Written by: Dallas Walsh

Sabine Andrews pours herself a brandy from the bar in the living room of the Rockwell mansion. She takes a sip of the drink as she moves over to the fire place mantel, looking at the pictures of the members of the Rockwell family. She pauses when she sees the large framed picture of Lydia Rockwell, her sister who tragically died in plane crash a few months earlier. Sabine picks up the picture frame and looks at her sister's image for a moment.

"For so long, Lydia," she whispers to herself. "You and I, we were at one another's throats. We couldn't get along, and now, you're gone, and I'll never get the chance to tell you that I love you," she fights some tears in her eyes. "I just can't stop thinking about our last time together; we were fighting at the hospital. I hate that we were at one another's throats. I really do."

As she sets the frame back down on the mantel, she can't help but think back to going to see Mac Rockwell in his office at Rockwell Mining, only she never saw him. Instead she happened to overhear Mac's mother, Lucinda Rockwell, and Yuri Kafelinkov talking about Lydia. Since then, Sabine's mind has been on Lydia because she can't figure out why Lucinda and Yuri would be talking about her sister. What were they talking about? Sabine takes another sip of her drink, thinking that Yuri couldn't have known Lydia, unless they did some business together.

"I have to figure out what they were talking about," she purses her lips together. "It won't bring you back, Lydia, but I have to try to figure out what is going on. I owe it to you since we never got to make amends."

"Talking to yourself?" Mac asks as he walks into the living room and sees Sabine standing by the fire mantel.

Sabine turns and smiles over at her lover, something she never thought would happen. She has always thought Mac was an extremely attractive man, but she never believed that they would end up being as close as they have become since Lydia's death.

"I guess I was just talking to Lydia," Sabine admits to him as she moves over to him before she gives him a kiss on his lips. "How are you?"

"I'm good now that I am seeing you," he puts his arms around her. "You're a comfort to me after I've had a long day."

"Have you had a long day?"

"Incredibly," Mac nods back to her. "But, we can talk about that later. I can't believe how beautiful you are."

"Oh Mac," Sabine blushes.

"No, I mean it Sabine. You're so beautiful," he leans in and kisses her again. "You know that I am falling in love with you, don't you?"

Sabine smiles back to him. "Well, Mr. Rockwell, you're in luck," she teases him. "Because, I am falling in love with you too."

Mac smiles to her. "Are you busy right now?"

She shakes her head no. "Let me take you upstairs and make love to you," Mac whispers to her before he kisses her again. "I want you so badly."

"Then have me," Sabine replies before she kisses him passionately. "Make love to me Mac."

***

"You have to understand, Winston, I was so young and I really didn't believe that I could have raised my daughter," Celeste Rockwell tells her lawyer, Winston Marshall, as they sit together at a table in the back corner of the country club. Celeste picks up her glass of rose and takes a sip, needing to a drink after explaining how she gave Ashlee up for adoption when she was in New York all those years ago because she was going to be a young, single mother and she and Marat Kafelinkov, the child's father, believed that adoption was the best option.

Celeste had no idea what had happened to the child after she gave birth to her, but she had thought of her child often, especially since she was told that she wouldn't be able to have another child because of the fall she took down the stairs at the Rockwell mansion. Despite thinking about her daughter, Celeste never imagined that she would come back into her life, but that is exactly what happened when Vivian Blackmore stopped her wedding to Cole Rockwell and announced to everyone Celeste's secret child that she had with Marat. Vivian also revealed that she has adopted Ashlee, which is something that Celeste cannot live with. She doesn't care what she has to do, but she has to get her child away from Vivian. She knows that there is no way that she let Vivian raise her child; she will do whatever it takes to get her child back.

"You're not saying anything," Celeste finally sets her wine glass back down on the table. "Do you think that we have a case, Winston?"

Winston has been a lawyer for nearly 30 years. A white haired man, he is still very attractive and has a reputation for going through wives half his age like most people go through a pair of socks. In the bedroom, he is an excellent lover. And, in the boardroom, he is a ruthless attorney, which is why he has been so successful throughout the years. That being said, this case is one that he has never really seen before. A woman giving her child up for adoption, only to years later, sue the woman who adopted her? It's not very common.

"I always think we have a case," Winston tells her as he takes a sip of his scotch. "That being said, Celeste, this will be a difficult case to win, I'm not going to lie to you. You willingly chose to give up your child at the time of her birth; it seems like sour grapes that you want your child back because of your dislike for the woman who adopted the child."

"I don't have a dislike for Vivian Blackmore," Celeste grits her teeth back to him, thinking about how Vivian interrupted the wedding to reveal the news about Ashlee. "I hate her! That woman has done nothing but caused me heartache. I will get my daughter away from that force of evil, even if it is the last thing I do. Now, tell me that you will help me Winston. Tell me that you will help me get my daughter back."

Winston smiles back to her, impressed by her will and her determination. "After seeing how much you care, how can I say no?" he lifts his glass to her to cheers her. "To getting your daughter back."

"To getting Ashlee away from Vivian Blackmore," Celeste toasts him before she takes a sip of the wine.

***

MONTAGE KAPALUA BAY RESORT - MAUI, HAWAII

"God, this place is so beautiful," Stacey Rockwell says as she leans up from her lounge chair and is overlooking the Pacific Ocean to grab her Mai Tai. She puts the straw to her perfectly painted lips and takes a drink before she looks over at her husband, Marat Kafelinkov, who is sitting in the lounger next to her. "I'm so glad that we decided to come here on our honeymoon."

"Me too babe," Marat replies to her, recalling how their double wedding with Cole and Celeste was interrupted with the news that he and Celeste had a child together that they gave up for adoption years ago. Not only was their secret revealed, but Vivian announced that she had adopted their daughter. After the news stopped the wedding, he and Celeste actually met Ashlee at the Rockwell mansion; Marat never thought that he would meet his child, but he hasn't been able to stop thinking about it. Shortly after, Stacey and Marat got married and left for their honeymoon, but he can't deny that he been thinking about Ashlee Celeste's claim that she wanted to get the child back.

"Would you be a doll and put some more suntan lotion on my back? I don't want to burn," Stacey asks her husband as she holds up a tube of the lotion. She immediately notices Marat staring straight ahead into the crashing into the beach that is close in front of them. "Marat?"

Marat finally looks back over at her. "Sorry, what?"

Stacey puts a smile on her face as she leans over to her husband to give him a quick kiss. "Do I need to kiss you to ensure you pay attention to me?"

Marat chuckles back to her. "It is a very good way to keep me focused," he winks at her, as he grabs the lotion and pours some into his hand.

"Where were you just now?" she asks him as she holds her hair up and he starts rubbing her bare shoulders with the sun screen.

Marat shakes his head, not wanting to upset her that he was thinking about Celeste and Ashlee. "Just realizing how lucky I am," he tells her. "I'm married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and we are at this gorgeous resort. It doesn't get much better than this, does it?"

"It certainly doesn't," she tells him as she turns around and kisses him. "How about another thirty minutes of sun before we head up to the room and act like newlyweds?"

"Now you're talking," he grins back to her, as he tries to tell himself that he can focus on Celeste and Ashlee when he's back in Kelsey Lake.

***

Lex Rockwell sits behind the large desk at Blackmore Ltd, working furiously on some documents that are in front of him. For so many years, Lex believed that he would take over his father's company; he thought, however, that the company would be Rockwell Mining because he thought Mac Rockwell was his father. Then, the truth about his paternity came out: Kent Blackmore is his biological father. At first, Lex hated the idea of being a Blackmore. Then, Lex found himself in the hospital because his husband, Jarek Williams, had been drugging him so he could try to inherit Lex's millions. Lex's liver soon started to fail him, so Kent donated a piece of his liver to save Lex's life and that's when their relationship started to change. Shortly after, Lex discovered that Stacey had been allowing Kent to over medicate himself so she could stay in charge of Blackmore Ltd, because Lydia left her in charge of POA after she died. Outraged, Lex demanded that Stacey revoke the POA and Kent put him in charge. Of course, Lex knows that Mac and the Rockwell's aren't happy that he is in charge of Blackmore, but he is happy that he is finally getting the experience of running a major company.

"This is a sight I could get used to, a voice calls out from the doorway of the office. Lex looks up and sees his father, Kent Blackmore standing there. "My son behind my desk of our family company. It's a beautiful sight."

Lex stands up to greet Kent. "Are you sure you should be here? You've been through a lot the last couple of months; I don't want you to overdo it."

"I'm positive," Kent nods back to him. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm almost completely healed from the liver transplant now."

"That's a relief," Lex replies to him. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'll pass," Kent waves his hand in the air. "I've learned my lesson about being on pain medication and drinking."

Lex uneasily chuckles back to him as he pours himself a brandy. "So, what brings you by the office? Good news, I hope?"

Kent arches his eyebrow. "You know I think you're doing a fantastic job of running the company," Kent informs him as Lex takes a sip of his brandy. "But, I have a lot of long time employees here, and some of them still don't trust you because your last name is Rockwell."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Some of the team still comes directly to me with information instead of coming to you," Kent tells him. "And, this is what landed on my lap today. Here, take a look."

Lex grabs the file that Kent hands him and opens it quickly. He scans the page inside before he looks at his father. "Your contract with the Kelsey Lake mine is about to expire," Lex tells him, as Kent nods back to him. "Blackmore has had that mine since…"

"Since Lydia helped me steal it from Rockwell Mining, yes," Kent remembers the sorted history. "And, I'm not prepared to lose that mine. We make a good portion of our revenue from Kelsey Lake."

"When do negotiations begin?" Lex asks him, as he looks at his father with intent. "Because, I know that I can secure the mine for Blackmore."

Kent chuckles back to him. "Are you sure? You more than anyone else knows how much it would mean to Mac to get this mine back under the Rockwell umbrella."

"I know that but I work for Blackmore now," Lex tells him. "I know I can do this, Kent. It was me who gave Mac the majority of the ideas on how to land deals when I was at Rockwell. Like, the 5% profit to Yuri Kafelinkov and the Kremlin Diamonds; that was my idea. You have to trust me, I can do this."

Kent smiles back to him. "Very well," he nods to Lex. "Do whatever you have to do to make sure Kelsey Lake stays with Blackmore."

***

Mac opens the door to his office at Rockwell Mining with a huge grin on his face. It's not every morning that he gets to have incredibly hot sex with Sabine; he only wishes every day started that way. He drops his bag and is surprised to see Cole Rockwell, his eldest son, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Cole, you're here early," Mac observes to his son, who takes a sip of his coffee. Mac watches his son for a moment wondering how Cole is doing following the double wedding falling apart because Vivian revealed that Celeste had a secret child with Marat. Mac had never seen Cole look so gutted before; after everything he and Celeste went through to be together, Cole was devastated by her lies.

"I have a million things to do today," Cole replies to him quickly as he moves towards the desk. "I know I left the company for a while, Dad, but I'm back and I'm ready to show you what an asset that I can be around here."

"I love the way you are talking," Mac pats his son's back. "You know that I missed having you around here, despite everything we went through together with Celeste."

Cole sighs at the sound of her name. He has been trying to forget he ever met Celeste because she has brought him nothing but heartache and pain, but that has proven to be challenging. "Sorry, I can tell by your reaction that you're not ready to speak about her yet."

"I never want to speak about her again," Cole chuckles back to him. "After all the back and forth she did between you and I, I never thought she would have another huge secret that she was keeping from me."

"How are you holding up, and be honest with me?" Mac replies to him. "You can't expect all of your feelings, regardless of what they are, to just go away. You have to deal with them accordingly, or they will fester and you will eventually snap."

"I'm fine," Cole lies to him. "Work is good for me. I want to prove myself to you, I want to be the son that you deserve. I wasn't a good son when I was with Celeste. She's your ex-wife for crying out loud!"

"That's all water under the bridge," Mac tells him. "I'm glad that you're here to work, Cole, but like I said, don't ignore your feelings."

"I promise," Cole nods back to him. "Anyways, before you got here, I got an interesting memo delivered to me. I think you'll find it interesting."

"Really?" Mac asks him as he moves behind his desk and sits down. "What is going on."

"The Kelsey Lake mine is officially going to be negotiating a new contract," Cole reveals to Mac. "We can finally get the mine back that Blackmore Ltd stole from us. We have to do this, Dad. We have to get that mine back under the Rockwell umbrella."

Mac leans forward to read the memo that Cole is talking about. He gets a sly grin on his face. "Yes, we do," he looks Cole in the eyes. "We have to make sure that Kent Blackmore finally knows what it's like to have something only for it to be ripped away from him. And, I know just the way to do."

"Really? What can I do?"

"Pack your bags, Cole," Mac replies to him quickly.

"Where do you want me to go?"

"New York," Mac reveals to him. "I happen to know that the Superintendent of the mine likes to spend his weekends in the Big Apple. I want you to go there, meet with him and talk him into coming back to Rockwell."

Cole nods back to him, secretly thrilled that he gets to leave Kelsey Lake for a while as there will be no chance for him to run into Celeste. "I'll go home and pack now," Cole walks to the door. He stops and looks back at his father. "Thanks for your support, Dad."

"Always, Cole. I'll have the jet waiting for you."

***

Cole quickly moves towards the elevator and presses the button as he feels a sense of calmness come over him. This trip to New York is exactly what he needs, he realizes to himself. Sometime to get away from all the craziness that the family has been going through lately will be perfect. And, of course, there is no Celeste there.

"I haven't been to New York since I was in rehab," he whispers to himself. "God, that seems like a life time ago."

The elevator doors open and Cole is shocked to see Celeste walk off the elevator, her eyes glued to him. "Cole, hi," she manages to say to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her, his tone cold.

"I still work here, remember?" she replies to him quickly. "I have a meeting that I have to get to. Do you want to come with? We could do lunch after."

"I can't," he looks into her eyes and tries to maintain his composure. "I have to go out of town on business. But, let's be real, even if I was staying in town, you're the last person I would want to eat with."

"At some point Cole, we have to talk about what happened. You can't ignore me forever."

"Actually Celeste," Cole barks back to her. "That's exactly want I can do. Because, the moment your dirty little secret was exposed was the exact moment that you no longer existed to me. I hate you for what you've done to me, to us, to my family, and I will never forgive you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch."

Celeste tries to catch her breath as she covers her mouth in pain from the words Cole just told her. The elevator door slowly closes before she lets a tear fall down her cheek. "I have to make you understand," she whispers to herself. "I just have too."

***

"Why am I not surprised to see you sitting at the bar instead of being at home with the child you've just adopted?" Lucinda Rockwell asks Vivian Blackmore, as she walks into the country club and moves immediately to the bar. Lucinda needs a drink after the morning she has had, but she would have assumed that Vivian would have the decency to be with Celeste and Marat's child that she adopted. Lucinda still can't believe the nerve of Vivian to reveal that during the wedding of her two grandchildren.

"Lovely to see you too," Vivian replies as she takes a sip of her champagne cocktail. "And, for what it's worth, my daughter has the best nanny in the world. I couldn't possibly spend every waking moment with her, could I?"

"You didn't spend time with your biological child, why the hell would you spend time with an adopted child?" Lucinda snaps back at her. "And, while I have you here, you really should be ashamed of yourself for how you handled the revelation of the secret of Ashlee. You couldn't have found a worse time."

"Everything I did was for a reason," Vivian replies to her quickly. "Let me tell you something, Cole and Stacey, they deserved to know that they were being lied too. They deserved to know the truth before they married those two liars."

Lucinda takes a sip of her brandy. "I somehow think that there's more to the story," she admits to her. "I get the feeling that you wanted my Grandson for yourself, and that's why you revealed the truth when you did. But guess what Vivian? Cole still is nowhere to be seen."

Vivian turns away from Lucinda, knowing that she is saying is true. She did think that Cole would come rushing back to her after the truth came out, the fact that he is not really does upset her.

"Cat got your tongue?" Lucinda continues to rub salt in her wounds. "You better watch yourself Vivian. Anyone who hurts my family, answers to me."

"And you better know that I always get the last laugh," Vivian warns her. "Do not mess with me old woman, or you will live to regret it."

***

"I thought I would find you here," Brock Jennings says as he steps into the main office at Blackmore Ltd, seeing Lex behind the desk working hard. "It seems like you're only ever here or at home to sleep."

Lex looks up at his lover and gets a smile on his face. If it wasn't for Brock, he knows that Jarek would have succeeded in killing him for his money. Now that Jarek is dead, Lex and Brock have become lovers. The sex they have is passionate and intense, but Lex knows that he's not ready to settle down. He can't go down that path after everything that happened with Jarek.

"Yea, sorry," he stands up to greet his lover. "Things have been crazy around here. How are you?"

"Lonely without you," Brock admits to him as Lex gives him a quick kiss on his lips. "I wish I could see more of you."

Lex kisses him again and puts his hand down to Brock's crotch. "Seems like you are lonely."

"You have no idea," Brock looks into his eyes.

"Oh, I think I do," Lex winks back at him before he moves over to the office door and locks it, getting a grin on his face as he does. "Come here," Lex tells him, as Brock rushes him to him.

Their lips meet and Lex guides him to the large sofa that is in the office. "You want to here? Now?" Brock asks him as their lips part.

"Fuck yea," Lex says pushing him on the sofa and crawling on top of him. "I want you so bad. Tell me you'll give it to me," he whispers into Brock's ear, which gets him more aroused.

"Oh, I'll give it to you Lex," he moans in pleasure as Lex's lips kiss his neck.

***

MONTAGE KAPALUA BAY RESORT - MAUI, HAWAII

Stacey rests her head on Marat's sweaty, bare chest as they just finished making passionate love. While sex with Marat is always riveting, this time something was missing and Stacey can't put her finger on it. It's too soon for their spark to be dying, isn't it? She wonders, knowing that they have only been married a couple of weeks.

She leans up and looks at him. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Why does anything have to be wrong?" he replies to her looking back at her. "We just made love, isn't that what you wanted?"

"I wanted to be with my husband, yes," Stacey tells him. "But, you, I don't know, it's like you weren't with me or something. I know something is wrong, I just want to know what it is."

Marat rolls out of bed and quickly puts some basketball shorts on. He moves over to the minibar and pours himself a vodka. "It's nothing," he says after he takes a mouthful of the drink.

"Don't tell me that," Stacey comes up behind him. "We are married now, Marat. We can't have any secrets. Besides, maybe I can help with something."

Marat sighs and looks back at her. "Fine, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Celeste and Ashlee."

"Oh," Stacey wasn't expecting that response. "So, while you make love to me on our honeymoon, you're thinking about another woman?"

"It's not like that," Marat protests back to her. "It's just, I never thought that we would see our daughter, you know? Vivian's revelation that she adopted Ashlee, it's taken everyone for surprise."

"I'm not sure what you're trying to say," Stacey admits to him.

"Before we left Kelsey Lake," Marat informs her. "Celeste told me that she was going to see a lawyer to try to see if she could get custody of Ashlee. I guess I'm just feeling like maybe I should be a part of that, you know? Ashlee is my daughter too."

Stacey uneasily nods back to him. "So, you want to cut the honeymoon short? You want to go back to Kelsey Lake and help Celeste get custody of Ashlee?"

Marat shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know," he admits to her. "I know that I want to be a part of it. But, I don' t want to disappoint you. You're my love; I love you more than anything in the world."

Stacey manages to put a smile on her face. "There can always be a second honeymoon," she says as she moves up to him and wraps her arms around him. "If this means that much to you, let's go home. Just promise me that you'll make it up to me."

Marat smiles back to her. "I promise you a thousand times over," he says before he kisses her on the lips. "Let's start packing."

***

Sabine quickly moves into the country club hoping to grab a lite lunch before heads into Rockwell Mining. She knows that she is under pressure from Yuri to get inside information on Rockwell to give to him. She hates that she is in this position now because she has fallen in love with Mac, but after her husband, Patrick left her, Yuri is the one who gave her financial stability, so she owes him. But, she knows that as soon as she gives Yuri the information that he needs, she will end the alliance because she won't betray Mac; she can't, not after how close they have become.

While Sabine is being taken to her seat, she happens to see Yuri sitting at a table by himself. Immediately, her mind goes back to hearing him speak to Lucinda about Lydia. Sabine has still be trying to think about what they could have been talking about her sister for; to her knowledge, Lydia didn't even know Yuri.

"Yuri, I'm surprised you're still in Kelsey Lake," Sabine announces as she arrives at his table. "I would have thought that you have headed back to Moscow since Marat and Stacey are on their honeymoon."

"I have some unfinished business," Yuri tells her as Sabine sits across from him. "Besides, you haven't given me all the information that I require yet."

Sabine rolls her eyes. "Let me ask you a question," she replies to him quickly. "You were talking to Lucinda recently about my sister Lydia," she tells him, as he picks up his vodka and takes a drink of it. "Why were you mentioning my dead sister to Lucinda? I didn't think you knew my sister."

"Your sister and I were going to do business together," Yuri reveals to her. "She was actually on her way to Moscow to finish a deal when the plane went down."

"I had no idea," Sabine shakes her head back to him. "Lucinda, she hated my sister. I still don't know why you were talking about Lydia with her."

Yuri shrugs his shoulders. "I don't recall the conversation," he tells her. "It wasn't important. What is important is that you get me that information from Rockwell Mining. We had a deal, Sabine!"

"Don't remind me," she snaps at him. "I'll get you that information, but then our deal is over, understood?"

"Sure thing," Yuri smirks back to her, as Sabine stands up. Sabine quickly moves away from the table, still wondering why Yuri and Lucinda were talking about Lydia.

***

NEW YORK CITY, NY

Cole moves into Eleven Maddison Park, a high-end restaurant and bar in New York City, where he is scheduled to meet the Superintendent of the Kelsey Lake mine. While he waits for the hostess to find him his table, he can't help but be really happy to be back in New York City. He hasn't been since he was in rehab a couple years ago, but he has missed the pace and energy of the Big Apple.

The hostess comes back and immediately takes Cole to his table, where he sees Grant Shaw sitting at a table. "Mr. Shaw," Cole extends his hand to shake his hand.

Grant Shaw is an attractive man in his mid-40's, who was worked at the Kelsey Lake mine for a number of years. He can do his job, mostly, however, from New York City. While it started out as weekends only in New York, Grant soon made it a permanent fixture. He makes trips to the mine on a monthly basis, but the day to day can be handled from his New York office, which suits him just fine.

"Cole Rockwell, goodness, it's been a while since I saw you last," Grant replies to him. "I only have to assume that you're here because of the press release that the Kelsey Lake mine is starting contract negotiations?"

"You would be correct," Cole sits across from him. "I am my father's right hand man right now, so we want to make sure you know how serious Rockwell Mining is about regaining the mine. The mine never should have left Rockwell all those years ago."

Grant chuckles back to him. "Well, Cole, I'm glad you came all this way to meet with me to tell me how serious Rockwell Mining is about the contract, but I have to tell you, I will have to review all the contracts on an even basis. The best offer will secure the mine."

Cole nods back to him. "Of course," he smiles to him. "Just know, that we will give you the best offer. Make no mistake about that. Rockwell Mining will get the mine back."

"Appreciate your confidence," Grant stands up and the men shake hands again. "I look forward to your submission. I have another appointment to get too."

"Enjoy your day, thanks for meeting with me," Cole sits back down, as Grant moves away from the table. Cole pulls out his phone from his pocket and takes a sip of his whiskey sour cocktail that is in front of him. He reads a text message that has come in from Celeste, which makes his blood boil.

"I never meant to hurt you, Cole. I'm sorry that I never told you about Ashlee, but it was a part of my past. I know you don't want to see me again, but just know that I still love you. I will always love you."

Cole turns his phone over on the table and runs his hands through his hair. "Damn you Celeste," he whispers to himself. "Damn you straight to hell."

***

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're okay," Vivian tells Kent as they stand next to one another in the penthouse that Kent shared with Lydia. After she passed away, Kent kept the penthouse that was actually Lydia's because they had lived together for so many years. "I was worried about you when I found out that you had some of your stitches break open and you were back in the hospital."

"That was a few weeks ago now," Kent nods back to her. "But, I appreciate your concern. I will be fine. I'm already feeling better than I had immediately after the transplant."

"I hope you learned your lesson about taking your pain medication with alcohol," Vivian tries not to scold him.

"I have," he replies to her. "And, believe me, I will make those around me pay for not helping me. If anything, she made it worse."

Vivian arches her eyebrow, wondering who Kent is talking about. "What do you mean? Who made it worse?"

"Stacey Rockwell," he looks back at his ex-wife. "She was running Blackmore Ltd because after Lydia passed away, she had Lydia's POA. While she was in charge, she offered me a drink every time she saw me because she knew I was mixing pills and booze together."

"Why would Stacey to that?" a shocked Vivian asks him.

"Because, she knew that I wanted Lexington, my son, to run Blackmore Ltd. Only, Stacey wasn't ready to give up the CEO job."

"I can't believe she would do that," Vivian shakes her head in disgust. "You're Houston's father for crying out loud!"

"Trust me, I know," Kent looks back at her. "If she thinks I will not try my damnest to get back at her, she has another thing coming."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Kent admits to her. "But, I will get my revenge. It's time the Rockwell's learn that they can't mess with me anymore. I won't be a doormat to them. I refuse."

Vivian uneasily looks back at him. "Don't give me that look, Vivian," Kent tells her. "I know you had some sort of affair with Cole, but damn it, you can do better than him too."

Vivian turns away from Kent, knowing that she does have feelings for Cole, but he has made it clear that he doesn't feel the same way. She doesn't know how to move on from him though, especially since she has adopted Ashlee.

"I appreciate you saying that to me Kent," she whispers back to him, as he comes up behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders. She turns around to face him. "After everything we've been through, this is nice isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The fact that we can be civil to one another," she purses her lips back to him. "We haven't always been able to do that."

"I agree," he smiles back to her. "It is nice that we are in this position. Just don't make me stop planning my revenge on Stacey. Because, she needs to pay for what she's done."

"I would never dream of getting in your way," Vivian tells him. "I know how you are when you have your mind set on something."

***

Mac checks his phone one more time as he sits at the bar in the country club, hoping to get some kind of an update from Cole regarding his meeting with Grant Shaw. He was happy that Cole got to New York so quickly, because the sooner Rockwell Mining is able to get the upper hand on the contract negotiations with the Kelsey Lake mine, the better.

"We have to get this mine back, I won't settle for anything less," Mac whispers to himself, as he turns his head and sees Lex walk into the country club. Mac hasn't seen much of his son, or the man he believed was his son for so many years, since Lex announced that he was taking over as CEO of Blackmore Ltd. Mac was rather upset to learn this information because it means that he and Lex are going to be competing against one another, and Mac is used to Lex being on his team.

He finds himself standing up from the bar and moving over to Lex. "Hello Lexington," Mac says as he arrives at Lex. "You're looking well. How are things?"

"Mac, hi," Lex nods back to him. "Things are good, I can't complain, really. How are things with you? You're looking good."

Mac chuckles back to him, thinking that he knows why he is looking so good these days is largely because of Sabine. "I'm fine, thanks son. It's been odd not having you around Rockwell Mining. I trust things are still okay at Blackmore Ltd? You know that you will always have a home at Rockwell."

Lex uneasily smiles back to him. "I know, thank you. But, I am enjoying my time at Blackmore. I'm enjoying the fact that I get to be the CEO. I've been grooming for this position my entire life. I'm just glad I'm getting the opportunity to shine, and I plan on making the most of it."

Mac looks back at him. "I am proud of you Lex. Even though you are working for my competitor, I am proud of what you've done."

"I appreciate that," Lex replies to him. "But, we should cut the civilities. We both know what was announced today, Mac. We both know that we are going to be competing for the Kelsey Lake mine. So, things might get ugly."

Mac shakes his head back to him. "We may compete son, but outside the board room you will always be my son. Never forget who you are or where you have come from."

"I won't," Lex tells him. "But, I won't stop until I get that mine for Blackmore Ltd. You have to accept that."

***

Lex moves back inside his office at Blackmore Ltd, wondering how Mac is feeling after their meeting. He hates that he has to go head to head with Mac over the Kelsey Lake mine, but he knows that he has to make sure that he secures the deal for Blackmore Ltd. Anything else would be failure for him, and Kent, and he can't make his first big deal at Blackmore a failure.

"I will get that mine," he whispers to himself as he sits at his desk. "And, I have to make this other project I'm working on a success. If I can prove to Kent that I am worthy of this position, then maybe he won't fully come back when he's healthy. I could run this company and he could assist me."

Lex opens a file folder that sits on his desk and looks at the documents inside. He knows that when Stacey was in charge, she stole some jewelry designs from Rockwell Mining and decided to open a line at Blackmore Ltd. While Stacey did return to the designs to Rockwell after Mac threatened legal action, Lex believes that the concept of a jewelry line was a good idea, and now he is running with it. He has already hired a designer and he is meeting a photographer shortly to go over some ideas.

He looks up when he hears a knock on his door. "Come in," he says as the door opens. Lex can't help but stare back at the young man who walks into his office, instantly feeling an attraction to him. Lex stands up. "You must be Tanner Young?"

"In the flesh," Tanner extends his hand out to shake Lex's hand. As soon as their hands touch, Lex feels a spark between them. Tanner shoots him a quick look back, clearly feeling the same intensity that Lex is.

"Lex Rockwell, pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine," Tanner flashes his smile back to him. "I have my portfolio here."

"Oh right," Lex tries to focus on the matter at hand. "I'd love to see your work to see if you'll be the right fit here at Blackmore Ltd."

"I'd like to think I'd be a great fit," Tanner smiles back to him, as Lex flips through the pages of the binder that Tanner passed.

"Yea, these are great, you do good work," Lex looks back at him. "So, the question is, when can you start?"

***

"Celeste, thank you for meeting with us," Marat announces to her as he and Stacey welcome Celeste into the living room of the Rockwell mansion. As soon as he got back from Hawaii, Marat called Celeste and asked her to meet them at the Rockwell mansion. The sooner Marat can start to help Celeste try to get Ashlee away from Vivian, the better he will feel about the situation.

"Of course, how was your honeymoon?" Celeste asks them, as she sits on the sofa next to Marat.

"It was short," Stacey can't help herself. "Can I get you a drink?"

"A brandy would be lovely," Celeste nods back to her. "I was surprised to hear from you. I didn't think you'd be home for another couple of weeks."

"Neither did I," Marat replies to her, as Stacey passes them each a brandy. "But, I couldn't get my mind off you or Ashlee."

Stacey rolls her eyes as she pours herself a drink. She hates that her new husband is thinking of another woman; the same woman who has already slept with her husband in the past, her father and her brother. She would really like to know what it is about Celeste that all of these men flock too.

"You were thinking of us? Why?" Celeste asks him before she sips her brandy.

"The last thing you told me before I left was that you wanted to get Ashlee away from Vivian," Marat tells her. "I guess, I want to help you. I want to get our daughter back. Will you let me be a part of this?"

"Of course I will," Celeste purses her lips together. "The more people on my side, the better. Winston Marshall told me that it will be a difficult case, but we are trying to get custody from Vivian."

"Winston Marshall agreed to represent you? I'm surprised considering he is my father's lawyer."

"He never steers away from a challenge," Celeste tells him. "But, considering you will be on my side, I think we have an even better chance to get Ashlee back now."

"That's what I want to hear," Marat smiles back to her, causing Stacey to sigh a little. "Let's get our daughter back."

***

Vivian sits in the living room of her mansion, fresh from seeing Kent at the penthouse. She decided to come home and see Ashlee, only to find out that she was out at a park with the nanny. She knows that she has to spend time with the child to make it appear that she is the loving adoptive parent, but she can't help but feel like her plan has backfired in some ways.

She did succeed in preventing Cole and Celeste from getting married, but she didn't get Cole back in the process. She just hopes that he will still see the light and come back to her, because she, despite everything, is still in love with him.

"I will get you back Cole," she purses her lips together as she drinks a glass of champagne. "We belong together."

Before she can say anything else, she hears the front door bell ring. "Alma!" she yells at the top of her lungs. "Alma, the door!"

She doesn't hear her maid go get the door, so Vivian slowly gets up and fixes her dress. "So hard to find good help these days," she whispers to herself. "Never mind, I'll get it, Alma!" she barks as she walks to the door.

She opens it and sees a young man standing there. "Vivian Blackmore?" he asks her as he nods back to him. "You've been served."

She accepts the parcel and feels the blood drain from her face, wondering what kind of papers she's just been handed. She moves back into the living room and drops the package on the desk. She reaches for the letter opener and quickly opens the envelope.

She pulls out the papers and quickly reads them. "Damn you Celeste," she looks up, realizing that Celeste is suing her for custody of Ashlee. "I'll be damned if I let you take Ashlee away from me. When I'm done with you, you know what hit you."

***

NEW YORK CITY, NY

The music that is in the club that Cole is in is loud and has a heavy bass, which causes him to have some ringing in his ears. He takes another sip of his whiskey and then slowly gets up, to leave, but he stumbles a little as he has his share of drinks. He needed a release after seeing that text message from Celeste; he needs to find a way to get her out of his head.

As he tries to get himself back up, he sees a group of people sitting at the table behind him. One of the guys slides a small bag of white powder across the table to one of his friends, as they start to laugh a little.

Cole's eyes don't leave the bag of cocaine. He hasn't touched the stuff since before rehab, although he did almost relapse after Celeste married Mac. There is her name again, he realizes to himself. "I have to stop thinking about her," he whispers to himself, as he slowly walks over to group at the table.

"Hey," he says as he arrives at the table. "How much for that bag," he asks the guy, who looks back at him in surprise. "Don't worry, I'm not a cop. I have cash, and a lot of it. How much?"

"How much do you have?"

Cole opens his wallet and pulls out 7 hundred dollars. "Will this cover it?"

"It's yours," the guy passes him the cocaine, knowing that Cole probably just paid doubled for the quantity in the bag.

"Thanks," Cole says, taking the drugs and then quickly rushing out of the club. Outside, he gasps for some air, trying to comprehend what he just did.

"I have to forget Celeste," he says to himself as he flags a cab down. "And, this is just the way to do it."