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.