Chapter 4.) And the Truth Shall Make You an Even Bigger Target.
PCPD
Elizabeth was waiting to be taken to lockup. She was confused as to what was going on. The cops hadn't even bothered to Mirandize her yet. They wouldn't tell her what they were charging her with, but they were continuing to hold her. She didn't really want to get into her history with Ric. It wasn't what everyone thought that it was.
The lawyer that her friend was sending had yet to arrive. Now they were going to take her to a cell until she either spilled her guts or they charged her with accessory to kidnapping. 'I should've kept my mouth shut and called an anonymous tip or something,' thought Elizabeth.
Quartermaine Mansion
The lights were out. Monica was at work, and it appeared that everyone was asleep. Jason slipped in through the side like always. He walked toward the stairs but heard a conversation in his father's office. He recognized the voices as Alice the Maid, Reginald the Butler, his grandfather Edward and his father Alan.
As he approached the door he heard the ensuing conversation, "You shouldn't have let her go to the police station. We could've found another way to help Carly," Alan said.
"As if I could stop her. You know how noble Elizabeth is. Even someone like Carly she would be willing to help no questions asked," Reginald said.
"That's what I'm worried about. Ric will have people watching. They'll try to take her out. We need to send someone to the police department to let her know she's not alone," Edward stated.
"No!" Reginald stated, "You know Elizabeth will be upset. She has enough on her plate without us going to the station and causing a scene that would draw the attention of Jason and her father."
"Why was Miss Elizabeth even in town to begin with?" Alice asked having walked in after the conversation started.
"The three years are up, and Elizabeth came to town to give Jason his divorce, and probably the only chance at freedom she was going to get. As much as it hurts her she knows that she doesn't mean anything to Jason. That to him she was merely property. That she was just exchanged for territory to get back at Sonny for ruining Anthony's plans for Elizabeth's mother Serafina Russo A.K.A. Serafina Alcazar ney Giambetti," Reginald said.
Jason stood listening in shock. The implications of what was just stated could mean death for him and his partner if any of it rang true.
"Giambetti?" questioned Alice, "As in Max and Milo Giambetti? As in Giambetti the ultimate Godfather?"
"The one and the same. Elizabeth is connected whether it be biologically, through kidnapping, or marriage to at least four major crime families," Reginald explained.
"Grrrr…She's too much like Lila," Edward stated, "She's too kind and gentle for her own good. I can't believe she went to the station to help Carly. Bobbie's daughter has been nothing but trouble since she came to this town."
"Father, calm down. Getting all worked up won't help us get this mess with poor Elizabeth straightened out. We just need to figure out who to contact," Alan said.
Reginald's cell phone chimed, "Looks like Justus is on his way here. It seems Corelli came through."
"I bet you Elizabeth reached out to him," Alan stated.
"I'll go prepare a room for Justus in case he decides to stay with us while in town," Alice stated, "Should I prepare an additional room for Elizabeth and the boy?"
"No, I think Elizabeth would refuse to stay with us once she's out. She won't want either of you in danger for trying to help her," Reginald answered.
"Yeah, but even if the police let her go, where will she stay?" Edward asked, "She and the boy should stay here. They're family despite what my reprobate of grandson says. It's only right that she and my great-grandson stay here."
'What? Son?' Jason thought, 'They have to be wrong.' Jason was brought out of his trance when he heard Alice walking toward the door.
Alice made her way to the door to go get a room ready for Justus in case he decided to stay with them. Jason backed away unseen into the shadows. As Alice disappeared upstairs Jason came back out to continue listening. "Father, you know that Elizabeth loves us but she will never stay with us. She knows how Jason feels about us and she wouldn't betray him that way, by bringing his son around a place that he would disapprove of. Let's face it, Elizabeth is still hopelessly in love with him despite everything. She won't go against him," Alan said.
"Jason doesn't even know he's a father. He's too busy shacking up with Sonny's hand me down hooker," Reginald stated with disdain.
"I don't agree Alan. What would Jason do if he found that Elizabeth left their son with Lorenzo Alacazar while she was signing divorce papers? You don't think that Jason would have a fit?" Edward asked.
"Oh he very well may, but when you figure that Elizabeth's main source of protection the last two plus years has been her stepfather Lorenzo, that it's because of his help along the way that the she and little Cameron are even alive, I would say that Jason and Sonny are in Lorenzo's debt," Alan answered.
"It's not as though you two haven't offered to help Elizabeth along the way. You know how willful she can be. She's always having to look over her shoulder waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. She feared for all of our safety. She wasn't going to endanger Lila," Reginald said knowingly.
"Mother's gone why would she fear for her?" Alan stated.
"Elizabeth didn't find out until today. I get the feeling that Elizabeth has spent some time off the grid," Reginald answered, "She didn't know that Carly had been kidnapped either."
"She found out today?" Alan asked, "How did she take it? The news about Mother, I mean."
"She was shocked, her eyes welled with tears, but that kind of got lost in the haze because she accidently moved her hair to the side and she had a rather large bruise on her forehead accompanied by a nasty cut. She said that Ric's goons got to her," Reginald said.
Jason was at loss. He didn't know what to make of this information. It was like Elizabeth was two people.
"I'm going to head to bed. Let me know if I'm needed to go down to the station on behalf of the girl," Edward said to Reginald, "Are you coming Alan?"
"I don't think I can sleep. I might head up to the hospital and find something to do. May be there I can be of some use to someone," Alan stated getting up to leave.
Jason moved back into the shadows to remain unseen. Edward followed Alan out of the room but made his way upstairs. Only Reginald stayed behind. He was going through the paper work that was on Alan's desk.
With everyone else upstairs Jason entered the office and Reginald looked up, "I was wondering when I was going to be graced by your presence, Jason."
"It seems that you and I need to catch up," Jason said taking seat.
"You picked a strange time of the evening to want to play catch up, Jason," Reginald stated.
"You've made a new friend in my wife, Elizabeth," Jason said.
"I wouldn't exactly call it new, and don't you mean ex-wife? You don't get to claim her now that you've thrown her away," Reginald replied.
"No, I was deliberate in what I said. The paperwork hasn't been taken to the judge yet. She's still very much wed to me," Jason answered with a stern face.
"Not that that has ever meant anything to you. Why not push the paperwork through then both of you can be free? Aren't you planning on marrying Samantha? She's the kind of woman you're looking for. She's not sweet or kind, but gritty and conniving seem to be your thing. Stop punishing Elizabeth with your chronic infidelity and move along with your current skank," Reginald stated.
"Watch your mouth. I've beaten men for less," Jason threated.
"You've changed so much. You used to welcome the truth. What's the matter? You don't like people coming at you with hard facts. Samantha McCall is all that she seems and yet there is still so much more to her."
"Enough about Sam. Tell me about Elizabeth," Jason demanded.
"How long were you at the door?" Reginald asked.
"Long enough," Jason replied.
"Here, take this file." Reginald stated, "It's the background check your grandmother ordered the year that you married Elizabeth. When Miss Lila met Miss Elizabeth she was intrigued by both her quiet grace and humility. Elizabeth was nothing like the person that you and Carly described to her be. Naturally, it piqued Lila's curiosity. So she ran a background check. Also, there was the pendant that also drew her attention."
"A pendant. What kind?" Jason asked.
"The same kind that your grandmother received when she was in her boarding school in England, at St. Agnes School for Girls, in Devonshire," Reginald answered.
"Devonshire? When did Elizabeth live there?" Jason asked, "I thought she grew up in Crimson Pointe."
"That's what Trevor and Anthony wanted you to think," Reginald answered.
"Read it, but be prepared. The daughter of Sonny Corinthos has suffered more than anyone can imagine and the longer she stays locked up for Ric's crimes the bigger the target she becomes," Reginald advised.
"You seem certain that Elizabeth is Sonny's. How can you be so sure?" Jason asked.
"You mean besides the conclusive DNA test that we have in that file?" Sarcastically responded.
"Yeah, besides that," Jason responded in return.
"If you're not planning to ask Elizabeth directly you could always talk to Lorenzo Alcazar. He comprehends a great deal on the matter, as he was married to Elizabeth's late mother, Serafina."
"Speaking of Lorenzo, what was this about Elizabeth having a son?" Jason asked.
"Oh come now Jason, he's not just Elizabeth's son. He's yours too, but I doubt Elizabeth will let you get near him when you're living that conning trollop, Sam."
"I told you not to bring up Sam. You don't even know her," Jason demanded, "All she's ever wanted is a kid."
"That so? Why did she abort a few of her own then?" Reginald asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jason asked.
Reginald pulled a second file out. This one was labeled "Linda Black A.K.A. Sam McCall."
Jason flipped through the file. It was page after page of Samantha with different alias' and her many cons including provided documentation of three abortions. "I mean I'm all for a woman's right to choose but her medical history seems to suggest she wants to be anything but a mother," Reginald added.
"Yes, because Elizabeth is such a better alternative," Jason replied sarcastically.
"Compared to Courtney and Sam, I would certainly say so, but it's obvious for all your talk of wanting a life with a good woman you'd rather surround yourself with trash."
"If Elizabeth is such a paragon of virtue how come she stole my money?" Jason asked.
"It's hard to steal money when you're being held against your will in a tiny room, chained to a cot," Reginald said.
"What?" Jason said lifting his head.
"Elizabeth couldn't have stolen your money because she'd already been kidnapped by the time your money was taken."
"We have her prints on my safe," Jason replied.
"I don't doubt that you do. Does Elizabeth seem like an idiot to you?" Reginald asked.
"Not particularly," Jason replied, "Though I've never given her much thought."
"Elizabeth's very smart. She's also an ingénue. She's not like you or Sonny or most of the company you keep. She's smart enough to know that if she was going to be foolish enough to steal from you she wouldn't leave her prints behind for you and your people to find," Reginald responded.
"If she was kidnapped at the time, who kidnapped her?" Jason asked.
"Really?" Reginald asked, "You still don't get it, do you?" Reginald asked.
"Apparently not," Jason replied.
"How do think Elizabeth knew where Carly was being held? Do you really think it a coincidence that Elizabeth knew exactly where to find Carly? Elizabeth was who he kidnapped first. He's settled on kidnapping Carly for Sonny and Carly's child, but Elizabeth was and is the main prize. She's related to too many people of importance in your little underworld, she's an actual Mob Princess."
"How can you be so sure she was kidnapped? I have it on good authority that she's always been obsessed with Ric, so why wouldn't she help him? Work with him," Jason enquired.
"Who told you that she was obsessed, Ric?" Reginald asked with a smirk.
"Trevor and Anthony too. Even Claudia mentioned it," Jason replied.
"Yes, but they all cover for each other. Tell me, how many sexual assault victims become obsessed with their attackers?" Reginald asked.
"Make up your mind, first you say that Elizabeth is Sonny's daughter. Then you say that Ric assaulted her. You're saying that her uncle what, raped her?" Jason asked shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes, two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Elizabeth is Sonny's daughter, spawned from a very brief relationship in his late teens with the missing daughter of Maximus Giambeti. Yes, Ric raped Elizabeth, before he knew that she was Sonny's daughter. It was my understanding that he became nervous when Anthony brought up joining forces with Corinthos and in effort to discredit Elizabeth he concocted a story that she was obsessed with him. You should speak to Johnny Zacchara and a nurse by the name of Epiphany Johnson they'll tell you about Elizabeth."
"What's Johnny going to say, that I don't already know?" Jason asked not sure of what to make of the information.
"That he was opposed to the marriage from the beginning, but he didn't have the heart to tell Elizabeth that you didn't care about her. He really thought that if you got to know her that you would let her in and see that she was an innocent. You would see that she was special. He never counted on you not letting her in."
"Why did Elizabeth agree to a relationship with me if not to get to my money and get a foothold in the organization? I never understood that? Why would she agree to the terms in the prenupt," Jason said.
"Jason, don't you get it. She never saw the prenupt. You told her about it the morning after you consummated the marriage. Thereby, dashing her dreams and her reality in one swift statement. She had no recourse, no one to turn to. You said you married her to gain access to the docks. Anthony, got payment for that access to the waterfront, and it is my understanding that he was unloading his mischievous granddaughter on you to handle, but really it was a punishment for both you and Sonny and Elizabeth."
Jason still was shaking his head, "Okay, so he was punishing Sonny by exchanging land for a daughter he didn't know about, but how does this hurt me exactly?"
"It was meant tear you and Sonny apart. Remember, how he reacted when you were dating Courtney, just imagine how he would feel if he knew you'd married his daughter, and he allowed you to cheat on her with his sister. Think of all the dinners that Elizabeth sat through, having to watch you and Courtney together. Anthony wanted her to act out. He figured when Alcazar informed her that November that she was Sonny's kid that Elizabeth would come out with it, but she didn't. Elizabeth like usual endured in silence. Even with the occasional altercation with Anthony and his famous cane Elizabeth kept quiet and suffered alone. She was too afraid to say anything. She didn't trust anyone working for Anthony, even Johnny whom she was close with, and she didn't trust you or Sonny. All she knew was that she was trapped and no wanted her around."
"Anthony and his Cane? What is that about?" Jason asked.
"Don't tell me you still don't know about the incident at the penthouse with Anthony and his cane?"
"Can't say that I do, but since you know maybe you could fill me in," Jason demanded with a glare.
"It was late October of 2002. Elizabeth went to visit a sick kid at U of R, in the cancer ward. He was holding on for her. Turns out the sick kid was none other than Lorenzo Alcazars son Diego. She goes to visit, reads him a book, and the boy succumbs to his illness. Elizabeth promises to attend the funeral."
"Alcazar is her step-father," Jason stated.
"Yeah, but Elizabeth didn't know that. It was just like her to be there for her patient's and their families. Anyways, she goes back to your penthouse, and waiting for her is Anthony Zacchara. See you never bothered to put guards on her, but Anthony did. So he knew she went back to the hospital and who she was there to see. He feared that she may have known the truth about her origins and he need to enforce the notion of silence."
"And how did he do that?" Jason asked.
"I can only tell you what she told me, but brace yourself. This story may not be easy to hear," Reginald stated.
"Just tell me, already," Jason replied.
Flashback.
Elizabeth let out a surprised gasp, "Grandfather?" She questioned. There before her sat her torturer, comfortably situated on the couch. A man who on occasion made her childhood nearly unbearable, and now he was the cause of the upheaval that her life had become.
"You seem surprised to see me. Can't a man visit his granddaughter?" the elderly man asked.
"I am surprised that you would make the trip into town to come visit with me," Elizabeth explained nervously.
"Well I've been disappointed that you wouldn't come visit with me at the mansion in Crimson Pointe."
"You know that I'm not exactly comfortable there," Elizabeth said while doing her best to maintain her distance, and with good reason.
"Where were you today?" Anthony asked.
"One of my former patients requested my presence, it was sort of last rights request. I didn't want to let the young man down."
"I heard the young man was Diego Alcazar," Anthony stated.
"It was, but how could you know that? Are you spying on me?" Elizabeth asked.
"Why, do you have something to hide? Besides, I have a right to know when my granddaughter is a associating with an arms dealer like Lorenzo Alcazar," Anthony stated trying to gage Elizabeth's reaction.
Elizabeth looked puzzled, and it showed. She didn't know what Mr. Alcazar did for a living. All she knew was that prior to September she had been one of the boy's main nurses at U of R Children's Hospital.
"I didn't know his occupation, Grandfather."
"What do you suppose I have you do as an act of contrition?" Anthony said with a deranged look in his eye.
"I've done nothing wrong, why should I beg for forgiveness?" Elizabeth questioned.
"That right there. That lack of respect," Anthony stated while pointing a finger, "I'm going to make an example out of you yet."
"P-please don't. I didn't mean any disrespect. I beg you please don't," but it was too late. Elizabeth barely turned her back to him before she was struck by his cane. The blow had her falling to the ground, and huddling in a small mass. It wasn't long before the second, and third strikes were felt. Elizabeth started to crawl, but the fourth came, striking the back of her arms, the top portion of her back. It hurt, as he was putting his all into beating her. The final came down upon the back of her neck.
It was clear that he'd gotten carried away. Elizabeth made to stand, but she heard him moving in the distance behind her. She turned to look and Anthony was pacing near the fire place. In final bit of rage, he picked up a frame, holding a picture of a young boy. A boy that her husband Jason was so fond of. Anthony took that framed photo and chucked it at Elizabeth as hard as he could, she ducked and it missed hitting her, but it smashed into the wall, fracturing it utterly.
"If I hear of you ever talking to Lorenzo Alcazar again I'll do more than beat you with my cane. Do you understand me?"
Nodding in affirmation wouldn't do, but it was all Elizabeth could do to answer. "Y-Yes, Grandfather. I understand," she said in a shuddering whisper.
"Now clean this place up, and if you say a word about this to anyone. I'll kill you."
End Flashback
Jason stood in shock, "I always thought she broke the frame out of jealousy."
"It's not Elizabeth's style," Reginald replied, "If we're done here. I would like to see if Justus made it to town. Elizabeth will need all the help she can get, as no good deed goes unpunished."
Jason left with the file in hand. He had a stop to make.