Original subtitles

Mrs. Whitfield?

I'm turning in for the night. I have some fresh towels.

Mrs. Whitfield?

How are you doing?

Good. Just checked into the hotel.

You at your dad's yet?

Not yet. Almost there.

I can only imagine what surprises he has in store for the family.

I know. I wish I could be there with you. It sounds kind of important.

Don't worry about it, hon.

I know that you are slammed with your research for the Charleston article.

Well, I'm almost done with that, actually. Cindy's about to call with my

assignment.

You know...

Hey, I'm a little curious about how your family is going to react to our

whirlwind romance.

Oh, sweetheart.

They are going to be just as crazy about you as I am.

And we'll set up a time soon where we can all get together.

Okay. Well, anyway, I gotta go. I'll talk to you soon, okay?

I love you. Okay.

Miss Vander.

Oh, it's wonderful to see you.

Thanks, Mrs. Harper.

I'm sorry I'm late. I know you expected me earlier. Oh, Mrs.

Whitfield just now appeared to supervise the cooking.

Of course she did.

My lovely stepmother loves to keep everyone on her toes.

Sonny, get Mr. Whitfield's bags out of the car.

Come on in.

You're kidding me.

Stan approved the article idea?

I thought he was done with profiles on small quaint towns.

No, that's great.

And no, I don't need any more time. I just found my contacts at the local

chamber of commerce.

Yep.

Xander's going to be so excited when I show up tonight.

Thank you, thank you, thank you again.

All right, bye. I'll be in touch.

Can I get you something to eat or drink?

No, I'm fine right now, thanks.

Hello, Xander.

Marlena?

Miss Harper, can you please check on dinner? I don't want Lionel to have

something else to complain about.

Yes, ma 'am.

So where's this beautiful new wife of yours? I've been dying to see her.

Must have been love at first sight.

Running off to get married in Las Vegas so fast?

She's busy with work.

You wouldn't be hiding her from us, would you, Xander?

Well, your father is anxious to speak with you before this big announcement.

Which better be a good one, considering all the trouble that he's putting us

through.

Hey, little

I'm hardly little anymore, Xander.

Nicole the grad student.

Oh, I'm so proud of you.

Creative writing, right?

Such a practical field of study.

So, this Ashley must have made quite an impression on you.

Audrey. And I guess you just know when you meet the right one.

Oh, I can't wait to meet her.

Xander mentions she's a travel writer and plans to start work on a book. How

interesting.

And how, um...

long are you going to be staying exactly?

Just so I can let Mrs. Harper know how to prepare, of course.

I guess it depends on what Dad's got cooked up for us.

Well, your father's downstairs playing pool, so why don't you go down and try

figure out what he's up to with calling this big family meeting?

I'll see you in a bit.

And why don't you find something more flattering to wear?

By the time you arrive, you assume you brought this new wife of yours?

Next time.

Come on, let's play some pool.

Maybe you'll win for once.

You know, when she does make it, I really hope meeting everyone doesn't

her off.

We'll try and be on our best behavior just for you.

Can you tell me what this is all about?

You want to play or not?

Look, I know the company took a financial hit.

Depressing, given where we stood.

Let's just say tonight's announcement will be life -changing for all of us.

You are a beautiful young woman, Nicole. Always know that.

Not as beautiful as my mother, though.

She never lets me forget it.

Do you remember the charity luncheon for the hospital board she dragged me to

last month?

Go on.

A guy I've had a crush on since middle school attended with his mother.

I was having this great conversation with him. We were really connecting.

And then Mother walked over, said she was ready to leave, laughed,

and said, Oh, Nicole, leave Clayton alone.

I'm sure there are many beautiful young women he'd like to speak to here this

afternoon.

She did this right in front of him.

Why does she treat me like this?

I think that it's hard for a woman like your mother to see her youth slipping

away. She looks at you and she sees that the years have passed by.

This does not excuse her behavior, but I think it's at the root of it.

Well, I've given up on my mother ever understanding me.

I have to get

upstairs for dinner.

If you were worried about dinner, you'd be up there, not here with me.

And you have your charm, but I just, I needed a moment to forget about

up there. And you are very good at making me forget.

Sit me up.

So when are you going to leave the old bastard?

No, I can't do that.

I've worked too hard to become this person.

I'm just, I'm worried we're getting too reckless.

You know, we need to be more careful. People could come in at any time.

Again, you were the one that came here.

I figured.

No, no, no, no, not flat.

Oh, Teresa, you're here too. Good to see you too, Sam.

Dad didn't mention you were coming for dinner.

Warren? Xander?

Looks like the gang's all gathered, huh?

So if you're here... Must be something interesting.

How's Audrey?

Good. She's busy with work.

I'm sure she is.

As a globe -trotting journalist? Yeah.

Very impressive.

And so is her family.

Audrey's a good match for me.

Well, my husband here is about to head to Hawaii soon for a three -week golf

retreat. Look at you.

I do it every year now.

I disconnect the entire time.

It's pricey is what it is.

Lucky guy.

Well, dinner should be really intriguing.

Mm -hmm. Shall we?

Let's.

There you go.

All set.

Really, I can't thank you enough.

I don't think I could have fixed that flat on my own. Yeah, it looked like

uh, postured it on a nail.

Oh.

It's not really much out here, is there?

Yeah, it's pretty desolate.

Where are you headed?

Uh, Camellia Falls.

That's where I'm from.

We'll be there in about an hour. I heard it's really beautiful, picturesque

even. It is.

So, what brings you to our town?

Uh, the Whitfield Estate. Do you know it?

Yeah, I know it.

Oh, well, I just married Xander Whitfield.

Lander Whitfield.

Uh -huh.

You know, it's getting pretty late, and I think the weather's about to turn, so

it's time for us to head back.

All right.

Thank you.

Watch out for those nails.

I thought now would be a good time to inform all you of

a consequential decision I've made.

I decided to sell the company and all of its holdings to

another developer, Ward Enterprises.

Yeah, you can't do that.

As majority shareholder, I sure as hell can't.

Sick and tired of all the day -to -day stress, so I'm cashing in my chips, as

they say.

Of course, that means all of you, who's used to living off of my generosity,

will have some big changes coming your way.

Big changes!

You can't fill my mother's company.

Teresa, I'm going to need to meet with you tomorrow, draw up new contracts.

Yes, sir. And young lady, you are finally going to have to make some

choices in your life.

I want you to learn how to stand on your own two feet.

Big changes.

I'm going to my study.

You all enjoy your desserts.

Well, that was fun. Can't wait to see what's next.

This certainly puts a kink in our plans.

Yes, it does.

Put on your glasses, Greg. Thank you.

I'll walk you guys through the company.

For you.

Where'd you get these?

They were a gift from a friend.

Imagine all of those hospital board members whose opinion you value so much.

They saw those.

I really doubt you'd still receive that award for your terrible fundraising,

don't you?

Why not?

This meant nothing.

I never meant to hurt you.

It was a mistake.

It's not like you never did the same thing to me.

Remember?

Only I forgave you, right?

And we moved past it.

That was different.

It just is.

Don't forget where you were in life when you first met me.

And how far you've come since marrying me.

I take that away.

You go right back where you came from.

Literally. And figuratively.

What are you going to do?

What would be the fun in telling you that in advance?

Please, Lionel, don't do this.

I made you.

And I can destroy you.

You're not going to get rid of me that easy, Lionel.

We'll see about that, won't we?

Now get the hell out of my sight.

No! I am so glad that my 50 is home.

I know, it's been forever.

You know you can come home more often, right?

Yeah. Doors always open.

You know this town just holds too many memories for me.

Yeah, it does.

Speaking of, I met this nice young lady earlier. I helped her change the spare

tire.

She said she was coming here to go to the Whitfield Mansion for the first

And... Xander's her new husband.

Did you tell her that you know the family or about my connection to them?

No.

Well, those people are going to get what they have coming to them one of these

days.

Teresa, I want you to start divorce proceedings against Marlena.

I'm going to leave that bitch as penniless as she was when she first

Don't worry, you'll get your 5 % of the company. As promised, just do it.

May I help you?

Let me guess.

Mrs. Harper, the house manager?

Yes, and you are?

I'm Audrey.

sander's wife oh oh how wonderful come in i didn't realize you were visiting

Dad? Dad!

Somebody call 911!

Oh, my God!

What happened?

Is he okay?

Dad, Dad, wake up!

Oh, my God, Mr. Whitfield!

Audrey? What happened?

Call 911!

Thank you, Detective.

Xander.

What exactly did you tell the police?

I told them what happened.

That he slipped on the stairs and hit his head.

So awful.

The man was only three sheets through the wind. I was surprised he went

headfirst down those stairs.

Mother, how could you say that?

Because it's true.

The detective said to call if we think of anything else.

What else is there?

It's cut and dried.

I'm going back inside.

Sander.

Nicole called me. What happened to Uncle Lionel?

He slipped on the stairs.

Died before the paramedics even got here. They just took his body.

What can we do to help?

Nothing right now.

Audrey was coming to surprise me.

What an introduction.

Oh, hi.

I just came down for some water, too.

Is there anything I can do for you, Nicole?

Such a sad day for the family.

I'm so sorry you came here.

This place has been.

and always will be full of secrets.

Well, his service was much smaller than I expected.

I guess because it was thrown together so fast, right?

Dad left strict instructions to be cremated and have a small family service

day after he died.

Not one for sentimentality, I guess.

Xander.

How are you, really?

Well, we weren't close, you know, but he was still my father.

Of course he was.

I'm just happy I could be here for you.

You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.

It's just all that carefully orchestrated drama at dinner.

And the man falls on the stairs that night and dies.

It's ironic, right?

Some people might say he got exactly what was coming to him.

How are you, Nicole?

I don't even know, honestly.

I just feel numb.

Well, that's pretty normal given the circumstances.

Sometimes I didn't even think he cared about me.

He never asked about my day or...

My dreams or, well, anything.

He was a complex man.

Yeah.

But it's amazing how many long -distance relatives have been calling with their

heartfelt condolences.

Yeah. People interested in hearing who's going to be taking the reins of the

company.

I'm simply worn out from the day. Please let Mrs. Harper know if you need

anything. Actually, hold on a second.

As Uncle Lionel's personal attorney,

It is my duty to carry out his final wishes, and that includes the reading of

his last will and testament.

He specifically stated that he wanted the reading to take place at exactly 8

.30, the morning after his funeral. Of course he did.

This is ridiculous.

He's not even here.

He also made it part of his wishes that anyone who does not attend the reading

at exactly that time should be left out completely. We get it.

We'll meet in the morning.

Can I help you?

Oh, hi.

I was just heading to the kitchen to see if there was any herbal tea.

I'm having a little trouble sleeping.

I believe Mrs. Harper keeps them in the cabinet above the coffee maker.

Thanks.

Oh, I'll just head down there then.

Okay.

Got all your texts. Why do you need to see me?

What's going to happen to us now that he's dead?

Please, stop being so dramatic.

Why do you have to be so mean, Mary?

I told you never to call me that name in this house.

Mary doesn't exist anymore, Mother.

But that's the name I gave you when you were born.

Please, you act like you've been Mother of the Year.

You haven't been a mother to me in, what, 30 years?

No, you were too busy bouncing from man to man when I was a kid.

You changed men faster than did bed sheets.

And don't ever forget that you've only been allowed to live here as house

manager because of my generosity.

But only if I don't tell anybody who you are or where you came from. Exactly.

Do you have any idea how much pain this causes me?

Why are you so cruel?

says the woman who let her boyfriend have his way with me when I was 15.

And I spent years running from that memory and remaking myself.

And you had the nerve to show up on my doorstep asking for help.

You're lucky I've allowed you this much.

Don't make me regret letting you stay here more than I already do.

You scared me.

I didn't see you there.

I just want to make sure you found everything you needed.

I did.

Thanks.

You know, I've never seen Xander move faster in a relationship than he has

you.

Not even with Brianna. He... That's neither here nor there.

I'm sure you know all about his previous fiancée.

Uh, yeah, of course. I know all about Brianna.

I'm sure you do.

Well, you have a good night, dear.

Sleep well.

I hope the tea helps.

Good morning.

Good morning, beautiful.

Oh, my God. How long have you been up?

You should have woke me.

Oh, no. You needed your rest.

About ready for breakfast before my dad's last big show.

Right. Let me just jump in the shower real quick.

Great.

Hey. You know you can tell me anything, right?

You know, I, uh... I know... I know you have to wonder how I can be so

cold about my father's death.

No, I'm not touching you at all.

Families can be complicated.

I know that.

Yeah, mine takes that to a whole new level.

When I told you that my mother died from an accident, I didn't tell you the

whole story.

What do you mean?

So my father's overbearing personality and philandering,

it drove her to drink.

And one night, she self -medicated enough to the point where I found her

the bathtub.

So awful.

I'm sorry.

What's up?

Uh, well, I ran into Marlena on my way to the kitchen,

and I don't know, I just didn't really seem happy for me to be here.

Marlena can have a temper when she's stressed.

I know, but, I mean, she came into the kitchen later, and then she brought

up Brianna.

Brianna?

Hon, that ended ages ago.

I know, I know.

I think Marlena just likes to push people's buttons for fun sometimes.

Hey, sis.

Blueberry muffin. Blueberry muffin, your favorite.

Coffee, everyone.

You read my mind.

Not sure I'm ready for what's next.

None of us are.

Thank you all so much for being up and ready for Uncle Lionel's final wishes. I

really appreciate that.

So, Audrey, you and Xander. Y 'all met at an art auction, right?

In L .A.? We did.

I guess you could say it was the first night.

We were bidding on the same piece.

She won, of course, but...

I was the real winner when she agreed on a date.

Um, Miss Harper, has Marlena come down yet?

Oh, my mother's always on her own clock.

Pull yourself together.

Isn't it about time we begin?

She's got about one more minute till she's written out of the will.

Y 'all wouldn't start without me, would you?

Of course not.

Well?

You going to keep us in suspense all day?

I, Lionel Whitfield, being of sound mind and body... We really need to go

through this whole part, Teresa.

Seems like patience is in short supply this morning, so I'm going to skip ahead

a little bit. Thank you.

For my devoted employee, Agnes Harper, I leave a sum of $50 ,000.

I wasn't expecting that.

More than fair.

For my niece, Teresa Whitfield.

I leave a 10 % share in my company for her loyal service over the years. He

you 10 % of the company.

Why?

Teresa's been working exclusively for Dad for years.

It's what she deserves.

Fine.

Fine. Just continue.

And for my wife, Marlena Whitfield.

For a total of three years... She may stay in the house and receive a yearly

allowance of $150 ,000.

At the end of the three -year term, she must leave the house and shall receive

nothing further from my estate.

By the end of those three years... What?

What did he say?

I'm sure by the end of that time, she will have met another rich millionaire

take care of her.

Ungrateful bastard.

One of the best years of my life.

This is insane.

I mean, what, are you trying to leave me for broke?

I'd hardly say that amount of money was broke, Marlena.

I don't remember asking your opinion about any of this.

Why are you here?

Why is Audrey here?

She's my wife.

I asked her to be here. Can I continue, please?

Please.

My son Xander and daughter Nicole shall equally split the remaining 90 % of the

company's shares.

While Xander oversees the company, Nicole's share will be kept in a trust

the age of 35 with a generous yearly allowance.

What about the rest?

The cash, the investments, the house?

That's in the next part.

And?

I leave the rest of my estate in its entirety to my daughter, Nicole

Me? Mm -hmm.

Nicole knows absolutely nothing about taking care of an estate.

Well, that's the reason for the next provision.

Until Nicole's 35th birthday, as mentioned earlier, her brother Xander,

of his duties, shall serve as guardian over her finances and trust.

May as well have cut me out completely.

This will never stand up in court. I mean, I was his wife after all. I'm

entitled to so much more. I am very sorry. I'm not the one that made these

decisions. Your husband did.

Yeah, well, we'll just see about this.

Anyway...

Let

me know if you need anything, okay? Yeah, will do.

Ready to go?

Coming, babe.

Ready for day two.

Hey, don't worry.

We're gonna figure this out, okay?

I'm going to need your help with this, Xander. None of this was part of my plan

for life. I know. We'll talk about it later, okay?

Come here.

How are

you?

I'm good.

To be honest, I'm just surprised Dad was as generous with me as he was.

I'm sorry.

I need to go talk to Teresa for a minute. Sure, sure.

Hey,

wait up.

Our plan... Worked perfectly.

We're all finally going to get what we deserve.

Yeah.

Is it done?

The bastard never even noticed that I switched the wheels on him.

How much time does Lionel have?

A few months.

Cancer's untreatable now.

I had to pay that doctor handsomely to get the real information on his health,

but it was worth it, obviously.

Marlena still has no clue he's even sick.

She'd probably throw a dinner party to celebrate if she did.

And, of course, he said nothing to his own kids.

That man has probably walked drunk up and down those stairs a million times.

How did we get so lucky?

Maybe karma finally caught up to him.

Hey, do you think you can convince Audrey's family to invest enough money

can get this company back on track? I'm working on it.

It's going to be a lot easier now that we're married, all right?

This time next year, everything's going to be different.

I'm finding I have a lot more feelings for Audrey than I even thought I could.

I'm okay.

All right, lover boy.

Ma 'am.

That'll be all for now. Thank you.

Hello, Mrs. Whitfield. I'm Andrew from the funeral home.

I assumed as much since you have the yarn in your hands.

I wanted to personally deliver to you Mr.

Whitfield's remains after you left them behind.

Now, it's understandable.

When you're grieving, it's easy to get distracted.

So, please, accept my condolences during your difficult times. I'm sorry, what

was your name again?

Andrew, ma 'am.

Can you do me a favor, Andrew, in my time of need?

Of course. Name it. We strive to help all of our families in any way we can.

Perfect. then I want you to take the remains of my husband and dispose of

I'm sorry, what?

Oh, is that not clear?

Let me be more specific.

I want you to take these ashes and flush them down the toilet.

But, ma 'am... Please, Andrew, do a widower a favor and get rid of whatever

remains of my husband permanently.

Okay.

Since the fall down the stairs didn't do it.

And don't worry.

You'll be properly compensated for the disposal.

Ma 'am, I don't think that's ethical on my part.

Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.

Ethical and my husband have never gone together, so why start now?

You may see yourself out.

It's me.

I need to see you right away.

Well, make time.

Are you okay?

Far from it.

What are you going to do?

I have an important meeting.

And if this doesn't work, then I have another trump card that I may be forced

play.

Even in death, this man wants to torture me by keeping me chained to this house

and putting me on a measly allowance, as if I were a five -year -old.

Okay, so what do you want to do now?

Bunny.

So young, so naive.

Don't you know by now that I get what I want when I want it. I have a plan.

I thought you didn't like it when I got this one. I don't care today.

I don't mind the sweat.

Mary, I've got to get to Dad's office, start figuring things out.

Have you thought about maybe where you want to run the company from?

Yeah, we've got a lot of decisions to make.

Got to think about your career, too.

Actually,

I was thinking we could go to Chicago.

Spend some time with your family.

Really? Yeah.

I can work remotely, get to know them better.

My dad would love that.

And I know he'd love to talk business with you.

Good day, babe.

I'll see you tonight. See you tonight.

Audrey. Oh, hi, Nicole. How are you? I was wondering what your plans are for

day, if maybe you'd want to go for a walk?

I would love that.

Let me just make a quick phone call first, and then I'll meet you out back.

Okay, great.

Hello, Chamber of Commerce.

Charles speaking.

Hi, Charles.

My name is Audrey Sinclair. I'm a writer for See the World magazine.

I sent you an email earlier regarding setting up an informational meeting.

I just arrived in town a few days ago, and I am considering writing an article

on what your town has to offer for visitors.

Of course.

I'm sorry, but this may sound odd, but your voice sounds very familiar.

Are you the Audrey that I helped change your spare tire?

What?

Chip? Yep, that's me.

They called me Charles in the office.

Oh, my gosh.

You really saved the day the other night, Chip.

Are you still at the Whitfields?

Yes, I am. I am.

I don't know if you heard, but my father -in -law, he... Lionel Whitfield. He

died.

It's a small town.

Right. Of course.

So, would you still be open to having that meeting? Of course. How about later

today? Just come by my office. We'll take it from there. That works perfect.

Thanks so much.

See you soon.

I'm so glad Vander found someone wonderful like you to have in his life.

really been the only person I can count on.

Wow, you mean a lot to him, too.

I wasn't close to my father and Vander since he's so much older than me, but

we've tried to make up for our dad's shortcomings.

Were you able to visit him in Los Angeles?

Not yet.

I tried to plan a trip two summers ago, but... What happened?

I don't think his girlfriend at the time, Brianna, liked me very much, so I

never made it to LA.

Oh, yeah.

Brianna.

Yeah.

Xander did tell me a little bit about his relationship with Brianna.

She wasn't good for him.

Yeah? What way?

I feel like she tried to keep him out of herself and away from his family.

Does she live around here?

Yeah, she grew up nearby, but I don't know where she is now.

Her brother, Tip, runs the local chamber of commerce.

I'm surprised he didn't tell you more about her.

What is it? Is everything okay?

Yeah, nothing.

How about we head back to the house?

I just spoke to Audrey, Xander's wife.

She's a travel writer, and she wants to do an article on our town.

Okay, well, she needs to know who she's dealing with if she doesn't already.

Are you sure you want to talk to her?

I mean, do you really want to get involved in that mess of a family? Look,

can save someone from what I went through, then it'll be worth it.

Okay, sis.

Your call.

What a crazy couple of days. Don't worry.

I've been taking care of things here.

And now we finally have a chance to do things our way.

I've made sure I've tied up all loose ends and paid all the bills before I

leave.

Thank you. That was very sweet of you.

You're welcome.

That's the least I can do since you two are going to make us rich. I'll try to

get home before you leave for the airport, okay?

Please do. All right.

Love you.

Love you as well, baby.

Let's get to work.

Yes, sir.

Look, you can come and visit me and Xander anytime you like, no matter where

are. Yeah, I just, I need to get out of here. I have too many memories, and the

mother and I are not close.

I'm sorry, Nicole.

Hey, you okay?

As much as I dislike my father...

God, I cannot say this out loud. You're going to think that I am crazy.

No, you can trust me.

Something seems off about his death. I mean, that man walked up and down those

stairs all the time and never fell, even when he was drinking.

Accidents happen.

I don't know if he tripped.

I was in my room when I heard him fall, and then I went out into the hall.

And?

And I saw my mother looking down at my father's body at the bottom of the

stairs, and she looked so calm.

You can't tell anyone, okay?

Of course.

I promise.

I think my mother might have pushed him down the stairs.

I mean, she can be downright...

Evil. What do you mean, evil?

She locked me in the attic overnight without food or water when I was six

old. She said I had disobeyed her.

Our maid at the time heard my screams the next morning and let me out.

And ever since then, I knew she wasn't capable of loving me the way a mother

should.

And she hasn't been faithful to my father.

When I caught her with another man, she threatened me not to tell anyone.

And when she gets mad, she gets furious.

Oh, Nicole.

That's so much for you to hold.

I wonder if karma will ever come for my mother.

He was expecting me.

Zach, thanks for fitting me in so quickly.

Yeah, sure. Look, I don't have much time. I'm doing court in an hour.

Well, I was hoping that perhaps you could help me due to our special

Why don't you tell me what you need?

Aren't you going to offer me your condolences?

I mean, there's no way you haven't heard about Lionel's death in this one -night

town. Somehow I didn't imagine you were too broken up about it.

Well, the son of a bitch is trying to cut me out of his will, and I am not

to stand for it.

And you want me to... Help me fight it. I mean, even if we have to go to court,

I mean, you must have some sort of sway with the system.

Marlena, contestant will can take quite a long time. It's litigation, we're

talking depositions, gathering evidence, not to mention the courts have backed

up. A trial could take up to a year and a half just to schedule, and it's very

rare to win.

Well, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?

You know what? If you don't help me, then I might be forced to tell your wife

what the two of us did in your guest bedroom the night of her 40th birthday

party.

Look, I was drunk, okay? I didn't know what I was doing.

I beg to differ.

You knew exactly what you were doing.

So if I were you, I would find a way to speed things up.

Finally, it's about time you called me.

I don't know. You tell me what my silence is worth, huh?

You don't want me to tell my wife or Xander about our little side deal, nor

you want me to tell them what you did.

Trust me.

You do not want to call my bluff.

I'm hoping that we can reach some sort of an agreement.

Perfect. I'll see you then.

No one saw you, did they?

No, of course not.

I was extra careful.

Look, I love you so much.

And I hate that we have to sneak around in secret.

How much longer do we have to do this?

I want the entire world to know how much I love you.

Soon.

We can finally get out of here, be together, and start our lives anew.

What's wrong?

Do I have to sleep with your mother again?

I mean, Marlena's going to be beyond angry when this all plays out.

She'll probably try to kill me.

I have to play this perfectly?

If I'm going to destroy my mother's social standing, then get her out of

town and my life.

I was scheduled to go out before she received that bogus Humanitarian of the

Year award and before the interview was published.

All she did was write a check.

I want my mother to think long and hard about how she locked me in the attic.

I want to see the beginning of the video.

What? What?

Why would you want to watch it? Not the whole thing, just the beginning.

My father would have never dreamed I was the one to send him this video.

This is going to ruin her reputation.

God, she'll be horrified.

When we leave here, we can finally start our lives over.

Did you mean it?

When you said you'd do anything because of how much you love me.

You know I did.

I mean, look at everything I've already done.

You were the first person that ever saw me.

The real me.

Some guy from the wrong side of town.

Oh, I totally forgot. I told Xander I'd grab a late lunch with him.

But you'll never betray me.

Right, Sonny?

Of course not.

I love you more than anything.

Dad had so many deals going on that I didn't even know about. I had to move

overflow to the conference room.

How's it going over there?

Uh, fine.

Fine. Your family sure is interesting.

Oh, no. What happened?

Nothing. I mean, nothing to worry about, I don't think.

We'll talk about it later tonight, okay?

All right.

Well, I got to go.

I love you.

Yeah, I love you, too.

They're coming along wonderfully, aren't they?

Yeah.

I will admit...

I was more than a little worried about Nicole, and that she could really play

that part during the will reading.

She did it, though. Mm -hmm.

But she hadn't overheard of it. I know.

Is it done?

Yeah.

The bastard never even noticed that I switched the wills on him.

Babe.

You are a genius for pulling this off.

Do you guys want to clue me in on exactly what's going on here?

I had my doubts if we could bring Nicole in on the plan.

Speaking of which,

I'll fill that in as well, though.

It all happened quicker than expected.

Thanks to Booth and Steve.

Hi.

Hello.

Hi.

So, did I do a good job with the will reading? Did I act surprised enough?

You were brilliant.

You played the surprise beneficiary perfectly.

Did I make you proud?

Of course. You always do.

And now we can focus on getting Mom's company back to the glory days.

Yes.

Audrey, nice to see you again.

Well, Chip, if it isn't my roadside savior, what are the odds?

I must admit, I had to do my research.

And I absolutely love your travel articles.

Thank you. I can't thank you enough for doing this article in our quaint little

town. No, thank you for meeting me and to give me the grand tour.

My pleasure. Let's go.

Camellia Falls' primary economic driver was Paper Factory that closed down a

while back.

Interesting. And when did you start developing your tourism here?

About ten years ago.

We transformed an empty downtown into a vibrant, bustling shopping district.

Well, I could see why it would make a perfect weekend getaway.

That's exactly what I'm hoping that you're going to write.

So, how has it been staying at the Whitfields?

Oh, well, it's been incredibly hard for my husband after his father's death.

Which brings me to my next question.

I know your sister has a past with the family.

Yeah.

I'm a little bit more acquainted with Whitfields than I would like.

So, what do you know about my sister?

Not much, really.

Sanders mentioned her in passing, but all I gathered was that it didn't really

end well.

Watch out for that family.

What happened to her?

That's Brianna's story to tell.

Well, do you think I could speak with her, please?

Look, I'm very protective of my sister.

But she wants to talk to you, too.

Great. Do you think we could set something up?

Are you worried about something in particular?

No. No, not really. Just call it a reporter's gut feeling, I guess.

I think I should get her side of the story.

Please, do not let my sister get involved with that family again.

No one can know that you're meeting with her because she wants nothing to do

with him again.

Of course.

You have my word.

Hey, where are you?

I have a fight to catch in a couple of hours. I came to hear your offer, but

you're not here.

Listen, you got five minutes.

Oh, there you are.

Yeah. Yeah, Ash, I know.

I know how it used to be. Things are different now.

Yeah, we'll figure it out.

It's not a big deal.

I gotta go. Can I call you back?

Marlena.

I wasn't expecting you today.

We need to talk.

And I thought here was a better place than the house.

Marlena, I'm really busy today.

There's something you have to have wondered about.

Yeah, I don't have time for your riddles.

What are you talking about?

Nicole.

She's your daughter.

You remember that night.

You were 18, and you were mad at your father for not paying for your European

vacation with your friends.

And I had just recently married Lionel, and he was away on a business trip. I

don't want to talk about this. And you had gotten into the liquor cabinet, and

you found me out by the pool taking an evening swim.

You were so handsome and virile. Shut up.

Just because we never spoke about it afterwards doesn't mean it didn't

Are you sure Nicole is my daughter?

Lionel was having issues in the bedroom at the time, so we were rarely intimate.

And I had to lie and pretend that Nicole was a month early just to avoid his

suspicion.

Why are you telling me this right now?

You are aware of my current unfortunate financial situation.

I'm going to need you to help me with that.

Permanently. You're blackmailing me. One person's blackmail is another person's

business arrangement.

And if you don't, then I will have to throw your relationship with that dear

Audrey into possible chaos by telling her and Nicole the truth.

What? Fine.

I call your bluff.

Audrey loves me. She'll stand by me.

Perhaps, but still.

That is a bitter pill to swallow.

I mean, it might just give her enough pause to think about staying in your

marriage. I mean, what would her family think of this bombshell?

I bet you want to get your hands on her family's money, don't you?

Not to mention the emotionally fragile Nicole and her future reputation.

And think about the scandal that it might cause the company just as you are

revamping things.

Shut up!

God, I hate you!

How can you do this to your own daughter?

Don't you know the town is going to turn against you?

You'll be destroyed socially.

I'll do whatever it takes to survive.

I'll give you 24 hours to think it over.

Hey, I got your message to me. What's up?

What's wrong?

You're not having second thoughts about what we did with the will, are you? No,

no, no. Our family is a lot right now.

I'm worried.

That Audrey's going to get scared off.

And there go our chances of getting our family to invest.

I can't help but think. What happened with Brianna?

We both know how that went.

And I can tell Audrey is starting to dig in. I can tell.

But it's not just that.

Okay.

Look, Marlena is threatening to reveal something that I haven't told you.

And that is?

Apparently, I'm Nicole's father.

Xander, how the hell did that happen?

It's a long story.

But if Marlena tells her...

Who knows what Audrey's going to do.

Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.

Yeah, sure.

I mean, I just happen to be in town.

Honestly, I don't really talk that much about what happened between Xander and

me.

Does he know that you're meeting me here today?

No, he doesn't actually.

Well, my relationship with Xander started off wonderful.

A fairy tale, even.

But, I don't know, then it took a dark turn.

how long you two were together um a little over a year yeah we met here in

um we are both here visiting our family and i mean i knew of his family of

course but i guess our social scenes never overlap and then things kind of

moved really quickly we had gotten an apartment out in los angeles and got

engaged only a few months after dating and i had started this new job at a

marketing firm

But then I met the rest of his family, of course.

And let's just say the Whitfields were aloof towards me right from the start.

Well, you know, Marlena didn't really roll out the red carpet for me either.

Susan, darling, wonderful to hear from you.

Yeah, I was just going to reach out to you today about the charity luncheon at

the hospital.

Wait, what?

What are you talking about?

What mass email that was sent out.

How could you send that video out without telling me first?

Your mother is literally going to throttle me. What were you thinking? It

simply the perfect time once I learned the newspaper article about her

charitable ways was set to run tomorrow.

None of them seem to be a fan of mine.

I guess because I came from a working class family, they didn't think I was a

right fit for Xander.

And then, you know, I started to wonder what happens if we decide to have

children. How would they treat them?

Of course.

And then I had the night from hell.

What happened?

So Xander and I flew in for a visit. And the second day here, he had to go on

some emergency business trip. So I decided to wait for him at the Whitfield

Estate.

That night at dinner, Marlena and Lionel were arguing about something. I can't

even remember what. But you wouldn't believe the hateful words they were

to each other. I mean, it scared me.

And then Lionel threw plates at Marlena. Oh my God, what did he do?

Well, I thought they were crazy, so I went to my room.

And then later, Lionel confronted me.

And threatened me by saying he could make my life unbearable if I didn't get

line with what he expected of Xander's wife.

Gosh, I couldn't even imagine.

Yeah, I just, I knew I had to get out of there for the night, you know? And

maybe even forever.

But in my rush to get away, I crashed my car into a tree, completely totaled it,

gave myself a concussion, and the scar.

Nothing I have to deal with for the rest of my life.

I'm so sorry that happened to you.

You know, to Xander's credit, he said he would make it up to me and he'd protect

me from them.

But you broke things off anyway.

Yeah.

It was just all too much, you know?

Yeah, I know.

Audrey?

Please, be careful.

Okay, there is something really dangerous going on with that family and

that house.

Sonny, where the hell are you? I guess she checked her email.

Oh, this is going to be very bad.

Oh, I got to get the hell out of here.

Hey, hon. I'm just about to run into a meeting. Can I call you right back? We

need to talk, okay? Tonight. It's important.

Sure. Is something wrong?

I met Brianna today.

What did she tell you?

It wasn't settling.

Look, I'll be available in just a couple of hours. Just please don't jump to

conclusions.

We'll talk about it tonight, okay?

Try to make it almost finished again.

Where do you think you're going? Uh, Mrs. Whitfield. No, don't Mrs. Whitfield

me. Tell me who you're working with. I don't know what you're talking about.

had you tape us having sex and then sent that email to every person that I know?

I have no idea who you're referring to. Tell me who is trying to destroy me. Was

it my dead husband?

Is he haunting me from the grave? Did he pay you to do all this? No, nothing

like that happened. I'm going to kill you if you don't tell me.

You need to leave, Nicole.

Please, please, don't let my mother run you out. I'm almost at the end of my

plan. Please, honey, you're the only one who's on my side. You know how much I

love you, but your mother is going to... What the hell is that? I need you to

hide this in my mother's room immediately.

Please, honey, please don't abandon me now.

Sander?

I need to see you.

I just saw something very disturbing.

No, let's not talk here at the house.

I'm coming to you.

Hey, honey.

Are you almost home yet?

Not yet. I'm trying to get out of here as soon as possible.

Something strange has happened.

I just got off a call with Teresa. She said Warren never got to Hawaii.

She's really worried. She has no idea where he could be.

That's odd.

Can you ask people at the house if they've heard from him or anything?

Sure, of course.

Okay, and I promise I'm going to get home as fast as I can. I know we've got

lot to discuss.

Okay.

How could we not know where Warren is? Where could he be?

I don't know.

But maybe we should let everyone know just in case. Oh, my God.

What? From my upstairs window, I saw Warren walking down to the gazebo

yesterday, and I was surprised because I thought he was in Hawaii already.

What is it, Nicole?

Audrey, do you remember when I told you I walked in on my mother with someone in

the gazebo?

Yeah.

And?

It was Warren.

I think they've been having an affair for quite some time now.

Yes, yes.

I'm going to need it tomorrow. Sanders.

One second.

Okay, but it's extremely important.

Okay.

Sorry. Yeah, so I need you to bring in the reports tomorrow morning, okay?

thing in the morning, we'll deal with it then.

Yes. Thank you.

What's so important?

Your father's death was no accident.

What do you mean? He got drunk and fell down the stairs. No.

No, he didn't.

And we need to save the person who did it before it's too late.

So who did it?

Nicole killed Mr. Whitfield.

And earlier today, I saw her hand sunny a knife. Something else dreadful is

going to happen. I just know it.

Why would Nicole want to hurt Dad? That's crazy.

Don't you think I know that?

You are the only person I can trust with this, Xander.

How can you be sure?

I saw it, Nicole.

I would never do something like that.

Here's the thing.

Teresa sent me to pick up some files that she needed from your father. And

as I was approaching that rear glass sliding door...

I looked in the window, and there you were, pushing your drunk -ass daddy down

those stairs.

He was going to ruin our plan by selling the company before he died, and I

just... I get it.

Lionel was an awful, awful man.

But that doesn't give you the right to murder him.

What do you want from me?

We can keep this between us.

For a little extra cash.

I mean, you would not want your big brother to see some murderer every time

looks at you.

Are you positive you heard correctly?

Absolutely.

I gotta get home and talk to Nicole.

Nicole is my granddaughter, Xander.

I'm Marlena's mother.

Okay, well, I hope you hear something about Warren soon, Teresa.

Okay. Mm -hmm.

Talk soon.

Nothing new on Teresa's end?

No, but she's definitely panicking also.

How could Warren just up and disappear like that? I don't get it.

Maybe we should check the gazebo, make sure nothing happened to him?

Yeah.

And then, Mary...

I mean, Marlena, made me swear never to reveal who I am or our past, living hand

-to -mouth through her childhood.

Oh, she was so embarrassed by that.

Are you sure Nicole doesn't know anything about your relationship?

I'm sure.

It's ironic.

We have something in common.

What?

Nicole's my daughter.

I have to go.

He's dead.

He's dead.

He's cold.

He must have been here a while.

Oh, my God. We have to call 911.

There's no spot here. We have to go up by the house.

What in the hell are you doing now? Whoa, Marlena!

She did this!

What? Mother!

I overheard her and Warren the other night. She kept saying she was going to

make him pay if he revealed the affair. My mother?

Tails Warren, what do we do?

Look, we need to get back to the house and get help, okay? Come on, let's go.

I asked you a question.

Where did you put my cabinet?

Do you know who's behind this whole nightmare?

Oh, look.

Okay, look, I'll tell you everything, okay?

Just please put the gun down, Marlene.

Do I look like an idiot?

I'm not going to put this gun down until you tell me every single thing you

know.

Okay, I have service.

We need the police. Someone's been killed.

Tick -tock, Sunny.

Detail.

Now. Look, can't you see?

I never meant to get mixed up in all of this.

Look, just please, just let me go. Look, I'll leave the house and you'll never

see me again.

Man, I'm done.

I'm done. I'm done. I'm done with this crazy family.

Just please.

Put the gun down, Marlena.

Okay, it was Nicole.

Nicole? Nicole was the one that sent the video out.

Look, I think she's trying to make your life a living hell.

Little bitch.

I think she's behind the death of her father, too.

The night he died, she came to me and she seemed... happy.

What'd she have you put in the cabinet?

A bloody knife.

Look, I think she's trying to frame me for something.

Hey, look.

We can work this out.

Yeah, no.

The only thing that's going to happen here is that the two of you are going to

prison.

How long do you think before the police get here? As far out as we are, maybe.

What's happened?

Why do you have a gun, Mother?

This is all your fault.

I caught Sonny in my bedroom trying to plant a knife to frame me for some crime

you obviously committed, Nicole.

Melina, why don't you just put the gun down, okay?

I took the gun out of my knife, Dan, just to protect myself.

But he tried to take it from me.

And we struggled, and it accidentally went off. Where is he? Don't even think

about moving!

What have the two of you been up to?

Nicole!

Benny, are you okay?

He wants nothing to do with you anymore.

He's tired of being your henchman.

Marlena, did you kill Warren?

Kill Warren?

Why would I waste my time on that hang -on?

Because you had an affair and then you killed him because he threatened to

expose you?

Hardly.

Unless... You killed Warren, didn't you? And you tried to pin it on me.

That's why Sonny had the knife.

Why would you kill Warren?

Is that true, Nicole?

Is your mom right? Do you have something to do with what happened to Warren?

Don't you get it, Audrey? All of this, everything I've done has been for

Okay. I think everybody just needs to take a breath and calm down. The police

will be here any moment.

What's going on? What's happening? Marlena, put the gun down.

I know what you did to dad, Nicole.

We're going to figure this out.

Pat was a bat.

Pat, man.

I'm here to protect you.

Just like I always said I would since you were a little girl.

Everything's going to be all right. I just, I need you to trust me.

Santa, listen to me.

Warren is dead.

Okay, he was killed. We found his body over by the gazebo. What? No!

I have worked too hard for everything to go wrong now. I mean, why do you think

I had to kill Warren?

Don't you get it? He saw me push Dad down the stairs and then he demanded I

him money or else he would tell you I was a murderer.

I couldn't let you think that about me.

You pushed Lionel down the stairs. Marlena, enough!

No! Stop! Stop!

Nicole!

to catch Miss Sander. I can't go to prison. Please.

Okay, look, look.

We will help you.

Okay?

Just give us the gun.

It'll be okay. No one else needs to get hurt, Nicole.

Audrey, if something happened to you, Sander would inherit your money and you

won't have to wait for her to have to invest in your company.

I could give you a better life.

You're so fast.

Nicole.

You're my daughter.

What?

How? That doesn't make any sense.

Lena and I... It was a mistake.

Call me sooner.

so much for coming.

Hi.

All right.

Thank you for coming.

And who do I make it out to?

Marlena.

What a surprise.

I saw the announcement of your book signing in the news and I just had to

by. Why don't you make it out to Marlena, one of your inspirations.

Certainly been a long time.

How are you?

I'm good.

I'm recently engaged to the CEO of a bank on the West Coast.

I always land on my feet.

You do, don't you?

Congratulations.

And how's Nicole?

Well, they tell me that she still hasn't accepted the fact that Xander's dead.

But apparently she's a model prisoner.

And she's even taken up watercolor painting.

They tell me that she paints one picture of me after another.

I'm usually dead in her pictures, though, but... Oh, well.

I have a plane to catch. I'm meeting my fiancé in Aruba.

I can't wait to read this.

Take care of yourself, Audrey.

Okay.

And just remember that Nicole could possibly get out in 25 years with good

behavior.

Just something for us to keep in mind in our old age.