Written by: Dallas Walsh

Lyzz, Liam, and Rachelle Thornton stand in shock in the middle of Café Tropical at the Barracuda Blue as their mother, Kymberlynne, is in front of them. They haven't seen their mother in over six years as after their father, Samuel, died, she skipped town and was never heard of again. They almost can't believe that what they are seeing is real.

"Mom?" Lyzz manages to say back to her mother. "What…what are you doing here?"

"Hello Elyzabeth, Liam, and Rachelle," Kymberlynne purses her lips together. "I couldn't miss Rachelle's 18th birthday, so I am here for the party. I hope I haven't missed it?"

Liam chuckles back to her. "We haven't seen or heard from you in six years and you wanted to come to her 18th birthday party? What about when Lyzz turned 18? What about when I turned 18? Did those days not matter to you?"

"As if this day couldn't get any worse…" Rachelle shakes her head in disgust. For so long, she longed for her mother to come back, but seeing her at this very moment, is not what Rachelle wanted.

"You have to understand something," Kymberlynne starts to explain to her children. "After your father died, I was a complete mess. I didn't know which was up or down and I….well, I needed to take care of myself before I could help anyone else."

"And what? Now you're better? Six fucking years later?" Lyzz asks her in a huff.

"I know it's been a long time, but I am back, and I am not going anywhere," Kymberlynne tells her children. "I am hoping that we can try to be a family again, starting with celebrating Rachelle's birthday."

"Go to hell," Rachelle yells at her mother, realizing that her idea of trying to graduate at the top of her class to bring Kymberlynne back was not ideal because seeing her mother is making her blood boil. "You don't get to come back to the Barracuda Blue and expect us to just forgive you! You left us when we needed our mother the most! You left us alone, so just stay the hell away from us!"

Before Kymberlynne can respond, the children rush out of the café, leaving her alone. She sighs heavily. "I will get through to them, somehow, someway."

/\/\/\

The following morning, Orvilla sits behind her desk in her office at the Barracuda Blue with a grin on her face. Her plan to have Malcolm announce that Rachelle, and Nate, had been expelled at the birthday party went off perfectly. The look on Rachelle's face was priceless, and she knows that this means that she will not graduate, in fact, they school might kick her out for good, which means she will not be able to run the company.

"I've taken care of each of the brats," Orvilla clasps her hands together. "Now, I will be guaranteed to stay the CEO of Meccanica and running the Barracuda Blue."

She stands up from the desk and moves to the bar. She normally doesn't drink this early in the day, but she feels like having a celebratory moment as she feels like all of her plans are coming together perfectly. She was worried about the children wanting to take control of Meccanica, but after all of her plotting coming together, she believes she is firmly in control of the company.

"It is a bit early to be drinking, isn't it?" a voice calls out at the doorway of Orvilla voice.

Orvilla finishes swallowing the mouthful of vodka before she turns around to her doorway. The glass she is holding falls to the ground and shatters into a million pieces. Standing in front of her, with her hand on her hip, is Kymberlynne. Immediately, Orvilla's head starts to race: why is her sister back now? How long will she be staying in Maui? What does this mean for her plan to stay as CEO of Meccanica?

"Aren't you going to say hello to your sister?" Kymberlynne moves closer to Orvilla. "I'm back, sister dearest."

"I…I…I must admit, I am surprised to see you," Orvila finally speaks back to her. "You've been away for years, Kymberlynne."

"Yes, I have," Kymberlynne nods back to her. "I saw my children last night; they were equally as shocked to see me back."

"But why? Why are you here, Kymberlynne? It's been years, what has brought you back to the Barracuda Blue now?"

Kymberlynne chuckles back to her. "You make it seem like you're happy to see me, Orvilla? The truth is, I was a wreck after Samuel died, and I was not in a good place mentally. You remember how I was after the funeral?"

"Of course, I do," Orvilla purses her lips together, as she recalls how she used the shattered heart of her sister to encourage her to leave Maui. "I had never seen you like that."

"I needed time, and that time happened to take years, to get into a good place. Then, I realized that it was Rachelle's 18th birthday and I wanted to come home and surprise my youngest daughter."

"Let me guess, it was not the reunion you expected?"

"Hardly," Kymberlynne rolls her eyes back to her sister. "Not that I can blame them for being upset with me. It will take me time to get back into my children's good graces."

"So, I suppose that means that this return, it's long term?" Orvilla asks her next.

"Oh yes," Kymberlynne smiles back to her sister. "I am back in Maui for good; I'm here to help my children and take control, Orvilla. Things are about to change around her, for the good."

/\/\/\

"Damnit!" Orvilla smashes her hands into her desk after Kymberlynne has departed. She can't believe that after all these years, Kymberlynne has returned. What's more threatening to her is that her sister said things were going to change around here. "I'll be damned if I let that woman ruin my plans now."

"Orvilla?" Arrow asks as he opens the door to her office. "I got your message; it sounded important, what's going on?"

"You will not believe who showed up to my office earlier this morning,"Orvilla says as she moves back to the bar to pour herself another drink.

"Who?" Arrow asks as he moves closer to her. "And why is their glass in your trash can?"

"I dropped my glass when I saw my visitor," Orvilla turns to him and takes a sip of her drink. "My sister, Kymberlynne Thornton is back."

Arrow's mouth opens in shock at the news. "What? Kymberlynne is back? When did she get back? What does she want?"

"She was vague about her plans," Orvilla taps her glass with her long, manicured nail. "But I will not let that woman ruin everything that I have worked for."

"How are you going to stop her from taking over as CEO of Meccanica? Samuel's will stated that she would be the CEO until the children were of age to run the company," Arrow reminds his friend of the will.

"I know what the damn will said," Orvilla grits her teeth together. "I need to transfer the ownership deed of the company into my name immediately; once I do that, nothing Kymberlynne says or does will matter."

"How can I help?" Arrow asks her.

"If possible, keep Kymberlynne as busy as possible until after the transfer is done, because once that happens, it will not matter what they try to do. But we must act quickly, we've come too far to lose control now, Justin," Orvilla looks at him with intent.

/\/\/\

At the Thornton mansion, Kymberlynne moves into the living room, throwing her large Chanel purse down on the brown leather sofa in the process. She makes a beeline to the bar and pours herself a scotch, which she takes a sip of it, immediately.

"So, the rumors are true, you're back," a voice calls out from behind her. Kymberlynne turns and sees Carson standing in the living room, his muscular biceps pop out from the band of his polo.

"Carson," Kymberlynne looks back at her former lover and can't deny that he is still looking good. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," he says moving closer to her. "How have you been?"

Kymberlynne chuckles back to him. "I am in a good place now," she replies to him. "I know six years is a long time to be away, but I needed to deal with my grief. What Samuel and I had, it was unlike anything else I've ever experienced."

"You and Samuel?" Carson asks her quickly. "What about what we had?"

"We can't have that conversation," Kymberlynne stops him immediately. "This is my children's home, I I don't want them to overhear and find out that you and I were sleeping together."

"That's fair, but at some point, we should talk about it, don't you think?"

"Right now, my focus is on my children. I sense that they need me more than they are willing to admit right now."

"They do," Carson nods back to her. "The thing is Kymberlynne, all three of your children are suffering right now."

Kymberlynne arches her eyebrow back to him. "What do you mean by that?"

"As front desk manager, I have access to all the security cameras, so I know everything that is going on at the Barracuda Blue," he reveals to her. "Lyzz is drinking before work; Liam has had an affair with a taken man; and Rachelle, well she's been expelled from school for cheating on a term paper."

"My God," Kymberlynne gasps back to him in horror. "Thank God I came back when I did; I…I have to help my children; this could be the way I get back in their good graces."

/\/\/\

Kymberlynne storms off the elevator at the Barracuda Blue and makes a beeline towards Lyzz's accounting office. After she said goodbye to Carson, Kymberlynne headed right back to the resort to see if her daughter is in fact drinking before her work shifts as she knows that Orvilla found out about this, she would lose it completely.

She opens the door and sees Lyzz sitting at her desk typing into her laptop. Lyzz turns and sighs heavily at the sight of her mother.

"What are you doing here?" Lyzz asks her quickly. "I am swamped with month-end reconciliation."

"I am sure you are," Kymberlynne moves closer to her daughter. "But this is important, Lyzz. We need to talk about how your mental health. I heard about your fiancé."

"Oh my God," Lyzz groans back at her. "You've been gone for six years and, now, you want to mother me about my dead fiancé?"

"How are you doing with his death? I know firsthand what it is like to lose a spouse."

"Save your breath, Kymberlynne," Lyzz rolls her eyes back to her behind her large sunglasses. "I don't want you your guidance. I've been fine without for years, I don't need you right now."

Kymberlynne puts her hand on her hip and then quickly removes Lyzz's sunglasses. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Just as I suspected," Kymberlynne looks back at her daughter, whose eyes are bloodshot. "You're on some sort of narcotic! What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want to throw away your entire future."

Lyzz grabs the sunglasses out of her mother's hand and places them back on her face. "I want you to get out of my office right now," Lyzz hisses back at her. "And if you ever speak a word of this to anyone else, you will be even more dead to me then you already are."

"I just want to help you," Kymberlynne pleads with her.

"I don't want you or need your fucking help," Lyzz grunts back to her. "Now get the fuck out of here!"

Kymberlynne puts her hands up in defeat and moves out of the office, leaving Lyzz alone. Immediately, she grabs her purse and pulls out a cigarette, taking a huge drag once she lights it.

/\/\/\

Kymberlynne moves into Café Tropical and finds a seat at the bar. Her mind is racing over her interaction with Lyzz. Once Carson revealed to her that Lyzz was drinking before her shift started, she knew she had to confront her daughter, but to realize that she is taking a harder drug makes her realize that Lyzz is in worse shape then she realized at first.

"Can I get a champagne cocktail, please?" Kymberlynne asks Alex, who nods back to her.

"You're, uh, Kymberlynne, right?" Alex asks her as he pours some champagne into a flute.

"Yes, that's me," she responds as she takes a sip of her drink.

"I'm Alejandro, most people call me Alex," he replies to her quickly. "I'm Paola's son."

"My goodness," Kymberlynne shakes her head in wonderment. "You were only a small boy when I left."

"Looks like you have a visitor," Alex gestures to someone standing behind her.

Kymberlynne turns around in her barstool and sees Liam standing behind her, still in his tennis gear. "Liam, hi, please join me."

Liam shakes his head back to her. "No, I'm good," he spits back to her. "I saw you come in here as I was heading to my tennis practice, and I wanted to tell you to leave the Barracuda Blue. You're not wanted here, Kymberlynne."

Kymberlynne gulps heavily. "I am not going anywhere," she responds to him. "I've been away long enough, and from what I can see, I am needed here."

"Needed?" Liam asks with a laugh. "No, we needed you when we were mourning our father. But that time has long passed."

"I want you to think about Meccanica," Kymberlynne looks back at him with intent. "You, or your sisters, should be running your father's company. It's your legacy!"

"You have no idea what I am about or what I want," Liam tells her. "I am following my dreams, not yours."

"Liam…"

"Like I said Kymberlynne, leave the Barracuda Blue, and this time, never come back."

/\/\/\

Kymberlynne finishes her champagne cocktail in Café Tropical and sets her glass down on the bar. She turns to grab her purse and leave as she wants some time alone to think about how she can get back into her children's good graces. Her meetings with Lyzz and Liam have left her reeling about how angry they are at her for leaving them after Samuel died.

As she turns, however, she sees Rachelle moving into the Café. Somehow, she still holds out hope that her youngest daughter will give her a warmer greeting.

"Oh, my darling," Kymberlynne tries to move up to her Rachelle, who immediately pushes her away. "Okay, okay, I can see you upset like your siblings are."

"You seem to act surprised by that," Rachelle responds to her. "Why would any of us welcome you back with open arms? You abandoned us when we needed you the most."

"I know, and I am sorry for that," Kymberlynne says back to her. "I am just hoping that you, and your brother and sister, will give me the chance to make this up to you. After all, we are family."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"I heard about your troubles at Belview," Kymberlynne ignores her daughter's remark. "You've been expelled for plagiarizing a term paper?"

"It's all a big misunderstand," Rachelle huffs back to her as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I didn't do anything wrong; I just have to prove it."

"Let me help you with that? I know that you didn't cheat, it's not in your blood."

"I don't want your help," Rachelle firmly responds to her. "I will clear my name, but you will stay out of, and my life."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Rachelle is pacing around in the library at the Barracuda Blue trying to think of a way that she can clear her name in the term paper scandal. She is, however, having a hard time focusing her being expelled because of the fact that Kymberlynne is back at the Barracuda Blue. For so long, she thought she'd never see her mother again, and yet now she is back. On top of that, she had hoped that had she graduated at the top of her class, it would have brought her mother back to town, but now, she realizes she never should have wanted Kymberlynne back in town.

"We have been fine without her," she whispers to herself. "She will bring nothing but more heartache to all of us."

"Hey, I got here as soon as I could," Nate says as he enters the library and flashes his smile at his friend. "What is going on?"

Rachelle sighs heavily, despite being happy to see her friend. "Have you thought of anything that we could do to clear our names? The longer this goes on, the worse I am feeling about it."

"I haven't," Nate admits to her as he grabs her hands. "But believe me when I tell you that I will not stop until we clear our names, Rachelle."

Rachelle pulls him into a hug and holds him close. "I needed to hear that, Nate. My life…it's a mess right now and I don't know what to do about it."

"We are in this together," Nate whispers back to her. "Never forget that."

/\/\/\

"I really can't believe that your mother is back after all this time," Leaf tells Liam as they stand at the bench on the side of the tennis court before he takes a swig of water from his water bottle. "You, and your siblings, must be reeling from it."

"It's wild," Liam admits to him. "She's been gone for years, and suddenly, without any warning, she's back," he tells him. "I feel like my head is spinning."

"I'm glad that you still made practice today," Leaf notes back to him. "It is a good way for you to clear your head and focus on something else."

"I can't stop thinking about something my mother said," Liam admits to him as he takes a sip of water and Leaf arches his eyebrow. "She told me that I should think about taking over Meccanica because it is my legacy."

Leaf uneasily nods back to him, wondering if he should encourage Liam to pursue Meccanica as a way to get back at Arrow and Orvilla for using him as a pawn in their scheme.

"I know you have a focus on tennis and you're a damn good player," Leaf finally speaks back to Liam. "In some ways, I do agree with your Mom, though, Liam. Meccanica, it is your legacy. I do think that your Dad would have wanted one of his children to run the company."

"What are you saying?" Liam asks him quickly.

"I think it's something you should give thought too," Leaf admits to him. "It might be the last way for you to honor your Dad's name and legacy."

/\/\/\

The following morning, Liam sits at a table in Café Tropical with Lyzz and Rachelle as they are having their breakfast together, as usual. Liam hasn't been able to stop thinking about Leaf encouraging him to step up for the company as a way to honor Samuel's legacy, something he hadn't thought of before.

"I still can't believe that our mother is back," Rachelle admits to her siblings. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about right now, she decides to come back after all this time? What the hell?"

"I saw her yesterday and told her to fuck off, basically," Lyzz proudly states to her siblings. "She didn't seem to take that too well."

Liam and Rachelle chuckle at Lyzz's comments. "She did say something that has been sitting with me," Liam admits to them.

Lyzz and Rachelle look at one another in surprise. "What could have said to you that you haven't been able to stop thinking about it?" Rachelle asks him quickly.

"It's about Dad and Meccanica," Liam admits to them. "She said that Meccanica is our legacy and Dad would want us to be running it."

"There's no way I can do that right now," Rachelle sighs back to them. "With me getting expelled, I have no idea what will happen to graduation."

"And I'm not in a place to take over either," Lyzz admits to them. "The fact is, Ash's death has hit me harder then I've admitted. I'm…I'm struggling."

Liam grabs her hand and squeezes it. "Admitting this is the first step, Lyzz. You're doing the right thing."

"Liam is right, and we are here for you," Rachelle tells her sister before she looks back at Liam. "That leaves you, Liam. Do you think you would be willing to step away from tennis, even in the short term, to help run Meccanica?"

Liam finds himself nodding back to them, just as Marco rushes up to Liam. "Liam, I'm…I'm glad I found you."

"Marco?" Liam asks him in confusion as they haven't really spoke before. "I've…I've seen you around, but I don't think we've actually spoken before."

"I know," Marco nods back to him. "And that's mostly on me, but we can chat about that later. I was at the supermarket earlier and I saw something, something that you need to see."

"I'm confused," Liam admits to him. "What, exactly, did you see?"

"This," Marco says as he passes Liam a tabloid. On the cover is, "Thornton Heir Caught Sex Scandal!", and the picture is of Liam on all fours with Leaf behind him.

"Oh my fucking God…." Liam groans as he feels the blood drain from his face.

Just then, all three siblings get a ping on their phones. They look at one another before they check their phones and then look at one another again, all realizing that they got the same message from their mother.

/\/\/\

The Thornton children storm to the front door of the Thornton mansion and look at one another, wondering why their mother summoned all of them to the manor at the same time. They can only imagine what kind of game she is playing now.

"What do you think she wants?" Rachelle asks her siblings as they stand outside.

"I have no idea, but I'm ready to shut this bullshit down once and for all," Lyzz admits to them. "I'm tired of her demanding our time when she hasn't been here in years."

"Agreed," Liam nods back to her. "And I need to go see Leaf; he needs to know what has happened."

"Let's get this over with then," Rachelle tells her siblings as she opens the door to the mansion and they move inside and head towards the living room, where they see Kymberlynne standing in the middle of the room.

"You're lucky we came," Lyzz hisses to her mother. "We have all told you that we want nothing to do with you, so why the hell are you harassing us?"

"I am your mother," Kymberlynne calmly tells her daughter. "And thank you, by the way, for all coming. Lyzz, please have a seat."

Lyzz looks at Liam and Rachelle, who encourages her to sit on the sofa, so Lyzz does. "This is about you," Kymberlynne admits to them.

"What is this about?" Liam asks his mother.

"Your sister," Kymberlynne announces to her children. "She has been using drugs as a coping mechanism for her grief over losing Ash; this, this is a intervention, because Lyzz, you can't continue on this pass!"

"Oh, no fucking way!" Lyzz stands up quickly and looks at her mother with a glare. "How dare you! You have no idea who I am or what I've been through! If anything, I am going through all of this shit because you abandoned me, us, all those years ago! So do not stand here and act like you care!"

Lyzz turns to leave, causing her siblings to look at her. "Lyzz, wait," Rachelle says.

"No," Lyzz turns and looks at her siblings. "I can't do this! I can't!"

Lyzz storms out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Liam and Rachelle look back at Kymberlynne and sigh heavily.

"Are you happy now?" Liam asks her quickly. "You aren't here to help us, mother. You're here making our lives a living hell."

/\/\/\

Lyzz lights a cigarette as she speeds away from the mansion in her SUV. She can't believe the nerve of Kymberlynne for coming back into her life, and immediately, trying to change how she is grieving. Has she been turning to cocaine more than she normally does? Yes, Lyzz thinks to herself, but it's not every day that you lose your fiancé.

"What a fucking bitch," Lyzz says as she puffs out a bunch of smoke from her mouth. "I want her out of my life forever! I never want to see her again."

She turns a sharp corner, but as she does, she is going so far, she happens to lose control of her SUV! The vehicle crashes railing on the side of the highway and rolls the SUV over four times. When the vehicle stops moving, smoke starts to emerge from the engine. Lyzz's head lays on the airbag with blood coming out of multiple cuts on her face.

/\/\/\

"Are you absolutely sure that Lyzz was drinking before her shift?" Paola asks Alex as are they are huddled by the housekeeping cart in one of the hallways of the Barracuda Blue.

Alex nods back to his mother quickly. "This was just the other day," Alex whispers back to her. "Look, I can't stay long because I have to get back to the bar, but I think this is a good sign, Mom. It means that the siblings are not in a good place."

"You are certainly right about that," Paola smiles back to him. "Rachelle has also been expelled."

"Right, so that just means that Liam might be able to take over Meccanica."

"He is so focused on his tennis career, I can't imagine that he will," Paola admits to him. "I am still rather surprised that Kymberlynne has returned. That woman has been gone for years."

"I saw her in the flesh, Mama," Alex nods back to her. "I think it's time."

"Alejandro? What are you talking about?" Paola asks him in concern.

"I think it's time," Alex replies to her. "It's time that I announce that I am Samuel's son and that I'm taking over."

"Patience," Paola tells her son. "We will make our move, but everything has to be set in place first. Trust me, on this. We will get what is ours, it's just a matter of time."

/\/\/\

"Leaf! Leaf, are you in there?" Liam asks as he pounds his fist on the door to the guest house that his tennis coach lives in with Arrow. He is determined to talk to Leaf because somehow pictures of their fling were taken, and now given to a tabloid.

"Hey, what is going on?" Leaf finally asks as he opens the door. "It sounded you were about to break the door down."

"Why did you do this? How could you do this to me?"

Leaf looks back at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"This," Liam throws the tabloid at him. "You were filming us having sex? What the hell?"

"Oh my God," Leaf gasps at the headline and the pictures. "I…I had no idea, you have to believe me! I didn't do this!"

"Then who the hell did?" Liam demands to know from him. "And what are they trying to accomplish?"

/\/\/\

"This is absolutely incredible," Orvilla stands in her office at the Barracuda Blue looking at the tabloid cover, exposing Liam and Leaf's affair while Arrow pours himself a drink at the bar. "There is no way in hell that Liam will be able to run for CEO of this company, even if he wanted too."

"This is too much, Orvilla," Arrow replies to her quickly. "Leaf is going to lose his shit when he sees that."

"You will have to use your charms to get him to realize that this is all for the best," Orvilla tells him. "And besides, look at his abs in this shot, he's going to have a lot of people admiring him."

"You don't know him the way I do," Arrow turns to her. "He's already furious with me; this, this is going to send him over the edge."

"Justin, please," Orvilla says back to her friend, just as Kymberlynne arrives at the doorway of the office, which is slightly ajar. She presses her ear to the door so she can hear what her sister and best friend are talking about. "Try to look at the positive's, okay? Lyzz is so stoned that she can't tell which way is up or down; Liam is now involved in this sex scandal, and Rachelle has been expelled from school; my plan is working perfectly."

"Plan? What plan?" Kymberlynne whispers to herself, just as her cell phone start to vibrate in her purse. She rushes away from the doorway as she doesn't want to alert her sister that she is there. Once she is a safe distance from Orvilla's office, she answers the phone.

"Kymberlynne Thornton," she says into her phone as she feels the blood drain from her face. "What? Oh my God, yes, I'll be right there."

/\/\/\

A short time later, Kymberlynne is pacing back and forth in the waiting room of the Maui Memorial Medical center while Liam and Rachelle are huddled next to one another in two chairs as they are all waiting to hear about Lyzz and her car accident.

"What is taking so long? We should have heard something by now," Kymberlynne huffs to herself, as Liam and Rachelle look at one another, realizing that their mother is genuinely worried about Lyzz.

"Lyzz is the strongest person I know," Liam tries to tell his mother some encouraging words. "She will be fine, I think."

"Liam is right," Rachelle echoes her brother's statement. "If anyone can pull through this, it's Lyzz."

"This is all my fault," Kymberlynne covers her mouth. "If I hadn't sprung that intervention on her, she wouldn't have stormed out of the mansion…"

Before anyone can say anything else, a middle-aged man enters the waiting room. Kymberlynne, Liam, and Rachelle rush up to him. "Doctor, how is Lyzz? How is my daughter?"

"She is alive, but only barely," the doctor replies to her. "She suffered severe head trauma when her SUV rolled multiple times."

"Oh God," Rachelle starts to cry.

"But she will be okay, right?" Kymberlynne asks him, almost willing the answer from him.

"We don't know that," the doctor admits to her. "She's fallen into a coma, and at this point, I have no way of knowing if or when Lyzz will ever wake up again."