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Previously...
James threw a dinner party at the mansion
and invited Timothy to discuss the pipeline. When he arrived with his
wife on his arm, Stormy realized his wife was Samantha. Later, Timothy
informed a surprised Stormy that he already knew about the affair,
courtesy of Janet's photos. A defiant Stormy had no choice but to back off
when Timothy issued him an ultimatum: Leave Samantha alone, or risk
being the cause of the injunction against the pipeline going through.
Brett overheard and decided he could use the information to his advantage
in his war with Stormy.
At a wild industry party of Jordan's, Philip Whitacre blabbed about his
night with the girl in Joel Armitage's office. When Heather came in
and Philip recognized her as that girl, Jordan put two and two together
and flew into a rage over what the man had done to his daughter.
Will caught Miranda and Heather breaking into his estate again, and a
delerious Heather attached him mercilessly for putting her through the
torture with Joel Armitage. Later, Heather blocked the attack from her
memory. Miranda filled James in on their findings and a vengeful James
raced to Will's house with a gun in hand, certain that Will had
Michael.
Episode
42
"Yesterday,
When I Was Mad"
James
swallowed hard, aiming the .38 at Will with a remarkably steady hand. He stood up from the chair in the parlor room
of the Thomerson estate, taking a few steps toward his enemy.
“You’ve
lost it, James,” Will said, his eyes transfixed to the barrel of the shiny
silver revolver. “You think I kidnapped
your son?”
“I
know you did,” James replied. “When I think of all those weeks I wasted on
other suspects. People who don’t have
the history that you and I have. I
accused my own daughter, for God’s sake, not to mention my nephew. And it was you all along.”
Will
eyed him closely, avoiding any sudden movements while the weapon was aimed
straight at him. “And exactly how did I
pull off this baby heist?”
James
backed up, motioning to the open bookcase in the wall that led to the hidden
tunnels. “My guess is that you’ve known
about these tunnels for quite awhile.
Just how many times have you snuck into my house since then? Prowling around the halls and stalking my
family?”
“I
have better things to do than skulk around your house listening to your petty
family squabbles and oversexed children,” Will spat. “If that’s the only reason you came here, if
that’s the only proof you have, then
take your gun and go home.”
James
shook his head, rushing up to him with blinding speed and aiming the gun
straight at his chest. “You could have
easily gotten into my house that night,” he said. “You knew we’d be at the premiere. You knew you could get away with it so you went
into the nursery and took my son from me.”
He cocked the gun and glared menacingly at him. “Now if you don’t tell me where he is-”
“What
are you going to do?” Will scoffed.
“Shoot me? Suppose I did kidnap your son. If I’m dead, how would you find him?”
James
gritted his teeth angrily. “I know about
the birth certificate,” he said. “What were
you planning to do? Adopt my son and
pass him off as your own? Give him to an
orphanage? Anybody to raise him as long
as it wasn’t me, right? Isn’t that what
this is all about? You wanting to get
revenge on me? You wanting to take
something away from me? Well you’ve
already taken my sister. You
killed her with your lies and your black heart.
Now you want to take more from me, is that it?”
Finally
Will had heard enough and he boldly moved his body against the gun. “You mean like you kept my son from me for twenty-eight years?” he yelled
loudly. “Is that the kind of revenge
you’re talking about, James?”
Startled
that he knew the truth, James staggered back a few steps, his eyes wide.

Brooke
paced around her bedroom at the Blackthorne mansion, worried out of her mind
that James would do something he would regret.
“You
don’t think he’d really kill him, do you?” she asked, stopping long enough to
glance across the room where Miranda was standing.
“If
Daddy thought Will Thomerson kidnapped Michael, then yes, I do,” she replied
with certainty. “You know how much he
hates that man. He still blames him for
what he did to Georgie. I think he would
kill him without hesitation. I really
do.”
Throwing
her hands up in despair, Brooke started to the phone and began dialing.
“What
are you doing?” Miranda asked.
“I’m
calling Detective Baines,” she said and waited for an answer. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my
husband go to jail.”
Miranda
knew that Brooke was right. She hated to
have the police intervene, but her father wasn’t thinking straight. They had to stop him before it was too late.

“Is
everything okay, Mr. Thomerson?” asked Will’s caretaker who had came in through
the servants entry in the back. He
regarded James carefully, although not surprised by the vast number of enemies
his employer had.
“Everything’s
fine, Lou,” Will said with a smile.
Shrugging,
the caretaker turned back and left the house.
After he’d gone, James looked back at Will and gripped the gun tightly
in his hand.
“What
did you mean by that?” he asked, still in awe of Will’s revelation.
“You
seem surprised,” Will said as he met James’s stare. “You didn’t think I’d ever find out about
Ethan, did you? You thought you could
keep it buried forever with your dear sister.
Well you had to know that I’d
find out eventually. I kind of blame
myself for not realizing it sooner.
According to your story, Georgie met a carnival worker mere weeks
after I left Windsor for New York.
They had a whirlwind romance, there were flowers and hearts and broken
promises, and voila – the carnie guy
was conveniently gone. Nine months later
she gave birth to Ethan, and then she died of tuberculosis.”
“That
is what happened,” James said,
refusing to admit the truth that he’d fought so hard to keep from Will and
Ethan. “Whatever you think you know
is-“
“There
was no carnie!” Will screamed. “You made
it up because you couldn’t stand the thought of Ethan finding out that I was
his father. You held Georgie’s death
against me all that time and you filled his head with lies and
manipulations! My flesh and blood!”
James
shook his head. “You’re wrong. Ethan is not
your son.”
“I
had a DNA test done,” Will announced, a threatening look in his eyes. “It proved conclusive within 99.9 percent
accuracy that I am Ethan’s father.”
Devastated
by the turn of events, James fought to maintain his grounding. He had no choice but to admit it to his
enemy. The lie was over. “Does Ethan know?”
He
shook his head with a smile. “No.”
James
looked at him with a frown. “Why haven’t
you told him?”
Shrugging,
Will walked across the room and peered into the hidden tunnel. “Because I’m setting the stage so that when
he does find out about what a lying bastard you are, he’ll turn his back on you
and help me destroy you.”
“So
you’re using your son as a pawn?”
“I
sent away for Ethan’s birth certificate.
Father unknown, it said. Another example of the lengths you’d go to to
play God when it comes to your family. When
Ethan finds out that you’ve lied to him his whole life - his supposed champion
and role model - he’ll finally step over to my side and help me squash
whatever’s left of your miserable existence.”
James
finally realized Will’s sick plan.
“This is payback, isn’t it?” he asked, tightening his grip on the
gun. “You took my son from me because I
kept you from Ethan.”
Will
didn’t reply. “Do you hear any crying
babies?” he asked. “Do you think I have
him locked away in a sound proof room somewhere in this house?”
“I
know you took him,” James declared. “You
practically admitted it. An eye for an
eye, right?”
Biting
his lower lip, Will dug his hands into his pockets and stood before James with
a defiant look in his eyes. “Why don’t
you shoot me? If you’re so sure I did
this heinous act then now’s your chance to make it right.”
James
held the gun out to him, his hands trembling with hatred. He wanted to kill him so bad he could taste
it. He wanted to make him pay for
everything he’d done.
“But
you can’t do it, can’t you?” Will continued.
“Because if you think I kidnapped your son, killing me would solve
nothing. You’d never see him again as
long as you live. I wonder what would poor Brooke Taylor think of the man who
single-handedly ruined any chances of being united with her son?”
“You
son of a bitch!” James shouted, tossing the gun to the floor where it slid
beneath an antique chair. He lunged
forward, his arms outstretched and his hands clasping around Will’s throat.
They
struggled around the room, knocking over lamps and tables and sending shards of
glass shattering everywhere. Will pushed
James back, sending him crashing into the wall and knocking a portrait to the
floor. James recovered quickly,
struggling to his feet and racing back to attack him.
Suddenly
Detective Baines appeared in the doorway with Brooke, Miranda and a uniformed
officer. He rushed over to break up the
violent struggle but was quickly knocked clear of the scene.
“James,
no!” Brooke cried in despair as she watched the men grapple.
“Daddy!”
Miranda cried.
Finally
the officer had them separated. Brooke
rushed over and grabbed onto James with all her might.
“I
swear to God as soon as my son is home safe I will kill you!” James yelled at
the top of his lungs.
“Easy,”
Baines said, standing between the two men.
“What’s going on here?”
“I’ll
tell you what’s going on,” Will began, struggling to catch his breath from the
physical exertion. “This man is
trespassing. “
Baines
looked at James. “Is that true, Mr.
Blackthorne?”
James
took a deep breath and nodded. “With
probable cause,” he said. “He kidnapped
my son. He all but admitted it to me.”
“I
admitted no such thing,” said Will. “He
broke into my house and started waving a gun at me. I want him arrested.”
James
gritted his teeth and tried lunging toward him again. Baines stopped him in his tracks, holding him
back physically.
“He
has access to my house,” James said and motioned to the hidden staircase. “I know he kidnapped my son, Detective
Baines.”
Brooke
clutched onto James, staring at Will with contempt. Suddenly she knew how her husband felt. Just looking at him made her want to kill
him.
“You
have no proof,” Will taunted, then turned to Baines. “Detective, are you going to make an arrest
or not? “
He nodded and motioned to the
officer. “Yes, I am. Mr. Thomerson, I’m placing you under arrest
for suspicion of child abduction.”
“What?”
Will exclaimed, struggling as the officer placed a pair of handcuffs on his
wrists. “This is an outrage. He comes into my home uninvited, threatens
me, and I get arrested?”
They
led him out the front door and James threw his arms around Brooke, pulling her
close and kissing her softly.
“James,
I was terrified,” Brooke said. “I
thought you were going to kill him!”
He
took a deep breath and put his arm around Miranda. “I think I would have if you hadn’t gotten here when you did.”
“Did
he confess to you, Daddy?” Miranda asked.
“Not
in so many words,” James said, thinking about Ethan and the secret he’d hidden
from him his whole life. “But I’m never
been more convinced of anything in my life.”

Heather
arrived home in a daze after her trip to her father’s house. The whole disgusting incident was a blur and
all she could remember was Jordan sitting at home talking to
Philip Whitacre. How could he associate
with a pig like him? After all the
trouble he’d caused, not to mention the fact that he took part in the film she was
tricked into starring in.
“Heather!”
Stormy called as he spotted her dashing upstairs to her room. “Wait a second!”
“Leave
me alone!” she cried and slammed her bedroom door shut.
Frustrated,
Stormy stopped midway up the staircase and turned around just as Jordan dashed inside the house.
“Where’s
Heather?” he asked and started up the stairs after her. “I have to talk to her.”
“What’s
going on?” Stormy asked. He knew
something was up. Heather was upset
about something, and Jordan looked guilty as hell. “What did you do to her?”
Jordan stopped on the top landing,
turning to Stormy and glaring at him.
“Don’t mess with me, junior. For
once this has nothing to do with you.”
“Hey,
wait a minute!” Stormy said and chased after him.
They
arrived at Heather’s door and Jordan pounded mercilessly. “Heather!
It’s your father! Open the door!”
“Go
away!” she cried from inside the room.
“I don’t want to talk to either one of you!”
“What
the hell is she talking about?” Stormy asked.
“Tell me what happened, Jordan.”
Furious
over his inane demands, Jordan grabbed him by the shirt collar
and forced him up against the wall. “You
have no right to bark orders at me, kid.
After the way you treated my daughter when you were married, you’re
lucky all I did was give you a bloody nose.”
Stormy
shook himself loose and looked at him warily.
“Look, whatever’s going on with Heather I want to help.”
He
glared at him warningly before turning and starting back down the stairs. “Just stay away from my daughter,” he said.
After
he’d gone, Stormy looked back at Heather’s bedroom and slammed his fists
against the wall in frustration. Why
wouldn’t anybody tell him what was going on?
He was trying to help, to make up for the way he’d hurt her in the
past. Now all he got was hostility.
Frustrated
and angry, he went next door to his room and slammed the door. It hadn’t been his night. First he was blackmailed by Timothy into
ending his affair with Samantha, and then no one would tell him what was going
on with Heather. It made him want to
give up and wash his hands of the whole situation.

Brett
heard Miranda come home and quickly intercepted her in their bedroom. He saw her at the dresser taking off her
earrings and necklace and approached her slowly from behind.
“What
went on over there tonight?” he asked.
“Is James okay?”
Rolling
her eyes, Miranda shrugged him off and turned around to face him, a scowl etched
across her face. “I haven’t forgotten
about what you’ve done, Brett,” she said.
“You’re sleeping in a guest room tonight.”
He
frowned and slapped his hands to his sides.
“Why are you so upset?” he asked in dismay.
“I’m
upset because of the way you used Heather for your own selfish reasons!” she
screeched. “I can’t believe my own
husband would put someone in a situation like that!”
“Heather
didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do!” he insisted. “I never asked her to get romantically
involved with Will Thomerson. That was her idea. All I did was ask her to help me find out
what movie deals Jaguar Studios was
involved in.”
“You
still used her!”
Brett
ran his fingers through his hair and followed her across the room. “Look, your father was in a wheelchair. He put me
in charge. I was only doing what I
thought he would do in the same situation.
It’s just business, Miranda. It’s
not personal.”
“Not
personal?” she asked. She felt herself
weakening, unable to blame him for what happened to Heather. The fact that Will found out about the
betrayal and set Heather up with the sleazy porn director wasn’t exactly
Brett’s fault. But nonetheless, he put
her in a bad situation. “Did you ever
stop to think what Will would do if he found out Heather used him like that?”
“But
he didn’t, did he? It all worked out
okay. Heather’s fine.”
Realizing
she couldn’t tell him the whole truth, she decided to shelf the topic for the
time being. There were other things
going on now. More important things like
Michael and the fact that Will Thomerson may have kidnapped him.
“Fine. If you won’t sleep in the guest room then I
will.” She turned and started out of the
room when Brett grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Let go of me!”
“Why
don’t you stop worrying about your brother’s ex-wife and concentrate on your
own husband for once!” He pulled her
into a kiss and threw her down onto the bed.
“You’re my wife!”
Miranda
shot up to her feet and punched him swiftly in the gut. He doubled over in pain and groaned
miserably. “Jesus!” he howled. “What is this? First you clock me in the jaw and then you
sucker punch me?”
Shrugging
indifferently, Miranda started to the door, pausing before leaving. “Your wife
is going to sleep down the hall until you realize that you can’t use people
like that. Not even to score points with
my father.”
He
watched her go and dropped to his knees, panting to catch his breath.

The
next morning, Brooke entered the dining room where James was reading the paper
over coffee and toast. She sat down
beside him and feigned a smile as Leilani poured her a glass of juice.
“Has
there been any word from Detective Baines?” she asked.
James
shook his head. “No, not yet. The paper says they kept Thomerson overnight
for questioning. I pray they find
something to nail him. There’s got to be
some way to link him to Michael’s kidnapping.”
“I
hope so too,” Ethan said as he entered the room. He paused in the doorway, glancing at Brooke
and managing a faint smile. “I read the
paper and heard about what happened.”
“Ethan,
I was going to call you,” James said.
“Do
they really think they have evidence that fingers Will in the kidnapping?” he
asked and sat down across the table. “I
knew Will had a vendetta against you but this is going too far. Kidnapping a baby? It doesn’t seem like his style.”
“It’s
exactly his style,” James declared, consumed with the knowledge that Will was
merely getting back at him for his lies about Ethan. “They’ll find something on him. I know they will.”
Ethan
nodded, letting his eyes graze past Brooke.
Something was different about her today.
Recently they’d grown closer again, but today she seemed distant all
over again. He wondered if something
else had happened that she wasn’t admitting.
Brooke,
still plagued with images of Ethan with Janet at his house the night before,
tried desperately to put it out of her mind.
The affair they’d had was over.
She was with James now. There was
no turning back.
“I
suppose with everything going on, you won’t be making an appearance at the Filmmakers
awards on Sunday night,” Ethan said,
swiftly changing the subject.
James
shook his head. “No, it’s out of the
question. I can’t think about awards at
a time like this. Not until my son is
home. Besides, I can’t handle the media
circus right now.”
“James,
Angel Assassin was nominated for best
picture,” Brooke said. “Are you sure you
don’t want to be there? After all the
trouble you had with its release, it would be a shame to-“
“Brooke,
it doesn’t matter to me,” James insisted, then shook his head. “Luckily with Thomerson being in jail, he
won’t be able to attend either. His film
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