit. Your intentions were…good…"

"Of course they were, my girl," Victor stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Helena took a lot from both of us. I was trying to right the wrong of me not having a relationship with you."

Irina blinked, her eyes cast towards the floor. Victor sighed, rubbing circles with his thumbs.

"...I'm sorry about Dexter's passing," he began, "I know you loved him dearly, but you have to know what happened was for the greater good. He's in a better place now, free from his degenerate father and taking comfort in knowing his sacrifice was not in vain."

Slimy, evil bastard… Irina thought to herself, her mind jumping to Dex for a moment. Her body tingled with warmth as she recalled holding him, cuddling him and knowing that things were going to be alright, My baby's alive. He's alive, he's alive, he's alive-

"Irina?" Victor snapped his fingers in front of her face, "Are you alright?"

"...Yes," she blinked rapidly, "Yes, I'm fine."

"I understand if you're still grieving; he was clearly very important to you. You loved Dexter the way I love you-"

"Don't say his name," she snapped before instantly regaining her composure, "It's just…losing my son still hurts. I don't want to be constantly reminded of it, even though your intentions with what happened were," she gulped, "...good."

"They were, Irina. They were," Victor guided her to the couch, sitting them down, "and something tells me that, with all your grief and heartache, you were a pretty excellent mother."

"I certainly did my best."

"What was life like before you sent Dexter away?"

"I thought I told you-"

"You said you didn't want to talk about the loss of your son. Anything else about Dexter isn't off-limits," Victor pointed out, "So tell me, my dear. How were things all those years ago?"

Irina sighed, closing her eyes, "Things were…bittersweet. Living under my mother's thumb was suffocating. All the milestones and rites of passage I should've experienced were taken from me as I grew up, and all I had was endless training and being trapped in a compound."

"And how did my grandson make things better?"

"It was as if I was in Elysium. He was quite…premature, but fought hard to stay alive. Raising and caring for him, being with him, made me feel like I wasn't just my mother's murder machine."

"Dexter made you human."

"And I couldn't be more grateful to him for it."

"Sending him away must have been devastating."

"It…It was," Irina choked up, anger clawing at her skull: Don't you dare cry in front of him. Don't let him see you be so weak. He is not owed your vulnerability and he should not get an opening to exploit you. Keep it together, Irina.

"I'm sorry about what your mother made you do with him," Victor frowned, "You deserved a better life, from your birth to your son's birth. I wish I had known what she'd done so I could've intervened and gotten you to safety."

"And by 'you,' you just mean me, don't you?"

Victor paused, silence being his answer, "...Let's get your mind off of all that for just a moment, that way you can feel somewhat better. There's something I'd like your help with. There was a specific reason I brought you back into the fold."

"And that is?"

"I…" Victor inhaled, "I want this family to take charge. We're made up of strong leaders and powerful socialites, and yet all we have to our name is our international business. It's quite successful, I understand that, but we should have more. We should want more, regardless of who gets in our way."

"Take charge?" Irina raised an eyebrow, "In what way?"

"For starters, I made moves with Cassadine Industries, and as of this morning, we've surpassed ELQ as the leading financial juggernaut in Port Charles. I've also managed to make significant changes to certain areas of the public sector, such as the police force and a rising journalism cornerstone in The Invader. I'm shaping a town, a world, that is better off in our hands than in someone else's."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I know your skills, dear daughter. The abilities and intelligence you were blessed with shouldn't go to waste. I'm not a fan of how Helena brought you up, and everything it led to, but what she left you with should still get some use."

Irina blinked rapidly, trying to process her father's words, "So…you want me to be an active assassin again?"

"I do."

What makes you think I'll kill for you? Irina thought to herself, Only two people hold that status, and you're certainly not one of them.

"There has been this…group that's been causing me some issues," Victor began, getting to his feet. He buttoned up his blazer, "I want you to get rid of them."

"Who are these people?"

"Anna Devane will be high on your kill list, that's for certain. Not to mention Robert Scorpio and Dante Falconeri," Victor stated firmly, "but none of them are your first priority. I figured opening a police investigation on them would prove useful, but the evidence is…limited at best. It'll be better for all of us if they pass on instead of waiting for the law to handle them, and this person will be the first to die at your hands."

Irina gulped, fretting the answer. She opened her mouth to speak before Victor grabbed her arms, a sinister sharpness in his eyes. His words were a dagger to her heart:

"I want you to kill Wallace Heller."

"We need to act now."

Robert's hands were on his hips as he looked over the people seated under him at the mayor's penthouse. Dante and Sam were curled up into each other while Alexis and Anna sat opposite of them. Laura and Wallace sat directly across from the man, looking between everyone.

"What do you propose we do?"

"Whatever it takes to gut the bastard."

"We need a plan," Anna pointed out, "We can't just go in for the hell of it."

"I know that, dear. Do you have any ideas on where to start?"

"I don't think we should have this meeting without Valentin, for starters."

"We'll catch him up whenever he arrives."

"I think we should also focus on freeing the public service sector from Victor," Dante said, "He has a hold on the PCPD and The Invader."

"Right," Alexis nodded, "not to mention his manipulation of Cassadine Industries."

"So we not only have to take Victor down," Sam began, "we also have to take back what he stole."

"I got that," Robert sighed, looking at Wallace. The man was pensive, lost in thoughts, "Got any ideas over there?"

"...Hmm?" Wallace hummed, snapping back into reality, "What?"

"You were thinking about something."

"I…oh, no, I was just distracted. Sorry."

"Of course," Robert rolled his eyes before looking elsewhere.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked gently, leaning over towards the man. Robert's questions melted into white noise.

"Oh…oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Wallace whispered back.

"Are you sure?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Maybe you should-"

"Anna," his gaze was sharp, "drop it. Let's focus on Victor instead. Please."

"Anna," Robert called out, "help me here."

"Hmm?" she looked between everyone.

"We need ideas on how to stop Victor that doesn't just involve an ambush."

"Well…I think that not everyone needs to take Victor down. We can split the team up and have everyone focus on different parts of the mission."

"My mom and I can try and get The Invader back," Sam gestured between her and Alexis.

"You and I can get me back into the PCPD," Dante looked to Robert, "Your power would override Deputy Mayor Ashby's, wouldn't it?"

"Let me deal with Ashby," Laura held a hand up, "If anyone's power is above hers, it's mine."

"Alright, so," Robert cleared his throat, "Sam and Alexis will get The Invader back, Dante and I will get the PCPD back, and Laura will handle Ashby. That should cover the 'reclaiming the public service' sector part of the plan, would it not?"

"I mean, there's also Cassadine Industries," Alexis pointed out.

"Eh," the man shrugged in response, "that's your nephew's problem."

"All that's left is the team taking Victor himself down," Laura remarked, "Valentin, Anna, Wallace, and Irina-"

"And me."

Everyone turned to see Valentin and Dex standing in the doorway. Dex examined their shocked expressions while trying to avoid any eye contact with his father. Anna looked at Wallace's stunned yet hurt expression, raising her eyebrows in response.

"Valentin," Laura nodded, standing up.

"Laura," he nodded back, "How's Charlotte?"

"She's upstairs, doing just fine."

"Excellent."

"Dex," Alexis smiled as she got to her feet, walking over to hug the young man, "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm as okay as I can be," he replied, hugging her back, "I'm healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital, at least."

"Well, either way, I'm happy that Victor didn't get rid of you."

"I'm just as happy as you are."

"Dex," Laura walked over to him, holding out her hand, "Mayor Laura Collins."

"It's an honor."

"That it is," Anna moved to be right beside her, "Good to see you here."

"Thank you, and thank you for helping take care of me. Uncle Valentin told me what you did."

"You're his nephew; you're important to him. That makes you important to me as well."

"I'm grateful," Dex beamed before he spotted Wallace walking his way. His expression swiftly dropped.

"...Hi," Wallace greeted meekly, "I'm…I'm glad you've been discharged, and I'm glad to see that you're okay. You being here…it's a great thing."

Dex looked him over, blinking a few times before walking past him and taking a seat between Alexis and Anna's spots. While everyone retook their seats, Wallace stood and processed the previous scene for a moment before he took his seat again.

"I want in on the plan," Dex began, "Uncle Valentin briefed me on the car ride here. I want to help. My marksmanship is as excellent as my undercover abilities, and I'm well enough to handle whatever you want me to do. After everything my grandfather did to me at a minimum, his death would be more than satisfying."

"I don't know," Sam sighed, "After what you've been through, it might not be good for you."

"I don't have to shoot a gun or do anything crazy, I just want to help take my grandfather down. He tried to kill me off, and to me, there's no sweeter revenge than him being killed off in return."

"You're not going to be the one to do it," Robert said, "You were just released from the hospital; the last thing any of us want to do is cause your heart to stop. Again."

"I know," Dex replied, stepping closer to the group, "but that shouldn't stop me from helping you all out. I appreciate that you all care about me like this, but just…just let me help. Whatever happens to me will be on me."

"Unless you have an idea that'll keep your health from plummeting, you're going to stay out of it."

"I do have one."

"On a scale from one to ten, how likely are you to suffer a relapse?"

"Three at most."

"And how likely is it that this plan will be helpful in taking Victor down?"

"Ten."

"Dex," Laura sighed softly, "think about this more. You just came out of recovery from a near-fatal experience. Your body's tolerance for stress might be lower than before-"

"Mayor Collins," Dex held a hand up, "I appreciate your worry, but I'm fine. I pulled through, I'm taking it easy-"

"Joining this plan isn't 'taking it easy,'" Dante pointed out, "C'mon, man, just sit this one out."

"No."

"Dex-"

"Just hear him out," Wallace snapped at the group. Dex shot him a look before donning a calm expression.

"...Fine," Robert sighed, "What's your idea, then, Dex? How are you going to help take Victor Cassadine down once and for all?"

"Well, he thinks I'm dead, doesn't he?"

"He does. So?"

Dex looked at everyone, taking in their faces before he looked back at Robert. There was a sparkle of confidence in his eye as he spoke, "...I think it's time he learns I'm not."