Written by: Dallas Walsh

"Are you just going to stand there and bat your fake eyelashes?" Lydia Rockwell asks her sister, Sabine Andrews, as they stand in the living room of the Rockwell mansion have a heated confrontation about the fact that Sabine knew that Lucinda Rockwell was holding Lydia and Houston Blackmore hostage and she said nothing to save them. Instead, both Lydia and Houston almost died in a fire at Lucinda's mansion before they were saved from the cage in the basement. Lydia can't believe that her sister, of all people, wouldn't try to help her escape the situation.

Mac Rockwell, Lydia's ex-husband and Sabine's fiancé, looks over at Sabine and can see how she is overwhelmed with emotion. "She has a right to know why you didn't say anything," Mac tells Sabine, who looks back at him. "You are her sister, you knew that she was in the cage, why wouldn't you say anything?"

"Because she's a selfish bitch," Lydia spits at her.

"Let her speak," Mac replies to his ex-wife. "We won't get anywhere if we continue to lash out at Sabine."

Lydia rolls her eyes and moves to the bar and pours herself a brandy. "Everything happened so quickly," Sabine begins to reply to him. "I thought something was going on with Lucinda and Yuri Kafelinkov," Sabine explains. "So, I went to Lucinda's to snoop around. That's when I went into the basement and I saw Lydia and Houston."

"And then you walked away from us!" Lydia takes a sip of her brandy.

"I was shocked ," Sabine quickly tells her. "We all thought you were dead! Do you have any idea what it does to someone to see someone you think is dead is alive? And, in some kind of cage? It was all so much to process."

"That doesn't explain why you didn't say anything after you calmed down," Mac tells her, as Lydia moves up next to him.

Sabine looks at the large diamond ring on her left finger. "This," she holds up her hand. "You and I, we are so happy Mac. We are going to be married."

"What?" Lydia asks shocked. "You're not going to marry my sister, are you?"

Mac ignores Lydia's set of questions. "Lucinda found me when I came up stairs," Sabine continues to tell them. "She realized that I knew her secret, and that's when she told me that if I said anything, I lose you Mac."

"That doesn't make sense," Mac yells at her. "Why would Lydia and Houston being alive mean that you and I couldn't be together?"

"Because, Lucinda told me that you still loved Lydia," Sabine cries back to him. "At first, I didn't believe it, but then I found Lydia's ring in her desk drawer and I realized that she was right, you do still love Lydia!"

"He will always love me more than you," Lydia spits back to her.

"I can't believe this," Mac runs his hand through his hair. "You're so insecure about yourself and our relationship that you were going to let your sister be held hostage like some kind of animal? Do you know how sick that is?"

"I'm sorry!" Sabine cries. "If I could do it over again, I would!"

"But you can't," Lydia tells her. "All those years of us not getting along, I thought it was going to go away one day. But you proved that we will never be family again. We will never be sisters!"

"Lydia, please," Sabine begins to plead with her.

"No," Mac stops Sabine. "Stop it. We've heard enough. I think you should go."

"You don't mean that," Sabine shakes her head back to him.

"Yes, I do. Get out of my house," Mac spits to her, as Sabine wipes her eyes and slowly leaves the living room. Once she's gone, Lydia looks at Mac and pulls him into a hug.

"Thank you for defending me," she whispers into his ear.

"I can't believe she did that to you," he replies to her. "I'm just glad that you're okay. We have a second chance to put this family back together and we have to take it, Lydia. We can't make any more mistakes."

***

Cole Rockwell continues to kiss Vivian Blackmore's neck as the stand in the living room of her mansion. She moans a little as he whispers to her. "Tell me, what have you all done to get us back together?"

She puts his hand into her hands and she kisses him passionately. She has longed for this moment for so long; she has Cole back and that's all she has ever wanted. All of her scheming has paid off for this moment.

Their lips part and she looks at him. "Ashlee, she isn't even Celeste's daughter," she admits to him with a twinkle in her eye. "Isn't that brilliant?"

Cole gets a horrified look on her face. This entire time all Celeste Baldwin has wanted was for her child back; the fact that Vivian has lied about Ashlee being her Celeste and Marat Kafelinkov's daughter is disgusting. He immediately pulls away from Vivian.

"Cole, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe what you just said," he admits to her. "You lied about Ashlee being Celeste's daughter? Why would you do that?"

"Because," Vivian pleads with him. "I needed to break up the wedding. I couldn't let you marry that woman! You and I, we belong together! I didn't think it was enough to reveal that she had a love child with Marat, so I adopted a child that could pass as her baby. I did this for us, Cole."

Cole looks back at her with disgust. "You're a monster," he whispers back to her. "And, you're a fool if you ever thought that I was here because I wanted you again."

"But…I thought. Wait, why the hell are you even here tonight?" Vivian snaps at him, realizing that he was never at her place to get back together with her.

"I came here because I wanted to find a way to take away Celeste's pain," Cole reveals to her. "You have no idea what she has been going through! And all of this could have been prevented!"

"Prevented? That woman lied to you for months and now you are back on her side! You're unbelievable! And, I can't believe you were using me."

Cole chuckles back to her. "You have no room to talk about using people, Vivian."

Cole starts to walk out of the house, but Vivian races after him and grabs his arm. "Where are you going? I thought we were getting back together?"

"We will never get back together," Cole spits at her. "What you have done is unforgivable!"

"You bastard!" Vivian slaps Cole across the face. "How dare you use me to get back together with your slut girlfriend!"

"We're done here," Cole replies to her as he nurses his cheek with his hand. "Goodbye Vivian."

Vivian breaks into tears when the front door closes and Cole has left her house. She can't believe that he just used her to get the truth from her. "Damn you," she says as tears stream down her cheek.

***

The next morning, Lex Rockwell stands in his office at Blackmore Ltd. and pours himself a cup of coffee. His mind is racing about whether or not Brock Jennings and Tanner Young have been able to uncover anything about what he suspects his father, Kent Blackmore, is up too. Lex has now overheard multiple phone calls that Kent has been on that has lead him to suspect Kent is up to no good; Lex just needs to find out what it is. Since he is running Blackmore Ltd, he has to make sure that Kent isn't doing anything to undermine him. A part of Lex feels bad for thinking the worst of his father, but he was raised by Mac Rockwell, so anything is possible with Kent.

"It certainly doesn't look like you are running this place," a voice calls out from the doorway of the office.

Lex turns around and sees Houston Blackmore standing in the office. Lex still can't believe that both Houston, and his mother, are alive and well. "Houston," Lex moves up to him and shakes his hand. "Welcome back. I still can't believe everything that has happened."

"Believe it," Houston sneers back to him. "I'm back, no thanks to your Grandmother. I heard about some changes since I was gone."

"Yea, the truth about my biological father was revealed," Lex replies to him. "Looks like we are half brothers."

Houston uneasily smiles back to him. "And, now you're CEO of Blackmore Ltd. You know that I was slowly working my way up to this point. I didn't want any handouts before; I was working in the Kelsey Lake mine and I wanted to touch on every position until I was CEO. I wanted to have the knowledge and experience of everyone that worked for me."

"That's very admirable," Lex nods back to him. "Can I get you a coffee?"

"I can get my own coffee," Houston replies to him.

"Okay, well just so you know, I am doing a great job with Blackmore Ltd. Kent has been nothing happy and supportive."

"I know that the Kelsey Lake mine contract is up," Houston pours himself a coffee. "What, exactly, have you done to secure the mine? Blackmore Ltd cannot afford to lose Kelsey Lake mine. It's in our blood."

Before Lex can reply, Kent walks into the office and gets a grin on his face as soon as he sees his two sons together. "Well, this is a nice surprise," Kent tells them. "I love seeing my two son's together, hopefully working together."

"We were just talking," Houston tells Kent, not revealing how he was giving Lex the third degree.

"Good," Kent nods back to him. "Because, there's room for both of my son's at the company; together, we will make Blackmore Ltd. the best company in the world."

***

The elevator doors open and Brock and Tanner slowly step off, before they look around. Tanner points to the end of the hallway, so they walk together, coming up to the front door of the penthouse that Kent and Lydia share together. They know that Kent and Lydia have both left for the day because they were waiting outside for them to leave before they came up. Tanner pulls a key out of his pocket, that he got from Lex, and slowly unlocks the door. They both move inside and then shut the door behind them.

"Okay," Brock tells Tanner. "We have to find the best place to plant this listening device."

"Yea, somewhere in the living room because I would think this is where Kent is most of the time. But, it has to be somewhere that no one will see it. We can't get caught."

"It's like you've done this before or something," Brock smirks back to his rival.

Tanner laughs back to him. "I've just watched a lot of McGivor," he winks back to him.

"How about under the lamp shade?" Brock suggests as he touches the lamp on the end table.

"That's perfect," Tanner replies as he comes up and places the listening device under the lamp shade. "Okay, it's done. Let's get out of here before Lydia or Kent get back."

***

Lydia opens the door to Mac's office at Rockwell Mining and quickly moves inside. Her arrival causes Mac to look up from the stack of paper work that is on his desk.

"Good morning," he tells her as he stands up to greet her.

They exit their embrace. "Morning," she replies to him.

"Can I get you a coffee?" he asks her as she nods back to him. "How did you sleep last night?"

"It was the best sleep in the world," she admits to him. "It's amazing how much I took for granted before. But you know what? Never again, I'm going to enjoy my life for what it is and realize how blessed I am."

Mac passes her a coffee. "That's very wise of you," he admits to her. "Have I mentioned how glad I am to have you back?"

"No, but I know that you feel that way," Lydia tells him. "It's been so wonderful being reunited with the kids and everyone. I can't tell you how much I missed you all while I was away."

"We missed you too," Mac admits to her. "And, this is our second chance. We have to do things right going forward."

Lydia nods back to him. "I couldn't agree more," she says. "I have to ask you though, what are you going to do about Sabine?"

Mac sighs and takes a sip of his coffee. "I wish I knew," he admits to her. "I can't believe that I fell in love with her. I can't believe that we were going to get married and all the while she could lie about something so huge to my face."

"That's the kind of woman my sister is," Lydia spits, thinking about how Sabine didn't save her and Houston from Lucinda's clutches. "But, you know what? I think you really raked her over the coals last night. I'm going to leave her alone for a while. "

"You are?" Mac asks in surprise. "That doesn't sound like you."

Lydia chuckles back to him. "Well, this is the new Lydia. I'm trying to not be so vengeful but rather enjoy life for what it is."

"I'm impressed," Mac nods back to her. "But, if you're serious about this change, then you'll do something else."

"What is that?"

"Forgive Lucinda," Mac replies to her quickly. "You'll forgive her for what she has done, because she will never be the same again."

***

"Tell me you have good news," Lex says into his cell phone as he stands in the hallway of the Blackmore Ltd building. Inside the office, Kent and Houston are still catching up. Lex didn't want to miss anything, but when he saw Brock was calling him, he knew he had to take the call because he has to get an update on their plan to uncover Kent's secret.

"We do," Brock replies to him. "Tanner and I, we planted the bug in Kent's living room this morning. You should have complete access to every word that is said in that room now."

"Really? Wow, that's great," Lex smiles through his phone. "I don't know how to thank you. And, Tanner. I owe you guys a lot."

"Don't worry about it," Brock replies as he looks at Tanner, who is next to him. "We are glad to help. Let us know what the next step is."

"Yea, I will," Lex tells him. "I'll listen and see if I can uncover the truth. But right now, I have to get back to a meeting. We'll chat later?"

***

"Good morning," Marat Kafelinkov says to Stacey Rockwell as he comes into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and sees his wife laying on the sofa reading the paper and drinking a coffee. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Stacey puts the paper down and looks at her husband, who starts to pour himself a coffee. "I'm feeling good," she admits to him. "I slept so much better last night being at home."

"Just remember what the doctor said, and not to overdo it."

"I won't," she replies to him. "I want to get better as quickly as possible. Especially now that Mom and Houston are back; I feel like we have a lot of catching up to do."

Marat sighs a little and moves over to the sofa. He sits on the edge and looks at his wife. "I have to ask you something, and I need you to be very honest with me."

Stacey arches her eyebrow. "Okay? I am not in trouble am I?"

"Of course not," he tries to smile back to her. "But, the truth of the matter is that you and Houston were engaged and in love before I knew you. You thought he died and we got married. But now he is back and I have to know where we stand. Do you want to be married to me still? Or are you leaving me and going back to Houston?"

"Leave you?" Stacey gasps at the suggestion. "Why would I do that?"

Marat shrugs a little. "I've just always got the feeling that you loved Marat more than you loved me."

"Don't be silly," Stacey tells him. "Marat, you're my husband and I love you. I'm not going anywhere just because Houston is alive. I thought he was dead and my life moved on; that's something he will just have to understand."

"I love you for saying that," he smiles as he leans over and kisses her on the lips.

"And, I love you," she replies as their lips part.

Before he can say anything else, Celeste Baldwin moves into the living room and immediately regrets arriving as she can see that she is interrupting. Seeing Marat kiss his wife, however, brings memories of her and Marat making love at the hospital a couple days earlier.

"Sorry, my timing is terrible," Celeste clears her throat, causing the newlyweds to stop kissing.

"Oh Celeste, what are you doing here?" Marat asks her.

"I asked her come over," Cole announces to everyone as he comes into the living room. "I found out some information that you all need to know."

"What is it? What did you uncover?" Stacey asks her brother. "I hope it's good news, I don't think we can handle any bad news right now."

"No, it's great news," Cole tells them. "I went to see Vivian last night and she confessed to me that she lied about Ashlee. The entire thing has been a big misunderstanding."

"I'm not sure I understand," Celeste replies to him. "What about Ashlee did she lie about?"

"She's not your biological child," Cole says looking into her eyes. "Vivian had one goal, and that was to get me back. She thought that if she stopped our wedding, I would come rushing back to her. So, when she learned that you had a child, she adopted a girl that looked enough like you that she could pass her off as your child. But, Ashlee isn't your child. Vivian told me that last night."

Celeste turns around and covers her mouth as tears fill her eyes. "That woman is unbelievable," Celeste cries. "How can she be so cruel as to play with our emotions like that?"

Marat stands up and hugs Celeste. "I know this hurts," he whispers to her. "But, at least we know that our child isn't being raised by that woman. That has to be the silver lining."

"You know what's weird?" Celeste turns and looks at him. "I actually started to have feelings of love for Ashlee. I really believed she was my daughter."

"I know me too," Marat admits to her.

Celeste looks over at Cole and slowly walks up to him. "Thank you," she tells him. "Thank you so much for telling me this."

Cole smiles back to her. "You know I would do anything to try to make up my actions to you, Celeste. I hope this proves it."

"It's a good start," she smiles back to him.

***

Lex walks into the country club looking to pick up a takeout order that Kent ordered since he, Kent and Houston will be working through lunch trying to finalize their bid on the Kelsey Lake mine. He hates that he has to be the errand boy because he has no idea what Kent and Houston are talking about behind his back. Lex still has this uneasy feeling that there is more going on than what meets the eye.

As he moves into the dining room, he can't help but see Mac sitting at the bar with a brandy in front of him. He can't help but slowly move up to the man he believed was his father for so many years.

"Mac, hi," Lex says to him. "How are you today? It's been a whirlwind couple of days, huh?"

"Yea, you're telling me," Mac admits to him. "I just got back from the hospital. Lucinda still hasn't woken up, not that it matters when she does."

"I still can't believe that she will be vegetable for the rest of her life," Lex tells him. "It doesn't seem right or fair."

"I know," Mac waves his hand before he takes a sip of his brandy. "Anyways, what's going on with you?"

"I'm just grabbing some food and then heading back to Blackmore Ltd. We are coming up with our final offer to keep the Kelsey Lake mine."

Mac sighs heavily. "Damn it Lex," Mac can't help but raise his voice, causing some patrons to look over at the two of them. "I wish you'd let that go. You know damn well that the Kelsey Lake mine belongs at Rockwell Mining!"

Lex chuckles back to him. "Calm down," he tells his father. "I told you that this was just business, but it seems like you can't handle having me as a competitor. What's wrong? Scared that I will out smart you?"

"Don't give yourself that much credit," Mac replies to him, as more and more people start looking at their heated conversation. "You know that Rockwell will come out on top. We always do."

"Keep telling yourself that," Lex snaps at him. "Because, Blackmore will keep the mine and I'll see to that."

***

Back at the Blackmore Ltd. building, Houston and Kent sit side by side reviewing some documents on the large desk.

"I can't tell you how great it is to have you back," Kent tells Houston, as he flips a page in the contract.

"Thanks Dad," Houston smiles to his father. "After being locked up for so long, I don't want to waste another moment of my life. Time is short and precious."

"Sounds like you have plans that you want to make and keep."

"I sure do," Houston moves over to the bar and pours himself a scotch. "Starting with Blackmore Ltd. I know that before the accident, I was working in the mine. But, those days are over. I want to be back here in a more predominate role. I want to be CEO, you know that it is my birth right."

Kent chuckles back to him. "I'm glad that you want to take on a higher lever role now," Kent admits to him. "You were wasting your talent being a bottom feeder. But, you have a lot to learn. For the time being, Lex will remain CEO, but like I told you earlier, there is room for both of at Blackmore Ltd."

"Okay, but don't think that I will play second fiddle to him forever," Houston spits at him. "After all, he was raised by Mac Rockwell. To me alone, that makes him inferior to me."

"Come on now, Houston," Kent warns his son. "You have to realize that Lydia and I made a decision a long time ago to let MacKenzie think that he was Lex's father. That is not Lex's fault in anyway."

"I don't care whose fault it is," Houston spits at him. "He's sitting in the chair that is right
fully mine, and I will prove that to you. But first, I have something else that I need to take care of."
Kent arches his eyebrow back to his son. "What do you have planned?"

Houston looks his father in his eye. "Stacey," he whispers back to him. "She belongs with me and I will do everything I can to get her back."

***

Mac pours himself another scotch from the bar in his office at Rockwell Mining. He just returned from having a heated encounter with Lex at the country club and needs something to calm him down. He can't believe that he and Lex are fighting over business; Lex for so many years was Mac's right hand man at Rockwell, it seems odd that he is now working at Blackmore Ltd. Not only working there, but running the company and trying to ensure that Blackmore Ltd. keeps rights at the Kelsey Lake mine.

"No, I won't let that happen," Mac whispers to himself. "Kelsey Lake mine will be Rockwell Mining, the way it should have been all those years ago."

"I hope this isn't a bad time," Sabine announces as she moves into the office. Mac turns around and sees the woman he thought he was going to marry. "But, I thought we should talk. I didn't like how we left things last night."

"I don't know if I have anything more to say to you."

Sabine shakes her head back to him. "You have to understand, Mac. Growing up with Lydia as a sister, I've always been in her shadow. After we thought she died, I really became my own woman again. And, I fell in love with you. So, when Lucinda told me that I could lose you to Lydia, my insecurities got the best of me. Was it the right thing to do? No, of course not, I realize that now. But, I can't go back and change my decision. I can only go forward. And, I want to go forward with you. We can still have the future that we always wanted. We can still get married and live out the rest of our lives together. Please, Mac, I'm begging you, don't let this mistake I've made ruin our chance at happiness."

"You stand there and you say all the right things, Sabine," Mac replies to her. "But at the end of the day, I don't know if I can trust you anymore. If you could hurt your sister the way you did, what else are you capable of doing?"

"Nothing, I swear to God," she pleads with him.

"I can't lie and say that I have no feelings for you, because I do," he admits to her. "But, right now, I have no idea what my future holds. I need time to process everything. And you, you have to give me that time."

"Does that mean there's a chance for us after all?"

"I wish I knew what it meant," Mac tells her. "But you need to give me time and space, Sabine. Do you think you can handle that?"

***

At the hospital, Lydia slowly makes her way to the hospital room where Lucinda is still in her coma. Lydia peers through the small window on the door and sees the woman that was holding her hostage for months. Lydia thought she had seen the last of Lucinda when she left the hospital yesterday, but after seeing Mac this morning and he encouraged her to forgive Lucinda, Lydia made her way back to the hospital. She still doesn't know, however, if she can forgive Lucinda.

She makes her way to Lucinda's bedside and sits down. She doesn't recognize the woman next to her because Lucinda was always a bold, brash woman. Seeing her in this state is something that will take some time getting used to.

"I don't even know I am here," Lydia finally says something. "I guess my talk with Mac this morning has left me thinking about everything that we have put one another through over the years. I know that I wasn't innocent in our relationship Lucinda, but my God, your way of revenge was beyond cruel. You kept me in a cage for months like I was some kind of animal! I don't know if I will ever get over that. But, Mac was right about something, it's time to start fresh. It's time to move on. And, the only way that I can move on is by forgiving you."

A tear falls down Lydia's cheek and she quickly wipes it away. "So, Lucinda, I forgive you," she whispers as she leans in closer to the woman. "You will never be the same as you once were, so you will never understand that I have forgiven you, but I do. And now, I can move on with my life. And you know what? That will be the best revenge I can ever give you."

***

"Do you know what is taking so long for my order?" Lex asks the bartender as he sits at the bar in the country club dining room, still waiting for his take out. He has been waiting for over 20 minutes, which means he could be missing key topics of discussion between Houston and Kent back at Blackmore Ltd.
While the bartender moves to the back to check on Lex's order, he can't help but think about his fight with Mac over the Kelsey Lake mine. He just wishes that Mac would realize that it is only business; he just wants to get the job done for the company in which he is running, and that happens to be Blackmore Ltd.

Lex happens to turn around and freezes by what he sees in the far back corner of the dining room: Cole and Brock sitting across from one another. Lex knows that Brock was Cole's physical therapist after Odette Williams shot Cole a few months ago, but Lex certainly didn't think that his brother and lover still spoke.

"I wonder what's going on," he whispers to himself, as the bartender comes back with his order.
"Thanks."

Lex watches his brother and Brock talk as he scurries out of the restaurant, knowing that he will have to get to the bottom of that later.

Meanwhile, at the table, Cole picks up his Moscow Mule and takes a sip of it. "Thanks for meeting with me," he looks back over at Brock, who has a beer.

"Yea, it sounded important, I hope everything is okay?"

"It is fine," Cole nods back to him. "But, I thought we should meet to, uh, clear the air."

"Oh God, I'm so embarrassed by what happened," Brock admits to him, thinking about how he gave Cole a blow job recently. "It never should have happened."

"No, it certainly shouldn't have," Cole agrees with him. "But it did. You should know something, Brock, and I'm not trying to make excuses, but I was high as a kite."

"I figured something was up," Brock admits to him. "I shouldn't have agreed to it though. It's just that, Lex and I were going through a rough time and you're a babe, if I can say so."

Cole chuckles back to him. "I appreciate that," he tells him. "I'm straight though, so don't get any ideas."

"Nah, no ideas here. We can just pretend that it never happened?"

"Absolutely," Cole raises his glass to cheers him. "Let's forget that day in the pool house."

***

"I'm sorry to bother you Ms. Rockwell," Ingrid, the trusted Rockwell maid, announces to Stacey, who is still reading on the sofa in the living room of the Rockwell mansion. "But, you have a visitor. I can tell them you're not up for company, though, if you'd like?"

"No, that's fine Ingrid, you can let them in," Stacey puts the latest issue of Vogue down and turns her head to see who is coming to see her. She can't help but feel her heart flutter when she sees Houston appear, holding a dozen red roses.

"These are for you," he smiles to her, as he comes up to her and hugs her a little.

"Thank you, they are beautiful," she replies to him. "But, what is the occasion?"

"You're out of the hospital," he tells her. "And, you will make a full recovery. That's cause for some kind of celebration, don't you think?"

Stacey chuckles a little back to him. "You're very sweet. Thank you. How are you doing?"

Houston shrugs his shoulders a little. "I'm okay, getting back into the swing of things, I guess."

"That's a good thing," she chuckles back to him. "I mean, you're finally free again. You must be over the moon."

"I am," he agrees with her. "I just want my life back, you know? I feel like I should be picking up right where I left off."

Stacey purses her lips together. "That sounds fine, but you know that life did move on while you were away."

Houston shrugs. "I don't care," he admits to her. "I want what I want."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"You," he locks eyes with her. "We were robbed of our future, Stacey. But now, we have this second chance to have the life we were planning. I know that you're married to this Marat character, but marriages can be undone. What do you say? Marry me?"

"Houston…" she gasps as she begins to give him a reply, but he cuts her off by leaning in and kissing her on the lips. She's unable to stop herself from kissing him back and puts her hand around his head to draw him in deeper to her. At the entry way of the living room, Marat stands watching his wife kiss her former fiancé.

***

Lex opens the door to the office at Blackmore Ltd. and quickly moves inside. He doesn't see either Kent or Houston in the office, which means that they must have called it a day. He only hopes that he didn't miss too much discussion between them.

"I will protect myself from Houston coming back," Lex whispers to himself as he pours himself a brandy. "If he thinks he will usher me out of here and take over my job, he has another thing coming."

He moves back to the desk and realizes that while he is alone, he should see if the bug that Tanner and Brock planted is working. If Kent is hiding something, Lex realizes that he could use that to his advantage if Houston tries to have him removed from Blackmore.

He lifts his lab top and turns on a computer program. He then puts his earbuds in and listens to the on-going's in Kent and Lydia's penthouse.

Kent, meanwhile, pours himself a whiskey in the penthouse as he waits for Lydia to return home. He checks his watch wondering what is keeping her, but he then tells himself that she is probably enjoying being free again.

Before he can take another sip of his drink, his cell phone rings. He quickly answers it. "Kent Blackmore," he says into the phone. "Ah, yes, I was thinking you'd call so I could tell you without an audience how incredibly disappointed I am in you. I can't believe how badly you failed at the mission."

Lex sits up in his chair as he listens to the phone call unfolding.

"I told you to kill her, not just shoot her! Do you know what would have happened if Stacey had seen you? This would have all been lead back to me! How stupid are you?"

Lex's mouth falls open as he realizes that it was Kent who tried to have Stacey killed. He stands up and removes the headphones from his ears. "My God," he whispers to himself. "Kent tried to kill you Stacey. My father tried to kill my sister."