Written by: Dallas Walsh

The courtroom erupts in chaos as Judge Sebastian Cartwright finishes announcing that he has sentenced MacKenzie Rockwell to death after he found him guilty of shooting, and killing, his half-brother Nathan Lockhart.

"Your honor, this is outrageous!" Chase Cooper stands up and yells. "You can't possibly believe that this is the best outcome for my client!"

"Actually, I do," Sebastian firmly replies to him. "The evidence was crystal clear combined with the attitude presented in my courtroom, which supported my decision. This is final, Mr. Cooper so I suggest you start making plans before the big day arrives."

"But I didn't do this!" Mac stands up and yells back at the Judge. "I didn't shoot Nathan for fuck sakes! You're making a huge mistake!"

"I've warned you Mr. Rockwell about interrupting my courtroom!" the Judge smashes his mallet down. "You are also being fined 1 million dollars in contempt! Now sit down and do not speak again!"

***

A short time later, the entire Rockwell family stands outside Mac's jail cell with tears in their eyes.

"I can't believe the Judge is being so cruel," Stacey Rockwell bites her lip as she looks at her father. "How can he sentence you to die?"

Cole Rockwell pulls his sister into a hug and holds her for a moment while Lexington Rockwell looks at Mac through the bars of the cell. "Can we do anything for you, Dad?"

"No, you guys being here means the world to me," Mac stands up and moves closer to them. "I don't want you guys to worry, okay? The Judge made his decision, but I have Chase working on an appeal. I just hope we have enough time before…"

"Don't even say that Dad," Cole whispers back to him. "This isn't over, not by a long shot."

***

"Lunch that includes sparkling rose?" Dyhannah Cooper asks her son, Deacon Cooper, and Quinn Cunningham as they sit in a corner table of the country club. Dyhannah was skeptical of coming to join them for lunch because she still believes that Quinn has, somehow, fabricated the fact that Deacon is the father of her unborn child. She, however, hasn't been able to stop thinking about the fact that Deacon told her that unless she came around and accepted Quinn, she wouldn't be in his life, or his child's life. "Now you really have me curious as to what is going on."

Quinn takes a bite of her chicken-spinach salad before she looks back at Dyhannah. "This was my idea," she admits to her. "I thought this could be the start of us burying the hatchet, so to speak."

"It is true," Deacon nods back to his mother. "Quinn wanted us to have lunch today."

"I see," Dyhannah forces a smile on her face before she takes a sip of her rose. "Well I do appreciate the invite. Why do I get the feeling that the other shoe is still about to drop?"

Deacon chuckles to her. "We do have some news; I just hope that you're ready to hear this, mother."

Dyhannah sighs back to him as she sets her fork down on the table. "I knew that something else was going on," she admits to him. "Okay, lay it on me. What has Quinn done this time?"

"Quinn hasn't done anything," Deacon defends her. "The fact remains, I was about to marry Quinn when you and Dad stopped the wedding with the news that Marat Kafelinkov was the father of her child; now that we have proof that I am the father, Quinn and I are going to be married. We want to be husband and wife before the baby gets here."

"Deacon…"

"Mother, do not start," Deacon warns her. "This is what I want; I want Quinn as my wife. I'm only telling you this out of respect. Now, you can either accept it or you can stay away from me and my life; it is completely up to you."

***

A short time later, Dyhannah uses the key card to open the suite to Chase's room upstairs at the country club. She sees her former husband typing furiously into his laptop.

"You won't believe what just happened," she tells him as she throws her purse on to the bed.

"I don't have time for a long drawn out conversation right now," Chase looks over at Dyhannah, who sits on the edge of the bed. "The judge gave Mac the death penalty this morning. I have to work on appeal and hope that it can delay things."

"My God," Dyhannah gasps back to him. "Why is this Judge being such a hard ass?"

"It appears that Ming Choi has made him believe that he has to make an example out of the entire Rockwell family," Chase explains to her. "Like I said, I just hope that I have time to get this appeal in before they kill Mac for something he didn't do. What is this news you have?"

"I just had lunch with Deacon and Quinn," she reveals to him. "They are planning to be married before the baby arrives. Apparently, the paternity test results confirming Deacon is the father has made him want to marry Quinn. This is a disaster, Chase!"

Chase moves up to her and kisses her softly on the lips, which takes her by surprise. "I wish I could help you with this, Dy, but I have to work on the appeal for Mac. I know that you will think of something, though."

Dyhannah chuckles back to him. "I'm already on it," she winks back to him. "Good luck with your appeal Chase."

***

Lydia Rockwell storms up to the front door of the guesthouse that Stacey is living in that resides on the Rockwell estate and pounds on the door. As she was leaving the courthouse, which left her reeling, she was approached by a young man that presented her with legal documents. When Lydia opened the envelope, she was horrified to see what they were.

"Stacey, open this damn door!" she huffs through the wooden door. "I'm not leaving here until we talk!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stacey asks her as she opens the door and faces her mother. "Haven't we had enough drama this morning? In case you've forgotten, my father was sentenced to death this morning."

"Of course, I haven't forgotten," Lydia replies to her quickly. "But as I was leaving the courthouse, I was served with this," she says as she throws the documents at Stacey.

Stacey grabs them and reads them before she looks back at Lydia with a sly grin on her face. "Oh great, my restraining order went through. Why are you here then? You must stay, at least, 50 feet away from me and my children at all times. Do you want me to call the police and have you charged?"

"Oh Stacey," Lydia grabs the documents back from her daughter. "This has gone on long enough. Can't we please just put the past behind us?"

"You assaulted me at the courthouse," Stacey reminds her mother. "If you think that putting the past behind us is just going to make everything okay again, you are dead wrong. Now, get out of my house and stay the hell away from me and my children!"

***

"I am so sorry about your father," Casper Ross tells Lex as he lets him into his office at private investigator's firm. Casper had heard that Mac was sentenced to death earlier in the day, which makes Lex's visit even more surprising to him. "I thought you'd be spending time with your family."

"Visiting hours at the police station are pretty short," Lex replies to him quickly. "We are all just trying to deal with this news the best way we can."

"And you came here?"

Lex chuckles back to him as they look into each other's eyes. "You've been a great support Casper," Lex admits to him. "And I was hoping that you have a lead on Jarek's twin?"

"I don't have any leads yet," Casper replies to him. "But I am glad that you find me supportive. I've been trying my best to do that for you, Lex."

"It is noted," Lex licks his lips back to him. "I could use all the support I can get right now."

Without thinking, Casper leans in and gives Lex a kiss on the lips. "I'll support you in any way possible," he whispers to him as their lips part. "Sorry, did I actually just kiss you?"

Lex smiles back to him. "You did and I'm certainly not complaining."

***

A short time later, Lex moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and sees Cole pouring himself a drink from the bar.

"Can you get me one of those too?" Lex asks his brother, who looks over his shoulder and nods back to him.

"It's been one hell of a morning, huh?" Cole replies to him as he passes him a brandy to Lex. "I can't believe that Judge wants to kill our father."

"You and me both," Lex tells him as he takes a sip of his brandy. "This entire thing is a nightmare. And you know what's the worst? Lucinda is away on that business trip, so she has no idea what is going on."

"I hope she makes it back to town in time to say goodbye," Cole whispers back to him.

"Don't even go there," Lex says. "I still think that Chase's appeal will go through."

"I need to think and talk about something else," Cole admits to him. "This is a disaster."

Lex looks back at him and thinks about how he and Casper just shared a kiss. While he has been working with Casper to find out the truth about Jarek, they have been growing closer and it finally moved to the next phase.

"Well, I suppose I have some good news," Lex smiles back to his brother. "I might be starting to have feelings for a guy."

"Really? Someone new? Good for you, you've been single a long time," Cole chuckles back to him. "Anyone I know?"

"I'm not sure if you know him," Lex admits to him. "His name is Casper, Casper Ross."

Cole almost chokes on his drink as he thinks about his own torrid affair with Casper. "Cole? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Cole lies to his brother, as he thinks back to his own torrid affair with Casper. "I just swallowed too quickly."

***

A short time later, Lex looks over at Kent Blackmore as they stand in the living room of the penthouse that Kent lives in. Lex just finished learning that Kent and Stacey have continued their affair and that Houston Blackmore is furious as a result. Lex is surprised that Kent has admitted this to him considering he just remarried Lydia.

"So, as you can imagine, Houston is furious with me," Kent tells his youngest son.

"I can't say I blame him," Lex crosses his arms over his chest. "Houston and Stacey have a long, complicated history, Kent. You sleeping with her is going to upset Houston, and my mother."

"The piece is that Stacey and I, we never meant or any of this to happen," Kent sighs back to him. "We just happened and we both really enjoy each other's company. I don't think we should apologize for that."

"Think about how you felt when you discovered that Houston was having an affair with Sabine," Lex reminds him. "You were devastated; you threw Houston out of the company."

"Sabine and I were engaged at the time," Kent reminds him. "Houston and Stacey have been over for some time now."

"That doesn't mean that it hurts any less," Lex replies to him quickly. "Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about this, Kent. If you and Stacey have found happiness, then all the power to you. I just think you have to realize that this affair, or whatever it is, is going to cause a lot of heartache for a lot of people."

***

"You have some nerve," Cole announces to Casper as he moves into the private investigator's office. As soon as Lex finished telling him that Casper kissed him, Cole raced over to see what was going on.

"Cole, this is a surprise," Casper stands up from behind his desk. "It's been ages since I've seen you."

"What the hell are you doing? You're making out with my brother now, Casper?"

Casper gulps back to him. "I, uh, I've been helping Lex with a case," Casper replies to him quickly. "We have grown closer. Not that it's any of your business; you ended our relationship, remember?"

"It wasn't a relationship," Cole spits back to him. "It was sex and that's it."

"It was great sex," Casper reminds him. "But that's not the point. Why are you getting so upset over this?"

"You don't see how awkward this is?" Cole asks him in surprise. "You and I had sex Casper; you shouldn't be anywhere near my brother!"

Casper chuckles back to him. "It's so easy for you, uh, straight, guys," he winks back to Cole. "You guys can meet girls anywhere you want. The gay pool is a lot smaller. So, yea, I think Lex is hot. I'm not going to stop seeing him because you have an issue with it."

"That's where you're wrong," Cole grits his teeth together. "You will stop seeing Lex, Casper. This flirtation ends today."

***

A few minutes later, Lex is pulling up to the private investigator firm and begins to park his Lexus when he sees Cole rushing out of the office. Lex arches his eyebrow, wondering why his brother was visiting Casper. Lex waits until he sees Cole speed away before he gets out of his car and moves back into the office.

"Hey," Lex says as he moves into Casper's office.

"Lex, hey," Casper moves up to him. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about earlier and our kiss."

Lex smiles back to him. "Yea, I was thinking about it too," he admits to him. "But I have to ask you a question, why was my brother here?"

"What?" Casper asks him quickly, not realizing that Lex had seen Cole leaving.

"Cole Rockwell, I just saw him leaving your office," Lex tells him. "What did he want?"

"Uh, nothing," Casper shakes his head back to him. "He needed directions, but I couldn't help him. Anyways, I actually have news on Jarek's twin."

Lex instantly forgets that Cole was just there when he hears that Casper has news on Jarek's twin. "Really? What is it?"

"Well, I was able to look at the hospital records and I discovered his name and address," Casper moves closer to his desk. "I could give them to you, if you'd like?"

"I'd love that," Lex smiles back to him. "This is what I've waiting for," he says as he picks up the address that Casper just gave him. "I found you, I really found you."

***

"Lydia, what the hell are you doing here?" Kent asks his ex-wife as she moves into the penthouse that they lived in together. The last person he expected to see was Lydia considering they have been at odds with one another since she revealed that she knows about his affair with Stacey.

"We have to talk," Lydia tells him as she pours herself a brandy from the bar in the living room. "I think you owe me 5 minutes of your time, don't you?"

"And a glass of my brandy it seems," he replies to her. "What is it, Lydia?"

"Stacey," Lydia turns and faces him. "She is furious with me; she has a restraining order against me!"

Kent chuckles back to her. "I can't say I blame her," Kent looks back at her. "She looked like she got into a prison fight after you were done with her."

"She isn't innocent in this either," Lydia hisses back to him. "And that's not the point. The point is, this has gotten out of hand. At the end of the day, she is still my daughter and I love her."

"I don't know what you want me to do, Lydia. Stacey is a grown woman and she makes her own choices."

"Well," Lydia purses her lips together. "You certainly have an influence over her right now. Maybe you could talk to her and tell her to forgive me?"

Kent bursts into laughter. "You have to be kidding right? After all the crap you've pulled? I say, you're getting exactly what you deserve, Lydia. Now, please get the hell out of my penthouse and don't let the door kick your ass on the way out."

***

"What are the next steps of this merger, exactly?" Carmen Santos asks Lydia as they sit at the country club together the following morning with mimosa's in front of them. Carmen is eager to hear what Lydia has to say about merging Rockwell Mining and Blackmore Ltd. together because the sooner it happens, the sooner Carmen can make huge headlines and prove herself that she is worthy of the CEO position at Rockwell Mining.

Lydia slowly takes a sip of her drink as she thinks about her encounters with Stacey and Kent the previous day; the fact that they were so cruel to her make her want this merger to happen sooner than later.

"I should hear from my lawyer later this morning," Lydia reveals to her. "Once the final documentation has been drawn up, we can sign them and the companies will become one and the same."

"This is so exciting," Carmen smiles back to her. "I've wanted to make a big splash since being appointed CEO. This is surely going to do that."

Lydia chuckles back to her. "It certainly will," she nods to her. "And finally, the men that have done us wrong will see that they should never cross a woman scorned."

"I'll drink to that," Carmen smiles to Lydia as their glasses clink together and they each take a sip of their mimosa's.

***

Sabine Andrews paces back and forth in the living room of the Rockwell mansion as her mind races about the previous day when she was at Rockwell Mining and Nathan's previous receptionist indicated that Carmen was out of the office the majority of the day that Mac's trial was taking place. Sabine can't place it, but in her mind, she thinks that something is off with that information. Why would Carmen not be at the office when she has been avoiding the trial makes Sabine think that she is up to something.

"Carmen never does anything without an ulterior motive," she whispers to herself as she pours herself a cup of coffee at the bar. "She has been so damn excited that she got promoted to that CEO position; to miss being at the office all day? No, she's up to something. But what could it be?"

"Is that coffee fresh? I could use a cup," Cole says as he moves into the living room and sees his Aunt standing alone.

"It's still hot, yes," Sabine replies to him. "Do you mind if I bounce something off you? I could use some insight into something that I find baffling."

"Shoot," Cole tells her as he pours a coffee. "What's up?"

"I found out that the day that Mac's verdict came in, Carmen was out of the office at Rockwell Mining most of the day," Sabine reveals to him. "I know it seems like nothing, but why would she be away from the office? She has been eager to prove herself as the CEO since Slate and Nathan are dead and Mac was behind bars; we know that she was avoiding the trial to focus on work, so where was she?"

"I guess it's a good question," Cole takes a sip of his coffee. "But maybe she had meeting outside of the office? She might not be up to anything?"

"I don't believe that," Sabine shakes her head back to him. "Carmen always has a scheme going on. It's just…what could it be?"

Cole shrugs back to her. "The day of the verdict, what else happened that day?"

Sabine freezes and looks back at him. "The DA got the call that the gun that shot Nathan was in Mac's hotel suite. Do you think Carmen had something to do with that?"

"I have no idea," Cole admits to her. "I guess she could have but we are making a lot of assumptions here. Why would Carmen know that Mac's gun was in his room? I feel like we are grasping at straws."

"You're right," Sabine shakes her head back to him. "I just have a feeling that she is up to something and it's not good."

***

"You're having breakfast alone?" Houston Blackmore asks Celeste Baldwin as he approaches her table at the country club. Houston, lately, has been accustomed to seeing Celeste attached at the hip with Cole, so he is curious as to why she is eating alone. "I thought you'd be with Cole."

Celeste uneasily chuckles back to him as Houston sits across from her as she thinks about how Cole ended their romance the previous day because she pushed Sabine down the stairs which caused her to lose her unborn child. "If you blink, you miss things around here. Cole and I, we are over, and I think it is for good this time."

Houston looks back at her in surprise. "Really? I thought you two were committed to make it work this time. I guess things don't always go as planned."

Celeste giggles back to him. "That's the understatement of the year. I still love Cole, a part of me always will, but there always seems to be something that comes between us and I don't know if I can keep getting on that rollercoaster anymore."

"I guess I know how you feel."

"Oh?" Celeste asks him back quickly. "Does that mean you and Stacey haven't found your way back to one another yet? I always assumed that you two would end up together."

"We are not together, and I don't think we ever will be again," Houston reveals to her. "She's sleeping with my father."

Celeste starts coughing as the news takes her by surprise. "Sorry," she says as she takes a sip of her water. "I mean, I knew that they slept together because they had Poppy but to continue on with the affair … it's surprising. I thought Kent just married Lydia?"

"Don't get me started," Houston rolls his eyes back to her. "Look at us; two relatively young, attractive people and here are we are single and drowning our sorrows over two Rockwell's that have given up on us. What is wrong with us?"

Celeste picks up her drink and looks back at him. "There's nothing wrong with us," she tells him quickly. "It is that family; drama follows them everywhere. You know what I say? I say you and I are better off without them."

At the entry way to the dining room, Sabine stands and arches her eyebrow at the sight of Celeste and Houston together.

"What is going on there?" she asks herself as she makes a mental note to herself.

***

A short time later, Sabine is sitting in the visiting room at the jail as she awaits Mac's arrival. She had to see her former lover before his death sentence is enacted later in the morning. She still hopes that Chase is able to get his appeal in to the higher courts before Mac is dies for killing Nathan; Sabine can't help but have some guilt pains since she admitted she had no idea why Nathan would lie about who shot her when she was on the stand. The last thing she wanted was for her testimony to hurt Mac's case.

"Sabine, I wasn't expecting to see you here today," Mac announces as he moves up to her table and sits across from her. "How are you?"

"You never cease to amaze me," she looks back at him. "Here you are, on death row and you're asking me how I am? How are you, Mac?"

Mac shrugs back to her. "I am, well, I am feeling numb about this entire thing. I didn't sleep well last night and just tried to come to terms with this. If I'm going to die, I want to do it with dignity; I don't want to go out any other way."

Sabine reaches over and grabs his hand. "I still have faith that this will get over turned. I can't imagine a world without MacKenzie Rockwell in it."

Mac smiles back to her. "We did have some good times, didn't we?"

"More than I can count," Sabine says as tears fill her eyes. "I've been meaning to tell you something, but I didn't want to burden you while the trial was going on."

"You can tell me anything, Sabine, you have to know that."

"I…I was pregnant," Sabine reveals to him as his eyes open wider in surprise. "I lost the baby, it is a long story, but you could have been a father again, Mac. I, honestly, don't know if you or Nathan was the father."

"You miscarried?" Mac sighs back to her as she nods to him. "Oh, Sabine, I am so sorry. You have been through so much the last few months with Nathan and Slate passing away and now your baby. So, I'm going to ask you again, how are you? Really?"

A tear falls down Sabine's cheek and she quickly wipes it away. "I'm…okay. It's been challenging, and now with you…"

"Hey, no matter what happens, I will always be with you, okay?" Mac tries to calm her down. "Just remember that, okay?"

***

Sabine moves back into the living room of the Rockwell mansion, desperately looking for a drink after her visit with Mac. She had no idea that it would get so emotional with him, but she feels drained as a result. As she pours herself a glass of white wine, she hears someone walk into the living room.

"Oh mother, I'm glad you're here," Quinn announces as Sabine turns and sees her very-pregnant daughter. "Are you alright? It's a tad early to have a drink, isn't it?"

"I just came from seeing Mac at the jail house," she reveals to Quinn. "I just need something to help take the edge off, that's all."

"How is he doing? I can't believe that in a few short hours, he will be sentenced to death."

"He's remarkably calm about the entire situation," Sabine tells her. "Anyways, you said we needed to talk? What is going on with you?"

Quinn purses her lips together and nods back to her. "I do have some news, yes. Deacon and I, we've decided to get married. We are going to be husband and wife before I give birth."

Sabine looks back at her in surprise. "Wow, are you sure this is what you want?"

"Of course, it is," Quinn replies to her quickly. "Why would you question that?"

"Because," Sabine uneasily replies to her. "Marriage is a big commitment and you and Deacon haven't exactly had the easiest road to happiness."

"This is all I have ever wanted," Quinn tells her. "I want to be Deacon's wife; this wedding is going to make me very, very happy."

***

"I'm glad that you could meet us for breakfast this morning," Dyhannah tells Deacon as her son sits across from her and Chase in the country club. Dyhannah knows that she and Chase are trying to get through to Deacon about his pending wedding to Quinn, but Chase is also on a limited schedule because he must get to Mac before his death penalty. "Your father and I wanted to express our concerns, one last time."

Deacon puts his fork down and sighs heavily back to them. "Let me guess, this is about my engagement to Quinn? I don't know how many times I have to tell you that this is what I want."

"You just have to understand why your mother and I have concerns," Chase looks back at his son. "Quinn has proven herself to be un-trustworthy, don't you think? Is that really a woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

"I actually think that you two have proven yourselves un-trustworthy," Deacon snaps back at him. "You two are the ones that interrupted the last wedding with the news that Marat, not me, is the father of Quinn's baby, when, in fact, the DNA test proved otherwise. This vendetta you have against Quinn, it has to end."

Dyhannah sighs back to him. "If you are absolutely positive that this is what you want, I will try to get on board with this Deacon. But please, make sure you think long and hard before you commit yourself to Quinn Cunningham for the rest of your life. That's all I'm asking."

***

A short time later, Sabine moves into the country club and makes a beeline for the bar, where she requests her takeout order. The Judge was kind enough to let the Rockwell family have a last meal with Mac before he is sentenced to death, so she has ordered all of Mac's favorites and she will meet the rest of the family at the jail.

She sits and decides to have a Manhattan while she waits for her order. She can't help but overhear the two young male waiters behind the counter engage in conversation.

"Yea man, a couple days ago, that hot babe was upstairs for a while. I wish I knew who she was visiting," one waiter chuckles to the other.

"Which babe?" the other waiters asks him quickly. "The Latina girl?"

"Yea, she was married to Slate Lockhart before he died," he tells his co-worker. "I always thought he was so lucky to be with her."

Sabine arches her eyebrow as she realizes that they are talking about Carmen. She quickly connects the dots and realizes that the day that the men are talking about is the same day that Josie, the receptionist at Rockwell Mining, told her that Carmen was out of the office most of the day. Now, she has confirmation that Carmen was upstairs at the country club. Her mind immediately races to the conversation that Sabine shared with Cole, where she wondered if Carmen was the one that planted the gun in Mac's hotel suite.

"Could it be true?" she whispers to herself. "Did Carmen set Mac up?"

***

"I am glad that we can have this lunch together today," Mac tells Cole, Stacey, Lex, Lydia and Sabine as they are all in the jail with him before he will go for his sentencing. "It is times like this that I will forever cherish; the times that we are all together as a family. Christmas mornings have always been one of my favorite days of the year because we are together at the mansion."

"You seem so calm and at ease about this, Dad," Cole looks back at Mac with a sadness in his eyes. He had hoped that Chase's appeal would have come through by now, but they haven't heard anything yet.

Mac nods back to him. "I didn't sleep well last night, I was just trying put all my thoughts together and I realized that if this is going to happen, if I am going to die, I want to go out on my terms. I want to be at peace with my family and I want to be calm. I don't want my soul to be uneasy because I am upset about what has happened."

"I just can't believe that it has come to this," Stacey admits to him. "I wish the Judge had more sympathy."

"Don't blame him, okay?" Mac tells his daughter. "The Judge just did what he thought was right based on the evidence. All of you, Lydia, Cole, Stacey, Lex and Sabine, you are my family. No matter what happens, I will always love you and be with you."

"We love you too, we always will," Lex says as tears fill his eyes.

"He's right," Lydia nods back to Mac. "We will always keep you in your hearts and we will never stop fighting for justice."

Before Mac can say anything else, a guard approaches him and clears his throat.

"No, we aren't ready yet," Stacey covers her mouth as tears fill her eyes. "Please, give us a little more time."

"I'm sorry," the guard replies to her. "But it's time."

"Don't worry, I will be fine," Mac forces a smile on his face as he looks back at his family. "I love you, each of you, remember that."

***

Dane looks at his phone and doesn't see a new message from Lucinda as of yet. He knows that time is running out for her to arrive and have a chance to say goodbye to Mac; he also realizes that if Lucinda doesn't get the chance to say goodbye to Mac, she will never forgive herself.

"Where the hell are you Lucinda?" he whispers to himself as he sends her another text message. "Why haven't you gotten back to me? You need to get home ASAP."

He puts his phone away and runs his hand through his hair. "You will never forgive yourself if you don't see Mac one last time, Lucinda. Please, please, please get home soon."

***

Lucinda walks down a dark hallway of a private hospital. She is moving quickly because she knows that time is of the essence because she must get back to Kelsey Lake before Mac is sentenced to death. The last thing she ever wanted was for things to get so out of control.

"All I ever was to end this feud between MacKenzie and Nathan once and for all," she whispers to herself as she arrives at a door. She opens the door moves inside. She moves closer to the bed and turns on the lamp that is on the end table. She looks down into the bed and sees Nathan, laying there fast asleep.

"I guess my plan to fake your death is coming to an early end," she purses her lips together. "Pack your bags, Levi. You're coming home with me."