Bella was going to give Mortimer the cold shoulder this morning after the disasterous party, but she couldn't stop herself from spitefully riding him. "I can't believe what you did last night! All day all Cassandra and I heard from you was 'Straighten up', 'Act right,' 'This is very important so don't blow it.' And what do you do? YOU BLOW IT!"Mortimer was nursing a pounding headache. "Do you have to yell? Don't you think I know what I did at the party?"
"I'm not sure," she continued. "You drank so much, I don't know if you remember anything you said and did last night.""It's not MY fault! Mother is the one who spiked the punch so no one would notice your cooking."
"My cooking has been just fine for the past ten years. You never complained before.""Well I'm complaining now. This stuff is pig slop!"
"Daddy! Mommy! Stop it! Stop fighting!""Cassandra," Mortimer bellowed and then winced at his own loud voice. "Don't yell. You know how Daddy's head hurts after he's slept hard."
"Slept. Ha." his wife snorted. "Passed out is more like it.""Don't you have something to do today? Something away from me?"
For the first time that morning Bella had a reason to smile. "No, but you have something to do. Your mother called. She wants to see you as soon as you make yourself presentable. Enjoy your day, dear."
At that same moment:
"Gargoyle, my faithful servant. I have a task for you to do. You must travel to Sim Lane and discover if there are some unregistered demons living there."
"So, Dr. Amore, I haven't seen you since the malpractice suit. What brings you to my offices today?""You may have heard we had a little fire at our medical facility the other day."
"Yes, I thought I heard sirens. What happened?""There was a fire in our kitchen area. Although it didn't destroy the foundation, we were forced to have repairs done to the interior. All new walls and flooring, not to mention appliances and cabinets."
"What caused the fire?""We've come to the conclusion it was Cassandra Goth."
"Cassandra!?! Mortimer Goth's little girl? I can't believe it!""She's the most logical conclusion. Her father had brought her over to our center that day for some ... tests."
Janice was slightly alarmed. "Tests? Is she alright?""I'm afraid I can't say anymore than that," Dr. Amore replied. "Patient/doctor confidentiality. You know how it is." Janice nodded and Amore continued. "I had sent her into the kitchen to help herself to a juice box. She was the last person in the room before I discovered the fire. We believe due to the difficulty she's been experiencing lately at home that Cassandra is acting out through arson."
"I see. And you feel that the Goth's owe you monetary compensation for the cost of refurbishing your kitchen.""We want to sue them for a gazillion Simoleons."
Janice laughed until she noticed Amore was dead serious. "I don't think the cost of your kitchen would be worth a 'gazillion'."Amore assumed a smug look on his handsome face. "Oh, it might be worth almost that much. Especially when you tell Mortimer Goth that unless he wants it known by the general public that he'd brought his daughter to us for some ... tests, then he had better break out the checkbook."
Janice was taken aback. "Are you talking blackmail?""No, I'm--well, yeah, I guess you would say I am."
"How unethical!""It's SimVille, baby. SimVille."
While Dr. Amore was away, his colleague Dr. Frankenstein, busy working on the Goth child's DNA test, is fascinated by his findings.
"Fascinating! Truly fascinating! Why, I've never seen anything like this before. Look at this, my Bride."She came closer to the lab table but was unsure what it was she was looking at. "What is it, Master?"
"I told you not to call me master," he snapped. "Not while we're in SimVille.""I'm sorry, my m--husband. But I don't understand what it is you've found."
"Cassandra Goth," he continued breathlessly with excitement. "Her DNA is unlike anything I have ever seen before. If I didn't know better I would think she wasn't even ... " He shook his head. "But that can't be.""Be what?"
Frankenstein whirled around. "I must have her.""Cassandra Goth?"
"Yes! I must have her for my experiments. With her unique DNA I could unlock the secrets of the universe!"Bride was rather frightened by the intense glow in her master's eye. "But how will mas--husband get the little girl?"
Frankenstein's narrow face screwed up in intense thought. "Yes, how? I must come up with a plan..."
"Mortimer, I can't tell you how aghast I am over your abominable behavior at the dinner party last night. As president of Goth Enterprises you of all people should have realized how important it is to make a good impression on our clients.""I'm aware," Mortimer said through gritted teeth. His head was still throbbing. The last thing he needed was a tongue-lashing from his mother.
"I specifically instructed you not to drink too much!""It's not my fault," the grown man whined. "You're the one who spiked the punch!"
"Oh no, it's never you're fault. Did you see me getting intoxicated? No. I know how to control myself. It seems that's yet another trait you haven't inheirited from my side of the family."Exasperated, Mortimer asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to get help. I want you to go to a clinic and dry out.""I'M NOT AN ALCOHOLIC," he roared.
"You do not yell at me," Cornelia said softly but deadly. "And as of this moment you do not work for Goth Enterprises. I'm suspending you until you get professional help."
