"Well, it certainly did not take you very long to get my money," Odette Williams announces to Mac Rockwell as she moves into his office at the Rockwell Mining building. It's early for her, but she got the call from Mac the previous night to meet him at his office first thing in the morning so they could discuss her demands of money to keep quiet about them having sex together. She did this for Bernie, she thinks to herself quickly. Finally, after years of wanting what is rightfully hers, Odette feels like she is going to get everything she wanted. She had given him two days, so the fact that only a day has passed is a pleasant surprise for her.

"I'm glad you could make it so early," Mac stands up from his chair and moves over to pour himself a cup of coffee. "Would you care for a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you," Odette purses her lips together. She just wants to get this over with.

"Are you sure?" Mac asks again before he takes a sip of his java. "Because, it's the only thing I am offering you today."

Odette looks back at him as she arches her eyebrow. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I'm not giving you 3 million dollars, Odette," Mac reveals to her. "I know who you are, and I know what you're trying to do."

Odette moves closer to him, her blood level rising. "I'm your son's mother in law," she whispers to him. "Imagine how Lexington would feel if he knew that you took me to bed and are trying to throw me away like a piece of garbage."

"No amount of money will bring Bernie back," Mac replies to her, revealing he knows why she needs to have revenge.

"I beg your pardon?" she asks him, shocked that he mentioned her dead husband's name.

"Bernie, your deceased husband," Mac tells her as he folds his arms across his chest.

"How dare you say my husband's name!" she yells at him. "Don't you ever mention his name again!"

"Do you think Bernie would approve of how you're behaving right now? You purposely befriended me in hopes of seducing me. And when you did that, you videotaped in because you want my money. That's a sick and twisted plan, Odette."

"You killed my husband! He would still be with me today if it wasn't for you!" she yells back at him. "And, you will give my money, or everyone will know that you slept with me. Lex and your precious wife, how would they feel about that?"

"They would be devastated, no doubt," Mac nods back to her. "But what about Jarek?" he asks her, referring to Odette's son. "How would he feel to know about your plan? You see, Odette, if you go public, so will I. I will reveal exactly what you have done to get in this position. You will be exposed as a blackmailer. You could be charged, and believe me, I would hate to have to press charges. But don't tempt me, because I would."

"You wouldn't dare," Odette whispers in horror.

"I don't think you want to take that chance, do you?" Mac asks her as a sly grin comes across his face. "I think we have settled this once and for all, Mrs. Williams. Neither one of us can afford for this to come out."

Odette grabs her purse and moves towards the door of his office. She stops and turns around to look at Mac. "If you think this is over, Mac, you are wrong. Dead wrong."

***

"Good morning sleepy head," Jarek Williams smirks to his husband as he walks into their master bedroom and looks at Lex Rockwell, who is still laying in the large king size bed. "How did you sleep?"

Lex yawns before stretching and sitting up in the bed. "Pretty good," Lex says back to him as another yawn comes to him."What time is it?"

"It's almost 8," Jarek tells him.

"What? I am supposed to be in the office," Lex says with some urgency in his voice.

"I know but you weren't feeling so great yesterday, so I let you sleep in a little bit. How are you feeling today?" Jarek asks him, knowing that Lex still looks rather pale, which means the drug that he has been giving his husband is working; his plan to kill Lex to get his money is going accordingly to schedule.

"I feel exhausted," Lex admits to him. "I don't understand why, I just had a great sleep. I must be coming down with a flu bug."

"Do you want me to get you a coffee or a tea?"

"A tea would be nice," Lex smiles back to him. "Maybe I'll call my Dad and tell him I'm not coming into Rockwell Mining today."

"I think that's a good idea, you should get some rest," Jarek tells him. "I'll be right back with your tea. Peppermint?"

"Thanks Jarek."

Jarek leaves the room and quickly moves into the kitchen. He puts the kettle on the stove and grabs a mug from the cupboard. He sets the cup down and pulls the vile out of his pocket. He pours some more of the drug into the cup and gets a wicked grin on his face.

"I'm sorry Lex," he whispers. "But I have to do this. My family is depending on me."

***

Stacey Rockwell bends down at the tombstone and sets a bouquet of a dozen red roses down at the base. She looks up and reads Houston Blackmore's name across the marble in front of her and she finds herself fighting some tears in her eyes.

"It seems like yesterday you asked me to marry you," she whispers as she reaches out to caress the tombstone. "And, today, is your birthday. I miss you, Houston. Don't ever think that I have forgotten you. I miss you so much."

"Looks like we had the same idea this morning," Kent Blackmore announces as he comes up behind Stacey. She stands up and looks at Houston's father before she hugs him tightly.

"I still can't believe that he is gone," she tells him as they exit their embrace.

"Me either," Kent admits to her. "I thought this would get easier as time goes on, but it hasn't gotten any easier. In fact, it's gotten a lot more difficult."

"Have you tried reaching out to Lex again?" Stacey asks him, knowing that when Lex first found out that Kent was his biological father, he didn't take the news very well.

Kent shakes his head. "I can't take anymore rejection from him," Kent admits to her. "I didn't think that he would have such a difficult time adjusting to the news. But whenever he looks at me with that contempt, it really hurts me."

"I'm so sorry Kent," Stacey grabs his hand. "Just don't give up on him, okay? One day, I do believe that Lex will come around."

"I didn't handle his news about being gay as well as I should have," Kent admits to her, thinking of the other issue between him and Lex.

"Did you tell him how you feel now? How you really feel?" Stacey asks him.

He shakes his head back to her. "He won't listen to me. He wants nothing to do with me."

Stacey grabs his hand and squeezes it as she can see how much pain Kent is in. "Like I said, Kent," she whispers back to him. "Just give him some time. I know Lexington, he is very forgiving. Sometimes, it just takes some time to get used to all these changes."

"I won't hold my breath, but thank you for that, Stacey."

***

Kent slowly moves up to the front door of Jarek and Lex's condo and wonders if he should knock. He knows that Lex hasn't been very receptive to him since the truth about his paternity has come out. Of course, Kent knows that he didn't handle the fact that Lex is gay very well either. But, he decided to take Stacey's advice and not give up on him. Whether or not Lex is receptive is another story, but Kent feels like he should at least try.

"Maybe today, Houston's birthday, we can start to mend this bridge between us," Kent whispers to himself as he moves up to the door and knocks three times.

Within a few minutes, the door slowly opens and Lex stands there wearing a white tank top and some grey sweat pants. "Kent," he says with heavy eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you mind if I come in?" Kent asks him before Lex allows him into the condo. "I wanted to see you today. You don't look so good, are you okay?"

Lex shrugs his shoulders as they arrive in the living room. "I think I have a flu bug," Lex admits to him. "I'll be fine once I get some more sleep."

"I hope you do get better," Kent replies to him. "I just came to see how you are. No special reason for this visit."

"Do you want me to thank you?" Lex asks him. "No offence Kent, but I'm not interested in playing father and son with you. Mac is my father, he always will be."

"Today is Houston's birthday," Kent reveals to him. "I was just hoping we could meet each other half way. I know I didn't respond very well to learning about your sexuality, and I'm sorry about that."

Before Kent can continue, Lex seemingly starts to fall over. Kent rushes over and catches him before Lex falls to the ground.

"Lex, my God, are you okay?" Kent asks him as he moves Lex to the sofa.

"I'm fine," Lex waves his hand, trying to down play the fact that he almost fainted. "I'm just tired. Look Kent, thanks for stopping by, but I'm not ready to do this with you. And I don't think I will ever be ready. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get some rest."

"Of course," a gutted Kent replies to him. "Please call me if you need anything, anything at all, from me. I'll see myself out. And Lex," he stops and looks back at his son. "Take care of yourself. Get some rest and get feeling better."

***

Cole Rockwell sits across the table at the country club and looks over at Vivian Blackmore, the older woman that he has been sleeping with lately. He watches her take a sip of her coffee as he wonders what he is really doing with her. Sure, she is hot and great in bed, but he knows that he doesn't actually see himself having a future with her. That doesn't mean she hasn't been a great distraction from Celeste Baldwin, as he tries to get her out of his system. If he had it his way, Celeste would have chosen him, not Mac, and they would be together now and this affair with Vivian would never have started.

"You look very deep in thought," Vivian says to her lover. "What's on your mind?"

Cole smirks back to her. "Honestly?" he asks her. "About how great last night was."

Vivian purses her lips together. "It was amazing for me too," she admits to him. "I'm glad that you weren't upset with me for telling your mother about us."

Cole rolls his eyes recalling how his mother, Lydia Rockwell, was not happy that Cole was seeing Vivian. He knows that the two women have a long, heated, history. "I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"You're a man," she winks at him. "You certainly can make up your own mind."

"Can you read my mind?," he asks her, as lust fills his eyes.

"I can," she purses her lips together. "But I'm afraid I'm not in the mood today. You see, today is Houston's birthday."

"My God," Cole grabs her hand. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

She waves her hand in the air as she feels water swell in her eyes. "It's not your fault," she tries to smile back to him. "How about we go upstairs and you just hold me? I need to feel your big arms around me."

"I can do that," he tells her. "Anything you need today."

At the bar, Celeste collects her take out and turns around to leave the country club, when she spots Cole and Vivian together. She feels her heart move into her throat as she recalls Cole telling her that he was seeing someone new. Could Vivian be that woman? She wonders to herself. Based on their body language, it would certainly seem so.

"Why do I feel so weird seeing them together?" she asks herself as she rushes out of the dining room, not wanting to see Cole and Vivian together for another second.

***

"I know today must be difficult for you," Mac tells Stacey as they move into his office at the Rockwell Mining building. "Houston's birthday, and all."

Stacey moves to the bar and pours herself a cup of coffee. "Yes and no," she admits to her father. "I miss Houston each and every day, but I'm learning that I can't hold on to that forever. I still need to live my life to the fullest."

"I'm proud of you for saying that," Mac replies to her. "You know that Houston would want you to be happy. Are you happy, Stacey?"

Stacey puts her coffee down. "I think I am," she admits to him. "I didn't think I could get to this point again in my life, but I am happy."

"Then I'm happy for you," Mac smiles back to her before he pulls her into a hug. "Tell me, does this happiness have anything to do with Marat Kafelnikov?"

"Why would you ask that?" Stacey asks her him as they exit their embrace.

"I've seen the way he looks at you," Mac admits to her.

Stacey blushes a little. "Well, yes, it does have a lot to do with Marat. Oh Daddy, I think I've fallen in love with him. Is it too soon since Houston?"

"You can't control these things," Mac tells her. "If you feel it, then you feel it."

"I do," Stacey tells him. "And, he's invited me to Russia with him on a trip. He will be working a lot, but it would be an amazing opportunity for me to see that part of the world. Daddy, I think I want to go with him."

Mac sighs a little. "I can't say that I'm pleased that you want to leave Kelsey Lake, but I agree, this is a once in a life time opportunity. And Marat, he is a good guy."

"Does that mean I have father's approval?" Marat asks as he comes into the office. "I hope I am not interrupting."

Stacey moves up to him and gives him a quick hug. "I was just telling my father about your offer to go to Russia with you," Stacey tells him. "And how I've decided to accept."

"You have?" Marat asks him surprise.

"I wanted to see how my Dad felt about it before I told you. I hope you understand."

"Of course," Marat replies to her. "Your father means a lot to you."

"You are a good man, Marat," Mac tells him as he shakes his hand. "You better not hurt her, or you will answer to me."

Marat chuckles. "I have no intentions of hurting Stacey, Mac," Marat replies to him.

"Tonight, we will be throwing you a farewell dinner," Mac announces to Stacey. "I'll go start the plans. Both of you, you will be there?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Stacey hugs him quickly before Mac leaves the office.

"So, you decided to come with me?" Marat smiles back to Stacey.

She nods back to him as she licks her lips. "Yes," she tells him. "And you know what else I told my Dad?"

"Do tell."

"That I have fallen in love with you Marat," she admits to him as she puts her arms around his neck. "I'm coming with you because you have made me want to be with you."

He kisses her passionately. "I've wanted you to say those words to me for so long," he whispers as they part their lips. "I am in love with you too, Stacey."

***

"Mom, what is so important?" Jarek asks as he moves into the living room of his mother's house. He sees Odette pacing back and forth in the living room, clearly upset by something. "I can't stay long, Mac is having some family dinner and Lex and I have to attend."

"Oh, I'm sure that son of a bitch has a lot to celebrate," Odette snaps at him, still furious that her attempt to blackmail Mac has failed. She won't let him win, however. Mac won't get away with this.

"What happened?" Jarek asks her.

"Let's just say that I tried to get my own form of revenge on Mac Rockwell and it has backfired."

"Mom," Jarek replies to her quickly. "I told you, leave this to me. My plan is foul proof. Once Lex is dead, we will get everything we wanted. Just be patient."

"Oh no," Odette looks at him and he suddenly gets scared by the look in Odette's eyes. "Trust me, baby, I will get my revenge on Mac Rockwell, even if it is the last thing I do."

"You're scaring me, Mom."

"Go to the party tonight," Odette tells her son. "And, leave Mac Rockwell to me."

***

"Darling, I'm glad we had some alone time before tonight," Celeste tells Mac as they lay side by side in the large king size bed in the master bedroom of the Rockwell mansion, fresh from a love making session. "I love your family, but these dinners seem to go late and have drama at times."

Mac chuckles back to her, as he caresses her bare back. "They can, can't they," he still laughs. "But you know, I always want to make time for you, Celeste. We have been through so much, I never want us to take each other for granted again."

She leans up in the bed and look at him. "I want that too," she smiles to him.

"Yea? Because I was thinking," he admits to her. "About us trying for that baby you were asking about."

"You mean it?" she gasps for joy.

"Of course I mean it," he smiles back to her. "I would love to have a baby with my beautiful wife."

"Oh Mac," she hugs him. "You've made me so happy."

"And, you've made me so happy," he whispers back to her.

As they exit their embrace, Celeste is suddenly flooded by memories of her and Cole making love in bed that she is in with Mac. She shakes her head and quickly leaves the bed, startled by her memory.

"Celeste, darling, what is it? What's wrong?"

Celeste runs her hand through her hair as she grabs her robe. "Nothing," she lies to him. "I mean, sorry, I just got a chill or something. I should go and shower to get ready for tonight."

"Okay, as long as you're sure everything is fine."

"I'm positive," she smiles back to him. "In fact, why don't you join me in the shower and we can start trying for that baby?"

"Now that sounds like a great plan," Mac practically jumps out of the bed to follow her to the washroom.

***

"Why am I not surprised to see you here today?" Vivian asks Kent as she walks up to the tombstone where Houston is buried in the cemetery. "Hard to believe that he would have been another year older today, huh?"

"Tell me about it," Kent stands up from his kneeling position. "I still can't believe that he's gone."

"Neither can I," Vivian doesn't look at Kent, she keeps her eyes on the tombstone. "This has been the worst time of my life, these weeks since we found out…"

"Mine too," Kent agrees with her.

"Really?" she asks him as she puts her hands on her hips. "Is that why you decided to reveal your dirty little secret after all these years?

He sighs and looks back at Vivian. "I supposed you're talking about the fact that I am Lexington's father."

"You never told me in all those years we were married," she spits at him. "I'm beginning to think our entire marriage was a lie to you."

"It wasn't," he admits to her. "But I never told you because I agreed to keep it a secret. I now know I shouldn't have."

"But you did," she continues to lash into him. "And, you know what? It disgusts me that you only wanted to tell the truth because your son, our precious Houston was taken from us!"

"Don't do this," he tells her. "Not here, not at Houston's grave!"

"Don't tell me when I should nor shouldn't do something, Kent! This is on you! It's all on you! You've made these choices, and now you have to live with the consequences. I hope you're living in hell right now, because that's what you deserve!"

Before he can reply, Vivian storms off from the gravesite. Kent runs his hand through his hair and sighs. "You have no idea the hell I am in," he whispers back to her. "No idea."

***

"I'm glad you could all make it this evening," Mac announces to Cole, Stacey, Marat, Lex, Jarek and Celeste as they all sit around the dining room table in the mansion and hold glasses of wine. "Tonight is a very special night because our beloved Stacey has some news she'd like to announce."

Cole and Lex look at one another as they wonder what news their sister has to tell them. Stacey stands up and looks at everyone. "I've decided to go to Russia, with Marat," she tells them. "It won't be forever, but I'm not sure how long I will be gone. I'm just excited for this next chapter in my life."

"Wow Stace," Cole stands up and moves over to hug her. "This is a huge trip, congratulations. What brought this on?"

"Marat," Stacey admits as they exit their embrace. "I've fallen for him."

Marat and Celeste make eye contact quickly before Marat looks back up at Stacey. "And, I have fallen for her. I want nothing more than to treat Stacey like the princess she is."

"This seems so sudden, but I am happy for you," Lex tells his sister. "I would get up, but I'm still not feeling so well."

"Son, this is starting to get alarming," Mac tells him, noting how pale Lex looks. "Let me call the doctor."

"No, Dad," Lex waves his hand. "Tonight is about Stacey and Marat. If I'm still sick in the morning, I'll call the doctor."

"If you insist, but at least spend the night here in the mansion. You and Jarek can have your old room."

Jarek looks at Lex and nods. "I'm fine with that, if you'd like too."

"I would, thank you Dad."

"Of course."

Before anyone can say anything else, Lydia walks into the room wearing a black evening gown and is dripped in diamonds. "Isn't this lovely," she announces to everyone. "My family having a dinner and no one mentioned it to me. Is that what has become of our relationships?"

"Lydia, you're not welcome here," Mac cuts her off before she can get to the table.

"Please," she spits at him. "These are my children, I have every right to see them!"
"None of us want to see you," Cole replies to her quickly. "Not after everything you have done!"

"Were you even going to tell me you were going to Russia, Stacey?" Lydia ignores Cole's comments.

"No," Stacey admits to her. "I can't get over everything you have done mother."

"You all look at me," Lydia tells her children. "I am your mother! I know I've done some horrible things, but I will make it up to you! I will!"

"Are you finished, Lydia?" Mac asks her. "Because, we are all certainly done listening to you."

"Fine I'll go," she shrieks. "But, I will make it up to you, I promise my children that much."

Lex looks over at Jarek. "I need some air. I'm going for a walk in the garden."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jarek asks him, as Lydia shows herself out.

Lex shakes his head. "I'll be fine," he says as he stands up and quickly leaves the dining room.

"Wow, Lydia has really lost it," Cole tells everyone, as he looks over and sees Lex leaving the room. "Is Lex okay?"

"He said he just wanted some air," Jarek tells Cole, knowing that his husband is feeling the effects of the drugs. Anytime now, Lex should collapse and die, Jarek realizes.

"I'm worried about him," Mac notes to the family. "Something isn't right with him."

Outside, Lex slowly walks through the garden and quickly finds a bench, which is good because he was feeling faint again. He is trying to stay calm about this illness, but he quickly realizes that it is become alarming that he is still feeling this weak.

"Lexington, what are you doing out here?" Lucinda Rockwell asks her grandson, as she is arriving late for dinner. "I thought everyone would be inside."

"They are," he replies to his grandmother. "Lydia just crashed the party. I couldn't take the fighting anymore, so I came for some air."

"That woman needs to be stopped," Lucinda says as she sits next to him on the bench. "Darling, what is it? What is wrong? You don't look so good."

"I don't feel well," Lex admits to her. "I keep thinking it's a flu bug, but I'm beginning to think it's something more."

"Have you been to the doctor? This could be serious," she tells him. Lucinda knows that she has never seen her grandson look this pale before.

Before Lex can reply, he falls over the bench and lays unconscious in the grass. "Lex?" Lucinda screams as she rushes down to him. "Lex, can you hear me? My God, Help me! MacKenzie! Help me!!"

***

"I will make them realize that I deserve to be in their life," Lydia says as she opens the door to her penthouse and she moves inside quickly.

The living room is dark so she turns on the light switch and then she moves over to the bar to pour herself a brandy. She turns around with the drink in her hand is startled to see Kent sitting on the sofa, also holding a drink.

"Kent?" she asks him, shocked to see him as she believed that she was alone. "Why were you sitting in the dark?"

"I wanted to be alone. To think."

"Are you okay? You don't seem yourself?" she asks him as she moves up to him.

"I'm fine," he tells her. "Actually, I lied. I'm not okay."

"Darling," she comes up to him. "Whatever it is, you'll pull through. You always do."

"I am not so sure about that," he replies to her quickly.

"I wish I could do something to help you," she says back to him. "But I need to figure out a way to get my children back in my good graces. They can't go on hating me forever!"

"No, of course not," Kent whispers back to her, clearly not interested in what she has to say.

Before she can say anything back, the telephone rings. "Who could that be at this hour?" she asks as she walks over and grabs her IPhone. "Lydia Rockwell," she says into her phone, as the blood drains from her face. "What? My God! Yes, I'll be right there!"

"What happened?" Kent asks her, still sitting on the sofa.

"It's Lexington," she says grabbing her purse. "He fainted. He's at the hospital."

***

The Rockwell's are all in the waiting room at the hospital, hoping to hear something about Lex's condition sooner rather than later. No one can beleive that Lex just collapsed, even though he hadn't been looking well all evening.

"I'm sorry tonight was ruined," Jarek tells Stacey as he looks down in the chair where she is sitting. He feels his forehead sweat as this is the moment he has been waiting for. Any moment now, the doctor should be returning and announcing that Lex is dead. He knows that he has to keep it together or else his plan could be ruined.

"Don't apologize," Stacey tells her brother in law. "We have to ensure Lex is okay. That's all that matters right now."

"We are all here for Lex," Mac chimes in, trying to stay brave for his family, even though he is worried sick.

They all look back at the doorway when Dr. Chen comes in, holding a file in his hand. There's a brief moment of silence as they wait for the doctor to speak, almost dreading what he will say.

"Dr. Chen, how is my son?" Mac asks him, rushing up to him.

"Not good, I'm afraid," Dr. Chen replies to him.

"What is it? What's wrong with my husband?" Jarek asks, playing the role of the worried husband.

"Lexington has large amounts of a rare, very toxic drug in his system," Dr. Chen admits to everyone, as they look at one another in shock. "Do you know if he has been taking any medication?"

"No," Jarek quickly answers him back. "Not that I know of."

"How did this happen then?" Cole asks Dr. Chen, as everyone tries to understand what is happening to Lex.

"What does this mean for Lex?" Mac asks him another question.

"We need to flush the drug out of his system, or he will die," Dr. Chen continues to tell them. "We are going to pump his system full of water and vitamins to counter act the drug, but the next 48 hours will still be dicey. He has so much of the toxins in him, that he could have liver and kidney failure."

"Who the hell would do this to Lex?" Celeste asks everyone. "Could he have been drugged?"

"But Lex," Jarek ignores Celeste. "He will survive?" he asks the doctor, thinking that Lex should have died by the amounts of drugs he gave him.

"As I said," Dr. Chen tells him. "The next 48 hours will tell us everything we need to know. Excuse me, I'm going to check on him. I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Thank you doctor," Mac replies to him.

"How can any of this be happening," Jarek asks himself out loud as he runs his hand through his hair.

"Hey, Jarek," Cole comes up to his brother in law. "I know you are worried, we all are. But Lex, he's a fighter."

"That's true, he is," Mac agrees with Cole. "And, once we know that he is out of the water, we can focus on learning how this happened. I have to admit to you though, I feel like this is all my fault."

"It's not your fault," Celeste comes up to her husband and hugs him. "You have to believe me when I tell you that."

"I should have forced him to see the doctor sooner," Mac admits. "Then this wouldn't be happening."

"You're right MacKenzie," Odette comes into the waiting room, looking unhinged. "This is your fault. Everything that has gone wrong is your fault!"

"Mom," Jarek says coming around Cole. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to finish what I started," she says with a wicked grin on her face. She opens her purse and pulls out a gun and points it at Mac. "You are going to pay for what you have done to me Mac!"

The family gasps at the sight of the gun. "Mom, please put the gun down," Jarek tries to tell her, knowing this isn't the time for violence. Not when they are so close to getting their money, with Lex being close to death.

"No, Jarek," she yells at him. "He has to pay!"

"Odette, please," Mac pleads with her. "Put the gun down. We can talk about this. You want that money? I'll give you that money. Just put the gun down."

"No! It's too late for that," she tells him as he starts to move closer to her. "This has to happen!"

Before anyone can say or do anything else, Odette fires the gun twice! Celeste lets out a blood curling scream as the bullets move through the air towards Mac!