"At the Chandler mansion, Bianca discussed the incident regarding Miranda the previous night. Bianca was sad that kids could be so cruel. Bianca noted that she and her daughter had been dealing with the issue since Miranda had started school, and Bianca felt guilty that Miranda had to go through it.
Upstairs, AJ struggled to awaken Miranda. He tempted her with food, and she climbed from beneath the covers. His alarm sounded, and he said they needed to get going. Miranda, however, asserted that there was no way she was ever going to school again.
AJ went downstairs, and Bianca decided to go upstairs to talk to her daughter. After she left, Adam entered and said he'd been on the phone with the school principal. AJ assumed the principal had wanted his version of events from the previous evening, but Adam said that AJ had been suspended.
AJ was outraged by his punishment, and he couldn't believe his principal had his "head up his ass" in the aftermath of Miranda's devastation. Adam didn't disagree and was sure Hunter had deserved a thrashing. "But uh..." Adam started to say. AJ saw no buts about it because a punch in the face was all Hunter Morrison understood. AJ stalked off, raging about how Hunter and his gang got to skate on punishment. "The boy's got spirit," Adam uttered to himself.
Upstairs, Bianca entered AJ's room. Miranda sobbed, saying she was sorry, and she hadn't meant what she'd said earlier. Bianca readily hugged her daughter. Bianca said she understood why Miranda had blamed Bianca, but Miranda replied that she hadn't meant it. Still, Bianca stated that Miranda had to feel like, "Why did my mom have to be gay?"
In her childhood, Bianca had often wondered why her mother had had to be Erica Kane. Bianca had wanted a normal mother, one that would be so normal that no one would expect anything from Bianca. Miranda wished she could just disappear because no one liked her, and she didn't blame them because she didn't like herself at times, either. Bianca tried to say what a good friend, sibling, and daughter Miranda was, but Miranda said that, to the world, she was a total joke.
Bianca uttered that her daughter sounded just like Bianca had sounded at that age. Bianca recalled that people had pretended to be her friend, and she'd made tabloid headlines for being Erica Kane's gay daughter. Bianca confided that she'd been blackmailed, and the fear of being found out and losing her mother's love had been crushing.
Bianca explained that things had gotten better, and she'd gotten stronger. Miranda sobbed that she wasn't strong like her mother, and she couldn't go back and face the kids. Bianca replied that Miranda was strong, and not facing those people would mean letting them win. Miranda declared that they'd already won, and Miranda didn't want to give them another chance to make her feel worse.
Bianca suggested that they give it a few days, but Miranda begged her mother to send her to Bramwell -- or Siberia. Miranda preferred home schooling over going back to her own school.
Just then, AJ entered, complaining about his school suspension. Bianca left to talk to Adam about it, and Miranda guessed AJ hated her for the development. He said he couldn't hate her, and it wasn't her fault. AJ vowed that he'd do it all over again if Hunter got out of line.
Miranda remarked that she wouldn't have to see Hunter again. She told AJ that she was trying to get her mother to transfer her to Bramwell. AJ replied that she couldn't do that because they did everything together, and he'd look like "hell" in a plaid skirt. Laughing, Miranda threw her arms around him and proclaimed that she "loved, loved, loved" him.
In JR's hospital room, Joe entered and noted that Dixie had spent the night at her son's bedside. He gave her some coffee and asked if she'd heard from Tad. She relayed that Tad had been incommunicado since he'd gone on his assignment. She'd known it would be that way, but she missed Tad and had hoped she would hear from him.
Dixie had hoped that she and Tad would have been married and raising Kathy together by then. Instead, Dixie had been staring at the stars for all that time while he was off "God knows where" on assignment. Joe said she could always lean on him and Ruth. Dixie wished something good would happen, and she swore she wouldn't give up on JR.
Later, Dixie, who'd stepped out of JR's room, returned and saw Adam in the room, talking to JR. She was mortified upon hearing Adam say that he'd put Brooke in charge of the business, something he would have done regardless of JR being in the hospital. Adam called JR a drunk and the disappointment of Adam's life. Dixie admonished Adam for daring to speak to JR that way.
Adam stated that JR had hurt a lot of people. Dixie said she knew that, and she grieved it each day. She asserted that JR had struggled to overcome a lot, including overcoming Adam. She questioned whether Adam had the heart to show some kindness to their son.
Dixie said that JR had been a victim that night, and the man who'd shot JR was out of prison. Adam was shocked that David was back in Pine Valley. Dixie added that David had been there with his hands around JR's throat. Adam feared that David would go after AJ. "And to hell with JR?" Dixie asked.
Adam exclaimed that JR had hurt people and bankrupted Adam's company. Dixie asked Adam to stop worrying about his blessed company and remember that his son was his pride and joy. She asked that Adam rise above his own loss and tell JR that Adam missed JR and loved him.
Leaning over the sleeping JR, Adam said that he loved JR and always would. Dixie thanked Adam, and they left the room. "Dad..." JR groggily uttered after they had gone.
At Bramwell Hall, Brooke arrived in Celia's room to return something Celia had left at the mansion. Brooke was floored upon seeing all the flowers in the room. The beaming Celia said that Pete had sent them, and Brooke concluded that he was smitten.
Celia confided that she and Pete had been on a real date, but she asked that Brooke not tell anyone. Celia was glowing as she described how wonderful Pete was. Brooke agreed that Pete was great, but she wondered how Celia's guardian would feel about the development. Celia claimed that she was happy, and she didn't care what he thought.
At Jane's addiction, Pete introduced Jane to Dylan Wilder, "one of the best coders in the West." Shaking Jane's hand, Dylan corrected that he was the best one the planet. The men sat at a table, and Dylan said that Lizette would be upset that Pete wasn't going to Lake Tahoe. Pete figured she wouldn't be alone for long. Jane got the men some coffee, and Dylan flirted with her.
After Jane left, Pete joked that Dylan wasn't mature enough for a woman like her. Dylan wondered who Pete was hooking up with -- if it wasn't Jane. As Dylan pried Pete for details, Pete spotted Celia outside and excused himself from the table.
Outside, Pete greeted Celia, and they chatted about their previous date. He asked if he could give her the surprise he had for her over dinner that night, and Celia said it would be better if she met up him somewhere other than the school. They agreed to meet back at Jane's in a few hours. Pete tried to touch her hair, but Celia shyly backed away and took off.
Pete returned inside, and Dylan ribbed Pete about picking a young one. Unbeknownst to them, Celia entered the café and could hear them talking. Dylan joked that Celia had been blushing when Pete had spoken to her. Dylan assumed Pete intended to take Celia's "V-card" and send her on her way.
Celia left in a huff before she could hear Pete reply that Dylan was off-base. Pete confided that he really liked the girl. There was something about her, and Pete hadn't ever met anyone like her.
Later, Pete was alone when Jane poured him more coffee. He wondered to himself if he'd just been stood up. Back at Bramwell, Celia threw Pete's flowers in the trash. Her phone rang. Pete's number flashed on the caller-ID, and Celia grimaced.
At Jesse's house, Jesse informed Zach that he'd contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the human trafficking, but the organization had no information on the Koslovs. Zach had learned that he and Jesse were probably dealing with Koslov's son, who'd newly minted himself as an "entrepreneur." The son was new to the scene, and Jesse figured that would make Cassandra even harder to find.
Jesse decided he needed to get all the information he could on missing girls in the area. He hoped that finding them would lead to locating his daughter. Zach said he was going to check out a lead that he hoped might shake the snake from under its rock, and he promised Jesse that they'd find Cassandra.
Later, Jesse met with a woman and questioned her about her daughter's disappearance. Her daughter's name was Alicia, and she'd been recruited by a modeling agency in New York. Alicia had been missing for five months, and the woman blamed herself for not checking up on the agency. The mother said that she stayed awake at night, wondering if she'd ever see her daughter again. Jesse cupped the woman's hand and looked as if he understood the feeling.
Jesse and Zach met up in the park, and Jesse shared that he'd learned that some of the missing girls in the area had disappeared after answering ads to work in New York, Paris, and even Switzerland. One girl had disappeared after meeting a man for coffee. "So much for a pattern," Zach replied.
Zach's source had told him that the mob put the stolen girls to work locally, servicing clients. He'd learned that the mob used booze and drugs to keep the girls from running, and once the girls were "ready," they were shipped around the world. Zach said the process could take mere days, and Jesse grew worried that if they didn't find Cassandra soon, she'd be lost forever.
At an unknown location, Vlad threw a breakfast sandwich at Cassandra, and she threw it right back at him. He was about to hit her again when he heard another door close. He locked Cassandra in her room and went into the corridor in time to see his boss, Yuri, ambling his way. Vlad asked what Yuri was doing down there, and Yuri replied that he was about to ask Vlad the same thing.
Yuri had noticed that Vlad had been taking food there a few times a day, and Yuri guessed that there was a girl in the room behind Vlad. Vlad claimed the girl was trouble, and Yuri guessed Vlad wanted to teach her a lesson. Vlad insisted that she wasn't like the others; however, Yuri asserted that she was like the others and needed to be with the others. "You don't touch the merchandise. Is that clear?" Yuri asked, menacingly adding, "Do it again, and you're a dead man."
Yuri went into Cassandra's holding room and softly said she had to be hungry. Cassandra fearfully shook her head, and Yuri said he apologized for Vlad. Cassandra begged Yuri to let her go home, but he said it would be very upsetting for her family to see her in her condition. He called her a beautiful girl and offered her some pills to help the pain.
Cassandra shook her head, but Yuri reasoned that they needed to trust each other. He offered to remove her handcuffs if she agreed not to do anything silly. She nodded, and he removed the cuffs. He remarked that trust was a beautiful thing, and he could help her and take care of her if she let him. He gave her a pill. She took it and washed it down with water.
Yuri went to the corridor, where Vlad was waiting. Yuri was enraged that Vlad had roughed up Cassandra. Vlad said the customers did it all the time; however, Yuri replied that the customers could do what they wanted. Striking Vlad, Yuri said Vlad would regret hitting her again.
Yuri explained that they'd planned to ship Cassandra out that night, but because of Vlad, they had to wait until the bruises healed. Vlad replied that they'd ship out more girls the following week. Yuri warned that Cassandra had better be ready. Handing Vlad the pill bottle, Yuri said to get her hooked, and she'd do anything they wanted.
Back in the room, Cassandra seemed jittery, and the room was spinning."
- Chanel S. Garner
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