Chapter 61- A Force to be Reckoned With
Liesl answered the door holding Amelia when Willow and Sasha arrived. Scott was on the floor colouring with Wiley at the coffee table.
"How did it go?" Liesl asked.
"Mommy!" Wiley jumped up and ran into Willow's arms. "I missed you."
Willow rubbed small circles on his back and kissed his forehead. "I missed you so much too." She reached for Amelia and held Wiley's hand. "Do you guys mind giving me some time with my children?"
Liesl frowned. "That doesn't sound good…."
"Let's go for a walk," Sasha suggested. "Then I can explain."
Scott and Liesl grabbed their coats, then followed Sasha outside.
Willow took the kids over to the couch. "Wiley, I hope you know how much I love you and your sister."
"I love you too, Mommy."
"So, we talked to the judge today, and she thought it would be best for you and Amelia to go back to the gatehouse with Daddy."
Wiley grinned. "Yay! That's what I told the judge." He got up and grabbed a piece of paper from the coffee table and handed it to Willow. "See, Mommy? It's me and you and Daddy and Amelia at the gatehouse like before. And there's Grandma Nina and Grandma Carly visiting us. Just like before. I was really scared, but I told her I want to live at the gatehouse."
Willow started crying.
"Why are you sad, Mommy? Don't you like my picture?"
"I love your picture, Wiley. It's beautiful. And I'm so sorry that you were scared and that you had to go through that. Do you miss living at the gatehouse with Daddy?"
Wiley nodded. "It's fun with Grandma Nina but I want to go home now."
"I'm so sorry that we left Daddy," Willow said. "I never meant to hurt you or your sister."
"Can we go now, Mommy?"
"Well, you see, buddy, the judge thought it would be best if just you and Amelia go live with Daddy at the gatehouse without Mommy."
Wiley stared at her for a minute. "You're not coming with us?"
"I wish I could, sweet boy. But the judge thinks it's best if I live in a separate house."
"For a little while like how we lived with Grandma Nina a little while?" Wiley asked.
Willow stroked his hair. "The judge thinks for longer than that. But Mommy is going to work really hard and I'll do everything I can so we can be together again. It just might take some time."
"But—but… will you come over and play with me?" Wiley asked.
Willow held him close. "I don't think I can for a while, buddy."
"Don't you want to play with me anymore?"
"Yes, of course I do. I always want to play with you. This is just what the judge thinks is best for right now."
"I don't like the judge," Wiley cried.
"I don't either. But you're going to be with Daddy, and Daddy loves you very much. And I know he loves playing with you. And you're also going to be with Amelia. She needs her big brother to help take care of her, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay."
"And you will always have each other no matter where you live. And I will always love both of you."
There was a knock on the door and Carly and Michael walked in.
Michael smiled a little. "Hey, buddy."
"Hi Daddy," Wiley said but clung to Willow. "I want Mommy to come home too."
Michael started to tear up.
"Wiley…." Carly kneeled in front of him. "What did she tell you?"
"The mean judge won't let Mommy come home with us," Wiley said.
"I know it's hard to understand, bud, but this is for the best," Carly said. "You and Amelia get to live with Daddy again and you'll get to see me more too."
Willow kissed each other their cheeks and hugged them tightly. "It's okay, Wiley. Go with Daddy."
"Okay." Wiley went over and held Michael's hand.
Carly reached for Amelia, but Willow rose with her and handed her to Michael.
"I love you both so much."
Wiley waved at her. "Bye Mommy."
Tears streamed down Willow's face when they left.
GHGHGH
"Oh hey, Mom," Maxie said when Felicia arrived.
Felicia hugged her. "How are you?"
"Good. Spinelli just left with the kids. They're going bowling and getting pizza there."
"That sounds fun."
"Sorry it's a bit messy." Maxie picked up some toys. "Some days it's hard getting the kids to pick up after themselves."
"That's okay…. Before we go, I'd like to talk to you about something."
"Is it Georgie?" Maxie asked. "Or… Esme…?"
Felicia nodded. "And you."
Maxie sighed. "I know Esme is still mad at me. I don't know what else to do."
"That's not what this is about. I know you're trying." Felicia sat with her on the couch.
"Then what is it?" Maxie asked.
"So, I was at the Sherwood Hotel last night because Frankie… Esme was there with Emma, Cameron, and Jake. Esme found a map that Spinelli sent me, so she wanted to investigate it on her own. I found out, so headed there with Lucy, Anna, Robin, and Elizabeth. We found Dex heller there and he shot Cameron."
"Oh my gosh, is he okay?"
"Yes, thank goodness. He'll just be in the hospital for a few days. So, anyway, Jake and Emma found this letter." She pulled it out and handed it to her.
Maxie read it through. "I—I don't understand."
"Do you remember Levi?" Felicia asked. "Peter Harrell Jr.?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
"That's who Junior is in this letter. Peter Sr. wrote this letter to his brother Prescott. Prescott changed his name to Claude Prince. Whoever this puppet is took my daughter and gave her to Prescott."
Maxie swallowed hard. "Esme…."
"And we know Victor Cassadine was involved with the Harrells. We found that out when Levi targeted you."
"And Victor held Georgie captive this whole time…."
"They were targeting all of you," Felicia said. "All of my daughters. To get back at me for when your dad and I shot him in the head. And they wanted my jewels too."
"I—wow…."
"I haven't told Georgie or Frankie yet. I've tried. But they're both going through so much as it is. I thought it would be easier to tell you first."
"Because I was able to escape them…. Well, with Nathan and Dante's help. Georgie nor Esme got that lucky."
Felicia reached for her hand. "You still went through a lot too. And I'm so sorry. Both the Harrells and Ryan hurt all of you because of me. Ryan also kidnapped you and Georgie when you were really little."
"It wasn't your fault, Mom. And I'm sorry that I ever made you feel that way. Esme was right. I've had you longer than she and Georgie combined, and I haven't appreciated you. I'm vowing to do better. Whatever I've been through, it's nothing compared to what Esme and Georgie have been through."
"I'm so worried about them," Felicia said. "A physical therapist has started to come to the house to help Georgie build strength. But it's not just physical. I think she needs to talk to a real therapist too. And Frankie is resisting therapy…. I guess on the bright side she has opened up to me a bit more. But she needs professional help too." She rubbed her temples. "I really want to fix this for both of them, but I'm so overwhelmed. I'm also trying to investigate more into what happened with the Harrells, and Spencer is suing for custody of Ace. I haven't even been back to the hospital to volunteer for ages."
"Mom, have you ever seen a therapist?" Maxie asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever had therapy after Ryan raped you and you lost Georgie and Esme?"
"Oh, um, no. I was too busy figuring out how to protect you girls from Ryan. Then I spent so much time trying to find Frankie…."
"Mom, you have two traumatized daughters you're taking care of. I've been a b!/C# to you. I know Georgie and Esme are probably bringing it all back for you—"
"I am glad we found your sisters," Felicia said.
"I know you are. But I don't see how you can take care of your traumatized daughters when you haven't even dealt with your own trauma. You said that Grandma and Dad were the only people you told until you found Esme. You've been holding all this in. And now that you've let it out, you're getting understandably overwhelmed with everything. Even your own trauma aside, maybe you need to talk to someone about having to deal with what Georgie and Esme are going through because that is a lot."
"I don't know…."
"You said that Esme is resisting therapy, what if Georgie does too? If they know you're getting therapy, maybe it'll encourage them to as well."
Felicia scratched her cheek. "I didn't think of it that way. I could be an example to them. I can do it for them. And you too, Maxie. I want to be a mother all of you can be proud of."
Maxie smiled a little. "You already are, Mom."
They turned when there was a knock on the door and Maxie answered it.
"Nina? What's wrong?"
Nina hugged Maxie and cried on her shoulder. "I couldn't get a hold of Ava. Sasha is with Willow. Aunt Liesl had the kids. I don't know who else to talk to."
"Hey, it's okay," Maxie said. "What happened at the hearing?"
"It was bad, really bad." Nina let go of Maxie and started towards the living room and saw Felicia sitting there. "Oh, I didn't know you had company."
"That's okay, Nina," Felicia said. "I can go to the kitchen if you want to talk to Maxie?"
"No, it's all right," Nina said. "You might as well hear. It's going to spread. I lost my grandparent rights again. And Willow not only lost custody of both of her children, but they're reversing her adoption of Wiley."
"What?" Maxie said.
Felicia's eyes widened. "Oh no. I'm so sorry. Why?"
"Because of Wiley's concussion the other day, Carly accused us of starving him. Diane made it seem like we were and the judge believed it. And Wiley told the judge that he wants to live at the gatehouse. Well, anyone with a brain knows he meant with both Michael and Willow. But the judge took it to mean that he wants to live with Michael, not Willow, since Michael is the only one living at the gatehouse right now."
"That's ridiculous," Maxie said. "Willow is a great mom. She'd never starve her kids. And everyone knows that Wiley adores her. Those poor kids."
"Willow didn't want me to drive her to say bye to the kids. And she just texted me to say that she's staying overnight at Sasha's so she can think things over."
"I'm sorry, Nina," Felicia said. "None of this is fair at all."
"I didn't think I could hate Carly more," Nina said. "But she's ripped my daughter's children away from her and just as we started getting close, Carly is coming between us again. I can imagine what's going on in Willow's head right now. She probably wants to do anything to get her children back and now that probably includes staying away from me to please Carly and Michael. I blame Carly more than Michael. Carly pulls the strings for everything. She plays dirty. Her whole family is behind her. Same with most of the town. Carly gets what Carly wants and to heck with everyone else."
Felicia's thoughts went to Esme's fears about Spencer and Josslyn and her heart sped up.
Maxie rubbed Nina's back. "Well, I'm sure with time Willow and Michael will work things out. And I'm sure it will with you and Willow too."
"I don't know. I swear, Carly has people in a trance. That judge was awful. Everyone always takes her side with everything."
"Why did the judge believe that you and Willow are starving the children?" Felicia asked. "Just based on Carly's word?"
"When Wiley got his concussion, he was trying to get a snack from the cupboard," Nina explained. "Carly blew it out of proportion that I was ignoring him when he said he was hungry. But Amelia was teething and I was trying to put her to sleep. And they brought a note from the pediatrician saying that Wiley lost some weight at his last appointment. But it was only a couple of pounds."
"Something doesn't sound right," Felicia said.
"You're right about that, Felicia," Nina said. "Nothing is right when it comes to Carly and her kids."
"Who was this judge?" Felicia asked.
"Naomi Carson."
"That was the same judge for Esme's trial," Felicia said. "She did come through at the end, but she was nasty throughout the trial. She wouldn't even call a recess when Esme clearly needed one."
"I just don't know what to do," Nina said. "I'm losing Willow and my grandchildren all over again."
"I know it's hard, but you've got to follow Willow's lead," Maxie said. "Her priority right now is her children. Just let her know you're here if she needs you, but don't press it. You might need to follow Carly's rules for a while."
"But she can't be manipulating everyone like this and continue to get away with it," Felicia said. "I witnessed firsthand when she blew up Tony and Bobbie's marriage and pushed Tony into a nervous breakdown. If I remember correctly, I was just about the only person in town who stood by him. He darn near lost Lucas over it. And it seems like all of the situations Carly controls involve keeping children from their parents and somebody ends up losing their sanity eventually. Now her daughter even married Spencer because he wants to take Ace from my daughter. I wouldn't be surprised if Carly is somehow behind that too. Well, Carly doesn't know what she's reckoning with if she's targeting my daughter and my grandson next. I won't let her get away with it and you shouldn't either, Nina."
"Mom…" Maxie cut in. "I know you're angry you couldn't control what happened to Esme in the past… but I'm not sure that's the best advice to give Nina. You guys can't just go at Carly. That will only hurt Willow and Esme."
"I'm not just going to go at her," Felicia said. "And that's not what I'm telling Nina to do either. But I will defend Frankie and Ace, and I'm going to prepare for it. And I'm going to start by looking into this judge. What I mean is I don't think Nina should give up. She shouldn't give up on Willow and she should fight alongside her to remain in Wiley and Amelia's lives."
