Written by: Dallas Walsh

NEW YORK CITY, NY

Cole Rockwell slowly opens his eyes in his large hotel room. He squints when some of the sun light hits his face, not ready for it to be morning yet. He rolls over and as he hears his phone buzzing away, realizing that the phone is what woke him. He grabs the phone and sees that it's well after 12:00 pm the following day, and that it is Mac Rockwell calling him, probably for an update about his meeting with Grant Shaw the previous day.

Suddenly, however, the entire evenings events come flooding back to Cole. He was at a bar, having some drinks, because he got a text message from Celeste Rockwell, where she professed her love to him, when he saw a group of people in the club selling cocaine. He remembers buying a couple of grams and coming back to the hotel and getting high.

He hadn't had drugs since before he went to rehab a couple of years ago; the feeling and rush came flooding back to him with the first hit. He felt alive, he felt great and most importantly, he forgot about Celeste for a while.

"I have to forget that woman," he says to himself, as he suddenly opens the contacts on his phone, having missed Mac's call. "And, I think I know just how to do that."

He puts his phone to his ear. "Hey, it's Cole Rockwell, how are you? … I know it's been forever, but I'm in New York and I want to see you … Yea, just like the old days. I have some stuff here, you should come over."

***

"So, what I want is for you to really capture the size of the diamonds and the cuts," Lex Rockwell tells Tanner Young, as they stand behind Lex's desk in the Blackmore Ltd. building, as they discuss the upcoming photo shoot that Lex is planning to launch the new diamond jewelry line at the company. He has hired Tanner to take the pictures because he is an excellent photographer, but he is also trying to keep himself under control because he can feel an intense chemistry between him and Tanner. "Those are the most important two elements."

"Size and cut," Tanner winks back to him. "Noted that those features are important."

"They definitely are," Lex nods back to him, trying to ignore the fact that he thinks Tanner is flirting with him. "When do you think you'll have the first set of prints to me?"

"How does the day after tomorrow sound?" Tanner asks him, as he goes to reach the folder on the desk and his hand touches Lex's. Immediately, they look at one another, feeling the sparks between them when they touch.

"That sounds good," Lex gulps back to him.

At the door, Brock Jennings stands there and sees his lover touching hands with another attractive man. He clears his throat, causing Lex to look over at him. "Brock, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd see if you wanted to do lunch," Brock comes into the office and looks at Tanner, who eyes him back. "But, if you're busy…?"

"Nah, Tanner and I were just finishing," Lex looks back at Tanner. "I look forward to seeing your pictures."

"Yea, I'm excited to show you them. I won't let you down, Lex," Tanner replies as he collects his things and then looks over at Brock. "Hey, nice to meet you Brock."

"You too, Tanner," Brock says back to him as Tanner leaves the office. Brock sighs and looks back at Lex. "What was that all about?"

"What?" Lex asks him, confused by his question. "Tanner is a photographer that I've hired here; I was in a meeting with him. I'm not sure I appreciate your tone, or your question."

"Really?" Brock crosses his arms over his chest. "Maybe I don't like you playing me for a fool. I thought what we had was special."

"Oh God," Lex moans. "Look, Brock, I like you, I like spending time with you, but I'm not looking for anything serious right now, okay? In case you forgot, my husband tried to kill me and then he died himself. If you think I want another serious relationship so quickly after all that happened, you have another thing coming."

Brock uneasily nods back to him and turns to leave the office. "Wait, aren't you taking me to lunch?" Lex calls out as Brock turns around when he arrives at the door.

"I just lost my appetite."

***

Sabine Andrews walks into the country club from the side door dressed in her tennis gear. She has just come in from a lesson that she had at the club; since she has been growing closer to Mac, who plays tennis on a regular basis, she though she should learn some basics so they could play together.

She moves up to the bar to order a glass of orange juice, when she happens to see Yuri Kafelnikov and Lucinda Rockwell sitting at a back table together. She turns back around so they don't spot her, but her mind is now in overdrive as this isn't the first time she has spotted the two of them together. She recalls how she overheard them talking in Mac's office recently and they mentioned Lydia's name; when she spoke to Yuri about it, he turned the tables on her and asked her about her part of their deal to get information about Rockwell Mining for him.

She shakes her head thinking that she is reading too much into things. "If that's true," she asks herself. "Why do I get the feeling that there is something going on here?"

She looks back at them and realizes that she can walk around the dining room and enter from the back door. If she does that, she can stand behind some large plants that are sitting there, and she might be able to hear what they are talking about. Sabine quickly leaves the dining room and moves around to the back side of the restaurant. She soon positions herself behind the plants, and listens carefully for Lucinda and Yuri's voices.

"I can't believe that Sabine spoke to you about Lydia," Lucinda snaps at him as she takes a sip of her brandy. "That woman is getting on my every last nerve right now."

"Just stay calm," Yuri replies to her. "I think I handled it. I told her that there was nothing to worry about and that I didn't even remember the conversation."

"You better hope that you're right," Lucinda warns him. "Because, we have come too far to let Sabine Andrews cause us any problems."

Behind the plants, Sabine quickly leaving the dining room, trying to catch her breath by what she just heard. At first, she thought maybe that she was overreacting, but now she knows that something is going on between Lucinda and Yuri.

"But, what is it?" she asks herself. "And, how am I going to find out what it is?"

***

Vivian Blackmore storms off the elevator in the Rockwell Mining building and marches towards Mac's office. She opens the door and immediately moves inside, her blood boiling. She sees Celeste Rockwell and Stacey Rockwell sitting together at a table working on some new jewelry designs and Marat Kafelinkov sitting on the sofa with his laptop open.

"You have a lot of nerve," Vivian glares at Celeste, as she hovers above her. "How dare you try to take my daughter away from me!"

Celeste stands up and faces Vivian with a grin on her face. "Your daughter? That's rich," Celeste sneers back to her. "You only adopted Ashlee in hopes to stick it to me and Marat; you tried to ruin our wedding day, which you did, by the way. But I'll be damned if I let you raise my daughter!"

"You won't get away with this," Vivian replies to her quickly. "I have more resources and power than you have ever dreamed of. I will wipe the floor with your disgusting face, you will live to regret coming for me."

"Okay, that's enough Vivian," Marat stands up from the sofa and moves towards her. "You can't come in her and attack us. You'll have your day in court, and we'll have ours."

"Yes, we will," Vivian turns to face him. "And, you'll see what it is like being on the losing end of a custody hearing, because you will not take my daughter away from me. You won't get away with this."

"We heard you the first time," Stacey tells Vivian. "Now, get the hell out of my father's office before I call security and have you thrown out."

"I'm leaving," Vivian snaps at her. "But be warned, you haven't seen the last of me."

They watch as Vivian storms out of the office and slams the door behind her. "Are you okay?" Marat asks Celeste.

"I'm fine," she replies to her before she turns to Stacey. "Thank you for defending me. I really appreciate it."

"Yea, of course," Stacey tells her. "Anything fight my husband is in, I'm in as well."

***

NEW YORK CITY, NY

Cole hears a faint knock on his hotel room door and quickly moves over to open it. Only wearing grey sweat pants, he opens the door and sees a young woman standing on the other side.

"Dixie Ryan," Cole smiles at her, as she moves inside the hotel room. "It's been far too long."

"Yes, it has," she purses her lips together as she turns and admires his toned body. Dixie was once a natural beauty, but years of heavy partying, which includes a ton of cocaine, has taken its toll on her. She still has a killer body and beneath the scabs and scars from the drugs, she does have a pretty face. "You told me that you had some good snow, is that true?"

"Yea, I scored some last night," he replies to her to as he moves to the desk in the hotel room. He opens the drawer and pulls out a small mirror that has some cocaine residue on it. "You wanna do a hit with me? Then we could, uh, catch up?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she moves up the desk and quickly snorts a line. She shakes her head as she comes up and smiles at him. "God, I love that stuff. Do a line."

Cole puts his head down and quickly snorts a line. He looks back at her starts to laugh. "You haven't lost your touch doing a line," she tells him. "We wasted so much time being a part. We could have been doing this for years."

"Come here," a stoned Cole pulls her closer to him and kisses her. "I need you."

She runs her hands over his naked, toned chest. "You are so hot," she moans as his lips find her neck. He pushes her down on to the bed and she spreads her legs. He puts his hands up her long dress and removes her panties and then starts to kiss her again.

***

Stacey moves into the country club and immediately moves up to the bar, where she orders a drink while she waits for her take out to be ready. She had been at Rockwell Mining with Celeste and Marat when they realized that they were famished, so she ordered some lunch that she will take back to the office. While she sips her champagne cocktail, she pulls out her phone and sends her father a quick message.

"Daddy, we really need to talk about something important," she types into her phone. "Let's meet tomorrow?"

Stacey sends the message and looks forward. She isn't officially back working at Rockwell Mining yet, but having spent the morning there and seeing Celeste's latest designs for the jewelry line, she desperately wants to go back to work and help with the line. She knows that she and Mac clashed heavily while she was running Blackmore Ltd, but that is in the past. She knows that she will never be CEO of Blackmore Ltd again, and she's not complaining because she turned into someone she didn't like while she in that position.

"Well, this is a surprise," Kent Blackmore announces as he comes up to Stacey at the bar. "Are you back to being unemployed now?"

Stacey purses her lips together as she looks at her former boss. She knows that he must still be livid with her for not trying to help him while he was taking his pain medication with alcohol, but she hopes that he will be able to put it behind him because when she signed over the POA to Lex, he did seem to turn over a new leaf with her.

"As a matter of fact," she tells him. "I was hoping to go back to work at Rockwell Mining. After all, it is my name on the building. But, anyways, I'm glad to see you and about. You're looking much better than the last time I saw you."

"I am feeling much better," Kent nods back to her. "You know, our short time of working together, it didn't exactly work out so well, did it?"

"No," Stacey admits to him. "And, like I told you at the hospital, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me, Kent. But that woman, that's not who I am."

"I'd like to believe you," Kent replies to her. "But, time will tell if you have really changed Stacey. I can't believe the lengths you went to keep the CEO position. Houston would be appalled."

"Why are you mentioning Houston to me?" a startled Stacey asks him. "I was apologizing to you!"

"I've heard that before," Kent snaps at her. "You Rockwell's, you're all the same. You think you can do whatever the hell you want and then say sorry and think all is forgiven. Well, no damn more!"

Stacey looks back at him in shock. To her relief, her order is placed in front of her, so she grabs the bag and stands up, quickly rushing away from Kent, who watches her.

"Don't worry Stacey," he whispers to himself. "I will get my revenge on you. I will get my revenge on your entire family, and I think I know just how."

***

Lex slowly walks to the chair that the guard told him to sit at. He takes a deep breath as he waits for the visitor to arrive. He has been putting this off for some time, but he realized that he can't actually move on with his life until he sees the woman who tried to kill him. The last few months have been such a whirlwind for him, that it has been hard to grasp.

He and Jarek Williams got drunkenly got married in Las Vegas; at the time, he wasn't upset because and Jarek seemingly had a good relationship. Shortly after, Lex fell ill and thought he had a flu bug, only he fainted shortly after. At the hospital, his family learned that Lex had been drugged and was close to death. After pumping the drugs out of his system, Lex's liver started to fail and that's when Kent donated a piece of his liver to him. Lex rebounded and was released from the hospital, and continued his marriage to Jarek. Brock, however, discovered that it was Jarek who was drugging him, not Odette Williams, Jarek's mother who had confessed. Jarek then fell to his death from a balcony at the Rockwell Mansion, and Lex has been trying to put his life back together ever since then. Now, he realizes, he has to close that chapter of his life once and for all. He looks up when he sees the shadow of someone sitting across from him and sees Odette, wearing her orange jump suit.

"Lexington Rockwell," Odette slowly says, her lips chapped, into the telephone receiver. "There's a face I never thought I'd see again."

"I had to come and see you," Lex slowly replies to her.

"Why? You didn't have the guts to come see me after my son, your husband, was killed, so why are you here now?"

"Jarek," Lex whispers back to her. "He tried to kill me. And you, you helped him cover it help. Why would you do that?"

Odette chuckles back to him. "It had nothing to do with you son," she tells him. "This all goes back to your Daddy and how he killed my husband. Mac robbed me of what was mine and I just wanted what was rightfully ours."

Lex shakes his head back to her. "So, you wanted revenge on my father so you tried to kill me?"

"We wanted our money," Odette tells him. "Money that would have been my Bernie's, if Mac hadn't killed him."

"God, I was so dumb to think that Jarek actually loved me," Lex says back to her.

"Don't you ever say that again," Odette replies to him. "Jarek did love you at one point. He got caught up in my scheme. That boy would do anything for me."

"You know I loved him right?" Lex looks back at her. "And now, I don't know that I will ever fully trust another man again."

"Oh sweetie," Odette pouts. "Get over yourself. You can still live your life. What about Jarek? Huh? He's dead and he ain't ever coming back! And you're here worried about trusting someone? You rich folk are disgusting to me!"

Lex looks back at her in shock. "I should go," he tells her. "This was clearly a mistake."

"I hope you still dream of Jarek," she tells him causing him to wait for a moment. "I hope you see his face at night and you're reminded of what you killed."

"Enough," Lex spits at her. "I'm hanging up now."

"Wait, Lex," Odette stops him and he looks at her through the glass window. "Give your father a message from me. Tell me I said, tick, tock…"

Lex hangs up the phone and stands up and rushes away, wondering what the hell Odette was talking about. While he came for some kind of closure, he realizes that he is even more confused than ever before.

***

Sabine opens the front door to the Rockwell mansion and moves inside. She is desperate for a drink, and maybe an intense love making session with Mac tonight because she has had a hell of a day. She can't stop thinking about hearing Lucinda and Yuri talk about Lydia, again, and how they dodged a bullet. She now knows that something is going on, but she doesn't know what it could possibly be.

"I have to find out," she whispers to herself as she moves down the hallway closer to the living room. When she opens the door to the living room, she gasps at the sight in front of her. The sofa has been removed and there is a table with a white table cloth on it, set up for dinner for two. Candles are lighting up the room and there are red roses throughout the room. A four piece strings band is softly playing a soft song in the corner and Mac turns around to smile at her, wearing a tuxedo.

"Mac, what is all this?" she asks as she moves into the room, looking around at the romantic setting.

"Just something I threw together for you and I," he replies to her as he passes her a glass of champagne. "Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

"Of course I will," she smiles up to him. "I can't believe you did all of this for me."

"This and so much more," he tells her as he sweeps her into his arms and starts to slow dance with her to the music. "Since you have come into my life, things have been so much better for me. You have lightened up everything."

"You're so sweet," she blushes back to him. "You must know that I feel the same way about you. After Patrick, I never thought that I would feel this way about a man again."

Mac leans in and kisses her on the lips. "You're so beautiful," he says as their lips part. "You make me feel young and excited again. I never want this feeling to end."

Sabine stops dancing when Mac suddenly drops to one knee. She covers her mouth in shock as he pulls out a small black box from his jacket pocket. He opens it, revealing a large, one-of-a-kind Rockwell pink diamond ring. "Marry me, Sabine," he looks up into her eyes. "Let's make this feeling last forever?"

"Oh Mac," she gasps as the sight of the ring sliding on her finger. "It's so beautiful."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," he tells her. "You haven't answered my question yet."

Sabine lets a single tear fall down her cheek as she wipes it away. "Yes, of course, I'll marry you. I'd love to be your wife!"

Mac stands up and wraps his arms around her, twirling her in the air as she laughs at him. He finally sets her down. "You said yes!" he looks into her eyes. "You really said yes."

"I love you so much," she kisses him on the lips. "And, I'll get to spend the rest of my life telling you just how much you mean to me."

***

The following morning, the Rockwell's are sitting around the breakfast table enjoying the first meal of the day together. Chatter is among Lex, Stacey, Marat, Sabine and Mac, until Mac finally stands up and holds up his mimosa.

"Everyone, can I have your attention, please?" he says as he looks at his children. "I have an announcement to make," he says, as Stacey looks over at Lex, wondering what could be going on. "I was going to wait until Cole returned from New York, but I realized that this couldn't wait. I've asked Sabine to be my wife, and she's accepted. We are engaged to be married."

Sabine stands up next to Mac and they share a quick kiss on the lips. "Well, congratulations," Marat stands up to shake Mac's hand and then he moves over and kisses both of Sabine's cheeks. "This is great news."

Stacey and Lex look at one another uneasily, wondering if this is real. They know that Mac has been put through the ringer in the last few months with the reveal that Cole and Celeste actually were in love, his divorce from Celeste, Lydia's death and the corporate drama at Rockwell Mining. They just hope that he isn't rushing into anything, especially with their mother's sister.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Daddy?" Stacey stands up and moves over to hug him.

"I am sure, Stacey. Sabine makes me very happy."

They exit their embrace and Stacey leans into kiss him on the cheek. "Then, I'm happy for you."

"I never thought I'd see the day where I'd call my Aunt my new Step-Mom," Lex chuckles to Sabine as they hug, as Sabine laughs back to him. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Lex. I love your father so much, I just want to make him happy."

"What am I walking in on?" Cole asks as he moves into the living room, dragging his suitcase behind him. The members of his family fail to see the bags under his eyes, from the drugs that he did in New York.

"Son, when did you get home?" Mac asks him, as he comes up to him and hugs him.

"Just now," Cole replies to him. "I caught the first flight this morning."

"Welcome home, we can talk soon about how it went in New York," Mac tells him. "Right now, we are just celebrating my engagement to Sabine."

"Engaged? Whoa, I didn't see that coming," Cole admits to him. "But congratulations you two."

"Thank you, there's plenty of food, help yourself," Mac tells him.

"Nah, I think I'm going to head up stairs and unpack," Cole replies to him.

"Daddy, can I steal you away for a moment?" Stacey asks him, as she pulls him into the living room, where they are alone.

"I'm not about to get a lecture, am I?"

Stacey chuckles back to him. "No, nothing like that," she purses her lips together. "But, I did want to talk to you about something."

"Is this what that text message was all about?"

"Yesterday, I happened to spend some of my day at Rockwell, and I have to tell you, I miss working. I want to come back to Rockwell Mining. I want come back to my family company."

Mac sighs and runs his hand through his hair, the last few months come rushing back to him. Stacey had been left with Lydia's POA after she died; because Kent had signed over the CEO position to Lydia, it meant that Stacey became CEO of Blackmore Ltd. Stacey became a different person while in the job, going so far as to stealing Rockwell's jewelry designs. Now, she wants her job back and he can't help but be skeptical.

"Darling, I know you mean well but…"

"No but's Daddy, please," Stacey pleads with him. "I know what I did was wrong while I was at Blackmore Ltd, but I am back to me old, regular self now. Rockwell Mining, that is my name on the building. That is my legacy that we are building. Please, please, tell me that you will give me another chance to make things right. I can't wait to start designing with Celeste again."

Mac smiles at the sound of his daughter's plea. He moves up to her and pulls her into a hug. "Of course you can come back, Stacey. I want all my children to work with me. Welcome back, darling."

***

Cole moves into the foyer, still dragging his luggage behind him. He told Mac that he didn't want to eat anything, and that's the truth. If anything, he is desperate to get back upstairs to his bedroom to have another hit before he heads into Rockwell Mining for the day.

He presses the elevator button and turns around when he hears the front door open to the mansion. He can't believe when he sees Celeste appear.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asks her, as she looks at him with intent.

"I have a meeting with Stacey and Marat," she tells him, knowing that she is here to discuss the case against Vivian to get Ashlee away from her. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" he laughs back to her. "Nothing, I just got home from a business trip. There's nothing wrong with me?"

Celeste shakes her head no. "No, something is off with you. I can see it in your eyes. What is going on with you?"

Before he can reply, there's another knock on the front door. Cole brushes past her and opens the door. "Dixie? What are you doing here?"

Dixie moves inside the mansion and looks around, having never seen anything like the Rockwell mansion before. "We had so much fun together in New York, I thought I'd surprise you. You're not upset, are you?"

Cole looks over at Celeste, who is eyeing Dixie up and down. "Not at all babe," he moves up to her and kisses her. "I was just heading upstairs to unpack. Wanna join me?"

"If by unpacking you mean undressing me, then yes," Dixie giggles, as Cole ushers her towards the elevator door. Dixie, Cole and his luggage move inside the elevator and Celeste watches as the door closes. She shakes her head and fights tears in her eyes as she wonders what Cole is doing with that woman, although she already has a pretty good idea.

***

"I missed you at breakfast this morning, Mother," Mac tells Lucinda as he walks into the living room of her mansion. He is started to see some men walking around in the living room and into the kitchen.

"Yes, sorry," Lucinda waves her hand in the air. "As you can see, I'm having some minor renovations done around here. The kitchen is being gutted."

"I thought you loved the kitchen?"

"I did," Lucinda quips. "But, if I wanted to keep Jean Luc as my chef, then I had to make some changes. According to him, he couldn't work in those conditions anymore. And people say I'm dramatic?"

Mac chuckles back to her. "Well, I missed you this morning."

"What was so important about this morning's breakfast?" she asks him as she pours herself a cup of coffee. "What did I miss?"

"I made an announcement," Mac looks over at her, hoping that she takes the news of his engagement well. "Sabine and I are engaged to be married. I'm going to have a new wife."

"You mean another wife?" Lucinda quickly snaps at him. "Oh MacKenzie," she sighs. "I really thought you had learned your lesson after that fiasco with Celeste Baldwin, but here we go…another marriage doomed before it begins."

"You could at least pretend to be happy for me, Mother?"

"No, darling, I can't. Sabine Andrews is nothing more than a hussy," Lucinda wags her finger in his face. "You'll see, she'll hurt you, just like Lydia did. And, just like Celeste did. I wish you'd finally learn your lesson when it comes to these women."

"What can I tell you, Mom? I love the woman," Mac replies to her. "And, she loves me. So, you better get used to the idea of Sabine as my wife, because I will marry her. You have to accept this is reality."

***

"I stopped by a little earlier but you weren't here," Kent announces as he moves into Lex's office at Blackmore Ltd. "Late start today?"

"Family breakfast," Lex replies to him, not looking up from the paperwork in front of him. "My Dad is getting married to Sabine."

"Lydia's sister?" Kent asks him in surprise.

"Yea, I guess they've had quite the romance," Lex tells him, finally looking up at his father. "Why were you here early? Did you need to see me about something?"

"No," Kent shakes his head. "I guess I was just looking in to see how things are going around here. Okay, if I am honest, I am going stir crazy at home."

Lex chuckles back to him. "All those years of working around the clock, you should be enjoying this down time."

"I'm trying," Kent tells him.

"I'm glad you're here," Lex admits to him. "I've made a decision and was hoping I'd have your support before I take it to the board."

Kent arches his eyebrow. "I'm listening, what decision have you made?"

"This," Lex passes him a folder, which Kent accepts. "Rockwell Mining is doing really well with their jewelry line. I want Blackmore Ltd. to have its own line, just different; more sophisticated, more refined, better diamonds, better cuts…what do you think?"

"I think," Kent pauses as he looks at Lex, which makes his heart stop beating for a moment. "That this is a brilliant idea! These designs are really great too."

"Thanks, I hired a designer who is great," Lex replies to him. "And, I've already booked the photographer. I think he'll do great work."

"I'm so proud of you Lexington," Kent smiles back to him. "You really are doing an excellent job of running Blackmore Ltd."

***

Following his encounter with Kent, Lex headed to the country club as he was going to have a late morning meeting with Tanner about the photos in the jewelry line. As he walks into the dining room, he can't help but see Mac at the bar, ordering a drink. He wonders why the man he believed was his father for so long is at the club; at breakfast, he made it seem like he had a lot of work waiting for him at Rockwell Mining.

"Rough morning, already?" Lex ask him as he walks up to Mac.

Mac looks back at Lex and smiles to him. "I just told your Grandmother that I'm engaged," he says before he takes a sip of the scotch.

"She took it that well, huh?" Lex chuckles back to him. "That looks like a double, Dad."

"It is," Mac laughs back to him. "Look, Lex, I'm glad we have a moment together. The other day, when we spoke about the Kelsey Lake mine, I hope you know that I don't want there to be any bad blood between us."

Lex waves his hand in the air. "I think we need to realize that in business we will be competitors, but outside the board room we are still father and son. Do you think you can handle that?"

Mac takes another sip of his drink. "To be honest, I don't think I can. I would much rather have you back at Rockwell Mining. You belong there, Lex!"

"We aren't having this conversation again," Lex cuts him off. "I'm in a higher position at Blackmore Ltd. And, whether you like it or not, Kent is my father. You may think I belong at Rockwell, but Kent thinks that I belong at Blackmore."

"So, that's it? You're not even going to hear me out? You're not going to let me plead my case?"

"Unless your case includes you stepping down and making me CEO of Rockwell Mining, we have nothing more to say on the subject."

"I'm sorry that it's come to this," Mac replies to him quickly. "Maybe you'll change your mind after Rockwell Mining gets the Kelsey Lake mine back."

Lex chuckles back to him. "Good luck with that," Lex tells him. "You and I both know that I was the one who secured the majority of the deals when I was at Rockwell Mining. I plan on bringing those skills to Blackmore Ltd; starting with the Kelsey Lake mine."

"Damn it Lex! You know that mine was stolen from me all those years ago! This is my chance to get it back!"

"Then try to get it away from me," Lex grits his teeth together. "Because, I won't back down from this deal; there's no way in hell I would ever do that."

***

Later that night, Lex and Stacey are at a table in the dining room of the country club waiting for Cole to arrive. Stacey organized a dinner between her siblings so they could discuss Mac's engagement to Sabine to see how they are a truly feeling, because she knows that for her, it was a surprise.

"Did Cole know it was at 7?" Lex asks Stacey before he takes a sip of his red wine.

"Yea, he replied to my text," Stacey replies to him. "He must just be running late."

Cole soon emerges in the dining room and quickly scans the room for his siblings table. He spots it and takes a deep breath, hoping that they don't realize that something is off with him. That something would be that he spent the day in his bedroom, having coked out sex with Dixie. He must have gotten off 5 times, but it could have been more because he lost count. The good thing about Dixie is that she can go as long and as often as Cole needs; and right now, while he's trying to erase Celeste from his mind, he needs it a lot.

"Sorry I'm late," Cole announces to them as he moves to their table. "I guess I'm feeling jet lagged."

"You were gone for two days," Stacey reminds him of how quick his trip to New York actually was.

"I know," Cole laughs. "I guess I'm a lightweight traveler. Anyways, what's up with you two?"

"Well, I wanted to find out how you guys are feeling about Dad's announcement this morning," Stacey purses her lips together as she takes a sip of the wine in front of her. "I, for one, was surprised that he is marrying Mom's sister. It feels … wrong."

"I don't know," Cole waves his hand back to them. "I almost married Dad's ex-wife, I don't think I can say anything about weird family relationships."

Lex chuckles back to him. "Yea, you know, if Dad and Sabine are happy together, then good for them. I don't think we should get in their way."

"No, no, I wasn't suggesting we get in their way," Stacey defends herself. "I just…I hope he's happy this time. I don't want to see him hurt any more than he already has been."

Before either Cole or Lex can reply, a man approaches their table. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for Mr. Cole Rockwell."

Cole looks up in surprise at the young man. "I'm Cole Rockwell."

"You've been served, Mr. Rockwell."

Cole takes the papers as the young man walks away. Cole opens the envelope as he looks over at Lex and then Stacey.

"What are those?" Stacey asks him.

"Oh God," Cole groans as he reads the documents. "Vivian's subpoenaed me to testify; I have to testify against Celeste and Marat in the custody hearing."

***

"Are you sure no one is home?" Celeste asks Marat, as she walks into the Rockwell mansion living room following him. After seeing Cole earlier in the day, Celeste doesn't want a repeat of their encounter. In fact, she wants to avoid him as much as possible right now. She can tell that he is in a bad space right now, and she feels like she is responsible for that.

"I'm sure," Marat replies to her as he sits on the sofa. "Stacey, Lex and Cole went to dinner. Mac is at the office working late, and Sabine, well, I'm not sure where she is, but she's not here."

"Good," Celeste sits next to him. "I think I need to give Cole more space right now. He wasn't happy to see me earlier."

Marat stands up and pours two brandies. "Well, he is still adjusting to the truth coming out about Ashlee," he tells her as he passes her a brandy.

"Thank you," she takes a sip of her drink. "I wish Cole would be more understanding. I mean, look at Stacey. She still married you after the truth came out."

"I'm very lucky," Marat nods back to her. "But you know, Celeste, if Cole doesn't come around, that's on him. You're a beautiful, smart, vibrant woman. You'll make another man very happy."

Celeste looks into his eyes and suddenly is taken back to their time together in New York, all those years ago. "You're so sweet," she blushes back to him. "But, honestly, right now, I just have to focus on getting Ashlee back. No man can get in the way of us getting our child back."

"And, we will," Marat nods back to her. "We will get Ashlee back. Nothing else is an option."

***

"I heard about the custody hearing," Kent tells Vivian as he lets her into the penthouse. "How are you holding up?"

Vivian moves directly to the bar and pours herself a scotch. "I can't believe the nerve of Celeste Baldwin! Who the hell does she think she is? I legally adopted a baby, she has no right to try to take that child away from me!"

Kent comes up to her and nods. "I'm inclined to agree with you," Kent agrees with her. "However, even I can tell that you selected that child with the intent of hurting Celeste."

"Whose side are you on?" Vivian gasps back to him.

"Yours, of course," Kent puts his hands on her shoulders. "Just know that this could get ugly."

"I know," Vivian nods back to him. "That's why I need your help, Kent. Please, tell me that you will support me with whatever I need during this trial."

"Of course," Kent tells her. "But, you have got this, Vivian. You will keep your child, I have faith in that."

***

Lucinda looks both ways as she stands in the hallway of her mansion, making sure that she can't see any member of her staff before she opens the door to the basement and quickly moves down the stairwell. When she reaches the base, she flicks the lights on and immediately sees Lydia Rockwell and Houston Blackmore in the cell that she created for them. She has been holding them hostage for months now; she was livid when she learned that Houston was engaged to Stacey. When they were in a car accident together, Lucinda paid off a doctor to report Houston as dead. Instead, he has been alive and well and I her basement.

And Lydia, well, Lucinda had been threatening to get revenge on her for years for all the damage she did to her family. When Lucinda learned that Lydia was going to fly to Moscow to meet with Yuri Kaflenikov, she faked her death in a plane crash and has been holding her hostage with Houston all this time as well. Lucinda knows that she has two large problems on her hands, especially with Sabine snooping around.

"Lucinda," Lydia cries as she puts her hands around the bars of the cage. "Please, you can't keep us in here anymore! We have learned our lesson. I promise you! We have learned our lesson."

"Is that so?" Lucinda moves closer to her. "Well, Lydia, even if I let you out of here, what do you think your daughter would say if she knew your dirty little secret?"

"What secret?" Lydia asks her, as Houston comes up behind Lydia.

"That you're having sex with her fiancé," Lucinda laughs. "You two, you really are disgusting."

"What did you expect?" Houston lashes out at her. "We are being kept against our will! We still have needs, Lucinda. In case you have forgotten, we are still human beings. Maybe you keeping us in this cage for so long, you have forgotten that; but we certainly haven't."

"Don't do you dare tell me what I know and I what I don't know," Lucinda snaps back at them. "You should be thanking me because I have some food with me. Now, are you going to be nice so I can give it to you? Or should I let you starve tonight?"

Lydia turns away from the bars as a tear falls down her cheek. She has never felt so dejected before in her life; she's so used to getting her way in life and business, that not being able to escape is almost worse than being held hostage itself.

"Leave the food and get out," Houston whispers to her. "If you're not going to let us out, we really have no need to have conversation with you."

"Works perfectly for me," Lucinda snaps as she throws a brown bag to the edge of the cage before she turns and slowly walks back upstairs.

"We aren't ever going to get out of here, are we?" Lydia cries to Houston, who comes up over to where she is sitting on the small cot. "We will die in this cage."

"Hey," he whispers as he wipes her tear from her cheek. "We have to stay positive. Somehow, some way, we will get out of here."

"I guess I'm losing hope, Houston," she looks into his eyes.

He leans up and kisses her softly on the lips. "Don't give up," he says as their lips part. "I'm not giving up on you, so you can't give up on me, okay?"

Lydia slowly nods her head back to him as she kisses him again. The kiss intensifies and soon, he is crawling on top of her as she lays down on the cot. "Make love to me Houston," she moans as she can feel his arousal.

***

Sabine slowly walks up to the front door of Lucinda's mansion, but she pauses before she knocks. She doesn't know why she is at the mansion, but she knows that she has to get some answers from Lucinda, even though she is positive that she won't provide her any information.

"If only I could look around," she whispers to herself. "Maybe I could find a clue myself."

She puts her ear to the door as she thought she heard a noise. Startled, she quickly jumps back and rushes to the nearby rose bush, where crouches down as the front door opens.

"Thank you Henry for coming in to get me," Lucinda tells her driver, as they move towards the limo. Henry opens the back door for Lucinda and she crawls inside. "I must have lost track of time."

Sabine watches as the car slowly drives out of the driveway before she stands up and dusts herself clean. She quickly moves to the front door of the mansion and opens the door. She looks around the foyer and realizes that it could take her hours before she finds anything of use to find out why Lucinda and Yuri were talking about Lydia because the house is huge.

"I have to start somewhere," she tells herself as she starts to walk down one of the hallways. She stops when she sees the door to the basement. "I guess I can start in this room," she says, as she opens the door and sees stairs leading into the basement.

"This should be fast," she says as she walks down the stairs. "I can't imagine Lucinda has anything of use down here."

Sabine reaches the basement and flicks the light switch on and immediately screams in horror as she can see Houston and Lydia engaged in raw, passionate sex behind the bars of the cage in Lucinda's basement.