Episode 35 – Taped Confessions
Previously on Lives To Live:
– Judi was shocked to discover that Alex and Sara were now an item. Sara realised that Alex was Judi’s mystery man, and told him that she had been two timing him with Russell, and told Judi to leave. Judi was shocked by Sara’s behaviour and left. Outside she ran out on the road, and was nearly hit by Russell. He ran after her, but she ran away. Later she reached home and was comforted by Chardonnay, as Russell got drunk.
– Justin turned up at the hotel to try and plead with Henri. Henri told him to leave, but later admitted to Celia that he had doubts about Heather. A few days later he phoned his private investigator, Tamara Combs, to ask her to look for more information on Heather, after all her references turned out to be fake. Upstairs Nicole was annoyed by Erin’s crying. She picked up her up, and started to shake her. Nicole was upset by what she had done, realising her Post Natal Depression was returning.
– Craig and Camille got to know each other, after he found her crying on the street. She told him about how she’d lost her baby, and then Russell. He told her about his wife, Abby. Cleo was shocked to see Camille, and vice versa, when she and Joel arrived. Joel ran upstairs, after getting the wrong idea about his dad and Camille. Camille and Cleo left, and Camille talked to Cleo about the alcohol. Cleo lied saying she’d gotten rid of it.
– Macy revealed to Gabe that Chardonnay’s ex-fiancé was Jean Luc.
Monday,
April 28th 2003, Samson Enterprises, Early Afternoon
“Hey, you’re not jealous of the ex, are you.”
Gabe turned and saw Macy Rodgers standing behind him.
“What?”
“Nothing, it was just a joke.”
“What did you mean, the ex?”
“Chardonnay and Jean Luc were engaged.” Macy said. “Didn’t you know?”
“Ahem… of course I did.” Gabe replied. He turned and watched as Luc got into an elevator.
Chardonnay Samson sighed. Jean Luc had attempted to get her to call off the wedding, but Chardonnay had refused. She turned her head, and a smile quickly appeared on her face as she saw Gabe heading towards her.
“Hi.” She said, warmly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“About our best man being your ex fiancé.” Gabe said angrily.
“What? How did you find out?” Chardonnay asked.
“From Macy. She thought I knew.”
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t think it was important.”
“Not important?”
Chardonnay started to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She turned and looked at it.
“I better get that.”
She walked towards the phone and picked it up. “Hi… dad. Yeah, I’ll be up now. See you.”
Chardonnay looked back up at the doorway, and saw that Gabe was gone.
***
The Ritz Bar,
later
Sara McCarthy looked puzzled as she sat down in front of Alex Blake.
“What’s up?” She asked.
“What?”
“You don’t seem to be all that happy.”
“I’m just thinking about Judi.”
Sara’s face immediately changed.
“Alex, she tried to steal you from me, after she cheated on you with a married man. You can’t tell me that you are worried about her.”
“What we did really did hurt her.”
“That wasn’t our fault. She deserved everything she got.”
Alex sighed. “I don’t know. From what you told me, it wasn’t that great with the married man she had the affair with.”
“Judi is a grown woman Alex. She can take care of herself. Now can we please talk about something else.”
Alex sighed to himself.
***
Friday, May
2nd 2003, The Hotel, Early Afternoon
“Great to see you again.”
“Yes, it has been a while hasn’t it Henri?”
Tamara Combs smiled, as she took a seat. “So, you want to know the truth about Heather Manning then? It might be a little surprising.”
Henri Laurent took a short moment to think. “Go on, I need to know. Is Justin innocent?”
“I can’t answer that, but what I can tell you is that Heather Manning does not exist.”
“What?”
“It is a fake name. Her real name is Lisa Manning.”
“But why the alias?” Henri asked puzzled.
“I don’t know. But I did a little bit of searching around and discovered that she recently had a large amount of money transferred into her bank account.”
“From who?”
“I don’t know. Great measures were taken to stop me finding out.”
“How much was transferred?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
“So you think that someone paid her that to make it look like she and Justin were having an affair.?”
“Yes, it looks like that. But it’d be difficult to prove.”
“And where is Hea… Lisa now? Do you have an address for her?”
Tamara looked apprehensively at her employer. “Look, Henri I’m not sure about this. It could open up a whole new can of worms. What if she lies about you?”
“I’ll take that chance. It is for my family.”
“Okay.”
Upstairs Celia Laurent smiled as she changed her granddaughter’s diaper. She gently touched Erin’s small nose with her little finger, with caused the baby to smile. “Oh, Erin.”
Celia turned as she heard the door knock. “Who could that be?” She asked Erin, who continued to gurgle.
“I hope you granddad hasn’t locked himself out or something.” She said to herself, walking towards the door. Celia grabbed the handle, and pulled the door of the apartment open. “Justin, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to see my wife and my daughter.”
“You can’t.”
Justin ignored what Celia said and walked towards his daughter, who obviously recognised him. “Hey babe.”
“If you don’t leave I’ll call the police.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Why are you like this all of a sudden?”
Justin turned and looked at his mother in law. “None of you believe a word I say, even though it is the truth, but just because of Heather Manning setting me up, does not mean that you can take my daughter away from me. You imagine losing Nic, Adrienne or Yasmin and see how you would feel.”
“It’s not the same, and anyway you gave up the right to be Erin’s father when you cheated on her mother with that woman.”
“You may say that, but any court in the land would give me rights to see my daughter. And I’m sure Nicole wouldn’t say no either.”
“Well she’s not here so go.”
“I’ll go when I have spent enough time with my daughter. It is my right, and we can do this the easy way, or the long, hard and expensive way.
Downstairs Henri looked down at Lisa’s address.
“You know it?” Tamara asked.
“Of course I do. Doubt she’ll be there much longer after her payment.”
“Look Henri, are you really going to do this?”
“I have to, it is for my family.”
***
Saturday,
May 3rd 2003, The Samson Mansion, 12pm
“Look, I don’t want to be nosy, but are
things okay between you and Gabe?” Sara McCarthy asked, leaning in closer to
Chardonnay. Sara had picked up on a lot of tension between the couple in the
last hour, and it had affected her work.
“We’ve just been having arguments recently.” Chardonnay began. She saw the concerned look on Sara’s face, and quickly added: “It’s nothing too serious though.”
Sara sighed to herself, relieved. “Sorry for being so nosy, but I was just worried about you two.”
“Sara, would you like anything to drink? Tea, coffee?” Leslie asked, interrupting as she walked towards them.
“I’m okay, thanks.”
“And you honey?”
“I’m fine.” Chardonnay said angrily.
Leslie was slightly put off by Chardonnay’s anger, but continued. “How are things going anyway? Are you nearly done planning the best day of my daughter’s life?”
“Yes, we…” Sara started, but Chardonnay cut in over her.
“Absolutely fabulous.” She said. “Now if you don’t mind can we get on with it?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t upset me. It’s just I’ve got my wedding in two weeks, and a lot of things still have to be finalised. I can do without people annoying me.”
“I wasn’t try…” Leslie turned and walked away, after a sharp glance from her daughter. Sara raised a brow, wondering if Chardonnay was turning into what she called a Godzilla bride. Before she could say anything else, and reassure Chardonnay, the doorbell rang.
“Can you hold on a minute? There’s someone at the door.”
Gabe walked out of the living room and towards the front door of the house. He pulled the door open, and smiled at the woman who was standing before him.
“They are in the living room.” He said quietly, before putting the phone back to his ear. Before he could say anything though, Nate arrived from the direction of the swimming pool.
“See you later.”
“Where you headed?”
“Dad is giving me a lift into town.”
“Got a date?”
“Maybe.” Nate said, laughing. Gabe closed the door after Nate, before finally resuming his conversation. “Hi. Hello, hello…”
He sighed to himself. Meanwhile in the living room Chardonnay and Sara continued to wait for Gabe’s return. Leslie had returned to the kitchen.
“Chardonnay, hi. I just dropped in…” Judi started.
“Judi.” Chardonnay said. “It’s great to see you.”
Judi didn’t reply, instead staring at Sara. Sara turned her head, attempting to avoid Judi’s glare.
“I just have to go talk to Judi for a second.” Chardonnay said, standing up. She gestured for Judi to walk through the large double glass doors. Judi turned and walked through the doors, before Chardonnay closed them herself.
Sara sat, deep in thought.
“I, ahem, just came to thank you for helping me out with everything. I know you have got a lot on with the wedding and everything.”
“It’s fine. I’d do it for anyone.”
“Well, I better let you and Sara get back to it.”
“Thanks.” Chardonnay replied. Judi started to open the door, but Chardonnay piped up: “Look, you can tell me what really happened. Were the problems you had with your friend with Sara?”
Judi took a deep breath. When Chardonnay had found her, she hadn’t told her much except that a friend had really, really hurt her in an unforgivable way. “No.”
***
Lisa’s Apartment,
same time
Henri glanced around nervously, as he stepped out of the elevator. He wondered what he would find out. Would it turn out that it was all some big coincidence and that Justin and Lisa really had been having an affair?
Henri took out a scrap of paper from his pocket, and looked down at it. Tamara had given it to him. He spotted the door he was looking for and walked towards it. Henri took a deep breath, before gently knocking on the door. He heard a shuffle inside the apartment.
“I’m coming.” He heard someone say, from inside. Henri turned around and looked back at the elevator, but it was too late to leave now.
“Hello.” Lisa said, as she opened the door, before seeing who it was. Henri turned around, and Lisa immediately tried to close the door over, but Henri slid his foot to block it.
“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about what happened between me and Justin. I’ve been beating myself up about it for weeks now.”
“I’m sure you have Heather, or should that be Lisa.” Henri replied, leaving the woman stunned. “You see I think that you were trying to tear my family apart, and that nothing really happened between you and my son in law.”
“That’s not true. We were having an affair.”
“If the two of you were so close, then why did you leave the moment my wife walked in on you two?”
“I, I…”
“I’m waiting.” Henri said, loudly.
“I felt so guilty about it. I couldn’t bear to continue it any more, not with Celia knowing.”
Henri decided to change tack. “And what about the money? The twenty thousand dollars?”
“What? How did…?”
Henri smiled. “I have ways of finding things out. I am a very powerful man after all, and can get things done. Now tell me who you were working for.”
“Nobody.” Lisa replied defiantly.
“Like I said Hea, Lisa, I can get things done. Good things and bad things.” Henri said. Lisa tried to close the door, but Henri was too quick and grabbed her by the arm.
“Let go of me, or I’ll scream so loud that I’ll get you arrested.”
“Maybe we can share a cell. I’ll have plenty to pin on you. I’m sure my friends on the police department would love to know about your fraudulent references.”
Lisa looked to her left, causing Henri to look in the same direction. At the end of the hall he saw a tall, bulky man standing watching the two of them. He was wearing a black suit, and had dark hair. Henri couldn’t really see his face very well, in the darkness, but could only see his figure. The man seemed to terrify Lisa.
Henri turned back to Lisa. “Who are you working for? Why are you trying to destroy my family?”
“Just tell your friend to go away and leave me alone, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” Lisa said, at last.
“He’s not my…” Henri realised that this was what he wanted, and quickly changed his mind. “Okay.” But before Henri turned his head and looked at the man, but he was gone. Henri was puzzled by his disappearance, but he turned back to Lisa to get the truth.
“I am working for someone. I don’t know who they are.” Lisa started, as Henri released his grip on her arm. “I used to have a drug habit. I couldn’t pay my dealer once. I said that I’d do anything and then he said that he had a friend who needed a favour. His friend rang me and told me that I had to get a job at the hotel and make it look obvious that I was sleeping with Justin. He set up everything, including the fake references and I got the job.”
“And then what happened?”
“Well he had everything planned out. He made sure that Celia was watched, and that she would walk in on me and Justin. He even sent me a pager, so when Celia was coming I’d be able to jump on Justin. He was so happy with me, that he gave me the money as a bonus and, well, so that I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Henri sighed. “And you don’t know who the man was?”
“I only ever spoke to him over the phone.”
“Thanks.” Henri said. “You really should use that money to get clean and start a new life for yourself.”
“I want to. It’s just that it is so damn hard. I’ve tried before, but I don’t know if I can.”
***
The park,
Half an hour later
Nate Samson smiled as he waited. The summer sunshine was pretty hot, even though it was only early. Nate looked down at a small group of daffodils, opposite where he sat on the park bench, swaying together in the warm breeze. Nate felt relaxed as he waited for his date to arrive. He had been early, she was late, but he didn’t really mind.
As Nate sat he wondered what this meant, but before he could come to any solid conclusion he spotted his date for the afternoon walking towards him. He stood up and smiled warmly, if not a little over enthusiastically, even fake.
If Nate’s smile was fake then his date certainly had not noticed. April Masters bounded nervously toward Nate, feeling slightly embarrassed despite having done nothing to produce the feeling. She reached Nate, and hastily wiped her sweaty palms in her skirt.
“You look great.”
“T-thank you.” April blushed, lowering her blonde head to avoid Nate’s smiling face. She looked back up slowly, and met his eyes. He has beautiful eyes.
“What do you want to do?” He offered.
“I, I really don’t know. What do you think?” April asked quickly and nervously.
“Maybe we can get something to eat in one of the pizza places or just go see a movie. They’re playing a French film down in the cinema.”
“You like French films?” April asked, her curiosity suddenly raised.
“I’ve only seen a couple, but they are really good. Lots of Hollywood films were first made in France.” Nate replied, passionately. “Why, don’t you like them?”
“Oh… I do.” April lied.
“That’s great. I don’t know anyone else who likes them as much as I do, well except for…”
“Except for who?”
“Oh, just a friend.” Nate replied, secretly thinking of the French films he and Paris had rented out while she was staying with the Samson’s.
There was an awkward silence, as April wondered who Nate’s friend was and he thought about Paris. Nate quickly broke the tense moment, however. “So what French films have you seen?”
“Well, ahem, I …” April started.
Meanwhile Paris Robertson was running through the park with her mother.
“Mom, what’s with the sudden urge to get fit.”
“Summer is on the way Paris. I don’t want to look like a prune while lying on the beach.” Natasha replied, smiling.
“Are you okay love?”
“Fine, why?”
Natasha was slow to reply. “It’s just you’ve been very quiet over the last few days.”
“Mom, I’m always quiet.”
“Oh.” Natasha said. She started to run a little further, and raised an eyebrow when she saw two people she knew. “There’s Nate with your friend April. Are you going over to say hi?”
Paris turned and looked over at Nate and April. They were laughing and joking. Nate had his hand on April’s shoulder and she was looking into his eyes. Paris’s face suddenly fell. She silently cursed herself for not making amends with Nate before this. But there was nothing she could do now, nothing.
“Paris.”
“What?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter. Look, how about I go and get a soda from the shop at the other side of the lake.”
“Whatever.” Paris said, continuing to watch Nate and April. A moment later Paris was brought back to reality by a voice.
“Who are you looking at?”
“Oh, nobody mom.” Paris said. She slowly turned her head, but was surprised to see a boy standing there, rather than her mother. “Jacob.”
“Yeah, me, not your mom.”
“Sorry I was just…” Paris started, looking around quickly. “Transfixed by the view of the lake from here. It really it quite striking, with the sun shining down on it.”
“I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”
“Well there is a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Maybe I could get to know sometime.” Jacob said, with a small smile. For some reason, he had just noticed, he always seemed to feel at ease with Paris. He didn’t know what it was, but it was something he sure hadn’t felt with Kayla.
“Yeah, maybe.” Paris replied, smiling herself.
***
The Vincent
Home, Evening
“He even sent me a pager, so when Celia was coming I’d be able to jump on Justin. He was so happy with me, that he gave me the money as a bonus and, well, so that I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Henri looked up at his wife and daughter as he waited for them to reply to what they had just heard. Justin took a deep breath, he too waiting for a reply.
Next Time:
A familiar face returns, and there is also a massive surprise which will change everything!