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The Jacks Penthouse
Jerry started pacing and said, "I had to break a promise that I'd made to myself years ago." "What promise was that?" Jax asks. Jerry stops pacing and faces his brother. "Never to tell you what a money-grubbing witch she was." Jax promptly lands a punch on his brother's jaw, and Jerry hits the floor.
Jerry gets up, rubbing his jaw, and laughs. "Well, you still know how to shut me up. I'm not saying this to hurt you, Jax. You need to hear the whole story, if you'll listen." Jax stands there with fists clenched glaring at his brother. He finally forces himself to relax. "Fine. Talk." The two sit across from each other, and Jerry says, "Okay. First, a question. Do you remember Melanie?" "Melanie. Oh, yes. The wife we never met. You left after a few weeks, wasn't it?" "Yeah. Turns out she was sleeping with one of my closest friends. Actually she was going to take me for all I was worth. I only found this out because he got a conscience and told me. I confronted her, after I did to him what you just did to me. She laughed in my face, and admitted it. She had never loved me. She just wanted to marry me, and then divorce me when she was tired of me. She had intended to get quite a settlement, but I showed her why I kept those high-priced lawyers on retainer. She got nothing from me. I thought she had gone off to take in some other unsuspecting man. Well, I was right, but it was quite a surprise when I found out who that man was."
They sit in silence for a moment, and Jax finally asks quietly, "What are you talking about?"
Suanne is standing outside the door listening.
Jerry finally continues talking. "When we found out you had married, we were surprised, Jax. When I saw the picture of you two, I was stunned. Jax, Melanie was Miranda. One and the same. She really had it out for the family, I guess. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, and had some investigators tail her around for a while. It didn't take long for the woman I knew she was to surface. You remember the rival company that made an arson attempt on one of our warehouses?" Jax nods. "What was the name of the company? Something strange. Owned by Stefan Cassadine...Timoria. That's it. Anyway, that's not the point. I had someone follow Miranda/Melanie one night and she went straight to the place Stefan Cassadine had near his opal mines. Jax she was definitely close to Stefan. I've still got the pictures if you want to see, they made me sick, but I kept them just in case." "NO! You're lying!" Jax says jumping up.
Suanne hesitates behind the door, hand raised, wondering if she should knock now and break up the fight.
"Why would I lie, Jax? We've always been close. I never told you until now, because I thought it was old news. There's more to say, please sit down and hear me out," Jerry says. Jax looks at Jerry's face and can tell that he's telling the truth. He sits down without saying a word. "Okay, I'll take it that you'll hear me out," Jerry says.
Suanne breathes a sigh of relief, and continues to listen.
"When I found out that Miranda was so cozy with the competition, I flew to Australia. I told you about the arson attempt and asked you to blow up their mine. I had no intention of hurting Miranda, Jax. I never hated her after all she had done to me. And you. I intended to confront her and make her go away quietly. Anyway, after I suggested you get rid of the Cassadine problem, I did go to see Miranda. She was shocked to see me, and played the 'poor me' act for a while, saying how she had changed and how much she loved you. When she saw I wasn't buying it, she seemed to accept defeat. She said she would leave that night. From what I gather, she went to the mine to try to stop Mac from blowing it up. She got it pretty bad, Jax, but she was a two-timer to the end. She was trying to sweet-talk Mac for her lover Stefan. When I found her, she was in bad shape. Dad and I took care of her. We had no obligation to her, but we made sure she always had the best care."
Jax sits in silence for a moment. "If this is a joke Jerry, it's a very bad, sick joke." "Jax, I was willing to keep all of this a secret. But she broke the deal. Dad and I would have taken care of her the rest of her life. We felt responsible for what happened to her. We were also trying to protect you." Jax doesn't respond, just sits in stunned silence. "I'll leave now, unless you have any other questions," Jerry says. Jax looks at him with extreme pain and sadness in his eyes. He shakes his head no. "Okay." Jerry walks to the door. He opens the door, and then turns to his brother. "I'm sorry, Jax."
Jerry has a strange feeling and looks around. The halls are empty. Suanne is hiding around
the corner. Jerry gets in the elevator and goes to his room in the hotel. Suanne walks past
the door, thinking, Well is that possible? I guess Jerry coming was a good thing. So much
for Miranda, if Jax believes him. One down, and one to go.
PIC Headquarters
May has been searching the records for a while now. She's found some very interesting
information on Mr. Corinthos. For all of his protestations, it turns out he is not so averse to
the income from drug deals after all. Although he and his men do not actually sell drugs, he
makes deals with certain other families to allow them to sell in his territory. For a certain
fee, he allows them to sell on the streets, and even guarantees them as much protection as
he can. It turns out the WSB has been compiling information on Sonny Corinthos since he
came to power. After his father-in-law's timely death, he had worked out these deals with
the major families. The rise in heroin use in Port Charles was thanks to the Kansas Group,
which Sonny probably knew. What the WSB knew and Sonny didn't, however, was that
Harry Silver was a top figure in the Kansas Group. "I wonder when the WSB is going to
do something about this?" May says. "Well, I could always ask..." She picks up the secured
line and makes a call....
The Outback
Holly and Mac arrive at the Outback and he introduces her to Felicia and Tom. When they are seated, Holly makes her move. "So, this Miranda. How do you know her?" Mac looks into space for a moment, and says, "I knew her in Australia. Before I even met you, before I had reunited with Robert. Back in the bad-old-days. We were very close friends, and then...I might as well tell you. You're probably the only one who doesn't. She was presumed dead for years. As a result of an explosion I had set. I hadn't meant to hurt anyone."
Holly manages the surprised sympathy and says, "That must have been terrible for you."
"Yeah, well I'm not the only one who this affects. Everyone, including her husband,
thought she was dead. Her husband recently remarried." "Oh, wow. She has really good
timing doesn't she," Holly replies. "Jax is thrilled she's alive, but his wife isn't," Mac
responds. "Why are we talking about this, we have better things to discuss," he says, deftly
changing the subject.
Kelly's Diner
Lenore is in her room, waiting for the phone call. "Come on, Sonny. Give me the job," she thinks to herself. As if in answer to her thoughts, she hears Ruby coming up the stairs. Ruby knocks on the door. "You've got a phone call, Hon." Lenore rushes down the stairs, remembering to thank Ruby on her way down. She gets to the house phone. "Hello?...I got the job? Thank you Mr. Corinthos, I mean Sonny...Well, of course I'd be glad to talk to Mr. Spencer when he gets in...Tonight? Yeah, that's fine...No that's alright. I'll walk to the club...Seven's fine. Thanks again, Sonny."
As Lenore hangs up, she smiles, thinking, Yeah, like I'm getting in a car with you. I don't
have a death wish. At least he fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.
Wyndemere
Stefan has returned finally from Rochester. He is in a daze, hoping to find Nikolas. "How do I tell him his mother is dead?" he thinks to himself. "NIKOLAS!" The housekeeper runs down the stairs, "Mr. Cassadine, Nikolas went out earlier." "Where!" "I'm sorry, sir. He didn't tell me," she seems flustered. "Is everything all right?" "No, there's...been a death in the family," Stefan replies. He pours himself a brandy. "Is there anything I can do?" she asks. "No, just leave me alone," Stefan replies. "Mrs. Cassadine said she was going to the Brownstone," the housekeeper says and walks away." Stefan calls Alexis and tells her about Laura. He tells her to find Nikolas and bring him to Wyndemere. After he hangs up, he gets a call from one of his men on the mainland. "Mr. Cassadine. We found out about the woman staying at the police commissioner's house. It's Miranda Jacks, sir."
Kelly's Diner
Brenda and Robin have decided to meet at Kelly's around 5 for serious girl talk. Brenda is waiting when Robin walks up. "Robin!" They hug, and then Brenda says, "You look great! So how's Yale, how are you?" They sit down at a table outside, not noticing Lenore sitting at a nearby table, with her back to them. Robin answers, "I'm fine. I was worried about you, though. You're dealing with a lot right now." "I'm fine!" Brenda says forcing a smile. "Come on, Brenda. I've known you too long. You know I'm always here for you." Brenda smiles at Robin and says, "I know that. But, really. It's okay. I just have to...wait. Which is not something I'm good at, you know that. But I really believe that everything will work out. I love Jax, Robin. It took me a while to say that, but it's the truth. And I know he loves me. I just have to believe that's enough."
"But you are not the kind of person to just sit around and wait for things to happen. How did he react when he found out about the letters?" Robin asks. Brenda makes a face and says, "Well, he was upset. But I don't think he's mad. He knows me, Robin. He knows what I do when I feel like I'm trapped in a terrible situation. That man has seen me at my worst, and he has never given up on me. I can't lose him now. We've been through too much together."
"What about Sonny?" Robin asks. Brenda's eyes flash with anger, and she says, "What about him?" She takes a deep breath, and continues, "I know that you two are close, Robin. But I will never forgive him for what he did. Maybe he did it just to get Jax, but he never thought about how much it would hurt me.
That didn't even register to him, actually that's no surprise. When have my feelings ever
registered to Sonny." Robin seems about to protest, but thinks better of it. She needs my
support right now, not me defending Sonny, Robin thinks to herself. The two continue
talking, just regular girl talk now.
PIC Headquarters
May has discovered some interesting information about Mr. Corinthos. She decides to call an old friend at the WSB. "Frisco, it's May...I'm fine, how is everything in Tokyo?...Yeah, I'm sure it's all work and no play. Listen, Frisco. I have a question about some research I've done. Are you familiar with a mafia figure by the name of Sonny Corinthos?...Yeah, operates out of Port Charles...Well, yes, I've got all the info right here. I'm wondering why we haven't done anything with it, though...Oh. Well, how much longer until we get some hard evidence?...Okay, well I've gotta go," she says as Suanne walks in. "Thanks, Frisco."
Suanne walks over, and says, "Well that was an interesting afternoon. Got something else
for you to check. Apparently, Miranda Jameson Jacks was born Melanie James." May
nods and writes down the other name. "So, why the name change?" "Well, according to
Jerry, he and Melanie were quite close. Married actually. She only married him for his
money, and didn't get the divorce settlement she wanted." May whistles, and says, "So she
moved on to the other Jacks brother?" "It appears so. Listen, I'm sure you're sick of being
cooped up in here, why don't we go to dinner. You can fill me in on whatever you have
learned so far."
The Outback
Mac and Holly had been sitting at a table, catching up, when he is called away. "Sorry, I got to go, there's been some kind of explosion upstate. Near Rochester. Laura Spencer was involved." He leaves Holly sitting with a shocked look on her face. "Laura Spencer. Poor Robin, when will she stop losing people she cares about."
Holly goes for a walk in the park. It is just past six, but it's dark outside. She notices a man, no a boy sitting on a bench nearby. As she walks by, she notices he has been crying. She silently walks past leaving him to his grief.
Nikolas doesn't notice Holly walk by. After the confrontation at Luke's, he had run out.
"She's not dead. It's not true," Nikolas thinks to himself. "I just found her again." Alexis
walks up, and says, "Nikolas, are you okay?" "Go away!" he yells at her. "You know,
don't you. Well, I'm not going anywhere. Your uncle is very worried about you. If you
don't want to go home, fine. But I'm staying." She reaches over and squeezes his hand. The
two sit in silence.
Kelly's Diner
Robin and Brenda are just about to leave, when Katherine runs up. "Oh, Robin. Thank God I found you. Sit down, both of you." "What is it?" Robin asks as they sit down at the table. "Mac called. He's fine," she says in response to Robin's terrified look. "He was called upstate, there was some kind of explosion. Listen, he doesn't know all the details yet, but he wanted me to tell you before you heard it on the news. As far as he knows, Laura Spencer was in some house in Rochester. There was a gas leak, and the building exploded." Robin stares at her, for a moment in shock. "Luke. Is he okay? The kids?" "As far as I know, Luke may not even know yet. I imagine he's at the club. The children are all fine. Well, as fine as they can be, if it's true," Katherine says. "I have to go there," Robin says as she gathers her things. "I'm coming with you," Brenda says. The three women rush off to Luke's.
Lenore sits for a moment, and then calls Suanne. "Hi, Suanne. Has everyone heard?...Well, things are going to be really hectic. I can't help thinking about how Sonny's wife died. Yeah, it's possible we'll have to work hard to keep Mrs. Brenda Jacks away from her ex...Yeah, well, I think I got the job. I was supposed to meet Mr. Corinthos tonight, but I'm not sure now...Okay, you're the boss.
Lenore walks to Luke's Club.
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