Fox walked around the house.

“ I want the money upfront.”, the woman said.

“ I deal with cash.” Fox pulled out a wad of bills and the woman’s eyes bugged out. “ Here’s enough for six months. Will that do?”

The woman took the money. “ Sure.”

“ I’ll take the keys.” The woman gave Fox the keys.

“If you have any questions about the house..”

” I know where to call.” Fox escorted the woman to the door and closed it after her. He looked around the house. Two bedrooms, one bath in a quiet neighborhood in Castleton. He needed the lease on the house to give an address for the janitorial company. It was all under the same fake name, so when he disappeared, there’d be no trace back to him. He was waiting for the furniture people to arrive. The reason he chose this house was that it was an attached garage. He had things that he wanted to bring into the house. The surveillance equipment. There was a ring from the doorbell. Fox opened the door to the furniture people.

It didn’t take long for them to unload and arrange the furniture in the way that he wanted. Once he had paid them off, Fox unloaded the car of the electronics equipment. He felt a surge in his adrenaline. He hadn’t been around this much hardware in over a year. He had promised Julian that he would stay away from it after the last time Julian bailed him out. He had gotten greedy – that’s why the National Security Agency caught him. But, this was a simple job. Though, possibly very dangerous. Fox had spent his entire life trying to stay off Alistair’s radar. He knew that this would put him in the line of fire. As he unloaded all of the equipment he’d bought on his roadtrip to New York City, Fox thought of his father. Julian had never been brave. He had never been close to his sister. So that his father would come up with this plan was surprising.

After laying out the equipment, Fox worked on the door. Not only did he install several new locks, but he hotwired the windows for protection.

As he locked the door behind him, Fox knew that getting Julian to back down with regards to Whitney is a great reward.  Thinking of Whitney, Fox wanted to take her out to dinner. He left the house.
 

Theresa sat in the bed. There was a knock on the door.

“ Theresa. You know that you should be packing.”, Pilar told her.

Theresa didn’t move. “ Theresa?”

” He’s gone, Mama. He said he was leaving, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

” Ethan? Yes. He’s left the country.”

” How could he do it, Mama? How could he leave me and Little Ethan like this? Who is going to be Little Ethan’s father?”

” Theresa, he knew if he stayed you would never get on with your life, because you’d live in false hope.”

” Mama..did Ethan come and see you?” When Pilar said nothing, Theresa got up and went over to her. “ He did! He did! He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t really love me. I KNEW Ethan loved me. I knew it. He’s going to come back. He’s going to..”

Pilar slapped Theresa hard. Theresa stared at her mother.

” Theresa, STOP IT! Ethan is GONE. Yes, he came to see me because he wanted to tell me to my face that it was truly over. He wants NOTHING to do with you, Theresa.”

Theresa put her hands over her ears. “ No..no..no..”

” He is beginning a new life, my darling daughter. And, he wants you to find a life of your own.”

” Without Ethan, what life can I have?”

Pilar shook her head. She was afraid for her daughter.
 

Gwen sat and sipped her coffee. She looked at Beth. Something about that woman bothered her. She  couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with her. Sheridan swore that baby Martin was HER child; it was the main reason Sheridan was locked up.

Gwen smiled and waved to Luis, who sat down.

“ Luis, how are you?”

“ Ok. I’ll live.”

“ I went to see Antonio.”

“ You did?”

” Yes. I told him that he was wrong.”

“ I know it didn’t do any good.”

” Regrettably, no. Did you talk with your lawyer?”

” Yes. She said that she is hamstrung legally.”

“ Is it a matter of more money? I told you I’d pay for any legal..”

Luis shook his head. “ No, Gwen. It’s not a matter of money. Thanks, though. Everyone thinks that I’m being a bad guy by being so hardline about this. That I’m not thinking Antonio has Sheridan’s best interests at heart.”

” After talking to Antonio today, I don’t think he has her interests at heart. I think he’s mad about being thrown over. I see it.”

” So, now you and me believe it. “

“ What are you going to do?”

“ I’m going to get Sheridan out of there.”

There was a silence between them. “ Luis, I know you love her. But..”

“ Gwen…she’s not staying in there. “

” Luis, if you break the law, you’re working into Antonio’s hands.”

“ I’m not stupid.”

” Didn’t say you were. But, you’re a hothead. You’re emotional. “

“  Sheridan loves that about me.”

Gwen laughed. “ Yes, she does. Have faith, Luis. She won’t stay in there forever. “

“ How are you? You beat the shit out of Theresa.”

” Luis….don’t try and tell me that I did a bad thing.”

” Ok, I won’t. “

” Your sister is a human cockroach. A nuclear blast wouldn’t kill her. She’ll survive.”

Luis laughed. “ You are funny, you know that?”

“ Gotta laugh….. or  I’d be drowning in tears.”

“ Mama told me that Ethan came to see her.”

” Ethan’s gone. He should be in Japan by now. “

“ Japan?”

” Yep.”

” So, it’s true. He’s not coming back?”

” Nope.”

” What do you think about that?”

“ Not much of anything. It’s a new beginning. I can’t remember my life without Ethan, and now I have to. “

“ There is life after Ethan. Please don’t tell me that there’s life after Sheridan.”

Gwen took Luis’ hand. “ That’s not the case, Luis. You and Sheridan are soulmates. And, I hope to find someone who loves me the way that you love Sheridan. Sadly, I wasted many years of my life chasing a wrong choice.”
 

Eve was fixing the fire when Julian came into the house.

“ I got your message.”, Julian said as he took off his coat. He put down his briefcase and opened it.

“ Here’s Sheridan’s brush and comb set.” Julian handed Eve the plastic bag.

“ Thank you, Julian.” Eve handed him some tea.

” So, tell me why you called, Eve.”

“ Pilar finally got to babysit Martin.”

” So, you got to take the DNA tests?”

” Yes. And, Julian..I was changing Martin and saw something else.”

” What?”

” He has a birthmark that looks just like yours. Same place.”

” You’re kidding.”

” Nope.”

“ I’m honored Eve….that you remembered…”

Julian smiled and Eve blushed.

“ Julian..”, Eve scorned.

“ Eve, I’m flattered that you remember the details of my anatomy.”, Julian teased.

Eve gave him a look, and Julian touched her hand. “ Tell me Eve, what else?”

” Well, that’s it. Since I have Sheridan’s DNA, I will be able to compare it to Martin’s. So, what else on your end?”

“ I spoke with Fox. He agreed to help us.”

“ He did?”

” Yes. He’s seen that movie you spoke of, and he’s going to work on it. I need to know..should we include him in our meetings?”

Eve thought about it. “ I don’t know. Maybe not right now.”

“ Good. You look beautiful, Eve.”

“ Julian….”

“ I promised that we’d keep it away from the personal. “

“ Thank you, Julian.” Eve thought about it. “ Julian, Fox and Sheridan aren’t close. Why is he helping us?”

” Can’t he be doing a nice thing?”

Eve looked at Julian, her antennae up. “ Hmmmm”

” Eve, I restored his allowance. That, and a basic appeal to his decency.”

Eve looked at Julian. She felt that he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but she wouldn’t push it. She’d find out the truth eventually.

“ Let’s eat dinner Julian, and go over the plans for the next phase.”