Previously…
– Haunted by thoughts of the day her baby died and her stifled efforts to adopt Gabrielle, Molly went to the hospital to confront Dr. Longo, the man who delivered her child.
– Jason shared his suspicions about Tempest — that she might be the one leaving threatening notes for Jaq — with Samantha.
– After Samantha opened up to Diane about the evidence pointing to Tempest as the culprit, Diane had a startling realization about what might be going on.

“You aren’t sorry!”

Molly Taylor‘s voice rips across the nurses’ station on the Obstetrics & Maternity floor of King’s Bay Memorial Hospital. Her balled fists pummel Dr. Longo, even as the graying, middle-aged man raises his own arms to shield himself; a nearby nurse jumps out of her chair behind the desk to help. 

“Tell me what really happened!” Molly screams as she feels a pair of hands pulling her backwards and forcing her arms down.

“Molly!” Claire Fisher says from behind her former sister-in-law. She wraps her own arms around Molly, wrapping her up to restrain her.

“Mrs. Taylor, you are out of control,” Dr. Longo says with disdain as he takes a big step backward, separating himself from his one-time patient. 

Claire can feel Molly shaking in her arms.

“What happened?” she asks, nearly whispering to Molly. It feels strange to be in such close physical proximity to someone who used to be a friend but has more recently been a rival; however, Claire can tell that this is what Molly needs right now. “What happened?”

“My baby,” Molly says through gasps. “I want to know — what happened to my baby.”

All Claire can think to do is squeeze Molly tighter.

“I want the police called,” Dr. Longo says. “This woman is a menace.”

“She’s grieving,” Claire says. “She lost a child not even a year ago.”

“I want to know what happened to my baby!” Molly yells.

The doctor shakes his head. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Mrs. Taylor. But we can’t have this around here.”

“Doctor. Please,” Claire says, as she does her best to maintain her hold on Molly despite the raven-haired woman struggling against her.

“I’m calling the police,” Dr. Longo says as he grabs the phone behind the nurses’ station.

In the basement offices of KBAY, Diane Bishop waits impatiently. She mindlessly deletes some of the many e-mails that have come pouring in today and then adds a few items to her Amazon shopping cart, but her attention keeps flickering over to the open door. Finally, the person she is waiting for appears.

“What’s going on? Is there some kind of emergency?” Jaq Pearson asks as they enter the office, a messenger bag slung across their chest. “I didn’t even think you were working today.”

“I’m not. But I needed to talk to you — away from Samantha.”

Jaq narrows their eyes, which peek out from beneath asymmetrically cut black bangs. “What? Why?”

Diane rises from the desk chair. “Close the door, would you?”

“Okay…” Uncertainly, Jaq does as requested.

“Samantha told me about the letter,” Diane explains. “And the hair clip that was found by your car.”

“I’m really hoping that this is the break they need to catch whoever’s been doing this to me,” Jaq says.

“I’m sure it could be. That clip — yellow, is it? — is probably pretty distinctive. In fact, we know someone who has very similar, if not the exact same, clips.”

Jaq reacts by jerking their head backward. “We do?”

“But you already knew that, didn’t you? You knew that Tempest uses those same yellow clips.”

“She does? Do you mean–“

“I mean I know what’s going on,” Diane says. “Tempest hasn’t been leaving those letters — you have.”

—–

A light breeze shifts through the air, gently blowing the leaves that have begun to fall on Brent Taylor‘s front lawn. He has decided to use his day off from work to take care of some much-needed chores around the house — but he had not counted on the fast-coming arrival of fall creating so much extra yardwork before he can even get to mowing the lawn. He is in the process of raking up the leaves when he feels his cell phone vibrating in the pocket of his jeans. Quickly, he stops what he is doing and reaches for the device.

His momentum slows to a crawl, however, when he sees the name on the caller ID. After taking a moment to process what he is seeing, as the phone continues buzzing in his hand, he answers.

“Claire. Hi,” he says into the phone. 

“Hi,” she responds, the stiffness between the exes palpable even over the line. “I was bringing a chart up to Obstetrics when I saw– well, you’re not at the station, right?”

“No… I’m off today. Why?”

“You should get down there. It’s Molly.”

He listens with increasing alarm as Claire explains what took place at the hospital.

“Thanks for the heads-up,” he says. “And for being with her.”

“Of course. Good luck.”

Claire ends the call before Brent can do so himself. He stares at the phone in confusion for a long moment, attempting to process what he just heard. Then he breaks for the house to retrieve his keys.

As he does so, he places another phone call.

“Hey,” he says to the person on the other end. “I need your help, right away.”

A small bell jingles as Jason Fisher enters Thaw Coffee & Tea through the door that connects the café to Edge of Winter Arena. Due to the midday hour, it is relatively quiet; a few patrons sit at tables with their laptops or phones, enjoying their beverages, but there is no line at the register. As The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” plays over the sound system, Jason approaches the counter.

“Well, hello there,” he says to Sabrina Gage, who stands behind the register in her ice-blue Thaw apron. “Funny running into you here.”

“So funny, especially considering you were in here barely two hours ago.” She winks at him. “Ready for another coffee?”

“Just black, please. I need to lay off all the syrup and stuff.” 

He takes out his wallet as Sabrina grabs a cup for his drink.

“If I’m being honest, I was also looking for an excuse to get out of the office,” he adds.

Sabrina looks back at him over her shoulder as she fills the cup with coffee from the large pot. “Is it bad?”

“Awkward. I don’t want Tempest thinking that I’m looking at her like she’s some criminal, but…”

“I understand. Does she seem to know anything about that hair clip?”

Jason shakes his head. “Not that I can tell. But it’s weird to sit there and work with her like everything is normal, even though I know…”

“We don’t know anything for sure,” Sabrina says as she turns around with the coffee cup, steam rolling off its surface.

“That’s true. But between Samantha recognizing the hair clip and those magazines we found — why would magazines with letters cut out just randomly be hidden in our office?”

“I don’t know,” Sabrina admits with a sigh. She affixes a lid to Jason’s coffee and places it on the counter. “But if she is sending Jaq those letters…”

“Then it needs to stop, clearly.” Jason inserts his debit card into the reader and waits. “But I care about Tempest, obviously. She’s not just an employee — she’s a friend. And I’m not handing a black woman over to the police like it’s no big deal.”

“I understand that. And the fact that you’re being this careful about this says a lot about your character.”

Following a beep, he pulls his card from the reader. “I want this to be over, for everyone’s sakes. But it seems more and more like someone is going to have to get hurt for that to happen.”

“And you don’t want the person who gets hurt to be Jaq. Or Samantha,” Sabrina reminds him. 

All Jason can do is nod as he picks up his coffee. 

—–

Diane watches Jaq intently. The younger person appears dazed by Diane’s accusation — first, their face is a blank, and then their mouth slowly opens in shock. 

“What are you talking about?” Jaq finally asks.

“I think you know,” Diane replies. “How convenient that someone would stop putting the letters in the mailbox right after you had that doorbell camera installed.”

“They probably saw that it was there. They’re obviously watching me when I don’t know it.”

“Mm-hmm.” Diane takes out her phone and scrolls to a recent screenshot. “So, you see, I have a text message from Samantha here, from the night of the wedding. It’s time-stamped 8:52 p.m. In it, she’s telling me how you had to go home because your stomach hurt.”

“Which was true.”

Diane shrugs. “I’ll give you that for now. Say your stomach did hurt. I still don’t think it’s any coincidence that you were so uncomfortable that you had to leave right after Tempest left the wedding.”

Jaq’s eyes shift around, as if trying to recall. “I guess I did see her leaving. She seemed upset.”

“You did see her leaving,” Diane says. “But I don’t think you realized that she didn’t leave right away.”

“I’m afraid I’m not following you.”

“Tempest went out the back of the bar. Her brother and I followed her out. We had time for a whole big fight before she actually got into her car and left.”

Exhaling with annoyance, Jaq says, “I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“Come on, Jaq. Don’t hustle a hustler. You saw Tempest leaving the wedding early and saw your opening to rush home, plant another note, find said note, and call Samantha — all so you could blame Tempest. Need we bring up how her purse was missing for part of the reception? I’m willing to bet she had her yellow hair clips in there.”

“This is so out of line,” Jaq says with flared eyes. “I’m being threatened–“

“I’ve been so concerned about you,” Diane says. “And about Samantha. The thought that some nutjob was out there, watching the two of you, maybe planning to hurt you — but I don’t think that person is Tempest.”

“Why are you even defending Tempest? You hate her.”

“I’m trying to get to the bottom of this. Here’s the thing, Jaq: if Samantha texted me the very second you left the wedding — let’s assume she didn’t wait even a minute to do that — I watched Tempest turn left out of The Wild Lady’s parking lot. She would have to have gone the other way to get to your house. And there isn’t a U-turn for over a mile on that road, because of that stupid median. That already puts her minutes behind you — and, again, that’s assuming you left right at 8:52, not any earlier.”

Jaq simply stares at her for a long, painful moment. Diane feels a twitch of sympathy for the young person; she recalls being caught at her own schemes, knowing she’d been exposed even though she desperately wanted to believe otherwise — and certain that she could explain it all if everyone would just listen and stop accusing. 

“Why are you doing this?” Diane finally asks. “Is it because you’re afraid Sam will go back to Tempest?”

Remaining tight-lipped, Jaq drops their gaze down toward the patterned carpet. 

“Take it from someone who’s done her share of manipulating,” Diane continues. “This is not the way to hold onto someone. Samantha loves you. There are things you can do to strengthen your relationship, if you’re doubting it. But framing Tempest is not–“

“Stop,” Jaq says suddenly.

“Excuse me?”

“You should stop right now.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be giving me orders,” Diane says. “Not after this collection of — what do the kids call them? Receipts?”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jaq says, a sneer spreading slowly over their face. “Because I’m the one with the upper hand here.”

“Thank you, Conrad,” Molly says before pressing a button to end the call. As soon as she has done so, a uniformed police officer swoops over to take the cordless receiver from her. 

“My attorney is on his way over,” Molly tells the officer, who simply nods before exiting the interrogation room.

Small and cold as it is, the room feels vast and cavernous to Molly once the door closes and is locked from the outside. The white paint on the walls has aged into more of a dull gray; the faux-wood tabletop bears all manner of scratches and nicks. The utter silence of the space only serves to make her feel more alone. Despite that stillness, however, she feels jumpy and unsettled. Inside is a roiling stew of anger, mortification, and desperation, making her want to jump up and run out of here — if only she could.

When she hears the click of the door, she looks up immediately, shocked that Conrad could have made it here so fast. Instead, she sees her ex-husband.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“Claire called me,” Brent says as the door closes loudly behind him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I went to the hospital to talk to Dr. Longo, and– I don’t know–“

Curtains of her dark hair fall as she drops her face toward the table. 

“Talk to him about what?” Brent asks.

“The baby. What happened that day…” She feels a lump forming in her throat, so fast that she cannot push it down. 

The next thing she knows, she is erupting into plaintive sobs, and Brent has moved around the table to wrap his arms around her. She quakes in his arms, months and months of tears and pain spilling out, as Brent only holds her tighter.

—–

In the KBAY offices, Diane folds her arms as she faces Jaq.

“What are you talking about?” Diane says. “You’re in your head here. Frankly, you’re lucky I’m the first one to figure it out.”

Jaq’s expression brightens. “Really? Why? Are you not going to tell?”

Diane scoffs. “Sorry, kid. Tempest is far from my favorite person, but I’m not letting her get brought up on charges for something I know she didn’t do.”

“But you hate her.”

“Not this much,” Diane says. “And her brother– never mind. What I am going to do is give you a chance to come clean with Samantha about all this and then drop it.”

“How am I supposed to drop it? The police have that hair clip, and the letters–“

“You were clever enough to figure this whole plot out. You’re clever enough to figure out how to weasel out of it.” Diane sets her phone down on her desk. “I’ll give you 48 hours.”

“Or what?” Jaq glares at her, becoming increasingly desperate. “Or what?“

“Or I tell Samantha what I know, and we go to the police with it. The choice is yours.”

Diane walks to the door and pulls it open.

“You’ve got 48 hours,” she says. “The clock is ticking.”

“That’s the thing,” Jaq says, fishing their own phone out of their messenger bag. “It isn’t.”

One hand on the door, Diane says, “Excuse me?”

“I tried to tell you before: I’m the one with the upper hand.”

“Jaq, I don’t know what game you think you’re playing–“

But Diane is interrupted by the crackle of an audio recording, coming from the tinny speakers on Jaq’s phone. 

“There’s something I think you should know. I think Tempest might be planning to tag along on Sam’s trip to Idaho.”

Diane’s jaw drops as she listens to her own voice emanating from the phone.

“What would you say if I could pull some strings and get you out of working this weekend?

“What is that?” Diane snaps.

“You know exactly what it is,” Jaq tells her. “I always thought of it as, I don’t know, an insurance policy. I figured it couldn’t hurt to record a few of our phone calls, back when you were pulling strings to help me keep Samantha and Tempest apart.”

Diane shoves the door closed. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious.” Jaq grins. “In fact, one could even make the argument that you set all of this in motion, the way you manipulated things to set Samantha and me up — and then interfered so I’d be able to go to Sun Valley with her instead of Tempest.”

“I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Sounds like you took me for granted, boss. Unless you want Samantha to find out that, yet again, you’ve been messing with her life behind the scenes–“

Diane lunges to grab the phone, but Jaq yanks it away.

“Please. Do you really think I don’t have this backed up in a million places?” Jaq says. “Now, unless you want Samantha to find out how hard you worked to keep her and Tempest from getting back together — and that would really be a shame, considering how happy she is that you’ve changed–” They use their fingers to make air quotation marks. “‘Changed,’ I mean.”

“Damn you,” Diane snarls. 

“I’m gonna go home and tell Sam that you urgently needed my help finding some files on your computer. I think that’s all she needs to know… unless you have any other ideas.”

Fuming, Diane simply shakes her head.

“Great. See you for work tomorrow.”

Jaq opens the door and steps out of the office. Diane stares out at the hallway long after they are gone, still in disbelief about what just transpired.

END OF EPISODE 1093

Were you surprised that Jaq turned the tables on Diane?
Will Molly face repercussions for her outburst?
Sound off on all this and more in the comments below!

Next Episode