Previously…
– Molly decided that she wanted to adopt Gabrielle and was upset to learn that Travis and Rosie had the same plans.
– Diane told Isaac the truth about Samantha’s conception and Tempest’s role in exposing it.
– After Samantha told Jason and Sabrina about the yellow hair clip found alongside the last threatening note Jaq received, they realized they had something to share, too.

Diane Bishop bustles around her condominium, fluffing pillows and re-straightening things that are already straightened on the coffee table. She recognizes that there is no more to be done — that this is merely nervous energy fueling her — and that it will not make a difference, anyway. No amount of tidying or making the condo perfect will influence the outcome of the conversation that she is about to have; she merely hopes that her daughter will be understanding once Diane tells her about the latest mess that she has gotten herself into.

When she hears Samantha’s gentle rap on the front door, Diane stands up straight, takes a deep breath, and then goes to open it.

“Hi. Come in,” she says, leaning in for a hug before she steps aside to let Samantha enter. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” Samantha, clad in a plaid shirt with its sleeves rolled up and worn over a light blue t-shirt, steps into the condo and evaluates her mother with concern. “Is everything okay? It sounded serious.”

“Everything’s fine. I just need to… talk to you about something.”

“You’re scaring me, Mom.”

“Don’t be scared. Come here. Sit.” 

Diane walks over to the blush-colored velvet sofa and indicates it. Samantha uneasily takes a seat, never removing her eyes from Diane.

“You know how I kind of disappeared for a while at the wedding?” she says.

“Yeah… you were gone for half the reception.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Diane says as she begins to pace. “There’s someone I’ve sort of — well — been involved with. And he was there.”

“He was? Who?” Samantha’s eyes go wide. “It was a pretty small wedding.”

“So, this is part one of what I need to tell you. You know Tempest‘s brother?”

“Not well, obviously, since Tempest and I are barely speaking, but–” Samantha stops cold, mid-thought. “Wait. You and Tempest’s brother?!”

Diane slowly, deliberately nods her head.

“Mom! That is– what?! How?”

“We met on that cruise I went on,” Diane explains. “I had no idea who he was. and he didn’t know who I was. It was only when he came to King’s Bay that we realized.”

“So you’re dating Tempest’s brother. Or–” Samantha squeezes her eyes closed as she shakes her head. “Never mind.”

“Not dating. We just — it’s been this weird back-and-forth. I told him we couldn’t be together. That it’s too complicated.”

Samantha leans forward. “But…”

“But he kept pushing. And I didn’t want to explain, well, everything about my history with his sister. So we were keeping our distance — until the wedding.”

“What are you trying to tell me, Mom?”

“Tempest caught us talking — and kissing. She pieced it all together,” Diane explains. “And that’s really the part I need you to know about.”

With a determined stride, Molly Taylor‘s high-heeled boots traverse the freshly mopped floor of the hospital’s expansive lobby. She clutches a travel mug with the Objection Designs logo printed on it; caffeine is the only thing aside from grief that is fueling her right now, because she certainly didn’t get any sleep last night. All she can think about is how she learned at the wedding that Travis and Rosie are planning to adopt baby Gabrielle — and the embarrassing scene Molly made when she tried to make the case that she should adopt her, inadvertently offending the bride and groom in the process.

She tries to shake off the thought as she arrives at the main information desk. The nurse seated there, behind an imposing monitor and surrounded by files, has the phone pressed to her face and indicates that she’ll just be a second.

Molly nervously taps her toe against the floor while she waits.

Finally the nurse hangs up and looks at her. “How can I help you?”

“I need to speak with Dr. Longo,” Molly says. “From Obstetrics and Maternity.”

“One moment.” The nurse punches a few buttons. “I have someone here to see Dr. Longo… Yes… It’s…” She gives Molly a searching look. “Can I give them your name, please?”

“Molly Taylor. I’m a patient. Recent patient.”

“Her name is Molly Taylor,” the nurse says into the phone. She waits while the person on the other end speaks and then scowls slightly. A moment later, she says, “Oh. Okay. Thank you,” and hangs up.

“I’m sorry,” the nurse tells Molly. “Dr. Longo isn’t in today.”

“That’s what they said?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I could pass along a message–“

“There’s no need. But thank you,” Molly says. Gritting her teeth, she beelines for the elevator bank.

—–

Diane pulls over a side chair before she continues her explanation, but as soon as she lowers herself into it, she feels trapped. She stands again and continues pacing over the carpet as she talks to Samantha. 

“One of the reasons I knew it couldn’t work with Isaac,” she explains, “is because of all the nastiness that’s happened with Tempest, you, and me. And that includes…”

A knowing look dawns on Samantha. She breathes in deeply through her nose, as if steadying herself.

“What you did to Dad,” she says somberly.

“Yeah.” By instinct, Diane lowers her head in shame, but she forces herself to lift it so that she can make eye contact with Samantha. “I wanted to let you know that I told Isaac everything. I don’t– It isn’t something I would normally share with anyone, especially because it concerns you and your dad in such a serious way, but–“

“Mom.” Now Samantha stands from the sofa. “It’s okay.”

“Really?”

Sam nods. “I appreciate you wanting me to know that the — the information is out there.”

“I just thought… Tempest would inevitably tell him, anyway, so it was better for me to be honest, and then I panicked that I’d spoken out-of-turn when it wasn’t fully mine to share.”

“Mom, I promise. This isn’t something we can make disappear, and as much as I want to forget about it, I can’t. We can’t.”

“No. In my dreams, maybe.”

“We’ve worked through this,” Samantha says. “It’s painful and awkward and I don’t like thinking about it. But we don’t need to go in circles about it. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Diane pushes out a loud sigh. “Whew! Come here.” 

She opens her arms wide, and Samantha steps into them. Diane feels relief wash over her as she embraces her daughter. 

“Now, did you have fun at the wedding?” she asks. “People keep mentioning to me what a great officiant you were.”

Blushing, Samantha waves a hand through the air. “You’ve told me.”

“I’m proud of you!”

“Well, thank you. And yeah, I did have fun. For the most part. I feel bad that Jaq had to leave early — and then the whole thing with the note…”

“You’d think Brent and his incompetent police force could figure out who was sending a bunch of letters,” Diane says with an annoyed shake of the head. “Between fingerprints and security cameras and all that…”

“They did find that hair clip. And…”

Samantha trails off as she folds her hands in front of herself.

“What?” Diane asks, her interest piqued by the sudden shift in her daughter’s demeanor. 

Sam hesitates before saying, “There’s something else.”

“They found another clue at the scene? And they still have no idea? These morons–“

“No, someone else found something. It was Uncle Jason.”

“What does Jason have to do with this?”

“Because he found it at the office,” Samantha says. “Where he works with Tempest.”

—–

After stepping off the elevator, Molly does not approach the nurses’ station in the Obstetrics & Maternity Ward. As much as she wants to storm up to it and demand that Dr. Longo see her immediately, she listens to her brain instead; she doesn’t think she imagined happened earlier, how the nurse at the main desk was shut down as soon as she gave Molly’s full name. 

Better to wait until I can get in front of him, she thinks as she cradles her coffee between both hands.

She continues to check her phone at too-frequent intervals. Work e-mails fill her inbox at a rapid rate, and she cringes at the number of meetings that will fill her afternoon. As much as she loves her company and her job, she feels consumed by her current mission and dreads the prospect of having to slap on a happy, professional face when she feels anything but.

All thoughts of Objection melt away when she sees him. She only met the man on one of the worst nights of her life — the night she gave birth, the night she was told her child had died — but even through the haze of physical pain and emotional torture, he is burned into her mind. Dr. Longo’s graying hair sticks out slightly from beneath a surgical cap that has been pushed up on his head, and he wears blue scrubs. 

Molly springs up from her chair. 

“Dr. Longo,” she says forcefully as she moves toward him. 

He whips around, at first with mild interest — but she sees the alarm in his face as he takes her in.

“I need to speak with you,” Molly says.

“Mrs. Taylor.” Longo stands up a little straighter. “What can I do for you?”

“I want answers, Doctor.”

“About…?”

“My baby.”

Molly is certain that she sees a lump pass down Longo’s throat as he swallows.

“I’d be happy to review the paperwork with you,” he says. “I’m sure that, given what a traumatic situation–“

“Not the paperwork. I want real answers.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Dr. Longo replies.

“I’m the one who doesn’t understand,” Molly says, “and I need to. I need to know what really happened to my baby.”

“Yes. As I said, the paperwork–“

Molly grabs him by the arm, the sleeve of his scrubs crinkling under her grasp.

“I want the truth, Doctor.”

“Mrs. Taylor. Let me go, please.”

Molly sees the nurse behind the desk look up sharply. But she does not release his arm.

“Why was my baby cremated so quickly?” she demands.

“I am so sorry about that. It was an unfortunate miscommunication because of the damage that had been done to his small body during our surgical efforts.” He yanks his arm away from her. “You have my sincerest apologies.”

He starts to walk behind the desk, but Molly stalks right behind him.

“That isn’t enough,” she says. “I want to know every detail of what happened that day.”

Dr. Longo swivels around. “Mrs. Taylor, I’m sorry–“

“No, you aren’t!” she screams, and without her even thinking about it, one balled-up fist flies out and strikes him, followed immediately by her other one. “You aren’t sorry!”

Rage blurs her vision as her fists continue to batter the man, even as the nurse jumps out of her chair and onlookers begin to shout.

—–

Although Diane has returned to her seat, she is now perched on the edge of it as Samantha finishes explaining what Jason told her about the magazines with cut-out letters.

“So you mean to tell me Jason is hiding evidence from the police now,” Diane says. “Maybe my sister did rub off on him.”

“He asked Tempest about the magazines, and she was really upset that he’d even think she might be leaving Jaq the letters,” Samantha says.

“That’s what someone would say if they were trying to seem innocent.”

With a sigh, Samantha slumps back against the sofa. “I don’t know. It could all be a coincidence–“

“Except you also know that Tempest has yellow hair clips just like the ones that were found at the scene of the last letter. One thing is a coincidence. Two things is a pattern.”

“Do I tell Uncle Brent?” Samantha asks, her voice raw with despair. “On one hand, I want Jaq to feel safe. They’ve been scared out of their mind. On the other — turning in anyone, especially a Black woman, to the police–“

“I completely understand your concern there,” Diane agrees. “But if Tempest has been doing this, we don’t know for certain that she won’t actually try something to harm Jaq.”

“No. I know.” Samantha rubs her thumb over one of her fingernails, still supporting an uncharacteristically vivid pink shade of polish from the wedding. “Promise me you won’t say anything about this to anyone for a day or two. Just until I figure out what to do.”

“Sam–“

“Promise me,” Samantha says. “Don’t make me regret confiding in you.”

“Okay. Okay! I promise.” Diane rises and walks toward the galley kitchen. “Can I get you anything? I haven’t eaten yet.”

“No, I need to get back to Jaq. But thanks for listening.”

“And thank you for being understanding.”

Samantha stands from the sofa and gives her mother a hug.

“I’ll check in tonight or tomorrow and let you know what I decide to do,” she says. “I just have to figure out a way to turn in Tempest that feels — I don’t know — compassionate.”

“Just don’t let that compassion get in the way of Jaq’s safety,” Diane warns as she walks her daughter to the door.

“I know. You’re right.” Samantha opens the door and steps outside. “I will check in. Okay? And in the meantime–“

“These lips? Sealed.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Samantha heads down the nearby stairs to the parking lot. Diane lingers in the doorway for a moment, watching her go, and then goes back inside the condo. Something is nagging at her mind, but it takes her a few seconds to pinpoint exactly what it is.

Fueled by curiosity, she picks up her iPhone and opens her text chain with Samantha. She checks the time stamp on one of the messages and then gasps. Quickly, she punches a pair of addresses into her Maps app.

“Oh my god,” she says as she lowers the phone. “Tempest really can’t be the one leaving the letters.”

END OF EPISODE 1092

What does Diane just think she discovered?
Should Samantha tell Brent what she suspects?
Will Molly get Dr. Longo to admit the real truth?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!

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