A/N – Thanks for the comments! The Sonny sitch probably won't go like you think! * Guest – Michael is Sonny's son.

Chapter 18 – Calm before the Storm

Enzo opened the penthouse door. "Ms. Webber, you have a visitor."

She frowned and put down her book and stood up. "Who is it?"

"He says his name is Steven Webber."

Liz's mouth dropped open. "It's okay."

Steven walked inside the penthouse as an excited Elizabeth flung herself into his arms.

"Hey Lizzie."

She smiled. "Let me get a look at you. How did you find me?"

"Mom called me. She thought you could use some family around you."

"She was right. I've missed you so much."

"Mom explained about the adoption." He said before sitting on the couch. "I can't believe that your father is a mob boss."

"I know. It's pretty crazy."

"She also told me that you're seeing Jason Morgan."

Liz sighed. "I am. He makes me very happy."

"I'm sorry but have you lost your mind? He's dangerous. You could get killed."

"The reality is that since I'm Sonny's daughter, I'm in danger anyway. Jason is actually the most suited to be able to protect me."

"You do know that he kills people for a living."

"Yes, but he's so much more than that. He has such a big heart. He gets me. There is no judgment or trying to change me. Steven I hadn't dated for two years because of the last fiasco that was my life. Jason makes me feel so alive."

Liz's last relationship had ended with her finding her boyfriend in bed with her best friend.

"I think you're a closet danger junkie."

Liz laughed. "Maybe."

The door swung open and both of them looked up. Jason walked in and Liz smiled at how handsome he looked in a suit. She jumped up. "Hey."

He smiled and gave her a quick peck. Steven stood up.

"Jason, this is my brother Steven."

Steven shook his hand. "Thank you for watching out for my sister."

"She was a little bratty at first….."

"Hey."

Steven chuckled. "That's Lizzie for you."

She glared playfully at them. "I don't think I like the two of you teaming up."

"I'm going to go change." Jason said heading upstairs.

"So, your very own bad boy." Steven said.

"Maybe you need to find a bad girl."

Steven laughed. "Who says I don't already have one."

Liz smiled and pulled him over to the couch. "Alright, spill."

Liz and Steven talked for an hour before he decided to go back to his hotel and relax. He had worked a double shift the night before so he was tired. Liz had asked if he wanted to go to dinner with them but he passed and said he'd meet her for lunch the next day.

Jason came downstairs.

"You didn't have to stay up there."

"I know. I just wanted to give you some time with your family."

"Well thank you. How was your meeting? You looked so handsome in your suit."

"Thanks. I kind of need to talk to you about some decisions that were made."

"Okay."

"Elizabeth, they want me to take over the organization."

"Oh." She said softly, her mind immediately filling with random thoughts and questions.

"Instead of killing him, they want to send Sonny to the island. Too much damage has been done."

"How does this work exactly?"

"They'll meet with Sonny and basically tell him he has to sign over the business to me. He can keep the money in his personal accounts and leaves what's in the business accounts."

"They can do that?" Liz asked.

"It's part of the agreement for doing business. The five families are like the gatekeepers. They step in if things get bad and they do what they have to in order to not interrupt the flow of the business."

"If he refuses?"

"Then he's breached the contract and they could have him forcibly removed." He said waiting for her next question.

"You mean they'll bury him in the pinelands."

Jason made a face. "Yes."

"And what does this mean for you?"

"I'd take over and run things." He said quietly.

"So you'd no longer be an enforcer?"

"No. OB will do it. I'd have a solid team under me that could handle things. If later on down the line, he wants it back then the five families would decide what is best but I definitely don't see that happening. The only thing I'll probably change is the name."

Even if Sonny was on his best behavior, the families were basically done with him.

"To what?"

He thought for a moment. "Probably Morgan Industries."

"Are you going to be okay with delegating?"

Jason smirked. "At this point, yes. I like my freedom. I trust Johnny. Francis is good too. I could use his knack for business and I'd probably have him rotate guard duty for you when necessary. But, I was thinking of giving him a cut and eventually making him my partner."

He watched her process everything he had said. Teaming up with Francis would assure that he could disappear here and there.

"How do you think my father will take this?"

"Not very well." Jason thought that was definitely an understatement.

"When are they telling him?"

"Probably tomorrow."

There was knock and then Enzo opened the door. "Diane is here to see you both."

He stepped back and Diane sauntered into the room.

"Hello, I'm Diane and you must be Elizabeth."

Liz smiled. "Yes."

"I'm the lawyer for the organization."

Liz frowned. "Then why do you need to see me?"

"To inform you of your trust."

Diane chuckled at the look on Elizabeth's face. "Michael has one as well."

"But, I don't want anything from him."

"Well, I can't tell you what to do with the money, but it's yours. Since you are already twenty-five, half is available now and the rest when you turn thirty. Here's an envelope with your new bankcard. There is some money already transferred into it for you to use and there is a receipt in there with the balance. If you need more money, just let me know and I'll handle everything for you. Sonny tells me that you are an artist, so maybe you can use it for that. Eventually, you'll have kids or you can just come shopping with me and I'm sure we could make a dent."

Liz chuckled as she took the papers from Diane. She started reading and her eyes grew big. "Holy Shit. I think you made a typo."

Diane smiled. "Oh no, your father is very rich and indeed that is no typo."

"This is insane."

"Be that as it may, it's rightly yours."

Liz looked at Jason to see his reaction after she handed him the paper and he read it.

"If you ask me, I think he held back a little. This is pretty standard in our business." Jason added.

"But it's too much."

"It's just money. I have a lot and for the most part, it just sits in my bank account. I'll buy a new motorcycle every few years, but, I don't let it control me in any way."

"On to you, the meeting with Sonny will occur tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. at which time, his name will be removed from the business accounts and replaced with yours. I just need you to sign here." She handed him a pen and pointed. Jason signed it and then waited for her to point to several signature lines. "Okay, we're done here. Congratulations Jason, I think you will make a great boss."

"Thank you." He said before watching her walk out.

Liz was so quiet, it was kind of unnerving. "You okay?"

"I want to go talk to him."

"I can have Enzo take you over there."

Liz stood up with the document still gripped in her hands.

Jason opened the door and spoke to Enzo.

"Be careful." Jason said.

"I will."

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Max opened the door and stepped inside. "Boss, your daughter is here to see you."

"Send her in."

Sonny wasn't too surprised because he knew what Diane had just delivered. "Hello Elizabeth."

"Hi."

"Is everything okay?"

She held up the paperwork. "I don't think I can accept this."

"It's already done. Michael has the same trust. It's the right thing to do and is expected from someone in my position."

"But it's too much. We barely know each other."

"It doesn't matter. I've worked hard and I have a lot to show for it. I want to share it with my children. My mother struggled to raise us. I don't want any of my children to have to go through that."

"Sonny, I'm a nurse. I make a decent salary."

"Please don't fight me on this Elizabeth. I missed so much of your life. I'm just trying to do what is right."

Elizabeth sighed. "This is just a lot to get used to."

"I just want a chance to get to know you. Then you can judge for yourself who I am. I know you probably don't think very highly of me right now. I admit that I'm struggling. It's been pretty bad between me and Jason for quite a while. I've made a lot of mistakes."

She stared at him for a moment. He seemed to be having a good day mentally; maybe the meds were starting to work. "Jason told me that I should make up my own mind about you."

"That sounds like something he would say."

Elizabeth pressed forward. "With that said, I haven't liked a lot of what I've seen thus far. You have been blatantly disrespectful to Jason. Why did you lie about Lila?"

Sonny sighed. "I was being selfish and I was out of control. When I don't take my pills I get a little crazy and paranoid. I have a lot of mood swings. It's not an excuse it's just a fact."

"But you're taking them now."

"I've started too. I haven't been perfect and it takes a while for the pills to work. Some days I do better than others."

"It must be a hard thing to deal with." She said softly.

"It can be crippling sometimes. But I always manage to get it under control."

"I'm really not thrilled about the Lila situation and how you spoke to Jason last time you were at the penthouse. Can you honestly say if Jason had done to you what you did to him that you wouldn't have retaliated against him?"

"No. He'd probably be dead."

"Jason tried not to be reactionary. He weighed his options and that says a lot about who he is. Sonny, can you handle me being with Jason?"

She needed to find out where his head was at where Jason was concerned because she had a bad feeling.

Sonny got up and poured himself some water. "I don't know. Obviously I can't make you break up with him."

"No, you can't. I hope that someday you'll be happy for me."

Sonny put down the glass. "Does this mean you're going to stay around for a while?"

"Probably. We haven't figured everything out but I owe it to myself to see how all of this will play out."

"I would love it if you did stay."

He just hoped that she'd forgive him if it came to blows with Jason. Because the way things were going it was possible it would come down to that. He considered Jason a direct threat and he knew that Jason felt the same way about him.

"Thanks. I need to go get ready for my dinner date."

Liz had decided not to push; to give him enough encouragement that he thought that she was still willing to have a relationship with him because she wouldn't be able to protect Jason otherwise. For whatever reason, he seemed to cave when it came to her and she would use his guilt to her advantage. The truth was she really didn't see any kind of future relationship with her father if he continued to act the way he was acting.

"Perhaps we could have dinner one night." He said quietly.

"Okay."

She left and Sonny breathed a sigh of relief. Elizabeth was a little stubborn. He figured it would take a while before she started to come around but at least she took the money. That gesture made him feel good. It gave him hope.

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Johnny walked hand in hand with Claudia as they took a long walk.

"It must feel good to be outdoors."

Claudia took a deep cleansing breath. "It does."

"Claudia are you sure that you want to be the one to end our father's life?"

"Yes. I need to do this Johnny. It's all I dreamed of. I've earned the right."

"I just don't want you to regret it later."

"Why would I after all he has done to me?" She asked emotionally.

"Maybe I just hate that you have to get your hands dirty." He said quietly. "Regardless, I will be by your side. I will end him if you can't." Johnny hated his father at this point. Protecting Claudia was going to be his main focus.

"Don't worry about me. I've made it this far. I'll be fine."

"Anthony's insanity has gotten worse. In fact, he was going to try and kidnap Sonny's newly found daughter?"

"What? How old is she."

"Twenty-five. He wanted to force her to marry me." Johnny said rolling his eyes.

"Do you like her?" Claudia asked curiously.

"Yeah but she likes someone else."

"Who?"

"Jason." Johnny said looking away.

Claudia didn't say anything. Johnny had already explained to her who Jason was.

"I really don't want him to hurt her. She's a nice girl. I promised her I would protect her from him. It's been rough for me trying to survive in that household; especially after I thought he killed you because of me."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"You were trying to protect me and you sacrificed yourself for me. You don't even know how much I appreciate that." Johnny said squeezing her hand.

"I did it because I love you and I also know the kind of damage Anthony can do."

"When we go back, I'll take you to the safe house. I won't be able to see you for a while because he has me followed. But, we can still talk on the phone. I just won't use any names."

"I'm getting stronger every day Johnny."

"I know."

He was still concerned about her welfare but he was even more concerned at the level of wrath Anthony would enact if he found out she was still alive.

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Carly looked out the window as Michael played with his toys. She wanted her life back but deep inside she knew that her marriage was probably over. Sonny was still acting strange and she was convinced that he wasn't taking his meds faithfully. Max had called her earlier to let her know that he had a huge tantrum about a half hour after Elizabeth visited. They had tried so hard this time. But somehow, love was just not enough. Turning around to face Michael, she smiled as he made a crazy face as he was playing. He was her world. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him. She didn't have a good childhood. When Michael was born, she vowed to make sure that he grew up knowing he was loved and cherished.

"Mommy?" He said loudly jarring her from her thoughts.

"Yes baby."

"Is daddy sick again?"

She wiped a tear away and sat next to him on the floor. "Yes."

"I don't like it when he's sick."

"I know. That's why we're staying with your grandma."

She watched him play for a while as she thought about how she could make everything right again.