"What are you talking about?" Mac Rockwell asks Kent Blackmore, who just told him and Lex Rockwell that he is Lex's father. Mac knows that this must be another one of Lydia's sick and twisted schemes because there is no way that Kent Blackmore is Lex's father. After all, they had a paternity test when Lydia learned she was pregnant with Lex; Mac was proven to be the father. He looks at Kent and feels his blood boil at Kent's claim. Where do these two get off? he thinks to himself.

Kent moves over to the bar in Lydia Rockwell's office at Rockwell Mining and pours himself a brandy. He takes a sip of it before he turns around and looks back at Mac and Lex. "I am Lex's father, yes," Kent tells them as he moves up to the two men. "It's a long story, but I have to tell the truth. You see, losing Houston has made me realize that I can't live without my other son anymore. Life is too precious."

"You're a sick son of a bitch," Lex grits his teeth back to Kent, not believing a word of this story. "How dare you come into my father's office and tell feed us this bullshit!"

"I know that this is a surprise," Kent stays calm in his response to Lex. "But this is the truth, you're my son."

"This is another one of Lydia's games," Mac spits back to him. "She wants to ruin me and will stop at nothing to try to accomplish that. I can't believe she would use our son like this!"

"And, I looked at my medical file. There was a paternity test," Lex reveals to Kent. "There is no evidence that you're my father. This is a disgusting lie! A lie we will not listen to anymore, so get the fuck out of here, Kent, before I throw you out."

Kent uneasily nods back to them before he takes another sip of his brandy. "Yes, there was a paternity test," Kent continues to explain to them. "But you see, Lydia altered the results. She wanted you, Mac, to think that Lex was your son."

"Why would she do that?" Lex yells, not able to remain calm at Ken's accusations. "Why would she lie to everyone about this? This makes absolutely no sense."

"Because, I just took over the Kelsey Lake mine," Kent continues to try to explain to them. "And, Lydia thought that if Mac could focus on being a father again that he wouldn't be too upset about losing that mine. I was a fool to go along with it for so many years."

"This is unbelievable," Mac tells him coming up to him. "It's because you two did something illegal to obtain that mine, didn't you? And you thought a baby would distract me from looking into that, didn't you? Didn't you? Answer me!"

"Yes!" Kent yells back at him. "We had to cover our tracks, okay? Are you happy now?"

"Lex was right to call you a son of a bitch," Mac spits back to him, his head spinning from this news.

"So, let me get this straight," Lex comes up to Kent. "You told me the truth because Houston is dead and you want to have a relationship with me now?"

Kent uneasily nods back to him. He can see the hurt in Lex's eyes, but he knows that he has just done the right thing by revealing the truth. "I don't want to lose anymore time with you, son."

"Don't you call me that!" Lex yells at him. "You will never be my father, do you understand me? The only man that I will call father is Mac Rockwell. Because, he is my Dad. You're nothing to me, Kent. Nothing!"

"But he's not your father! I am!" Kent protests back to his son, desperate for him to realize that he's telling the truth.

Lex clinches his fist and punches Kent in the mouth. "I told you that you will never be my father! And I meant it. Now, she the fuck up about this idea of you being my father because we aren't buying your twisted lies."

"What is going on in here?" Lydia Rockwell shrieks as she opens the door and sees blood pouring out of Kent's nose. She rushes over to Kent to see if he is okay. "Lex, why did you hit Kent?"

"Is it true?" Lex turns and asks his mother as he holds his bruised hand. "Is this man my father? Have you been lying to us all these years?"

"Oh Lex," Lydia gasps as a tear falls down her cheek. "I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted you to find out this way."

"My God," Lex stumbles backwards as thought the wind got knocked out of him. "Are you saying it is true?"

"Where do you get off?" Mac asks his ex-wife, equally as floored as Lex is right now. He never thought Kent's story was actually true. "You've played God with all of our lives for years. Who does that?"

"I was trying to protect you," Lydia cries to them.

"You're disgusting!" Lex yells at her. "Both of you, are disgusting!"

"Lex," Mac calls out, as Lex moves to the door, hoping to stop him from leaving. He knows Lex is reeling from this news but he shouldn't be alone right now.

"No, Dad, I need to be alone right now," Lex says as he rushes out of the office, unable to comprend what is happening. He is absolutely gutted by this news; his entire life is a lie.

Mac looks back at Kent, still feeling like he's been kicked in the stomach. "Happy now, Blackmore? Your secret is ruining that young man's life! And you," he looks over at Lydia. "You're a sick bitch Lydia. I can't believe after everything we went through, you would do this to us. To our family. To our children!"

"Mac, please," Lydia cries to her ex-husband, trying to get Mac to understand.

Mac spits back to her. "You're a monster and I don't care if I ever see either of you ever again."

***

The next morning, Stacey Rockwell slowly walks through the cemetery, trying to maintain her composure. She is still having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that Houston Blackmore, her fiancé, is dead. Another hard pillow to swallow for Stacey, is that she was in a coma when he passed away so she never got a chance to say goodbye to him. When she woke up, she learned he was dead and he was already buried.

She reaches the still fresh gravesite and kneels down to place a bouquet of roses down in front of the tombstone. She takes off her sun glasses and reads the tombstone, "Houston Elliot Blackmore, 1994-2016".

"I can't believe that you're gone," she whispers as she reaches out and touches the tombstone. "We were so in love, Houston. How did this happen? I don't know how to move on with my life knowing that you're gone. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

She wipes her eye dry from a falling tear. "I still have the ring you gave me," she admits to him. "I haven't put it back on yet, but I want too. Does that sound silly? I know that we can never get married now, but my God, I wish we had married before you left me. Why did you leave me? Why did you have go and die? This isn't fair!"

She stands up as she tries to compose herself. She ends up putting her hand on the tombstone to hold herself up. "I love you," she cries to him. "I miss you so much, Houston. Please, give me a sign that you can hear me and that you're still with me! Please, Houston!"

***

"Isn't a bit early to be drinking?" Celeste Rockwell asks her husband as she moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and spites Mac pouring himself a scotch.

"When did you get home?" he asks her, not listening to her question about the drink. He takes a sip of it before he turns and looks at her, knowing that she was in the hospital following a fall down the staircase that resulted in her miscarrying her child. She must have been discharged from the hospital without him knowing. After the fight they had in the hospital, he didn't think she'd come back here, however.

"Just a few minutes ago," she admits to him. "The doctors said that I was fine to come home."

"And?" he asks her. "How are you feeling?"

"As well as to be expected," she tells him. "I don't know that I will ever get over the fact that my baby is gone. How do you even begin to comprend that? I'm sorry I didn't call you. I didn't think you'd want to come and get me."

Mac looks down, knowing that he possibly lost Celeste's baby but that he has just lost Lex because Kent is really his father. In Mac's mind, he's lost everything; his company, his wife and now his son. He doesn't know how much more he can handle. And, everything points back to Lydia.

"Mac, what is it? Are you alright?" she asks him, since he doesn't respond to her and she can tell that something is troubling him.

"Are you planning on staying here?" he finally asks her in a whisper.

"Where else would I go?" she asks him. "Look, Mac, I know what I did was wrong, but I'm really hoping that we can try to put our marriage back together. What happened between Cole and I, it was a mistake. A terrible mistake. I've tried to tell Cole that over and over again. I want to be with you."

"You slept with my son and then lied to me about it," Mac takes another drink of scotch. "I don't know if I will ever be able to trust you again, Celeste. Of all men to sleep with, my own son?"

"But, can't we at least try to put us back together again?" she asks him as she comes up to him and puts her hand on his arm. "We are so good together."

"Don't touch me," he quickly moves away from his wife. "I need time, Celeste. Too much has happened and I can't process it all right now."

"What else has happened?" Celeste asks him, not knowing about Lex and Kent. "Mac, please talk to me! Don't shut me out!"

"I can't," he admits to her. "I'm going to head to the country club and I'll grab a room there for a couple of nights. I just need to have time to get my head around everything that has happened."

Celeste watches as her husband leaves the room. A single tear falls down her cheek, wondering how she can ever get her husband back into her good graces again.

"What else happened, Mac?" she asks herself. "If you would just tell me, maybe I could help."

***

"I barely slept at all last night," Lydia announces as she comes downstairs in her penthouse and sees Kent pouring himself some black coffee. "The look on Lex's face last night, I just can't seem to get it out of my mind."

Kent takes a sip of his coffee before he replies to her. "I know," he admits to her. "I'm beginning to think that you were right all along, I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's too damn late for that now," Lydia snaps at him, furious that he is only realizing this now. The damage has certainly be done. "The pain on his face said it all."

"And Mac," Kent admits to her. "He looked like he was punched in the stomach."

"I told you," she continues as she pours a coffee. "Celeste lost her baby, which means…"

"Mac lost two children yesterday," Kent sighs, realizing how much pain he may have caused.

"I hope this is what you wanted," Lydia tells him. "Because now we can get married without this secret on your shoulders. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It is," Kent nods back to her. "I just hope everyone is okay. I think in time…"

"I hope there is time," Lydia tells him. "Because I don't know that Mac or Lex will ever get over what they learned yesterday. This lie has ruined their lives, and we are to blame!"

***

"Darling, why are your bags packed? What's happening?" Lucinda Rockwell asks her son, Mac, as she opens the door to the mansion and steps inside, seeing her son walk down the stairs with a suitcase in his hand.

"I'm going to stay at the country club for a few days," Mac announces to his mother as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, and quickly kisses her cheek.

"Does this have anything to do with Celeste falling down the stairs?" Lucinda asks him as she moves into the living room. "I'm having a brandy, would you care for one?"

"No, I'll pass," he tells her. "But, partly, yes, this does have to do with Celeste. I learned that she and Cole slept together. I have no idea if I was even the father of that baby. The baby, I may have lost. The baby she lost."

Lucinda takes a sip of her brandy, recalling how she overheard Cole talk to Stacey about the affair. She didn't want Mac to find out this way, but the truth is out which has to be a good thing. She just hopes that he heals from this heartache quickly.

"You don't seem surprised," Mac observes to his mother, who takes another sip of her drink. "Did you know about Cole and my wife?"

"I happened to overheard Cole talk to Stacey about the affair while she was in her coma," Lucinda admits to him. "I warned Celeste about hurting you and she did anyways. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but could I put you though this?"

"Why didn't you come to me?" he asks her. "I should have known!"

"I didn't want to hurt you, MacKenzie. Surely, you understand that?"

"I am hurt!" Mac yells at her. "Everything is falling apart!"

"What else has happened?" Lucinda asks him as she comes up to him. "Tell me, maybe I can be of assistance?"

"I don't know how I'm going to get Rockwell Mining away from Lydia," he admits to her. "And every day that my ex-wife is in charge over there, our share prices are crumbling."

"There is something else bothering you," Lucinda tells him, knowing her son. "I can see it all over your face. You wouldn't get this upset just over business. Tell me Mac. What is wrong?"

Mac covers his eyes for a moment before he looks back at his mother, his eyes red from the tears. "Kent Blackmore laid a bombshell on Lexington and I last night."

Lucinda feels the blood drain from her face. There is no way that Lydia could have told the truth after all these years, could there? She has warned Lydia about this for years, the pain caused by this secret would be too much for anyone to handle.

"What exactly did he say?" she asks as she takes another sip of her brandy.

"He revealed that he is Lex's father," Mac informs her, trying to keep his composure. "Apparently, Lydia changed the paternity test that was taken all those years ago, to make it appear that I was Lex's father. All these years, we've been lied too. We've been made fools of!"

"He's lying!" Lucinda gasps back to him. "There's no way this could be true!"

"Lydia came in and confirmed it all," Mac continues. "I've lost it all, mother. My company, my wife and now my son…"

Lucinda pulls him into a hug. "You are MacKenzie Rockwell," she whispers into his ear. "This is nothing but a minor setback, do you understand me? You will pick yourself up, and you will become stronger as a result. Rockwell's do not give up, do you understand me? You and Lexington will be fine. That damn lie does not have to change a damn thing!"

They exit their embrace. "Thank you Mother," Mac tries to smile back to her. "I think a few days away will be good for me."

"Yes, they will be," she agrees with him. "And, you leave Lydia to me. I will make her pay for what she has done to this family, even if it's the last thing I do."

***

Celeste opens the door to Lydia's office at Rockwell Mining and moves inside. She decided to come to work on her design division at Rockwell Mining to try to get her mind off the fact that she lost her baby. She needs something to keep her mind off of it, otherwise she feels like she will go crazy.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Lydia asks, as she looks up from her desk and sees Celeste come in.

"I'm here to work on my design division," Celeste informs her. "You remember, don't you? You told me I could have the division if I stay away from Cole."

Lydia stands up and moves up to the younger woman. "But you didn't listen to me," Lydia tells her. "You slept with him while you were married to Mac!"

"That was a mistake!" Celeste snaps back at her. "I can't undo what was already done. Cole and I slept together the night of the storm. But I do want my marriage to Mac to work, so I will stay away from Cole. Not that it mattered to you."

"What does that mean?" Lydia moves closer to Celeste.

Celeste replies with a hard, cold, slap across Lydia's face. "That's for killing my baby."

"How dare you!" Lydia gasps as she holds her cheek with her hand.

"Oh please," Celeste replies to her. "Look, I don't want to fight with you about this. I have some really good ideas and I can't wait to get started on them."

"You just hit me and now expect me to give you your precious design division?" Lydia chuckles. "You have a lot of nerve, Celeste Baldwin."

"Celeste Rockwell," she corrects her. "And, yes, I do expect you to carry out your end of our deal. Because if you don't, I will go to the police and formally press charges against you for pushing me the down the stairs."

"You can't prove that!"

"Probably not," Celeste purses her lips together. "But knowing how Cole feels about you right about now, I'm sure he would be a witness for me."

Lydia rolls her eyes, knowing that she's between a rock and a hard place. Considering her last conversation with Cole, she realizes that Celeste is right. "I have to go to a meeting, but when I get back, I'd love to see exactly what you have in mind. And, don't expect me to go easy on you or your designs."

"Bye," Celeste nods back to her, as she moves over to the sofa and sits down, as Lydia leaves the office. Celeste opens her briefcase and pulls out some files. Inside, there are some sketches of different pieces of jewelry that Celeste has created. She has rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings, of course.

As she flips through them, the door to the office opens. The person entering clears their throat, causing Celeste to look up and see an attractive young man.

"Marat Kafelinkov?" she asks as she stands up and is surprised to see the Russian in Kelsey Lake.

"Celeste Baldwin, how long has it been?" Marat asks as he comes and grabs Celeste's hand and then proceeds to kiss it. "You're looking as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you," she blushes back to him. "It has been a while," she admits to him. "I remember when we were in New York together."

"Those were some of the best days of my life," he tells her, his mind thinkingof those days. "Waking up with you laying next to me."

Celeste chuckles back to him. "And then you learned you had to go to Russia. You haven't told anyone about…"

"No, of course not," Marat tells her. "Have you?"

"Not a word, just like we vowed," she purses her lips together, quickly wanting to change the subject; somethings are better left unsaid. "How are things at the mine?"

"Couldn't be better," he tells her. "Well, expect on the business side of things."

"I'm married to MacKenzie Rockwell," she reveals to him. "He told me that he secured your mine. I just never realized that you were the one he was dealing with. I assumed it was your father."

"I am dealing with Mac," he nods back to her as he flashes his smile to her. "However, since Lydia Rockwell has taken over, things haven't been so great between Rockwell Mining and myself."

"I don't understand," she shakes her head. "What happened?"

"Mac originally made me a deal and Lydia has since changed the terms of the contract."

"How can she do that?" Celeste asks him.

"She did, that's all that matters," Marat replies to her. "But now that you're here, it has brightened my day."

"Yes, mine too," Celeste smile back to him. "You're looking good, Marat."

"I can say the same for you, Mrs. Rockwell," he winks back to her. "How about we go grab some lunch?"

"I'd love that!"

The two of them leave the office, unaware that Cole is standing in the hallway. Cole watches Celeste and Marat get on the elevator together, laughing as they do. Cole runs his hands through his hair, wondering if Celeste has decided to move on from both him and Mac and instead be with Marat.

"I have to get you out of my system," he whispers to himself, knowing that Celeste can only cause him more trouble.

***

"If we keep running into each other, people might start talking," Odette Williams says to Mac as she sits next to him at the bar of the country club. She was at the club in hopes of seeing Mac, because that is where they have always encountered each other.

Mac looks over from his scotch and smiles to her. "You are most correct, they will," he tells her. "But you know what? Maybe they should talk."

Odette chuckles back to him, noting that he is finally flirting with her. "Now, you're the one flattering me."

"Let me ask you a question, Odette," he says looking at her. "Every time I see you here, you're alone. Why hasn't a man come and swept a beautiful woman like yourself off her feet?"

Odette takes a sip of her champagne before she looks back to him. "I was married," she reveals to him. "But, my husband, he passed away."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," Mac replies to her. "I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No, it's fine," she purses her lips together as she puts her hand on his arm. "It happened a long time ago. I guess, I'm only now in a position where I could even see myself with someone new. The grieving process, it takes time."

Mac turns to face her. "That's a good position to be," he licks his lips. "Because, like I said, you're a beautiful woman."

"You must know that I think you're incredibly handsome," she admits to him, looking back into his eyes.

"I got the impression," he winks back to her. "You certainly made it known that you were interested."

She licks her lips back to him. "What now?" she asks him.

"Why don't we start with this…" he says as he leans in and kisses her passionately on the lips. "I have a room upstairs," he says as their lips part. "Come upstairs with me?"

"I'd love to," she purrs back to him, knowing that her plan is finally moving into the next phase.

***

Jarek Williams opens the door to his condo that is downtown Kelsey Lake and immediately hears a noise inside. No one should be in the condo, so he immediately assumes that someone must have broken in. He puts his bag down and prepares to fight the possible intruder that is his place.

He slowly turns the corner with a clutched fist and sees Lex pouring himself a drink from the bar.

Jarek can't help but breathe a sigh of relief that it is just his boyfriend in the apartment. "You scared me half to death," Jarek comes up behind Lex and kisses his neck. "I thought someone broke in."

Lex turns around and Jarek can smell the booze coming off his breath. "Welcome home baby!" Lex smiles to him. "I'm just making a drink, you want one or two?"

"How many have you had?" Jarek asks him, concerned as he is rarely has seen Lex this intoxicated. Lex's eyes are already blood shot and he can barely stand up straight without wobbling over.

"I've lost count," Lex pats Jarek's chest. "And I don't fucking care. After everything that has happened, I just don't fucking care. I need to drink to forget."

"What do you mean? What has happened?" Jarek asks him, having never seen Lex like this before.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Lex turns to grab his drink. "It's nothing to worry about."

"But you're obviously upset about this," Jarek continues to press to him. "Tell me what happened."

Lex shakes his head as he sets the glass back down on the bar. "No," Lex finally turns back around to him. He leans in and kisses Jarek passionately. "I have a better idea. Let's do something fun!"

Jarek arches his eyebrow. "In your state? I don't know what we could do that is fun."

Lex laughs back to him. "Well, I have a great idea. You trust me?"

"Of course I do," Jarek smiles back to him.

"Good, come with me," Lex says grabbing Jarek's hand and leading him to the doorway.

***

"How is any of this possible?" Stacey asks her mother as she stands in Lydia's office at Rockwell Mining. "How can Kent be Lex's father? Do you know how close Lex and Mac are? Why would you lie about this? Don't you realize what you've done to our family?" Stacey doesn't even realize how many questions she just asked, she's in just pure shock.

"Of course I know," Lydia replies to her daughter, having just told her the news about her family. Lydia would rather have Stacey and Cole hear the news from her instead of a third party. "Why do you think I never revealed the truth before now? I'm not going to explain my actions to you."

"So, why did you reveal the truth now?" Stacey asks her. "What could you possibly have to gain now that you didn't before?"

"It wasn't my decision," Lydia tells her. "Kent wanted the truth to come out."

"My God," Stacey covers her mouth in shock. "This is because of Houston, isn't it? Kent lost his son and didn't want to go on without having Lex in his life, right?"

Lydia uneasily nods back to her. "I told him that it would hurt a lot of people, but Kent wanted the truth to come out. He wants to be in Lex's life. You can't blame him for that!"

"The hell I can't!" Stacey yells back to her. "You two have lied about this for years! How do you tell your husband that he is a father when it's not true! And why would Kent go along with this? What were you guys trying to cover up? What was in it for Kent to go along with this horrible scheme?"

"I'm pretty sure it has something to do with how Mac lost Kelsey Lake," Cole announces to Stacey as he comes into the office, having heard the final part of their conversation from the hallway.

"Cole," Lydia begins to reply to her son, hoping he'll be more forgiving than Stacey.

"Save it Mom," he cuts her off. "I told you after you caused Celete's miscarriage that you were dead to me. This is just another nail in that coffin. How could you lie about something like this? Lex must be devastated. We are all devastated."

"I never meant for it to go this far," Lydia says as a tear falls out of her eye. "Please, I can't lose my children. Not when my wedding to Kent is so very close. Please, tell me you'll still come to the wedding."

"I can't Mom," Stacey says as she moves over to Cole. "I need time to wrap my head around all of this."

"And you already know my answer," Cole spits back to her. "I hope it was worth it, Mom. This climb to the what you think is the top. Because now that you're there, you're all alone; the only one you have left is Kent. I hope you enjoy it up there on your pedestal, Mother, because none of your children are on your side."

***

Mac rips his shirt off and then kisses Odette passionately as they enter his room at the country club. The door closes and Odette crawls on to the bed, unbuttoning her blouse.

"Do you have…" she begins to whisper as she unbuttons his pants. "Protection?"

"Yea, in the washroom. I'll be back in a second," he says quickly, his eyes full of lust and not wanting to leave her.

As soon as he's out of the room, she stands up and grabs her phone. She sets it on the desk and pushes the record button on the camera. She scurries back to the bed and sprawls herself across it.

"There you are," she purrs to him when Mac re-emerges from the washroom. "Get over here, I need you so badly."

"Then you'll get me," he says as he crawls on top of her and his lips find her neck. "God, I need you, Odette."

"Make love to Mac," she moans in pleasure. "All night long."

***

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jarek asks Lex as they stand in a chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I can't believe that you had the private jet fly us to Vegas, Lex."

"You always wanted me to live a little more on the edge," Lex winks back to him. "Now, here we are. Let's get married. Let's just do this!"

Jarek looks back at him and knows that if he marries Lex tonight, he will be able to finally get his hands on some of the Rockwell fortune. It's what he and Odette have been working towards for weeks.

"You're not saying anything," Lex says back to him. "Do you want to marry me or not?"

"Of course I do," Jarek smiles back to him as he comes up and kisses him. "Let's to this. Let's get married!"