Kayla sighed softly as she parked her car in front of Roman and Marlena's house. The blinds on the front window were open and Kayla caught a glimpse of Roman moving around inside. She smiled, knowing that even after all this time she had been right in guessing that her early rising brother would be up already.
It was a little before 8:00 a.m. and Kayla had left her husband and daughter in the middle of their breakfast, using the excuse of an early morning meeting. Steve had assumed it was a work meeting and Kayla had not corrected him.
Despite Steve's assurances, Kayla had been unable to forget the tense confrontation she had witnessed between Steve and Roman the previous night. She had tried to ask Steve about it when they had returned home from the Halloween party, but he had other things on this mind.
A small smile played on Kayla's lips as she remembered those "other things." She and Steve had spent the night making up for the nights they had missed during his trip to New York. It had made for a tired early morning, but Kayla did not regret the lack of sleep at all.
Kayla shook those thoughts from her mind and focused on the reason for her trip to Roman's house this morning. She had again tried to ask Steve about Roman this morning, but Steve had again changed the subject. It was clear that Steve would not put his wife in the middle of whatever was going on.
As much as she appreciated Steve's desire to shield her, Kayla did not want the conflict to fester. Knowing her brother and her husband, neither was likely to back down, and the last thing the family needed now was to have them fighting.
Taking a deep breath, Kayla exited the car and walked to the door of the house. She knocked softly, not wanting to wake anybody who might still be sleeping.
After a few moments, the door opened and Roman looked at Kayla curiously. "Hey, sis. What are you doing here so early this morning?"
Stepping into the house, Kayla smiled. "I was hoping I could have a chat with my big brother over a cup of coffee."
"Okay," Roman replied. "Marlena took the kids to school this morning, so I could use a little company myself."
He led the way to the kitchen and poured Kayla a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. He looked at her. "Sugar, no cream . . . right?"
Kayla nodded. "You still remember how I like my coffee."
Roman shrugged. "I guess so. I'm just glad some things haven't changed."
Carrying the mugs of coffee to the table, Roman set one in front of Kayla and then sat down at the table. "So what's on your mind, sis?"
Kayla took a sip of her coffee before answering. Then, deciding that the direct approach was best, she said, "I want to know what was going on with you and Steve last night. And before you tell me it was nothing, I'm not blind, Roman. I know you two were fighting about something."
"Isn't that a question you should be asking your husband?"
"I did ask him," Kayla said with a smirk. "But he wouldn't tell me. So now I'm asking you."
Roman stared at his coffee for a moment, then shrugged. "It's no big deal, Kayla. I don't really know Steve and he doesn't know me." He raised his head to look at Kayla. "Why is it so important anyway?"
Kayla sighed. "It's important because this family has been through a lot in the last year." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "I know it's hard for you because you weren't here, but a lot has happened and it caused a lot of tension within the family." She shrugged. "But things are finally coming back to together again and I don't want anything to ruin that."
"So you're saying that my return is ruining things?" Roman snapped.
"No," Kayla said. "I'm not saying that at all. You coming home is a miracle, Roman." She smiled at her brother. "I just want the whole family to be focused on that miracle, not on anything else. And, call me crazy, but I'd like it if my husband and my big brother weren't at each other's throats all the time."
"Look, Kay," Roman replied. "I know that I was gone a long time, but it's not easy to come home and find out that my baby sister is all grown up."
Kayla rolled her eyes. "I was all grown up when you left, Roman. I wasn't a little girl."
"Maybe not," Roman allowed. "But I always thought you and Kim would be married to doctors or lawyers or something." He shrugged. "Instead, I come home and find out Kim was married to an ISA-agent-turned-traitor and you're married to guy with a criminal record."
Kayla took a deep breath, trying to control her temper. She knew that Roman had always been protective of her and Kim, often overly so. She also knew his comments were a reflection of that protective instinct more than anything else.
"I know you're convinced that the ISA are still the good guys, but you need to understand some things." She stared at Roman. "Shane is not a traitor. He risked his life, and his freedom, to rescue Steve from a horrible man." She took another deep breath. "And I know all about Steve's past, but he's not the same man anymore. He's a good man, a good husband, and a wonderful father."
"I know that is what you believe, Kayla-" Roman started to say.
"No!" Kayla interrupted. "It's the truth. Shane did what he had to do to save my husband and Steve has worked hard to put his past behind him." Kayla felt her temper rising. "I can't believe you are going to believe the ISA's lies over your own family."
"Why not?" Roman shot back. "My family believed an imposter over me."
The fire left Kayla and she felt her body sag as she heard the anger and hurt in her brother's voice. "I'm sorry about that, Roman. I really am." She looked at Roman, her eyes pleading for understanding. "But the ISA doesn't care about this family. You can't trust them."
Roman shook his head. "I worked as an agent for the ISA for years, Kayla. I know the agency is not perfect. But I refuse to believe they would frame a loyal agent. There has to be more to the story."
Kayla felt her heart sink at Roman's words. "Why won't you believe me, Roman?"
Roman expression grew harder. "I love you, sis. But you and the rest of the family were fooled by an imposter for five years. And from what I understand, both Shane Donovan and your husband were involved with that imposter before he began claiming to be me." He stared at Kayla. "I have a hard time believing all of that was just a coincidence."
Kayla eyes widened as she realized what Roman was saying. "You think Shane and Steve knew that John was not really Roman Brady?"
Roman shrugged. "I'm saying there are a lot of unanswered questions and the more I look, the more I find that John, Shane, and Steve were working together."
Kayla stared at her brother. "Of course they were working together. John thought he was you - a police officer and former ISA agent. Shane worked for the ISA. Steve worked for the ISA and the Salem PD."
Roman shook his head. "It's all too convenient, Kayla. Thanks to Shane, the ISA never questioned whether John was really Roman Brady. Thanks to John and Shane, the ISA and Salem PD let a man with a long criminal past and questionable loyalties work for them."
"That's enough!" Kayla shouted angrily, standing up from the table. She looked down at her brother. "I'm not going to sit here and let you make those accusations."
Roman stood as well. "I'm sorry, Kay. All I know is that I was kept from my family for seven years and, for five of those years, somebody was pretending to be me. Something like that doesn't happen by accident and without a lot of work. And as much as I love you and Kim and Bo, the three of you are hardly objective about any of this."
Kayla shook her head. "I love you, Roman. You're my big brother. I can't imagine how hard it's been to come home and find things so very different from when you left. I understand that you want answers and want somebody to pay for what happened." She sighed softly. "But you're looking for enemies in all the wrong places, Roman."
"Maybe," Roman said dismissively. "But until I have my answers, I can't afford to rule anything out."
Kayla knew there was nothing more she could say. If her brother was insisting on fighting imaginary battles, she could not stop him.
"Thanks for the coffee," she said, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I hope you find the answers you need. But just think about one thing, please?"
"What's that?" Roman asked.
"You might have a better shot at getting those answers if you trusted Steve, Shane, and John."
Roman did not respond, so Kayla shrugged and said, "All right, I guess that's how it has to be."
She walked to the front door with Roman trailing behind. When she reached the door, she felt Roman's hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him.
"I'm sorry that I upset you, Kay." Kayla could hear the sincerity in his voice.
She nodded. "I know. Take care, Roman."
"You too, sis."
Kayla walked out the door and headed back to her car. She loved her brother dearly, but she knew how wrong he was this time. She just hoped that Roman would realize that before the family was torn apart by his suspicions.