CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Lisa breathed deeply, strengthening herself before going into the
room. She had no other choice but do what she’d come here to do.
Slowly she opened the large door and entered Helena’s room.
Helena was lying in bed, hooked up to several machines. The only one
Lisa recognized was the ventilator, the one that kept the ‘old bat’
breathing.
Helena opened her eyes, glanced at Lisa and closed her eyes again.
“Hello Lisa. How is my daughter in law today?”
Lisa frowned as she walked around the room. Something was off.
“Fine,” she replied, “How are you feeling?” She was being grossly polite,
all things considered, but it really wouldn’t matter much longer.
“I am sorry I was not able to attend your grandfather, Alexander’s
funeral.”
Lisa shrugged, “Yeah well, you didn’t miss much. I was the only
one there, other than a few of the other servants. It was a quiet death.”
Helena nodded slowly and opened her eyes, “You were the only
one he knew well, other than Jessica. Come closer, let me take a look at
you.”
Lisa frowned again. “He asked me to give you something.” She
walked closer to Helena and quickly flipped the switch on the ventilator.
Lisa watched as Helena gasped for air.
“My curse on you!” she gasped through exhausted lungs.
Lisa mocked a yawn, then turned back on the ventilator. “Oh
please. Your stupid curses mean nothing to me, you old hag! Don’t you
ever get it?” Lisa looked right in Helena’s face, “I should have killed you
years ago,” she said through gritted teeth. Lisa was ready to watch Helena
die. She’d never done anything like this before, but she was having no
qualms about doing it now. Her fury rose as she remembered exactly what
Helena had done to her. She started yelling, “You’ve done nothing but
steal from me and my family for years! First you take me from my father,
then you take Laura from my father! You took Nikolas and Lesley from
Laura! And then you took my daughter away from me and your son! You
stole your own granddaughter away from her family!”
Helena had regained her breath, “Your family is nothing! I
BOUGHT you! I OWN you! You are nothing but a common street whore
for my sons!”
“You bitch!” Lisa screamed as she reached for Helena’s throat, her
patience gone. Lisa squealed in surprise as a strong pair of arms grabbed
her from behind and stopped her from reaching her destination.
“Good work, Josef,” Helena said, smiling.
Lisa glanced over her shoulders and hissed, “You son of a...” her
curse cut off by Josef clamping a chloroform laden cloth around her face.
The last thing Lisa registered was Helena saying, “You’ve
underestimated me for the last time, you little tramp.” Helena then turned
to Josef, “Kill her,” she said, laughing her evil laugh.
Before Josef could do or say anything, the door flew open and
Stefan walked in. “Put her down,” he commanded.
Josef, who had been supporting a semi-unconscious Lisa, glanced
over at Helena. When Helena nodded, Josef let Lisa go and jumped to one
side as she fell unceremoniously to the floor.
Stefan rushed over to his wife. Josef used the opportunity to try
and escape. Just as he reached the door, Luke came in and stood in his
way. He put his hand on Josef’s chest and pushed him back from the door.
“Back up, Boy, this game isn’t over yet.”
When Josef was back in the main part of the room, Luke held
Josef’s shirt with his right hand and slugged him with his left. It wasn’t an
overly strong punch, but Josef was stunned. “That was for Lisa’s kid,”
Luke said as he switched hands. As he delivered a strong upper cut,
knocking Josef into unconsciousness, he said, “And that was for Lisa.”
Stefan and Luke both smiled as Luke let Josef fall to the floor just like he
dropped Lisa.
Luke then turned to Helena, “Hiya Babe, ain’t you dead yet?”
Helena smiled her wicked smile, “I’ll never die as long as you’re
alive, Luke, Darling.”
Luke looked over at Stefan. Lisa was starting to stir, “Is she
okay?”
Stefan nodded, “I believe so,” he glared at Josef’s unconscious
body and at Helena, “No thanks to those two.” Stefan stood up and
walked closer to Helena’s bedside. “What grievances do you have with my
wife?”
Luke frowned at Stefan’s choice of words. Helena smiled, “Your
wife, as you call her, is nothing. Just like you are nothing. You live in the
shadow of real men like your father and brother. You cower in those same
shadows, shirking responsibility. You are weak, undisciplined. A failure as
a Cassadine.”
Stefan turned to Luke, who was helping a groggy Lisa to sit up
while listening intently to Helena’s rattling. “Take Leezia out of here.”
“No.” The answer came mumbled from Lisa. “I’m gonna kill her!”
She tried to stand up too quickly, but staggered. Luke stood up quickly
next to her, supporting her.
Stefan turned to Lisa, “She is not worth the stain she would put on
your conscience.”
Luke nodded, “I have to agree with Steffin, babe,” then he
mumbled, “for once.”
Luke led Lisa out as Stefan walked over to Helena’s ventilator.
“You know Mother, I found out a few things about the family recently.”
He stared intently at her, “I am THE Cassadine.”
Helena’s eyes widened. She realized that Alexander had finally
confessed the truth, but she refused to admit it. “What are you talking
about, you insolent child?” she demanded.
Stefan glanced down at Josef, who was starting to stir. He walked
over to him, reached down and punched him back into darkness. He
turned back to Helena, “Alexander Spencer told me of your indiscretions.”
“Alexander Spencer is dead,” she said quickly.
Stefan reached for the switch on the ventilator, “You will pay for
taking my daughter from me.” He turned off the machine.
Helena gasped for air. “You are weak, Stefan. You won’t go
through with it.” They were the last words she would ever speak.
As her eyes closed for the final time, Stefan said, “I may be weak,
but you’re dead.” He paused briefly, then said, “I guess that means I win.”
He then silently walked out the door, closing it and locking it behind him.
It amused him, the thought of Josef waking up to find no way out, except
for the window. He smiled slightly at the thought, then went to join his
wife to go home.
It wasn’t long before Josef woke up. He jumped up and looked at
Helena. “They’re gone,” he said quietly.
Helena opened her eyes and sat up, “Good. My son is crazy
enough to think that I would allow him to destroy me so easily. He will
pay for his disloyalty. As will Spencer and the whole family.”
*****
“I would have gone through with it,” Lisa admitted to her father
and husband as they flew back to Port Charles. “I would have killed her.”
“Nobody deserves it as much as that old witch,” Luke agreed.
“Especially what she’s done to your family,” Stefan said, squeezing
his wife’s hand gently, reassuringly. “But we don’t have to worry about
her any more.”
Lisa leaned over and rested her head on Stefan’s shoulder as he put
his arm around her. Luke turned away and looked out the window so he
wouldn’t have to see them. After a while, Luke glanced over and saw Lisa
sleeping, still leaning against her husband. Stefan watched her, smiling.
Luke looked down, then back at Stefan, “You truly love her, don’t you?”
he asked softly.
Stefan nodded slightly, “Yes, but it wasn’t always so. When we
were married, it was only to protect her. Our love grew from there.”
“Did you love her when she had your kid?”
“I loved her from the first time we made love. I watched her grow
up and overcome adversity that no one should have to deal with, much less
a child. She has that survival instinct that your family prides itself on. You
should be proud of your daughter. Do not push her away.”
Bristling, Luke flustered, “I am proud of my daughter, and not even
you can push me away from her. We missed too many years as it is. So
you’d better get used to me being around. I’m going to be a part of my
daughter’s life and my grandchildren’s lives.”
As Luke looked back at the window, Lisa opened one eye, looked
at her father and smiled broadly.
*****
Laura sat at the dining room table staring at an envelope. She
glanced down at Lucky sitting in the floor playing with Lulu and Anreya.
She shuddered slightly at the thought of Luke’s daughter and
granddaughter being only a year apart in age. She went back to staring at
the letter.
Lesley came downstairs and saw the worried expression on Laura’s
face. She crossed over and sat at the table. “Laura honey, what’s wrong?”
“This.” Laura handed the letter to her mother.
Lesley looked quickly at it, “It’s Lisa’s.”
Laura nodded, “Yes, addressed to Lisa Ann Spencer, here, with a
return address in Athens. Not a good sign, but it does mean that whoever
wrote it knows that Luke knows about his daughter. And knows her full
name.”
Lucky perked up at the mention of his older sister. “Do you think
that whoever it was doesn’t know about her marriage to Cassadine?”
Laura shrugged, “At this point, Lucky, I’m not going to think
anything,” she glanced at her mother. “Most of what I’ve accepted as fact,
isn’t.”
The front door opened and Luke and Lisa walked in. Laura smiled
at them both. Slamming the door behind him and smiling, Luke said, “Hi
honey, I’m home!”
Lisa just waved at everyone.
Laura looked at Lisa, “Where’s Stefan? I figured you would be
with him.”
Lisa replied, “He went to back to Wyndemere, he wanted to be the
one to tell Nikolas about Helena. She’s dead.”
Laura jumped to conclusions again, “Oh Luke, you didn’t.”
Luke shook his head, “Nope.”
Laura looked incredulously at Lisa, “Lisa?”
Lisa also shook her head, “Not me either.” She crossed the room
and picked up Anreya, “How’s my baby girl?” she asked the child.
Anreya grinned, “Mama.”
Luke leaned closer to Laura and said softly, “Steffin offed the old
bat.” Laura just nodded silently.
Lesley stood up and crossed over to Lisa, “Well I’m just glad to see
you all home in one piece.” She said as she kissed Lisa on the cheek.
Lisa nodded, “Me too, Grandma. Now that Helena’s reign of
terror is over, maybe we can all get back to somewhat of a normal life.”
Lucky smiled, “What’s normal?”
Laura walked back over to the table. “That reminds me.” She
picked up the letter and handed it to Lisa. “This came for you this
morning.”
Lisa sat down in the chair so she could read the letter. Anreya kept
grabbing for it, but Lisa held it up high enough that she couldn’t reach it.
She opened it and glanced quickly at the end. “It’s from Alexander.” She
looked up at her father, “He must have mailed this just before he died.
Luke nodded understandingly as Lisa read through the letter
quickly. She handed it to Luke without saying anything except, “You’d
better read this, Daddy.”
Luke read through the letter and frowned. “How many kids did
this guy have?”
All eyes turned to him. He didn’t say anything further as he
crumpled up the letter and threw it on the table.
Lisa looked up at her father, “I know who she is.”
“This Jessica?” he asked.
Lisa nodded, “Yeah. She was there when Anreya was born. She
was the nurse that helped Alexander take my daughter.”
Lucky asked, “You wanna explain what you guys are talking
about?”
Luke said, without emotion, “Alexander had another kid.”
Laura looked surprisedly at Luke, “You mean in addition to the
four we already knew about?”
Luke nodded, “Apparently so. This girl was in between Bobbie and
Billy somewhere. He didn’t go into details.” Then he added,
“Mercifully.”
Lisa added, “Jessica was the only child that he raised. The only one
that none of the others knew about.”
Lesley asked, “Then why did he bother to tell you now?”
Luke replied, “Because he told her to come here and look for me
and Barbara.” He shook his head in disbelief, crossed the room silently and
picked up Lulu and sat down with her on the sofa. The others just watched
him, also silently. Finally, he said, “I don’t like it.”
Lisa nodded, “Me either. Something’s wrong with this picture.”
She hugged her daughter tightly. “I’m not letting her come after my baby
girl.”
“Don’t worry, Sunshine,” Luke assured her, “No one will let her
anywhere near Anreya. Or anyone else in this family, for that matter.”
*****
Across town at Kelly’s, a middle aged woman knocked on one of
the room doors upstairs. The door opened silently and Carly stood there.
Carly stared at the woman for a second.
“Caroline?” the woman asked.
“Aunt Jessie?” Carly replied.
Carly threw her arms around Jessica Spencer and cried.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Stefan called Alexis and Nikolas into the living room at
Wyndemere. “Where’s Leezia?” Nikolas asked.
As they sat down, Stefan said, “She went to pick up Anreya at the
Spencers. She wanted to give me time to explain to you what happened.”
“What did happen?” Alexis wondered aloud. “Must have been
pretty serious for you to go with Luke Spencer.”
Stefan nodded, “Leezia went to Greece to confront Helena.”
“Oh no,” Alexis gasped.
Stefan raised his hand to shush Alexis while he continued.
“Fortunately, her father and I were able to stop her before she did
something rash.” He paused for a moment, “Helena is dead.”
“How?” Nikolas asked, voice without emotion.
Stefan explained, “She tried to kill Leezia. I shut off her
ventilator.”
Alexis tried not to smile, “Then she’s really gone.”
“Was there no other way?” Nikolas questioned.
“Not without leaving Leezia in danger. Helena has been after her
for years. Either in person, or through someone else. Mostly through
someone else. Leezia has a right to be safe. Our children have that right as
well. And if anyone questions my motives, let me just ask what they would
do in my place.” Stefan breathed deeply, daring anyone to question him.
“Then you have my complete support, “Alexis assured him.
Nikolas nodded, “Mine as well. You and Leezia and your children
deserve every happiness.”
Stefan stood up. Smiling, he gently kissed each of Nikolas’ cheeks,
then did the same with Alexis. “Thank you both,” he said before leaving
the room.
*****
Carly finished telling Jessica Spencer about her life in Port Charles.
“So you set out to destroy your mother’s life?” Jessica asked.
Carly nodded, “Yep. Did a pretty damn good job of it, too.”
“So what was her reaction to finding out that the girl that stole her
husband was really her daughter?”
Carly shrugged, “Well, that came out about the same time that she
found out her marriage to Cassadine was invalid. I could have continued
to live my life as Carly Roberts. But to answer your question, I’ve not
seen Bobbie for over a month.” Carly had a question of her own, “So what
are you doing here in Port Charles?”
Jessica smiled, “Well, this is actually my second trip. I came to
town once while my father was here.”
“Alexander?” Carly asked.
“Yeah. I was running an errand for him that I had to do in person.
He asked me if I wanted to meet Luke and Bobbie. I turned him down.”
“What changed your mind?”
Jessica closed her eyes briefly to focus, then reopened them, “He
asked me to find them and get to know them. And tell them about him. It
was his dying request.”
Carly sighed, “That’s not gonna be easy. Alexander wasn’t a well
liked figure for either Luke or Bobbie. Lisa or me either for that matter.
Come to think about it, after the Florida incident, I’m surprised Lisa is
speaking to either of us.”
Shaking her head, Jessica said, “Lisa has a lot more reasons to be
ticked off at me than at you. The fact that we’re actually related is
irrelevant.”
“Lisa’s learned not to stay mad at anyone in the family very long.
She’ll get over it.”
“Not with that Cassadine mentality she’s got. I’m sure of it. She
used to be a servant too, you know, but she seems to have forgotten that
small fact,” Jessica complained. Then she changed the subject, “So, what
do we do about getting you and Bobbie on speaking terms?”
Carly just laughed.
*****
Lisa slept soundly in Stefan’s arms when she was awakened by a
small but repetitive tug on her hand. She opened her eyes and focused on
the small figure standing by the bed. She reached over and turned on the
bedside table lamp. “What’s the matter, Sweetie?” she asked her daughter.
Lisa could see the tears running down Anreya’s cheeks. “Mama!”
Anreya sniffed, as she reached up for her mother.
Stefan sat up as Lisa pulled Anreya up into bed with them. “Did
you have a bad dream, Baby?” Lisa asked.
Anreya nodded and sniffed again, “You and Papa, gone.”
Stefan stroked his daughter’s hair lovingly as Lisa held her tightly,
“Don’t worry, Princess,” he assured her, “Your Mama and I aren’t going
anywhere.”
“Sure?” the little girl asked like she was afraid of the answer.
Lisa nodded, “We’re sure, Sweetie. Your Papa and I won’t ever
leave you. I promise.”
Anreya sniffed again, “Okay.”
Stefan smiled and took his daughter into his arms, “Why don’t you
let Papa read you a story so you can fall back to sleep?”
The little girl nodded and smiled through her remaining tears,
“Okay.”
*****
A little bit later, Stefan sat in a comfortable chair, holding Anreya
while reading to her. Anreya seemed fascinated more by Stefan’s reading
glasses than the fairy tale that her father was reading to her in Greek.
Lisa leaned in the doorway, just watching them silently. Anreya
had her head on Stefan’s shoulder and was starting to fall back to sleep.
Stefan kissed the top of his daughter’s head lovingly, closed the book and
stood up to tuck her into bed.
Lisa smiled as Stefan pulled back the blanket of her bed, laid
Anreya down and pulled the blanket up around her. He rested his hand
briefly on the top of her head and said softly, “Goodnight, my Princess.”
Anreya smiled as she closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.
Stefan watched her for a few moments before turning and heading
out of the room. He smiled at Lisa and wrapped his arms around his wife.
“You have quite a way with her,” Lisa said quietly.
“She makes it very easy for me.”
Lisa nodded, “Now. But just wait until she’s a teenager.” Lisa
grinned.
Stefan pulled his hand back and held it over his heart, feigning
shock. “No, not that.”
They both laughed as they walked back towards their bedroom.
Suddenly, Lisa stopped and looked at him. “I’m jealous,” she said abruptly
as she crossed her arms.
Stefan was confused, “Why? When Anreya had her nightmare, she
came to you, not me.”
Lisa looked down and frowned exaggeratedly. “That’s not what I
meant. You never told me any bedtime stories. And you have a pet name
for Anreya. ‘My Princess’.”
Stefan took Lisa’s chin in his hand and tilted her face up to look at
him. “The mother of that princess is a queen. My queen.” Stefan bent
down and kissed her.
They walked on until they were standing in the bedroom door. Lisa
turned to him. “What about the bedtime stories?”
Stefan smiled. He bent down and picked Lisa up and took her into
the room. He laid her gently on the bed and started kissing her neck. He
looked into her eyes, “Once upon a time...”
*****
