'Stowaway', Montauk
At the 'Stowaway', Ava tried to soothe the screaming Julian. Since she had returned with him, he cried the whole time. She had checked his diapers, offered him the bottle, even carried him back and forth in her arms for hours. Gradually, she ran out of ideas of what she could do to get him to sleep again. Perhaps he misses his familiar surroundings or his mother, she thought. She wished that at least Jack had been there to ask for advice. But he was out of the house for a few hours to run errands. "Sh sh sh... don't cry," she said soothingly to the baby, whose face had turned crimson because of the screaming and trembled slightly. She laid him on the bed and carefully began to undress him. Perhaps he's just too warm, she thought. In fact, his bare skin felt hot under her hands. The realization hit her all of a sudden. He was not only too warm, he was burning hot! The screaming had stopped abruptly as well. Frightened, she drew back from him and reached for her cell phone. She had to call someone who knew what to do if a baby had a fever. She dialed Jack's number and was relieved that he was on right away.
"Ava, what's going on?"
She had no time to tell him what had happened before, so she limited her story to letting him know that Julian was with her because Emily had to do other things. "I don't know what to do," she said desperately. "He was restless all the time and was only crying, and now he is lying there and..." She looked at the baby who was now lying motionless on the bed. "Oh God, Jack... he... he's not moving any more!"
"Is he still breathing?"
Eva walked to the bed with shaking legs and bent over the baby. "He... he's sleeping now," she said.
"Call an ambulance!"
"What?"
"What you have described sounds like a febril seizure. He needs medical help."
"Oh God..." Fear choked her. What if the baby would die? Emily would never forgive her!
"Stay calm! Everything will be fine. Carl had the same when he was younger. Call the ambulance! We'll meet at the hospital."
"Can... can I do anything else?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"Inform Emily and Daniel!"
"Okay, I'll hang up then." Ava hung up and then pressed the emergency call button. She informed the emergency call service about what Jack had told her and then hung up again. Why did this happen to her now, she asked herself desperately, as she went back to the bed and stared down at the sleeping baby. His little face was still red, his hair drenched in sweat, but he was breathing, she noticed relieved, as she saw his chest rise and fall. She reached for the cell phone and began to dial again. "Emily, it's Ava," she said on the answering machine. "Julian had a fever seizure, but don't worry, I've already called an ambulance." She hung up and closed her eyes. Not really a message that someone should talk on the answering machine. Emily would get the shock of her life when she heard the news! When she heard the emergency car arrive, she ran quickly downstairs and opened the door. "He's upstairs," she told the emergency team, pointing up the stairs. Nervously and anxiously at the same time, she followed the paramedics, who looked after the infant right away.
Grayson Manor, Hamptons
When David entered the house, he met a scared Victoria. "What happened?" He asked, frowning.
"The police was here..." She wrapped her arms around her body. "It seems that someone broke in Conrad's suite at the South Fork Inn," she explained.
He noticed how she was slightly trembling and put his arms around her. "Was something stolen?"
She shook her head. "He has his stuff at the suite in case he has to stay there, which has happened several times." She cleared her throat. "He always met with Lydia there, but nothing was stolen, according to the police."
"He used the suite as a love nest?" David said in disbelief. "And he accuses you of being a cheater. He should mind his own business!"
"David..." She looked at him with a serious look. "Tell me the truth... Where you in his suite?"
"Why should I?" He looked at her, frowning.
"Because..." She freed herself from his arms and took a step back. "... they found bloodstains on the carpet in the living area."
"They?" David repeated, uncomprehending.
"The tracking of the special forces."
"And what do I have to do with it?"
"You threatened him," she said simply, looking at him with a knowing look. "And now he's missing, leaving only a bloodstain behind."
"Is it already proven that it's his blood?" He tried not to show how much the news pleased him. Apparently his order had been successfully completed.
Victoria nodded. "What did you do?" She said accusingly and crossed her arms in front of her body.
He took a step towards her and was surprised when she shrank back. "Victoria, what's wrong?"
"Please leave, David!" She pointed to the door. "Emily was right, I should never have let you in again!"
"Emily?" He echoed, bewildered. He couldn't believe his own daughter had betrayed him.
"If you did something to Conrad, that's all my fault!"
He looked at her plaintive gaze and wondered what had gone wrong. He thought she'd be grateful to him for getting him off her back. But apparently, she was worried about him. "You told me you'd lived in a loveless marriage for years, you wanted to leave him," he reminded her. "You even wanted to divorce him and leave the country with me."
"I didn't say you should kill him!" she said furiously. "You could have discussed this topic in peace."
"In peace?" He reproached contemptuously. "You have experienced yourself how unreasonable he was when it came to the topic." He looked at her. "What exactly did Emily tell you?" He changed the subject.
Victoria took a deep breath before she answered. "She warned me," she said reluctantly. "She said you'd only come back to take revenge on Conrad. She didn't tell me anything new. You showed that impressively when you threatened him. But it was new to me that you only used me to get to Conrad." She walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "Tell me the truth, David, did you just use me?"
The question came as a surprise, and for a moment he didn't know what to answer. Before he had returned to the Hamptons, he had actually meant to use her only to take revenge on Conrad. But already on her first meeting he had realized that he still had feelings for her. Real feelings. Why his plan to eliminate Conrad was even more tempting. He would get everything back what Conrad Grayson had stolen from him, Victoria in addition. But so disgusted and suspicious as she looked at him now, she would hardly go with him voluntarily. It looked as if everything had not gone according to plan. "If you believe that after what was between us, it might be really better if I go now," he said, indignantly. He hoped that Victoria would get soft, but she nodded in silence. There was nothing left for him but to retreat temporarily. He had other things to do anyway. He refrained from embracing Victoria once more, though he did not want anything else. She looked so forlorn and helpless. Had she lied to him? Did she actually feel anything for her husband? He left the manor with a certain purpose in mind; To convince himself, that his plan to keep Conrad Grayson out of his way forever, had worked.
