| Previously...
After seeing James
and Alex together in the cabana, Brooke left the
Dominican Republic and returned to Los Angeles.
Jordan confronted Alex about her deception.
James's memory returned and realized that
the past few days had been a lie orchestrated by
Alex. Still plagued with headaches, he rushed
back to Los Angeles and tried to convince Brooke
to forgive him. A distraught Brooke pushed
him away and retreated to her apartment. Stormy,
Brett and Miranda tricked Devon by having Leilani
pretend to be a maid from the hotel in Vegas where
Bailey had died. Devon overheard Leilani telling
a lawyer that she saw who pushed Bailey from the
window. James went to his office where Will announced
that he was now owner of Sunset Studios, then pulled
a gun on James and ordered him out.
Episode
16
"Dishonorable
Intentions"
James stared at the barrel of the gun, sweat pouring down
his face. He refused to be threatened
like that in his own office. And it was his office, no matter what Will
Thomerson said.
“Surprised?”
Will asked with a clever smile.
“At
what?”
“That
you’ve been beaten,” Will replied. “At
long last the mighty Hollywood mogul is at his knees, begging for mercy.”
James
shook his head adamantly. “I won’t let
you take my company,” he said. “Not
after everything else you’ve taken from me.”
“What
else have I taken from you?” Will asked.
“You
took my sister,” James replied scornfully.
“You took her soul and killed her.”
Will
rolled his eyes and lowered the gun.
“You know what? I am so sick of
hearing that same story. Georgie got
sick. Your family couldn’t pay for her
to get the help she needed so she died.
I had nothing to do with it.”
“You
left her alone and pr-“ He stopped
himself before he could finish his accusation.
No way was he going to let his emotions betray the memory of his beloved
sister, or his nephew. They were both
gone and now there was no way Will would ever find out the truth. The truth about being Ethan’s father.
“That’s
right, I left her alone,” Will said.
“And you think that by doing that I’m somehow responsible for her
death? Well you know what? I’m not.
So the way I see it, you had absolutely no justification in wrecking my
career on Broadway. It was
unprovoked. You wanted to blame someone
for Georgie’s death and I was your scapegoat. Well now guess what? It’s my turn. Now it’s your turn to see what it feels like
to lose everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“I’ll
get you for this,” James said, taking another step forward.
Will
raised the gun again just as Alex and Jordan raced into the office, surveying
the room in bated breath. He looked at
them and frowned, wondering what their dramatic entrance was all about.
“Will,
stop that!” Alex shrieked. “Put down
that gun right now!”
“Relax,
my darling,” Will replied with a smug expression. “I’m just protecting myself. You see, I knew James would fly off the
handle when I told him that I was the new owner of Sunset Studios.”
Alex’s
eyes widened and she clutched her chest in anguish. “You did it,” she mumbled to herself. “You actually did it.”
James
frowned, looking at Will and then at Alex.
“You knew about this?” he asked in a rage. “You knew about his scheme all along?”
Alex
shook her head in despair. “Yes, but
James I tried to stop him. That’s what I
was trying to tell you back on the island.
I tried to-“
“You
led me to believe we were still married,” James said in disbelief. “And then you said you wanted to stay on the island. What was that? Was that your way of keeping me far away
while Will Thomerson stole my company out from under me?”
“No,
it wasn’t that at all!” Alex shrieked.
“She
also arranged to have Philip Whitacre come to town,” Will added.
James’s
eyes widened and she glared at his ex-wife in disgust. “I don’t believe you,” he began. “You’d stop at nothing to bring me down,
would you?”
“Would
somebody tell me what’s going on?” Jordan insisted, looking around in
confusion. He knew Alex and Will were up
to something but he had no idea it had gone this far. Taking Sunset
Studios from James? It was almost
too good to be true.
James
stared at Alex with contempt. “So you’ve
been playing both these men against me?” he asked. “My worst enemy and my biggest rival. Were you just waiting to see who could do me
in first?”
Alex
realized what he said was true. She was
using them both to help her get back at him.
But after the days they spent together in the Dominican Republic, that all changed. Revenge was the last thing on her mind. She’d realized her love for him all over
again.
“Please,
let me explain,” Alex protested, taking a step toward him. “It started out that way, yes. But the things we shared back at that beach
house-“
“It
was all a lie!” James yelled angrily.
“You tricked me into thinking we were still married! Believe me, if I hadn’t hit my head in that
crash, I wouldn’t have spent one minute with you on that island!”
His
words stung and Alex felt her eyes watering.
She stifled the tears, refusing to let herself appear weak in front of
the three powerful men. They’d like
nothing more than for her to break down in tears in front of them. She wasn’t about to give them that
satisfaction. That impressionable 17 year old who came to Hollywood so
long ago was a distant memory.
James
turned and glared at Will. “I’ll get you
for this,” he said, then turned to Alex and Jordan. “I’ll get you all for this if it’s the last thing I do!”
He
dashed out of the office, leaving the others behind. Dejected, Alex stared at the door in a
daze. She couldn’t believe her alliances
with Will and Jordan had turned around and slapped
her in the face. Just when she finally
realized what she really wanted, her own manipulations had sabotaged it.
When
she looked up, she shot a deathly glare at Will and raced toward him, her arms
outstretched.
“You son of a bitch!”
she screamed, wrapping her fingers around his neck and squeezing with all her
might.
Will
struggled to get free of her grasp, his arms flailing. Alex attacked him relentlessly, ignoring Jordan as he
rushed up to stop
her. Amidst the struggle, the gun in
Will’s hand went off and they all stopped, staring at one another with wide
eyes.

James
ran through the front doors of the mansion and raced across the foyer to his
study. He poured himself a bourbon and
took a long, hurried drink, breathing heavily between gulps. Quickly, he picked up the decanter again and
refilled his glass. Lifting it to his
lips, he yelled out in anger and threw the glass across the room, sending
shards of glass splintering everywhere.
How
could this have happened to him? He’d
lost his studio, his wife, and had been betrayed by everyone. What more could go wrong?
Angrily,
he swept his arm across his desk and sent everything crashing to the floor
beside it. He suddenly bent over,
searing pain rushing through his head.
His vision blurred and he grabbed the desk to brace himself. He didn’t understand why the headaches
hadn’t gone away. Before he left the
hospital the doctor said they would subside in time.
Finally
able to stand upright, he walked behind his desk and sat down. He couldn’t let a headache stop him. He had too much happening. Too many things were going wrong in his life.
Will
Thomerson stealing his studio wasn’t the worst of it, he decided. The fact that he didn’t have Brooke to lean
on in his time of need was much worse.
The woman he’d been madly in love with for nearly a year. She refused to speak to him because his
ex-wife had manipulated herself into his life again.

Will
dropped the gun and took a step back, his heart pounding inside his chest. He looked across the room at the hole in the
door from where the bullet entered.
Relief washed over him and he quickly moved away from Alex’s grasp.
“You
bastard!” she yelled. “What the hell are
you doing with that gun anyway? You
could have killed us!”
“You’re
such a drama queen,” Will said, rolling his eyes. He looked at her and smiled
victoriously. “Anyway, the important
thing is we won. We got the ultimate
revenge on James Blackthorne. Think of
it. He’s probably in his old
Hollywood mansion this very minute cursing himself for the
way he tried to ruin us. But we beat
him, Alex. We crushed him with our very
hands.”
She
shook her head. “No, you did!” she screamed. “I told you I didn’t think this was a good
idea!”
Will
took step closer, looking seductively into her eyes. “This isn’t good for our courtship,” he
began. “Why don’t we discuss this over
dinner? I’m still waiting for an answer
to my proposal, remember?”
“The
answer is no way in hell would I marry you,” Alex seethed.
Will
studied her expression and realized she meant business. Perhaps he had misjudged her. He thought she was ready for the big
leagues. He thought she wanted to squash
James Blackthorne like a bug. He
realized now that she was all bark and no bite. An actress through
and through.
With
a shrug, he casually walked out of the office, glaring at Jordan on his way out.
After
he’d gone, she picked up a crystal paperweight from the desk and threw it
across the room at the wall. “Damn him!”
“Why are you getting so upset?” Jordan asked. “This is James Blackthorne we’re talking
about. There’s certainly no love lost
between the two of you.”
Alex
glared at him angrily and brushed past him.
“Well not now. Not after Will
blew everything sky-high. Damnit, I
almost had-“
“You
almost had James back?” Jordan asked, shaking his head with
regret. “My God, how did you get to this
place? How did you get to be so void of
self respect?”
“How
dare you judge me,” she said. “May I
remind you that you no longer have anything to say about what I do and who I do
it with? I broke our engagement, and
as far as I’m concerned, you can go to hell.”
She
turned to leave and Jordan began to panic. He couldn’t let her walk out like that and
leave their relationship in the dust.
He wanted her too bad. The
months they’d spent together were the most exciting times in his life. She was full of life and energy. He had
to have her. He had to put a stop to
her obsession with her ex-husband.
Acting
quickly, he clutched his chest and sunk to his knees, recalling the best performance
of his favorite leading actor’s career.
“Alex, please-“ he began, gasping and forcing the words out in agony.
She
turned, alarmed by the obvious pain he was in, and rushed to him. “What is it?” she asked breathlessly. “Jordan, what’s wrong?”
He
panted, clutching his left arm and falling to the floor. “My heart,” he said. “Alex, please. Do something.”
Distraught,
she quickly ran to the phone and called the hospital. Jordan opened one eye and watched her
with a devious look in his eyes.

At the Sunset Strip Motel, Devon opened the door to her room and
walked outside with her suitcase in hand.
She turned to close the door when Brett appeared behind her, placing a
hand on her shoulder and causing her to jump with a start.
“Jesus,
you scared me!” she said, speaking just above a whisper and looking around
nervously.
“Going somewhere?”
Brett asked.
She shrugged and gripped her bag tightly in her
hand. “Yeah, I was taking off,” she
replied. “I gotta get outta here. The ocean air makes me sick, ya know.”
“Yeah, that might be
a good idea,” Brett replied. “The cops
were just asking me some questions.
They’re looking for you right now.”
A surge
of panic coursed through her body as she began fidgeting with her car
keys. “Why would they be looking for
me?” she asked, feigning innocence.
Brett
shrugged, enjoying seeing her squirm. “I
guess they talked to that maid from the hotel.
The one who said she saw me leave the room. It turns out she saw you there too. What’s going on, Devon?
You never told me you were there.
Did you see Bailey?”
“Look,
I can’t talk,” she said. “I’ll see you
around, Rick.”
Brett
pulled her arm and stopped her from walking off. “I waited for you at the club but you didn’t
show,” he said, handing her the duffel bag of money. “I think you should take this, Devon.
If you’re leaving, you’ll need some money.”
She
looked at him with surprise. “You’re
giving me the money?”
“Yeah,
I told you it’s yours,” he replied.
“You’ll need it. It’s going to
cost a lot of money if you plan on hiding from the police.”
Devon sighed with relief, her tense
expression relaxing as she put her arms on his shoulders. “Oh Rick, thank you,” she said. “I knew I could count on you. You know I didn’t mean all that stuff I’ve
been saying about you. I don’t think
you’re a crook.”
He
nodded, his eyes disarmingy sincere. “It’s okay, really. You can trust me. I’ll help you.”
“I
didn’t mean to kill him,” Devon continued. “After
you left the room, I came out of the closet and we argued. He tried leaving the room to go after
you. We struggled. I thought you were both going to ditch
me. Before I knew it I pushed him
against the window and he lost his balance.
I wasn’t about to be made a fool of, Rick. I just wasn’t. So I pushed him. It all happened so fast, I don’t even
remember-“
Brett’s
eyes lit up and he smiled. “I know. You were just scared.”
Just
then, Detective Baines stepped out from the motel room next to hers, grabbing
her arms and putting them behind
her back. “Devon Graham, you are under
arrest for the murder of Bailey Freeborn,” he said as he slid the handcuffs
over her wrists. “Anything you say can
and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Devon’s eyes widened as Stormy stepped
out of the room, followed by their attorney, Brandon Marksman. “You set me up,” she said, glaring at
Brett. “You son of a bitch.”
Brett
smiled, grabbing the duffel bag from the ground and opening it. He pulled a ball of crumpled tissue paper out
and showed it to Devon.
“And they say you can’t con a con,” he said with a smile as Detective
Baines led Devon off.
“You
bastard!” Devon called as she was forced down
the stairs to the squad car that stood by.
“I’ll get you for this, Rick Shively!”
Brett
let out a sigh of relief and turned to Stormy.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” he said.
“Forget
about it,” Stormy cut him off.
“No,
Stormy, if it wasn’t for you I would be going on trial for murder,” Brett
continued. “You had faith in me. I’ll never forget that.”
Stormy
nodded and pulled him into a friendly embrace, patting him on the back as the
squad car sped out of the parking lot toward the police station.

Jordan
laid in the emergency room at
Cedars-Sinai, the doctor reviewing results from his EKG. He shrugged and looked at Jordan with a perplexed look on his
face.
“You’re
in perfect health,” Dr. Farraday said.
Jordan pretended to be shocked by the
news. “You mean I didn’t have a heart
attack?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”
“You
said you’ve been doing some traveling?” Dr. Farraday asked. “Sometimes that can cause our bodies to feel
fatigued. You may not be getting enough
sleep. You may be under a lot of stress. All this can lead up to a panic attack which
may be misconstrued as a heart attack.”
Jordan
knew full well that there was
nothing wrong with him. His staged
episode had accomplished just what he wanted it to. Alex was out in the waiting room, deeply
concerned for his well-being.
Winter
Austen walked into the room and handed the doctor a clipboard with vitals for another
emergency. Jordan gazed across the room at her and
suddenly got an idea. She left and
Heather ran in, her eyes darting around the room in concern for her father.
“Thank
you for everything, Dr. Farraday,” he said.
“See that the bill goes to my house, will you?”
“Of
course, Mr. Rydell. Please try to take
better care of yourself. Do call my
office if you need anything.”
After
he’d left, Heather ran to Jordan’s side and held his hand, grief
stricken over seeing her father in the emergency room. “Daddy,
are you all right?’ she asked. “Alex
called me at home. She said you had a
heart attack.”
He
smiled and ran his hand down her long, silky brown hair. “I’m fine, Sweetheart,” he said. |