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Reed lifted his arms slowly above his head before Jason could even finish his sentence. He had expected nothing short of the response that he had received. He had years worth of experience and he knew what to expect when entering enemy territory.
Jason was beyond furious. He quickly looked towards Todd who had his own gun aimed at Reed. Reed calmly stood where he was not moving or speaking. Jason grabbed him and patted him down himself just to be sure. And as the guard had confirmed - there were no weapons on him.
"What do want?" Jason asked him angrily.
Reed slowly lowered his arms to his sides not wanting to make any sudden moves. "I'm here to deliver a message."
"Yeah? From who?" Jason demanded.
"Frank Smith of course," Reed announced amused.
Luke was torn on which way to go. Part of him wanted to stay hidden in case the lawyer had a trick up his sleeve, but the other part - the bigger part - wanted to come forward and question him as well. He shifted again deciding to take the smarter route and stay put. Whatever this dude was hiding, Morgan and Manning would get it out of him eventually.
Ben shifted on his feet again, making his movements as slow and minimal as possible. He didn't want to end up with a bullet in his head and he knew that Manning had an itchy trigger finger just by looking at him. He sighed internally. He was getting too old for this. "Mr. Manning," he sighed.
"Shut up," Todd muttered angrily. "You talk when we tell you to talk."
He simply nodded once in acquiescence.
Todd quickly glanced at Jason from the corner of his eye. He was waiting for his lead on this one.
"Why did you say you work for Frank Smith?" Jason asked him calmly.
"Because it's the truth," Ben answered in the same tone. "Mr. Smith had two attorneys. One he used for business and one he used for his private affairs. I am the latter of the two."
In the kitchen, Luke narrowed his eyes dangerously. That would explain why he didn't recognize him.
"What kind of message can you even have? Luke Spencer killed Frank Smith years ago in Puerto Rico. Everybody knows it."
"Everybody's wrong," Ben replied calmly. "Mr. Smith's death was greatly exaggerated. Yes, he was shot and he almost passed on, but he lived. He only just died last month."
"Even if that is true, that still doesn't explain why you're here."
"I have a message for Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Manning."
Todd growled in anger. "Get the hell away from them," he told Reed.
Reed took a step back and raised his arms again in submission. "I assure you I meant no disrespect Mr. Manning. The last thing I would do is hurt your wife or Mrs. Morgan."
"Why are you involving them in the first place?" Jason asked him angrily. "If you have a problem with me or Todd, don't involve our families."
"I assure you Mr. Morgan, this has nothing to do with you or Mr. Manning. The only persons I need to speak to are Mrs. Manning and Mrs. Morgan."
"Fine, we're right here," Carly cut in. "We're sick of playing your little cat and mouse game. What do you want?"
Reed smiled at her and began to reach into his shirt pocket.
"Whoa there, slick," Todd muttered. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I need my reading glasses," he informed him calmly. Todd nodded curtly as Reed pulled out his glasses and put them on. Reed unfolded the document that was in the envelope. "What I have here is Frank Smith's last will and testament."
Four pairs of eyes narrowed at that information. "That still doesn't explain what you're doing here," Carly answered him quietly.
"As Mr. Morgan stated, my client Frank Smith has passed away. Although his death was recent, he knew that it was inevitable. You see Frank, had a brain tumor. An inoperable brain tumor. When he discovered this two years ago, he decided to focus on living the time he had left."
"What does that have to do with us?" Blair asked him irritated.
Reed continued on, not bothering to respond. "I'm here to carry out Frank's last request, if you will. Aside from his business holdings and other . . . shall we say, properties, Frank Smith had a separate estate he saved for his two unclaimed daughters." His gaze went to Carly and Blair. "That would be the two of you, my dears."
The tension in the house multiplied tenfold. Jason and Todd were both rendered speechless and Carly and Blair both paled at the news. In the kitchen, Luke had gone white.
Carly finally managed to come to her senses. "You lying sonofabitch. Frank Smith isn't my father!"
"I assure you, Mrs. Morgan that he was."
Jason jammed his gun into Reed's back. "What the fuck are you trying to pull?" he asked him angrily.
"Again, Mr. Morgan, I'm only here to notify your wife and sister-in-law of these circum--"
"You better start talking fast," Jason told him bitterly.
Reed nodded slowly, directing his attention back to Carly and Blair. "Perhaps it would be best if I started from the beginning."
"Well you better start somewhere and fast or I'm gonna lose my patience," Todd threatened him.
"Yes, of course," Reed responded. He turned to Blair first. "Mrs. Manning, your father met your mother shortly before she had her, um, 'breakdown'."
Blair took a menacing step forward at his phrasing, incensed at his nerve. "Don't you dare say one more thing about my mother you--"
Carly took hold of her elbow to prevent her from continuing her advancement towards him. "Let's hear what he has to say," Carly whispered to her.
Blair finally nodded in agreement and Reed swallowed thickly. "I apologize, Mrs. Manning," he began again softly. "I mean no disrespect. However, as I was saying, when Frank met Addie there were still moments where she was very much lucid and completely aware of others. They met at a restaurant and hit it off. The next day they met again and that was when you were conceived. Frank never saw Addie again and it wasn't until years later that he discovered that Addie was institutionalized and that she had his child. When he dug further he found out what your mother did - that you were stillborn. He didn't know the truth until you were reunited with your mother and were taken in by your aunt. He didn't want to interfere in your life."
This time Blair broke free of Carly's grasp, murder in her eyes. "You're gonna stand there and tell me that Frank Smith was the one that raped my mother?" Blair questioned him angrily.
"No, Mrs. Manning," Ben told her calmly. "Far from. What they had between them was consensual."
"You don't know that!" she yelled. "You weren’t there."
"And neither were you," he sighed with empathy.
Todd glanced away from Reed to focus on Blair. She was more enraged than upset at this point and he didn't want to drop his guard on Reed to go to her if it wasn't needed.
"I don't believe this," Blair muttered in disgust.
"And so what, you're telling me that Frank Smith was a john of my mother's?" Carly added in the same tone.
In the kitchen, Luke's breath had caught, his face gone pale yet again. If what Reed was saying was the truth then his baby sister had slept with the enemy - again. And this time it was his own fault. He tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone dry. Had he pimped out his sister to Frank Smith?
"No." Reed turned his attention Carly. "Frank had taken a liking to your mother as well. He didn't know what she did until long after."
"She was sixteen!" she screamed at him.
"A fact he also wasn't aware of."
"Am I really supposed to believe that? And even if I did, what about the fact that Frank Smith was after my family for years!"
"As I am quite sure you are aware, Mrs. Morgan, business is business," Reed answered her. "Mr. Smith's . . . issues with Luke Spencer had nothing to do with you or your mother."
"Enough!" Jason finally interjected, finally soaking in all of this new information. "You can say anything you want at this point," he told Reed. "It doesn't make it true."
Reed nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely correct, Mr. Morgan. This is why I have the proof that you may desire, including Frank's will and medical documentation that was conducted quite a few years ago."
"That all could have been forged," Jason told him.
"Again, you're correct. This is why Frank had also instructed that a vile of his blood be left at General Hospital in Port Charles under a falsified name, so that you may run your own tests. If, however, you still do not believe that the proof left for you is adequate enough. You do have the ability to test your wife and Mrs. Manning."
"So what was the point of all this?" Blair asked him her anger still visible. "This little game you made us play."
"It's quite simple, Mrs. Manning. Frank wanted the two of you to meet. He had two daughters who lived so close to each other but never knew the joy of knowing they were family. He didn't want to interfere. He knew you were both happy. But that being said, you’re the last of his family. His sons and daughter are now deceased as well. You both inherited his estate equally down the middle. But Frank knew you may have denied him and his possessions. But he did want, at the very least, to let the two of you know that you were bound by blood to one another. All he wanted was for you to treasure that gift forever."
He turned to face Jason and Todd. "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I must be on my way. He passed the envelope in his hand to Jason. "You'll find all of the information you need in here including a copy of Frank's will and testament. The address to my office is also noted. Feel free to drop by if you have any questions."
"Or if we decide to kill you," Todd told him angrily.
Reed cleared his throat nervously. "I hope that will not be the case," he told him with a frown. He turned again to Carly and Blair. "I do apologize if this was traumatic for either of you. I was only following my client's last request to the letter. I sincerely hope I'll see the both of you again."
And with that, he left the small group alone. Carly and Blair finally looked at one another since Reed had dropped his bombshell.
"I know this is really fucked up," Carly finally sighed in awe, "but if this is true . . . we're sisters."
Epilogue
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