Kristina followed the sound of music down the long hall. The door was ajar so she stood outside the room and listened. She knew the voice from the cassette tape that Alexis had, but the aria was different. The young redhead closed her eyes and listened to her mother's voice. Tears welled under her lashes both from the beauty of the piece and from missing, and longing for her mother. Growing up Kristina had often wondered where she'd gotten her ability to sing because no one in her adoptive family could carry a tune in a bucket. When she'd found out that her birth mother had been a singer it changed how Kristina felt when she sang. Each and every time she sang, be it on stage or to her niece, Kristina felt a connection to her mother. She hadn't been able to explain that to Alexis, maybe she should have tried harder, because maybe her sister would have been more accepting of what she was trying to do with her life.

"That was her favorite piece." Mikkos said at the end of the recording.

The young woman jumped as her eyes flew open. She hadn't realized she'd caused the door to open from leaning on it. She looked at the man who sat in the room. Her father; Kristina was still having a problem processing that.

"Come in." Mikkos said as he looked up at her.

It was a music room, built she had no doubt especially for her mother. Kristina walked in and took a seat near Mikkos. "Why?" She asked simply.

"She loved the story." Mikkos answered, as he looked at the daughter who reminded him of his beloved Kristin, the daughter he had to watch grow up from a distance.

Kristina smiled softly. "She was a romantic?"

Mikkos chuckled. "Yes. Happy or sad, heroic, comedic, or tragic, as long as it was a love story she was enthralled."

"I wish I had known her." Kristina said softly as her mother's voice once again filled the room. She was again startled when Mikkos reached over and put his hand on hers. She looked up into his dark eyes, Alexis' eyes, and just like with her beloved sister she could see what truly lied beneath. "You loved her so much."

"I did." Mikkos replied. "I do." He held tightly to his youngest child's hand and looked into her bright eyes as the light in the room highlighted her red hair. "She came as quite the surprise to my life."

"How?" Kristina asked.

"She was so bright and full of life." Mikkos said as he pictured the love of his life in his memory. "Such a contrast to everything else in my life." He closed his eyes and listened for a moment and in that moment he was back on the terrace of his study in his home in Greece. "It was her voice that I noticed first. A soft, happy, beautiful voice, not just the voice of an angel but of God, it came wafting up from the garden below my window. It was startling at first, to hear such a joyful sound on the island, but then I realized Helena and her son were gone. The whole island seemed to take on a different air when they were off to darken some other poor helpless place."

While Kristina sat with him as Mikkos told his story Alexis lingered in the hall. Like her sister she'd been drawn towards the sound of her mother's voice, and now stayed to hear her father's story.

"I was working in my study and heard this beautiful song so I stepped out onto my terrace to see where the singing was coming from. It was just light enough to see her in the garden. She was simply enjoying the evening, the breeze off the ocean, the rising moon, the peace. I watched her, enchanted by her. I watched her until she went inside and then went back to my work, but for days she was on my mind. The next time I saw her I was taking a walk and I heard laughter coming up from the beach. Laughter, happy, giddy laughter was another sound not common to the island."

Alexis managed to hold back a snort at such an understatement.

"I found her on the beach with Stefan. They were playing in the surf and laughing. I don't think I'd ever heard my son laugh before that moment." Mikkos continued. "His face was shinning, his eyes bright, and his smile contagious. That's when I knew who she was and that evening I sought her out for the first time." Mikkos grew sober then. "It broke Stefan's heart too loose his beloved governess but I had to keep Kristin safe from Helena. Her employment was terminated and she was sent away from the island. Several months later we received word, in passing of course, that Kristin Nelson had been killed in an accident. Kristin Bergman was working with the best operatic vocal coach in Europe in preparation for her first show."

"Poor Stefan must have been devastated thinking she was dead." Kristina said sadly. It meant a lot to her to know that her brother had once loved her mother and he had been loved by her in return.

Mikkos nodded. "Yes, but Kristin's safety was more important especially after becoming pregnant with your sister. If Helena would have found out…"

"She found out anyway." Kristina cut in. "She found out and she hunted our mother down and slit her throat right in front of Alexis."

Mikkos had to look away. He couldn't bare the emotion in his daughter's eyes, nor the memory of finding his beloved Kristin dead and his precious daughter covered in her blood and catatonic.

"You loved her so much." Kristina continued. "You should have done a better job of protecting us, of protecting her." Her anger and sadness flared as she added, "I should have grown up with my mother and my sister! I should have had the chance to have memories of this place like Alexis has! I should have had the chance to know my mother, to know you!"

Alexis managed to get out of the way just as her sister stormed past. She saw the tears and it broke her heart. She turned to look at Mikkos who was looking at her in return. "Not the happy reunion you were hoping for is it, Father?" She didn't give the man time to reply. She simply walked away so she could follow Kristina so she could comfort her. As she passed Nikolas' room Alexis paused and knocked. She knew both kids were in there because they'd been attached at the hip since their arrival. Stepping inside she asked, "Have you two found the garage yet?"

Nikolas and Sam shared a look before Nikolas answered. "Yes, and there's several cars but we aren't sure if they work or not."

"Sam," Alexis said with an inward sigh. "If they work can you…"

Sam cut her mother off so she wouldn't have to say it out loud. "Yeah, they're old but I can get them started."

"Good." Alexis replied with a nod. It was time to go. She didn't say anymore she simply walked out of the room and down the hall to Kristina's room. She knocked on the door before walking in. She didn't say a word she simply walked over to the bed and laid down beside her sister and put her arm around the younger woman.

Carly sat in the large office that looked like it came out of one of Sam's black and white movies. In fact this whole situation felt like something out of a movie, only the characters in the movies never got grounded over a satellite phone for sneaking out of the country by stowing away in a bathroom. Despite the fact that her mother was sporting more of a blonde look these days, when she's on a tirade like the one she'd let loose on Carly, there was no forgetting Bobbie Spencer was a hot tempered redhead. Luke on the other hand had been more mellow about his niece playing tagalong. He'd actually found a use for her in his plots to gain more information. The plan was for Jax to distract the bank manger while Carly slipped in a floppy disk that would copy all the files Luke would need to figure out where Sam and her family were. Carly was surprised at how good Jax was at pulling a con and she wondered if Sam knew he was a natural. As soon as Jax had the banker out of the office Carly did just as her uncle had told her. By the time Jax and the banker came back she had the disk safely back in her pocket.

Back at the hotel Luke went over the information carefully. "Well, this is interesting."

"What?" Jax asked from over his shoulder.

"There's been some recent activity." Luke explained. "New trusts created and there's been an increase in how much is being spent from other accounts. From what I can tell this account here has been consistent for awhile, but in the last month or two it's started to seen increased usage."

Jax took a careful look at the columns and figures. "It looks like some kind of household account."

"Now all we need to do is find out what house it's taking care of." Luke said as he went back to poking at the laptop's keyboard. "These withdraws have to be going somewhere."

"I didn't know you knew so much about computers." Jax commented.

Luke chuckled. "I'm not as dumb as I look." It took some time but Luke was about to track a couple of the withdraws to some shops in a town in Austria. "Hey pretty boy, how's your German?"

"Where are we going Uncle Luke?" Carly asked.

"Where the hills are a live." Luke answered.

Carly blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't you ever watch musicals?" Luke asked his niece.

Carly shook her head.

"Such a deprived child." Luke teased as he packed up his stuff. "Austria, this little town in the Alps. Hope you packed a coat."

"I didn't pack anything." Carly said with a roll of her eyes. She knew that her uncle was just trying to keep things light to keep her and Jax from going out of their minds with worry, but it was starting to piss her off.

"Then you'd better hope Jax takes you shopping." Luke advised. "It doesn't get very warm in the Alps."

It was well past midnight when Sam got the car started. She was rather proud of herself. The car was fairly old and unlike anything she'd hotwired in the past. It took longer then normal but in the end she got the old car running and as quietly as she could too. With her mother behind the wheel they were slowly backing out of the garage but they didn't get far once they'd made it to the gravel path. "Mom, look out!"

Sergei and two guards were blocking their way and suddenly driving down the path became a game of chicken. Alexis continued to slowly make her way forward but when the men showed no signs of moving she finally gave in and stopped. "Damn it." She slammed her hand against the wheel as the guards came over and opened the doors.

"I'm sorry Princess." Sergei said as his boss's family got out of the car. "I can not allow you to leave." He looked at the guards. "Escort the Princesses and Prince back to their rooms." Once their guests were back in their rooms Sergei went to Mikkos' study. "It was a rather lame attempt."

Mikkos chuckled. "But an attempt none the less. My daughter has grown so much in these past years. The fact that she would dare to make any attempt at leaving, of defying me, is proof of that. My Natasha has flourished without my presence in her life." He poured himself a drink before turning to look at the young man. "She will continue to grow when I am once again a memory."

"Will you be telling them soon then?" Sergei asked.

"No." Mikkos replied. "I will not darken what time we have."

"And if you want that time to be prolonged I suggest you change your plans." Nassir said as he entered the room. "Traveling will only exacerbate the problem."

"I heard you the first several times, Nassir." Mikkos told the man. "I must do this. I will not have anything, not even my son, stand as a threat to my daughters. I will not have him, no matter how good his intentions; use what I am doing as another means of control. Now if you'll excuse me I am going to retire for the evening. Johann, I wish to have breakfast alone with Natasha before I leave."

"Of course Sir." The other man said with a nod of his head.

The next morning Alexis was shown to her father's study. When she walked in she found Mikkos sitting at a table looking over some papers. The scene snapped her back in time and for a moment she felt like the scared little girl who lived on Cassadine island. When her father looked up at her and smile that feeling quickly faded away. Mikkos had never smiled at her on the island but he had in this house and that was the man she wanted to remember.

"Good morning Natasha." Mikkos greeted. "I hope I haven't gotten you up to early after your late night."

"If you expect me to apologize…" Alexis began but her father held up his hand to stop her.

"I do not expect an apology." He said. "To be honest I'm please."

Alexis didn't even try to hide her surprise. "You're pleased that we tried to escape?"

"I am pleased that you took a stand." Mikkos said as he waved at a chair for her to sit and join him. "I am pleased to see you coming into your own. I do however wish you would stop seeing this as your prison."

"Sending your goons out to stop us didn't exactly help with the image." Alexis said as she sat. "And maybe if you'd been more of a father to me and less of a distant coldhearted son of a…"

"If I had been any more or less than what I was you would not be the woman you are." Mikkos cut in. "We can not change the past Natasha, we can only try to make amends for past mistakes and shortcomings, be in the present, and look to the future." He pushed several folders towards her. "I would like you to look these over while I am away."

Alexis looked between the folders and Mikkos. "What is this?" She looked up at him. "You're going away?"

"You'll know what they are as you look them over." Mikkos answered as he stood. "And yes, I will be gone for several days. The staff will be here to serve you." He stood beside her and leaned down, placing a kiss atop her head. "Enjoy your home in peace my beautiful Natasha."