Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos.

Sonny’s condition was treated as part of an accidental overdose, and Jason and Elizabeth were able to leave the emergency room without further incident. Jason was quiet on the elevator ride to Patrick’s floor.

“I’m sorry about Sonny,” Elizabeth said, folding her arms.

He looked at her blankly, then shook his head. “It’s—it’s fine. They think he did it to himself because of Carly. But he wanted to warn me. And you’re telling me that someone screwed with the records after Lily was born—this all goes back to the bomb.”

“Why did it take so long to come out?” Elizabeth wondered as they stepped out of the elevator. “Shouldn’t we all have realized something then? I mean, I knew Kelly. I thought she was my friend, and did—did Sam know?”

“Sam?” Jason took her elbow, stopping her in the hall way. “McCall? Sonny’s old girlfriend?”

“She—she’s the mother of the other baby born the same day.” Elizabeth blinked. “Didn’t I say that? Patrick said she’d moved after her daughter was born—” She swallowed. “What if her daughter is ours? What if Lily is alive, Jason? And Steven found out? What does that have to do with Sonny and Carly?”

“They—they wouldn’t have—it couldn’t be them.” Jason exhaled on a sharp, frustrated breath. “They wouldn’t have done this. Carly never would have agreed to anything that involved Sam. Sonny’s affair with her was the last straw for them. She never forgave Sonny for that.”

They resumed their path towards Patrick’s office, and found the doctor immersed in records and files. He glanced up at their entrance. “Hey—what happened down in the ER? Elizabeth said Sonny was on his way in.”

“I found Sonny almost passed out in the penthouse,” Jason told him. “In my penthouse. He wanted me and Elizabeth to get out of town. He lost consciousness on his way here, and the doctors—” He took a deep breath. “The doctors said it was an overdose and he might not wake up.”

“Well, I don’t know if this helps anything, but I’m convinced something is screwed up. Because Baby Girl McCall has a full autopsy report in her file that says she died from loss of oxygen from placenta previa,” Patrick told them. “And there’s nothing in Lily’s file that suggests she ever died at all.”

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat as she absorbed that. “They switched her. Our—” She looked at Jason, saw the blank shock in his eyes. “They switched our little girl. Who—”

“Ric paid Sam to go away,” Jason told her softly. “He knew where she was. And he paid her seven months before the car bomb. She was pregnant. Ric paid her to get an abortion.”

Elizabeth clenched her fists in her lap. “But—but she didn’t. Obviously. But—why would Ric—” She closed her eyes. “He was so angry when I got pregnant—when we were planning for Lily. He tried to kill her, kill us, but when it didn’t work—”

“He wanted you to suffer anyway.” Patrick shook his head. “I can’t believe Kelly would have agreed—”

Jason’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and took a deep breath. “Spinelli has her address. Let’s go ask her.”

—

Elizabeth had worked closely with Kelly Lee during her years at General Hospital. They’d gone drinking together, and Kelly had been—if not a close friend—a good one. She’d gone to Elizabeth’s wedding, attended her bridal shower—

And right up until Kelly opened her door, Elizabeth wanted to believe there was some sort of tragic misunderstanding—

But Kelly opened the door, saw them, and slammed it shut. Elizabeth’s heart started thudding. “Oh my God.”

Jason’s jaw clenched, and he pounded on the door. “Open up!”

“Kelly, please!” Elizabeth said, tapping her palm against the window. “Please!”

“Go away,” her voice came, muffled through the mail slot. “It’s not safe—”

“Did—is my daughter dead?” Elizabeth demanded. “I’ll break this goddamn window, Kelly, if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on!”

Kelly cracked the door slightly, her face pale. “Yes,” she said softly. “But I can’t say anything else. I told Steven. I told him I couldn’t. They’ll kill me. They won’t stop—”

“Kelly, is she with Sam? Is that my baby—”

“I have to go—” Kelly slammed the door again, and Jason nearly lost his fingers trying to keep it open.

“Damn it. She’s alive—” Elizabeth turned around, clenched her hands in her hair, wanting to scream. “Why can’t anyone just tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Spinelli is looking for Sam,” Jason told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out—”

“Not if Sam gets warned. She’ll disappear with her, and we’ll—” Elizabeth’s voice broke. “We’ll never saw her—I can’t do this, Jason—” She turned to him, clenching her hands in his shirt, her eyes wild wit grief. “I can’t lose her again, not after finding out she might be alive—”

Jason drew hard against him, wrapping his arms around her as if he could shield her from the world. All this time he’d thought he’d been the reason they’d lost their daughter—

“I’m not letting anyone take Lily from us again. Not when we’re this close,” he told her. “Let’s go meet with Justus, and figure out the next step.”

Just before they reached their car, a voice called out to them from a few cars away. Elizabeth blinked, turning towards it. “That sounds like—”

“Get away!” Came the cry of Steven Webber as he ran out from behind a set of bushes and hurled himself at Elizabeth, throwing her to the ground.

Behind them, Jason’s SUV exploded, and Elizabeth—

Elizabeth couldn’t find Jason.

+7