""I can't swallow," Donald said, completely panicked. "My tongue is swollen!" Vanessa turned to her son and demanded he stop his sadistic game. "He knows the deal," said David of the dying writer. The deal, of course, being an exchange of information for the proper antidote.
"This is monstrous!" Vanessa shrieked. "I hope he dies more nobly than he lived," David said with a smirk. While Vanessa might not have wanted Donald to talk, the author was all too willing to blab her dirty secrets in order to save his life. So anxious was Donald that he spouted off his confession before David had the video camera rolling.
Once the camera was on and filming, Donald admitted that Vanessa had stolen the pictures of Erica's scarred face from David's office. Donald also stated that he'd sold the pictures to Jerry Reeves, but he swore that he'd had no idea that Jerry would do something sinister with them. His heart poured out on a small videocassette, Donald mistakenly thought his ordeal was over. David pulled a syringe and a vial of liquid from his pocket. He handed them to Vanessa and informed her that she was going to play doctor. It was sort of a "take your mother to work day" kind of concept, David chortled.
Vanessa continued to panic. Unbeknownst to Donald, the woman who was to be his savior had a deep-rooted fear of needles. Following David's instructions, Vanessa inserted the syringe into the vial and extracted some of the antidote. When it was time for her to actually inject Donald, Vanessa's hands trembled more and more. David announced that Donald had less than thirty seconds to live and began a launch-like countdown starting at ten seconds.
Vanessa fumbled the needle, and David's countdown his zero. "Time's up, Donald. You're a dead man," David cackled. Donald suddenly collapsed on the bed. Vanessa's panic spun into overdrive. She looked at David, her eyes wide, and asked if Donald was really dead. David urged her to check his pulse.
As she did, Donald suddenly jumped up -- he was amazed to be alive. David burst into hysterical laughter and mocked the pair for having believed that he'd poisoned the pâté. Donald was furious with the doctor. "You're gonna pay for this," he said arrogantly. He was quickly knocked down a few pegs when David reminded him of his videotaped confession. Selling stolen goods, he noted, was a crime.
Defeated, Donald turned and raced out of the room. Vanessa made light of the situation, saying that Donald's stay at the mental institution would be "much longer this time." David warned her not to be too smug because she could face jail time as well. Vanessa bowed her head and asked David if he would really send her to jail.
Surprisingly, David admitted that he didn't want to see his mother rot in a jail cell. Instead, he said that he could show the videotape to Palmer any time he wanted to. But he said that he would only do so if Vanessa crossed Erica again.
Her head buried in the sofa, Gillian sobbed as the impact of Dimitri's death continued to set in. Jake returned to the boarding house and asked Gillian if she was okay. He assumed that her saddened state was the result of another run-in with Ryan. Gillian embraced Jake as tears continued to roll down her cheek. "It's not Ryan," she said softly, "it's Dimitri -- he's dead."
The news caught Jake by surprise, and he was unable to say anything to comfort the sobbing princess. Gillian recalled one of her fondest memories of growing up and the role Dimitri had played in it. Shortly after her eighth birthday, Gillian's parents had thrown a formal party. Because of her age, Gillian had been "banished to [her] nursery." Dimitri, in his formal attire, had entered her room and asked her for the first dance.
Gillian sighed slightly and said that Dimitri had made her feel like a princess. "I had a title, but I never felt like a real princess," she sniffled. Realizing it wasn't the best time to tell her, Jake informed Gillian that he would be out of town at a medical seminar and that afterwards he was going to visit his sister Tara and brother Jeff. He offered to cut the trip short, but Gillian told him that he should cherish every moment he could spend with his family. Gillian took a deep breath and headed for the phone. It was time to phone Eugenia and tell her the bad news.
Still shaken from the events that had transpired in her hotel room, Vanessa raced to Palmer's room to give him a goodbye present. Palmer noticed that his friend was upset and asked her to explain what had happened. Vanessa sat down on the couch in Palmer's suite and proceeded to tell him what had happened -- her version. She said that Donald had approached her and that he'd claimed to have additional dirt on Erica. To pay the writer off, Vanessa had said that she'd managed to convince her son to cough up the money to protect Erica.
After the money changed hands, Vanessa said that she'd done something "very unladylike." That, according to her, was threatening to tear off Donald's head and stuff it down his "scrawny neck" if he ever showed his face in Pine Valley again. Palmer was touched by Vanessa's devotion for Erica but mused that he never wanted to get on her bad side. Palmer said that he was having trouble packing his bags for his cruise. Vanessa stepped forward and helped the mogul, saying that women were much better suited for things like packing. In a matter of seconds, Palmer's luggage was ready to go.
Palmer reached out and took hold of Vanessa's hands. He carefully took a tie that he had been holding and tied it around Vanessa's wrists. He smiled devilishly and asked Vanessa if she'd like to join him on the cruise. Vanessa played coy and said that she didn't want Palmer to think that she was materialistic. In the end, though, she smiled broadly and told Palmer that she'd love to spend more time with him.
Brooke escorted Alexandra to the hunting lodge. Once inside, Alexandra showed the first flashes of sorrow. She inhaled the aroma of Dimitri's favorite cigars and smiled fondly at a picture of Dimitri riding his horse, Maximillian. Her voice cracked when she recalled one of her dates with Dimitri. She said that they'd taken a ride on a carousel and later dined on fish and chips.
Seeing Alex's pain, Brooke wondered if she'd done the wrong thing by taking Alex to the lodge. Alexandra shook her head and said that she wanted to be at the lodge because it was the place that Dimitri had felt most at home. Alexandra said that she felt obligated to try to help Edmund deal with his loss, but Brooke said that she didn't think anyone could truly help Edmund handle his grief. The familiarity in Brooke's voice led Alexandra to the conclusion that she and Edmund had once been lovers. Brooke nodded but said that that had been "a whole other lifetime." Maria, she explained, was Edmund's true love.
Alexandra wondered if Edmund would ever understand why she'd ruled against an autopsy. Discovering why Dimitri died, she said, would not lessen the pain. Brooke agreed that that was true, but she said that knowing what had gone wrong was a "trade-off." She looked at Alexandra as she sipped a cup of tea and mentioned that she had to feel "cheated" to have lost her husband so early into their marriage. "You go where life leads you," Alexandra replied meekly.
Brooke's journalist side kicked in, and she fired off a barrage of questions, asking Alex how she and Dimitri had met and how long they'd known one another. Alex laughed slightly and warned Brooke that her romance with Dimitri had hardly been love at first sight. On their first date, Alexandra said that she and Dimitri had gotten into their first fight -- a fight over mutton, of all things. Dimitri wasn't fond of leg of lamb, but the dish was one of Alex's favorites. His opposition to lamb had prompted her to order a double portion and to eat it very, very slowly.
Brooke informed Alex that she was also fond of leg of lamb and asked Alex to give her the name of the restaurant so that she could dine there the next time she was in London. "Simpson's on the Strand," Alex replied with a smile. Brooke laughed slightly and said that she'd just eaten there a few days before while in London. The announcement seemed to trouble Alex.
A knock sounded on the door, and Brooke quickly raced to answer the door. A messenger had dropped by with a package for Mrs. Marick. Alex slowly opened the package and found a beautiful wooden music box. She opened the lid and listened to the tune as she read the enclosed card: "Come grow old with me. The best is yet to come."
A lone tear cascaded off of Alex's cheek as she slammed shut the lid of the music box. She told herself that she could not be overcome by her emotions, or she would not be able to do what she had to do. Brooke assumed that Alex was referring to planning the memorial and offered to lend a hand. Alex thanked Brooke for her generosity and then excused herself to answer the phone.
Alex referred to the person on the other end as "Sean" and asked Brooke if she could have some privacy to talk to her friend. Brooke nodded her head and went on her way. Once alone, Alex told Sean that Dimitri had had another attack, one that had been much worse that any he'd had before. "I had to make a life-and-death decision," she said resolutely.
In the Marick family crypt, Edmund recalled some of the many emotions he had shared with his brother -- from the time he'd first informed a bitter Dimitri that they were brothers, to the moment when Dimitri had first accepted him as his brother, to the toast that Dimitri had made to Edmund and Maria on their wedding day. Edmund placed his head on Dimitri's coffin and burst into tears. Jack watched quietly from the entranceway. He thought about leaving Edmund alone to grieve, but he ultimately decided that he should not desert his friend.
Jack shook his head and said that he had no idea how Edmund had managed to stay pieced together. Edmund confessed that it wasn't easy and said that he had to remain composed for his children's sake. "His death was so sudden," Edmund said in disbelief. The abruptness of Dimitri's death made Edmund question Alex's account of how Dimitri had died. The fact that she'd blocked his request for an autopsy didn't make things any clearer. "I'd bet my life that there is more to this story than she is letting on," he said.
Brooke arrived moments later, and she and Edmund embraced. Unexpectedly, Edmund burst into laughter. He asked Brooke if she remembered how he'd convinced Dimitri to shoot him a few New Year's Eves before. Of course the gun had been filled with blanks, but Dimitri hadn't known that. Edmund said that he kept hoping that Dimitri would suddenly pop out of his coffin and announce that his death had just been a joke to even the score.
Brooke told Edmund that she'd taken Alexandra to the hunting lodge. Edmund turned his back and walked slowly away. Something that Brooke had said had made Edmund further suspect Alex's story. Brooke said that Alex had referred to the lodge as the place where Dimitri had felt most at home. Edmund mentioned that Alex had told him a similar story at the airport -- but she'd told him that Dimitri had thought of Vadzel as his home.
Brooke told Edmund that he was making too much of things, but Edmund didn't think so. He said that the discrepancy showed that Alex's story has holes in it. Jack thought it best that they all return to the main house. Brooke concurred, but Edmund said that he wanted some more time alone with his brother. Naturally, Jack and Brooke respected his request. As they left, they closed the door behind them.
Almost immediately, Edmund popped open the hinges that held the casket lid in place. He was surprised to see that the coffin had already been sealed. He stepped outside and plucked a handheld shovel from the ground and returned to the crypt. He used the small spade to pry opened the sealed coffin. Suddenly, Alexandra appeared in the doorway and ordered him to "stop it right there!""
- Soap Central