Just a quick note to Vespone. Thanks for catching the Sunday morning. It should have said Monday, and I've fixed that in the prior chapter.

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Kayla turned off the vacuum and looked around the living room, trying to make sure she hadn't missed a spot. Satisfied, she put the vacuum in the closet and picked up the dusting cloth from the shelf.

As she began dusting around the living room, she could hear Steve in the kitchen, preparing dinner. After talking to Kim, while Steve was in New York, Kayla had tried to get in touch with John. Unfortunately, she had learned is that John and Isabella had left Salem on a trip. So Kayla had simply left a message for John to contact her when he returned.

That call had finally come this morning. John had been concerned that something was wrong, but Kayla had assured him that she just wanted to invite him over to dinner. She had sensed John's hesitation and had made it clear it would mean a lot to her. After a few moments, John had accepted the invitation for that evening.

Steve had been glad to hear that John and Isabella were back, and had immediately offered to prepare dinner. Kayla had quickly accepted, not afraid to admit that he was the better cook of the two. Plus, she knew how much he enjoyed it.

So, while she made sure the apartment was presentable, Steve was ensconced in the kitchen. He had insisted on taking Stephanie and her playpen with him so that she could, in his words, "learn from the master." Kayla had tried to tell Steve that it was probably a little early for Stephanie to learn to cook, but Steve was having none of it.

A smile crossed Kayla face as she relived that conversation and then faded just as quickly as another image entered her mind. It was the woman in the tape she had seen in Carly's office. As she had several times in the past few days, Kayla could see the woman lying on the floor, as close to dead as possible.

Kayla shook her head, trying to erase the image. As she did, she could hear Steve talking to Stephanie about proper seasoning.

It had taken a few days to put the pieces together, but Kayla now had little doubt that Steve had once been in the same condition as that woman on the tape.

It had been obvious that the project was ISA-related. Kayla had known that before she even saw the tape. And once the immediate shock had worn off, Kayla had known that there was only one man cruel enough to perform the kind of experiment she had seen. After all, her husband still bore the scars.

There was no doubt in Kayla's mind that the project Carly was working on was related to Lawrence. And while Steve had never shared many details about the experiments he had been subjected to, he had told her enough to leave little doubt that the toxin had been tested on Steve.

Sighing, Kayla put the dusting cloth back in the closet and stared towards to the kitchen. She had promised Carly that she would not tell anyone about what she had seen. But she also knew that Steve might have information that could help.

Kayla slowly walked to the kitchen, still battling with herself about what she should say or ask. Maybe she could get some information without raising Steve's suspicions too much.

As she entered the kitchen, she stopped and smiled at the picture in front of her. Steve was holding Stephanie and peering into a pot on the stove.

"Smell that, Little Sweetness?" he said to his daughter. "It's a little too sweet, just like you." He kissed Stephanie on the head and reached for the salt shaker. "That means, it needs just a little more salt."

Kayla leaned against the wall and watched as Steve opened Stephanie's hand and put a tiny amount of salt in it. Then, with Steve helping, they sprinkled the salt into the sauce.

"Looks like you've got a willing student," Kayla said quietly.

Steve and Stephanie turned, both flashing matching smiles. Kayla's heart skipped a beat as she looked from her daughter to her husband and felt a wave of love wash over her.

"Hey baby," Steve said as he walked towards her. "I didn't realize we had an audience."

Kayla leaned up and kissed Steve. Then she kissed her daughter's cheek and took her from Steve's arms. "You two could host your own cooking show." She kissed Stephanie's cheek again. "I know I'd watch it."

Steve laughed and turned back to his cooking as Kayla took Stephanie and sat down at the table. "So what are you making?"

Steve chuckled. "I can't tell you that, Sweetness. It's a chef's secret." He turned and smiled at her. "Don't worry, you'll love it."

"I'm not worried," Kayla said. "I've always loved your cooking."

Stephanie wriggled in Kayla's arms, signaling her desire to escape. Kayla set Stephanie on the floor and watched as she scrambled quickly back to Steve and grabbed his leg.

Steve laughed and lifted Stephanie to his arms again. Looking at Kayla, he gave her a knowing smile. "And you said she was too young to learn to cook."

Kayla raised her hands in mock surrender. "I was wrong. She seems to love helping her Papa." She paused, searching for a way to approach the subject of the toxin. "So . . . uh . . . have you been able to speak to Abe and . . . um . . . find anything about Lawrence?"

Steve shook his head, still focused on his cooking, "No. Abe just says his hands are tied because of Roman, but he'll be in touch if there's something I need to know."

"That's not very comforting," Kayla said. "We both know that Alamain isn't just going to go away. He's . . . um . . . probably working on some plan as we speak. Maybe even that toxin he tested on you."

That seemed to catch Steve's attention and he turned and looked at Kayla. "What's going on, Sweetness?"

"Nothing," Kayla said quickly. "It's just that the longer we go without knowing anything, the scarier it gets."

"Aww, baby." Steve put Stephanie in her playpen and walked to Kayla. He took her hand and kissed it. "You don't need to worry, Kayla. I'm not going to let Alamain hurt this family again."

Kayla smiled. "I know. But that toxin he was working on sounds pretty scary, just from what little you told me." She paused and then plunged ahead. "It kind of paralyzed you, right?

Steve nodded and Kayla could see the strain on his face as the memory obviously came to him. She hated herself for bringing that back, but she knew every bit of information might be helpful. "I think you said they gave you some kind of antidote. Did it . . . did it always work right away?"

Steve seemed a bit lost in the memory and nodded slowly. "It would take a minute or so," he said quietly. "It was the longest minute of my life. I was always wondering if that day was the day it wouldn't work."

Kayla swallowed the lump in her throat. "Did it . . . did it ever take more than one dose?"

Steve nodded again. "Towards the end, just before I got out, it seemed like-" He stopped, and the hazy look in his eye cleared. "What's with the questions, Kayla?"

"I told you, it's nothing," Kayla replied, refusing to meet Steve's eyes. "I'm just worried about Lawrence."

"I'm sure you are, Sweetness." Steve reached for Kayla's chin and tilted it up so she was forced to look at him. "But I know you well enough to know that you were asking specific questions for specific reasons." He stared at her. "What do you know that you aren't telling me?"

Kayla stared at her husband. She knew what she had promised Carly, but she also knew she could not lie to Steve. Besides, if he had information that could help Carly find an antidote for the poison Alamain was creating, Kayla owed it to everybody who might be affected to tell him.

Taking a deep breath, she quietly told Steve about walking in on Carly and seeing the video. Kayla explained how she was certain the project was ISA-related. When she finished, Steve questioned her about the woman in the video.

"Sounds like pretty much the same stuff to me, just stronger," Steve concluded.

"I know," Kayla said. "I didn't put the pieces together at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I was sure the tape was showing Lawrence's latest project."

Steve ran a hand over his face. "Those poor people," he whispered. He looked at Kayla, the anguish clear on his face. "They're being used as human guinea pigs and nobody is going to rescue them."

"You don't know that," Kayla said, taking Steve's hand. "I'm sure the ISA is working on it."

Steve scoffed and stood. "Come on, Kayla. If they have the video, they must know where it's coming from. Why haven't they stopped it?"

Kayla shook her head, but before she could speak the timer dinged on the stove. Kayla checked the clock and grimaced. John and Isabella would be arriving shortly, and Kayla still had a lot of things to do before they arrived.

Standing, she reached up and stroked Steve's face. "You need to finish cooking and I need to finish my housework. We can talk more about this later, but please remember that I promised Carly I wouldn't tell anyone."

Steve nodded absently and Kayla could almost see the wheels turning in this head. She knew she had opened a can of worms that she might not be able to close. But with the stakes so high, there were no other options. She would just have to deal with the fallout when it came.