Previously…
– Helen confronted Natalie with the results of the DNA test she had secretly run on Peter, proving that Spencer — not Jason — is his father. Natalie convinced her to keep quiet for everyone’s sake.
– Sonja, believing that Loretta Ragan was the one paying her to feed Spencer subliminal messages to repress his memory, went to visit Loretta in prison. Loretta played dumb but became curious as to what was going on. Natalie was horrified when she learned that Sonja had directly contacted Loretta.
– Guests arrived as Jason and Natalie’s wedding began.

 

Natalie Bishop beams as she walks down the aisle, over the white and pink flower petals scattered atop the green lawn of Wandering Soul Winery. Glancing around, she sees family members, friends, and others with their eyes all upon her, eager to watch her marry Jason Fisher. She walks proudly, her arm linked through her father’s as she savors every moment.

When they reach the front of the aisle, where the suit-clad judge waits with her groom, his brother, and Bree, Natalie draws a deep breath.

“Congratulations,” Henry whispers into her ear, and as rehearsed, he moves off to take his seat in the front row beside her mother.

“You look beautiful,” Jason tells her as he takes her hands in his.

She feels herself getting choked up and smiles back at him. The string quartet’s music comes to an end, the last notes melting away into the summer air.

—–

The final wedding guest locks the Mercedes in front of the winery and moves swiftly around the side of the building, as instructed. As he rounds it, the wedding ceremony comes into view. He can see the bride in her white dress and the groom in his tuxedo at the far edge of the lawn; they hold hands beneath an iron archway covered in flowers.

He mentally reviews his orders as he starts over the lawn.

—–

“We’ve come together today to celebrate the union of Jason and Natalie, as well as the family they have formed together,” the judge, a gray-haired man in a simple black suit, announces.

From her spot in the back row, where she dipped in after she found her and Natalie’s father throwing up mere moments before the ceremony, Diane Bishop notices another man approaching from the direction of the winery’s main building. His head is shaved bald, and he wears dark sunglasses and a dark gray suit with a crisp white shirt beneath it. His build is thick, powerful, and makes her think of a bodyguard or a former athlete.

“Marriage is not an institution to be entered into lightly,” the judge continues. “It is–”

“Excuse me,” the man in the back calls out, raising his voice authoritatively without yelling.

All heads swivel toward the back of the aisle.

“Who is that?” Jason says to Natalie.

She shakes her head. “I have no idea.”

“Yes?” the judge responds. “Is there a problem?”

The man at the back reaches into his suit jacket.

In the audience, Claire Fisher’s body tenses as she is hit by a sudden memory of her own wedding many years ago. She grips Brent Taylor’s arm, but he is already out of his seat.

“King’s Bay PD,” he says as he whips out his badge. “Hold it right there.”

Thankfully, the man pauses and then retracts his hand. Brent reaches for the service weapon holstered by his side.

“I don’t mean any harm,” he says. Every bit of attention at the ceremony is now trained upon him. “I’m only here to make a delivery.”

“A delivery of what?” Brent asks as he produces the gun. “There’s a table for gifts inside.”

“I’m calling 911,” Claire says, nearly under her breath, as she reaches for her clutch to take out her phone.

Brent looks down at her and speaks through gritted teeth. “Keep your head down. Don’t let him see.”

“It isn’t a wedding gift,” the man explains. “I’m looking for Spencer Ragan. I have something for him.”

A flurry of confused whispers surges up from the rows of guests. Heads move in Spencer’s direction, but he sits in the second row, looking as perplexed as anyone.

“Who is that man?” Paula Fisher asks, turning back toward her grandson.

“I don’t know,” Spencer says. “I’ve never seen him before.”

Jason takes a step into the aisle, though Natalie holds onto his right hand.

“This isn’t the time or the place,” he says loudly. “We’re in the middle of a wedding. Whatever you have for my nephew, it can wait until my wedding is over.”

“You see, that’s the thing,” the man replies. “It can’t.”

—–

Matt Gray pulls his truck into a parking space in the winery’s front lot, but he does not kill the engine.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna be dropped off in front?” he asks his daughter, who sits in the backseat of the extended-cab vehicle with her cousin.

Tori, who has changed into a pink maxi dress with shoulder cut-outs and decorative ruffles, unbuckles her seatbelt.

“I promise, I’m fine,” she says.

“You look good,” Travis comments. “I’d never guess you were in the hospital a few hours ago.”

“The IV they gave me made me feel completely normal again.”

“Okay,” Matt says with a hint of a sigh. He opens the driver’s side door, hops out, and pulls the tab to bring the seat forward so Tori can exit the truck.

“Just be careful with drinking tonight,” Sarah says as she steps out on the passenger side. “It’s easy for it to get away from you at a wedding.”

“Oh my god, Mom. I will.” Tori is grateful that she is occupied getting out of the car, because only now does it hit her that she shouldn’t have anything to drink at all now that she knows she’s pregnant, and she doesn’t need her facial reaction betraying her secret.

The four of them walk toward the main building, where a chalk sign out front announces “Bishop-Fisher Wedding” in an attractive cursive style.

“I wonder if the ceremony is still going on,” Sarah says as they enter the building.

Additional signs and floral arrangements lead them through the structure, past the gift table, and out to the back patio, where they see the ceremony taking place before them… sort of.

“Stay back,” Sarah says, her posture changing reflexively as she takes in Jason’s stance up at the front, Brent on his feet — service weapon in hand, and the strange man in a suit holding his hands out to his sides.

“What is it?” Tori asks, straining to see.

“I don’t know,” her mother replies, “but something is up.”

—–

“This makes no sense,” Samantha Fisher says quietly, as she clutches the back of her chair tightly. She sits beside her half-brother. “Why would someone deliver something for you here?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer says.

Samantha can’t stop staring at her mother, seated in the back row, so close to this mysterious and likely dangerous person. Her mind flashes to their talk earlier and their months-long separation; as angry as she is at Diane after what she learned, she couldn’t bare to see something happen to her.

Spencer suddenly springs to his feet. “I’m Spencer Ragan. What is this?”

On his other side, Sonja Kahele stares up at Spencer with wide eyes before looking back to the intruder in the back. She does not recognize the man at all, but she has a very bad feeling about this. There is only one person she can think of who might send a “gift” — whatever that means — for Spencer at such a dramatic time as this. It doesn’t make any sense that Loretta would interrupt Jason and Natalie’s wedding, however… but something about it all still makes her very nervous.

“I don’t know anything other than I’m supposed to give this to you and tell you to open it,” the man says.

“What is it?” Brent barks.

“An envelope. That’s it.”

Brent considers this, his jaw held tight, for a long moment.

“They’re sending someone,” Claire whispers from his side, where she has been talking into her phone quietly. He gives her a half-second glance and a barely perceptible nod before proceeding.

“Throw it on the ground,” Brent orders, still holding the gun aloft.

Swiftly, the man reaches into his jacket — an action that still manages to last what feels like an eternity to Brent and to the others watching.

“What the hell is this?” Jason wonders aloud as he watches this stranger toss a blue envelope, the size and shape of a greeting card, onto the grass.

Natalie continues to hold his hand, but her blood has suddenly run cold, and she worries that Jason will somehow be able to tell by her touch. The interruption of her wedding… the insistence on giving something to Spencer… the fact that Helen was mugged last night… they are elements that point to something terrible, given what she has inferred about Sonja somehow contacting Loretta. All she wants to do is run down the aisle and grab the envelope before anyone else can. But all that would accomplish would be giving herself away, and there’s a slight chance that isn’t what’s happening here.

A slight one.

Brent pushes his way out of the aisle, never lowering his gun.

“Stay put,” he orders the man.

“How can this be happening?” Paula says through a gasp. “Who is this man?”

Molly, who is right beside her, wraps an arm around her mother’s shoulders. “Brent has it under control.”

In the back row, Diane suddenly stands. “I’ll get the damn envelope.”

“Mom! No!” Samantha shouts.

Diane stops, surprised to hear her daughter crying out to her.

“Diane, sit down,” Brent says. He edges his way up the aisle toward the envelope.

“Keep your hands in the air,” he instructs the suited man. “Why does Spencer need this now? What does this have to do with the wedding?”

“I don’t know,” the man insists, though he appears generally unfazed by the gun aimed at him. His tone remains even and commanding. “I was told he needs to see what’s inside as soon as possible.”

At the other end of the aisle, Jason looks to Natalie. “I can’t figure out what this has to do with anything.”

“Me, neither,” she gulps.

Mere feet away, Sophie taps her grandmother on the shoulder. “Grandma Helen, is he gonna kill us all?”

“Don’t say that,” Helen warns, her voice teetering on the edge of hysterical.

“I read about what happened at Uncle Ryan and Claire’s wedding,” Sophie states.

“Why would you be reading about that?” Helen asks.

Don leans over. “Nothing like that is going to happen, Soph.”

Still holding up his gun, Brent gently stretches downward and reaches for the envelope.

—–

Back inside the winery, Sarah blocks her husband, daughter, and nephew from stepping out of the building. Her mind races as to how she could be of use. She considers rushing the man from behind and tackling him, but it doesn’t appear that he is armed — and besides, one of the other guests might give her away, costing her the advantage of surprise.

“What the hell does he want?” Travis asks. None of them have an answer.

They all watch as Brent stoops down for the envelope.

“Be careful,” Sarah mutters as he picks it up.

—–

Brent carefully shakes the envelope. It feels like a normal greeting card; there is no unexpected weight to it. He holds it up to his ear but hears nothing. He knows that there is a possibility that there is some kind of toxin inside, but nothing about this scenario tells him that’s the case. If the goal were to poison Spencer, or everyone at the wedding, this man wouldn’t have drawn attention to himself, nor would the interruption have made any sense.

“Please don’t open it,” Claire says under her breath, watching tensely from her seat.

He can almost hear everyone behind him inhaling sharply as he presses the envelope against his body and uses one hand to pry open the flap. Inside is a greeting card, as expected. He fishes it out and lets the envelope fall back to the grass.

“What the hell is this?” Brent asks once he sees the front of it.

The suited man shrugs. “I don’t really know.”

“What does it say?” Diane asks from her seat.

Brent turns the card so that she can see it. A blue teddy bear is pictured on the front, alongside the gold-embossed words: “Congratulations! It’s a Boy!”

—–

Sarah forces her family and several winery employees to step back from the doorway, in case anything suddenly happens.

Matt surprises her by stepping in front of her. “I’m not letting you go out there.”

His show of concern takes Sarah aback, but she knows that she can’t dwell on that right now. Not with whatever the hell is going on outside.

“I won’t,” she says. Their eyes meet, and she can tell that he is thinking about the same thing she is: Claire and Ryan’s wedding, when she raced to stop Nick Moriani’s bombs from exploding and lost their baby as a result.

She takes out her cell phone. “I’m calling the police. Brent can’t do this alone.”

—–

The entire audience waits with baited breath as Brent studies the card — first its outside, then the inside.

He looks back at the intruder. “What the hell is this?”

“I told you, I don’t know.” The man turns up his palms for emphasis. “I was given orders to bring that card to this wedding and deliver it to Spencer Ragan.”

“Who sent you?” Brent asks, but before he even gets the question out, he sees the signature at the bottom of the card. It reads, “Your Loving Mother.”

“Don’t move,” Brent says, tossing the card back on the ground. “If Loretta Ragan sent you, I don’t trust a word you say.”

“Loretta Ragan?” Claire exclaims, jumping to her feet.

Molly, who is seated in front of Claire, asks in horror, “What could that woman want with us?”

“What does the card say?” Jason calls down the aisle.

Brent hesitates, then sends a hand behind himself and waves it. “Spencer, come and get it. It’s safe.”

“Be careful,” Samantha tells her brother as he exits the row of seats. He walks down the center aisle, his heart thudding inside his chest.

“It’s okay,” Brent tells him. “You can pick it up. I don’t know what it’s about, but…”

Spencer bends down to grab the card and stops cold when he sees the illustration and the words on the front. Shocked, he picks it up; instinctively, he turns back to look at Natalie, whose complexion is now as white as her pristine dress.

“Spencer, what’s the card say?” Jason asks, equal parts impatient and scared.

With his mind firing lasers in every direction, trying to make sense of this, Spencer skips explaining the cover of the card and reads the message on the inside aloud:

“’My Dearest Son, Tell your nurse, Sonja, to read the document that was just sent to her phone. Then this will all make sense. I promise. Your Loving Mother.’”

Gasps fly up from throughout the audience.

“Sonja?” Tim asks, staring at his girlfriend. “What do you know about this?”

Sonja’s hands shake and her legs tremble. “I don’t know… I don’t…”

“Check your phone,” Jason says.

Sonja reaches for her purse.

“Why are we playing along with this insanity?” Natalie asks brashly. Her own stomach is doing cartwheel upon cartwheel as she watches and listens to this playing out. She has to stop this.

“Because Loretta is doing this for a reason,” Jason says, “and I want to know why. I want to know what the hell is going on.”

Slowly Sonja takes out her phone, dreading what she will find in her inbox. She feels all eyes in attendance burning into her as she twice fails to unlock the phone with her shaky thumb before finally managing it. And when she does, she finds two messages awaiting her. Both are from an email address that appears to be a random scramble of letters and numbers. One is labeled “READ FIRST AND DELETE.” She scrolls down and opens it.

Her breath catches as she takes in the message:

Do as you’re asked and you’ll keep your medical license. Open the attachment in the other message and read it aloud. If you do not, you will be sorry. This is your final task.

“What does it say?” Tim asks gently. The kindness in his voice sends a stab of anguish through Sonja, knowing what she has already done and what she is now being forced to do to his family.

“Come on, Sonja,” Jason urges. “What does Loretta want?”

“This is craziness,” Paula comments.

Sonja takes a deep breath and then looks directly at Natalie, then at Jason, and finally at Tim.

“I am so sorry that I have to do this,” she says.

“Do what?” Tim responds.

Sonja sees Spencer coming back up the aisle with the card in hand. She gets the sense that he already knows what she is about to say.

“It’s a DNA test,” she says, her voice quaking. “A test done on Peter.”

“Peter?” Jason asks, suddenly angry. “Why would someone–”

“A paternity test,” Sonja continues. With every syllable that comes out of her mouth, she hates herself a little more, but she has no choice. “It says that you aren’t Peter’s father.”

“What?!” several voices cry out in near-unison and yet total disarray. Sonja hears gasps and whispers all around her.

“This is insane,” Jason says frantically. “It’s crazy. Loretta is crazy. Who else would be his father?” But his jaw drops as it dawns on him. “No. It can’t be.” He swings his head toward Natalie. “It can’t be. Right?”

“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Natalie says with wide, wild eyes.

“It says that Spencer is the father,” Sonja says before dropping her gaze to the grass in shame.

END OF EPISODE 934

Will everyone believe the test results that Sonja read?
What is going to happen to Natalie now?
How will Spencer react to the news that he’s a father?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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