Previously…
– Finn secretly plotted with Loretta to take over Objection Designs, the company founded by his biological mother, Camille Lemieux.
– After Christian came out as gay, Molly asked Trevor to talk with her son to make sure he had the necessary supports.
– The custody hearing appeared to be heading in Molly and Brent’s favor when the judge shot down Travis and Rosie’s attorney’s line of questioning.

“At any rate, we’re feeling cautiously optimistic,” Molly Taylor says, a cup of tea perched on her pressed-together knees. She sits on the cushy, off-white sofa in the family room of her home, talking with Trevor Brooks as speckles of afternoon sun, filtered through the leafy trees outside, fall over the Persian-inspired rug on the floor.

“That’s great,” Trevor tells his friend, as he cradles his own cup of coffee between his palms. “It sounds like the judge is taking your claim seriously.”

“That’s how it felt. Travis and Rosie‘s lawyer tried her best to poke holes in our marriage and the wedding, but the judge didn’t seem interested.”

“Do you have any idea how long the trial will last? You’ve all got to be so stressed.”

Molly shakes her head, causing her loose, dark brown hair to wave around her face. She looks up and answers, “Conrad says it’ll be a few more days in court before we get through all the witnesses. We need to untangle the entire situation with that doctor who told us Gabrielle died, and…” She trails off, staring through the sliding glass door at the backyard. She can see the very spot where, mere weeks ago, she and Brent were remarried in an intimate ceremony, with all three of their children in attendance. She can only hope that, once this custody case is over, that is how the rest of their lives will look, too.

She turns back toward Trevor, who is sipping his coffee, and is about to add something more when she hears the distant noise of the front door opening.

“Christian, is that you?” she calls out, with a knowing look at Trevor.

“Yeah!” her teenage son responds.

“I’m in the family room,” Molly says, and after a few seconds in which they can hear the door being closed, Christian appears in the room. Molly greets him with a warm hug.

“Trevor came by to catch up,” she explains, an overly pleasant smile on her face.

“Hey, Christian,” Trevor says as he rises from the sofa.

Christian raises one hand in a wave. “Hey.”

Molly pats the pocket of her Yves Saint Laurent jeans. “I left my phone in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.”

Without giving either man a chance to respond, she slips past Christian and out of the room.

“Hey, um,” Trevor says to Christian. “I hear congratulations are in order?”

The dark-haired young man looks back at him. “Congratulations?”

“On coming out.” Trevor grins in an attempt to put Christian at ease. “So… how are you doing? I heard there was some guy at KBU…”

Christian lets out a sigh. “She put you up to this, didn’t she?”

—–

“Finally!” Loretta Ragan trills as she holds open the door to the hotel suite to allow Finn Campbell to enter.

Finn shrugs his shoulders as the door closes behind him, casting a final glance out into the hallway of the Metropolitan Inn to be sure that no one has witnessed him coming into the suite.

“It isn’t always that easy to slip out of work in the middle of the day,” he says.

“But you did it.”

“Because Gia has a bunch of meetings stacked all afternoon. Which I scheduled.” He smooths his dusty-rose-colored blazer. “This would all be a lot easier if I weren’t still busting my ass as an assistant.”

“But that’s how you’ve gained access to the inner workings of Objection Designs,” Loretta reminds him as she leads him deeper into the suite, where a large window overlooks downtown King’s Bay. “This is all part of the plan, Finn.”

“I should be running that company,” he says bitterly, “not validating parking tickets and rolling calls.”

“All in due time.”

“It’s been long enough. You have no idea how ready I am to get this show on the road.”

Loretta’s black caftan, highlighted with gold jewelry, swishes as she turns to face her protégé. “That’s why I wanted to see you, my dear. It’s time.”

Finn’s eyes widen with excitement. “Do you think so?”

“Molly is up to her Botoxed neck in that legal battle over her little brat,” Loretta says. “It’s the perfect opportunity to call an emergency board meeting and oust her.”

“Gia has been working board members for months, subtly,” Finn replies. “She thinks we could be close to having the votes. And it would be smart to do it soon, before…”

Loretta watches him with concern. “Before what?”

He inhales sharply. “I think Molly might have an idea something is up. She showed up at the Pride Parade and insisted on riding the company float.”

“How provincial,” Loretta says with a roll of her eyes.

“And Trevor Brooks has been asking me all sorts of questions about Gia’s plans. His husband is like a dog with a bone about why Katherine Fitch was calling me.” He walks over to the window and looks out at the city. “I don’t know how much longer I can throw them off the scent.”

“I’m sure you can figure something out.”

Finn’s mind drifts back to the kiss he planted on Trevor, intending for it to be a distraction technique, but the way that he felt Trevor kissing him back, if only for an instant…

“I don’t love lying to them. Especially Trevor,” he admits. “They’ve been good to me.”

“Well, lying is the name of the game at the moment,” Loretta tells him. “Unless you want to go waving your birth certificate around and undoing all the work you’ve done.”

“No. I want what’s rightfully mine. That company.”

“Good. Everything is about to come together, Finn.”

“I hope so.” He takes another long moment to stare out at the bustling downtown afternoon and then turns back toward her. “I just wish I understood why she did it.”

“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” Loretta says archly.

“My mother,” he says, frustration mounting in his voice as it does so often when he allows himself to speak of his origins. “Why did Camille give me away in the first place? And how would she feel knowing that I’m finally about to take over her company?”

—–

Travis Fisher holds onto the oak bannister as he descends the stairs of his mother-in-law’s house.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but I think she’s actually napping,” he says, his voice still held at a careful volume, when he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

“It’s a miracle,” Rosie Jimenez responds with an exhale of relief.

“I don’t know why this has become such a struggle lately,” Travis says.

Rosie cocks her head to one side as she looks at her husband. “I can guess why. Kids can sense when something is off. Gabrielle must know that there’s something serious going on.”

“Maybe. Yeah.” Travis scratches the back of his head. “The last thing I want is for Gabrielle to know something is up while the trial is going on.”

“It would help if we didn’t have to lug her to the courthouse all the time. Between that and the supervised visits…”

“Children go through phases,” Juanita Jimenez chimes in. The diminutive, middle-aged woman enters from the kitchen and joins her daughter and son-in-law. “Rocio, you hardly slept the first two years of your life, and then…”

“This isn’t just a phase,” Rosie counters. She pulls her phone from the pocket of her pants. “I need to go get ready for my shift.”

“Go ahead,” Travis tells her. “I can hold down the fort here.”

“And I’m here to help,” Juanita adds cheerfully.

“Thanks. Both of you,” Rosie says, although she doesn’t appear any more relaxed. “I hate having to leave her for any amount of time.”

“So do I,” Travis says. “But we have to work. And we have lives. Having that all grind to a halt isn’t going to make things feel more normal for Gabrielle.”

“You’re right. I know you are.” Rosie gazes longingly up the stairs, where their daughter is, with any luck, resting peacefully. “Let me know if you hear anything from the lawyer, okay?”

Travis nods. “Of course.”

Rosie sets her jaw. “She needs to come up with some other tactic. I really thought the judge would at least hear her out on how Molly and Brent sprung that wedding on Gabrielle.”

“I didn’t expect him to shoot that down so fast, either,” Travis says.

“This will all work out,” Juanita tells them. “I feel it in my heart. I’ve been praying.”

“I wish I had your faith, Mama,” Rosie says. “But the way things are going… if we don’t come up with something good, and soon, I’m worried that judge is going to hand Gabrielle over to Brent and Molly.”

—–

Christian huffs with annoyance as his cheeks sting with red. “You don’t have to– I mean, I’m not some–“

“It’s okay,” Trevor says gently. He places his coffee cup down on the rectangular table. “Your mom was telling me about what happened, and Alex also got some of the story from Jason and Sabrina. I just wanted to check on how you’re handling everything.”

“Oh.” Christian refocuses as a different shade of embarrassment overtakes him. “I’m fine. Really. Relieved, I guess?”

“That you don’t have to keep it a secret anymore?”

“Yeah.” A smile begins to edge its way across Christian’s face. “That does feel good.”

“Good! I remember what a relief it was when I finally came out. I didn’t even know how much tension I was carrying, compartmentalizing my life and my feelings like that.”

Christian lights up. “That’s totally it!”

“And I hope you aren’t stressing over that guy,” Trevor adds. “From what I’ve heard, he wasn’t any kind of prize.”

“I feel dumb for falling for it,” Christian says. “Whatever it was. I mean — I think he was into me, but…” The thought drifts off into the air.

“Just because someone is into you doesn’t mean they deserve you. You’ll learn that in time. How did you two meet?”

“On a…” Christian pauses. “An app.”

“Grindr?” Trevor asks with a grin.

“Yeah. I just don’t want my parents hearing… you know…”

“Your parents worry about you. That’s normal. But there’s no need for them to know every detail of your personal life. Get back on the apps, then! Meet somebody else. I bet there are a lot of cooler, saner guys out there.”

“I hope so,” Christian says. “It’s just… how do I tell if someone is, you know, bad?”

“You take your time and feel the situation out,” Trevor says. “Listen to your gut. And hey, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here, okay?”

“Really?”

“Of course. You have no idea how bad I wish I’d had gay role models when I was younger. Not that I’m a role model, but–“

“You totally are!”

“I don’t know about that,” Trevor says, “but I have a lot of life experience, and I promise what we discuss stays between us. So if you need advice, or to kick something around, come to me. Okay?”

“Wow. That means a lot.”

“It’s my pleasure. And Christian?”

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations.” Trevor opens his arms and motions for Christian to step into his embrace. “You have a big, exciting future ahead of you.”

Christian closes his eyes, savoring the feel of the older man’s strong arms around him and firm chest pressed against him. He tries to block out the images of a younger Trevor that he recalls from the video that he found on the internet, since it feels so inappropriate to think of that when Trevor is doing something so kind for him, but he can’t quite separate that from the sensation of being so physically close to the former model.

“Thanks, Trevor,” he says, lost in his thoughts of gratitude for this new support system in his rapidly changing life.

—–

In her suite at the King’s Bay Metropolitan Inn, Loretta folds her arms as she addresses Finn.

“I don’t enjoy being the one to tell you this,” she says, “but your mother was out for herself, first and foremost.”

“Then maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” Finn muses.

“You’ve heard things about your father — from me, from the news, from Katherine Fitch, even. There’s no denying that he could be a dangerous man.”

Finn furrows his brow. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Nick Moriani could be cutthroat when it came to business,” she continues. “And he certainly had a… flexible, shall we say, relationship with the law. But he was also a friend of mine. He loved fiercely. I have no doubt that he would have loved you if he had known you.”

“But he didn’t know about me.”

“No. At least not until the end of his life. Even then, he didn’t know who you were, simply that you existed.”

“So my mother — Camille — she gave me away without even telling him that she was pregnant?”

“That’s the part I’ve spent the last several years piecing together,” Loretta explains. “Your mother made the unilateral decision that Nick was too dangerous for a child to be around — despite the fact that he was already raising a son — and hid her pregnancy from him. She disappeared to give birth to you and then placed you for adoption right afterward. Nick didn’t hear from her for years… not until she came knocking on his door for money to fund her little venture.”

“Which was Objection.”

“Yes. So Nick — your father — was too dangerous to be a parent to his own child, according to Camille, but he wasn’t too dangerous to use for his money when it suited her.”

Finn grits his teeth as he takes in this information. “So she let me bounce around foster homes for years until I got adopted.”

“I suppose she didn’t even know about any of that,” Loretta says. “She was off to bigger and better things, as she saw it.” She shakes her head. “I never did like the woman. And when Nick shared with me what she’d kept from him–“

“How did he even find out?”

“He contacted me when he was in hiding, after he’d been shot by his own son.”

“Ryan.”

“Yes. Nick was investigating his long list of enemies and found evidence that Camille had given up a child for adoption, and when he looked into the timing… well, he had his suspicions, but he passed away before he was able to do more than gather information.”

“And that’s when you picked up his mantle,” Finn says.

“Not immediately. A few years afterward, though, when I realized just how much agony Molly, Claire, and the Fishers had caused so many of us… and what Camille had deprived you of… I made it my mission to find out what had become of you.”

He touches his fist to his chin in thought. “I wonder if Molly has any idea that I exist. That Camille had a child.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her to know and not care,” Loretta declares. “She’s stepped on plenty of other people to get what she wants over the years.”

She places her hands on his shoulders and squares his body toward hers.

“Finn, this company was built on the efforts of your mother and the money of your father,” she says. “It’s your birthright. And it’s time that we take it from Molly Taylor and bring it back where it belongs.”

Slowly, Finn nods his head in agreement.

END OF EPISODE 1195

Had you already pieced together Finn’s backstory?
Will Trevor prove to be a good influence on Christian?
Is the custody battle about to take a nasty turn?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!

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