Julian stopped his car. He believed he had gotten the instructions right, but, Sheridan had been so terse with him, that he didn’t get a chance to repeat them.

He got to where he thought Sheridan had told him to be, and seeing Sheridan’s car, he knew it was the right spot. Julian got out of the car, and walked some until he saw a blond-haired figure in the distance, sitting on a rock. He walked up, getting more impatient by the moment, until he got to her.

" Sheridan, what is the meaning.."

Julian was stopped as he saw Sheridan’s eyes were bright red, and her cheeks were wet with tears. Julian walked over to his sister, and instinctively held her in his arms, something that he couldn’t remember doing since childhood.

" I knew it. I knew that flatfoot was using you and now he’s hurt you. I’ll CRUSH him for hurting you."

" Julian.."

" I knew this would happen, Sheridan. Getting involved with someone of that ilk,  I knew he would hurt you. No matter, I’ll ruin him, and make him wish he’d never been born."

" Julian, SHUT UP! This isn’t about Luis. Luis hasn’t hurt me, and we’re just as in love as ever. This is about YOU, and YOUR SON!"

" Sheridan, I can’t believe you brought me all the way out here to argue about Ethan. Ethan’s NOT  my son. He’s Sam Bennett’s bastard. YES, I do still love him….and….I even sent him a letter telling him such."

" You…you did? Why didn’t you tell anyone?"

" It’s none of anyone’s business. So, you see Sheridan, this was a waste of time."

" Julian, this isn’t about Ethan. This is about your OTHER son."

" Sheridan, I don’t have another son."

" Yes, you do, Julian. The son you had with a Black Singer."

Julian’s eyes grow wide. " What are you talking about?"

" Julian, I know that you had a lover in the past….a Black woman, and that the two of you had a child. "

" Who could have told you such lies."

" Julian, please don’t pretend with me. The only thing I don’t know is her name. But, I have news for you. Why don’t you sit on the rock."

" I’ll stand."

" Ok…Julian , your son is alive."

Julian looks at Sheridan for a few moments, and feels his legs give way, and sits down on the rock next to Sheridan. " I guess I need this anyway.", he jokes.

" Sheridan, you must be mistaken."

Sheridan shakes her head. " No, I’m not mistaken. I went to the retirement home a few days ago. There was a man there. His name was Orville Perkins."

" Was? Orville Perkins?" , Julian’s mind flashbacked to when he and Eve met at the Book Café to discuss Charity’s visions.

[ FLASHBACK]

" The only one who knows anything about us is someone who recently came back into my life.", Eve said.

" Who?"

" His name is Orville Perkins, and he had the pictures of us.."

[ END OF FLASHBACK]

Julian turned away from Sheridan and thought about what she had said. No way Sheridan could have come up with Orville Perkins. No one knew that name but Eve and himself. He turned back to Sheridan.

" What did this, Mr. Perkins say?"

" He had been trying to get in touch with you, Julian. But, you weren’t returning his phone calls. I just happened to be there, and go into his room. He asked me to call you, without even knowing who I was. When I told him that I was your sister, he said that I had to get you. But, you were out of town. I told him that whatever he had to say to you, that he could tell me, and I’d make sure you received the message.

That’s when he told me the story. The story of you, the singer, the child that you had together, that you BOTH think is dead."

" THINK is dead?"

" Yes, Julian.", Sheridan begins to cry all over again. " You think your son is dead. But, he’s not dead. He’s very much alive."

" Sheridan, that’s not true. The little boy died the same day he was born. It was sad and tragic, and a period of my life I’m not particularly proud of, but, don’t be cruel, Sheridan. And, don’t believe the rantings of some insane and senile old man."

" Julian, do you REALLY  think that I would come to you on the ramblings of an old man? Please, think more of me than that. I would NEVER want to hurt you like that, Julian."

Julian looked into Sheridan’s eyes, and realized to himself, ‘ no, you never would think about hurting me, would you, Sheridan? That’s my department.’

" Julian, the man just didn’t tell me that your son was alive. He told me that he was in Harmony."

" HARMONY? Oh, Sheridan.."

" Julian, I believe Orville. He used his last breath to tell you the truth, and to try and atone for his sins. HE is the one who organized it so that you and the mother believed that your son was dead. And……he did it on Father’s orders."

" FATHER’S ORDER?", Julian asked incredulous.

" Yes…I didn’t want to believe it either. I mean, I never would have thought that Father was capable of such treachery, would you?"

Julian sat there, head in his hands. It was all swirling in his head. The son he had with Eve was alive, and living in Harmony. He and Eve believing that the child was dead wasn’t an accident, it was the work of Alistair. He knew in that moment that everything that Sheridan said was true. Unlike her, he KNEW what their father was capable of, and it was classic Alistair. He had used Julian’s cowardice against him to bully him into a marriage with Ivy, all the while telling him that Eve had come to Alistair for money to keep quiet. Julian shook his head – what an absolute fool he’d been. He’d be willing to bet his fortune that Eve had never come to Alistair for money; it went against everything that she had SEEMED to be about. But, in the midst of his guilt about abandoning her and their child, it was easier to paint her as ‘some greedy whore’ that Alistair ‘bought off’.

Sheridan could see that Julian was in another place, yet she spoke up: " Julian, there’s more."

Julian laughed. " More? What more could there be?"

" Orville told me that his orders from Father weren’t to make you believe that the child was dead. He was supposed to kill the child."

Julian stared at her, and then whispered, " Father wanted to kill my son?"

Sheridan slowly nodded to him.

Julian shook his head. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised. How could he be. But, somewhere, deep inside, he had always wished and reserved some fantasy that there was something human about Alistair. He clung to it. How else could one face that they had been doing the Devil’s bidding? But, in all the ruthless, amoral and rotten things that Julian had ever done, it had never crossed his mind to murder an innocent child. Especially one with HIS blood running through his veins.

HIS SON.

His father wanted HIS SON DEAD.

Julian looked up at Sheridan with a deep sadness in his eyes. " Tell me the rest, Sheridan. Don’t hold back."

" I have it all on tape.", Sheridan opened her purse, and handed the tape to Julian. " Everything Orville told me. Julian, he said your son was in Harmony."

" I remember you saying this, Sheridan."

" Well, I didn’t want to believe this, Julian. And, I wasn’t going to hurt you, until I found out the truth. So," Sheridan goes into her purse and pulls out the three envelopes., " I had the DNA tests done. They were conclusive: your son is alive and living in Harmony."

" Who is he?"

" Chad Harris."
 

Theresa didn’t know what Chad’s reaction would be,  but, she decided to go on anyway. She entered the Book Café.

" Hey Chad."

" Theresa."

" Are you ready to go?"

" Go?"

" Yes, this is Wednesday. The night we usually do Chinese and take a movie. Unless, you don’t want to."

" Naw. I didn’t know if you had changed your mind."

" Chad, I didn’t stop wanting to be your friend. I know you’re angry with me."

Chad nodded. " Yeah, I’m angry with you. But, I guess I’m one of the few that understands the circular way in which your mind works."

Theresa laughs. " And, you don’t hold it against me." She saw that Chad held a postcard in his hand. " From Whitney?"

" Yeah. She’s having a terrific time in that tournament in California. She thinks that the clinic she went too, and this tournament are really going to help her."

" I’m glad. She sounded happy in the postcard I got from her."

" Yeah, well you know tennis is her top priority. And…I respect that. "

" Of course, you do. Whitney’s moving forward with her life. Following her ambition. Her career means so much to her, that everything else naturally takes a backseat to it."

" Whitney can handle a relationship, too.", Chad said, not knowing who he was trying to convince.

" Oh, I’m sure she can too. And, you’re wonderful, being so supportive of her, as she goes further and further into the spotlight. "

" Why don’t I go tell Beth that I’m gonna go?", Chad said, leaving Theresa there.

Theresa went over to the magazine rack, and found the magazine on New England. There was a big article on Whitney in it, and this was done before this recent trip to California. Whitney was on her way. Theresa was happy for Whitney. She had worked long and hard on her tennis. She deserved for it to pay off. Whitney was meeting all sorts of people. She would forget all about Chad. At least, t hat’s what Theresa was telling herself. She had to find someone else, cause Whitney didn’t NEED Chad, the way that she did. Stacking those cans today, Theresa had made up her mind. She knew what she wanted, and she knew what her goal was, and she would NOT wind up like Pilar, still being someone’s Housekeeper in the best years of her life. Theresa wanted more. And, there was no reason why she shouldn’t get it.

And, would get it, as Mrs. Chad CRANE.

" Theresa, you ready to go?", Chad asked.

" Yes, Chad. I’m ready."