Dance with the Devil: Chapter 46

The first day of school went surprising well for Jack.  He had four classes with Molly and the rest had some of his teammates, so he wasn’t in total unfamiliar waters for the day.  After school, he got ready for the soccer match.  As he reached the field, he saw his parents and siblings were already there, as was Molly.  He had gotten nervous that they would embarrass him during the game, but sadly, he was on the bench for most of it.  With his team behind, though, the coach decided to have him go in.  He immediately got the ball and scored a goal and then, a short time later, another one.  Port Charles High won the game, two to one and Jack’s coach and teammates lauded him. 

When he met up with his parents, his first words to Todd were, “Do not brag about this in the Sun!”  Todd opened his mouth and held out his hands.  “I’m serious Dad.”

Todd looked away.  “Okay, okay!  What’s the fun in having a newspaper if you can’t brag about your kid being the hero,” he muttered as he caught the attention of the reporter that he had sent.  He gave the guy a look and could tell the message had been received.   

“Hey, why don’t be we all go to Kelly’s for dinner to celebrate?” Blair suggested.

But Todd shook his head.  “We should just pick up pizza and go home,” he replied.  His family gave his a quizzed look.  “What, I’m in the mood for pizza.” 

No one responded, but Blair suspected something.  As Starr, Jack and Sam ran ahead, she stood in Todd’s path.  “What’s up, Todd?  Why do you want to get the kids home?”

“We need to tell them about Tea and the only way to tell them about Tea is to tell them about Danie,”  Todd said.  “Look, whoever is going after Victor’s family, could also go after mine and I have to protect them.”

Blair saw what he was saying and understood.  “You’re right.  Okay we’ll tell them when we get home.”

They made their way back to the estate and after the pizza was delivered, sat the kids down.  “There’s something we need to talk about, something we found out,” Todd began.  He gazed over at Blair then turned back to Starr, Jack and Sam.  “The reason Danie came here to visit wasn’t just to check up on me.  It seems…it seams as though Tea lied to her.”

Starr and Jack looked at each other in confusion.  Sam, though, got the first words out.  “Mommy says lying is bad.”

Blair nodded.  “Yes, lying is bad, Sam.  That’s a very good lesson to remember.”

Starr put her hand up.  “Wait, what did Tea lie about?” she asked, though she was already suspected what it was.

Todd let out a sigh.  He felt uncomfortable bring this up but he had come to the realization that, to protect his kids, he would have to.  “Turns out that Danie is not my daughter.  She always was Ross Rayburn’s.”

They kids looked at Todd with shock.  “Why did she say Danie was yours?” Starr asked, her voice getting louder. 

Todd pinched the bridge of his nose and looked to Blair.  “Tea wanted your father back and thought that if she presented him with a daughter, she would get him.  It worked with Victor but then your dad came back and he did really seem to care,” Blair explained. 

“It seems she’s always been kind of obsessed with me and I never really saw it.  She was definitely obsessed with the idea of me loving you mother and she tried lots of times to get me to love her, but I never did,” Todd continued.  “I kind of made it worse when I married her the first time.  She convinced me that if I was married, I would have a stronger custody case against Dorian when your mom was sick.  So I married her.”

“But to lie to get you?” Jack said.

“Well, technically, she got Victor.  He fell for it, hook, line and sinker.  I had my doubts,” he admitted.  “Starr, when I first held you, I felt an instant connection.  And Jack, despite everything that happened, I felt that connection to you, but I dismissed it because I thought you were Max’s.  Even you, little buddy,” Todd pulled Sam onto his lap, “I even felt a connection to you the first day we met.  With Danie, she was a remarkable girl, a credit to her mother.  But I always saw her as Tea’s, never really as mine.  Hell, I still see her even as Victor’s more than mine.”

“I have half a mind to go down to Llanview and tell her off.  I always thought she at least cared about me.  But this all seems to be to stick it to Mom,” Starr shouted. 

“Sweetie, look, I don’t want you to get too angry at her.  I’ve already given her a piece of my mind,” Blair said.

“Besides, there’s something else we need to warn you about,” Todd said.  “Your mom had a talk with her, but since then, nobody in town’s seen her and the police are investigating it as a missing person’s case.”

“Someone took Tea?” Jack asked, not quite understanding.  “Like someone has Uncle Victor and the baby?”

“It’s possible,” Blair admitted.  “We’re being kept informed but it’s still really early in the investigation.”

Todd spoke up.  “This brings us to the next thing we have to discuss.  We need you to be very aware and careful.  This could be just all about Victor and his family, it could be about all of us, including my sisters and their kids.  God knows the Lord family has it’s share of enemies.”

“Don’t worry.  We’ve had to deal with Mitch Laurence and a vendetta he had against Aunt Dorian,” Starr assured her father. 

The doorbell rang then and Jack went to go answer it.  He came back a few minutes later with John McBain.  He greeted the family but tried to signal them that he needed to tell them information that he didn’t want little ears to hear.  Blair caught the signal and sent Sam into the kitchen where Addie was cleaning up.  When the little boy left, John gave them the news. “We have definite confirmation from Llanview.  They found a glass at Tea’s that was laced with a powerful sedative.  It seems to have been put into the bottles on her bar.  And guess who they found on security footage around Llanview?” John asked

“Let me see, maybe the woman who probably shot me?” Todd asked, anger lacing his voice.

John nodded.  “Heather Webber was spotted at the Buenos Dias Diner.  Some officers went to speak to Carlotta, who identified her as a customer.  Seems she was very vocal in her complaint about her BLT.”

“Then you’ve at least got a lead on her?” Blair asked.

“This woman is like a ghost.  She pops up and disappears just as quickly.  We don’t have any evidence she was at Tea’s house, but it’s a lead that’s being looked into,” John said.

“So, it looks, like Allison has my brother, Heather may have Tea and we still don’t know about their kid,” Todd summed up.  “And I’m going to trust Llanview’s finest to find them?”

John was a bit surprised by the tone of Todd’s voice.  When he mentioned Victor, it almost seemed like he cared about what happened to his twin.  Then John’s phone rang and he stepped away to answer it.

Blair approach Todd, who was staring pensively into nothingness.  “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.  I’m just staring,” he answered. 

She knew he was lying, but she let him live with the lie.  Starr and Jack came over to her then and asked her if they were needed anymore.  When she said they were not, they went on their way.  John came back to Todd and Blair.  “There’s been another complication.  Tomas Delgado’s body was found in the Llantano River a few hours ago.  Preliminary reports indicate that he’d been dead for at least two weeks.”  John let out a breath.  “This is looking more and more like something connected to Tea and not your family.”

Todd said nothing, but seriously doubted that.

Jack was in his room when he called Molly.  When she picked up, she gave him a signal they had to indicate it was safe to talk.  “What’s the matter,” she asked, hearing the tone in his voice.

“I just found out how much more…complicated my family is.”  He proceeded to tell her about Danie and Tea’s disappearance.  “You can tell it’s bad when my dad’s even scared.  And he’s usually scaring people, not being the one afraid.”

Meanwhile, in her room at the gatehouse, Starr called Danie.  “Are you okay?” was the first thing she asked.

“Um yeah, I’m fine.  I guess you heard about my mom,” she answered.

“What, that she’s missing or that she’s been lying to all of us,” Starr retorted, nastier than she had wanted to be.

Danie froze up on the other end.  “What…what to do mean?” she asked.

“Dad told us that your mom’s been lying about your father.  Todd Manning is not your father, Ross Rayburn is,” Starr stated.  Then her voice got softer.  “Really, how are you doing?”

Danie sniffled on the other end.  “I was so mad at my mother, and now, I’m so scared for her.  The police don’t have any leads and  now, I think their increasing security here at Llanfair.”

Starr’s heart was breaking for Danie.  “Maybe you should come back here?” she offered weakly. 

Danie’s voice cleared.  “No, I want to stick close to here in case they find her.  Look, Jessica’s calling me.  I have to go.”  With that the call ended.  Starr look at the phone and then scrolled through pictures she had on it.  She found a picture of Hope and allowed a tear to fall on it.  The last several months had been one catastrophe after another.  When would it get better? she asked herself. 



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