Clutching my cure
I tightly lock the door
I try to catch my breath again
I hurt much more than any time before
I have no options left again
I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose
‘Cause inside I realize that I’m the one confused
– Breaking the Habit, Linkin Park

---

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Queen’s Point, Port Charles

Elizabeth furrowed her brows as Jason pulled the SUV into the driveway of a house that was half a mile from where she and the boys lived on Lexington Avenue. He’d picked her up from the house, asking her to come to see something.

It was a just house, not all that different from her own with a slightly larger yard.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” she murmured, looking at him. Unless—a few days ago, they’d turned a corner in their relationship and seemed to be on their way back to where they’d been that spring—when he’d asked her to marry him, and for five entire minutes, her world had been perfect.

And then it had shattered with a bullet and a phone call.

Was Jason trying to plan for a new future? Did he want them to live here together?

“When we come back from Italy,” he said—she grinned at him, loving the way that sounded. They were finally going to Italy! “I wanted to put some new security into place.”

“Okay,” she drawled. “And this house is part of it?”

“It’s a start,” he told her. He stepped out of the car. “Come on—”

“I guess we’re not even pretending we don’t know each other anymore,” she said as he came around the side of the SUV to take her hand and draw her towards the stairs leading up to a wrap-around porch.

“People might not know about Jake,” Jason replied, “but they probably have some thoughts about us.”

“Oh, yeah?” Elizabeth arched a brow, watching him slide a key into the lock of the front door. “Even after all those tabloid reports about you and Claudia Zacchara?”

He winced. “Don’t remind me.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She smirked and strolled past him in the living room. The stairwell was against the far wall, curling around a landing to the second floor. A door to the kitchen was on the far right. “It’s…furnished.”

“For now. I told Spinelli to put stuff in here.” He scratched his temple, watching her turn in a circle. “You don’t like it.”

“I don’t—” She hesitated. “What’s it for? I have a house. One I like.”

“I know. And I like it, too,” he added. “But I wanted a safe house that wasn’t too far away. If you needed to leave quickly—there’d be a place to go in the neighborhood.”

“I thought most of your safe houses were outside of town.” She folded her arms. “Why—”

“Harborview is almost thirty minutes away,” Jason said. “You—you moved into this neighborhood before—” He winced. “Not that you can’t do what you want—but if I just—I need you and the boys to have somewhere safe to go if I can’t get to you.”

“And a place in the neighborhood makes you feel better,” she said slowly. So it wasn’t something he’d wanted for them to start a new life together. She turned away, stared at the fireplace next to the stairs. When they came home from Italy—

“Elizabeth?”

“No, it’s a good idea. And you know more about this stuff than I do,” she added. She forced a smile on her face and turned back to look at him. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“No.” Jason paused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He took her hand. “No, I can see something is wrong.”

She pressed her lips together, considered whether it was even worth bringing it up. Not when Italy was so close. What if he backed out—

“I thought…when I saw it was a house…” Elizabeth sighed, dipped her head down. “I thought maybe you’d changed your mind. That we weren’t just going to keep going the way we were before. I know—” she added, putting up her hand when she opened her mouth. “I know I said that’s what I wanted. And I do. But it would be a lie if I told you it was all I wanted.” Her eyes stung with tears, so she kept her head down, not wanting him to see that she wasn’t really satisfied with what he was willing to give. She took a deep breath. “I told you that this was better than what we had before. Which was nothing. And it is—”

“But it isn’t what you want.”

“I do want it—” She folded her arms. “It’s just…I don’t know. What if you’re unhappy? What if it’s not enough for you? And how can it be enough?” Elizabeth demanded, her throat tightening, fastening her eyes on him. “How can these little small moments be enough? How can you be okay with going home without me, without seeing Jake, without—” She broke off, turned away.

“It’s not enough,” he said, his voice almost rough, and she looked back. “Elizabeth, you know it’s not enough—but—”

“It’s better than nothing.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. You deserve so much more than I can give you—”

“But that’s just the thing—you can. You just won’t. And I’m trying to be okay with that because I tried living without you, and that makes me miserable, so I’d rather have these small moments than nothing at all.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I’d just wish you’d trust me when I say I’m willing to take the risk. That it’s better to have you and be in your life—”

Jason exhaled slowly, and she closed her mouth, angry at herself for starting the same old argument. He looked away, and she could see him swallow, his throat working to take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “Please don’t  change your mind about Italy. About the safe house. Please—”

“Don’t do that—” Jason’s head snapped back. “Don’t—” His arm shot out, curling against her waist and yanking her against him. He kissed her, almost angrily, his hand closing over her throat. “Don’t do that,” he murmured against her mouth. “Don’t cry. It kills me.” He brushed his lips against her cheek, erasing the evidence of the tears she hadn’t wanted to shed.

“Then don’t push me away. Don’t close me out.” She clung to him, afraid to let him go, terrified that they’d lose all the progress, and go back to that terrible day six months ago. “Let me share your life. Let me make the choice to love you openly, proudly. To let my boys know you. To let our son love you.”

His breath was almost shaky. “Okay.”

“Okay—” Elizabeth stepped back just enough so that she see his face. “Okay? Does that mean—”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “When we get back from Italy, we can—we can talk about what we’d need to do to make sure it’s as safe as possible.”

“Safe,” she echoed, warily. She didn’t trust that statement, didn’t want that word anywhere near this conversation. “What does that mean?”

“I made a lot of mistakes when I was raising Michael, and there are choices Sonny and Carly made that I don’t—” he paused. “We need to make these choices together. But you’re right. This is your life, and your choice. And you’re making it.” She must have still looked skeptical, because he continued. “I’ve always wanted you and the boys with me. Sometimes it’s all I can think about.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t—it’s not that I’m doubting you or that you love us, but—”

“You have reasons not to trust me. I asked you to marry me,” he said quietly, “promised I wouldn’t take it back or change my mind, and then I did.”

“I understood,” she murmured.

“I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that I made a mistake.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers drifting down her cheek. “From now on, we’ll make these kinds of security decisions together. They affect you, Jake, and Cam. Like this house. We’d still need it even when we’re living together. I might not always be with you, so you need to know how to keep them safe.”

“Right.” She leaned up to press her mouth to his, sinking in, thinking of the brightness of their future, the promise in it. “So, did you buy it?”

“I did,” he murmured against her lips, his breath tingling on her skin. “Why?”

“Well, you know I like to test the shower pressure at the safe houses.” She grinned as he lifted her in his arms. “And hey, at least Carly doesn’t know where we are.”

“Oh, man,” Jason groaned as he carried her towards the stairs. “Don’t bring up Carly right now.” Elizabeth just laughed, then tightened her arms around his neck. When they came back from Italy—everything would be different.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Safe House: Living Room

Only Jason, Elizabeth, Spinelli, and Sonny knew about this house and had the security code to get in. Jason trusted that Spinelli would still be monitoring it, even though it had been nearly ten years since they’d installed it.

Spinelli was reliable that way.

He was so damn glad that Sonny had come alone. That maybe he’d remembered that no one outside the people Jason trusted most in the world would know it existed or how to get in.

Sonny stood across the room, his gun clutched in his hands, the barrel lowered slightly as his eyes widened, and he took a step towards Jason. “What—” His voice faltered as he took another step. “What’s going on—”

“It’s me,” Jason said roughly, his hands at his side, careful to keep them in Sonny’s view. “I know it doesn’t make sense—”

“No, it—” Sonny swallowed hard, closed his eyes. “It can’t be.”

“I don’t know how it happened,” Jason said quickly. “Or what’s going on—who’s behind it—but I swear, Sonny—it’s me. It’s Jason—”

“Shut—” Sonny set the gun aside on a table, dragged his hands through his hair. “You don’t—You don’t have to—” And then he was striding forward, catching Jason in a tight hug. “You think I don’t know you?”

Jason hugged Sonny back, relaxing for the first time in days. He was okay. He could believe that now. His son was alive, and he didn’t understand how another man was pretending to be him—but Sonny believed him. Sonny knew him.

“Where—What—” Sonny took a deep breath, stepped back, exhaled in a rush. “I can’t—I can’t wrap my head around this,” he admitted. He sat down on the sofa, staring at Jason. “Let’s just—let’s start at the beginning. Where have you been for the last five years?”

“I don’t know about all of the years,” Jason said. He perched on the arm of a chair. “I just know that I woke up maybe six months ago at a clinic in Russia. I couldn’t—I couldn’t move at first. I was drugged, and it took some time to get—” He paused, thinking of those long weeks, those dark days when he’d fought just to lift his finger from the wheelchair. He’d been trapped, locked inside his body, screaming to get out—

“When I could finally move, I didn’t have a way out,” Jason continued. “Until an American woman came to the clinic. She—she’s from Port Charles—”

“Wait—” Sonny got to his feet, holding a hand up. “Russia? Ava Jerome? Is that the name of the woman?”

“Yes,” Jason said with a nod. “Ava. She was there to get her scars fixed. She helped me escape.”

“I’ll bet she couldn’t wait to help you,” Sonny muttered. “As soon as you told her who you were—”

“I never told her my name,” Jason said, frowning. Ava hadn’t been kidding when she’d mentioned Sonny wasn’t her biggest fan.. “She helped me escape, and I got out of Russia. Sonny—”

“Then she saw a picture of you here, realized who you must have been,” Sonny bit out. “Ava doesn’t do anything without a reason.”

Jason pressed his lips together but nodded. He knew what Ava had risked to help him, but it could wait. There were other questions to answer. “Okay. Well, I don’t know. I just—I came home. Or tried to,” he said quietly. “I went to the penthouse. But I saw—Sam with—”

“Oh, shit—” Sonny dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. “There’s—this guy—who showed up with amnesia a few years ago. A car accident messed up his face, killed his memories.” He squinted. “But then we did DNA tests. And they—they said it was you.”

Jason spread his hands out at his side. “He’s not. He’s pretending—”

“I—” Sonny paused. “I don’t know about that. He’s not—” He shook his head. “I don’t know how he fits in. But I don’t know if he’s the bad guy. You escaped from the clinic. Was anyone following you?”

“I think I lost them after New York City, but they have to know I’m coming here,” Jason told him. He waited a minute, but he couldn’t stop himself. He had to know. It was really the only thing that mattered. “Sonny, I saw Elizabeth in the park. With—” His chest squeezed. “With her boys. All three of them.”

“Oh, man—” Sonny dipped his head. Jake. He’s—he’s alive,” he confirmed. “Been back about two years. It’s—it’s been rough, and Elizabeth’s been through a lot with him. Did she see you?”

“No.  Jake did, but I—” Jason was still trying to process past Sonny’s statement.

He’s alive.

Jason hadn’t been able to believe the evidence of his own eyes in the park or at the cemetery, but, hearing it from Sonny—it made it real. “What happened? Ava said—” Sonny’s mouth twisted at her name. “I went to the cemetery to see—she was there—Never mind her.” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. “She said the Cassadines were involved.”

“Yeah, Helena said it was some kind of revenge against Luke,” Sonny said. “I don’t know. It never made much sense to me, but Elizabeth got him back and that was what mattered.” He hesitated. “You said Ava was at the cemetery?”

“She was there visiting Morgan,” Jason confessed, and Sonny exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“A whole year,” Sonny murmured, “and it still cuts like a knife.” He closed his eyes, and Jason waited for his friend to gather himself. “There’ll be time for all of that. For getting caught up. For finding out what the hell happened, but, right now—” He met Jason’s eyes. “We need to get you back to your life, to your family, but if you are being tracked from Russia—it might not be safe for you just to pop up. We need—” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We need information,” he muttered. “We need Spinelli. I have to—I have to get him here.”

“Sonny—”

“You’re safe,” Sonny told him. “You were right to come here. Only you and I—and Spinelli—know about this place. Did you ever tell Elizabeth?”

“Yes,” Jason said. “But—”

“That’s okay. She can be trusted. Good, good. You can stay here. Rest. I’ll get you supplies. We’ll get Spinelli into town, put him to work. We don’t know who we can trust,” Sonny said. “But as soon as it’s safe, we’ll—” He sat back down. “I don’t know,” he said. “Do I just—tell Carly? Take you home to her? To Michael?” He looked at Jason. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t want anyone coming after the people I care about,” Jason said after a minute. “They might know I’m here already. We need a way to know. Like you said, we need information.” And that meant waiting on Spinelli, who was apparently not in town anymore. So much had happened. “Ava said there was a party tonight at the hotel. That—that the other me and Sam were throwing it.”

“Yeah, he bought a media company,” Sonny said with a twist in his expression. “And Carly hit the roof. He wanted to sell out his part of the warehouse, leave the business. Carly thought he was acting insane—” He grinned. “She wants to call Luke to see if Helena put the whammy on you or something since—” The humor vanished from his face.

“Sonny?”

“Because Helena was involved in your disappearance. Or at least involved with the other guy. The Cassadines,” he muttered. He shoved himself to his feet. “Tomorrow, I’ll call Luke. And—” He looked at Jason. “We should call Elizabeth.”

Confused, Jason stood. “Sonny?”

“The Cassadines were involved with your disappearance,” Sonny repeated, “and with Jake. Not to mention Robin.”

“Robin?” Jason asked blankly. “She died in an explosion—”

“She’s not—” Sonny paused. “She’s not dead.”

Stunned—not sure how much more he could take in today, Jason just stared at Sonny. Jake and Robin, neither of them were dead? How—

“And there’s more—with Jake and the Cassadines. Luke would know the current state of that crap. And Elizabeth—you’re gonna want to get the Jake stuff from her.” Sonny nodded. “She knew. She and Carly both knew this was wrong,” he murmured. “Should have listened.”

“Okay,” Jason said. He put the Robin information away for the minute. He’d sort it out. It was good news. Nearly as good as Jake’s survival. And Sonny’s plan did make sense. Lay low for the night, figure things out—and maybe—maybe Elizabeth would believe him the way Sonny had. And she could talk to him about Jake. He wanted to know everything. “But this party—”

“I need to be there. I have to meet Carly,” Sonny told him. “And we need—we need to pretend everything is normal,” he added. “Stay here. I’ll come by after the party or in the morning.” He stared at Jason, then hugged him again. “Thank God you’re alive. That you’re home.” He drew back, held Jason’s face in his hands, his dark eyes intense. “We’re going to find out who stole the last five years from you, and we’re gonna make them pay.”

Morgan Penthouse: Nursery

Sam gently laid her daughter in her crib and smiled down at her sweet face. Sometimes when she looked at Scout, she wondered if this is how her first child would have looked if she’d had the chance to take a breath. If she would have looked like Sam or Sonny, or someone else in the family entirely.

Danny had been her miracle, but Scout was her second chance to do everything right from the beginning. She and Jason had learned about the pregnancy together, her father had never been in doubt, and even though her birth hadn’t been ideal—Scout had been healthy every day of her life.

And Scout was proof that Jason loved Sam, that Jason wanted a family with her. Everything she’d always feared had been erased. He’d chosen her and Danny when Jake and Elizabeth had been an option. She’d always worried—

“Sam?”

She looked up to see her husband leaning against the doorway. “Hey. Where’s Danny?”

“I left him downstairs with your mother,” Jason told her, crossing the room to join her at the crib. “Danny has his iPad, and I think he’s trying to talk her into making his Christmas list early.”

“Mom’s a pushover,” Sam murmured. “I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t go overboard.” She pressed a hand against her stomach. “I’m nervous about tonight,” she admitted. She met his eyes. “I know we’re doing the right thing, but I keep thinking that Carly—I mean, she’s right.” She sighed, folded her arms. “What do we know about running a company?”

“Nothing,” Jason admitted with a chagrined smile. “But we’ll hire a really good CFO, and we’ll learn. Julian’s been in prison for almost a year already, and it ran without him. We don’t have to have all the answers the first day.”

“I guess.” Sam smiled. “You’re right. This is our chance to start over. It’s scary,” she continued, “but it’s the right kind of scary.” She laced her fingers through his. “And we’ll be doing it together. That’s all that really matters.”

Webber House: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth fastened a bracelet around her wrist and checked her makeup in the mirror one more time, wincing when she realized her eyeliner had smudged. She sat back down at the vanity and reached for a cotton swab.

The phone on her night table rang just as Elizabeth finished fixing it. She answered without checking the identification screen. “Hello?”

“I thought you would have called me by now.”

She grimaced at the sound of Franco’s voice—which probably wasn’t the right reaction—then sighed. “Why? You left me a message that you’d be at the studio tonight. What else did we need to talk about?”

“Well,” Franco said after a minute, “I thought you’d want to apologize.”

She stared at herself in the mirror, letting his words sink in, reverberate in her brain.

And in them, she heard of the echoes of another man.

Of Lucky Spencer who had always demanded apologies, insisting she admit that she’d been in the wrong, and that she was the problem in their relationship—

“I would,” Elizabeth said, “if I had anything to apologize for. You might consider apologizing to me.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I really don’t want to get into this over the phone,” she said, scowling at her own reflection.

“If this is about what I said about needing to have Jason in reserve, I just—I lost my temper for a minute and said something stupid. I don’t know why you have to hold it over my head like I meant to hurt you—”

She sighed, rubbed the side of her cheek. “No, I don’t think you meant to hurt me.” And if she’d felt stung by an offhand remark like that, imagine what Franco could do if he really wanted to hurt her. “Look, I don’t even know why you got an attitude earlier. Cameron wanted to have friends over, and if I’m not home, some of the parents are uncomfortable when you’re here. I didn’t know that’s why he wanted you to stay away tonight, but I think, under the circumstances—”

“So you’re not even going to stand up for me?” Franco demanded. “What about believing in me?”

“It’s not my job to convince other people,” she snapped, her temples beginning to throb.

“How about making sure your kids can’t be little jerks—” He broke off in mid-sentence. “I didn’t mean that—”

“You’re saying a lot of things you don’t mean today,” she retorted, glaring at herself in the mirror. How the hell had this become her life? And was she really going to let him keep getting away with it? “You know, if you’re trying to punish me for wanting to tell Jason about his brother, then insulting me and my kids is a good place to start. I’m starting to remember why I didn’t like you even after the tumor was out.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I’m going to the party. Don’t call me again tonight. And in fact, maybe you should just lose my number. Your father can pick up your things. I don’t want to see you again.”

Safe House: Living Room

Jason switched on the television. Sonny had said the party tonight would be on the news, and he wanted to get an idea of what was going on.

He didn’t like the idea of just sitting still, even though it made the most sense. Even now, he was pacing in front of the television, the local station barely audible in the background.

Sonny might think the guy running around with Jason’s identity wasn’t the bad guy, but he had to be, didn’t he? He was living Jason’s life, raising his son, married to Jason’s wife under his name. And if he was in the middle of all this, wouldn’t the doctors in the clinic have told the impostor that Jason had escaped?

What if someone got hurt—

Jason saw the party coverage begin, recognizing the entrance to the lobby set up with a red carpet. One of the hosts said something about usually pulling this out for the Nurse’s Ball, and Jason just scowled at the television. He wanted to see the man who was pretending to be him—wanted to see how anyone could have believed for a minute—

He watched as people he didn’t know were interviewed on the carpet, then smiled faintly when Maxie sauntered in on the arm of a tall, dark-haired man. He’d never liked Maxie much, but she’d been one of Spinelli’s people.

He’d never thought he’d miss Spinelli, but he wouldn’t mind seeing the hacker sitting next to him, slurping orange soda and speaking gibberish, calling him Stone Cold.

He saw Elizabeth walk in a dark red dress, with her brown hair piled on the top of her head, pieces falling down her neck. She’d changed since he’d seen her earlier in the park and put on makeup. Elizabeth ducked around the correspondent and disappeared almost as quickly as she’d arrived. He couldn’t wait to talk to her about Jake—to learn everything he’d missed—

Then Sam walked in with the man Jason had seen that day at the penthouse. She was glowing with happiness, practically bouncing towards the reporter. Her hair hung loose down her back, her eyes heavily lined—Jason could see them sparkling as she looked towards the man at her side. The blonde-haired man with blue eyes and a quick smile.

He didn’t even look like Jason.

“The couple of the hour!” the reporter exclaimed. “Jason Morgan! I know how much you hate the media, but maybe you’d give us something to look forward to. A hint of the rebranding?”

The man she called Jason turned towards her, then his smile deepened. “This is a chance for a new start,” he told her, then made contact with the camera—with the viewer at home. “For me and Sam, our family—our children.  The old Jason Morgan is gone for good.”

Jason scowled, then stalked over to his jacket. He took out the white card Ava had given him earlier. She was going to the party, wasn’t she? Sonny would never help him get in, but Ava might.

He couldn’t sit home and wait. Not when his family was in danger.

Greystone: Living Room

“You know, at some point,” Sonny called up the stairs with a scowl, “you’re just being petty!”

“I am not petty!” Carly’s voice floated down the steps. “And if you leave for this party without me, Sonny Corinthos—”

Joss tied her sneakers, then looked over at Sonny standing at the bottom of the steps, his scowl only deepening. “Hey, Uncle Sonny?”

“What’s up?” he asked, crossing to the sofa. “You sure you’ll be okay at Cameron’s?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s fine. Cam made sure Franco won’t be there, so Oscar and Trina are allowed over. I’m, like, the only friend the Webber boys can have over with him there,” Joss explained to Michael who was frowning. “Mostly because Mom almost married him—”

“We try really hard not to speak of that time,” Carly muttered, overhearing the last part of her daughter’s statement. “I had a year long psychotic break.”

“Only way to explain it,” Michael said easily. “Especially since you didn’t even break up with him. He left you.”

Carly made a face at her son. “You’re really in a mood today, aren’t you?”

Joss bit her lip. “This is probably a bad time to bring this up, but something weird happened in the park earlier. I mean, to Cameron and his brothers,” she added when Carly straightened, her brow creasing in concern. “They were with his mom, and Jake went off on his own for a minute and said he saw a guy who looked like Uncle Jason. Before the car accident.”

Carly stared at Joss for a long moment before turning to Sonny, her eyes widening. Sonny dipped his head.

“Cam said his mom took Jake to the hospital to see Dr. Maddox, and they all agreed that Jake just saw someone he thought looked like him,” Joss said, “but Cam said his mom was acting weird, and he thinks maybe Jake might be sick again.” She twisted her fingers together. “I thought—I don’t know—I figured it was something we should all know since—”

“Since we had to be evacuated last year when the Chimera was activated,” Michael said. He exhaled slowly. “Well, it sounds like Elizabeth has it under control, but Dad—”

“I’ll talk to her tonight at the party,” Sonny said quickly. “Make sure she’s got what she needs. I’m sure she’ll—” He paused. “She’ll probably wait until tomorrow to tell Jason.”

Joss frowned at him because something in Sonny’s voice sounded weird, but her mother was folding her arms.

“That’s Jason’s son,” Carly snapped. “She shouldn’t hold stuff back—”

“Elizabeth might not understand this whole—” Sonny waved his hand. “New leaf thing Jason is doing, but she’s not going to actively sabotage him either. It can wait, Carly. Don’t bring it up.”

“If she tries to shut him out of Jake’s life,” Carly threatened.

“Oh my God, is everything a fight with you?” Joss demanded. “I know you don’t like her, but this is so annoying, Mom! I just thought you guys should know. Next time I’ll keep my mouth shut—”

She grabbed her purse and stalked out of the room. Michael winced when the front door slammed. “I better go grab her before she walks all the way to Cam’s house,” he told his parents. “Look—Mom—”

“Fine, I won’t say anything!” Carly said, throwing up her hands. “Why am I always the bad guy?”

“I’ll see you at the party,” Michael told them before leaving. Sonny turned to Carly, his brows lifted.

“I said I wouldn’t say anything,” Carly repeated, her teeth clenched.

“I’ll talk to Elizabeth,” Sonny said. “And offer to help. It’s probably nothing.”

“But if it’s something—”

“I promise I will make sure Jason is a part of it.”

Metro Court: Service Stairwell

Jason turned to Ava at the top of the stairs. “So, how do I get to the roof from here?” he asked.

“You have to take the elevator on this floor,” Ava told him, folding her arms. “It’s the only roof access. There’s a skylight that looks over the ballroom.” She paused. “I told you I’m happy to help, but at some point, you’re going to have to tell me your name.”

Jason frowned at her— “You don’t recognize me?” he said finally, unsure what to think about Sonny’s suspicions. Was he right? Had Ava known who Jason was all along?

“Should I?” Ava said with a sour tone. She scrunched up her face, peering at him. “I mean, now that you’re forcing me to think about it, I guess you look sort of familiar, but I don’t know why—” She arched her brows skeptically. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Not tonight,” Jason told her. “But it’s not because—” He paused. “The men from the clinic—they might still be following me. I probably shouldn’t have called you, but—”

“No, no, I understand.” Ava touched her face. “I was fortunate to get out of the clinic myself, so—” She shrugged. “Keep your secrets, Patient Six.”

She turned to go the way they’d come, and Jason grabbed her elbow. “I thought you said you were going to the party tonight.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “It’s on this floor, isn’t it?”

“I—” Ava sighed, looked down the stairs. “It turns out my invitation was issued in error,” she murmured. “I used to be a shareholder in Wells Publishing.” Her smile was thin. “I’m not very popular in town these days.” She gestured at her face. “And it’s for the best. I’m not particularly camera ready. Good luck, Six.”

With a wave of her hand, she went back down the stairs, and Jason went into the hotel proper, tugging his baseball cap back over his head to head straight for the elevators. Just as he reached them, they slid open—

Jason started to turn away, to block his face from the man who stepped out—and then he caught a glimpse of the man as he strode towards the ballroom doors.

The profile of his face—

No. It couldn’t—it wasn’t possible—

Rage coursed through Jason’s body as he watched the man reach for the handle — “Franco,” he said, flatly, his voice carrying in the empty area.

The man turned around, and Jason saw his full face.

Robert Frank. Franco. The man who had terrorized Sam and Michael, who’d nearly killed Lulu and Maxie, kidnapped Elizabeth’s son—

“Who the—” Franco’s eyes bulged as Jason leaped forward, wrapped his hands around Franco’s throat, determined to choke the life from this monster for good this time.

Metro Court: Ballroom

Sonny joined Elizabeth at the bar, lifting his tumbler of bourbon to her in a half-hearted salute. “What are you drinking tonight?”

“Chardonnay,” Elizabeth said with a sigh, “but I don’t think it’s strong enough.” She turned towards the front of the room, where the stage had been set up, and a podium was waiting. “I keep thinking this is a joke,” she murmured.

“You and Carly are on the same page,” Sonny told her, and Elizabeth grimaced. “Yeah, she’s not wild about it either, but at the end of the day, we know Jason best. And this—” He cast his dark eyes over the stage. “Doesn’t fit the man we used to know.”

“No.” Elizabeth leaned against the bar and watched as Jason leaned over to kiss Monica’s cheek and shake the hand of someone else. “He’s so…friendly,” she said, almost with some distaste. “In a crowd.”

Sonny smirked, sipped his bourbon. “It is a sight to see,” he said. He paused. “Uh, Joss mentioned something about the park—”

Elizabeth winced. “Oh, man, I guess I’m not surprised—” She stared down into her wine. “I’m sure Cam and Joss are worried that Jake is—that it’s like last year.”

“You’re not?” Sonny asked, his brows lifting in curiosity. “Jake sees someone who looks like the man we used to know, and you’re not concerned?”

“Not about Jake. I—” Elizabeth sighed. “I think I know who it might have been,” she confessed. “I promised someone I wouldn’t say anything,” she continued, “but I’m not in the mood to keep that promise.”

Sonny turned to face her more fully, engaged now. “Really? What do you know?”

“I—” She hesitated. “I don’t think we should get into it here,” she said.

“No, no—” Sonny rubbed his temple. “You—you busy tomorrow? I have something I needed to run by you anyway. Can we—”

They were distracted by the sounds of shouting from outside the ballroom. “What—” Elizabeth began.

Then the doors were shoved open, and two men all but threw themselves through them—one of the men shoving the other to the ground and wrapping his hands around the man’s neck—the man on the ground knocked the man’s baseball cap off, revealing dark blonde spikes that looked eerily familiar.

The room exploded in chaos, but the world around Elizabeth disappeared as she watched a man who sure as hell looked like Jason Morgan try to kill Franco Baldwin.

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