Previously…
– Upset to have unwittingly played a role in Loretta’s kidnapping of Rosie and Gabrielle, Natalie — fearing what could happen if she went to the authorities — resolved to help rescue them herself.
– Travis reported to Brent that Rosie’s debit card had been used to make a withdrawal from their joint account. 
– Finn and Gia, hoping to turn Objection’s board members against Molly in order to boot her from the company, traveled to Seattle to meet with a key shareholder: Katherine Fitch.

“As I hope you can see, I’m taking my role as interim CCO very seriously,” Gia Vincent says. “I believe in the Objection brand and feel strongly that it’s been hampered for far too long by sloppy, inconsistent leadership and unnecessary distractions.”

She and her assistant, Finn Campbell, are perched on a brocade-upholstered settee in the formal living room of a grand, well maintained Victorian home in Seattle.

Across from them, Katherine Fitch sits in an off-white wingback chair, hands folded in her lap. She purses her lips and takes a long moment to formulate her response: “To tell you the truth, I haven’t paid much attention to the inner workings at Objection for years. The stock has remained favorable, so I’ve seen no need to sell.”

“But I’m sure you’d love to see an even greater return on your investment, wouldn’t you?” Finn asks.

The wealthy widow replies, “Of course I wouldn’t object to that, if you’ll pardon the pun. But Molly Taylor‘s vision has kept Objection thriving for well over a decade.”

“A decade in which she’s been suspended twice — once for a murder trial and once for assaulting a doctor,” Gia says. “As you can imagine, the disruptions from Molly’s personal life have affected things inside the company.”

Katherine’s eyes narrow. “And you’re asking me to vote with you? To toss Molly out and install you permanently in her position?”

“That’s the idea,” Gia confirms. 

“I suppose I don’t have much of a personal stake in any of this, other than wanting my investments to be profitable,” Katherine says, a little dreamily, as she turns to gaze out the picture window overlooking her front yard. “Truth be told, I only have these shares to begin with due to spite.”

“Spite?” Gia asks.

“My morally challenged ex-husband was one of the original investors,” Katherine explains. “After his stupidity got me shot and had my house burned down, I decided to — as they say — take him to the cleaners. Not that he had much to offer. His stake in Objection was one of the few assets he had to his name.”

Finn leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Your ex-husband. Nick Moriani?”

Katherine allows a small burst of surprise to show in her expression. “You’ve done your research.”

“I learned everything I could about Objection when I was interviewing,” he says. 

“That’s admirable,” Katherine says, grimacing slightly. “But the less you know about that miserable man, the better. Take it from me.”

“Why’s that?” Finn asks.

Gia holds up a hand. “Finn, I’m sure Mrs. Fitch doesn’t want to–“

“He was a monster,” Katherine declares. “If you really did do your research, you’d be aware that Nick was involved in a narcotics ring that was being run out of your company’s flagship store — and that says nothing about how Objection’s founder was killed in an explosion that Nick engineered. If there’s any justice at all in the universe, that man is burning in Hell as we speak.”

“It’s tragic how Camille Lemieux died,” Gia says. “She was a visionary.”

Katherine hesitates again before saying, “There was no love lost between that woman and me on a personal level, but I’ll give her credit for seeing her vision through. And, if you ask me, she was wise to appoint Molly her successor in her will.”

Finn sets his jaw as he listens to the older woman intently. 

“But success like that can be fleeting,” Gia says as a means of redirecting the conversation. “Molly Taylor’s problems have become the company’s problems. I promise you that if I’m installed as the permanent creative head of Objection, the talented people who work for us — and the customers who trust us — won’t ever have to think about this sort of personal scandal ever again.”

Katherine offers a slow, measured nod as she takes this in.

—–

Natalie Bishop hovers at the foot of the staircase inside her home, pretending to tidy up the bench by the front door where Peter’s shoes and other assorted items are stored to keep them out of view. She periodically glances up, hoping to see her mother-in-law descending the stairs, and she is just about to lose her patience when Loretta Ragan finally appears. 

The older redhead pauses on the top step, glares pointedly at Natalie, and then makes her way down. She has a Burberry raincoat over one arm and holds her purse with the opposite hand.

“Leaving so soon?” Natalie asks.

“I have a luncheon to attend,” Loretta says.

“Is this for that Toothless Not Homeless charity you were hyping up the other day?”

Loretta sneers back at her. “It’s Homeless Not Toothless. Both of which are things you might be if you continue to cross me, Natalie.”

Natalie holds up both her palms. “Got it. Homeless Not Toothless. Have a nice lunch, Loretta.”

With one final grumble, Loretta shuffles out the door. Natalie can see her through the frosted glass pane, slipping her arms into the raincoat. Then her shape disappears toward the driveway.

Natalie waits until she hears Loretta’s car engine start and then grabs her own coat from the nearby hook.

“Let’s see where you’re really going, you old cow,” she mutters as she pulls open the front door.

—–

“There has to be a judge who can grant us a warrant in the next hour,” Brent Taylor says into his cell phone as he roughly closes his car door. He didn’t intend to slam it, but he finds that everything he is doing today has a hard touch to it — likely a combination of his lack of sleep, his desperation to find his daughter and Rosie Jimenez, and the shot of adrenaline from the new lead that Travis Fisher brought to him earlier today.

“I don’t care what it takes — we need that security footage yesterday,” he adds as he beats a hasty path up the driveway and to his ex-wife‘s front door. “I have a call into the D.A. myself. Let me know if you hear anything, okay?”

He ends the call and rings Molly’s doorbell. She opens the door almost instantaneously; he imagines that she has been looming in the entryway ever since he texted to say that he was coming over.

“What’s going on?” she asks breathlessly. “Did you find them?”

“No, but we have a major lead. One of Rosie’s bank cards was used out in Bremerton–“

Molly gasps. “So she’s there. Or she was recently. When was it used?”

“Overnight. But that’s the thing,” Brent says, as he closes the door to shut out the cool wind. “Travis got a notification on his phone about the transaction. The card that was used is for a joint account they only opened recently.”

“On top of everything else, now Rosie is stealing from Travis?” Molly asks.

“No. I don’t think so. He says they barely even use the account. It’s their rainy-day fund. And Rosie has her own checking account. If she didn’t want to be traced, she wouldn’t have used that card.”

“Oh. Wow. Yeah.” Molly’s hand covers her mouth as she processes this latest news. “That means someone forced her to make a withdrawal–“

“–and she was trying to send Travis a signal. We’re trying to get our hands on security footage from the area around the ATM that was used.”

“Then someone must have her,” Molly says shakily. “And Gabrielle. Should we drive out there?”

“Mol–“

“I can’t sit around waiting, Brent. Not if someone has our baby.”

“That’s why we need to be able to review that footage,” Brent says. “We’ll be able to see if Rosie herself made the withdrawal, and if someone was with her — or if someone else had the card.”

An uneasy silence blankets them for a few seconds.

“If they really were kidnapped, I’ve been so horrible to Travis,” Molly says. “I need to apologize.” She pats her pockets for her phone, then darts back to the kitchen. Brent follows her. 

“One thing at a time,” he says. “What’s important right now is that we find out where Gabrielle and Rosie are and that we bring them home safely.”

Molly pulls her phone from her purse, which is resting on the kitchen island, and then looks at Brent sharply. “There’s only one person who could have them.”

He is already nodding in agreement. “We’ve been having Loretta tailed. But she hasn’t gone anywhere suspicious. At least not overtly so.”

“Of course not. She must have people to do the dirty work for her,” Molly says. “But if she doesn’t lead us to those people, how are we supposed to find our daughter?”

—–

Loretta is steering her champagne-colored Mercedes sedan into downtown King’s Bay when a loud trilling erupts over the vehicle’s sound system. Seeing who the incoming call is from, she presses a button on the touchscreen to answer.

“Finn. Hello,” she says, speaking loudly to be heard over the road noise. 

His voice crackles through the speakers. “Hi. I wanted to give you an update from Seattle.”

“Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten you were making that trip. I’m a little tied up with other matters at the moment.”

“I’ll keep this quick,” he says. “Gia and I just met with Katherine Fitch.”

“Did she agree to go along with our little plan?”

“She said she’d strongly consider it. I think we made a good impression.”

“That’s promising,” Loretta says, “but let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. From what I gather, Katherine is a rather headstrong woman.”

“She struck me as very focused on the bottom line,” Finn replies. “She did have some rather, um, choice words about Nick Moriani.”

Loretta sighs as she flips on her turning indicator. “Their marriage wasn’t exactly a happy one, I’m afraid. Nick was… he could be a clever man, and a very resourceful one, but all too often, he was acting out of desperation.”

“Hmm.” Finn’s silence hangs uneasily over the line, as the occasional pop of static punctuates the gap. “It was weird hearing someone who’d experienced it all firsthand talk about him. He caused Katherine a lot of damage and pain–“

“Katherine is perfectly formidable,” she cuts him off as she makes the right-hand turn. “And it seems that she emerged on top in that particular situation. Don’t spend too much time dwelling on it.”

“I guess,” he says. Loretta decides to let him wallow in his emotions as she directs her car into the underground parking garage.

—–

A few vehicles back, Natalie makes the same right-hand turn. Her hands choke the leather-wrapped steering wheel, as they have been since she left home; the delicate balancing act of pursuing Loretta without getting close enough to be spotted has every last nerve ending of hers on high alert.

She watches as the Mercedes turns into a parking garage belonging to a five-story office building. A quick scan of the businesses listed tells Natalie that the building houses an accountant, a personal injury law firm, and a vacant floor available for rent, among other things.

“Luncheon my ass,” Natalie says to herself as the Mercedes disappears down the ramp. She hesitates for a split-second and then makes the same turn into the garage. “What are you really up to, Loretta?”

—–

Loretta takes a parking ticket from the automated machine and then proceeds to the second level of the garage, as planned. 

“Finn, I might lose reception at any moment. I’m in a hideous subterranean parking structure,” she says. “But please, keep your eyes on the prize, as they say. Katherine Fitch holds a lot of Objection shares. If you did convince her to vote Molly out–“

“Then I’m one step closer to claiming what should be mine,” Finn says, his voice growing in resolve. “The company that my mother started. The company that she never should have left to Molly Taylor.”

END OF EPISODE 1151

Is Finn’s parentage a surprise to you?
Can Natalie successfully tail Loretta?
Will Brent get the security footage in time?
Discuss it all in the comments below!

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