"You actually told Layla that she needed to stop doing her designs on the back of her WIC coupons?"

"Don't look at me like that, Liam. So I made some off colour remarks. Everyone is acting like I'm the Grand Duchess of the KKK."

"It's 'Grand Wizard', not 'Grand Duchess', and you told a black woman to stop bleaching her teeth and start bleaching her skin, Caroline. You don't see how that could be considered racist?"

"Ridge is the one who said that! Didn't you listen to the tape?" Caroline scoffed before dramatically throwing herself onto his sofa. She couldn't go to work, not after waking up to her and Ridge all over the internet with white hoods photoshopped on top of their heads. "And why is everyone calling me racist? I'm not racist! If I were racist, would I be friends with Carter? Rafael? Layla is just an uppity bitch, Liam. I mean, sometimes I get snarky, but I'd never call her the N-word."

"Listen, I have to go to work. Spencer Publications needs to figure out how to show we don't condone the horrible, HORRIBLE things you and Ridge told that woman. I'm going to do my best to not throw you under the bus, but I can't make any promises."

"Just go. Abandon me like I'm one of your ex-wives. Uncle Bill is on his way over here anyway." Caroline sighed loudly and closed her eyes, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead.

When she heard the front door shutting, Caroline quickly sat up. Liam had actually left her!

Hopefully, Ridge was having better luck with his family. Unlike Caroline, he actually was going to the office, but he had mentioned something about stopping by RJ's loft first.

B&B

"We already released our statement. It's on the Forrester Creations website and all related social media accounts. We have no further comment at this time," Rick told what felt like the 80th reporter of the morning. After hanging up, he looked to Layla and laughed.

No work was getting done. Stock prices had begun to slip, but they weren't in freefall. Layla was doing even more damage control than he was: setting up future interviews but giving no actual comments.

"I appreciate this more than you know," Rick told Layla when they both had a break from the unending phone calls. "After the stuff with Ivy, I thought Forrester was officially out of scandals."

"That was more of L&M's problem anyway. She was the widow of that company's cofounder," Layla reminded Rick, her phone vibrating with a text message. "You just had to deal with the fact that her last name was Forrester."

"Thank god she was just the cousin nobody cared about," Rick agreed. Then the conversation ended as the phones began ringing again.

B&B

"You have ten minutes. I'm already late for work." RJ wasn't surprised to see his father had found his loft, especially not when he saw that Taylor was with him.

"Is Noah here?" Taylor asked as she and Ridge entered. She glanced at the wall and rubbed her neck. "I see you got that fixed."

"Shut the fuck up, Taylor. The only reason you're even in my loft is because you came with him." RJ glared at his father with all the hate he could muster. "Why are you here and why did you bring her? Or did you forget that she outed me to the entire world?"

"RJ, I've already apolo..."

Stomping his foot, RJ shut her down with a look. "Bitch, I told you to shut your goddamn mouth! Or do you wanna see my impression of Noah's mom?"

"RJ! Watch your language! I get that you're upset with and Taylor, but you need to listen to my side of the story. I was set up!"

"I know, Dad. I'm the one who did it." After listening to the tape, after the emails had been sent and the audio files uploaded, RJ had volunteered to be the fall guy. He didn't want to see Rick, Maya, or Layla get thrown under the bus over by his father. And, frankly, he wanted this confrontation. "You really thought I was sincere yesterday? You're as stupid as you are ugly.

"I work with Maya. I overheard her talking about the horrible things you and Caroline would say to her when she was still at Forrester, and now the whole world knows the equally awful things you say to that Layla woman."

The hurt and betrayal on Ridge's face made RJ laugh. It was cold and hateful and he wondered if his cruel streak came from his father. At least he got his looks from his mom's side of the family.

Ridge looked to Taylor. She held his hands and whispered something in his hear that RJ couldn't hear, then walked out into the hallway.

"You better stay out there, CUNT!" RJ yelled at Taylor after she shut the door.

"RJ, Son." Ridge's voice sounded almost as broken as his lap band. "Where did this hate come from? What did I do for you to despise me so much you would ruin my name, your entire family's name, in the press?"

"The only person who ruined your name was you. You and your whore. I didn't edit it to make you look bad. Those were your own words. Your own hate-filled bigotry," RJ shot as he crossed his arms.

"It's because of Caroline, isn't it? Because I left Katie for her?" Ridge asked, not taking the bait RJ had thrown in his face. He was so calm. It made RJ sick. "Son, sometimes things don't work out. Part of being an adult is understanding that we make mistakes and that people need to be forgiven."

RJ flashed back to Noah telling him about kissing Eden. He remembered forgiving his boyfriend when he didn't mean it. He still didn't feel it. Every time he saw Noah, RJ got mad. It was a good thing he finally had an outlet.

"Caroline? You think I'm mad at you over that fucking slut that you stole from my brother? And don't give me that bullshit about Rick cheating on her with Maya. I don't care." RJ walked away from his father and to his bay window. He spent a few precious seconds gathering his thoughts as he watched the traffic clog the streets below. "I hate you because of you, Dad.

"I bought you that snow globe as a reminder of how horrible things were in Paris, when you and Steffy were so wrapped up in your own failed marriages and Grandmother's death that you ignored me even though I was in pain, too. Noah had left me! My grandmother was dead! And you spent the entire time talking about yourself or what was happening at International."

"I didn't know you and Noah knew each other back then," Ridge managed to say before RJ shushed him.

"No. You want to know why I'm so mad? Why I hid a bug in that snow globe and recorded you being a racist dickbag and leaked it? Then you shut your damn mouth and listen!" RJ screamed. It wasn't working. Going off on his dad wasn't making him feel better. He just kept seeing Noah kissing Eden back in Paris, when they were all kids. He saw his Aunt Katie with that stupid ribbon on her finger. RJ looked into his dad's eyes and saw the fear and concern in them. He didn't care.

He stomped away and checked his hair in the mirror while he tried to regain his composure. The silver streaks were already starting to fade and his roots were beginning to show. RJ debated if he wanted to get it touched up or just go with something new.

"Taylor outed me four months ago, and you brought her here. You brought the bitch to my home." RJ tore his eyes away from the mirror and looked at his dad. He saw a defeated, middle-aged man who was in pain. That actually made RJ feel a bit better. "And I never heard from you. After I was outed, after Taylor leaked that video of me and Noah to the world, you stood by her side. Just like you did when she ran Liam's brother down.

"And you never called to see if I was okay. To tell me that you still loved me, and that you didn't care that your son is the biggest faggot in Los Angeles."

"Don't call yourself that," Ridge pleaded. RJ held his hand up.

"I told you to shut up and listen," RJ ordered hatefully. He was shocked that he hadn't started angry crying. "I never did the self-hating thing, Dad. Being gay was never a big deal for me. The reason I never came out wasn't because I was ashamed or embarrassed. It was because I didn't want to deal with you. And it's hilarious because you didn't care about me after I was outed. Just like you didn't care when I was still in the closet.

"Except for that dinner. That damn dinner where you took getting to know me and my boyfriend and made it all about you and your damn slut. And yeah, I went off on you. It almost cost me Noah. And if I had it to do again? I wouldn't, but not because of you or Caroline. Because fuck you two. I won't lose Noah. Not because of you, or his grandfather, or her."

RJ realized he was losing the plot. He was saying too much of the wrong thing. His father picked up on it, too.

"RJ? Are you okay? Is everything okay with Noah?" Even after everything RJ had said, Ridge still believed he was allowed to ask.

"Do I look like I'm okay, you overstuffed garbage bag? You fucked me up! So I'm returning the damn favour. There won't be a moment where I break down and you hold me and call me your little boy. I won't forgive you after one overture of giving fuck about me. I hate you, Dad. And the one who caused that was you. Nobody stopped you from picking up a phone the last three months and trying to work things out. You're only here to do damage control. That fucking bitch Taylor is only here because you didn't even know where I live, right?

"You're as shit of a father as you are a husband and coworker. Everything you touch gets ruined except for your dresses. So that's one thing in your positive column. No, wait, it's the only thing."

"I'm sorry," Ridge told his son.

RJ blinked and his father was gone. Noah was standing there instead.

"What the hell?"

Noah frowned and reach out to him. "RJ, I said I'm sorry. About everything."

"NO!" RJ screamed as he grabbed his head and closed his eyes. He opened them back up and Noah was still there. He stumbled back into the window, as scared as he was livid. "Get out. GET OUT! I don't forgive you. I'll never forgive you!"

"You don't mean that," Noah pleaded. RJ grabbed a vase that had cost over $300 and threw it at Noah, who ducked under it. It crashed into the wall and shattered, falling to the floor in dozens of pieces.

"Get the hell out of my loft and out of my life before I kill you. I never want to see your face again!" RJ followed up on his threat by pulling off one of his shoes and throwing it at Noah. It hit him in the shoulder and Noah stepped back fearfully.

Before RJ could take the other shoe off, the door to the loft opened. All the air left his lungs; he felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Is everything okay in here? I thought I heard a crashing sound." Eden stepped into the loft and looked at Noah, then at RJ. He stumbled away from her, terrified.

"He threw a vase, but nobody is hurt," Noah explained to Eden. She bit her lip and nodded, then began to walk to RJ.

"RJ, it's okay. I know you're mad at me, but just listen. I heard what you said when I was in the hallway. Nobody meant to hurt you. Not even me. I made a mistake."

"I told him to leave, now I'm telling you. Get the fuck out of my loft you fucking whore."

"RJ!" Noah yelled, defending Eden's honour.

"No, it's okay. He's allowed to be mad at me. I did something horrible to him, something for which I may never be able to make up," Eden told Noah, though she never took her eyes off of RJ. She kept creeping closer to him. "Listen, RJ. Just talk to us. We can all be calm, rational adults here. Right?"

"This is your last warning. I'm not kidding," RJ told Eden. "After that, it's all on you."

"I'm a big girl, RJ. Call me whatever you want. Just believe me when I say that he," Eden jerked her head to Noah," loves you. And you won't believe me, but I love you, too. We both love you, RJ. We just want to work through this."

Then RJ punched her in the mouth. It was just the one time, and he wasn't even strong enough to knock her off her feet, but it felt good. It felt amazing. He wanted to do it again, but some strange force stopped him.

"SON!"

RJ blinked and looked to Noah but he was gone. Ridge was back in his place, and Taylor stood where Eden had been seconds before. She was holding her mouth.

"I told you to leave, but you won't listen." RJ's voice was as unsteady as his footing. He feared that he was losing his sanity.

Slowly and carefully, he retrieved his shoe from where it had fallen by his father. While he backed away and slipped it on, Taylor and Ridge watched him. He very carefully tied the laces. Then RJ bolted past them and out the door. He was leaving his keys and his portfolio behind in the loft as he ran to the elevator. He didn't care.

Ridge and Taylor followed him into the hallway and RJ decided to not wait for the elevator. He took off for the staircase. While he wasn't strong, RJ was fast. He would lose them soon enough. He would lose them like he was losing his mind.

B&B

"There you are," Bill said. Caroline was lounging in Liam's bed, reading a fashion magazine. It was print, so the only mentions of her were positive. "Why are you hiding from this? You're a Spencer. We thrive off adversity."

"Uncle Bill, there's no way for me to thrive off this. Someone started a 'KKKaroline" hashtag on Twitter! I'm trending in the US!"

"That's disgusting," Bill spat. "You should be trending worldwide!

"I know!" Caroline whined. "And my Instagram followers has increased, but most of them don't have teeth and have photos of the Confederate Flag as their avatars. Stacey Dash followed me on Twitter, though. I always loved her in Clueless."

Bill laughed as if she said something hysterical. It was mostly to cover that he didn't know who Stacey Dash was. "Well, I have good news, my ethnically challenged niece. You see, I have in my hands the one thing guaranteed to blow your little tirade out of the water and ruin Rick and Maya forever."

"You have no such thing!" Caroline sat up and threw her magazine against Liam's wall without a second thought. She bounced excitedly on the bed. "What is it? What did Myrna do?"

"That's just the thing." Bill grinned mischievously and held up a manila folder. "Her name isn't Myrna."

He handed the folder to Caroline and waited as she looked it over. Caroline spent more than a few minutes parsing through the documents. When she was done, she closed the folder and held it to her chest. "You can't release this."

"What? Why not?" Bill was incredulous. "Caroline, everything you need for the perfect comeback is right there in that folder."

"I would rather the entire world think I'm racist than do this to Maya. I hate her, I hate that she destroyed my marriage to Rick, but not this much."

Bill threw his hands in the air in disbelief. "You know what? Fine. It's your reputation on the line. But just in case you come to your senses, I'll leave that dossier with you. I hope you come to your senses, Caroline. And fast."

As her uncle walked out of the bedroom, Caroline sat the folder on her lap. She ran a hand over the blank cover and wondered if her morals really were more important than salvaging her name.

B&B

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be running International!" Rick barked when she stormed into his office. "And I'm too busy dealing with this Ridge stuff to bother with you!"

"Thorne has it under control. I'm back to save my company, Rick. I won't let you run it into the ground in a vendetta against my dad. I know you're behind this. As soon as I saw it hit the blogs in Paris, I knew it was you. While you were all sleeping, I was on the first flight back to Los Angeles. And I'm putting a stop to this ridiculous game you're playing."

"Steffy, you don't know what you're talking about."

She leaned on his desk and threw her hair over her shoulder. "No, Rick. I do know what I'm talking about. You've just forgotten who you're dealing with."