| Okay, this is a Flashbacks chapter. Every flashback is important to the story being told so keep reading. I'll get back to the good stuff next chapter. Chapter 6 ~~~~~~~FLASHBACKS June 18, 1986 Sonny Corinthos helped Mercedes to the waiting car. She was seven months pregnant and glowing. They were both happy. "Micheal," she said once they were inside the car. "Yes, Meme?" He asked using her nickname. She smiled. "I love you," she said kissing him. "And I, you." ~~~ June 20, 1886 Sonny and Mercedes walked out of the doctor's office. Their car was on the opposite side of the street. They began to cross carefully watching the oncoming traffic. They were twenty feet from the car when a car sped towards them. Sonny pushed Mercedes out of the car but the car swerved to hit her. Everything went by in a blur. The car sped off, leaving an unconscious Mercedes in its wake. ~~~ June 28, 1986 "Hey, Meme," Sonny said taking her hand. She was in a coma still, eight days after the accident. "You need to wake up. Bailey needs you. Yes, I named her Bailey." He smiled. "I knew that you liked it. "Bailey Adella Corinthos. She has your eyes." He sighed. "Mercedes, you need to wake up. I can't do this without you." He laid his head down on the bed. "Sonny?" A voice came from the doorway. Sonny looked up. "Kat?" Katarina Chandler smiled sadly and came into the room. "Mateo said you were in here," she said. "How is she?" Sonny recovered from his shock. "Still in a coma." Kat nodded sadly. ~~~ July 3, 1986 Mercedes had been awake for a few days. She would be released in a week and was ready to go. She was sitting up in bed when Sonny and Kat came in. She smiled at her friend. Kat had disappeared the previous Christmas and this was the first time they had seen or heard from her since then. They talked for a few minutes before Sonny had to leave to take care of some business. Kat closed the door after him. "Kat, what are you doing?" Mercedes asked. "You and I are going to have a little chat," Kat replied coldly. Chills ran up and down Mercedes' spine. "What about?" "Sonny," Kat answered. She sat down on the bed next to Mercedes. "You know, it was very noble of Sonny to push you out of the path of that car. I almost missed you. He was willing to die just to save you and your worthless, bastard daughter." Mercedes fought to keep her breathing under control. "We will, however, rectify Sonny's mistake." Kat stood and went over to her purse across the room. She pulled out a small vile and a syringe. Filling the syringe, she went back over to Mercedes. Ever so slowly, she injected the contents into her former friends arm. The syringe was almost empty when the door opened and two men pulled Kat away from Mercedes. "D@mn you Pablo," Kat screamed as Pablo Escobar went over to Mercedes who was slowly dying. He called out for a doctor. ~~~ August 30, 1987 Sonny Corinthos walked into the overly decorated home. He was greeted by a servant who took his coat and led him to the study. "Pablo," Sonny said as he entered. "Sonny," Pablo said smiling. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." "What do you need?" "You to stay away from my wife and daughter." "Bailey is my daughter," Sonny said. "Not anymore," Pablo said tossing some papers down on the desk. "As of yesterday your parental rights were terminated." "What?!" "You signed the papers Sonny." "I signed nothing. You forged my signature." "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Pablo said. Sonny lunged at him but Pablo's guards held him back. "You will pay for this Escobar. I assure you of that," Sonny said before storming out of the home. ~~~ December 24, 1987 "Pablo will kill me for this," Mercedes said to herself as she moved through the crowd. She carried one-year-old Bailey in her arms. She saw Sonny waiting for her on the opposite side of the square and she quickly made her way over to him. "Meme," he said smiling sadly. "Micheal." They moved over to a bench and sat down. In a nervous gesture, her hand went up to her face. Sonny noticed this as he took Bailey from her, but didn't say anything. "Hey little princess," he said to his daughter. Bailey laughed and played with his coat buttons. Mercedes smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She looked around. An hour later Mercedes said that she had to go. Sonny grabbed her arm, she almost cried out in pain. Rage filled him as he lifted her coat sleeve. "What happened?" He demanded. "Nothing Sonny." He mumbled something in Spanish. "You know Meme, that's exactly what MY mother used to say after Deke hit her. 'Oh it's nothing Micheal,' 'It was all my fault, Micheal. I made a mistake.' Every time." Mercedes was near tears. She had Bailey in her arms. Sonny wrapped his arms around her. "I need to go," she said after a minute. "If Pablo finds out..." "Mercedes, come with me. You, me, and Bailey. We can leave." "I can't Sonny." "At least leave Pablo," he pleaded. "I can't, Micheal." She looked at the ground. "He keeps threatening to take Bailey from me. I can't lose her." "Mercedes, he won't find us." "I can't." "Why?" "I'm pregnant." ~Later that night Mercedes sat with Bailey by the fireplace. Pablo came into the room. "Meme?" He asked. She grimaced at his use of her nickname. She turned her head slightly. She could see that Karla had also entered the room. That only meant one thing. She swallowed. "Karla, can you take Bailey upstairs and put her to bed?" Pablo asked his sister sweetly. She took Bailey and left the room. Mercedes stood and faced Pablo. "My men saw you with Corinthos earlier," he said. "Why were you with him?" "He wanted to see Bailey. You may forbid that, but I never will. He is her father by blood and I will not stop him from seeing his daughter." Pablo backhanded her. She fell to the ground. He got on top of her and hit her repeatedly. ~~~ January 5, 1988 "I'm sorry, Mrs. Escobar, but you miscarried," the doctor said. She didn't need to hear anything else. She already knew why. She walked out of the hospital and got into the limo that was waiting for her. She told the driver where to go. Minutes later she was at her destination. She walked up to the door. "Mercedes?" A woman said. "Hi Lois," Mercedes replied. "Can you give Micheal a message for me?" "Yeah sure," Lois said. She wasn't surprised that Mercedes had come to her. It seemed that Pablo only allowed Mercedes to have a certain number of frineds and Lois was one of the lucky few. She was often the go between for her and Sonny. "Tell him that he was right." "Will he know what that means?" Mercedes nodded. "And tell him that I found out about Kat. Pablo had her killed." With that, Mercedes turned and went back to the limo. ~~~ March 6, 1991 Mercedes swung the bat down one last time before Mateo grabbed her arms. He spun her around to face him as he took the bat from her. "Mercedes, he's dead," Mateo told her. She nodded and allowed him to lead her out of the room. Mateo talked to some people on their way out. They nodded and went back inside the warehouse. Mateo led her to the car. "It's over now, hermana. Pablo's dead." Mercedes looked at him. "Yes, he is." In that moment Mercedes changed. from the scared and frightened little girl to the one of the most powerful women on the east coast. |