Chapter 1
By Alexis
Lila flicked her hair off of her shoulders, a nervous habit she had received from her mother as she fumbled futily in her purse for the key to the pent house she hadn't seen in over 8 months. She didn't want to wake her parents up in the middle of the night to announce that she had arrived home from college, no siree. Her mother was a heavy sleeper, and probably wouldn't stir even if she had to break down the sturdy door to get in. But her dad? He would wake up the instant he heard any kind of noise. In fact she was being careful even now not to make much of a racket as she searched desperately for her keys.
" Come on! Come on!" she muttered softly as she scraped past her lipgloss, cellphone and credit cards. She knew she had her keys. Only hours ago when she'd turned in her apartment keys to the leaser in Puerto Rico where she was attending the University of Puerto Rico, just like her biological father had wanted. Now they were...
" In my pants pocket!" Lila scolded herself as she slapped the side of her blue jeans and rolled her dark brown eyes. She was known for being forgetful and misplacing things. Why when she was a girl her dad would tie her shoes together so she wouldn't always be howling about not being able to find the other one before school. And even then somehow she and her dad would end up searching for them anyway, while her mother would be shaking her head scolding her for her irresponsibility.
" Nothing much has changed, Mom," Lila thought as she jammed the key into the lock and twisted it.
" Still trying to sneak in, are you?" her father greeted her at the door wearing jeans and a t shirt, like always. He didn't even look like he had been to sleep.
He's still up, playing guard dog, Lila thought as the look of surprise melted from her face into a look of joy.
" Daddy!" she shrieked throwing her hands around her father's muscular frame and hugging him tightly.
He hugged her back just as tightly.
" Lila!" he responded back as exuberantly as he could. Her father wasn't big on overwrought emotion. Lila knew she got that from her mother.
" What are you doing still up? It's 3 am," Lila said letting him go to take him in. He still looked good. Hadn't grayed much at all and still he was young and as in shape it seemed as he had been in her youth. Not that she was anything old now. She was only 21. In her prime, as she liked to think of it. And so was her father, at least in her eyes.
" Haven't you talked to anyone back home?" her dad demanded releasing her and looking at her with concern.
" No, I just made this decision to come home and surprise everyone. I haven't talked to anyone in Port Charles, since...since Sonny died," Lila said quietly.
" Then I guess you haven't heard. Carly was shot yesterday."
" What? Carly?!" Lila shrieked.
" Yeah, it was a retaliation," Jason said shaking his head.
" What? Well is she okay? God what Morgan must be going through..." Lila said as she walked across the penthouse living room dropping her purse uncaringly on the coffee table and having a seat on the sofa.
Her dad joined her and shook his head.
" Yeah I saw Morgan when I was down at the hospital. He's devastated. But Carly out of the operating room. They got the bullet, but she lost a lot of blood and she's in critical condition," her dad told her.
Lila shook her head her brown eyes clouded over in concern.
" Why did this happen? I thought Sonny's enemies weren't going to retaliate anymore once they got him? I thought that was the end of it?" Lila asked tearing up at hearing herself say Sonny's name aloud.He had been her biological father, and she had been her whole life, at least in her own feeling the least of his concerns when it came to his children. She had loved Sonny dearly, but he never seemed to return the affection in her mind as strongly as he did for his other three kids. Despite all of this, Lila had been devastated to hear about his death and though she had covered it up well it had placed a hole in her heart she thought might never be filled again.
He had been a dangerous man and led a very dangerous life as a mob boss, that had come to an end in a hail of bullets months ago. No one had been arrested for it, but that was the mob code. Lila knew that the Ruez family had been responsible for it, even people at the University of Puerto Rico knew this, but she had expected once they got Sonny that would be the end of it all.
If they went after Carly, are they going to come after Morgan, Kristina, and Me? Or my mom and dad? Lila wondered as she stared with big worried eyes at her father feeling 5 years old instead of 21.
" It wasn't The Ruez's, Lila. It was Adrianna Alcazar," her dad told her.
" Alcazar?! What does she have to do with anything? She wasn't even viable in the underworld when I left for college this semester!" Lila said loudly.
" Keep it down! You don't want to wake up your mom," her dad warned her disapprovingly.
" Sorry. I'm just scared here. Adrianna hates me and I hate her. What is she doing running mob factions anyway? I thought before dad offed Alcazar she was on her way to med school."
Her dad sighed a little.
" She got thrust at the front of this organization just recently. She was going to med school but it wasn't panning out for her, so she decided to take what she thought was the easier way out. And the truth is I don't think she ever got over the murder of her father. She thought because Sonny and Lois were friends that would be enough for her to stop him from killing her father, but you knew Sonny..."
" Nothing was enough to stop Sonny," Lila whispered.
" Not when it came to what he wanted anyway. And Lois pretty much went insane after Sonny killed her husband. I don't think Sonny ever coped with that very well. He loved Lois he just couldn't see past what he wanted. And Alcazar was a threat, even before you were born."
" So what exactly awakened this new feud with Sonny gone? Why is Adrianna on the attack now?" Lila asked softly. She was increasingly aware of stirrings upstairs. Her mother wouldn't be happy to hear her discussing her late father's business. As the years wore on and even her dad, Jason Morgan, infamous as Sonny's enforcer had pulled away from Sonny's organization (invoking Sonny's anger somewhat), her mother had become less and less tolerant of the subject of what Sonny did being discussed. It pained her to think what kind of danger it had put Lila in, being Sonny's biological daughter. But Lila had never had the trouble of squeezing whatever she could out of her dad Jason, despite her mother's disapproval.
Her father looked away in embarassment and right then and there Lila realized she'd hit her a nerve.
" Daddy..." she began.
" There's someone else at the helm of Sonny's operation. It didn't die with him. And they declared war on Adrianna first after Adrianna tried to take over the docks. Carly got caught in the crossfire of their war." Jason said softly.
" Daddy, come on. You can't mean...?" Lila said her eyes getting wide with surprise and disgust.
" Michael is in control."
Kristina stalked around the interrogation room table looking dismayed at Michael Corinthos the third. Imagine it, ladies and gentlemen if you will a red headed kid of only 29 sitting at the table with his hands folded in front of him, hair slicked back and a calm yet smug look on his face, and you will see exactly what Kristina Davis was dealing with right that moment.
" Are you gonna let me go, Kristina? You know you aint got nothing on me. Not a thing," Michael said knitting his eyebrows together in mock concern. In reality Michael was not the least bit worried. He had done nothing wrong, not today anyway. He hadn't set the bomb that had blown up Adrianna Alcazar's warehouse. He'd merely given the order, and if there was anything he'd learned from his father, it was as long as you didn't personally do the job yourself, and your men were loyal to you and didn't snitch (in which case they'd be snuffed out anyway) you could get away with just about anything.
Kristina stopped in her tracks and slammed her hands down on the table.
" Damnit, Michael! Why the hell are you doing this anyway? Can't you just let this die with Sonny? Why do you have to continue this?" Kristina demanded.
" I don't know what you're talking about. But if you're not going to charge me, Kristina, you'd better let me go," Michael warned.
" Or what? You're going to have me shot like you did your mother?" Kristina asked haughtily as she turned away from him.
Michael exploded.
" Don't you EVER mention my mother! She could be dead right now! And you're keeping me from her!!" Michael shouted at Kristina who didn't flinch. She wasn't afraid of him or his tantrums. More than anything she was a little frustrated and maybe she felt more than just a bit sorry for him. At the rate he was going they'd be clashing paths quite often, and not on Thanksgiving like brothers and sisters should.
" Michael, the reason your mother is in the hospital is because YOUR lifestyle put her there!" Kristina tried to reason with him.
" Is that all? Because you can't hold me without charging me, Kristina..." Michael began.
" Stop repeating that. It's getting tiring."
" Then let me go."
" Not until you answer my questions..."
" What exactly are you holding me on, Kristina? Do you think I actually shot my own mother? Or is this going to be another one of your lectures on life, instructing me to take a lesson from our father and walk away? Cause if that's what this is, let's save it for a brother sister moment on a family holiday of some sort and not waste the Port Charles citizen's time or tax dollars," Michael said straightnening his suit and preparing to stand up and leave.
" I just wish for once you would listen to me. Your mother almost died last night. And I thought for sure that if anyone could get through to you it would be Carly. You almost lost her.." Kristina began softly.
" If you're so concerned about it, Kristina, why don't you get Adrianna in here and question her. You know she is the one who took a shot at me and missed while I was walking my mother back to her house. All she had to do was wait for my mother to go in, and take the shot. Cuz I never go in that house. I hate that house," Michael muttered. " I've already sent someone to get Adrianna for questioning. But I do hope you know we don't have a damn thing on her either, so she's going to walk out of her free. And Michael, if she turns up dead within the next few days, you better believe that you will be back here right in that seat facing me again," Kristina whispered.
" If I were you Kristina, I would've stuck to my small time law practice, because as far as being Assistant DA, you're a wash up. You aint got a damn thing on me and if you keep dragging me down here for nothing, I'm going to sue the department. Then you'll be back living with your crazy mom, and I'll still be doing what I'm doing. So be careful. It's a big ocean, little sis, and guppies like you get swallowed everyday," Michael warned Kristina as he headed towards the door.
Kristina stopped him by putting her hand against his chest and holding him back.
" Remember something, Michael. I'm more Corinthos than you'll ever be. So just because you puff out your chest like a big fish, doesn't mean you're one. I wouldn't underestimate what I'm capable of. You may be on top of the world now, but I'm holding the fringes to the rug and I won't hesistate to pull it out from under you," Kristina whispered.
" Come on, lil sis. If you think you're ready to challenge me..."
" Michael! Honey! Are you okay? Kristina can we leave yet?" a hysterical blond woman demanded as she burst into the interrogation room. Police officers were trying to hold her back.
" HEY! Get your hands off my wife! She's pregnant!" Michael warned the officers who flinched a little under his shouts.
" Let her go. And you can leave too, Michael. Just remember what I said," Kristina said.
Michael smirked.
" See you later, lil sis," he said shrugging his shoulders coolly in his suit before heading out to take his wife's arm.
" What was that all about? Why did she drag you down here?" his wife demanded as they were walking out of the station.
" Because she has nothing else to do. Instead of trying to catch real criminals she's bugging me because she can't handle that I am more our father's child than she'll ever be. Speaking of kids, how is my son doing?" Michael said patting his wife's stomach.
She smiled a little at the mention of their child.
" He's just fine, but we were worried about you. I don't like all the trouble that's going on around here, Michael. I know your business isn't any of mine..." she began.
" But what? You can't handle it Roxanne?" Michael began as one of his enforcers opened the door to his limo and he got in followed by his wife.
It was a rainy morning in Port Charles, late November.
Roxanne recoiled under his tone.
" No, it's just that I'm worried. With what happened to your mother..."
" Look, Roxanne! If you can't handle my life, there is the door. I don't need you. You were a nobody and I MADE you somebody. You remember that sometime when you are thinking about getting shot, or blown up. Would you rather be Mrs. Michael Corinthos the Third, or simply Roxanne Webber, Steven Lars's bastard daughter?" Michael demanded.
" I...."
" Yeah! That's right. You'd rather be Mrs. Michael Corinthos the third. Because being Webber's bastard daughter doesn't get you any kind of respect. Your aunt Elizabeth doesn't even really want nothing to do with you because of what a little slut you were when you came to town..."
" Now wait a minute Michael, that's not fair..."
" And even out of the goodness of my heart, when I slept with you and took you in and made an honest woman out of you when I knocked you up, you still had the nerve to run around town embarrassing me with your stupid behavior. You ruined my baby sister Lila's relationship with her boyfriend Cameron, cuz you didn't think she was good enough for your cousin. Then you tried to seduce Morgan to get a job at the hospital, then you ran over Ric Lansing, and killed him! And didn't I cover that up for you? Didn't I get rid of the car, after all the stupid things you did? Haven't I stayed with you?" Michael demanded.
" I guess, but I mean I was really stupid back then Michael..."
" That was 3 months ago you ran over Ric! You've always been doing stupid stuff. And I've stuck with you. And bailed you out time and time again. And can I just say that I don't appreciate you criticizing how I live, when it puts food on the table and clothes on your back. So shut it up and stay pregnant with my kid if you know what's good for you," Michael said leaning back in the limo seat.
Roxanne bit her tongue, but it took all of her might to do so. She absolutely hated Michael with all of her being, but he was right. At least with him she was somebody. At least then she was Mrs. Michael Corinthos the third and that she supposed was better than nothing at all.
Lila walked into General Hospital with a look of worry on her face that morning, searching desperately for her brother Morgan. She had snuck out only 3 hours after she had gotten home against her father's wishes. Jason had told her to stay put, but the second he ducked out to get her a glass of water as she requested, she ducked out herself.She supposed he would track her down somehow, just as he always did, but until then she was going to come down here and find her brother and comfort him. After all, his mother had been shot and was critical.
She went to the front desk and to her dismay found Georgie Jones standing there.
" Well, hello," Lila said curtly.
Georgie looked up from the hospital PC and distaste instantly crossed her face.
" What do YOU want?" Georgie asked sourly.
" Well I'm certainly not here to see you, you lying old slut," Lila hissed.
" O get over yourself Lila Morgan Corinthos. You're nobody special. You're no perfect angel yourself," Georgie hissed right back.
" Maybe not, but I'll just BET you'll think twice about lying to Morgan about being pregnant with his kid again. If it's one thing I won't put up with is scamming skeeze bags like you going after my brothers. I'm surprised they even still let you work here. They must be desperate," Lila smirked.
" Yeah you tried your best to get me fired didn't you? But Dillon and I are still good friends and the Quartermaines do still have quite a bit of pull around here. You'd be surprised what an endorsement by Emily Quartermaine could do for you," George said snickering.
" Don't get comfortable, hussy. If I catch you anywhere near Morgan again I'll have you more than fired. And if you think that the beating I put on you last time hurt..." Lila began.
" Lila!" a voice shouted down the hall.
Lila's brown eyes lit up as she looked down the hall at her tall handsome brother, who more than anything looked like her biological father must've looked a very long time ago.
" Morgan!" Lila shrieked back forgetting her unpleasantness with Georgie as she took off down the hall towards her brother who looked especially handsome in his hospital scrubs. He was a Thorasic Surgeon and one of the top on General Hospital's staff.
Lila flung herself into her brother, who caught her quite easily in his strong arms.
" Li what have you been eating on campus? You're getting kind of heavy!" Morgan teased.
" Maybe you're just getting kind of weak since all you wield is a scalpel now," Lila teased back holding him tightly.
" I'm still no stranger to the gym every now and again," Morgan bragged.
Lila rolled her eyes letting him go.
Then she turned serious.
" How's your mother? I know you're putting on a good face like you always do, but give it to me straight for a change and don't feel the need to be my slightly bigger brother," Lila said placing her hand tenderly on his shoulder.
Morgan remained somewhat straight faced as he began to speak.
" She's doing okay. Still critical. If she wakes up she should make a full recovery, at least that's what they're telling me. But she could still very well slip away," Morgan said seriously.
" O, Morgan I am so sorry. I know how much you love Carly," Lila whispered hugging him again.
" Yeah, I was closer to my mom than I was with dad. You know no matter whether they were together or apart, I was with her most of the time. Not that I didn't love dad. I was devastated when he died," Morgan said.
" Yeah, I know. And yet you kept such a strong face at his funeral. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've thrown myself in the casket with him. I still can't believe he's gone," Lila said.
Morgan nodded.
" Yeah, dad dying left a big hole in the family like I never thought it would. I wasn't always proud of what the man did, but damn it if he wasn't my father and if I didn't love him just the same," Morgan said.
" Yeah, Jason, well as you know he's always been number 1 in my life, he was the dad Sonny never was to me. But I still loved him too...and God you could lose your mother too? Morgan it just isn't fair," Lila said hugging him again.
" I know but what can I do? I just gotta hope my mother is strong enough to pull through this..."
" Can I see her?" Lila asked suddenly.
" Huh? Well, she's not really awake..."
" I just want to see her. You know the times Sonny and Carly were together, she was kind of like a second mother to me. I was so upset when I heard the news Morgan. Please?" Lila asked her brown eyes piercing into his.
Morgan cracked.
" Sure, go ahead. I have to go anyway. I'm a surgeon I can't just stand around and chat. There are people that need to be cut. Just promise me you won't stay long, and that you're going to stop by my house and pay me a visit sometime today. I haven't seen you in forever Li and I miss you," Morgan said.
" I miss you too, Mo," Lila said as Morgan started to head past her.
" Well, call me later on and maybe we can go out to dinner. Have you seen Mike or Kristina yet?" Morgan asked.
" No, why?" Lila responded.
Morgan shrugged a little and started walking away.
" It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you when we have that dinner," Morgan said as he headed off in the other direction.
Lila nodded to herself wondering what it was that Morgan had to tell her. She quickly stalked down the hall peering through different windows before she stopped and came to Carly's.
She stood there staring at her for a moment. She looked paler than usual and her blond hair was going toward gray more than it had been when Lila had seen her at hte funeral.
She looks really old in there with those machines around her, Lila observed as she turned the door knob and walked in the room.
For a moment she just stood there staring at Carly and remembering all the times they had spent together when she was a kid. Remembering everything she could about Carly was not hard, Carly wasn't exactly unforgetable, at least not to Lila.
She stood there silently for a moment just remembering while Carly's IV dripped and her vital monitors beeped away.
Then Lila did something quite uncanny.
She smiled.
" I've waited 21 years to tell you how I REALLY feel about you Caroline Benson Corinthos," Lila whispered as she sat on the edge of Carly's bed.
When they had arrived home, Michael had kissed Roxanne on the forehead and told her that he was going upstairs to get a little sleep before Roger came over to discuss "business". This was quite fine with Roxanne who was more than tired of Michael's attitude by the time the limo ride was over. She sat by the fireplace in the living room of Michael's penthouse and watched the fire till she heard him snoring away upstairs. He was always a loud snorer, it kept her awake at night, but today, Roxanne was grateful for this. Once she was sure he was asleep she grabbed her cellphone from her purse and slipped out into the hallway.
"Hello? Dr. Quartermaine?" she whispered into the receiver.
" Yes Mrs. Corinthos?" Emily replied in a kind voice. She was at the hospital getting ready to punch out before Georgie had given her the phone claiming " that whack job is on the phone again." Emily had frowned at her disapprovingly as she took the phone, and Georgie announced she was taking her break.
" Everything is going okay in my pregnancy, right?" Roxanne asked in a worried voice.
" Yes, everything is going just wonderfully. From our last check up I can't see where any problems are arising at all. But I do wish you would bring your husband in with you. These are the sort of things couples should do together..."
" Yeah I heard you the first couple of times. It's just...Dr. Quartermaine I need to ask you a huge favor," Roxanne began.
" Yes?" Emily asked.
" You have to promise me, that this is going to be under doctor patient privelege," Roxanne said worriedly.
" Of course," Emily replied.
" I mean seriously, I don't want you to tell anyone," Roxanne babbled on.
" I've got it, Roxie," Emily said impatiently.
" I need you...I need you to change my records to make it say I am three months pregnant," Roxanne spat out.
" What? Why would I have to do something like that?" Emily demanded.
" Because that's what I told Michael three months ago when we got married. It was the only way he would help me cover up...I mean the only way he would marry me," Roxanne said, catching herself. She'd almost confessed to Ric's murder.
" Mrs. Corinthos, with all due respect I think that is ridiculous and I can't change your records. That would be illegal..."
" Look, Emily, I don't care if it is or it isn't illegal. I want it done okay? I could lose my husband over a damn month! How much of a hassle would it really be for you?" Roxanne demanded.
" A huge one and I am not going to help you keep your dirty secret by forging medical records," Emily said firmly.
" You had better do it, Emily. Or else I'll find a way to make you suffer," Roxanne warned.
" By doing what, Roxanne? You can't hurt me. You may have been able to manipulate others and embarrass yourself in the past but you don't have anything on me and I really don't think it's wise to threaten your doctor. Don't call me again about this," Emily said before she hung up the phone.
Roxanne flipped her cellphone closed angrily and let herself back into the apartment to get her purse. She was going down to that hospital to talk some sense into Emily in person. She had to get her to change that file. Michael was asking about going to the appointments to make sure his son was okay, and if he found out...
Roxanne shuddered as she shut the door softly to the penthouse and headed back out.
Sam woke up earlier than usual that morning sensing an uncomfortable emptiness in the house.
" Jason?" she yelled from her bed as soon as she sat up. It was odd for Jason to just disappear in the morning without telling her where he was going.
Unless something is wrong.
She sat up straighter
Don't be ridiculous, what could possibly be wrong?
She slid out of bed.
A ton of things...
"Jason!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs to the living room of the house looking around carefully for any signs.
" Well he never came to bed last night," she muttered seeing the paperwork to his coffee business laying on the desk halfway finished. She was tempted to finish it for him as she did from time to time, but her eyes quickly averted to something glinting on the table.
House keys.
She went over to them and instantly recognized them, even without reading the personalized key chain.
" Lila, damn it, girl you'll never remember your keys will you?" Sam muttered picking them up with a bemused smile. Her son with Jason, Andrew , who was away at college was definitely the more responsible of the two. Lila had never been able to keep up with anything...
" But why is Lila even here?" Sam wondered aloud. The semester was over in 3 more weeks. Lila would miss finals. It made no sense for her to just show up out of no where like this.
Maybe that's what's wrong? Maybe that's where Jason is? Sam thought suddenly and she ran upstairs to throw on some clothes. While she was putting on her jacket she called Jason on his cellphone.
It rang from the couch in the living room.
" O God he never forgets his cellphone," Sam muttered as she stormed back down the stairs and went running out the door.
" Okay, Ms. Davis, what are you dragging me down here for?" The lovely Adrianna Alcazar demanded as she took her seat in the interrogation room. Her long jet black hair was curled under giving it a sleek yet sophisticated look and she was wearing an all black outfit with a silver cross dangling from her neck. Her blue eyes twinkled inquisitively.
" You know what you're down here for," Kristina said.
" How could I possibly know that? You haven't asked me a question. Not that I'm answering a thing without my lawyer, mind you," Adrianna said twirling her cross in betwee her fingers while her icy eyes kept Kristina in plain sight.
You're not so big and bad Ms. Davis with your power suit on. You actually look quite pathetic to me, Adrianna thought coolly, and then she smirked to herself.
Kristina did look rather frumpy. She was wearing a tan skirt and a plain white button up shirt. Her curly hair was forced back into a rebellious bun and her blue eyed beauty was hidden behind a pair of wire rimmed glasses circa 1886.
She's as boring as a box of plain oatmeal, Adrianna thought, and it took all of her might not to explode into laughter.
" Why do you need a lawyer? Have you done anything wrong?" Kristina asked.
" Have you done anything wrong? Is that what they teach your about interrogating at Harvard Law? Highly overpriced institution," Adrianna said tsking.
" This isn't about me Adrianna or my law degree. This is about YOU and you shooting Carly Corinthos," Kristina retorted.
" Me? You think I shot Carly Corinthos? Why would I shoot that dear old lady?" Adrianna asked innocently.
" Because she's your arch enemy's weak point. You know that hussies of a wife doesn't mean much to him," Kristina said.
" Ahhh, so you think I shot Carly in order to get at Michael. Well, Ms. Davis, I think you're speculating, and unless you get something to hold me on I'm going to have to leave..." Adrianna said standing up.
" Right. You go ahead and walk on out of here. You just think about it, though Adrianna. I'm sure Michael's mind has wandered to the possible conclusion that you had his mother shot. He's not stupid. And if Carly dies, I wouldn't want to be wandering the streets with that suspcision, whether I did it or not," Kristina said innocently.
" Michael also isn't dumb. He knows you'd be just as happy to lock the either of us up. If he murders me you'll be on him so fast he won't have time to call his attorney," Adrianna said dismissively.
" But then, you're assuming that Michael is rational, which I don't think he is Adrianna. Sonny was rational. Michael, not so much," Kristina said.
" So what? Confess to something I didn't do and you'll lock me up safe in jail where Michael can't get me? Come on we all know that doesn't work very well, Kristina. You're smarter than that," Adrianna said.
" Haven't you picked up on the hint yet? Or maybe I'm not being obvious here. I don't want to lock you up. I want to work with you," Kristina said.
" What?" Adrianna demanded. She was skeptical. It could all be a trap to get her to confess. She had ordered the shooting on Carly. Of course she had. But she would never confess to that no matter what.
" Look, my biological father, just died a few months ago..." Kristina began.
" I'm sorry for your loss," Adrianna said stiffly and insincerely. She'd hated Sonny for what he'd done to her father. This was no secret.
" And I am sick of the life he led. I want to get my family out of it. So you work with me, and I'll make sure you don't go down for what you did to Carly. What we BOTH know you did to her," Kristina said firmly with a crooked grin.
" Why should I trust you?" Adrianna demanded somewhat intrigued by the idea.
" Because, if you don't I am going to bring you down. Here's your shot to take the heat off of you and put it on Michael. He's putting the heat back on my family. My brother and sister could end up shot next, and I won't let that happen. So if I have to remove him to stop it, then so be it. You help me, you can go free until I stop feeling generous. You don't and you come down now, Adrianna. I do have some evidence on you," Kristina said.
" I don't know what you're..."
" Drugs, Adrianna. There were traces of drugs in that warehouse that blew up. They were there before it blew up. I've been monitoring your activity. And you're very sloppy. We've got enough evidence to put you away for pushing drugs, and I am on the verge of finding something out to put you away for the shooting of Carly, which could possibly escalate to murder. Now you can call my bluff, Adrianna if you want to, or you can help me and we can all get what we want," Kristina said.
Adrianna swallowed a little. It was hard for her to maintain a strong face in this situation. She knew she'd had drugs in that warehouse and that it had been a sloppy thing to do but she hadn't been able to move them before Michael had blown it up. Now Kristina had evidence against her...
What harm could it do to help her? I could get rid of Michael, which would make Port Charles mine and at least buy myself some more time to clean up my act so she won't have a thing against me. It would be killing two birds with one stone. Why not let the Corinthoses clean up each other up?
" I see you see my point," Kristina said.
Adrianna shrugged.
" I'll work with you. Fine. What do you want me to do to help your bring down Michael?" Adrianna said leaning forward.
" For 21 years I had to put up with you and your disgusting attitude towards me. You always did think you were somehow better than my mother because my father chose to marry you after he knocked you up," Lila said staring at Carly's calm face.
" I couldn't stand you. I couldn't understand why my father even wanted to be with you. All you did was lie and lie and lie. And you hurt my brothers. You hurt Morgan so badly how you invited one man after another into and out of his life. And Michael? I can guess a lot of his scars came from you not being much of a mother to him. You were pathetic," Lila hissed as she stood up off the edge of the bed and began to pace around Carly.
" And the way you USED my father, it sickened me. Some nights we would be sitting together, daddy and I, and he'd be helping me with his homework, and then in you'd strut 'Jason, I need to talk to you,' and even though my mother would beg him not to go and beg him not to get involved with whatever MESS you'd gotten yourself into, he went and he left us. And at times I saw them about to break up over it because...he was somehow still dedicated to you. And I think my mother feared that maybe you two were having some kind of an affair. You'd better believe if I'd found out about that, Carly, that you'd have been in this hospital a helluva lot earlier," Lila said.
And she was shaking with rage. All of her youth she'd had to swallow it and be respectful to Carly because it was what her dad Jason had wanted. And Lila would jump over any hurtle she could to please Jason. She loved him dearly and longed to have his approval and adoration. But she hated Carly, and now alone in the hospital room with her she felt vindicated in being able to say it to her face, even if she probably couldn't hear it.
" I wanted every night that my father left to help you, for my mother to go after you two. And at times she did. And when she did my dad would come back. But there were times where she simply gave up. JUST like she gave up with Sonny. And you sucked the life out of both of them! You took them both from me you blood sucking witch. I will never forget that, or forgive you for that!
" The only good thing that ever came from you is Morgan. And God as my witness if it wasn't for Morgan, I suppose I would pull that damn plug on you and take you out of this world right now. Because Morgan would miss you and I couldn't live with knowing that I was the one who killed you if Morgan had to suffer. So I'll just wish that when you DO die, Carly someone else got rid of you, and that it didn't come down to me. But don't think it means I don't wish you dead, because I do. And when you do go, stay the hell away from my REAL father in the after life. He may be in hell like everyone says, but being with you again is a hell no one deserves!" Lila yelled angrily.
Then she turned on her heel and started out the room.
Just as she placed her hand on the doorknob Carly jolted awake and stared at Lila.
" Lila?" she whispered hoarsely.
Lila leaned against the door in fear and guilt.
Then Carly's eyes slammed shut again and she began to flatline.
Lila froze first, unsure if she should do something.
Yeah, get the hell out of here! Lila thought and when she could get her body to cooperate she snatched open the door and took off down the hall looking back over her shoulder.
" O God," she whispered as she broke out into a cold sweat. She knew she hadn't done anything, but God if she didn't feel guilty.
Can you yell someone to death? she wondered as she ran.
She ran smack into Jason.
" Lila! What the hell are you doing down here?" Jason asked grabbing Lila by the arms.
" Uh, I came to see..." she began.
" Something's wrong with my mother!" Lila heard Morgan yell from up the opposite hall from where she had come running.
Jason let Lila go.
" Something's wrong with Carly?" he demanded as Morgan came running past him.
" She's flatlining!" A nurse yelled from the hospital room.
" No! No!" Morgan began to mutter.
Lila tried to keep it together as best she could.
Jason and Morgan ran towards the room, but Lila refused to. She instead headed the other way, not wanting to be anywhere near the room.
" Listen Emily, I need you to change those records!" a whisper insisted.
Lila stopped in her tracks and listened.
" Roxanne, I can't. Okay. If you lied about how long you were pregnant you're going to have to tell Michael yourself," Emily warned in a low voice.
" I can't! He'll throw me out..." and then the voices got sort of quiet as they head into an examination room.
Lila's eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion.
" Michael's wife is pregnant?" she whispered aloud.
I can't believe Michael married that hussy Roxanne Webber! Lila thought, and then it punched her in the stomach hard.
She lied to him about the baby to get him to marry her, Lila! Think why don't cha? And now she's down here trying to change the records!
Lila's brown eyes lit up deviously.
Why that little lying slut. She thinks she can one up my brother does she? Lila thought and her lips parted into a smile.
" NO! MOM NO!!!!" Morgan roared from further down the hall bringing Lila back to the situation at hand.
Lila whirled around and her father was walking slowly toward her.
" Lila, I don't know how to tell you this..." Jason began.
" Dad...no...," Lila began turning white in the face.
" She's gone," Jason whispered and tears started to fall from his eyes.
Guilt welled up in Lila.
O God, why did I say those things to her...
Lila burst into tears alongside her father and Jason swept his daughter up in his arms and lay his head on top of hers as he cried.
" O Daddy, I'm so sorry," Lila whispered into his T shirt as her tears began to stain it.
You're not really sorry are you? You hated her. You still hate her even though she's dead...
But she was daddy's friend. She was Morgan's mother...
She was horrible. Not worth crying over.
Just shut up, would you? My dad needs me, and so does my brother so I'll cry if I want to, okay?
Lila weeped and then pulled from her father.
She ran past him and straight to her brother who was leaning against the wall crynig.
" Morgan," she whispered gently.
" She said after dad died she would NEVER leave me! NEVER!" Morgan said kicking the wall angrily.
" O Morgan she didn't choose to leave you!" Lila said softly.
" You're right. She was taken away from me. By...by MICHAEL!" he yelled angrily and he kicked the wall again.
" Michael?" Lila said shocked at Morgan's sudden venom against his own brother. Lila had never much liked Michael herself, but Morgan had always been rather annoyingly loyal to him.
" Yes, Michael. His 'business'," Morgan spat out bitterly.
" No, Morgan. Michael didn't mean for this to happen. He's going to be upset too when he finds out, and I think you need him today. Don't push him away," Lila said.
Morgan continued to weep, and Lila reached out and held him as he did weep and as they began to wheel Carly's body out of the room.
He pulled away from her as they were bringing her out the door.
" Mom! Mom! Don't leave me! You promised me...You PROMISED ME!!!" Morgan shouted as he reached for his mother's bed.
" Dr. Corinthos control yourself!" A nurse instructed.
" Can someone get a hold of him?" another demanded.
Lila grabbed Morgan and pulled him back.
" Mo! Mo! Come on!" she said holding him.
" You promised!!" Morgan yelled after her as Lila held him back.
" Morgan she's GONE!" Lila said grabbing him tight and shaking him a little. She had never seen Morgan like this. He had always been the one who pretended everything was okay. Morgan had always taken care of her. When kids at school had picked on her in the first grade making fun of how little she was (she really hadn't had a shot at being big with Sonny and Sam for parents) Morgan had been there and he'd even knocked a few around even though Sonny chastised him for it in front of Carly, while telling him how proud he was of him defending his little sister in private. Morgan had saved her when Cameron had attempted to rape her after the lies Roxanne had told about her sleeping around. Morgan had always been there...
Lila hugged him even tighter as he cried even harder.
" She was all, I had, left!" he sobbed.
Jason stood back watching them, through his own tears.
There they were, Sonny's kids comforting each other in their times of despair.
Sonny's daughter, HIS daughter holding Sonny's son together the best that she could.
Damn proud of you right now, Lila. Even though you don't know that I do, I know you hated Carly...
" Jason! What's going on! God she didn't die did she?" Sam demanded as she was running into General Hospital.
Jason turned around to face her.
Sam's face fell.
" O God, I am so sorry," Sam said throwing her arms around Jason, and she pulled him in as close as she could.
Sam hated to admit it though, and she knew Jason probably felt it in her, but she was somewhat relieved Sonny and Carly both were gone now...
Dear God, forgive me, but at least it's finally over...
" Where the HELL is my wife?" Michael demanded walking into the middle of the hospital and looking around.
Morgan suddenly looked up from Lila's shoulder.
He threw her aside.
" Morgan what's going on?" Michael demanded walking towards him.
Morgan didn't answer.
He instead met Michael's question with a sharp punch to the nose.
" MORGAN NO!" Lila screamed.
Michael hit the hospital floor hard.
" O God! What did you do to my husband!" Roxanne screamed running from the examination room with Emily following.
" Someone get a doctor!" Roxanne said as she leaned over Michael.
" I'm a doctor," Emily said.
" One who knows what they are doing!" Roxanne screamed.
" She's DEAD Michael! And It's because of you!" Morgan hollered at his unconcious brother.
" Morgan, what's going on? How could you do this?" Roxanne wailed as Dr. Webber came running towards Michael.
" Daddy save him!" Roxanne wailed.
" Come on, get him up and get him on stretcher would you guys?" Steven ordered some of the nurses as Roxanne continued to wail.
" Morgan, why'd you do that?" Lila whispered softly.
But Morgan did not answer. He instead pulled away from Lila and followed Dr. Webber as they carried Michael away.
Lila started to follow Morgan, but then she stopped spotting Roxanne weeping like a child standing by the welcome desk.
She headed towards her about to give her a piece of her mind about what she was doing to Michael when her mother slammed her hand down on her shoulder.
" Lila do you mind telling me what you are doing here three weeks before your semester ends?" Sam asked staring at her daughter accusingly.
Lila stared blankly at her mother, unsure of how to answer her....