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Title: Just Between Friends
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 17
Frisco was ready to shoot everyone in the room. Men were coming in and out of the safehouse, seemingly at will. What was going on, Frisco wasn't entirely sure. Jason had left for some time this morning and returned just to disappear into a back bedroom with several men. The others were following orders he was not aware of. What little paperwork they had was kept out of his sight and phone conversations in his earshot were lacking in details.
Jason was leaving him in the dark and it was pissing him off.
Jason emerged from the bedroom, cell phone in hand. He looked at Frisco, giving the agent an annoyed glare. He took a seat at the dining room table and stared blankly at the phone, as if willing it to ring somehow. He sat in silence for several minutes.
Stan, the organization's hacker Frisco presumed, rushed out of the bedroom and dropped a laptop in front of Jason, a laptop identical to the one he had given Carly to fix. "I got that information on..." Stan stopped abruptly, glancing at Frisco.
The look was just confirmation that the agent, the one guy trained to handle this kind of situation, was deliberately being keep out of the loop.
"Let me see," Jason said.
Frisco stepped next to the enforcer to get a look for himself, but the computer was moved away from his view. He exhaled sharply, his anger rising another notch. He shot each man in the room an authoritative glare, a look he'd learned well commanding missions for the WSB. "Out," he growled. They all glanced at Jason first, but exited obediently.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jason snapped, shutting the laptop angrily as he stood. "You don't give orders around here!"
"You want my help, you tell me the whole story," Frisco growled, getting in the young man's face. "You don't leave anything that might pertain to Sonny's disappearance out. You either trust me or I walk out of that door right now."
"I don't want your help, so go ahead and walk."
"No offense, but those guys out there are just muscle. They're the guys you want as back up when you go busting in, guns blazing. They're not the guys that are going to help you follow leads and get to the bottom of this mess."
"I can do it on my own, I don't need help from a fed."
"I'll be sure to tell Courtney and Carly that when I go back to the penthouse," Frisco said carefully, watching the young man's reaction. Jason avoided his gaze, remaining silent and as expressionless as always. "You've got no idea where Sonny is," he continued. "This is my job, this is what I am trained to do. You need my help, whether you want it or not."
The young man seemed to consider his words. Making a decision, he looked the agent in the eyes. "Sonny had a business meeting out of town yesterday. He never showed up at the airport. The pilot waited an hour, then called the penthouse looking for him. A Polaroid of Sonny tied up and beaten was delivered at the same time. Carly freaked out and called me. The picture came with a note, giving only a time and an address. I met with the kidnapper this morning."
"So? What's the deal?"
"We were trying to stop the flow of drugs into Port Charles. Our organization doesn't deal in drugs, we don't allow drugs into our territory. Mac asked us to track down where the XTC that Maxie overdosed on..."
Frisco's chest tightened in shock. "Overdosed?" he asked breathlessly. "Maxie OD'd?"
Jason suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "You didn't know," he said sympathetically.
"Do you know what happened?"
Jason shook his head. "Not really. She was at The Cellar when she took the pills and she passed out in front of me and Courtney. Tony Jones told Mac it was a bad batch."
Frisco felt like he'd just been stabbed in the heart. Tony, his own brother, knew and didn't tell him.
"She was only in the hospital for a few days. I know she talked to Courtney about some stuff, but that's all I know."
Frisco dropped into a chair, the information still sinking in. "Mac asked you to investigate?" he asked, disbelieving.
"He threw me up against a wall and ordered me to," Jason snorted.
That hurt, just the idea Mac would do such a thing, even though Frisco didn't want to admit it. It was ludicrous, but he knew the young man wasn't lying. "He went to the mob to track down the source," he said, his voice turning cold.
"Maybe he didn't think he could get a hold of you."
He let out bitter laugh. As if. A lot had changed in the ten years since Maxie's transplant. Mac saw himself as the girls' father and was no longer willing to go out of his way for Frisco. "He was a mercenary, Jason. He had contacts of his own he could've used. Hell, Donely's still consulting for the WSB. Mac had plenty of other avenues open to him."
Jason shrugged, his sympathy disappearing. "He was really pissed and I was there."
This was not a conversation Frisco wanted to have and certainly not who he wanted to have it with. "So you found the source of the drugs?" he asked, getting back to business.
"Yeah, we tracked them to Miami, to a guy named Javier. We confiscated a shipment he ran through on one of our piers right before he was killed. I found out today he's a lieutenant for Lorenzo Alcazar. That's who has Sonny. He wants the shipment back, in exchange for Sonny's life."
Frisco's blood ran cold. Alcazar involved with Corinthos and Morgan could not be a good sign for Carly. Lorenzo knew about his brother's hostage, which meant he probably knew about Charlotte. If he saw Carly in Port Charles... He didn't want to even think about it. The whole operation was now in jeopardy.
"You know anything about the Alcazars?"
He nodded absently, his mind mulling over this new twist. "I've had a few dealings with them. Lorenzo and I aren't on the best of terms." In fact, he'd kind of screwed over Lorenzo to get to Carly in the first place. He sighed. "What do you have on him?"
Jason opened the laptop and pushed it towards Frisco. "We have a list of the Alcazars' holdings. It's not very detailed, though. Stan's still working on it."
Frisco glanced at the screen. The names and addresses he saw were the thinly veiled. The list the WSB had was much longer and more detailed, and luckily he'd memorized much of it. "I know enough to fill in the necessary blanks. What tools do we have at our disposal?"
"All the muscle and fire power we need," the young man replied dumbly.
"That wasn't what I meant. Surveillance equipment, communications..."
"The organization has everything. I'll get whatever we need."
Jason's tone was unyielding. Obviously he didn't want Frisco to have that information and for all of Frisco's annoyance, he understood.
"Jones," Frisco answered tiredly.
"Hey, man. It's me."
He immediately recognized the young man's voice on the other end. Someone else in exile, living off the grid as a hacker, thanks to Faison. Theirs wasn't much of a social relationship, so phone calls were few and far between.
"To what do I owe this call, kid?"
"I got your disk."
"Disk?" Frisco asked, confused.
"Yeah, that infected hard drive image you sent me. Interesting stuff. It took me a little while to break through it."
Carly must've sent it, he said to himself. "Not my thing, but I'll pass the message on."
"How'd my dear Carly end up with this drive? I couldn't help noticing it's filled mob business. You two switch sides?"
"She's just doing a favor for someone. What's up with the virus?"
"It's not actually a virus. It's a pretty sophisticated echo program. Everything that went through that machine, every letter typed, every byte downloaded, it was all sent to an outside server."
"Can you track the server?"
"Already did. Some company in Venezuela. Consolidated Exports, headquartered in Caracas."
Frisco closed his eyes. He knew the name well. It was a front for the Alcazars. One that Luis had used to get Carly out of the country.
"Frisco, this thing isn't programmed to infect like a virus. Someone had to be there to install it directly on that computer and tweak the hardware."
"Thanks," he said, then hung up, effective cutting off any smart remark the kid had. He looked up at Stan, who was sitting nearby. "The stuff you collected on Alcazar, was there anything about Consolidated Exports?"
Stan clicked a few times on his laptop. "Just a mention of the name, nothing else."
Frisco dialed Carly's cell. He tapped his fingers on the table, waiting for her to answer. Stan was watching him intently, but trying to not be conspicuous about it.
"What?" Carly answered, snapping.
"I need you to look up something. Consolidated Exports."
"Fine."
"It'll be in the Alcazar files."
Carly's voice was shaky, all of the confidence gone. "Alcazar?"
"I need you to send it over with Johnny as soon as you find it. There's another guard on his way over to relieve Johnny. He should be there in a little while."
"Okay..."
"I trust you find exactly what I need to know."
He hoped she get his message. Since it was going through Jason and his people, it needed to be a strict need-to-know basis. He didn't want to give these guys any more information than he had to.
"You don't need to be here."
Charlotte's hateful voice woke a dozing Carly. She had finally finished fixing the laptop late in the night and fell asleep on the sofa, although she hadn't slept much. Only Michael had.
She sat up, pushing aside the light blanket covering her. "Frisco thinks otherwise."
"I couldn't care less what Frisco thinks. I don't want you here, Jason doesn't want you here and Sonny wouldn't want you here if he knew."
"Yeah, why don't we ask Sonny and Jason. I'm sure they'll be interested who you really are."
"Oh, I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back, staying away for all this time, right under their noses. Not to mention making nice with the WSB."
Carly snorted. "I have not made nice with the WSB. They saved my life, that's all."
"Uh huh. That's why you ended up married to the guy."
"Doesn't matter. It's not real. You and I both know that."
"Sonny and Jason don't. They were there to witness the blessed event."
"They'll know eventually. And then you'll be out on your ass."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. They're buying into this whole marriage charade. A few carefully placed words from me, they won't be so certain about you. And don't forget," she said, calculatingly rubbing her pregnant belly, "I'm the mother of Sonny's first child. That'll mean more to him than the whore that sold him out to the feds."
Carly let out a laugh. She obviously didn't know Sonny or his favorite word betrayal. "Don't bet the farm on that."
"Oh, come on, now! Sonny is in missing because of you! This is your fault!"
Carly had no idea what to make of that statement. How on earth Charlotte could twist the situation like that. "What are you talking about? I didn't kidnap him. Why don't you blame the guy that actually did?"
"You brought these people to Port Charles," Charlotte sneered. "You and that other homewrecking slut, Brenda."
The phone rang, going unnoticed for several rings. "What?" Carly answered, snapping as she still stared at her rival.
Frisco was on the other end. "I need you to look up something. Consolidated Exports."
Her reply was terse. "Fine."
"It'll be in my Alcazar files."
Carly's voice was shaky, all of the confidence gone. She couldn't have heard him right. It couldn't be possible... "Alcazar?"
"I need you to send it over with Johnny as soon as you find it. There's another guard on his way over to relieve Johnny. He should be there in a little while."
"Okay..."
"I trust you find exactly what I need to know."
Carly knew what he meant. No more, no less when it came to whatever was in those files. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself without losing her cool in front of Charlotte. At least now she had something to do again. "Got it." She hung up the phone and grinned deviously. "What do you know, I've got to go help Jason find Sonny. Why don't you run along and nest like a good little wifey."
Charlotte wasn't fazed. "Go ahead, help out all you want. Suck up to Sonny and Jason. It won't help you any in the end."
She walked upstairs, leaving Carly alone again. Carly mocked her former friend, sneering. "As if," she grumbled, walking back to the dining table. To hell with Charlotte, she had work to do.
Carly was digging through the pages of information Frisco had compiled on her captors. The WSB files on the Alcazars were huge, covering every area of organization in surprisingly great detail. Frisco's case files were more concise, focusing only on the information that related to her kidnapping.
It was through Consolidated Exports that Luis had gotten her out of the country, according to his notes. Just the name was bringing back horrible memories. The hollow bottom crate she had been packed in, unconscious; her confusion and fear when she awoke; her terror when the crate was opened by Luis and two armed men and she realized what had happened.
She shuddered and tried to put those thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't get upset. Sonny's life was depending on her.
"Hi, Robin," the young voice said from across the table.
Carly looked up to see Michael leaning on the table, watching her.
"Whatcha doing?"
She smiled at his curiosity, happy for every few minutes she could get with her son. "I'm just looking up some information for your uncle Jason."
"Do you work for Daddy, too?"
"No, I'm just doing a favor for him."
"Lots of people do favors for Daddy."
Carly smile faded. He looked so innocent, she wondered how Michael would know such a thing. Had Sonny become so sloppy that he'd done business in the penthouse, or god forbid, around Michael? He had been fairly good about keeping the business away from the little boy, but even she had to admit, she hadn't exactly been diligent about it during their marriage.
Michael wandered around the table and sat in the chair next to her. "You look like my mommy."
She smiled again, albeit sadly. "I know. You said that last time I was here."
"My old mommy smiled like you do," he told her, smiling himself.
She looked at him in confusion. "Your old mommy?"
"Mommy left for a little while and when she came back, she was different. You sound like my old mommy too."
"How was she different?"
"Mommy and Daddy were getting divorced. She was sad all the time. She went to the island for a little while when she came back, she wasn't like before. She looked different and talked different. And she wasn't so sad anymore."
Carly wanted to cry. She wanted to wrap her arms around her precious child, hold him tight, and cry. "I guess getting away helped her," she said softly.
"I guess so."
Courtney's voice came down the stairs, calling Michael's name.
"Why don't you go see what Aunt Courtney wants."
"Okay." He hopped out of the chairs and ran towards the stairs. "Later, Robin!"
"Later," she whispered.
Carly's heart jumped in her throat. She didn't want to believe it, she didn't want to let herself believe it. But those innocent words had given her hope.
Maybe, just maybe, her little boy recognized her.
Chapter 19
Author: speedy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 17
Frisco was ready to shoot everyone in the room. Men were coming in and out of the safehouse, seemingly at will. What was going on, Frisco wasn't entirely sure. Jason had left for some time this morning and returned just to disappear into a back bedroom with several men. The others were following orders he was not aware of. What little paperwork they had was kept out of his sight and phone conversations in his earshot were lacking in details.
Jason was leaving him in the dark and it was pissing him off.
Jason emerged from the bedroom, cell phone in hand. He looked at Frisco, giving the agent an annoyed glare. He took a seat at the dining room table and stared blankly at the phone, as if willing it to ring somehow. He sat in silence for several minutes.
Stan, the organization's hacker Frisco presumed, rushed out of the bedroom and dropped a laptop in front of Jason, a laptop identical to the one he had given Carly to fix. "I got that information on..." Stan stopped abruptly, glancing at Frisco.
The look was just confirmation that the agent, the one guy trained to handle this kind of situation, was deliberately being keep out of the loop.
"Let me see," Jason said.
Frisco stepped next to the enforcer to get a look for himself, but the computer was moved away from his view. He exhaled sharply, his anger rising another notch. He shot each man in the room an authoritative glare, a look he'd learned well commanding missions for the WSB. "Out," he growled. They all glanced at Jason first, but exited obediently.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jason snapped, shutting the laptop angrily as he stood. "You don't give orders around here!"
"You want my help, you tell me the whole story," Frisco growled, getting in the young man's face. "You don't leave anything that might pertain to Sonny's disappearance out. You either trust me or I walk out of that door right now."
"I don't want your help, so go ahead and walk."
"No offense, but those guys out there are just muscle. They're the guys you want as back up when you go busting in, guns blazing. They're not the guys that are going to help you follow leads and get to the bottom of this mess."
"I can do it on my own, I don't need help from a fed."
"I'll be sure to tell Courtney and Carly that when I go back to the penthouse," Frisco said carefully, watching the young man's reaction. Jason avoided his gaze, remaining silent and as expressionless as always. "You've got no idea where Sonny is," he continued. "This is my job, this is what I am trained to do. You need my help, whether you want it or not."
The young man seemed to consider his words. Making a decision, he looked the agent in the eyes. "Sonny had a business meeting out of town yesterday. He never showed up at the airport. The pilot waited an hour, then called the penthouse looking for him. A Polaroid of Sonny tied up and beaten was delivered at the same time. Carly freaked out and called me. The picture came with a note, giving only a time and an address. I met with the kidnapper this morning."
"So? What's the deal?"
"We were trying to stop the flow of drugs into Port Charles. Our organization doesn't deal in drugs, we don't allow drugs into our territory. Mac asked us to track down where the XTC that Maxie overdosed on..."
Frisco's chest tightened in shock. "Overdosed?" he asked breathlessly. "Maxie OD'd?"
Jason suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "You didn't know," he said sympathetically.
"Do you know what happened?"
Jason shook his head. "Not really. She was at The Cellar when she took the pills and she passed out in front of me and Courtney. Tony Jones told Mac it was a bad batch."
Frisco felt like he'd just been stabbed in the heart. Tony, his own brother, knew and didn't tell him.
"She was only in the hospital for a few days. I know she talked to Courtney about some stuff, but that's all I know."
Frisco dropped into a chair, the information still sinking in. "Mac asked you to investigate?" he asked, disbelieving.
"He threw me up against a wall and ordered me to," Jason snorted.
That hurt, just the idea Mac would do such a thing, even though Frisco didn't want to admit it. It was ludicrous, but he knew the young man wasn't lying. "He went to the mob to track down the source," he said, his voice turning cold.
"Maybe he didn't think he could get a hold of you."
He let out bitter laugh. As if. A lot had changed in the ten years since Maxie's transplant. Mac saw himself as the girls' father and was no longer willing to go out of his way for Frisco. "He was a mercenary, Jason. He had contacts of his own he could've used. Hell, Donely's still consulting for the WSB. Mac had plenty of other avenues open to him."
Jason shrugged, his sympathy disappearing. "He was really pissed and I was there."
This was not a conversation Frisco wanted to have and certainly not who he wanted to have it with. "So you found the source of the drugs?" he asked, getting back to business.
"Yeah, we tracked them to Miami, to a guy named Javier. We confiscated a shipment he ran through on one of our piers right before he was killed. I found out today he's a lieutenant for Lorenzo Alcazar. That's who has Sonny. He wants the shipment back, in exchange for Sonny's life."
Frisco's blood ran cold. Alcazar involved with Corinthos and Morgan could not be a good sign for Carly. Lorenzo knew about his brother's hostage, which meant he probably knew about Charlotte. If he saw Carly in Port Charles... He didn't want to even think about it. The whole operation was now in jeopardy.
"You know anything about the Alcazars?"
He nodded absently, his mind mulling over this new twist. "I've had a few dealings with them. Lorenzo and I aren't on the best of terms." In fact, he'd kind of screwed over Lorenzo to get to Carly in the first place. He sighed. "What do you have on him?"
Jason opened the laptop and pushed it towards Frisco. "We have a list of the Alcazars' holdings. It's not very detailed, though. Stan's still working on it."
Frisco glanced at the screen. The names and addresses he saw were the thinly veiled. The list the WSB had was much longer and more detailed, and luckily he'd memorized much of it. "I know enough to fill in the necessary blanks. What tools do we have at our disposal?"
"All the muscle and fire power we need," the young man replied dumbly.
"That wasn't what I meant. Surveillance equipment, communications..."
"The organization has everything. I'll get whatever we need."
Jason's tone was unyielding. Obviously he didn't want Frisco to have that information and for all of Frisco's annoyance, he understood.
"Jones," Frisco answered tiredly.
"Hey, man. It's me."
He immediately recognized the young man's voice on the other end. Someone else in exile, living off the grid as a hacker, thanks to Faison. Theirs wasn't much of a social relationship, so phone calls were few and far between.
"To what do I owe this call, kid?"
"I got your disk."
"Disk?" Frisco asked, confused.
"Yeah, that infected hard drive image you sent me. Interesting stuff. It took me a little while to break through it."
Carly must've sent it, he said to himself. "Not my thing, but I'll pass the message on."
"How'd my dear Carly end up with this drive? I couldn't help noticing it's filled mob business. You two switch sides?"
"She's just doing a favor for someone. What's up with the virus?"
"It's not actually a virus. It's a pretty sophisticated echo program. Everything that went through that machine, every letter typed, every byte downloaded, it was all sent to an outside server."
"Can you track the server?"
"Already did. Some company in Venezuela. Consolidated Exports, headquartered in Caracas."
Frisco closed his eyes. He knew the name well. It was a front for the Alcazars. One that Luis had used to get Carly out of the country.
"Frisco, this thing isn't programmed to infect like a virus. Someone had to be there to install it directly on that computer and tweak the hardware."
"Thanks," he said, then hung up, effective cutting off any smart remark the kid had. He looked up at Stan, who was sitting nearby. "The stuff you collected on Alcazar, was there anything about Consolidated Exports?"
Stan clicked a few times on his laptop. "Just a mention of the name, nothing else."
Frisco dialed Carly's cell. He tapped his fingers on the table, waiting for her to answer. Stan was watching him intently, but trying to not be conspicuous about it.
"What?" Carly answered, snapping.
"I need you to look up something. Consolidated Exports."
"Fine."
"It'll be in the Alcazar files."
Carly's voice was shaky, all of the confidence gone. "Alcazar?"
"I need you to send it over with Johnny as soon as you find it. There's another guard on his way over to relieve Johnny. He should be there in a little while."
"Okay..."
"I trust you find exactly what I need to know."
He hoped she get his message. Since it was going through Jason and his people, it needed to be a strict need-to-know basis. He didn't want to give these guys any more information than he had to.
"You don't need to be here."
Charlotte's hateful voice woke a dozing Carly. She had finally finished fixing the laptop late in the night and fell asleep on the sofa, although she hadn't slept much. Only Michael had.
She sat up, pushing aside the light blanket covering her. "Frisco thinks otherwise."
"I couldn't care less what Frisco thinks. I don't want you here, Jason doesn't want you here and Sonny wouldn't want you here if he knew."
"Yeah, why don't we ask Sonny and Jason. I'm sure they'll be interested who you really are."
"Oh, I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back, staying away for all this time, right under their noses. Not to mention making nice with the WSB."
Carly snorted. "I have not made nice with the WSB. They saved my life, that's all."
"Uh huh. That's why you ended up married to the guy."
"Doesn't matter. It's not real. You and I both know that."
"Sonny and Jason don't. They were there to witness the blessed event."
"They'll know eventually. And then you'll be out on your ass."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. They're buying into this whole marriage charade. A few carefully placed words from me, they won't be so certain about you. And don't forget," she said, calculatingly rubbing her pregnant belly, "I'm the mother of Sonny's first child. That'll mean more to him than the whore that sold him out to the feds."
Carly let out a laugh. She obviously didn't know Sonny or his favorite word betrayal. "Don't bet the farm on that."
"Oh, come on, now! Sonny is in missing because of you! This is your fault!"
Carly had no idea what to make of that statement. How on earth Charlotte could twist the situation like that. "What are you talking about? I didn't kidnap him. Why don't you blame the guy that actually did?"
"You brought these people to Port Charles," Charlotte sneered. "You and that other homewrecking slut, Brenda."
The phone rang, going unnoticed for several rings. "What?" Carly answered, snapping as she still stared at her rival.
Frisco was on the other end. "I need you to look up something. Consolidated Exports."
Her reply was terse. "Fine."
"It'll be in my Alcazar files."
Carly's voice was shaky, all of the confidence gone. She couldn't have heard him right. It couldn't be possible... "Alcazar?"
"I need you to send it over with Johnny as soon as you find it. There's another guard on his way over to relieve Johnny. He should be there in a little while."
"Okay..."
"I trust you find exactly what I need to know."
Carly knew what he meant. No more, no less when it came to whatever was in those files. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself without losing her cool in front of Charlotte. At least now she had something to do again. "Got it." She hung up the phone and grinned deviously. "What do you know, I've got to go help Jason find Sonny. Why don't you run along and nest like a good little wifey."
Charlotte wasn't fazed. "Go ahead, help out all you want. Suck up to Sonny and Jason. It won't help you any in the end."
She walked upstairs, leaving Carly alone again. Carly mocked her former friend, sneering. "As if," she grumbled, walking back to the dining table. To hell with Charlotte, she had work to do.
Carly was digging through the pages of information Frisco had compiled on her captors. The WSB files on the Alcazars were huge, covering every area of organization in surprisingly great detail. Frisco's case files were more concise, focusing only on the information that related to her kidnapping.
It was through Consolidated Exports that Luis had gotten her out of the country, according to his notes. Just the name was bringing back horrible memories. The hollow bottom crate she had been packed in, unconscious; her confusion and fear when she awoke; her terror when the crate was opened by Luis and two armed men and she realized what had happened.
She shuddered and tried to put those thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't get upset. Sonny's life was depending on her.
"Hi, Robin," the young voice said from across the table.
Carly looked up to see Michael leaning on the table, watching her.
"Whatcha doing?"
She smiled at his curiosity, happy for every few minutes she could get with her son. "I'm just looking up some information for your uncle Jason."
"Do you work for Daddy, too?"
"No, I'm just doing a favor for him."
"Lots of people do favors for Daddy."
Carly smile faded. He looked so innocent, she wondered how Michael would know such a thing. Had Sonny become so sloppy that he'd done business in the penthouse, or god forbid, around Michael? He had been fairly good about keeping the business away from the little boy, but even she had to admit, she hadn't exactly been diligent about it during their marriage.
Michael wandered around the table and sat in the chair next to her. "You look like my mommy."
She smiled again, albeit sadly. "I know. You said that last time I was here."
"My old mommy smiled like you do," he told her, smiling himself.
She looked at him in confusion. "Your old mommy?"
"Mommy left for a little while and when she came back, she was different. You sound like my old mommy too."
"How was she different?"
"Mommy and Daddy were getting divorced. She was sad all the time. She went to the island for a little while when she came back, she wasn't like before. She looked different and talked different. And she wasn't so sad anymore."
Carly wanted to cry. She wanted to wrap her arms around her precious child, hold him tight, and cry. "I guess getting away helped her," she said softly.
"I guess so."
Courtney's voice came down the stairs, calling Michael's name.
"Why don't you go see what Aunt Courtney wants."
"Okay." He hopped out of the chairs and ran towards the stairs. "Later, Robin!"
"Later," she whispered.
Carly's heart jumped in her throat. She didn't want to believe it, she didn't want to let herself believe it. But those innocent words had given her hope.
Maybe, just maybe, her little boy recognized her.
Chapter 19
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