""Nice try," Braden said with an approving grin. "Ryan would never make a move like this." Kit shook her head, her face displaying a look of concern. Kit informed Braden that Ryan had confessed---in front of his own lawyer! Braden was in disbelief. "There was no rape and you know it!" he shouted, his nose just a few inches from Kit's. Kit seemed relieved that Ryan had finally told the truth, but Braden argued that Kit wouldn't know the truth if it "spit [her] in the face." His words were laced with poison. Kit stepped back to get away from the man, but Braden continued to step towards her. Braden had Kit pinned against the desk before he broke off his stance and left the office. A stream of tears rolled down Kit's cheek as she shook in fear.
"Do you understand what I said?" asked Ryan angrily. Gillian stood in awed silence. "You did not rape anyone," she replied, words finally returning to her. Gillian assumed that Ryan was trying to "make [her] go away" and that spouting thus horrible lie was the only way he could think of to accomplish his goal. Gillian promised not to bother Ryan again, but she wanted him to promise that he'd stop lying about the rape. "You're dumber than I thought," snapped Ryan. "You've been had. I married you for your money and because you were a good time in the sack." He then ordered Gillian to scram while she still could. Gillian froze, unable to say anything. Trevor and Hayley filed in a few seconds later. Fresh from Jack's office, Trevor touted the deal he'd made with Jack as Ryan's chance to escape a life sentence. Gillian grabbed on to the cell bars and shook violently. Had she been able to reach Ryan, she might have done the same to him. The princess pleaded with her husband not to make a mistake by confessing to a crime he hadn't committed. Trevor cast a glance at Hayley and asked her to get Gillian out of the cell block. Hayley agreed, but Gillian shouted and fussed all the way. After the women left, Trevor told his client that he has three options. The first was to accept the deal and face five to ten years in prison. The second was to stand by his confession, but nix the deal. That would result in about twenty-five years to life in a state penitentiary. The third, which Trevor seemed to be leaning towards, was scrapping the confession and heading to court. The attorney didn't expect nor did he want an immediate answer. He wanted Ryan to think about the choice that would influence the rest of his life. Alone, Ryan was unable to think of anything but Gillian. He remembered falling in love and making love to the woman he still cares about.
Adrian placed a few calls to some of his government contacts. His calls landed him a teleconference with the Governor of Delaware. Through talking to the governor, Adrian was able to learn more---or less---about the mysterious Braden. Sometime before he'd been hired by Palmer, Braden had "incorporated" himself. In effect, Braden wasn't a single man, he was a corporate empire. Like Adam has done with his many corporate takeovers, Braden used false names and multiple layers to hide his true identity. Adrian returned to the parlor and found Tad and Dixie engaging in a little undercover action of their own. With a smile, Adrian commented that he now knew why Tad hung up his private eye hat; he was unable to keep his mind on his work. Dixie hid a big smile as Tad asked his half-brother what their next course of action should be. The two men decided to head to Braden's room at The Valley Inn to look for more dirt. Shortly after they left, Braden slipped into Cortlandt Manor through a back door. He nearly caught Dixie rummaging through the files they'd gathered on Braden. Braden was distraught and he was definitely not the confident, composed man she'd been used to seeing. Dixie managed to get Braden to open up. He said that he'd had a horrible childhood and that his life had finally gotten to a point where he was happy with himself. Now, however, Braden feared that everything he'd worked for was going to fall apart. "He's trying to help me," Braden bubbled unintelligibly. He added that his whole life was about to go "down the drain because he's trying to do me a favor." Dixie looked on in a mix of curiosity of fear. She suggested that Braden should be thankful that someone was trying to help him. She gingerly pressed for more information, but Braden was no longer willing to part with anything from his private life. He chuckled strangely and told Dixie that he'd gotten over his momentary sorrow. He thanked Dixie for listening and walked towards the front door. He paused momentarily, fighting an urge to tell Dixie more of the story. He shook his head, opened the door, and walked away.
Gillian pulled a stool up to the bar at The Valley Inn. She ordered a martini, but her ordered was vetoed. Hayley poked her head over Gillian's shoulder and informed the bartender that the order should have been for two mineral waters. She escorted Gillian to a table. Once seated, Gillian pointedly, "This is a bar. You're not supposed to be here." Hayley pursed her lips together and explained that as long as she wasn't having a drink, she was permitted to be in the bar. She went on to say that she cared about Gillian as a friend and that she didn't want to have to lug a drunken princess back to Myrtle's boarding house. Gillian bowed her head slightly and remarked that she never had a friend before. "Behind each cloud there's a silver filling," Hayley smiled. Gillian sighed and corrected Hayley. "Silver lining." Hayley's eyes lit up and a big smile crept over her face. "See!" she chirped. "And they said you don't know English."
Tad's attempts to pick the lock on Braden's door fell flat. The hotel had instituted a lock system that used credit card-like keys to enter a room. Adrian smiled proudly and produced a little gadget he'd invented in his basement. He placed it into the lock and, sure enough, the door popped open. Once inside, Tad hit the closer and Adrian looked under the bed for clues to Braden's true identity. Tad found nothing, but Adrian found a suitcase full of curiosities. The bag contained volumes and volumes of poetry. The two men read over several underlined passages, but nothing seemed to offer any help to their investigation. They put everything back the way they'd found it and decided to call it a night. Tad asked Adrian if he wanted a ride back to Cortlandt Manor, which he affectionately called "The Bat Cave." Adrian shook his head, saying that he had to tend to some business of his own.
Jack walked towards Erica's hospital room, but he was intercepted by Dimitri who'd been standing guard. Dimitri told Jack that he didn't think it was wise for him to visit Erica considering the heartache that he'd caused Erica. Janet and Opal slowly walked over to the two men and urged them not to get into a shouting match outside of Erica's room. Jack worried that the trio was keeping something from him. Opal and Janet took turns telling Jack about Erica's numerous injuries. Both struggled to find the words to tell Jack about Erica's facial injuries. Dimitri warned Jack that Erica was not to know about the extent of her injuries until Dr. Hayward felt the time was right. Dimitri accompanied Jack into Erica's room. Jack looked at the bandaged patient and nearly broke into tears. Still groggy from her sleep, Erica smiled warmly when she saw Jack. Jack apologized for not having dropped by sooner. Erica looked towards Dimitri and commented that his "wall of silence" must be working. The wall she mentioned was the term they'd developed to refer to the secrecy surrounding her hospitalization. Jack was somewhat miffed that Erica hadn't phoned Travis or Bianca to tell them about the accident. He worried that the media would find out about the accident and that they---especially Bianca---would find out from someone other than Erica. Janet and Opal filed into the room just as Jack was dialing Bianca's number. Dimitri was upset with Jack for going against Erica's wishes, but Erica agreed that Bianca should hear the news firsthand. Erica was a real trooper. She listened carefully as Bianca bragged that she was trying out for the spring play and that she'd gained two more pounds. Erica offered words of encouragement to her daughter before getting to the real reason she'd called. Erica informed her daughter that she'd been in "a little fender bender" and landed in the hospital. Bianca became upset and asked if she could stop by for a visit. Erica assured the young girl that she was fine and that there was no cause for alarm. Janet, Opal, Dimitri, all exchanged glances. Erica fully believed that she was telling the truth---only they knew that things were much worse than Erica suspected. They decided that it was time to leave, but Erica asked to speak to Jack for a few minutes in private. She thanked him for visiting her and for helping her realize that Bianca deserved to know about the accident. Jack left the room. He was still very much overcome by emotions. After Erica's friends headed to their homes, Dr. Weiss and a nurse appeared in the corridor outside Erica's room. The plastic surgeon informed the nurse that he needed to remove Erica's bandages to check the extent of her injuries. He urged her not to show any type of emotion when the bandages came off. The nurse nodded and they headed into the room. Unfortunately, the nurse was unable to keep to her promise. Dr. Weiss removed the blood soaked bandages and placed them on the hospital table. The nurse's mouth quivered as she looked at Erica's wounded face. She looked away for several seconds to regain her composure. Erica hadn't observed the nurse's reaction. She smiled slightly and asked if she could have a mirror so that she could take a look at herself."
- Soap Central