‘Cause I don’t know where you’re going,
But do you got room for one more troubled soul
I don’t know where I’m going, but I don’t think I’m coming home
And I said, I’ll check in tomorrow if I don’t wake up dead
This is the road to ruin and we’re starting at the end
– Alone Together, Fall Out Boy

---

Aurora Media: Drew’s Office

“Hey, man.” Curtis tossed a file on the conference table, frowning when he saw a suitcase by the desk. “You heading out of town?”

“Yeah, uh, and I need you to keep that to yourself. Jason and I are going to Turkey.” Drew handed him a glass of water. “The Spencers aren’t telling us everything, so we’re see what’s going on, but we’re trying to keep it under the radar.”

“Yeah, sure. Anything I can do. How’s things going with Sam?” Curtis pushed his hands in his pocket. “She still breathing fire?”

“I’m taking your advice and giving her space. I’ll touch base with her when we get back.” Drew combed a hand through hair. “You make any progress with the Susan thing?”

“A bit. Robert and I met, started to flesh out the investigation. He pulled his old notes, and we went through that night.” Curtis tapped the folder. “I put together what we have in case you want to hand it over to Jason at some point. We’re trying to narrow down when, if at all, Susan would have known about you. Right now all we have is the original birth certificate and the will. She could have thought you were dead — that was Heather’s original story back when the twin was Franco. The will makes that a bit more sticky, but it could also be her planning for the future. Thinking about more kids.”

“That’s true. I’ve had to update some things, and Diane’s encouraged me to make certain things vague, and other things specific. If you name your children, and don’t update it, it could cut someone out. Then they have to fight for it and spend money. Any idea on the timeline?”

“We don’t think she knew when she was awarded Jason’s trust fund. That would have been the fall before she died,” Curtis said. “She started the blackmail threats in January, a month before she died. We’re looking at that time frame. And I talked to Robert — Tracy was connected to Susan.”

“Really? I didn’t think Tracy was living in town at the time—”

“She wasn’t. She’d moved down to Albany with her husband, Mitch Williams. Who was the married guy Susan Moore was seeing before she hooked up with Alan. And she hooked up with Scotty while he was in a relationship with Heather. It was Heather’s original motive.”

Drew made a face. “She liked unavailable men?”

“Looks that way. Doesn’t tell us much, but it’s an interesting piece of puzzle. And Tracy knew about the affair, according to the gossip Robert dug up. She donated two million to Mitch’s campaign, and then they moved. Not saying it gives Tracy a motive for murder, but it does make it more likely that she wouldn’t be happy Susan Moore was linked to the family permanently.” He folded his arms. “Right now, the confession from Tolliver seems solid. It didn’t tick off all the boxes for Robert, but it covered most of them. And hell, a confession, what are you going to do?”

“But?”

“But Robert’s asking more questions. Susan invited a reporter over that night when she was meeting with the Quartermaines. That doesn’t sound like she was backing down. And Robert never got a good answer for how Tolliver knew she was backing down when no one else did.” Curtis paused. “We’re thinking, though, if Susan was backing down it was because she had a much better story to sell. And she was going to make her pitch. Give in to her demands, or she tells Jackie about a second Quartermaine bastard.”

Drew leaned against his desk. “That would be a bigger payday,” he said. “And Susan could have kept coming back until Alan terminated his parental rights. The way it’s been told to me—and to Jason—that was never on the table. Alan was involved—or as involved as he could be with Monica still in the picture.”

“Yeah. Now, that would explain why Tolliver killed her. He’d have no stake in that fight — she didn’t need him anymore. Again, this is speculation, Drew. At the end of the day, the only thing we have solid proof of is that someone knew you existed and dumped you across the state six weeks after her murder. Whether that was Tracy or Monica — we still don’t know.”

“But Tracy knew Susan and had a financial reason to want her gone. There was some old talk about a trust fund. It was supposed to be AJ’s,” Drew said. “I don’t know whatever happened to it. Maybe he had it and it went to Michael, or maybe he spent it while he was on the run. But it doesn’t matter. Tracy’s always been antsy about anyone who isn’t a Quartermaine getting money from the family. And sometimes, she felt like she was in charge of who got to be a Quartermaine. And she still complains about ELQ stock.”

“Yeah, that’s how Robert saw it. Tracy showed up in Port Charles right after Monica got confronted by you and by him. I think maybe we need to talk about bringing Jason in on this,” Curtis said. Drew sighed. “You said you didn’t want to go much further without him. And at this point, we need to dig more into Tracy and Monica’s past. No guarantee we keep it quiet. You don’t want him finding out from someone else.”

“Yeah.” Drew sighed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to him while we’re in Turkey.” He picked up the file. “What’s in here?”

“A summary of what we have. Witness statements from that night — copies of some of the reports. I know you like facts — I figured your brother might be the same.”

Jones-West Apartment: Living Room

“You should get a pool.”

“I’m not getting a pool,” Spinelli said absently as he set up another keystroke program to crack the encryption. “The house is fine just the way it is—”

“But it has a really big backyard,” Maxie said. “You need a pool.”

“It’s January.”

“I’m talking about the future.” Maxie shifted, winced.  “Okay. I’m not enjoying pregnancy as much as I did the first time.”

Spinelli frowned at her, finally distracted. “What part of the last pregnancy did you enjoy?”

Maxie made a face. “Oh, well almost none of it, actually. There was all that lying — that wasn’t great. And then there was the vomiting. And my feet—” She raised her foot in the air to consider it. “I went up half a size and it never went back down. But—” Using her hands, she framed her breasts. “But these got bigger. And stayed big. So win for all of us.”

Spinelli dipped his head, prayed for patience. He loved Maxie, he really did. And co-parenting with her was mostly fun. He couldn’t have picked a better mother for Georgie — but sometimes — “Okay. Don’t you have a job—”

“I’m going in later. Nina has been the most annoying bitch for the last week—” She bit her lip. “It’s a good thing Nathan isn’t here. He hates when I rant about his sister. We’re getting along better than we used to, but she still doesn’t believe in my creative abilities. She keeps giving Nelle all the opportunities—I miss Kate. She appreciated me—”

“Maxie.” Spinelli took a deep breath, twisted on the sofa to face her. “I’ll be closing on the house in a few weeks. But I have to work, too—”

“Oh, what are you working on today? Which Cassadine supervillain are we tracking? I can ask about that, you know. I’m a member of the family—”

“By marriage, and Nathan never even knew Victor,” Spinelli muttered.

“Come on, talk to me. You know it helps you sometimes. And I’m useful. Don’t I pass you all the inside deets on Nina? And we still didn’t come up with a nickname for Drew. Since we’re not going with Banging Bodacious Business Dude.”

Spinelli flexed his fingers. “I’m doing the same thing I always am. Decrypting Maddox’s thumb drive. But no matter what I try, it’s not good enough.”

“Well, that’s stupid. Why did he bother to give it to Anna if she couldn’t open it? And why worry about it? Aren’t his files the same as Helena’s?”

“No. Nothing past the last two years could be. Helena put her files in that law book before she died. Maddox would have the full records. Including how the twins got switched, who sent Jason to Russia—maybe who was paying for it all this time since Helena and Victor were dead—and most importantly—”

“Drew’s memories,” Maxie finished.

“Yes.” Spinelli took a deep breath. “Robin can reverse the comas the Cassadines used, so that’s something we know how to do. But Maddox mapped Stone Cold’s memories, stole them, and made Drew have to live with them. And if we can find the protocol, the formulas and procedures — Drew can get his life back. And all I have to do is—” Spinelli hissed when the latest keystroke coding returned a denial. “Damn it. All I have to do is crack the code.”

“This would be easier if Andre Maddox just told you everything wouldn’t it?”

“Not in the cards, Maximista,” Spinelli muttered, setting up a new keystroke. “The WSB has hidden him away. I can find no way of getting to him.”

“But my dad might know.”

Spinelli frowned, looked at her. “Yeah. But he’s not talking.”

Maxie made a face and got to her feet, wandering over to the mantel where she picked up a photo of Mac holding Georgie the day Maxie had been granted visitation. “I grew up on stories of my dad. How brave he was, how much he loved my mother—and when he came home a few years ago, I thought he meant it. You know, about regretting not being around. About missing Georgie’s funeral, and—God, her entire life. Mom meant it. She’s home. She fixed her mistakes.”

“Maxie.”

“It just sucks. Dad has all this power. He could get you into see Andre. He could make Andre talk. And I know Anna has tried, right? I can see from your face. But he doesn’t want to help. And I don’t know why. The WSB did these experiments. Why aren’t they trying to fix it?”

“I don’t know. Something about politics. It’s not right.”

“What’s the point of the WSB if they’re not going to actually protect people?” Maxie sighed. “I can make some calls. See if my dad will talk to me. He can say no to Anna, I guess, because it’s business. But you know.” She forced one of her smiles. “I am a master of manipulation. I can guilt trip like no one else.”

“It is one of your many, many talents. But you don’t have to—”

“Sure, I do. Like I said, this concerns me, too. Nina’s married to Valentin, the big bad. Nathan’s been worried about her since the beginning, but she’s never believed anything bad about him. And Victor—he’s dead,” Maxie allowed, “but his blood runs in Nathan’s veins. So does that crazy bitch Liesl. They’re his parents. So let me see if I can help.”

General Hospital: Staff Room

Elizabeth closed her locker as Felix and Griffin came around the corner. “Hey! I didn’t know you were both on the schedule—”

“Davidson has the stomach flu, so I’m scrubbing in on his craniotomy,” Griffin said. He opened his locker. “Uh, have you heard anything more about Patrick Drake coming back? I mean, I know it’s happening, but you know, sometimes, these new chiefs come around—”

“Patrick’s not new,” Elizabeth said, folding her arms, leaning against the bank of lockers. “He worked here for ten years. And he’s not the kind of guy to fire perfectly good doctors just to show off.”

“I keep telling him Patrick’s a good guy—” Felix tugged his scrub top over his head. “But he won’t stop worrying—”

“Everyone says you were Drake’s go-to scrub nurse. I figure you’d know him best.”

“We made a great team. And now he’s coming back to run the department.” Elizabeth smiled wistfully. “I can’t wait for him to be here. It’s just a better place with Patrick and Robin around. You’ll see.”

“Let’s hope. I’m gonna go check on the patient. I’ll see you in surgery.” Griffin disappeared around the corner, then the door swung closed.

“He worries too much.” Felix pinned on his security badge. “So you look like you’re in a better mood than the last time I saw you. You have a good weekend?”

Elizabeth put her arm through Felix’s as they walked into the hallway. “Well, I took your advice.”

“And?” Felix wiggled his brows.

“We had a really—” Elizabeth searched for a right word. “We had a really good weekend. We had some fights that we needed to have, said a lot of things we should have said years ago—”

“This doesn’t sound like taking my advice,” he grumbled.

“And then I raced him up the stairs and he threw me on the bed. We almost forgot to eat dinner.”

“Much better.” Felix turned, eyed her critically. “And you look bouncier, too. So, just like always, I was right.”

“You were absolutely right.”

“Be nice if I could give the same good advice to myself. My love life is as barren as the Sahara.”

Morgan House: Street

Franco stifled a yawn, irritated that Morgan wasn’t leaving the house. He’d tracked Elizabeth to the hospital, and he knew she’d be there for at least eight hours. Now he wanted to know more about what Jason did all day. Maybe he’d catch the asshole around Sam, that would give him some leverage—

He finally got a break around three that afternoon when the door opened, and Jason stepped out, a duffel bag in his hand. He locked the door, then went to the SUV.

A duffel bag? Franco gritted his teeth. Was he taking it to Elizabeth’s house? Was he already moving in? It had barely been two months since he’d come home—

He flexed his fingers on the wheel, then prepared to follow Jason as the SUV pulled out of the driveway.

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