Warmth envelopes Isabelle's body as she wakes up and begins to crawl out of bed, trying to escape the sauna like room. As she does so, she notices something strange which confuses her. She fell asleep on top of the bed in her nightgown but it has been folded over and placed at the foot of the bed.

Snapping her head round, she sees Greg on the other side of the bed smiling back on her and freezes. "Good morning."

"I…I hope I didn't wake you." She replies, unable to extinguish the flicker of doubt that is lingering in her mind after receiving the letter. He'll kill you too.

"It's not a problem." With a smile, Greg reaches over to her and pulls her towards him for a kiss but she yanks away suddenly. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just feel a little out of sorts. I guess it's the heat. How did I end up in bed last night?" Isabelle unfolds her silky beige nightgown and slides it on, leaving the cord untied.

Greg sits up, "You were asleep when I got in. I put you to bed but I guess you just didn't realize."

"Right." Isabelle forces a smile. "I just wondered."

"Is something the matter?"

"No." She shakes her head to fend off the questions. "Like I said. It's just the heat."

Renaissance Cleveland Hotel: Cleveland

"I got us a suite." Lauren says as she enters her room with Cassie and tips the porter. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Cassie glances at her watch and grimaces. "I think I should call home. Do you want to phone John first?"

"I can't." Is Lauren's immediate reply and she hauls her suitcase through to her bedroom leaving Cassie standing alone in the living area. After a moment she returns.

"Why can't you?"

"What?"

"Phone John? He'll want to know you got here safely."

"I feel too guilty. Whenever I think about him and…telling him the truth I become as tense as a spring. How am I supposed to explain to him that I've been hiding a daughter for the past fifteen years?"

Cassie sees the look of panic in her sister-in-law's eyes and goes to her, pulling her down onto a sofa. "The same way you told me and Guy. He's going to have to know sooner or later."

"That's exactly what my grandmother told me."

Cassie seems surprised. "She knew?"

Lauren nods, "A couple of months ago…before the whole Mindy debacle started, Megan was writing to me and I told Constance everything."

"Why not your mom?"

"Because…" Lauren throws her hands in the air and jumps up from the sofa. "Oh I don't know. I just couldn't go through with it. I figured the less I discussed it, the less I would have to acknowledge that I do have a daughter."

"At least you're facing it now." Cassie drums her fingers together uncomfortably. In some ways she wishes she had never been asked to go on this trip and get involved in the whole situation. But she is also pleased that she can be there for Lauren who doesn't seem to know who to trust right now. "I've got to call Guy. Is that okay?"

"Sure." Lauren replies without thinking. "Go right ahead."

Moving into her bedroom, Cassie heads straight to the phone. It is only after she has dialed that she takes in the décor. Lauren certainly spared no expense when she paid for this hotel suite. "Hey hon." She smiles when Guy answers.

"Hi babe. Everything going okay?"

Cassie hesitates, "Kind of. What about you? Is Lucas alright? He didn't start to walk or something as soon as I left the house did he?"

Guy chuckles but knows that she is probably serious. "Relax, we're both fine. And I don't think he's going to start walking without you here. If he takes after you he'll want a bigger audience."

"Me?" Cassie is stunned. "Excuse me but you were the one who dragged me on top of a dining room table to propose."

"You didn't have to get on there."

"Whatever." Cassie replies in her best schoolgirl tone. "Anyway I guess I better go. Lauren will be getting restless. Call me straight away if anything comes up."

"I will."

"Bye." Cassie puts the phone down and goes back to the living room where she finds Lauren on the couch flicking through a fashion magazine. She throws it down straight away and jumps up.

"Any problems?"

"No they're both fine. So…what do you want to do first?"

"There was an address in the file I had for a café that Megan apparently works at. I guess we should go and check it out."

Santadio Mansion: New York

The heavy damasque drapes which adorn the windows only allow a little sunlight into the room but it is enough to awaken Julia. She stretches with a satisfied groan and leans over to look at her bedside clock, grimacing when she realizes that she has slept in late again.

Pulling herself out of bed slowly, Julia goes to the bathroom and makes herself more presentable before deciding that she should try giving Jessica a call. Perhaps she will now be ready to listen to the explanation for Julia and Bobby's rather rushed wedding.

Julia picks up the phone and prepares to dial but she hears two male voices and it hits her that she is listening in to a private phone call. Bobby is the first voice she hears speak.

"I've contacted the IRS and the deadline has been moved forward to Friday. They think that now I have considerable resources at my disposal I can pay quicker. As for the Berettis…"

"They need to be paid pretty damn quick." Giorgio replies firmly. "Don Beretti is closer to putting out a hit on you than he has been in years."

"How foolish of him. The only reason he wants to get rid of me is because the Santadios are the only family with more power than his."

"It will all be over just as soon as you get rid of your new wife."

Julia stifles a gasp and puts a hand over her mouth, remaining silent.

Bobby clearly doesn't hear the interruption. "Don't worry about it. I plan on taking care of her today."

With a steady hand, Julia puts the phone down and her expression of shock is changed to a look of defiance. "Nobody pulls one over on me. Nobody."

Masters Mansion: San Francisco

"Have you finished with the paper yet?" Danielle asks Greg as she pours herself another glass of grapefruit juice. Isabelle and Travis are at the other side of the patio table eating their breakfast in silence.

"Sure. I only wanted the business section." Greg pulls some of the pages out and hands the rest to his grand daughter. His actions become slower when he sees Adrienne bouncing out to greet them.

"Is there any food left?" She smiles and pulls a napkin from the table before sitting down.

"Yes. Get the maid to make you some more if it's not enough." Isabelle replies quietly and keeps her gaze far away from Greg.

Travis shuffles on his seat before finally breaking his self imposed silence. "Did you have fun last night Adrienne?"

"Sorry?" She looks up blankly.

"I asked if you had fun. When you went to the Marriott."

"Oh." Adrienne grins nervously and stabs at her food with a fork. "It was fine."

"I doubt David would appreciate you describing his performance in quite such an unimpressed way." The cryptic sentence causes all members of the family to look up, wondering what he could be talking about.

Adrienne hides a look of panic, "David? What's he got to do with anything?"

"Well you were having sex with him weren't you? Or perhaps you were rolling around in a hotel room to discuss the finer points of bed linen."

Adrienne becomes faint and feels as if the temperature has increased to an unbearable level. The eyes of everyone around her seem to be piercing straight through her skin. "Could we talk about this later?" She implores, putting a hand to her forehead in an attempt to protect herself from prying glances.

"That might be a good idea." Greg suggests disapprovingly.

Travis shrugs and takes a sip from his coffee, "Sure. Obviously you don't want the whole family finding out what a slut you really are."

"How dare you!" Adrienne blares and springs up from her seat, flinging her napkin down on the table top. "How dare you embarrass me like this in front of my father…and my daughter. Our daughter!"

Travis becomes increasingly agitated and decides to vent his fury. He throws his chair back, causing it to crash against the patio. "You're embarrassed? I'm the one who found my wife in bed with my best friend. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?"

"This is disgusting." Danielle snaps and shakes her head.

"I quite agree." Greg roars. "If you two want to air your dirty laundry then I suggest you do it elsewhere."

"Take it upstairs." Isabelle suggests.

"You stay out of this you old witch." Adrienne shoots back and not waiting for a reply, she storms inside the house, closely followed by Travis.

"You're not going to just walk away from this." He pulls at her arm as she reaches the stairs but loses his grip.

"Watch me."

"Look at me." Travis spits and turns to make sure no one else is listening in. "I said look at me!" Lunging forwards, he grabs Adrienne's arm and forcefully shoves her against the wall, causing her to gasp.

"Let go of me." She pleads.

"Why did you do it? You must have known your whole family would find out. And the children will never look at you in the same way again."

Breaking free, Adrienne brings her hand down to slap her husband's cheek. "Leave them out of this!"

Travis puts a hand to his stinging face and starts to walk away. "I'm only giving you a warning. Now you need to make a choice between who you want. David or me."

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

John seems to be managing his balancing act perfectly. As he reads through yet another horror script at the pool side, he keeps one eye on Adam to make sure he doesn't wheel his toys into the water. It seems the sun will do him good. He's looking better already.

Diverting his attention back to the script, John frowns as he notices the number of expletives and wonders why his agent gives him this trash. Maybe…somewhere in this pile I will find a decent role which is perfect for me.

Hearing a splash, John lowers the script and sees Adam bending over the poolside watching one of his toys floating to the middle of the pool.

"I told you to be careful tiger." John rolls up his shirt sleeves and retrieves the toy as Adam looks on silently. "Here you go."

As soon as he turns to go back to the sun lounger, he hears another splash and spins round to see the toy back in the pool.

"Adam what is wrong with you?" He asks slightly irritably, but as he bends down again to get the toy, Adam runs across the patio in to the house.

Sighing, John follows him and steps into the kitchen to find his son pouring himself a glass of milk. "I'm thirsty." Adam glares at him defiantly, shuffling his tiny body across the kitchen.

"Bring the milk outside. I want to keep an eye on you." Lifting Adam up, John takes him back outside but as he returns to the sun lounger, the glass of milk slips out of Adam's hand and its contents form an ever expanding pool on top of the scripts.

"Whoops." Adam explains as John quickly puts him down and pulls the scripts up, letting the milk drip off them.

"Damn! Adam tell me what your problem is."

"I want mommy." He replies and John scoops him up onto the sun lounger.

"Mommy's gone away for a while. Maybe soon…you'll be able to see her again."

Elliott House: San Francisco

"Here comes the cavalry." David exclaims as he peers through the living room window. "Yikes. It looks like the leaches have bonded."

Choosing to ignore his father's goading comment and not sure what on earth he is talking about, Tommy gets up to answer the door. As he pulls it open he sees Mark accompanying the Graingers, walking up the driveway. "You got here just in time." Tommy smiles.

"I thought we wouldn't make it here at all. First class indeed." Leslie scoffs. It is usual behavior for her but nobody realizes that she is simply trying to avoid discussing the fact that her daughter is due for a parole hearing.

"Mark. I didn't know you were acquainted with them." David nods in the direction of his former parents in law as the group moves into the house.

"I picked them up from the airport. Apparently you refused."

"Well I thought I could get some work done at home before we all went to the hearing."

"I don't know why you're going." Robert snaps gruffly and sits down on the couch next to Leslie. There is a slam as Mark shuts the front door and enters the living room. "You were hardly a lot of use last time."

"We've all got out agendas." David puts his hands in his pockets and smiles smugly but feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad?" Tommy pulls him out into the hallway so they are not in ear shot of the others.

"What is it son?"

"Don't pull anything. I don't want you to do anything that might ruin mom's chances of getting parole. Do you hear me?"

David hesitates. "Sure Tommy. Whatever you say"

Santadio Mansion: New York

As Julia quietly pulls her belongings down the carpeted staircase, she notices just how dark the hallway really is. Deep brown woods and oriental rugs contribute to the ambience but Julia ponders that this might all be due to her frame of mind.

The suitcase scuffs on one of the rugs causing Julia to grimace but she continues her quest to reach the front door, willing herself to get out of the house as quickly as possible. Her goal is in reach, its colossal black frame teasing her.

But her path is suddenly distorted by a shadow which causes her to freeze.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bobby's voice echoes through the hallway and he moves in front of her, bringing his powerful figure in to view.

"I…I have to go back to my family. Jessica's sick."

"This is very sudden." Bobby watches her with a penetrating stare and curls a finger around his chin.

"I know but I've got to go." Get the hell out of my way you lying bastard.

"Not so fast." Bobby stretches out an arm and places his hand against the wall, blocking his wife.

"What are you doing?"

"Jessica's not sick is she."

"Of course she is! Why would I lie…"

Bobby grins and brings his hands down onto Julia's shoulders. "There isn't much point in continuing this because you're not going back to your family…ever. And you better get used to it."

Courthouse: San Francisco

The hearing room is completely removed from the setting of Stephanie's original sentencing. It is decorated in dark green with a light linoleum floor covering and there are no lawyers in sight. The members of the parole board are seated at a table towards the front of the room. They come from a mix of sexes, ages and racial groups.

Looking at each of them in the eye, Stephanie continues her testimony, well aware that nearly everybody she knows is watching. "I'm not debating that I've made some horrible mistakes in the past. And I've hurt people terribly who didn't deserve it but thanks to Dr Bryce…and all the other people at Madison Central I finally think I'm getting my life back on track. I'd accept parole with any conditions that you might want to set and..."

The speech is interrupted by a noise in the gallery and Stephanie turns to see Jessica rushing out of the room. Tommy makes an attempt to go after her but Leslie pulls him back down into his seat and one of the board members stares at Stephanie, indicating for her to continue.

"So…I hope that you can take my sincerity into consideration. The Wheelers have nothing to fear from me if I am released. Thank you." She sits down and plays with one of the lapels on her crinkled suit jacket. At least I didn't have to wear the Madison getup…

"Thank you Ms Elliott."

"Do you think they fell for it?" Donna leans over and whispers to Isabelle. She is only here because Michael encouraged her to come along.

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers." Isabelle replies but is stopped from continuing when one of the male board members speaks.

"We've had a request from someone who'd like to testify. Would Julia Wheeler please move to the front?"

There is silence apart from a few whispers before David gets up from his seat. "Unfortunately Mrs Wheeler has been detained in New York. She won't be able to attend the hearing." Stephanie grins upon hearing the words.

"Very well then. Is there anyone else?"

"Yes." David continues surprising everybody. He had told Tommy he wasn't going to speak. "I've got Riley Hudson here, who'd like to make a few comments."

Stephanie spins round in her seat and glares at her husband. He simply smiles back.

Richardson House: Napa Valley

"Stay still for a second." Guy rocks Lucas's crib before moving to the television and switching it on. "Let's see what's going on with Steffers…" He holds up the remote control and puts on local news.

A blonde female newscaster is speaking, "The hearing continues as we speak but according to inside sources, it looks almost certain that Stephanie Elliott will indeed be released from the sanitarium."

"Uh oh." Guy says to himself and turns off the television putting the room back into silence. "And the big bad wolf is still in New York so she can't do anything about it."

Lucas gurgles causing Guy to laugh.

"It's not that you don't provide scintillating conversation but I can't wait for your mother to get back."

As Guy bends down to touch his stepson, he doesn't see the figure lurking by the window. Or the expression on the man's face.

"You're so happy." Jake hisses to himself as he watches them and backs away from the window. "Just wait."

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

John sighs as he sits down at Martin's old desk in the study and pulls out a notebook in which he once jotted down the number he now needs to call. Adam is playing safely in the garden with Pilar but his words still rattle around John's head. "I want Mommy."

"Hello." John speaks when the ringing stops and he is through to the number he dialed. "Can I speak to Mindy Stewart please?"

There is a long pause before the female voice replies, "Could you please hold?" Without waiting for an answer she leaves the phone unattended and it is a couple of minutes later before John hears the phone being picked up.

"Hi. Mindy?"

"Who is this?"

"I'm John Erikson. Could I speak to Mindy Stewart please?"

"She's not here."

"Palmer? Is that you?" John leans forwards, confused.

"Yes it's me. Why do you want to speak to my daughter?"

"Adam's been asking after her. I thought she could talk to him over the phone."

"Well perhaps you should have considered Adam's feelings before you cut Mindy out of his life. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

John rolls his eyes, "I don't expect Mindy told you the whole story but to be honest she is in no position to be looking after a child. It was in Adam's best interests that I sent her back to LA."

Palmer laughs in an oddly disturbing way. "It had nothing to do with her being an inconvenience. Don't try and pretend that you didn't want to get her out of the way for your own good. I know you too well John."

"Do you really?" John snaps irritably. "Well it's not me I've called to talk about, it's Mindy. So are you going to tell me where she is?"

"She's checked herself into a clinic."

"Already?" John is surprised. "I'm glad she's decided to get some help."

"You didn't give her much choice."

"You're right I didn't. And to be honest I think it is beneficial for her. It's certainly something you should have arranged a long time ago. When will I be able to contact her?"

"Not until she is released. Perhaps she'll call you when she's ready."

Courthouse: San Francisco

"You're such a snake David do you know that?" Stephanie protests but a bailiff moves to her side in case she becomes agitated.

"That is enough Ms Elliott. It seems that there is one point of view we haven't heard. Bailiff, would you bring Riley Hudson in please?" A board member requests.

Stephanie sits back down and looks behind her, waiting to see if David's weapon will arrive. All of the Wheelers try not to make eye contact with her and there are several reporters, frantically scribbling down notes to use.

"I'm sorry." The bailiff returns to the room and shuts the door, drowning out noise from the corridor. "Mr Hudson is not here either."

"What do you mean he's not here?" David demands, panicking. He glares at Stephanie. "What have you done with him?"

She looks at him as if he is insane and remains silent. A board member gives him a warning. "Sit down Mr Elliott. This is not the place to be throwing around unfounded accusations and we do not appreciate you wasting our time."

"Unfounded?" David repeats in disbelief but sits back down to be met with an icy glare from Tommy.

A few silent minutes pass as the board members discuss all the evidence amongst themselves but to Stephanie it feels like hours and she wrings her hands nervously. I can't go back there. I can't…

"Could we have silence please?" The prominent male board member who Stephanie guesses is in charge grabs the attention of everybody in the room. The tension is so palpable that Stephanie can barely move, worried that one wrong act could cost her her freedom.

When the room is so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, the man continues. He glances over a file as he speaks. "There has been a lot to take into consideration for this case and many, understandably feel that it is too early to even think about granting Stephanie Elliott parole. But the biggest testament to her current character comes from Dr Edgar Bryce who himself instigated these proceedings."

He pauses but continues to speak so fluently that Stephanie almost thinks he's reading from a script. "Ms Elliott's actions, including the church fire were inexcusable but can be explained by the mental problems she was facing at the time. Now that these circumstances seem to have changed and Dr Bryce has assured us that she is no longer a threat to the community in any way, we are willing to grant Ms Elliott parole."

"Yes!" Stephanie exclaims under her breath but most of the people in the gallery are less enthused. Donna glances at Michael worriedly but Isabelle looks straight ahead.

"There is one condition. If the board receives any evidence that you have been harassing a member of the Wheeler family, you will be called to face this board again and most likely be sent back to Madison Central. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Stephanie replies politely, still unable to disguise her satisfied grin.

"You are free to go. Please be back here in half an hour to be taken back to the facility where you can collect your belongings."

The idea of being free seems to disorientate Stephanie as she rises from her seat but with every step she makes towards the gallery, the clouds drift out of her mind. "Congratulations!" Mark and Tommy flank her sides as photographers snap her picture frantically.

"What did you do with Riley Hudson?" She can hear David barking in her ear but ignores it and smiles for the cameras, choosing not to make any comment. When they are in the hallway, Stephanie turns to Tommy.

"I'm happy for you Mom."

She strokes his face tenderly, "I know you are. But I think you should go and look for Jessica."

Tommy responds with a smile before racing off down the corridor and Stephanie makes her way through the gathering crowd towards Robert and Leslie. Mark is busy occupying David.

"You did a good job." Stephanie whispers to her parents.

"We didn't have much choice." Leslie snaps sourly before lowering her voice. "And we did not appreciate being forced to…to bribe that young man into not appearing. Why did you make us do it?"

"I just needed to cover my bases." Stephanie replies, still smiling and kisses her mother on the cheek. "You got rid of Riley Hudson and for that I am eternally grateful." Turning she sees David and gives him a wave. I won honey. I won.