Chasing Diamonds

The morning air is cool and crisp as Lucinda Rockwell walks through the rose garden with a cup of coffee in her hand. She woke up with a slight headache this morning, likely a sign of the amounts of champagne that she enjoyed the previous night at Nathan Lockhart and Sabine Andrews engagement party, so she decided to get some fresh air with her coffee.

"I guess, all in all, the party was a success," she whispers to herself as she stops and looks at the blooming red roses. "Mac showing up drunk was a bit of a downer but at least he left relatively quickly."

She sighs as she thinks about her eldest son, Mac Rockwell, who crashed the engagement party and threatened to kill Nathan as her younger son has stripped Mac as CEO of Rockwell Mining and has taken over the head of the Rockwell mansion. Lucinda knows that Mac has not handled the situation very well as he has turned to drugs and alcohol to cope but she is hoping that in time he will start to manage in a healthier way. She still can't believe that he threatened to kill Nathan in front of everyone at the party last night; the last thing she needs is for Mac to make good on any of his threats.

She continues her slow stroll until she reaches the end of the garden. Beyond the garden, is the large swimming pool that is on the grounds of the Rockwell mansion. She arches her eyebrow as she can see a number of empty champagne flutes on the small tables that are next to the loungers. She opens the gate to take a closer look and gasps in horror when she can fully see the pool: there is a body floating on the top of the water!

"Oh My God!" she gasps as she rushes up to the pool. "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Oh My God! Somebody, somebody help me! Please! Somebody!"

***

About an hour later, Lucinda is sitting in a waiting room of the hospital with a blanket wrapped around her. The visuals of the gardener emerging from the shed on the Rockwell estate and jumping into the water to help the person who was in the water is haunting her. He pulled the body to the edge of the pool and when he rolled him on the ground, Lucinda was horrified to see that it was her grandson, Slate Lockhart. His face was blue, and he had a huge cut on his head. Of course, she called 911 and now is waiting for an update.

"What the hell happened? Where is Slate?" a concerned Nathan Lockhart asks his mother as he storms into the waiting room with Sabine and Carmen Santos following him. As soon as Lucinda called 911, she rode in the ambulance with Slate to the hospital and then she called Nathan to tell him what had happened.

Lucinda slowly stands up and moves up to her son to hug him. "Thank God you're here," she whispers back to him as her voice trembles. "I…I don't know what happened. But…he…he … was so…blue."

Nathan exits the embrace and looks back at his mother. "You said you found him in the pool? How long had he been there? Slate is a damn good swimmer?"

Lucinda shakes her head back to him as she gets tears in her eyes. "I wish I knew," she admits to him. "All I know is that I went for a walk this morning with my coffee and … then I found him," she gasps as a tear falls down her cheek. "Oh Nathan, I'm worried. I'm so scared for Slate."

"He's a fighter," Carmen's voice cracks as she interjects into the conversation. "He has to be okay, he just has to be okay."

"I agree with Carmen," Sabine comes up and grabs Nathan's hand. "There's nothing telling us that Slate won't make a full recovery."

Lucinda nervously looks back at him, not able to get the image of how blue Slate's face was when he was pulled from the swimming pool. Before anyone can say anything else, the doctor moves into the waiting room.

"Dr. Turlington," Carmen turns and looks at Naomi Turlington, who is holding a chart in her hand. "How is Slate? When can we see him? When he can he leave the hospital?"

"I'm glad you're all here," Naomi replies to the family. "I'm afraid, I don't have good news."

"Why not?" Nathan asks her with intent. "My son has to be okay, he has to be!"

"There's no easy way to say this," Naomi looks back at Nathan. "But, I'm so sorry, Slate, he didn't make it."

"What does that mean?" Nathan asks as the blood drains from his face.

"It means," Naomi softly tells him. "That your son is dead. I'm sorry, Mr. Lockhart, Slate died," she says as Carmen gasps and immediately hugs Sabine, as absolute shock and horror slowly comes over Nathan.

***

A short time later, Nathan is pacing outside the morgue still trying to grasp what has happened. He can't believe that his son is dead; it doesn't make sense to him. He refuses to accept what the doctor has told him. He just saw his son last night at the engagement party; he was so full of life and was happy; he can't be dead…he just can't be.

"Mr. Lockhart," another doctor says as the door to the morgue opens. "We are ready for you now."

Nathan gulps heavily as he moves into the morgue. The light blue light gives the space a colder feeling than it already does. Nathan slowly moves up to a body that is laying under a white sheet.

"This is him," the doctor tells him. "Just brace yourself, Mr. Lockhart, he doesn't look anything like how you would have remembered him."

Nathan nods back to him. "I understand," he whispers back to the doctor.

The doctor lifts the white sheet to reveal Slate's face and Nathan immediately covers his mouth in horror. The face laying down is the face of Slate, however he is blue and is almost unrecognizable.

He fights tears in his eyes as he moves closer to his son's body. "My dear Slate," he whispers as a tear falls down his cheek. "I will love you forever. I will love you until the day I die. And, mark my words, I will find out what happened to you and when I do, I will make whoever is responsible pay for this. God, help me, what am I going to do without you?"

***

A rattled Sabine moves into the country club looking for a stiff drink. She can't believe that Slate is dead and she has no idea what is going to happen with Nathan now. She knows that he is going to be absolutely devastated by the death of his only child; she can't imagine what it would be like if her daughter, Quinn Cunningham, was killed suddenly.

"A double scotch, please," she tells the bartender as she sits at the bar of the country club.

"Morning Sabine," Mac Rockwell's voice says as he comes up to the bar next to her. "Congratulations, again, on your party last night. It was seemingly a hit."

"You know you gave me one hell of a scare last night," Sabine tells him as she takes sip of her drink. "When you showed up drunk, I was worried you were going to tell Nathan about our night together."

Mac chuckles back to her. "I gave you my word that I wouldn't do that," he replies to her quickly. "And, I'm a man that keeps his word. I would have loved to have seen the look on Nathan's face, but I will have to get him back in another capacity."

Sabine looks back at him for a moment. "You haven't heard, have you?"

Mac arches his eyebrow back to her. "Heard what? What are you talking about?"

"Slate," she whispers back to him. "He's…he's dead."

Mac looks back at her in shock. "What? That's impossible? I just saw him last night at the party and he was very much alive. He gave me this black eye."

Sabine wipes the corner of her eye dry. "We are all stunned but it is true. Lucinda found him this morning; he was face down in the swimming pool."

Mac shakes his head in confusion. "I…I don't know what to say. I never got along with Slate but I never wanted him dead. How is Nathan?"

"How do you think he is?" Sabine asks him. "He's completely devastated by this. So, Mac, I have to ask you, no I'm pleading with you: don't try to get back at Nathan. Not now, not when all of this is happening."

***

"Mateo? Mateo? Are you here?" Carmen asks as she boards the small boat, the Silver Lining, that her brother, Mateo Santos, is hiding out on as everyone believes that he is dead. As soon as she found out that Slate, her husband, was dead, she raced to the marina as the only one that can truly support her is her brother.

"Hola," Mateo says to his sister as he emerges from his small bedroom on the boat. He can immediately tell that something is wrong, just by the look on Carmen's face. "Sis, what is it? What's wrong?"

Carmen rushes up to Mateo and collapses in his arms as tears flow from her eyes. "Oh Mateo," she gasps for air. "It's Slate…he's…he's dead."

Shock comes over Mateo as he holds his sister. The last time he saw Carmen, he was telling her to ensure that she married Slate so they could have access to the Rockwell finances if needed the capital to support his plan of revenge against Lexington Rockwell; now, she is telling him that Slate is dead.

"Are you sure? Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay," Carmen looks back at him as more tears flow from his eyes. "He…he drown in the pool last night. We don't know all the details, but he's dead Mateo. My husband is dead!"

"Husband?" Mateo asks her as he grabs her hand. "You married Slate before he died?"

Carmen nods back to him. "We eloped in Vegas last night before the engagement party."

Mateo pulls her into a hug again. "Well, at least one good thing came from all of this," he whispers to her. "Because, you ensured that we will have access to any money that we need, when we need it."

"You're thinking about money when my husband just died?"

"I'm just trying to find the positive here, Carmen," Mateo holds her closer. "I'm here for you, but I am looking at the big picture, okay? Everything will be fine, just trust me."

***

Once Mac found out that Slate died at the engagement party, he called his children over to Lydia Rockwell and Kent Blackmore's penthouse so he could share the news with them. He wanted to be the one to tell everyone the horrible news before they found it out from a third party.

"Kent and I were surprised that you wanted everyone to meet here," Lydia tells Mac as she pours her children, Cole, Stacey and Lexington Rockwell all cups of coffee. "It must be important if you're willing to be around Kent."

Kent uneasily chuckles as he recalls his sorted history with Mac. "We are glad that we could have you all over," he tells them. "So, Mac, what is this all about?"

"Yea, Dad, what's up?" Lex asks him quickly. "I should already be at the office."

"I know," Mac nods back to him. "But this couldn't wait. Something happened at the party last night and you need to hear it from me."

"What happened?" Stacey asks him back. "I thought it was a nice party, all in all."

"Slate, somehow, fell in to the pool," Mac reveals to everyone as they gasp back to him. "Lucinda found him this morning…he drown. Slate is dead."

"What?" Stacey gasps back to him, thinking about her time with Slate in New York City. "Are you sure he's dead?"

Mac nods back to the family. "Sabine just came from the hospital and told me. I wanted you all to hear this from me."

"This is so tragic," Cole shakes his head. "Slate is my age. He's too young to be dead."

"This family needs to band together, now more than ever before," Stacey looks at her family. "We have to be strong because if I know anything about Nathan, he's going to want blood for whoever did this to Slate."

"What if it as an accident?" Lydia asks her daughter.

"It might have been," Cole looks back at Lydia. "But that doesn't mean that is how Nathan will see it."

***

"There you are," Lucinda stands up from the sofa in the living room of the Rockwell mansion as Nathan slowly moves into the room. "When you said you wanted to see Slate, I was worried Nathan. How'd…how did it go?"

Nathan moves to the bar and pours himself a stiff drink of brandy. He takes a healthy sip of it. "How the hell do you think it went?" he asks her after a few minutes. "I saw my son…he's dead…he was so blue and cold…"

"Oh Nathan," Lucinda moves up to him and wraps her arms around him. "I'm so sorry. Can I do anything, anything at all to help you?"

"There's nothing you can do," Nathan whispers back to her. "Unless you can tell me who killed my son!"

Lucinda looks back at him in surprise. "Why do you think that someone pushed him? What if he just fell?"

Nathan shakes his head back to her. "I don't believe that," he tells her. "Someone did this to Slate; he was too good of a swimmer to just fall into the water and not be able to get himself out."

"I don't know how you will ever find out the truth about what happened, Nathan," Lucinda replies to him quickly. "You might have to accept that Slate's death is just an accident."

"Don't be a fool," he whispers back to her. "I will find out what happened to my son, even if it is the last thing that I do."

***

A short time later, Nathan is alone in the study of the Rockwell mansion pacing back and forth. He has had the worst morning of his entire life and is trying to think of a way to find out what happened to his beloved Slate.

"I have to find out a way to see what happened to you," he says as he looks at a picture of him and Slate that rests on the fireplace mantel. "You were so fit, so active, something doesn't make sense to me about this. It doesn't add up."

He puts the picture frame back down on mantel before he moves to the desk and picks up the phone, as he suddenly gets an idea about how he can see what happened to his son.

"Yes, this is Nathan Lockhart," he says into the phone. "Last night, I held an engagement party here at the Rockwell estate. I had installed security cameras through out the house and property. I need all of the footage and I need it now."

He hangs up the phone and takes a sip his brandy. "I will find out what happened to you, mark my words."

***

Quinn Cunningham places for fork down on the table in the dining room of the country club as she listens to Sabine tell her about Slate over her cell phone. She is stunned that her mother's future son-in-law is dead; she didn't know him very well, but she can tell that mother is rather upset.

"Okay, Mom," Quinn says into her phone. "Please give Nathan my best and let me know if either of you need anything. I'm here for you both, okay? Yes, I love you too."

She puts her phone down and puts her hand over her face, still rattled by the news of Slate's death. She just hopes that her mother is able to get over this because she can't imagine how devastated Sabine and Nathan are.

"Good morning," a voice calls out from above her table. Quinn looks up and sees Deacon Cooper standing in front of her.

"What the hell do you want?" Quinn spits back to him, still furious with him that he ambushed her at her doctors appointment the previous day when Deacon demanded that the doctor perform a paternity test on her unborn child.

"I am trying to find common ground," Deacon tells her as he sits across from her. "All I want is the truth."

"You know the damn the truth," she looks back at him with intent. "You're the father of this baby, Deacon."

Deacon nervously nods back to him. "All I want is confirmation of that, Quinn. If I am the father, of course, I will be there for you and the baby."

"I wouldn't lie to you," Quinn quickly tells him. "In fact, I believe this is our change for us to be together. Truly together, Deacon."

Deacon shakes his head back to her. "I'm sorry," he whispers back to her. "I will never be with you if I don't know the truth. If you want us to have a chance together, Quinn, then I need to know the truth about the baby."

***

A short time later, Deacon sits at the same table that he was sharing with Quinn, when his parents, Dyhannah and Chase Cooper, walk up to him.

"Good morning darling," Dyhannah says to her son as she sits across from him. "We got your message, we are hoping that you were able to get the paternity test?"

"You know we are eager to hear the latest," Chase says before he orders a coffee from the waitress.

"Well, the latest is that I did show up at the medical clinic for the doctor's appointment with Quinn," Deacon reveals to his parents. "And, once inside the appointment, I asked for a paternity test."

"Great," Dyhannah clasps her hands together. "That means that we should have the results by end of day."

"Not exactly," Deacon nervously tells his parents. "Quinn was stunned by my request and refused to take a paternity test."

"Now, why would she do that if she isn't hiding something?" Chase looks back at his son.

Deacon shrugs back to his father. "She claims that she knows I'm the father because she wasn't with anyone else."

"And you believe her?" Dyhannah asks him quickly. "No, I agree with your father; this confirms that Quinn is hiding something. The question: what is it? And why is she trying to pass this child off as yours?"

***

"I couldn't stay away," Quinn puts her arm around Sabine's shoulder as they walk down one of the hallways of the Rockwell mansion. After she got the call from her mother about Slate, she raced to the mansion to ensure that Sabine was coping. "How are you, really?"

Sabine sighs as she grabs Quinn's hand. "I'm numb," she admits to her daughter. "But, I will survive. It is Nathan that I am worried about. I have never seen him like this before."

"It's still so fresh," Quinn tells Sabine. "I know it won't happen today or tomorrow, but one day the pain might not be so raw for him."

"I hope that day comes," Sabine stops and looks at Quinn. "Thank you, darling, for being here. It really means a lot."

"Of course, I wouldn't be anywhere else, Mom," Quinn looks back at her. "I just want to make sure you and Nathan are okay, so if you need anything, just let me know."

***

A short time later, Quinn is walking towards the front door of the Rockwell mansion as she is finished visiting with Sabine. Now, she has to get to Blackmore Ltd, as she has a photoshoot in a few days.

She stops in the foyer of the mansion, however, when she hears her cell phone ring. She pulls it out of her large Chanel purse and gulps when she sees "M" on the screen.

"Hey, I can't talk right now," she whispers into her phone as she looks over her shoulder to ensure no one can hear her.

"I won't be long," Mateo says into his cell phone. "I'm just making sure you're not being shy with our plan," he tells her. "Lex has to pay."

"I know," she replies to him. "I'm just heading to the office now; I can reassess once I'm there."

"Good," Mateo grins. "Don't let me down, Quinn. Remember, I know your dark secret, and I will tell everyone if you don't do what I say."

***

Lex sits at his desk in the main office of Blackmore Ltd. and tries to focus on the report that is in front of him. He, however, hasn't been able to stop thinking about the fact that Slate is dead. He realizes that he and Slate never really knew each other but he still thinks that it is tragic that someone so young was taken so early in their life.

"Leexxxxxx," a voice starts to whisper to him. Lex stands up from behind the desk, immediately remembering that the previous day he heard a similar voice talk to him when he was working late.

"Who is there? Who is this?"

"It's me," the voice replies to him. "Mateo! You … you killed me!"

"No," Lex yells out in frustration. "You're dead! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"

At the door to the office, Houston Blackmore stands in shock as he sees his half-brother talking out loud, but no one is around him. He arches his eyebrow, wondering if Lex is slowly losing his mind.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Houston whispers to himself. "And how can I help?"

***

"It's so upsetting to hear about Slate, isn't it?" Lydia asks Kent as she pours herself another cup of coffee from the bar in the living room of the penthouse that they share together. "Such a young, vibrant man, taken so early."

"Unfortunately, I know how Nathan is feeling all too well," Kent replies to her quickly. "I went through the same thing when I thought Houston was dead and last year when I thought Poppy was dead."

"Yes, well, I don't think that Nathan will get the chance to reunite with Slate the way you did with Houston and Poppy."

"I don't envy him," Kent admits to her quickly. "I know he isn't everyone's favorite person right now but no one deserves to experience the pain of losing a child."

Lydia slowly nods back to him. "We need to change the subject to something a little less depressing," she purses her lips together. "Did you have a good time at the engagement party?"

"Yes, I most certainly did," Kent tells her. "It is nice to see Sabine this happy. After everything she has been through, she does deserve some happiness."

"I just hope for her sake it lasts," Lydia says. "My sister has a way of ruining every chance of happiness she can get. But enough of that. Did you happen to see Stacey last night?" she asks him, knowing that he did talk to Stacey. She is just fishing to see if he will be honest with you or not.

"I saw her briefly," Kent admits to Lydia. "We just spoke about Poppy and how she would make time for me to see her today. I'm looking forward to seeing her, especially after the news of Slate today."

Lydia smiles to herself, thinking that nothing must be going on between her fiancé and daughter if he is being honest with her. "That will be nice," she smiles to him. "When you see my granddaughter, please give her a hug for me."

"I most certainly will," he winks back to her.

***

Kent lays on top of Stacey and grunts loudly as he thrusts into her deeply. This causes Stacey to arch her back and dig her nails deeply into his muscular back. Within a few moments, they are both climaxing. Kent lays down next to Stacey, who opens her eyes and jumps back at the sight of Marat Kafelinkov next to her, not Kent, as she had been dreaming.

"Babe, are you okay?" Marat asks her as he licks his lips.

"Yea, I'm fine," Stacey replies to him quickly, trying to cover that she thought she was having sex with Kent.

"You were amazing," Marat tells her. "You had so much passion. What has gotten into you?"

Stacey looks back at him. "Honestly? After hearing the news about Slate this morning, I just wanted to feel alive. I need this so badly, Marat."

He chuckles back to her. "Well, anytime you feel like you need to feel alive, you know that I am more than happy to help you out with that."

"I'll keep that in mind," she says as she crawls out of the bed and grabs her robe.

"You can't stay and cuddle for a bit? Maybe have round two?"

"I'm afraid not," Stacey stops and looks back at him. "I need to shower; Kent is coming over to spend some time with Poppy. I need to be presentable for that."

"Ah yes," Marat chuckles. "I guess I will get up so it's not awkward when he arrives."

"Thanks," Stacey purses her lips together before she scurries off to the washroom, wondering if she will ever be able to have sex with another man again without thinking of her mother's fiancé.

***

A short time later, Kent and Stacey are sitting in the living room of the guest house that is on the estate of the Rockwell mansion. Stacey had moved herself and her children into the guest house after Nathan took over the mansion from Mac as she didn't want to stay in the main house. She looks over at Kent, who is passing Poppy one of her dolls and smiles at the sight. She knows that she has been trying to get him out of her system, but she has to allow him to see their daughter or it would create even more tension.

"I can't believe how big she is getting," Stacey finally says something to her former lover. "She's growing up so fast."

"That she is," Kent nods back to her. "So is Drake," he tells her, as he turns his head and sees his grandson playing behind him with some toy trucks.

"It seems like yesterday I was a naïve girl wanting to work at my father's mine in the kitchen," she chuckles back to him. "Those days are long gone."

"How are you doing with the news of Slate's death? I know you two were closer while you were in New York last year."

"We were," she bites her lower lip. "It's hard, you know, because everyone else in the family thinks he and Nathan are these evil people, but I knew Slate, and he was very sweet. Misunderstood, maybe, but very sweet."

She gasps a little when Kent puts his hand on her knee and squeezes it. "You're not alone, okay? Just remember that."

"What is going on?" Lydia asks her fiancé and daughter as she opens the door to the guesthouse and immediately sees Kent's hand on Stacey's leg.

"Oh Mom," Stacey stands up to greet her. "Kent and I were just having some play time with Poppy. He missed seeing her yesterday and after the news of Slate, we realize how precious time with the children are."

"Yes," Lydia nervously hugs her daughter before she gives Kent a kiss on the lips. "Well, I have news on that front."

"News?" Kent asks her back quickly. "About what?"

"Our wedding," Lydia looks back at him. "We were supposed to have it tomorrow but we will have to postpone, unfortunately."

"Why? What is happening tomorrow that will prevent you two from getting married?" Stacey asks her mother.

"Slate's memorial service is at the main house," Lydia reveals to them. "I just got off the phone with Lucinda; Nathan is planning a small gathering tomorrow. We should be there out of respect."

"Of course," Kent nods back to her. "We have waited this long to be married, what is one more day?"

***

The following morning, the living room of the Rockwell mansion has been turned into the venue for the memorial service for Slate. The large golden casket is near the French doors that lead into the garden and next to it, is a large golden framed picture of Slate. Red roses fill the room as they were Slate's favorite flower.

Nathan slowly moves into the room and struggles to contain his emotions. He walks over to the coffin and runs his hands along the edge as he struggles to prevent himself from crying.

"I'm here Nathan," a voice calls out from behind him. "I'm going to be by your side today."

Nathan turns around and sees Carmen standing there wearing a simple black dress.

"Carmen," Nathan puts a grin on his face. "You know, I had never seen Slate so happy as during the few months he was with you."

"That's very kind of you to say," she replies to him. "Cause the truth is, Slate made me incredibly happy as well."

"Nathan, Carmen," Sabine announces as she moves into the living room. "The room looks beautiful."

"Thank you," Nathan tells her. "I wanted something subtle for my son."

"Before we begin," Carmen looks at them. "I have a small announcement to make."

Nathan arches his eyebrow back to her. "Announcement? What kind of announcement?"

"Well," Carmen purses her lips together. "Slate and I, we were going to say something at the engagement party but we didn't want to steal your spotlight," she continues. "But yesterday afternoon, Slate and I, we flew to Las Vegas and we, well, we eloped," she stuns Nathan and Sabine by showing off the large diamond on her finger. "So, as you can imagine, this is hitting me even harder than expected because I lost my husband. I am a widow."

"I…I don't know what to say," Nathan looks back at his daughter in law. "I had no idea that Slate was even thinking about marriage."

"It was all very sudden," Carmen replies to him. "Neither one of us could wait, so we eloped just so we could be married. We were going to celebrate with the rest of the family once the timing was right."

Before Nathan can reply, Lucinda, Cole, Stacey and Mac move into the living room.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan asks Mac as he moves up to his half-brother.

Mac gulps back to him. "I'm here to pay my respects."

"Your respects?" Nathan grits his teeth back to him. "That's rich considering you didn't respect my son when he was alive!"

"Levy! MacKenzie! That is enough!" Lucinda moves up to her sons quickly. "We will get along today! We will not let this God damn feud ruin this day for Slate; it is about him, after all, not about either of you."

Nathan takes a deep breath as he fixes his suit and looks back at Mac. "Mother is right," he tells Mac. "You can stay, but if you say one wrong thing, you will be thrown out of here on your sorry ass."

Sabine comes up to the men and puts her hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Honey, the minister is here," she whispers in his ear. "And, he's ready to start."

Nathan slowly nods back to her. "Very well," he replies to everyone. "Let's get this started."

***

After the memorial service, Quinn moves into the country club and heads to the bar. She wishes that she wasn't pregnant right now because she could use drink. She hates how upset Sabine and Nathan looked at the memorial service for Slate and there's nothing she can really do to help her mother.

"You look like you've had a rough morning," Deacon says as he approaches Quinn, who ordered a virgin cocktail.

"I did," Quinn looks back at him quickly. "It was Slate's memorial service today."

"Ah, I heard about his death," Deacon sits next to her at the bar. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were close to him."

"I wasn't," she admits to him. "But my mother is engaged to Slate's father."

Deacon nods as he suddenly puts the pieces together. "Right, Sabine did mention that she was engaged to Nathan. How is she holding up?"

Quinn sighs as she feels water fill in her eyes. "Not well, if I'm honest. She's going through a rough time right now, understandably. I just wish there was something, anything, that I could do to help her."

Deacon finds himself reaching over and squeezing her hand. "You're a good daughter, Quinn," he tells her as they lock eyes. "You're a good person."

Quinn looks at his hand on hers and smiles back to him. "Thanks Deacon. I'm just trying to help my Mom. That's all I want right now."

***

Dyhannah slowly walks down the stairs of the country club and freezes in her tracks when she reaches the foyer and looks over at the bar and sees the close moment between Deacon and Quinn. She sighs heavily at the sight and realizes that she has to do something more to prove that Quinn is lying about the father of her baby.

"Darling, are you alright?" Chase comes up behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders.

"No," she turns and looks back at him. "Do you see what I see at the bar?"

Chase looks over her shoulder and sees Deacon and Quinn together at the bar. "Seeing them together really bothers you, huh?"

"That woman is lying about her baby," Dyhannah tries to control her temper. "I have to prove this, Chase. I won't rest until I do."

"What are you thinking that our next steps are?" Chase looks back at her.

"I'm going to New York," Dyhannah replies to him quickly. "I'm going to find out, exactly, what Quinn Cunningham was up too when she slept with Deacon."

***

A short time later, Quinn steps off the elevator at Blackmore Ltd. and moves towards the main office as she has a meeting with Houston and Lex about the upcoming photo shoot.

She pauses, however, when she sees Houston standing outside of the office. She wonders what Houston is doing just standing in the hallway looking into the office.

"What are we looking at?" Quinn whispers to him as she approaches him.

Houston looks back at the model he recently hired and opens the door slightly more so Quinn can see. Inside the office, they can both see Lex standing behind his desk covering his ears with his hands.

"What is he doing?" Quinn asks Houston in confusion.

"He is hearing a voice," Houston whispers back to her. "I saw him do something similar yesterday."

Quinn arches her eyebrow back to him while she tries to contain her smile, knowing that the bug that she planted in the office is working. This is all a part of Mateo's grand scheme to get revenge on Lex for trying to kill him last year.

"Well, if you want my opinion, this is very weird," Quinn purses her lips back to Houston. "I'm not sure I want to work here if the CEO is hearing voices."

"I appreciate that," Houston looks back at her. "You leave this with me, Quinn. I'll make sure Lex gets the help he needs."

***

"Are you sure you want to be here today?" Celeste asks Nathan as she moves into the main office of Rockwell Mining. She knows that Slate's memorial was earlier in the morning, so she is surprised to see her boss working. "I know how upsetting this morning must have been for you."

Nathan looks up at the beautiful woman and nods back to her. "That's exactly why being here is what I need right now. I need a distraction from everything else that is going on."

Celeste continues to move up to the desk and sits on the side, revealing her long legs that are covered by a short skirt. Nathan can't help but look at the toned legs in front of him.

"You know, I know that I just started here, but you have been so good to me, Nathan," Celeste purses her lips together. "If you ever need anything, I am here for you."

"I appreciate that," Nathan reaches over and grabs her hand. "And, I just might take you up on that."

At the doorway, Cole stands and witnesses the interaction between the two of them. He stands up, as he wears his disguise of Richard Coleman, and arches his boy, wondering if something more is going on between Nathan and Celeste.

***

The voice of Mateo continues to be heard in the main office Blackmore Ltd., which is causing Lex to think he is losing his mind completely. The voice has been haunting him since he returned to work following Slate's memorial service.

"Stop this!" Lex puts his hands over his ears as the voice continues to call out to him.

"Lexxxxx," the voice calls out over and over again. "Lexxxxx…."

Lex slowly releases his hands from his ears when he believes the voices stop. Sure enough, he doesn't hear the voice anymore, so he slowly opens his eyes.

"Boo!" Mateo grins as he stands in front of Lex, who screams out in horror and stubbles backwards, as Mateo starts to laugh repeatedly, as he moves forward with his plan to drive Lex crazy.

***

"Nathan, these just came for you," Celeste says as she moves into the main office at Rockwell Mining holding a large box in her hand. "Do you want me to stay while you open it?"

Nathan looks at the parcel and immediately realizes what it is. He looks back at Celeste. "No, thank you, I can be alone when I open this. Thanks Celeste."

"Sure," Celeste purses her lips together. "Just remember what I said, I'm here if you need me."

"Thank you," Nathan says before he opens the box and sees a few flash drives. He realizes that these are the security footage that he requested from the night of the engagement party at the Rockwell mansion. He picks up the flash with the label that reads "Garden/Pool".

He puts the flash drive into his computer and waits for the footage to load. Soon, he is watching the footage on his computer screen. He clicks the fast forward icon, so he can watch quickly. Eventually, he stops it when he sees Mac and Slate talking outside by the pool.

"What the hell is this?" Nathan whispers to himself as he looks at the screen with more intent. He watches as Slate punches Mac in the face; Mac stubbles back and stands up with his fist clinched. Then, the footage cuts out and the screen goes black.

"What happened? Where is the rest of the footage?" he stands up in frustration as he looks back in the box for a second drive that says "garden/pool", but he doesn't see one.

"Damn it!" he says. "I was about to see what Mac did to my son. Mac was about to hit Slate. That son of a bitch killed my son and I'm going to make sure that he pays for it. You won't get away with killing Slate, Mac."