Previously…
Jordan visited a clearing in the trees behind his house where a makeshift grave was marked with stones. Frank Dunning informed Alex that he witnessed Jordan bury a body on his property the night Suzanne disappeared. A terrified Alex accused Jordan of killing Suzanne. Jordan found a shrine to Suzanne in Frank’s house, then later taunted an unbalanced Frank about his infatuation with Suzanne, prompting Frank to knock Jordan unconscious in the bar at Hotel Terranova. Jackie attempted to seduce James in her attempt at getting Sunset Studios from him. Alex told Stormy that she would accept his marriage to Kelly. Stormy and Kelly were married at Hotel Terranova. At the reception, Renee ran into T.T. Levitt, the owner of Titan Records, whom she had a relationship with over twenty years earlier. They were both shocked to learn that Sierra was dating T.T.’s son, Malcolm. Benji was aggravated when Malcolm put him down in front of Sierra. He slept with Scott Kelly in an effort to take out his aggression, unaware that Kelly saw them together. Brooke and Ethan made plans to marry prior to leaving for Costa Rica the following day. Ethan left the reception to go home and check on Michael. On his way back, an earthquake hit, sucking his car down into a crack in the road. James and Jackie became trapped in a room upstairs while the ballroom crumbled around the wedding guests.
For a few languishing moments, an eerie stillness lingered and a thick cloud of dust hovered in the air. The piercing sound of sirens wailed in the distance, followed by the anticipated eruption of pandemonium when reality had suddenly begun to set in.
Through the western part of Los Angeles, homes and buildings had collapsed; fires had ignited from broken power lines and gas pipes. Streets and roads had split into two, swallowing automobiles and streetlights, while part of the four-level interchange had collapsed, crushing people and cars beneath tons of cement and steel.
Three of the six floors of Hotel Terranova were engulfed in flames, a result of faulty rewiring from the recent remodel, and, more predictably, exposed gas lines damaged during the quake.
Flames roared down the hallway of the fifth floor, trapping James and Jackie inside the hotel room. The windows had been blown out from the earthquake, the only thing keeping them alive from the suffocating smoke that filtered into the room.
“We’re trapped!” Jackie screamed, clutching to his arm and coughing from the smoke that filled her lungs.
James hastily led her to the windows. He gazed down at the porte-cochere, crushed beneath the rubble of the west wing of the hotel. Car alarms sounded through the night, intermixing with the scream of fire engines in the distance.
“Oh my God,” James exclaimed when he realized part of the hotel had pancaked on top of the ballroom where the wedding reception had been going on. He shuddered to think of the lives that had been lost. His own family. Miranda, Stormy, Brooke, Alex… He considered himself lucky for not having been downstairs when the quake hit.
But the creaking of the floors and the tell-tale cracks in the ceiling of the room alerted him to the fact that they weren’t out of danger. Despite the raging fire just outside the room, there was a good chance the fifth floor wasn’t as stable as he’d have liked to believe.
“Come on,” he said. “We have to get out of here.”
When Jackie saw him climb out the jagged remnants of the window, she lurched forward, her hand outstretched. “James, no!” she cried. “You can’t!”
“It’s okay. There’s a sub-roof just below. I think we can climb down the fire escape. Then it’s just a short drop to the ground.”
“Are you crazy?” Jackie asked, her hair tousled and black soot smeared across her porcelain skin. “You want me to climb down there?”
“It’s our only chance. Unless of course you’d rather stay up here and go down with the rest of the building.”
She cringed, certain that they were doomed. She gave him her hand, allowing him to lead her out onto the ledge overlooking the parking lot. She could see the ladder rungs that ran down the side of the building to the sub roof that jutted out over the east entrance. It was only five stories, but seemed so far that it might as well have been a hundred.
“I’ve got you,” James said with a reassuring nod of his head. He could see the fear in her eyes, not a trace of her vulnerability escaping him. “Just hold on to my hand.”
She let him guide her down to the first rung of the steel ladder that was bolted to the side of the building. Slowly, she made her way down, only slightly comforted that he was just below her.
Covered in debris from the collapsed ceiling in the lounge, Jordan slowly climbed to his feet. He stared with disbelief at the piles of rubble that had dropped on top of Frank Dunning right before his eyes. He took a few tentative steps forward, ignoring the spray of water from the broken main that had erupted at the bar. After a quick survey of the damage, he realized that Dunning could not have survived the impact beneath the slabs of cement and steel.
Suddenly aware that smoke was filling the air, he spun around and peered through the lobby, littered with crumbled columns and broken glass from the chandeliers. He could see that the entrance to the ballroom was partially blocked, huge chunks of the ceiling wedged in front of the door. From the small opening that existed he could see smoke billowing into the air. From the lobby he could hear the screams from the people who were trapped.
Panicked, he darted across the lobby and quickly went at clearing the doorway. He covered his mouth to protect himself from the toxic smoke. Coughing and wheezing, he struggled to maintain his footing. He used every ounce of strength to push a giant slab of concrete from the doorway, finally clearing a path into the ballroom.
Once inside, he saw the devastation that the earthquake had left in its wake. The ceiling had collapsed, only a few pockets of space remaining. In the distance he could see the blazing fire spreading quickly through the ballroom. Amidst the ruins, terrified wedding guests limped and crawled through an opening that had been exposed to the outside.
At least some people were getting to safety, Jordan thought to himself. But after further investigation, he saw those who didn’t. Bodies, bludgeoned and broken, lay strewn about the checkerboard floor, some buried beneath rubble with only limbs exposed to view.
“Alex!” he screamed and raced through the maze. “Benji!”
He was determined to find his family and get them to safety. No way was he going to let everything end like this.
He made his way through the room, knocked around by people running toward the exits. All he could hear were the chilling screams of terror. He scanned the floor, spotting a group of bodies that lay limply amidst a haze of smoke. Quickly, he bent down where a woman was laying motionless. From a certain angle it looked like….
“Brooke!” Jordan exclaimed and examined her closely. She was unconscious and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing.
“Is she alive?” a voice asked from behind.
Jordan turned just as David Jennings approached, his tuxedo tattered and torn and his face covered in dust from pulverized cement.
“I don’t know,” Jordan replied, torn between wanting to help Brooke and the need to find his wife and his son. “I can’t find Alex or Benji.”
“Go find them. I’ll take her.” Without wasting a second, David lifted Brooke’s limp body into his arms and dashed toward the hole in the wall that led outside.
Renee screamed hysterically through the smoke-filled room. “Sierra!” she hollered at the top of her lungs. Her gown was torn and her face was streaked with blood that trickled down her arm where she’d been cut by falling debris. Panic filled her voice as she tried desperately to find her daughter. “Sierra!”
Behind her, T.T. Levitt approached, pulling her away from the blaze. “Renee, what are you doing? We have to get out of here!” he exclaimed.
“I have to find Sierra!” she cried, struggling in the hold he had on her.
“She’s probably outside already,” T.T. assured her, desperately trying to lead her to the exposed part of the building.
“You don’t know that, damnit! She could be anywhere!”
“Malcolm would have gotten her to safety,” T.T. insisted. “Renee, please. I won’t go without you.”
She looked at him and shook her head, tortured. With a reluctant nod, she took his hand and followed him through the maze to the door.
Benji stirred awake on the floor of the women’s powder room just off the lobby. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead and his arm was sore from being thrown back during the force of the quake. For a few bleary moments he didn’t know where he was or what had happened. To him it was a normal day where he couldn’t remember the night before from partying too much.
But after turning his head and glancing beside him, he saw Sierra laying unconscious against the far wall. He quickly shot up and climbed to his feet.
“Sierra,” he called, kneeling down beside her and checking for any sign of life. “Oh my god, Sierra. Please wake up.”
Slowly she came to, coughing from the settling dust and the thick lump in her dry throat. She squinted hard, glancing around the room at the broken mirrors and debris scattered across the floor.
“What happened?” she asked groggily.
“Earthquake,” he replied matter-of-factly. “A big one. Are you okay? Where are you hurt?”
She shook her head indifferently. “I don’t know. I feel okay. Just hit my head on the wall.”
“Let me see,” Benji said and examined the back of her head with a gentle touch of his hand. “You’ve got quite a bump. Can you stand?”
She tried to focus on his face. “Shouldn’t we wait here? Someone will probably come for us.”
Benji shook his head. “I don’t know about that. The building could be unstable. We should get out as soon as we can.”
“But Malcolm will be looking for me,” she said adamantly. “He knows I went to the ladies room. I should stay here and wait for him.”
“We need to get out of here,” Benji insisted. “We’ll find Malcolm after we get somewhere safe.”
Finally, Sierra noticed the cut on his forehead and she winced uneasily. “You’re hurt,” she said and reached for his cut. “Benji, it looks bad.”
He shook his head. “It’s not. Now come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
She slowly rose to her feet with his help, balancing herself for a moment before growing weak and feeling her knees begin to buckle. Quickly, Benji caught her and put his arm around her.
“I’ve got you,” he said and led her to the bathroom door. When he reached for the handle, he quickly pulled his hand away and gritted his teeth in pain.
“What is it?” Sierra asked.
“It’s hot.”
“Hot? You mean?”
Benji met her with a worrisome look. “There’s a fire on the other side of the door.”
Smoke filled the ballroom coat room. Alex coughed and wheezed uncontrollably, plucking a handkerchief from her purse and using it to cover her mouth. She made her way to the pile of rubble that had formed from the ceiling collapse. Beneath the shards of glass and the crumbling wood and concrete she could see Kelly lying lifelessly, still in her wedding dress.
Kneeling, she poked and prodded the young woman, hoping to rouse her awake. For a few moments Kelly failed to respond and Alex feared the worst.
“Kelly!” she said, jostling her daughter-in-law with a firm shake, followed by a slap across the face. “Wake up! I won’t have my son blaming me if you die. Now open your eyes and look at me.”
She didn’t know if it was that Kelly actually heard her, or if it was coincidence, but whatever she did seemed to do the trick. Kelly’s eyes fluttered open and she began coughing and wheezing from the smoke that filled her airway.
“What the hell did you do to me?” she choked.
“There was an earthquake,” Alex said crossly.
“I can’t move,” Kelly said. “Get this off of me.”
Alex pulled at a piece of wood that had wedged itself against her. She pushed it away and grabbed for another piece of debris, pausing momentarily while she weighed her options carefully. Maybe there was something in this for her. Maybe she could use Kelly’s predicament to her advantage.
“What are you doing?” Kelly asked, struggling beneath the ruins of the coat room. “Help me out of here!”
“If I do, you have to do something for me,” Alex said.
“What? Are you crazy? Just get this off of me before we both burn to death.”
“I’ll get you out of here but you have to make me a promise. You have to stay away from Stormy.”
“Stay away from Stormy?” Kelly choked. “We just got married. How am I supposed to stay away from him?”
“Go back to Hawaii. Get an annulment and never go near my son again.”
Kelly attempted to pull herself out from the rubble, struggling with all her strength before giving up and falling back in bated breath.
“You really hate me that much?” she asked.
“You’re no good for Stormy. He just doesn’t see that. If you go away then maybe he’ll have a chance at happiness.”
“You crazy bitch,” Kelly said, tears staining her cheeks. “I’m not leaving my husband. You can go to hell for all I care.”
“Fine,” Alex said and stood up in a bold and haughty manner. “But you’re making a big mistake.”
Kelly’s eyes widened as she saw Alex turn and attempt to free the door open. She wondered if she’d really leave her there to die. Sure, she was a cold and bitter woman, but a murderer? She suddenly realized she didn’t want to take any chances.
“Wait,” she said. “Fine. I’ll leave Stormy. I’ll end the marriage.”
“And you’ll go back to where you came from?”
Kelly sighed. “Yes, fine. Just get me out of here.”
Alex knew she was going to get it for what she’d done. When Stormy found out he would hang her up to dry, turn his back on her, and probably never speak to her again. But in the long run he would thank her. It was unfortunate she’d had to go to such lengths, but extreme times called for extreme measures. Besides, she was bluffing. She would never have left Kelly there to die. Being an actress came in handy on occasion.
Once she’d struggled with the rest of the debris, she pulled Kelly to her feet.
“Can you walk?” she asked her.
Kelly glared angrily despite the pain. “Yes, I can walk. And I’m going to walk right over to Stormy and tell him what a low-life, sanctimonious monster his mother is and how she was willing to let me die if I didn’t leave him.”
“He won’t believe you,” Alex said, coughing from the smoke that continued to fill the room. She turned and started kicking at the door to get it open. Something on the other side was blocking them in, but with a few good kicks it seemed to give way.
“Let me,” Kelly said and pushed her aside.
“Get away from there,” Alex insisted as she struggled with the young woman.
Kelly shoved her away, sending her falling back and tripping over a coat rack. She stopped long enough to turn and see Alex laying unconscious. Just then, a fiery chunk of the ceiling collapsed between them.
Glancing at the door, now free of obstruction, Kelly bit her lip with indecision. She turned back to Alex, then back to the door. If she saved her life, it would only mean years of putting up with her meddling ways and her put-downs. If she let her die, then she’d be a killer. And even if she did save her, Alex would spin it to make her look guilty. Even though it was an accident, by the time Alex got through painting her version of what happened, no one would believe her.
Finally, she made up her mind and tore out of the room to safety, leaving an unconscious Alex behind in the burning coat room. She darted across the ballroom and ran directly into Jordan.
“Have you seen Alex?” he hollered over the sound of fire.
Panicked, she shook her head and raced off through the room, leaving a frazzled Jordan behind.
Sighing with frustration, Jordan glanced around, sick from the smoke. He could see the fire trucks finally pulling up outside.
“Alex!” he screamed, checking in every crevasse he came across. He darted into the coat room, now blazing from the fast-spreading fire. He scanned the room quickly, his eyes finally landing on Alex laying unconscious on the floor.
Quickly, he raced into the room, shielding himself from the flames as he scooped her into his arms. A quick check of her vitals told him she was still breathing. Without wasting a second, he carried her back out into the lobby and raced between the maze of ruins.
Once outside, a fireman approached and quickly took Alex to a waiting oxygen tank. Jordan turned back to the hotel, now engulfed in flames, and started back inside.
“Jordan, wait!” James called from the parking lot as he and Jackie approached. “Is anyone else still inside?”
He shook his head with uncertainty. “I don’t know. But I can’t find Benji.”
“What about Miranda? Stormy?”
Jordan put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head again. “I’m sorry, James. I don’t know. I’ll look for them when I go back in.”
“Wait, you’re not going back in there,” James insisted. “Let the fire department do their jobs.”
“Our kids could still be inside!” Jordan shouted, pointing at the hotel and ignoring the black soot that mixed with sweat and stung his eyes. “Are you really prepared to do nothing about it?”
“You can’t go back in there, Jordan. You’ll be no good to anyone.”
“Dad!” a voice called from the distance.
James and Jordan both turned in unison. They each hoped it was their own son emerging from the blaze. One was unapologetically remorseful when it turned out to be the other’s.
“Stormy, thank god,” James said and pulled his son into an embrace. “Have you seen your sister?”
Stormy shook his head. His jacket was torn and his knuckles bloody from digging his way out of wherever he’d been trapped. “She didn’t make it out?”
James shook his head.
Stormy turned and looked at the burning hotel. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to comprehend the events of the past half hour. It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, and instead it turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions.
“She must still be inside,” he finally said, then turned back to his father. “I can’t find Kelly either. Or Brooke. I know she was next to me when the earthquake hit, but–”
“Brooke’s on her way to the hospital. David’s with her.”
“I saw Kelly inside just a few minutes ago,” Jordan claimed. “She was running toward the door. She’s got to be out here somewhere.”
Stormy looked around in a panic. “I don’t understand.”
James gave him a nod of his head. “Go. I’ll find Miranda. You need to find Kelly.”
Stormy gave his father a slap on the shoulder before turning and darting through the growing crowd. He passed by Leilani who stumbled about in a daze.
“Leilani, have you seen Kelly?” he asked.
She shook her head quickly. “No, is she still inside?” she asked in a shrill voice.
“I don’t know.”
“You have to find her!” Leilani screamed in despair. “You have to find my Kelly!”
“I will,” he said, adding before he took off in a desperate search. “I promise.”
Malcolm found his father and Renee standing beside an ambulance near the front drive. He jogged toward them and put a gentle hand on T.T.’s shoulder.
“Dad, thank god,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, son,” replied T.T. “Is Sierra with you?”
He shook his head, his heart sinking the moment he saw the alarmed look in Renee’s eyes. “No, she isn’t. She went to the ladies room and we got separated. I thought she would have gotten out by now.”
Renee exchanged glances with T.T., clutching her chest in horror at the prospect of her daughter being caught inside in the blaze. T.T. pulled her into an embrace, closing his eyes with despair.
Inside, Benji paced around the powder room in desperation. Sierra looked at him with concern, growing increasingly alarmed by their precarious situation.
“What are we going to do?” she asked. “We’re trapped in here, Benji.”
He stopped and glanced at the row of sinks that sprayed water up into the air. Quickly, he removed his tuxedo jacket and held it under the faucet, drenching it completely before leading her to the door.
“Just close your eyes and let me lead you,” he ordered her. “Keep your head down.”
“What?” she asked, confused.
Benji grabbed the door handle again and pulled it open, ignoring the scalding hot metal that blistered his hand on contact. He gazed out at the lobby inferno, taking a deep breath before placing the soaking wet jacket over Sierra’s head and racing from the powder room.
Sierra did as he’d instructed, keeping her head down and holding her breath to avoid inhaling smoke from the toxic flames. It seemed like forever, but in a few short seconds they were at the front door racing into the parking lot.
They were met immediately by paramedics. Benji lifted the jacket from her head and tossed it onto the ground. Miraculously he’d managed to make it through the blaze without being burned. Being exposed to the smoke, however, had taken its toll and he began coughing and retching uncontrollably.
“Sierra!” Renee called after she spotted her daughter emerge from the building. “Oh my god, Sierra!”
T.T. and Malcolm followed quickly, joined by Jordan who overhead the commotion.
“Baby, are you okay?” Renee cried, pulling her daughter into an embrace. “Thank god you’re alive.”
Jordan grabbed his son and pulled him toward the awaiting paramedics who quickly fastened an oxygen mask over his mouth.
“Benji, I was so worried,” he said, running his fingers through his son’s hair. “I looked everywhere for you.”
The paramedics laid Benji down onto a stretcher and examined him closely. He breathed into the oxygen mask and grew drowsy from the smoke he’d inhaled. Sierra left her mother’s side and raced toward Benji.
“Will he be okay?” she asked the paramedics.
“He was lucky,” one of them claimed. “You both were.”
She pushed the hair from his eyes and kissed him gratefully on the forehead.
“What happened in there?” Jordan asked her.
Sierra stared into Benji’s sleepy eyes. “He saved my life,” she said, putting her arms around him and kissing him again.
From the group of onlookers, Malcolm swallowed hard, grateful for Sierra’s rescue, but ashamed by the jealousy it instilled in him. T.T. placed a hand on his shoulder and offered him a look of encouragement. He swallowed his pride and stepped forward, announcing his presence by placing a hand on Sierra’s back.
She turned and fell into his arms when he went to embrace her. Happy to see him again, she still found herself turning and looking at Benji as the paramedics loaded him into the back of the ambulance.
“I have to check on Heather,” Jordan said to Renee. “Would you mind going to the hospital with Benji?”
She nodded, placing a hand on his chest. “Yes, of course. You go. Have you been able to get through to her?”
“No, the cell phone towers must be down,” he said. “She’s at home with Brett and the baby. I don’t even know what the damage is like by the Marina.”
The second the condo began shaking violently, Brett leapt into action. He raced to the bassinette where Violet lay asleep, covering it with his body and holding on as tight as he could. The force was minimal, only a few objects falling to the floor during the quake. He held his position for nearly a minute, intent on protecting his daughter at any cost.
“Get under the doorway!” he yelled in Heather’s direction.
She followed his orders, positioning herself in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom. Frozen on her feet, tears staining her cheeks, she clenched her fists until her knuckles were white.
Finally, the violent shaking came to a halt. Brett slowly stood up and looked around the room to survey the damage. Luckily there wasn’t much. But more than that, they were safe. Violet cried in her crib and Heather stood immobilized in the doorway.
“Are you okay?” he asked her and placed his hands on her arms. “Heather?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes staring straight ahead. Her knuckles relaxed and she suddenly appeared perfectly at ease.
“Heather?”
She walked to the bassinet and picked Violet up in her arms, cradling her gently and humming a quiet lullaby.
“I think she’s hungry,” Heather said with a smile and started into the kitchen. “I’d better get her a bottle.”
Brett watched her in confusion. Her state of mind was oddly calm in light of the events. It was as if she didn’t even remember the earthquake at all.
James paced the parking lot at the hotel, raking his fingers through his hair as he watched the fire department attack the building with hoses.
“My daughter is still in there!” he screamed at the fire chief. “Why hasn’t anybody found her?”
“My men are working as fast as they can,” said the chief. “You’ve got to calm down, Mr. Blackthorne. If she’s in there we’ll find her.”
“By the time they find her it could be too late!” James bellowed, pulling his arm away when Jackie approached and touched him gently.
“You’ve got to pull yourself together, James,” she said. “When Miranda comes out of there she’s going to need you to be there for her.”
He looked at her and nodded, taking comfort in her words and attempting to think positively. His daughter was strong and she could overcome anything. An earthquake and a fire were no match for Miranda.
He turned and walked to the grass where Stormy was sitting with his head buried in his hands. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he kneeled down and looked at him in the eyes.
“They’ll find them,” James said with as much assurance as he could muster. “Miranda and Kelly. You’ll see.”
Stormy shook his head in despair. He glanced up at the flames emanating from the ruins of Hotel Terranova. “This was my wedding day,” he murmured softly. “We were starting our lives together. Then this happened and my wife is…” A pause while he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can’t even think about it.”
Suddenly, commotion erupted in the distance. They turned and saw a fireman emerging from the burning building carrying a body in his arms. Behind him, another followed close behind with yet another body. As they drew closer to the clearing in the parking lot, it became evident that one of the bodies was that of a woman.
Stormy quickly shot to his feet, his heart beating wildly in his chest in anticipation. He and James rushed forward as the fire fighters approached.
“Miranda,” James said with a gasp. He reached out to his daughter who lay limp in the man’s arms. “Miranda, please be all right.”
Behind him, the second fireman brought Eddie to the ambulance, also unconscious and covered in black soot and red from the heat of the fire. He coughed and sputtered as he slowly regained consciousness.
“Take it easy,” said a paramedic who began tending to him.
They laid Miranda out on a stretcher and the paramedics quickly went to administer oxygen through a mask. They checked her pulse and shined a pen light in her eyes. Her right cheek was burned, blistering down to the nape of her neck.
“Is she…”
“She’s breathing,” said one of the paramedics. “Her pulse is very weak. We need to get these two to the hospital immediately.”
“I’ll go with you,” James said and followed them to the ambulance. He paused and turned back to Stormy who stared out at the burning building. “Son…?”
“You go, Dad,” he said. “I’m going to wait for Kelly. Call me when you hear something about Miranda and Eddie.”
He nodded, pulling his son into an embrace before taking Jackie’s hand and pulling her into the back of the ambulance with him.
The sirens started and the ambulance pulled away and maneuvered through the disaster area. Stormy stood behind, turning back to the flames that licked at the sky above the hotel. Every inch of the building was enveloped in fire. If Kelly was still inside, there was no way she was coming out.
At Cedars-Sinai, details of the earthquake began to surface. The damage had been widespread and devastating. After only a matter of hours, the casualties were already in the double digits and the emergency rooms were quickly becoming inundated with the injured.
David paced the area outside of Brooke’s room, turning quickly when Dr. Farraday emerged with her chart in his hands.
“How is she?” he asked with urgency.
Sighing, Farraday patted David firmly on the shoulder. “She’s going to be fine,” he said. “She has a nasty bump on the head but she escaped the smoke inhalation that’s plagued everyone else who was at the hotel tonight. You can go in and see her, David.”
“Thank you, Dr. Farraday,” David replied and marched into the room where Brooke was laying, her forehead bandaged and her skin pale. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Dr. Farraday told me that you carried me outside. Thank you for rescuing me, David.”
“What are brothers for?” he asked, then quickly wished he hadn’t. Maybe now was not the time to force their newly discovered relationship down her throat. “I called Rachel at your townhouse. She said that she and Michael are fine. There wasn’t much damage in that area.”
“Thank god,” Brooke said with a relieved sigh. “Does she need anything? Do they have power?”
“Yes, and Michael is sleeping like a baby. She said don’t worry about anything that she can stay as long as she needs to.”
“Thank you, David,” she said. “That’s a huge load off my mind. Now if I can just get a hold of Ethan.”
“Where is he?”
“He left the reception to go home to check on Michael. But he called me just before the earthquake. He was on his way back to the hotel.”
David looked at her with a blank expression, again wishing he hadn’t. It only instilled panic in her eyes.
“Oh no,” she whispered, bringing her hands up to her mouth.
David shook his head reassuringly. “I’m sure he’s fine. He probably didn’t even make it back to the hotel before the earthquake hit.”
“Then where is he?” she demanded, suddenly stricken with worry. “I have to find him.” She reached for the phone beside her bed and started to dial.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to get through to him,” David announced. “Cell phone towers are down all over the place.”
Frustrated, Brooke hung up and folded her arms across her chest. “He probably pulled over when the earthquake started,” she decided. “The roads are probably a mess and it’s just taking a while to get anywhere. He’s fine.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” David agreed, placing a hand gently on hers. He could tell how distraught she was and he wanted to do everything in his power to put her mind at ease. “I’ll drive out to your townhouse and see if I find him. He’s bound to be somewhere between there and Hotel Terranova.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
He smiled. “Not at all. I’ll be back before you know it. You sure you’ll be all right?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. As soon as I know Ethan’s safe. We’ve got a new life to start tomorrow.”
David smiled again before he turned and left the room.
It took Jordan over an hour to get to the Marina. He had to take several alternative routes because of the road closings and downed trees and power lines in the roads. The only saving grace was there was little traffic, an unprecedented event for a Saturday night in Los Angeles.
When he got to Brett and Heather’s condo, he heard the unmistakable sound of Christmas music emanating down the hallway. Inside, he found an unsettling scene playing out in front of him. Standing in the doorway, he watched as his daughter jubilantly strung garland around an artificial Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Brett stood in the kitchen watching her with painstaking restraint.
“Heather?” he asked, tentatively stepping forward and trying to garner her attention. When she didn’t acknowledge him, he turned and looked at Brett. “What the hell is going on here?”
“She’s been like this for over an hour,” Brett said, rubbing the sides of his head with the palms of his hands. “It’s like she doesn’t even know I’m here.”
Jordan stepped further into the room, witnessing the boxes of Christmas ornaments strung around the living room. “There was an earthquake. People are dying and you’re decorating Christmas trees.”
“I don’t think she even knows there was an earthquake,” Brett said with resignation. “The second it was over she started talking about Violet’s first Christmas.”
Jordan rubbed a hand over his face and watched his daughter as she obliviously went about her holiday decorating.
“She’s getting worse,” he said in desperation.
“I’m sending Heather back to Dr. Anderson first thing tomorrow.”
“The hell you are,” Jordan challenged him, his eyes flaring. “I told you I don’t want my daughter seeing that man again. He’s making her remember things. Things that I don’t want her knowing.”
“You want to keep lying to her for her entire life?” Brett asked.
“It’s worked up until now. She was fine until she started seeing Anderson.”
“You call this fine?” Brett demanded and pointed at his wife. “You kept the accident a secret from her, you kept the truth about her mother a secret from her, and look what it’s done to her. She has visions that she doesn’t understand and I’m supposed to just pretend that I don’t know what they’re really about. All she needs is the truth. Without that she’s going to slip further away from us.”
“Maybe you can live with the truth, but I guarantee Heather can’t.”
Brett sighed with frustration, turning and watching as Heather happily hung stockings above the fireplace.
Back at the hospital, T.T. bought two cups of steaming coffee from the vending machine and handed one to Renee. She shook her head and held up her hand politely. T.T. turned and handed the cup to Malcolm instead, who watched as Sierra stared through the glass into Benji’s room. The look in her eyes was unsettling, a fact that only made him feel worse. The kid saved her life and all he could think about was that he should have been the one to have done it.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?” Malcolm asked as he came up behind her and a placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Water? Coffee? You still need to have your head looked at. You’ve got a pretty nasty bump.”
Sierra shook her head and turned to him with a meek smile. “I’m fine. I just want to know that Benji’s going to be okay.”
“The doctor said he’d be fine,” Malcolm replied, digging one hand in his pocket. “They’re keeping him hydrated through an I.V. and they’ve got him hooked up to oxygen. He just needs some time to recuperate.”
“I know, I just feel responsible.”
“Why would you feel responsible?” Malcolm asked with a frown.
“He saved my life,” Sierra replied, wrapping her arms around herself and turning back to the glass. “If it wasn’t for me, he might have gotten out safely.”
“What is it with you and this kid anyway?” Malcolm asked crossly. “I mean, first he’s hitting on you at the reception and next you’re in the bathroom with him. The women’s bathroom, of all things. What exactly was going on in there?”
Sierra didn’t pick up on his not-so subtle innuendo. “We were just talking,” she replied. “We have a lot in common.”
“You have a lot in common with him?” Malcolm asked. “Like what?”
Shrugging, she walked across the hallway and leaned against the wall. “Horses,” she said with a smile. “We both love horses. Not to mention that my mother and his father used to be an item.”
“It would seem that we have that in common as well,” Malcolm claimed. “My father and your mother used to be an item.”
Sierra turned to him and smiled vaguely. “I guess you’re right about that. Kind of a small world, I guess.”
He put his arm around her and drew her close. “It’s going to be all right. I promise you. Things will look better in the morning.”
Closing her eyes, she buried her face in his chest and allowed him to comfort her. “I hope so,” she said.
Down the hall, James waited outside of the crowded emergency room where Dr. Farraday was examining Miranda. Jackie watched him from a chair across the room, wishing he would sit down and take a break. He’d been pacing on his feet since they escaped from their hotel room.
James glanced up and through the crowd of wounded saw Kenny DeWitt coming toward him, his skin ashen with cement dust and his clothes reeking of smoke.
“Kenny, I was worried about you. I didn’t see you back at the hotel. How did you get out?”
“I was one of the first one’s out,” Kenny replied while giving his friend a firm handshake and a brief hug. “I tried helping clear the ballroom as much as I could. I left as soon as I heard about Miranda. How is she?”
“Dr. Farraday’s in with her now,” he said with a self-assured nod.
“James, it’s bad out there,” Kenny said as he ran a hand over his face. “The city is a disaster area. Have you been home? Do you know if your house was damaged?”
He shook his head. “No, that’s the least of my worries. Did you see Stormy before you left? Did he find Kelly?”
Kenny shook his head solemnly, glancing at the ground in despair.
“Oh no,” Jackie whispered, pushing her chestnut hair from her eyes. “That poor young man.”
“Where is he?” James continued.
Kenny shrugged. “He wouldn’t leave. They got the fire out for the most part and they’re searching for survivors. Hopefully we’ll know something soon.”
“Any idea how many people were killed?” Jackie asked.
“No,” Kenny said. “But I can tell you that they pulled Frank Dunning out of that rubble. He’s dead.”
“Jesus,” James said in a whisper. “What about the rest of the city? You said it was a disaster area. How big was this thing?”
“6.7,” Kenny replied. “About as big as Northridge.”
James turned back to Miranda’s room and folded his arms tightly across his chest. “We were lucky,” he said. “Odds are everyone in that hotel could have died tonight. It’s a miracle they didn’t.”
Their conversation was interrupted when Dr. Farraday emerged from the examination room.
“How is she, Noel?” James beseeched.
Dr. Farraday placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and led him away from the crowd. Kenny and Jackie followed eagerly. “Miranda hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“Why not?” an alarmed James demanded. “What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s not uncommon so I don’t want you to worry. Her vitals are improving. It may take a few days, but I expect her to make a full recovery. However—”
James pressed him for the truth. “What? Tell me.”
Dr. Farraday took a breath before continuing, knowing it would be difficult for James to hear. “Miranda has suffered third degree burns on her face and neck. She’s going to require skin grafts and most likely several plastic surgeries.”
James closed his eyes tightly, devastated by the news. Yes, he was grateful that she was alive, but also knew what the news would do to her once she woke up. He turned and allowed Jackie to embrace him comfortingly.
When Jordan got back to the hospital it was almost two o’clock in the morning. The building was running on emergency generators, but it didn’t seem to have sustained much damage during the quake. Benji was asleep in his private room, still hooked up to an I.V. with oxygen running through his nose. His arm was broken but would not be casted until morning, according to the nurse on duty. He sat by his bed for several minutes before proceeding down the hall to check on Alex.
“I’m sorry we argued,” he said and gently touched her hand. She was sleeping but he wanted to say it anyway. The earthquake taught him that time was fleeting, and nothing was more important than family and loved ones. “I know you don’t trust me, but I swear to you I did not kill Suzanne. I hate that you think the worst of me. I know I deserve it after what I did to Frank Dunning. He’s dead, by the way, and in case you were wondering it was absolutely not my fault.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Alex asked groggily as her eyes peaked open.
Smiling, Jordan squeezed her hand tighter. “Nothing,” he said dismissively. “Just that I love you.”
“I love you too,” Alex said amidst her sleepy haze. “How is everyone? Miranda and Stormy?”
“They’re fine. Your children are fine, Alex.”
“What about Benji and Heather?”
“They’re also fine,” Jordan replied. “Everyone is fine. You just get some rest right now.”
Alex nodded and closed her eyes again. “I’m sorry too,” she murmured. “I’m sorry for the things I said to you before the wedding. I know you wouldn’t ever hurt anyone.”
Jordan brushed her hair from her eyes and kissed her gently on the cheek as she drifted off into sleep. He stood up and walked to the window, staring off in the distance at the clouds of smoke that hung over the city.
The sun was just coming up on the horizon when Stormy got home to the Blackthorne mansion. It was his last stop in an exhaustive effort to locate Kelly. She hadn’t turned up as one of the twelve victims who died at the hotel. She hadn’t been taken to any of the area hospitals, and she was nowhere to be found on the route between the hotel and home.
At first sight, the mansion seemed to have faired well in the earthquake, but after a closer look, it became clear that the entire east wing had crumbled. He entered through the door in the foyer and everything seemed fine. Glancing down the hall toward the conservatory and the family room however, was a different story.
He turned and glanced around his surroundings, pausing only briefly when he saw something laying haphazardly on the floor. Frantic, he scooped it up in his hands and examined it closely.
Kelly’s veil.
“Kelly!” he called up the stairs. “Kelly, are you here?”
When there was no answer, he tore up the stairs, discarding the veil on the floor in his haste. Bolting into their bedroom, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Kelly’s soiled wedding dress crumpled on the floor in a ball. Beyond that, the closet door was open and her clothes were gone.
Confused, Stormy simply stared across the room in a daze. He barely acknowledged Leilani’s appearance just behind him.
“She’s gone, Mr. Stormy,” cried the girl’s mother. “I don’t understand it, but my Kelly is gone.”
Stormy felt nothing but numb. He couldn’t begin to understand what had happened since the earthquake to make her leave. He sat down on the bed and hung his hands between his knees. Glancing next to him, he spotted a small piece of paper folded in half. Tentatively, he reached out and grabbed hold of it.
“What does it say?” Leilani asked impatiently.
Stormy unfolded the note and skimmed through it briefly. He immediately clenched his jaw and crumpled the paper into a tiny ball in his hand.
“She left me,” he said simply.
Brooke had been awake for hours, unable to sleep as she waited for word from David about Ethan. Just after sunrise, James came into her room and offered a tender smile from her bedside.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” Brooke replied, happy to see him and squeezing him tightly when he went in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. How is everyone?”
“Fine,” he replied dismissively. “But more importantly, how are you? And what about Michael?”
“He’s at the townhouse with the nanny. She’s staying with him until I get out of here. Or until Ethan shows up.”
“Ethan?” James asked. “What do you mean? Where is he? I thought he made it home last night. I saw him just before he left the hotel.”
“He was on his way back to the reception. David’s been out all night trying to find him.”
James grew stricken with concern and he could tell that Brooke was sick with worry. He heard the door to the hospital room open and quickly turned just in time to see David enter, still dressed in his tattered tuxedo from the night before. Brooke looked up and offered a hopeful expression as she waited to hear his report.
“David?” James began, noting the morbid expression on his face. “Where’s Ethan? Did you find him?”
David looked at him and then at Brooke, taking a few steps forward. “They found Ethan’s car about a mile from Hotel Terranova.”
“Is he okay?” Brooke asked anxiously.
“The road had split from the earthquake,” David went on. “His car fell in and caught fire. Everything was incinerated.”
Brooke and James looked at each other blankly. “What are you saying, David? Did you find Ethan or not?”
“I’m sorry,” David said slowly. “Ethan didn’t make it.”
The news sent James staggering back a step and hit Brooke like a bolt of lightening. Tears immediately formed in her eyes and she uttered a muffled sob of despair.
“What?” she asked, unprepared for the news. “No, he’s…he’s just stranded somewhere. He would be here but he’s…he just can’t get here. There are roads closed and power lines down. He’s not dead.”
“I’m sorry, Brooke. James. I really am. I wish it was something else.”
“How can you be sure?” James demanded angrily.
“Because I saw the car,” he replied with a deadpan expression. A shake of his head told them that he was telling the truth.
“No,” Brooke cried, leaning back and sobbing uncontrollably. “No, no, no….”
James felt his eyes sting with tears as he sunk into a chair and buried his face in his hands.
Alex was feeling much better, physically and emotionally. She was sitting up in her bed down the hall applying a thin layer of makeup over her pale skin.
“God, I reek of smoke,” she said with a grimace. “Darling, do you think you could arrange for me to get a hot bath?”
Jordan rolled his eyes and dug his hands into his pockets. “This isn’t a spa, Alex,” he said. “The nurse will give you a sponge bath later.”
Alex twisted her face into a frown and shook her head while dropping a compact into her makeup bag. “Pass,” she said with a laugh.
They both turned just as the door opened and a woman entered, knocking firmly from the doorway.
“Jordan Rydell?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s right,” he replied and turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Detective Callahan from the LAPD,” she announced, pulling her badge from her belt and showing it to him. “I’m sorry to disturb you but I wondered if I could have a minute of your time.”
“Certainly,” Jordan said with a shrug. “What can I do for you?”
“Mr. Rydell, one of our patrol officers was investigating some downed power lines in the Beverly Hills area this morning. He made his way onto your property and came across a body about a hundred yards from your house.”
Alex’s eyes darted to her husband and then back to the detective.
“Body?” Jordan asked. “You mean a victim from the earthquake? That’s horrible. Do you know what they were doing on my property?”
Detective Callahan shook her head. “It doesn’t seem to be a victim from the earthquake. Whoever it was has been there for quite some time. The body was extremely decomposed. It appeared that it had been buried in a small grove of trees. The force of the earthquake brought it to the surface.”
The news instilled panic in Alex. She suddenly recalled the story Frank Dunning had told her about witnessing Jordan burying a body the night Suzanne disappeared. Now no matter how much she tried to pretend it wasn’t so, the facts were stacking up in favor of Frank’s tale.
Jordan maintained his cool for the sake of the detective and Alex. “Do you know who it was?”
She shook her head. “No. Like I said, the body’s too badly decomposed. I would wager to guess it’s been there for more than ten years. I was wondering if you might know anything about it.”
“Me?” Jordan asked with a laugh. “I’m sorry, I don’t. If somebody buried a body on my land it’s news to me.”
Callahan nodded and offered a faint smile. “I understand. That’s what I thought. Well, they’ve taken the body to the morgue. After an autopsy we’ll have a better idea of who this person was. We’ll let you know what we find out.”
“Please do,” Jordan said. “Thank you for letting me know.”
After Detective Callahan left, Jordan turned toward Alex and did his best to downplay the brief visit. “Well that was interesting,” he said, walking over and fluffing her pillow.
Alex slapped his hands away and looked at him with terror in her eyes. “You did kill her,” she said. “Frank was right. You killed Suzanne and you buried her in your back yard.”
Next time….
Jordan is arrested after the identity of the body is revealed. Blake is unnerved after a disturbing visit with his father. Heather and Dr. Anderson disappear. The Blackthornes struggle to cope with the news of Ethan’s death.
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