Standing in a crowded room and I can’t see your face
Put your arms around me, tell me everything’s okay
In my mind, I’m running round a cold and empty space
Just put your arms around me, tell me everything’s okay
Break my bones but you won’t see me fall
The rising tide will rise against them all
– Hold My Hand, Jesse Glynne

---

Monday, December 1, 2003

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“I don’t know where Leticia could be,” Carly said. She switched her phone from one ear to the other as she slid her feet into her flats. “Mama—”

“I can see if Lucas can come over to watch the boys,” Bobbie said, but her tone was doubtful as Carly grimaced, looking around the penthouse. Sonny had already left for the warehouse before she woke up, which meant Max wasn’t on the door.

“No, it’s okay. He said at Thanksgiving he had finals starting this week, and I don’t want him to hate me more than he already does. I’ll figure something out. Maybe I can take Morgan with me today.” She wasn’t really set up for that yet, but she could make it work if she needed to.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

Carly hung up her phone and tried Leticia’s number again—still no answer. Wondering if maybe she was stuck in traffic, she decided to go ask Jason who Sonny had assigned to her.

She fought the urge to scowl when Jason let her into the penthouse because they were having the kind of morning she’d once enjoyed with Sonny. Last spring before it had all crumbled to dust. Elizabeth was lounging on the sofa, her legs up with a plate of food in her lap. Jason’s coffee was on the table, so he’d been sitting with her.

She could really learn to hate the two of them.

“Hey, Carly,” Elizabeth said as Jason closed the door. “What’s up—”

“I only have a minute,” Carly said. She gestured at the monitor in her hand. “Morgan is still sleeping, but Leticia didn’t show, and she’s not answering her phone.”

“I’ll come over to your place,” Jason told her.

“I’ll come with you,” Elizabeth said, getting to her feet.

Irritated that her first morning back in the real world wasn’t going according to her plan, Carly returned to the other penthouse, Jason, and Elizabeth on her heels.

“I came over to find out who Sonny arranged to drive me today. He said Rocco was reassigned, and I didn’t need a new one until today. I called down, but they didn’t know what I was talking about.” She looked at Jason, who frowned at her. Over the monitor, she heard Morgan stirring.

Damn it.

“I’ve got him,” Elizabeth promised. “You guys get this sorted out.”

She disappeared up the stairs while Carly looked at Jason and asked the question that had been lurking in her mind since she’d woken up to find that Sonny had already left.

“He never hired her back, did he?” she asked softly.

“I don’t—” Jason winced. “I don’t know. I meant to check, but then—I thought—” He sighed. “I can track her down—”

“And the guards downstairs don’t know what I’m talking about because Sonny never arranged new security.” She bit her lip, folded her arms, and looked down at the ground, tears stinging her eyes.

This was supposed to be her first day at work, her first day leaving the penthouse in nearly a month. Hadn’t she sacrificed enough already? She kept giving and giving, hoping it would be enough, but it never was—

And now she was trapped in this room again. Locked up. Unable to leave. Sonny had never given her a key to the elevator. Everyone else had one, but it wouldn’t move without the key. She couldn’t leave without one unless she took the stairs.

Fifteen flights.

Trapped. She was trapped. Just like before.

Just like—

“Carly—” Jason said softly, breaking into her thoughts. “I’ll make some calls—”

“Sonny will just get mad at you,” Carly said, her voice breaking. “I don’t want—I don’t want to cause any more problems.” She looked around at the penthouse. “He never meant to keep his promise, did he?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted. “I guess I just assumed—” He took a deep breath and went across to the landline. He picked it up, dialed. “Hey. Mike, who do we have that can take Carly today? She’s going back to work—” He waited, then winced. “Okay. Yeah, thanks.” He put the phone back on the hook, looked back at her. “Sonny, ah, sent a few extra guards to Puerto Rico over the weekend.”

“A few?” Carly asked.

“Anyone who wasn’t assigned here,” Jason said. “He didn’t—” He looked away. “He didn’t tell me.”

“I can’t leave without a key anyway,” Carly said. She closed her eyes. Trapped. Never getting out. Never leaving—

“She can take Cody,” Elizabeth said from the bottom of the stairs, Morgan cradled against her chest. She walked towards them. “Cody has a key,” she told Carly. “And Jason will get you one. Won’t you?” Elizabeth turned to Jason, who didn’t even hesitate.

“By the time you come home.”

“Won’t you need Cody?” Carly asked, her spirits slightly buoyed. “Won’t—Sonny made sure I couldn’t go—won’t he be mad—”

“Cody is my guard, isn’t he?” Elizabeth hesitated. “If it’s okay with him, I’ll take the heat. I will,” she insisted when Jason just frowned at her. “I can just say you didn’t know, and I didn’t think it’d be an issue. Because it’s not—”

“You’re not going to lie to Sonny, Elizabeth,” Jason said, a little exasperated. “I don’t need to be protected.”

“But—” Carly began.

“I was staying in today anyway,” Elizabeth said. “And I’ll watch Morgan if you want. I need the practice anyway.” She bounced the infant slightly. “We’ll have one of these in five months.”

Jason stared at Morgan as if the thought had just occurred to him. “Uh—”

“Go to work, Carly,” Elizabeth told her. “Jason will help me get whatever Morgan needs, and we’ll get something set up at the penthouse. He’ll pick up Michael.” She looked at Jason. “Go tell Cody.”

He frowned at her but couldn’t find a reason to argue, so he left the penthouse. Carly cleared her throat. “Thanks. I mean, for—for offering to cover with Sonny. I really don’t want to make things worse, and I know Jason and Sonny are already arguing all the time about this stuff—”

“Some things are worth the argument. Jason just doesn’t want me to get in a yelling match with Sonny.” Elizabeth looked at Carly. “Are you okay?” she asked softly. “You look pale, and your breathing—it’s a little shallow. Are you—” She hesitated. “Are you having an episode?”

Carly wanted to snap at her, wanted to scream—but she knew Elizabeth was asking from a place of experience. Knew that Elizabeth had also battled acute stress disorder and could likely recognize the signs.

“I don’t want to,” Carly said, not willing to say yes. “It’s over. I made it over. I fixed it. I’m okay. This isn’t the same.”

“No, it’s not the same.” Elizabeth reached out with her free hand to gently squeeze Carly’s hand. “And you’re leaving in a minute. Jason will make it okay.”

“He always makes it okay.” Her lungs expanded, and Carly drew in her first easy breath as Jason returned with Cody in tow. He handed Carly a key. “This is my copy of the elevator key,” he told her as Carly accepted it. “I’m staying in with Elizabeth—”

“You have work—” Elizabeth protested.

“And you just gave your guard to Carly,” Jason reminded her simply. He looked back at Carly. “Cody has a key, but now you have one of your own. You can leave at any time.”

Because she knew Jason saw more than she wanted him to, Carly just nodded and looked at the guard behind Jason. “Thank you. I promise you won’t get into any trouble for this.”

“Not a problem, Mrs. C. Jason said it was all squared away. You heading over to The Cellar?” Cody asked.

“Yes.” Carly smiled, even it was a tremulous one. She clenched her hand around the key in her hand, clutching it the way she might cling to a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean. “I’m going to work.”

PCPD: Interrogation Room

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Cruz looked around the room, confused. “Why are we meeting here?”

“Because I wanted to just talk with the three of you,” Taggert said entering the room behind Cruz and closing the door behind him. He nodded at Cruz, and at Dante and Lucky already seated at the table. “We’re going to Syracuse next week for the hearing. Mac will be with us.”

“All of us can go?” Cruz asked, furrowing his brow. “Is that okay?”

“For a few hours, yes. Mac wants to make sure the PCPD’s best and brightest are in the room when U.S. Attorney argues we’re corrupt. Mac has been subpoenaed, and I’m on Scott’s list.” Taggert hesitated. “But hopefully I won’t have to testify. Because Scott’s got two witnesses that should shut everything down.”

“Two?” Lucky repeated, with a frown. He looked at Dante who was staring at the table. “Dante?”

“I’m testifying,” Dante said, grimly. He took a deep breath, looked at his fellow rookies. “Elizabeth and me.”

“You? How—why?” Cruz shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. About what?”

“Play it for them,” Taggert said softly, so Dante took out his audio recorder, set it on the table, then pressed play.

“Hey, cuz. Bad day?”

“Go to hell.”

Lucky stared at the machine. “Is that you—and—”

“Just found out my cousin is a dirty cop who brutally raped seven women that we know of, so I don’t know, I kind of think I’m already there. Why Brooke?”

“What? What?”

“You knew her. You went to her Communion. Her birthday parties. She and the Cerullos—they’re family. Why Brooke?”

“You really wanna know? I mean, Dante, if you really wanna know, I’ll tell you.”

“Yeah, Vin. I really wanna know.”

“I thought it would be like the first time.” Vinnie’s voice turned slightly wistful. “You know the first time you’re with a girl, and it’s everything you pictured? Everything you fantasized about? I kept trying to figure out why it was never right.”

“That’s what you always told them. It was never right.”

“You didn’t know Elizabeth back then. You should get some pictures.” Vinnie laughed, a slow, smooth chuckle like they were trading stories in a bar. “She was hot. I saw her when she first moved here that summer. High cut shorts, low cut tops. Oh, man. She had a way of smiling at you—”

“She was sixteen, you fucking piece of—” Lucky broke off, shoved out of his chair as the tape continued.

“Why didn’t you just ask her out?”

“Thought about it. But I figured her old bat of a grandmother wouldn’t like it. Would tell her no. I’m not that much older than her, but you know how some bitches are about that shit.”

“That doesn’t explain Brooke—”

“For months, I followed her around, waiting for an opening. Hoping she’d look at me, that she’d give me that smile—but that night at the movies—I saw her dress. She wanted it, man. Dressed in that slutty red dress, mmm….”

“Get to Brooke—”

“I thought about going after Elizabeth again. Followed her a couple of times, but she never went anywhere alone at dark again.”

“You were right,” Cruz breathed, looking at Lucky’s grim, pale face. “He did stalk her.”

“So, I tried to find someone else. Someone who looked like her. I followed them, just like her. They had her hair—and you know, if they stopped at the fountain—it was a sign that it was meant to be.”

Vinnie sighed, almost sadly. “But it was never right. They never smelled right. Their hair never felt right against my skin. I thought…I thought maybe I had to know her. I had to want her. When I saw Brooke at the theater, I saw her go into the park, and man, I just knew it would be right. I knew it would feel good. And I knew I’d be her first. That would make it special. Like it was with Elizabeth.”

“How’d you know—How’d you know you’d be—”

“I caught her once with the Graziano girl. She was a lesbo. Never drove stick, you know? Maybe part of me wanted to make her understand what she’d been missing—”

Cruz’s head snapped over to Dante. “What?”

“I read her statement, Vinnie. You beat her. Like the others.”

“Brooke—I figured out what I’d been doing wrong with Brooke. All those girls—it didn’t matter if they were virgins. If they stopped at the fountain. If they were young or brunette. Valentine’s Day didn’t work. Even if I knew them. It would never be right. It would never be as good as the first time. It needed to be her.”

“So that’s why you went back. Why you went after Elizabeth Webber.”

“She’s my soul mate.” Vinnie sighed happily. “She doesn’t understand that yet. But she will. One day. Sorry about Brooke. I should have figured it out a long time ago. That’s on me.”

“Yeah.” Dante’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Yeah, that’s on you.”

The tape clicked to a stop as Cruz let his head drop to the table, trying to take it in while Lucky, across the room, had his fists clenched. “When did you make that tape?” he demanded.

“After the plea agreement, before he was moved to the County lockup.” Dante looked at his best friend. “I didn’t—I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t think about it. I didn’t want to. I just wanted him to disappear. No one needed to hear it. He’d made the deal—”

“Is this even admissible?” Cruz asked dully. He lifted his head, focused on Taggert. “He had a lawyer—”

“Vinnie never invoked. He kept talking, and you’ll note that Dante didn’t push beyond a few questions, and the entire conversation sounds like two people who know each other. Dante walked in there as Vinnie’s cousin, Brooke’s friend.”

“Still—”

“It’s not being used as evidence of his guilt, but evidence that he wasn’t framed. Scott intends to use it to impeach any statement made to suggest the PCPD wanted to scapegoat Vinnie.” Taggert met Dante’s eyes. “Because that tape makes it very clear no one wanted it to be Vinnie Esposito. And he freely admitted his crimes. He was proud of them.”

“Brooke’s parents,” Cruz asked. He cleared his throat. “Do they know?”

“About the statement or Brooke?” Dante asked. “Neither. I don’t think. My mother thinks Lois suspected.” He looked at Lucky. “Elizabeth doesn’t know either.”

“I’ll warn her,” Taggert said. “She shouldn’t hear that for the first time in open court. And I’ll get in contact with Ned and Lois.”

Dante sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling you guys—”

“I don’t care about that,” Lucky bit out. “I’m sorry you had to live with it. I’m sorry that he’s your cousin, and that you have to testify, but damn it—” He met Dante’s eyes. “I’m glad you did it. He can’t run from this. And—” He swallowed. “We wanted to know why. Now we know.”

“Now we know,” Dante repeated.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason placed the phone back on the hook and looked at Elizabeth as she lifted Morgan from the sofa after changing his diaper. “Carly’s on her way up—”

“Oh, man—” Michael scowled from his position sprawled on his stomach, a Playstation controller in his hands. “I don’t wanna stop playing—tell Mommy I’m not going home yet—”

Elizabeth smirked and walked over to Jason at the desk, handing him the baby. “I guess that answers my question about why we have a collection of video games.”

“Sonny doesn’t like them, so Carly keeps them here,” Jason said simply. He adjusted Morgan in his arms, holding him higher against his chest. “You still got time, buddy,” he told Michael. “Mommy and I have to talk about some things when she gets here.”

Michael pumped his fist in the air and returned his attention to his game. Elizabeth leaned against the desk, folding her arms. “I’m surprised Sonny didn’t call all day,” she said.

“I’m not.” Jason started to walk towards the sofa, then turned and walked back towards the door, the slow, steady movement soothing Morgan as he drifted into another light doze. She smiled, watching him. He glanced over. “What?”

“Nothing. Just like watching you with him. Why aren’t you surprised?” she asked.

“Because Sonny knows what I’d say to him.” Jason paused. “Carly said she called him a few times this morning—before and after she went to work. He never picked up.”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “What do you think she’s going to do? I mean, she moved back in to make Sonny’s life easier. To make your life easier. And—” She glanced over at Michael, lowering her voice a bit more. “This morning—she just seemed so sad.”

“I know.” Jason was quiet for a moment. “Whatever she needs, I’ll make it happen.”

“I know you will.”

There was a light knock on the door, then Carly pushed it open. “Hey.” She stepped inside. “Where are my guys?”

“Mommy!” Michael paused his game, then ran over to hug her tightly. “Uncle Jason picked me up today! Can he pick me up every day?”

“Probably not, Mr. Man, but maybe we can do another day sometime.” Carly kissed the top of his head, then gratefully took Morgan from Jason. “Hey, baby boy. How was he?”

“Good as gold,” Elizabeth said. “Thanks for letting him hang out with us all day. Um, Jason and I were gonna do pizza or something for dinner. Do you want to hang out? Michael can get more video time in.”

“Sure, yeah. Um, I’m not really looking forward to Sonny coming home,” Carly said. She smiled grimly. “And I guess we should talk about it,” she said to Jason.

“Yeah. We’ll go upstairs,” Jason told Elizabeth. “Get whatever you want from the pizzeria.” He gestured with his head for Carly to follow him. She handed the baby back to Elizabeth, who went over to the sofa with Michael.

“Thank you again for today,” Carly said when they reached the top of the stairs. “Not just watching the boys—Michael loves being with you, so that was great. But just—for Cody and the key—” She turned to face him in the hallway. “I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Carly—”

“Have you guys picked what room you want for the baby?” Carly asked. She walked down the hallway again, glancing into some of the open guest rooms. “Or are you just going to use the room across the hall from the master?”

“Across from ours,” Jason said as she went into the room. “Carly—”

“It’s got a great view of the harbor—I like our penthouse, but I wish we had this corner of the building sometimes. To see out over the lake—” Carly stood at the window, looking out. The room was still bare—Jason had never put any furniture in here, and the windows had no curtains.

The sun had already started to dip below the horizon, but the view of Lake Ontario stretched out, disappearing into the distance. “Carly,” he tried again. “I think we need to talk about what happened.”

“I think the view of downtown makes me feel confined,” Carly said as if he’d never spoken. “The Brownstone—my room there is on the first floor in the back—you know, Mama’s got a great yard, and there’s a lot of trees—” She closed her eyes. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she said finally. She turned to look at him. “We had an agreement. I’d go back to work. I’d get my life back. He had three weeks to find Ric while I stayed inside.” She paused. “Were you able to find out about Leticia?”

“Yeah. I made some calls. She—she took another job. She said she was sorry to leave, but she’d already signed a contract—Sonny tried to get her back, Carly. But it was too late.”

“I guess it was too much to hope.” Carly rubbed her arm lightly. “Okay. Well, I’ll—I’ll figure something out. Thanks.” She met his eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll talk to Sonny and see what happens.”

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

It was almost five before Sonny finally ventured home that day. He’d ignored Carly’s calls all day, knowing if something was wrong that Jason would have called him. He was sure that Carly would be angry, but he could deal with her anger. He just wanted her to be safe. He wanted her where he could always find her.

They’d get Ric soon, Sonny was sure of it, and then they could talk about life afterward, but Sonny wasn’t going to be weak like Jason. Wasn’t going to let a woman tell him how to do the job. Carly was in danger, and he was going to protect her.

He’d failed her once. He wouldn’t do it again.

He walked inside the penthouse, bracing himself. “Carly?” he called. “I’m home.”

There was no callback, no angry yell, no huffing or exasperated wife. No sounds of his children at all.

A strange feeling crawled up Sonny’s back as he stepped towards the stairs. “Carly?” he called, raising his voice even louder. “Michael? Hey—let’s—” Panic licked at the back of his throat. Still no answer. Carly might be giving him the silent treatment, but Michael wouldn’t.

He wouldn’t do that.

Sonny jogged up the stairs, telling himself that Michael was playing a game, that Carly was just angry. “Let’s order pizza for dinner, buddy!” he called, shoving open Michael’s door.

His room was empty, the bed made that morning, and his toys spilling out of the box in the corner. “Michael?” he repeated.

He was striding more quickly now, towards Morgan’s nursery. Surely his infant son was sleeping. Maybe Carly and Michael were with him in his room—maybe it’d be okay—that was it. They were all quiet in Morgan’s room because he was sleeping, and Sonny didn’t want to wake him up either.

He shoved open the door to the nursery.

No wife sitting in the rocking chair. No child playing on the floor. No baby in the crib.

“Lose something?”

Beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead, Sonny whirled around, and his heart seized. In the shadows of the hallway, just outside the master bedroom, leaning against the door in that pink dress she’d worn that night…

Lily smiled at him, tipping her head to the side. “Lose your wife again?”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Hey, ‘Lizabeth, is there more pizza?” Michael asked as he abandoned his Playstation controller on the ground and leaned over the coffee table, peering into the box. “Do we gots pepperoni?”

“Have,” Carly corrected. “You can have one more slice—”

“Two,” Michael said, flashing his mother a grin. “Uncle Lucas says men work up appetites playing games.”

“Uncle Lucas,” Carly muttered as Michael nipped both slices out of the box and slapped them on his plate. Then he settled himself on the floor again.

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose when Jason emerged from the kitchen, a glass of water in one hand while the other was clenched into a fist. “Already?” she sighed as Jason handed her the glass, then dropped two pills into her hand.

“Every night, same time,” Jason reminded her. He sat next to them on the sofa and took the last slice of cheese.

“They taste like chalk,” she muttered, but she slipped them between her lips, then drank the water.

Carly opened her mouth to ask, but Michael beat her to it. “You sick, ‘Lizabeth?” he asked. “Why you got pills?”

“I have to take pills every day to make sure my lungs don’t get clogged up again,” Elizabeth told him. “They keep my blood healthy.”

“Oh. Good.” Not interested in anymore, Michael immersed himself in his game and pizza.

“You’re still on blood thinners?” Carly frowned. “How long do you have to take those?”

“Well, most of the time, you can stop them after three months—which would have been in October, but with the baby—” Elizabeth settled her hand over the curve of her belly, which was slightly larger now than it had been a few weeks ago. “Kelly and Monica are concerned about clots.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess—I forgot.” Carly glanced at Jason, whose expression was pinched. “But things are fine, right?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said. “Everything looks great.” She looked over at Jason, tapped his cheek with her index finger. “Kelly and Monica said everything looked great last month, remember? And Monica just saw me on Thanksgiving. She made me do my blood pressure right after dinner.”

“It was high,” Jason muttered.

“At the high end of the normal range,” Elizabeth said. Carly lifted her brows—it was the first time she’d seem them do anything even close to argue, and she wondered if Elizabeth was being too glib or if Jason was too worried.

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better—” Carly said. She grimaced, looking at the clock. “I should probably get the boys home. Thanks for dinner.”

“Any time. We had fun with them today,” Elizabeth told her.

“And thank you for tracking Leticia down,” Carly said to Jason. “I’m sorry that she took another job, but at least I can contact her and apologize.” She looked at Michael. “You almost ready to go?”

“Not yet, Mom, I gotta kill the boss, and I still gots pizza—” Michael scowled. “I died. Damn it.”

“Michael!” Carly hissed. She glared at Jason. “Where did he hear that language?”

“Have you met you?” Jason asked with a squint.

Carly poked him in the arm, then looked at Michael. “Fine, Michael, but we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Corinthos Penthouse: Upstairs Hallway

Sonny shook his head. “Not here. You’re not—” He cleared his throat. “You’re not here.”

Lily’s smile faded, and her lips curved into a pout instead. “You don’t want me here? You never wanted me. You didn’t love me.”

“No, that’s not—” Sonny reached out to touch her, to reassure her, but then he fell into the door, blinking.

He turned around. She wasn’t behind him. She wasn’t anywhere.

Sonny took a deep breath. She wasn’t there. She was dead, and he was fine. And Carly was inside. Of course she was. All three of them. Maybe taking a nap.

He pushed open the bedroom door, quietly this time. This was the last place they could be, and he knew he didn’t want to wake them—

But the bedroom was empty, the bed neatly made. Sonny stared at it, as if not computing the scene in front of him. Carly wasn’t here. But she had to be here. She couldn’t leave. He’d made sure she couldn’t leave. He’d done everything right to keep her safe.

No nanny. No driver. No key. Carly couldn’t go somewhere and get hurt because Sonny had made it impossible for her to leave. She was safe.

He just—he hadn’t looked everywhere.

The kitchen! They were in the kitchen! That had to be it. Maybe they were planning a surprise—Carly loved surprises—Of course!

Sonny rushed down the hallway, his breath ragged, his hair falling into his eyes as he started down the stairs. He tripped and stumbled down the last few stairs, hitting the wall against the landing with a hard thud.

He stumbled to his feet, but then almost fell down the second flight of stairs, all but limping by the time he reached the kitchen. “Carly! Carly! Michael!”

But the lights were off, the counters clear, the stove cold.

Sonny stood in the dark, then swallowed, flipping the light switch. On the island in the middle of the kitchen sat Lily, his dead wife, perched on the edge, one leg over the other, her pink dress taunting him.

“Not here either,” Lily told him with a sigh. “Poor Sonny. Lost his family all over again.” She wagged a finger at him. “You’re not allowed to have a family. Can’t protect them.”

Sonny closed his eyes. “Not here. Not here. Not crazy,” he told himself. “Not crazy.”

“Couldn’t protect me,” Lily’s voice floated through his consciousness. “Let me die. Let our baby die. How many children did you try until you got a living one? Third time’s the charm? Guess not!”

He opened his eyes, and to his dizzying relief, she was gone. He was alone in the kitchen. Alone.

“Mi hija.”

Sonny turned, his heart thudding so loudly in his ears he could hear it. Sweat trickled down his back, beneath his suit. Behind him stood the first woman he’d ever loved, the first one he’d lost—

The first one he’d hallucinated.

Adela Woods, with her soft, dark hair and sad eyes. “Mi hija. Are you lost?”

“Mami,” he managed. “You’re not—”

“They’re lost,” Adela said softly. “Always lost. I thought you’d do better this time. You always let me down.”

“Mami, no—” Sonny darted forward, but Adela was gone in a blink. His family was gone. He was alone.

Breathing hard, confused, and not sure what was real, Sonny lurched out of the kitchen and shoved his way into the living room, out into the hallway.

“Mr. C! What’s wrong?” Max said as Sonny lurched around the corner, saw Cody standing there.

He shoved at Jason’s door, shoved it open. “Carly’s gone, can’t find her,” he panted, and then fell on the ground, fell to his knees.

“Sonny—”

“Daddy!”

“Give him some room—”

Jason was already out of his seat, springing across the room as Elizabeth grabbed Michael before he could run for his father. Sonny was on his hands and knees, staring up at the floor, gasping for air.

Carly was pale, standing next to Elizabeth, clutching Morgan to her chest, her brown eyes wide with confusion and worry. “What’s wrong—”

“Jason—” Sonny clutched as Jason’s hand as he knelt next to him. “Can’t find them. Lost them. Lost them all—”

“It’s okay.” Jason pulled Sonny into a seated position. “Take a deep breath, Sonny. They’re here. They’re all here. They came here for dinner.” He looked at Elizabeth and Carly as if to warn them not to talk about Carly going to work that day. “They were here, okay? Come on, let’s look at them—”

“Daddy,” Michael said in a tiny voice, ducking behind Elizabeth.

“M-Michael.” Sonny took a deep breath, focused on him. Then on Carly, on Morgan in her arms. “You’re…you’re okay. I couldn’t find you. I looked—they said—but you’re here.” He struggled to his feet, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head as Jason and Carly traded looks that Elizabeth didn’t quite understand.

“I’m sorry,” Sonny repeated. “I panicked.”

“It’s okay,” Carly said, taking a deep breath, forcing a smile. “We were getting ready to come home. Michael, we scared Daddy. We should have left him a note.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Michael managed. He sniffled, then crept forward until he was in front of his father. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m okay,” Sonny told him, his breath hitching slightly. He looked at Jason. “I’m—I’m sorry.”

“No harm done,” Elizabeth said brightly. “Carly, why don’t you take the boys home? Sonny, Michael had a great day at school. Why don’t you tell him about it?”

“Okay, Daddy. We’ll go home, and I’ll show you my test,” Michael said, slipping his hand into his father’s hand.

“I’ll walk you guys over,” Jason said, flashing Elizabeth a grateful smile as he pulled open the penthouse door. “I’ll be right back.”

“Elizabeth—” Carly looked at her, letting her anxiety show. “What am I going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Elizabeth admitted, exhaling slowly. “We’ll figure that out. Let’s just get through this. Go on, take Morgan home. We’ll get him calmed down and—we’ll figure it out,” she repeated.

She remained behind as Carly left, Cody pulling the door closed behind her. Elizabeth busied herself cleaning up the remains of the dinner, putting together anything that needed to go across the hall.

It was nearly twenty minutes before Jason returned from the other penthouse. He came in, then leaned against the door, closing his eyes.

Elizabeth walked over to him, slid her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. “What can I do?” she asked softly. His arms came around her shoulders, and he dropped his chin on her head.

“Nothing tonight,” he admitted. “I told Sonny that he must have forgotten Carly was supposed to back to work today, so I arranged for a driver tomorrow. He didn’t argue.”

“How long is that going to last?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Jason kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked over to the sofa and sat down. “But he said he didn’t—he just had a panic attack. That it wasn’t like before. He seemed a bit embarrassed.”

“I’m glad it was just a panic attack.” She squeezed his hand, waited for Jason to meet her eyes. “We’ll find Ric, and it’ll be over. Right?”

“Right.” Jason drew her against him, knowing that neither of them believed it.

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