Written by: Dallas Walsh

Sabine Andrews lets out a blood curling scream as she reaches the base of the stairs in Lucinda Rockwell's basement and she sees the cage that is set up, with Houston Blackmore and Lydia Rockwell inside of it. Not only are they alive and well, but they are engaged in steamy, hot sex. Sabine can't believe her eyes; her sister, whom she thought was dead is actually alive and in front of her.

The screaming causes Houston and Lydia to stop engaging in their love making. They quickly grab their clothing as they get dressed. Sabine, meanwhile, turns around as she gasps for air. She can't believe what she is seeing in front of her as a tear falls down her cheek.

She covers her mouth and sees the large engagement ring that is on her hand. "My God, how is any of this possible?" she asks herself, never in a million years thinking that the reason that Lucinda and Yuri Kafelinkov were talking about Lydia was because Lydia was actually alive. It doesn't make sense to her; how and why are Lydia and Houston in Lucinda's basement?

"Sabine?" Lydia finishes putting her shirt on, as she moves to the edge of the cage. "Thank God you found us! You have to help us get out of here! Sabine?"

Sabine slowly turns around to face her sister, more tears streaming down her face. "I…I don't understand what is happening? Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming," Houston comes up behind Lydia. "Lucinda, she's been holding us hostage for months. You have to help us get out of here, before she gets home."

Sabine slowly moves closer to the base of the cage. She then extends her hand out and Lydia grabs her hand. Sabine openly sobs when Lydia touches her. "My God, you're real! This is really happening!"

"Yes, I'm real, Sabine," Lydia tries to smile back to her sister. She can't believe that someone has finally found her and Houston after months being locked in the cage. "Now, you have to do something for me, okay? You have to find a way to get us out of here. Please, Sabine," Lydia tells her, as Sabine continues to sob. "Pull yourself together!"

"Sabine, please, help us," Houston pleads with her, coming up behind Lydia. "We have to get out of here. We have families! We have loved ones that believe we are dead when we are alive."

"I can't do this," Sabine shakes her head as she moves back from them. "This is all too much to handle."

"Sabine! Snap out of it! I'm your sister for crying out loud!" Lydia screams at her, as Sabine moves to the stairs.

"I need to breathe," she tells them. "I have to get some air or I'm going to faint."

"Sabine! Don't leave me down here! Sabine!" Lydia shrieks as Sabine moves up the stairs and closes the door to the basement. She can't believe what she just saw down there; nothing is making any sense.

She slowly moves into the living room where she sees Lucinda walking in from another door. "Sabine," Lucinda looks at her, wondering what her son's fiancé is doing in her house. "What the hell are you doing here?'

Sabine shakes her head in confusion as she wipes her eyes dry. "No Lucinda," she whispers back to her. "The question is: what are Lydia and Houston, two dead people, doing in your basement?"

***

Cole Rockwell orders a double scotch at the bar of the country club and takes a healthy sip when it arrives. He can't believe that he was having dinner with his sister, Stacey Rockwell, and his brother, Lex Rockwell, when he was served with a subpoena to testify in Vivian Blackmore's custody hearing vs. Celeste Baldwin and Marat Kafelinkov. The last thing that Cole wants to do is testify against the woman he almost married but now, he has no choice. All because Vivian, his former lover, has made it mandatory which is driving him crazy. So crazy, he can't wait to get home and do another line of cocaine.

"Cole, you asked to see me?" Vivian asks him as she approaches him at the bar. Since she has revealed that Celeste and Marat had a love child together, and that she adopted her, which is a lie because Ashlee isn't really their child, Vivian has been waiting for Cole to come rushing back to her. She has done all of this because she believes that they should be together. She just hopes that this is what is about to happen now; Cole has finally come to his senses.

"Your damn straight I did," he grits his teeth as he turns to look at her as he holds up the legal documents. "I was served tonight."

"Oh wonderful," Vivian smiles back to him. "I'm glad they were so prompt. The trial is tomorrow."

"I know when it is," Cole snaps at her. "I was planning to avoid the entire thing. I want nothing to do with Celeste or her child, and you of all people, should know that."

"What I know is that Celeste is trying to take my child away from me," Vivian moves closer to him. "I will do anything to make sure that doesn't happen. That woman has a lot of nerve even trying this!"

"That we can agree on."

"Cole," Vivian puts her hand on his large bicep. "Darling, all you have to do is drag Celeste Baldwin through the mud and I will win my case. Surely, after all that woman has put you through, you can do that?"

Cole looks back at her and then moves his arm out of grasp. "If you do, maybe I'll be able to thank you. You know, the way I used to thank you for such things. It's been awhile for me…"

"I don't care how tight you are, Vivian," Cole looks back at her before he finishes his scotch. "See you in court tomorrow."

"Wait," she calls out. "You didn't tell me if you'll help me or not."

But Cole doesn't turn back around to talk to her. He leaves the country club quickly, needing to get home to get to his stash of drugs he has at the mansion.

***

"Burning the midnight oil?" Kent Blackmore steps into the main office at Blackmore Ltd. and sees Lex working behind the large oak desk.

Lex looks up at his father and nods to him. "I just have a couple more reports to finish up, then I'll head home. What are you doing here so late?"

Kent shrugs back to him. "I guess I wasn't ready to go back to the penthouse yet," Kent admits to him. "Ever since Lydia died, it's been so quiet there. I like to try to stay busy; it makes me miss her less."

"I'm sorry that you're still struggling," Lex stands up and moves to the bar. "Have a brandy with me?"

"I'd like that very much," Kent replies to him quickly as Lex pours two drinks and then passes him one. "Thank you."

"I had dinner with Cole and Stacey tonight," Lex reveals to him. "Looks like Stacey is rebounding nicely from her stint here as CEO."

Kent finishes his mouthful of brandy as he arches his eyebrow. "She's working again? Who hired her?"

"Mac, who else?" Lex chuckles back to him. "She will be helping Celeste with the design division again."

Kent shakes his head in frustration, fuming that Stacey is seemingly getting away with everything that she did to him. He still wants to make her pay for what she did, he just have to figure out how.

"You look really upset by the news, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kent replies sternly to him. "It just means that your designs have to be top notch, Lex. Rockwell Mining having both Celeste and Stacey designing means we will have to be on the top of our game."

"I'm already on it," Lex nods back to him, hoping that is all that is making Kent worry. "Anyways, Kent," Lex finishes his drink. "I'm going to turn in. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"That you will," Kent says back to him. "Goodnight, Lex."

Once Lex has left the office, Kent moves to the window and looks outside at the view of downtown Kelsey Lake. He turns around, moves to his filing cabinet and he opens the bottom drawer where he sees a silver gun laying inside. He picks it up and arches his eyebrow.

"I think I have figured out how to make Stacey pay for what she has done to me," he says with a devilish grin on his face.

***

At the Rockwell mansion, Lex opens the door to his bedroom and moves inside. He starts to undress as he is exhausted from the day, but he jumps back, after he turns the lap on, at the sight of Brock Jennings sitting in an arm chair.

"Brock, you scared me half to death. What are you doing here?" Lex asks him, as he takes his shirt off.

Brock slowly stands up. "I didn't like how we left things," Brock admits to him, knowing that they seemingly had a disagreement about Lex working with Tanner Young at Blackmore Ltd. "I thought we could talk."

Lex shrugs. "I'm not sure what is left to say, if I am honest with you. You don't seem to understand that I'm not looking for anything serious. I just lost my husband," Lex tells him, thinking that Jarek Williams recently died after Lex learned that he was trying to kill him.

"I know all of that," Brock snaps back to him. "But, I thought you and I were building something together. Haven't you enjoyed our time together?"

"Of course I have," Lex replies to him. "But, I'm just trying to get my life back together. I'm not saying our sex hasn't been great, but I'm not looking for anything else right now. I was already tied down in one relationship, I won't do that again."

"I'm not your dead husband! I'm not trying to kill you!"

"I get that," Lex tells him. "But you have to understand where I am coming from."

Brock shakes his head in disgust. "I get it alright," he looks back at Lex. "You just want to get fucked by Tanner."

Lex chuckles back to him. "If that happened, I wouldn't complain. I am very attracted to Tanner."

Brock openly groans out loud. "God, see, you are playing me for a fool! You don't want anything serious from me!"

"I've been telling you that!" Lex replies to him loudly. "Look, Brock, I think you should go. I'm exhausted and I have a busy day tomorrow. We can pick this up another time, maybe dinner?"

"Yea, if you're not in bed with Tanner," Brock snaps before he quickly walks out of the room. Lex watches him leave and then finishes getting ready for bed.

***

Cole looks over his shoulder to ensure no one is in the living room before he pulls out a book off the library bookshelf. He puts his hand into the open slot and pulls out a small bag filled with white cocaine. He realized that if anyone suspected that he was back on drugs, the first place that anyone would look would be his bedroom, so he's found some clever spots throughout the mansion that he has hid some of his stashes.

He turns to leave the living room and head up to his bedroom when Mac walks in. "Cole, what are you doing by the bookshelf? Can I help you look for something in particular? You know, I know where every book is in here."

Cole uneasily smirks back to his father as he secretly puts his cocaine in his back pocket, which Mac doesn't see. "I was just about to head up to bed. It's been a long day."

"You're telling me," Mac nods back to him as he moves over to the decanters and pours himself a brandy. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure, one won't hurt," Cole replies to him quickly. "I'm glad I saw you this evening, actually. I've had an idea about how we can approach the contract with Kelsey Lake."

"Ah yes, how did it go with Grant Shaw?"

"It was fine," Cole takes his drink from his father and has a sip. "He basically said that he will review all the contracts and go with the best one. So, we have one chance to really make this work."

Mac nods back to him. "Grant Shaw has always been a very fair man," Mac tells him. "So, I'm not surprised that he has said that to you."

"Well, here is my idea," Cole replies to him quickly. "You and Lex were able to get the Kremlin Diamonds mine in Moscow because you offered 10% profits from the diamonds; I suggest we do something similar."

"I had thought of that," Mac admits to him. "And, with Lex over at Blackmore, I suspect he will do just that."

"I know," Cole nods back to him. "That's why we should increase ours to be 11 or 12%. Just slightly more, but we will beat Lex and Kent at their own game."

Mac grins back to him. "That's a brilliant idea, Cole. I had no idea you were so business savvy."

Cole smiles back to him. "I never really gave you reason to believe so," he admits to him. "Think about it, Dad. We can alter any details before we submit our contract."

"Thanks son, and good work."

Cole nods back to him before he turns to leave the room as he is desperate to go upstairs and do a line. He turns when he gets to the door. "Goodnight, Dad."

***

Kent leans down at Lydia's grave and places a dozen red roses at her tombstone. He then slowly stands back up and puts his hands in his pockets. After being at the office, he came to the graveyard to see his fiancé. He can't believe how much he misses Lydia; he wishes that she was still alive because she would know exactly how to handle Stacey and the mess she left him in. Instead, she's dead and Kent is having thoughts that he know Lydia would not approve of.

"The thing is, darling, you're dead and you're not coming back," Kent whispers to the tombstone. "And, I'm so damn tired of the Rockwell's pushing me around. Mac and Stacey, they have to learn who they are dealing with. I know that Stacey is your daughter, but so help me God, this would send a message."

"I guess we had the same idea tonight," a voice calls out from behind Kent. He slowly turns around and sees Stacey standing there. "I miss my Mom too."

"She was unlike any other woman I've ever met in my life," Kent replies to her. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Why is that?" Stacey asks him as she moves closer to him. "You don't think my brother's and I miss our Mother?"

"The way you all treated her before she died, I was left wondering," Kent admits back to her. "And, if you come to seek solace from Lydia, she would have steered you in a different path while you were CEO of Blackmore Ltd."

Stacey shakes her head back to him. "My Mother had done a lot of horrible things," she reminds him. "And, all I did was not stop you from medicating yourself. No one put a gun to your head Kent, no one forced you to take drugs with alcohol. Maybe you should take ownership of your actions; stop blaming me for everything that happened."

"You ungrateful little…" he begins to say before he stops himself. "Never mind that; Enjoy your time with Lydia, but I knew her better than anyone else, Stacey. And, I can tell you that should would have been ashamed of you and wouldn't have condoned your actions while you were running my company. And, I think if you look into your heart, you will realize that I am right."

Stacey bites her lip as Kent walks past her. Once he has left, she lets a tear fall down her cheek. She had hoped that they would be able to move beyond what had happened, but she realizes that he may never actually forgive her for what happened.

***

"What are you talking about? Are you drunk?" Lucinda asks Sabine, as she feels her heart race in her chest. How is it possible that Sabine Andrews, Lydia's sister, saw her captors down stairs? She can't even ask the question because it will make Sabine realize that they are alive and well.

"No!" Sabine shouts at her. "I was down stairs and I saw Lydia and Houston in a cage! They told me they had been there for months, because you are holding them hostage!"

Lucinda chuckles back to her before she turns stone cold to Sabine. "You listen to me, you nosy bitch. You will not undo all of my hard work, do you understand me? You will not ruin what I have put into motion. I won't let you."

"My God, so it's true," Sabine lets another tear fall down her cheek. "My sister and Houston … they are alive! Why would you do this? Why would you keep them in a cage? You're sick, Lucinda! You're a sick, evil woman!"

"And you, Sabine," Lucinda slowly moves closer to her. "You won't say a damn word about this to anyone."

"Watch me," Sabine whispers back to her. "I'm going to tell everyone that will listen that they are alive! Do you realize how much pain you caused by telling everyone that they were dead? My God, Lucinda!"

"I will not explain my actions to you," Lucinda replies to her. "But, like I said, you won't say a word. Because, if you do, you will lose Mac. Is that what you want?"

Sabine shakes her head back to her. "What are you talking about? I won't lose Mac because Lydia and Houston are alive!"

"Are you sure about that?" Lucinda asks her. "Think back to the reading of Lydia's will and how moved Mac was when she left him her wedding ring. Don't you realize why he was so upset?"

"He just lost the mother of his children!" Sabine shouts at her. "We were all upset."

"You're so stupid," Lucinda laughs at her as she pours herself a brandy. "Mac is still in love with Lydia. They had a love hate relationship, but deep down Lydia is the love of his life. That's why he hasn't been able to make any other relationship work. But, if you keep your pretty little mouth shut, you might actually have a chance at happiness with my son. But, if you tell anyone that Lydia is alive and in my basement, you will lose Mac. Mark my words, Sabine. So, the decision is yours. You can keep my son in your bed, or you can spend the rest of your life alone. It's up to you," she says before she takes a sip of her brandy, while another tear falls down Sabine's cheek, as she has no idea what she is going to do now.

***

The next morning, Celeste and Marat sit outside the court room in Kelsey Lake waiting for Winston Marshall to arrive. Neither one can actually believe that the day is here already: after today, they will learn if they will get custody of their daughter, Ashlee.

"It's hard to think that by the end of the day the baby we gave up all those years ago could be back in our arms," Celeste tells Marat as she takes a sip of her takeout coffee.

"It does seem surreal," he replies to her. "I barely slept a wink last night thinking about all of this."

"Me too," Celeste admits to him.

"Really?" he asks her back. "I can't tell you, you still look as beautiful as ever."

Celeste blushes and looks down. "You're so sweet," she says looking into his eyes. "I just hope that it goes our way. I don't know what I will do if Vivian is able to keep our beautiful Ashlee."

"Hey," Marat grabs her hand. "We can't think that way. Winston is an amazing lawyer. He will get us our daughter back. He will win this case for us."

"I hope you're right," Celeste replies to him as she moves closer to him and pulls him into a hug. "I just want our daughter back."

Suddenly, Stacey appears holding two coffees, one for her and one for Marat, but she stops in her tracks when she sees her husband holding Celeste. She can't place it, but the sight makes her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

***

"Yes, I know what time it is," Kent says into the phone that is sitting on the desk in his office at Blackmore Ltd. "You must know that it is important if I am calling you at this hour of the morning."

Kent barely slept the previous night, wondering if his train of thought towards how he wanted to handle Stacey was the right way to go. He knows that if Lydia was alive, she would be absolutely livid with his idea to shoot Stacey, but she is dead. And, he wants to send a very loud and clear message to not only Stacey, but all the Rockwell's that he is not to be messed with. They have gone after Kent and his entire family for too many years.

"Yes, I am sure about what I am asking you to do," Kent whispers into the phone. "Stacey Rockwell has to pay, and I want you to take care of her. Don't make me regret hiring you to do this job, because if you fail, you will answer to me."

***

Judge Sebastian Cartwright sits in the courtroom and smashes his mallet down. "You may be seated," he says in his stern, masculine voice. Sebastian has been a Judge for over 30 years and has no time for nonsense. He doesn't always play by the rules you'd expect a Judge to play by, but that's part of the reason he is so respected.

"We are here today to determine custody of a young child, Ashlee Blackmore," he reads his paper. "Now, under normal circumstances, we'd hear from both parties to stress why the child should be with them, but we aren't going to do that today," he says as Celeste uneasily looks back at Marat, wondering what he is doing. "Because, I already know what both parties are going to say. Celeste Baldwin and Marat Kafelinkov, the biological parents, will claim the child should be with them. Vivian Blackmore, the child's adopted mother, will say Ashlee should be with her. Let's save everyone the time and just jump to the character witnesses, shall we? Call your first witness."

Vivian's lawyer, Ming Choi, stands up and looks around the court room. Ming Choi is a young lawyer, but she has already earned a reputation for being vicious in the court room. She doesn't take any prisoners and will do whatever it takes to win a case.

"I'd like to call Cole Rockwell to the stand," she says as she places her hands together. Soon the court room has a slight murmur in it, as Cole is nowhere to be seen.

"Mr. Rockwell," Sebastian calls out. "If you're in the court room, please make your way to the front of the room."

No one moves in the room. Vivian pulls Ming down and whispers something into her ear. Ming then stands back up. "Your honor, if it pleases the court, I wish to ask for a brief recess until Mr. Rockwell has arrived."

Sebastian sighs heavily. "Very well, thirty minutes, no longer, Ms. Choi."

Ming sits next to Vivian and looks back at her with intent. "You have 20 minutes to get Cole here, or we will lose this case."

***

"Tanner, I'm glad that you're here," Lex announces as he opens the door to the office and sees the attractive photographer standing inside looking over some initial shots that he has taken of the jewelry line. "I'd like to go over the work that you've done so far. My father and I are really anxious to get this line out."

"Yea, I'd be happy to show you what I've done so far," Tanner Young replies to him with a smile on his face. "Just know that these are only the test shots, so there is still work to be done."

"Understandable," Lex moves up next to him, instantly feeling sparks between the two of them. Tanner looks back at Lex and licks his lips a little. He starts flipping through the camera's taken pictures, but Lex finds himself looking at Tanner, not the shots.

"Is it warm in here or just me?" Lex asks as he moves to the bar and grabs two bottles of water. "Water?"

"Nah, I'm good," Tanner waves his hand back to him, as Lex opens the bottle. Just then, some of the water jumps out and gets on Tanner's shirt.

"Damn, sorry," Lex blushes. "I'm such a klutz, here are some napkins," Lex says as he starts padding Tanner's muscular chest.

Tanner looks at Lex with a grin on his face. "Maybe I should just take it off," he says as he starts to unbutton his shirt. Lex can't take his eyes off Tanner as he removes his shirt. "Looks like you like what you see."

Lex blushes again. "Yea, I definitely do."

Tanner moves up to him and kisses him passionately. When they part, Tanner grins at him. "I think we should take care of this sexual tension that is between us. We will probably focus a lot better on the jewelry line, don't you think?"

Lex kisses him passionately as he starts to unbutton Tanner's pants. They part ways again and Lex moves to the office door, closes it and locks it. He turns back to Tanner. "You top?"

Tanner nods his head as he moves up to Lex and kisses him passionately again, slowly moving him towards the sofa in the office.

***

At the Rockwell mansion, Cole lays on a lounger by the pool as the sun beats down on him. He has had a great morning as he and Dixie Ryan have enjoyed multiple hits of cocaine and a couple of rounds of sex. He has no idea why coke makes him so aroused, but he can't seem to enough sex when he's stoned.

Cole sits up his lounger when he sees someone walk out of the French doors that are connected to the living room of the mansion. He can't place who the guy is, but he does know who it is. Soon, he realizes that it's Brock, his old trainer after Odette Williams shot him.

"Cole, hey man, how are you?" Brock asks as he arrives at the base of the lounger that Cole is on.

Cole lifts his sunglasses and smiles back to Brock. "Brock, I haven't seen you in a while. I'm good man, how are you?"

Brock shrugs knowing that things are awkward between him and Lex right now. He looks back at Cole and can't help but admire his toned chest. "I'm alright. I was looking for Lex."

"Ah, I think he's already at the office," Cole replies to him, as he hears a noise come from the pool house. "Do you mind waiting here for a minute?"

"Yea, sure," Brock tells him as he sits on the edge of the lounger.

Cole stands up and quickly rushes into the pool house, where he sees Dixie fumbling with her bikini that she found. "Are you okay? I heard a noise and thought you fell over or something."

Dixie giggles back to him. "My superhero," she comes up to him and puts her hand on his firm chest. "Always saving me."

Cole leans down and kisses her. "We have a visitor outside," he reveals to her. "Let's do one more line then head out?"

"Well, if we each do a line, we'll be out. I have a hook up in town though, I could go get another gram?"

"Yea, that sounds like a plan," Cole nods back to her, as she starts to file two lines of cocaine on the bench beside them. They each bend down and quickly snort it up. Cole stands back up and collects himself, but soon finds himself eyeing Dixie up and down.

"Are you sure you have to go right now?" he asks her, his eyes filled with lust.

"Well, only if you want to keep this buzz going," she chuckles back to him.

"Yea, you're right, go. I'll see you soon."

He watches Dixie leave the pool house and Cole shuts his eyes, trying to lose his arousal. He then moves back to the pool side, where Brock stands up when he sees Cole emerge.

"New girlfriend?" Brock asks him.

Cole uneasily chuckles back to him. "Yea, something like that."

"Lucky gal," Brock winks back to him. "Anyways, I should head off. I need to talk to Lex."

"Brock, wait," Cole calls out, as Brock turns around to face him. "You wanna help me out with something?"

Brock arches his eyebrow. "What is that you need help with?"

Cole looks down at his swim trunks, which are slowly filling up with his arousal. Cole looks back up at Brock and then slowly turns and moves inside the pool house. Brock watches the attractive man and can't help but follow him in there. Brock closes the door and sees Cole sitting on the bench, now fully naked with his legs spread. Brock drops to his knees in between Cole's legs and looks up into Cole's eyes.

"Are you sure about this?" Brocks asks him. Cole puts his hand into Brock's hair and moves his mouth down, and immediately moans out in pleasure when Brock's tongue hits his flesh.

***

Inside the mansion, Dixie wraps a shall around her waist and then proceeds to move to the front door. In the foyer, Mac starts to walk down the stairs and sees Cole's mysterious friend dressed like she's ready for the pool but heading out the front door.

"Dixie, where are you headed?" Mac asks her, causing her to stop at the door. She turns to looks at him.

"I was just stepping out for a moment, I'll be right back."

Mac reaches her and looks into her red eyes. He arches his eyebrow, wondering what she is up too. She happens to look into to her purse, which isn't closed and sees a large stack of cash. "What are you doing with my son? I get the feeling that I shouldn't trust you, and Cole shouldn't either."

Before Dixie can reply, the front door opens and Sabine rushes inside the house. Mac looks at his fiancé, which allows Dixie to rush out.

"Sabine, what on earth is going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," a shaky Sabine replies to him. "I just didn't sleep well last night. I think I should go and try to get some sleep. What did I walk in on?"

"Oh nothing," Mac waves his hand back to her. "I just don't trust that woman. I am worried that she has gotten Cole into drugs again."

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Cole hasn't been himself since he got back from New York and that's when Dixie came into the picture," Mac reveals to her. "With everything going on with Celeste, I wouldn't be surprised if Cole fell off the wagon."

"Oh darling," Sabine comes up to him and hugs him, relishing his touch now that she knows she has a difficult decision to make. "If I can do anything, please let me know."

"I will my love," Mac says as he kisses her. "Go and get some sleep, okay?"

Sabine slowly nods back to him and walks up the stairs. Mac walks into the living room and hears Cole's cell phone vibrating. Mac moves over to it and sees Vivian's name on the caller ID. He looks outside and can tell that Cole was, obviously, by the pool earlier in the day. Mac shakes his head. "Damn it Cole, you are due in court."

Mac moves outside, just as Cole steps out of the pool house, fresh from his blow job from Brock. "Cole, there you are."

"What's the rush Dad?"

"The rush? You are supposed to be in court, Cole! If you don't get there now, you could go to jail for not showing up!"

***

After quickly showering and speeding to the court house, Cole opens the door to the courtroom and moves inside. "I'm so sorry I'm late," he announces to everyone, as Ming Choi rolls her eyes to Vivian.

"Mr. Rockwell, I ought to hold you in contempt," Sebastian replies to him. "But please step forward so you can be sworn in."

As Cole is sworn in, Stacey looks at her brother and wonders why he was so late. She can't help but notice how red his eyes are as well. Cole, meanwhile, sits down and feels himself still riding a high because he did one final line of coke before he came into the court room. Even though he just had a blow job from Brock, he can't help but think Ming Choi is an attractive woman; heck, even Vivian in her low cut blouse is looking good to him at the moment.

"Mr. Rockwell, you know both Celeste Baldwin and Vivian Blackmore, is that correct?" Ming asks him.

"Yea, I know them."

"You were engaged to Ms. Baldwin?"

Cole nods back to her. "Celeste and I had an affair when she was married to my father. He found out, they divorce and we became engaged, yes."

"Oh, so Celeste was married to your father before she was going to marry you?"

"That's correct."

"That's very honorable of your father to give you his blessing to be with his ex-wife," Ming notes to him as Cole shrugs. "What caused you to not marry Ms. Baldwin?"

"The truth about her love child with Marat Kafelinkov came out at the wedding. It was just another lie from her, and I couldn't go through with it. I couldn't marry a woman who does nothing but lie."

Celeste covers her mouth at the words Cole is saying about her. "What other lies as she told?" Ming asks him.

"Oh God," Cole groans. "The list goes on and on. I mean, the entire affair should have been the first sign. But, then she lied about my mother pushing her a flight of stairs to get a job at Rockwell Mining."

"Objection!" Winston stands up and yells. "This has nothing to do with the case."

"It has everything to do with the case," Ming interjects. "I'm building character."

"I'll allow it," Sebastian says, as Celeste gets tears in her eyes.

"In your opinion, is Celeste Baldwin fit to raise a child?" Ming asks Cole.

Cole shakes his head no. "The best thing Celeste ever did was give that baby up for adoption. No one should have her for a mother."

***

During a recess, Cole takes a large drink of water from the bottle he has. He is slowly coming down from his high, which is when he gets thirsty. He puts the bottle back to his mouth and drinks more of it, as Celeste comes up to him.

"I knew you hated me," she says to him, as he tosses the empty bottle into the recycling box. "But, what you just did to me, the things you just said about me," she pauses as a tear falls down her cheek. "God, Cole, I thought I meant something to you at one point."

"Yea, key word being at one point," he spits back to her. "What we had is long over, Celeste. You and your lies did that."

Celeste slaps him across the face. "If I lose my child, it will be on you!"

"Oh, go to hell!"

"I'm already there," she whispers back to him before she turns and rushes away from. Cole slowly caresses his slapped cheek before he turns and begins to walk away.

"Cole, wait," Stacey calls out rushing up to her brother. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says as he looks at her. "I'm not staying to see the rest of this shit show."

"You're not fine," Stacey shakes her head at him. "I don't know what it is, but something is off with you. I just hope you get to a good space before it's too late."

Meanwhile, Kent comes up to Vivian in the back of the court room. "I just got here, how are things looking?"

"Excellent," Vivian purses her lips together. "Cole was a tad tardy, but he did exactly what I thought he would do; he dragged Celeste Baldwin through the mud. The Judge would be an absolute fool to give her custody of my child now."

Kent smirks back to her. "See, I told you that you would be successful in this. You know exactly what you're doing."

Before Vivian can reply, Kent's cell phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and then looks back at Vivian. "Excuse me, I have to take this."

Kent leaves the court room and quickly answers the call. "Tell me you have good news," he says into the phone. "You're sure, everything is set? Good. Do not fuck this this, or else."

***

"I'd like to call Stacey Rockwell to the stand," Winston announces to the court. Stacey slowly makes her way to the witness stand and is sworn in. "Ms. Rockwell, can you explain your relationship with Marat Kafelinkov?"

Stacey smiles over at Marat. "Well, he's my husband. We just recently got married."

"Is it true that you and Marat were scheduled to have a double wedding with Celeste and your brother Cole?"

Stacey nods back to Winston. "Yes, that's correct. The wedding was interrupted by Vivian's announcement about Ashlee."

"Yet, you and Marat were able to move beyond it and get married?" Winston asks her.

"We did," Stacey tells him. "I understood that what happened, happened many years ago. They did what they thought was right at the time. They never thought that they would see their child again."

"Given the chance, do you think your husband would be a good father?"

"Oh, the best," Stacey gushes to everyone. "I think Marat would be a great father. I only hope that he and I could have a child one day."

"No further questions."

"I'll take a short time to deliberate and then come back with my ruling," Sebastian smashes his mallet down before he stands up and leaves the court room. Celeste stands up and pulls Marat into a hug, which Stacey sees as she is walking back to her chair. She takes a deep breath, glad that either way, this mess will soon be over and she and Marat can move on with their lives.

***

"Why hasn't anyone come for us yet?" Houston asks Lydia as he paces back and forth in the cell in Lucinda's basement. "Your sister saw us for crying out loud! You'd think she'd want to announce it to everyone where we are."

Lydia looks back at him with an uneasy look on her face. "Yes, you'd think. Unless Lucinda got to her; maybe she is blackmailing her or something."

"No, what could she have on your sister?"

Lydia breaks out into laughter. "You don't know my sister," Lydia smirks to him. "The list of things my sister could have done that Lucinda found out about could be endless. She's a reckless wonder, that one."

Houston bends down to look Lydia in her eyes. "Well, that doesn't help us get out of here, does it? We have to come up with something!"

"Wait," Lydia puts her finger on his lips. "The last time Lucinda was down here, she said that she was going to be renovating part of the mansion. Maybe, one of the workers could find us? Maybe that's how we can get out of here?"

Houston leans into her and kisses her. "You're fucking brilliant!"

***

Sabine slowly opens the door to Mac's private office at the Rockwell mansion. She still hasn't been able to sleep, so she is trying to figure out what she is supposed to do with the information that she has. She knows that Lucinda is holding Houston and Lydia hostage, but if she tells the truth, Lucinda seems to think that she will lose Mac because he is still in love with Lydia.

"He can't still love my sister," she whispers to herself. "They haven't been together in so many years. Even the last years of their marriage were a complete sham."

She moves to his desk and sits in his chair, as she continues to think about her dilemma. "No, Lucinda is wrong. Even with Lydia being in the picture, I will keep Mac. There's no other option. I can't let them stay locked in that cage."

She leans up in the chair and finds herself opening the top drawer of his desk. She gasps a little when she sees a small ring box inside. She lifts it up and opens it. A single tear falls down her cheek as she sees Lydia's wedding ring inside.

"This is his private office," she whispers to herself. "He has the ring in his desk, oh God," she weeps. "Lucinda was right; Mac is still in love with Lydia. He loves my sister."

***

"All rise, the honorable Sebastian Cartright resides," the bailiff announces as the court room stands up.

Sebastian sits down. "You may be seated," he tells everyone. Celeste grabs Marat's hand as they await his ruling. "This case is not an easy one, but it comes down a simple fact: Celeste Baldwin and Marat Kafelinkov had a child that they gave up for adoption. Not once did they try to locate the child or try to have contact with the child. Now, that they are not happy that Vivian Blackmore, a woman of stature in this community, has the child, they want her back. I have a serious problem with that. Vivian Blackmore has more than proven herself to be a worthy mother to the child, as it is not easy to go through the adoption process. So, my decision stands with the adoption agency. Custody of Ashlee is awarded to Vivian Blackmore."

Vivian claps her hands and then hugs Ming. Celeste, meanwhile, gasps out in horror.

"You can't do this!" Celeste stands up and screams at the Judge. "You can't do this!"

"Silence! Or you will be held in contempt!" Sebastian yells back at her. "My decision is final. Case adjourned."

Marat wraps his arms around a weeping Celeste, as an uneasy Stacey watches from the pews behind them.

"It'll be okay," Marat whispers to Celeste. "It will be okay."

***

Lucinda closes the door to her mansion, after sending the renovation contractors away for the day. After the day she has had, she just needs a little peace and quiet; the last thing she needs is for hammering and men running around ripping up her kitchen.

She moves into the living room and sees a large opening on the wall, where the electrical panel is. She is rather appalled by some of the open wires that are seemingly dangling around.

"They could have at least cleaned up before they left," she whispers to herself as she pours herself a brandy. As she takes a sip of the beverage, she is shocked when she sees one of the wires sparking.

"My God, this is dangerous," she says to herself as she takes another sip of her brandy. She then moves closer to the wire to try to stop it from sparking. As soon as touches the wire, however, it has a larger spark. The shock knocks Lucinda to the ground and some of the sparks hit the curtains and immediately start a fire! The room slowly fills with smoke as more and more objects catch fire, while Lucinda lays unconscious in the middle of the room.