Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 225,940 times)

[Kpatch]

I think Nan needs to ask Steve what he charges. He doesn't work for free unless he's making an exception. I agree with Nan that they have enough on their plate without dealing with the Kenneth situation right now.

[heroicmuse]

Week 443 - 2
Jennifer slipped back into her seat next to Daniel. “Did I miss anything good?”

“Victor’s generosity apparently knew no bounds,” Daniel whispered back. “But he couldn’t resist pitting brother against brother. Sonny got three times as much as each of his brothers.”

Jennifer glanced across the room, where Sonny was saying to his brothers, “Look, you know I didn’t ask him to do that. But I’m sure it wasn’t a deliberate slight.”

“Nah,” Alex said. bitterly “Uncle Vic favoring you over us? He’d never do that.”

“And to think I was named after him!” Vic said. “I guess I should ask Dad about legally changing my name.”

“Guys - “ Sonny began.

Will interrupted, “Stop being petty. Look, maybe it seems unfair, but the fact is, Sonny and I have a child together.”

“So?” Alex said.

“So, raising a kid isn’t exactly cheap. TSonny and I need the money more than you do.”

“Bull!” Alex said.

“Yeah,” Vic agreed. “If he wanted to be fair…”

“...he’d have given us each the same amount,” Jodi said.

“I’d understand if he gave the three of you more than me,” Alex said. “He probably liked your mother better than mine.”

“Not exactly,” Justin said, coming over, “and don’t forget that Adrienne and I are still separated and probably are going to end up divorced.” He rubbed his temples. “Although… maybe she can talk some sense into some of you. Maybe that was Uncle Vic’s plan all along, to get her and me talking again.”

“I don’t think so,” Sonny said. He crossed his arms. “How about I give you guys some of my inheritance to make it even”

“That won’t help,” Vic said. “It’s the…”

“...principle of the matter,” Jodi finished.

“Speak for yourselves,” Alex said. “If Sonny here is offering free money, I’m not turning it down.”

Will rolled his eyes and Sonny could tell that he was upset.


Meanwhile, Shawn tiptoed into the room and signaled to Belle to come with him. She followed him into the foyer.

“What’s up?” she whispered.

“I just got a call from the 911 dispatcher,” Shawn said. “I need to head down to juvenile hall. Hopefully, this won’t take long.”

Belle frowned. “Juvenile hall? It’s not dangerous, is it?”

Shawn smiled, but Belle knew him well enough to know he was putting on a good face for her benefit. “No, nothing like that. I have to question a girl who landed in solitary for committing a new crime, that’s all.”

“And you have to do that on your day off? Why can’t Rafe - “

Shawn sighed. “This suspect won’t talk to anyone but me. Look, this is more of a nuisance than anything else. I will be back and hopefully, the will reading will be over so we can start celebrating Claire’s birthday a day early.”

“Better be,” Belle agreed. “This weekend was supposed to be perfect for her.”

“It will be,” Shawn promised. He kissed Belle and walked off. She watched him go, concern in her eyes.


At Julie’s, Claire walked into the room just as Vicki and Kenneth were hanging a banner that said HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN CLAIRE!!!

“That should say ‘Claire and Vicki,’” Claire said.

“It should not,” Vicki said, “because it’s your party. I told you, all I want for my birthday is peace and quiet.”

“You really don’t want to do anything to celebrate?” Kenneth asked her. “You only turn sixteen once, you know.” He smiled sadly. “You know, if Daddy were here he’d be going all out for you whether you wanted it or not.”

“He would do no such thing,” Vicki said, “because he understood how I am. Besides, he’s not here so there’s no point to this discussion.”

“Julie wants to bake cupcakes for both of us,” Claire said. “Can’t you at least let us do that much?”

Vicki looked away, embarrassed. “I guess,” she said, “but you’d better not sing happy birthday to me.”

“Vicki!” Kenneth said. “You think you could act a little less ungrateful?”

“I’m not being ungrateful!” Vicki said. “I just don’t like a fuss made out of me, that’s all. How would you like it if you came home and Mama threw you and Hannah a wedding without permission?”

Kenneth snickered. “That’s a little different,” he said. He frowned. “Wait… Mom didn’t make any plans to throw a bridal shower or anything, did she?”

“Not that I know of,” Vicki said, “but she was being all secretive before. I heard her and Uncle Malcolm whispering about you but they wouldn’t tell me a thing and I was real close to getting grounded for eavesdropping so I had to drop it.”

Kenneth scowled. “You must have heard wrong,” he said.. “I hope, anyway. I wouldn’t put it past Mom, but Uncle Malcolm wouldn’t help her with something like this.” He sighed. “We’d better go find Hannah. Come on.”

“Can’t I hang out with Claire?” Vicki asked. “I don’t want to be all in your business.”

“Fine.” Kenneth nodded at Claire. “I’m trusting you to keep her out of trouble. We already caught her making plans to go away for the weekend with Theo without permission. She starts anything like that, you come tell me.” He hurried off without waiting for an answer.

“That was weird,” Claire said.

“Ken’s mad about the Theo thing,” Vicki said. “He’ll get over it. Come on, let’s take a little break and have some candy.”


Eve was scrolling through her comments on PalPage. “Look how many people responded to our little wedding announcement.”

“Your announcement, you mean,” Eric said. He sighed. “I wasn’t going to bring this up, because it’s a very minor thing in the scheme of things, but I am a far more private person than you are and I prefer not to announce major personal news via social media.”

Eve reached for his hand. “And here I am announcing it to the whole world. Though you’d think my sister would have bothered to respond.”

“Don’t take it personally. You know how Theresa is. She’ll probably assume we take it for granted that she’s coming and just show up without a word beforehand.” Eric frowned. “Though come to think of it, I haven’t heard from her in a while either, and usually she’s second in line behind Sami to give me her opinion of how I should live my life.”

Eve put her hands to her mouth. “You don’t think… no, wait, I remember now. She was going to visit that cousin of hers, Steve and Kayla’s girl. What’s her name, Stephanie? And if that isn’t keeping her busy enough, Kimberly’s on the West Coast too, and it would be jus like her to pop in for an uninvited visit.”

“That does sound like Aunt Kim,” Eric agreed. “But still, I think I’ll call Stephanie and make sure everything’s all right.”

Eve paled. “You don’t seriously think…”

“No, but you never can be too careful. Be right back.” Eric patted Eve’s hand and walked off.

Eve’s DM notification buzzed. She flinched, then turned and read it, her eyes widening. “This is not what I need right before my wedding,” she said to herself, scowling.

[sevenna92]

Huh, I didn't realize that Justin and Adrienne were having maritial troubles. I don't remember if that's been mentioned before. Also why is Joseph called "Jodi" in this story? Is that a nickname or something?

I wonder what Shawn is going to do with the Joy situation.

I wonder if the DM Eve got might have possibly something to do with Theresa.

[André DiMera]

It’s sad that what Victor gave Sonny is causing he and his brothers to fight.

Hopefully things go well for Shawn at juvie. It’s good that he’s going down there for Joy.

It’s interesting that Vicki brought up what little she overheard from Nan and Malcolm. I wonder if Kenneth will look into it.

It makes sense that Eve is concerned about not hearing from Theresa after the engagement announcement. Wonder what that DM was.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Jun 6, 2023 9:11:25 GMT -5 sevenna92 said:

Huh, I didn't realize that Justin and Adrienne were having maritial troubles. I don't remember if that's been mentioned before. Also why is Joseph called "Jodi" in this story? Is that a nickname or something?

When Justin first returned a few years ago, Adrienne was angry he'd been gone so long and didn't want anything to do with him. She left town shortly after and hasn't been seen since.

We already have a Joey, so to avoid confusion I did the same thing André DiMera did in his story and used the nickname Jodi for Sonny's brother.

[Kpatch]

I wish Eve would have acknowledged Eric's comment about being private and not wishing to announce his personal business on social media. I hope she's more sensitive in the future.

Victor can have his favorites. Sonny has been in Victor's life more than the other great nephews who have lived elsewhere. I don't agree with Will's rationale though. So, if they had 7 children, should Victor have given them 7 times the amount? No. It's Will's responsibility to provide for his daughter, not Victor's.

[heroicmuse]

Week 443 - 3
“I’m not exactly sure,” Nicole said to Sally. “I mean, my usual MO is to run off half-cocked, get myself into a lot of trouble, and accomplish nothing significant, but I’m doing this for JJ and Paige so I have to actually act like an adult.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Sally said. “Sometimes you get good results jumping first and looking second, though it did make it harder back in the day to get JJ to take his time when you were doing the same things he was.”

“Touche,” Nicole said. “Seriously, though, since I want to be a grown-up about this… I guess I should tell Rafe and let him take it from here.”

“Good idea,” Sally said. “In the meantime, I’ll do some digging to try to find out where this Rachel/Kristen person is so you have some idea about your next move.”

“Actually,” Nicole said, “maybe you could take Allison and pay Eduardo a visit. We need to try to get some proof he’s being drugged so we can put a stop to it. Once we’ve neutralized this little plan of Kristen’s, she’ll probably be mad enough to pop back up from whatever netherworld she’s been hiding in.”

Sally frowned. “I thought you were calling Rafe. Do that first and let’s see what he thinks about any of the rest of it.”

“Fine,” Nicole said, “but I did promise JJ I would expose what someone’s doing to Paige’s father, and I will do that one way or the other.” She picked up her phone.


Chanel and Jeremy had gone to the frozen yogurt stand at the Square and now they were sitting and eating their yogurts together.

“This isn’t exactly the library,” Chanel said.

“No, I know,” Jeremy said, “but we need proper fuel if we’re going to crack the books.” He smiled slightly as he handed Chanel her container of mint chocolate chip yogurt. “I doubt you need much studying time anyway,” he said. “I bet if I quizzed you, you’d get every question right without blinking an eye.”

“Don’t be putting me on a pedestal now,” Chanel said, reddening slightly. “If I was as much of a genius as you say, I wouldn’t have dropped out of school in the first place.”

“That’s got nothing to do with smarts. That’s got to do with being all screwed up on the inside.” Jeremy stared at the table. “Did I tell you my parents live halfway around the world and I can’t go visit them cause if I do, I’ll get thrown in jail?”

Chanel shook her head slightly. “I guess I’m not the only one who really messed up my life, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. That warrant’s the least of it. I was on probation for stealing a candy bar and punching the store owner when he tried to stop me. I was high at the time but that’s not an excuse. I’ve lost my temper plenty without being on anything, believe me. Anyway, I ran away and came to Salem to beg my aunt to help me out, and so I can never go back because if I do…” Jeremy snapped his fingers. “Automatic arrest for violating my probation.”

“Oh, no. You can’t fix it from here?”

“I’ve got a lawyer working on it. But chances are I’d have to do some jail time here, if not there, to put it behind me. I’m a different man now and I want to get my life together, that’s why I’m doing the GED and trying for this electrician job, but as far as the courts are concerned, I committed a crime and didn’t pay for it, so…”

“I know the feeling.” Chanel took a bite of her yogurt, thinking. “I did some bad things. Like, seriously bad things. The only reason I didn’t go to Statesville is that I made a deal with the cops.” She lowered her voice. “I had to be a snitch for a while, and then to get out of it, I had to turn myself in. I made another deal I can’t talk about to get the charges dropped but honestly… whatever you did is peaches and cream compared to what I did and I would completely deserve it if they’d sent me away for a long time.”

“Wow. So you’re a serious outlaw, huh?” Jeremy’s tone was light. “Let me guess. Drugs?”

Chanel nodded. “Both sides. I used and I… well, I never sold, but I delivered. I don’t like to think about it, but people could have died cause of what I did. And it gets worse.” She stared at the table. “I shot my supplier in the back. I know that’s horrible to say, but he deserved it. He and his sister were forcing me to do all sorts of stuff for them in exchange for staying off the streets, the drug deliveries were only the tip of the iceberg. I don’t know what you know about that kind of life, but they’re the kind of people you can’t just walk away from, know what I mean?”

“I think so.” Jeremy held out his hand. “Can I?”

Chanel’s lip trembled. “Y-you want to hold hands with me after all that?”

“Sure do.”

Chanel hesitated, then gave Jeremy her hand. He took it and said, “Maybe it’s crazy, but I don’t care what you used to do. God knows I used to do things that hurt people, and I probably had a lot less excuse than you cause I didn’t have any gang leader forcing me to do it if I wanted to survive. Anyway, I know we barely know each other, but I can see that you have a good heart and that you would never have done those things if you had a choice.”

A tear rolled down Chanel’s face. She sniffed hard, trying to control it. “Sorry,” she said, her voice shaking. “I just… I thought my past would make it impossible for anyone to ever…”

“I know.” Jeremy’s voice was soft. “I thought mine would too.” He reached up and pushed Chanel’s hair out of her eyes. “Maybe we can… start over together? Would you like to go on a real date sometime?”

“Yes,” Chanel whispered. “But not until after this stupid test. I can’t think of anything else until then.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Jeremy said. “How about I quiz you now?”

[Kpatch]

Chanel and Jeremy are refreshingly honest with each other and they accept everything about their pasts because neither one is without sin.

[André DiMera]

I like Nicole’s idea of exposing Kristen somehow. Though it is a good idea for her to call Rafe, as well.

Love how open and accepting of each other Jeremy and Chanel are!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[krw627]

Jeremy and Chanel are refreshingly honest and adorable together. I love how this is a slow build to romance. Very well written!

[heroicmuse]

Week 443 - 4
Eric looked pale as he came back into the living room, where Eve was glaring at her computer.

“Everything all right?” he asked flatly.

Eve shook her head. “Someone I hoped never to hear from again found me on PalPage. But never mind that. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She stood. “It’s my sister, isn’t it? What kind of trouble did she…”

Eric sighed. “I was there for you several years ago when you found out Paige had been kidnapped. And now I have similar bad news.”

“Paige? What’s wrong with my daughter.”

“Nothing. Sorry. I should0’t have confused the issue by bringing her up. It’s just that Theresa is… well, a similar fate has befallen her.” Eve gasped. Eric reached for her hand as he went on, “Stephanie said she received a text from Theresa saying she had to cancel their plans as something had come up with work. She assumed that Theresa was in Salem. I took my time reassuring her that nothing was wrong and that I must have gotten my wires crossed. My cousin has been through enough and doesn’t need the anxiety.”

“Neither do I. Does Daddy know? Theresa may be a pain in his behind but he’d move heaven and Earth to get her back.”

“He does. I called Aunt Kim as soon as I got off the phone. She couldn’t give me details, but she said that she was on pins and needles waiting to hear from hm that he was on his way home with their daughter.”

Eve pressed her hands to her mouth. “Oh my gosh. Why in the world… I know Theresa has her enemies, but she’s been out of the drug world a long time, you’d think they’d have moved on to someone else by now.”

“You’d think so.” Eric sighed. “I wish I had more answers for you. But right now, all we can do is pray. Now, what is this about PalPage?”

“Oh, nothing,” Eve said. “It’s the kind of drama we don’t need right now.” Eric raised his eyebrow. Eve said, “I’m not going to tell you how many years ago I went to high school, but let’s just say that it’s long enough that any boyfriends I had back in those days need to stay forgotten.”

Eric raised his eyebrows. “Is he wishing you well or trying to get you back?”

“Oh, I don’t know what he’s up to. He’s trying to talk his way into an invitation to our wedding.”

Eric frowned as he looked over Eve’s shoulder. He saw that her screen said:

New DM from: Harris Michaels.


“Anything else you need from me?” Nan asked after she’d told Steve the whole story.

“I think we’ve got enough to get started with,” Steve said. “If you happen to remember the name of the doctor up in the Capitol that helped you with Brianna’s birth, give me a call, but if not, I’m sure I can get ahold of the records I need and find out that way.” Steve put his tablet away. “One more thing. You should know I’ve been workin’ with Chanel to find her birth mom. Now, if you want me to hold off on tellin’ her, I will, but technically… I oughta call her up and let her know there’s been a break in the case.”

Malcolm and Nan exchanged glances. Nan said, “Your wife thought it might be best to talk to her guardian first.”

Steve nodded. “I can give Mrs. Macgregor a buzz. But if Chanel’s open to it, you’re open to her meeting you?”

Nan nodded.

Malcolm said, “If I might ask a question too. Um, your wife said that Chanel’s DNA panel was inconclusive because she didn’t have my sister’s DNA at that time.”

“That’s more Kayla’s domain. She does all the fancy medical stuff, I just dig up secrets that people want to stay buried.”

“No, I understand that. The thing is… um, I know something about Kenneth’s parentage that my sister and I would rather keep to ourselves. So I’m just wondering, does Chanel know that she matched partially with him?”

Steve shook his head. “Kayla wanted to be sure before she told her anything. Far as I know, she just told Chanel that the test was inconclusive.” He crossed his arms. “This secret, is it something that I need to know?”

“Not unless someone did this to Brianna cause they didn’t like me treating Kenneth as my own,” Nan said. “All I want to say right now is, biologically, Kenneth isn’t mine.”

Steve frowned. “You didn’t take him from someone?”

“Not someone who didn’t want to give him up for adoption, if that’s what you mean,” Nan said.

Steve nodded. “That’s all I need to know. The rest is your business. But if I were you, I’d sit him down and tell him the truth sooner rather than later cause I can’t promise I won’t accidentally unbury that secret while I’m tryin’ to dig up the truth about how Brianna ended up in foster care.”


In the warehouse where Theresa was being held, the flooding had stopped and there were no more signs of booby traps.

“What do you know?” Abe said. “It looks like you were lying, Rolf. We’re all safe and sound. Which means - “

“I prefer to think of it as creative license,” Rolf said.

“Which means,” Abe repeated, “that we are getting out of here, and you are under arrest.”

“Unless, of course, I have another trick up my sleeve,” Rolf said. “Maybe I do and maybe I don’t, but do you want to take that chance?”

“I think I do,” Abe said. “Get him out of here, Prescott, and I’ll help Theresa.” He went over to Theresa, who was cowering on a corner of her bed. “It’s all right now, Theresa,” he said softly. “We’re safe. We’re going to get you home.”

Theresa nodded but didn’t get up. Abe held out his hand, hoping she would take it.

[sevenna92]

Interesting. I was not expecting Harris Michaels to contact Eve. Wonder what Eve and Eric are going to do about it?

Thank God Theresa appears to be okay. Now hopefully this story can finally end and everyone can go back home to Salem.

[André DiMera]

Glad Eric told Eve what’s going on. Wonder what Harris wants after all these years.

So glad Steve is looking into this! I agree, Kenneth needs to know sooner than later.

Hopefully Abe’s right and that was the last of the traps.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Interesting way to introduce Harris into this story. I trust he'll be more interesting here.

Nan's got quite an unintentionally tangled web going on.

[heroicmuse]

Week 443 - 5

When he got to juvenile hall, Shawn stopped at an open ambulance outside the compound, where Joy was hidden.

“What happened here?” he demanded.

The EMT said, “During free time, this girl was in her cell, and apparently another girl came up behind her and stabbed her. The perp confessed right away, but she won’t tell the warden why she did it. She said she’s only giving her full statement to you. She’s in solitary if you want to talk to her.”

“In a minute,” Shawn said. “The girl who died, who was she?”

“Jessica Webb.”

Shawn squeezed his eyes shut, summoning up the tears he’d shed if Joy had really been murdered. “Do you mind if I have a second alone with her?”

“Family friend, sir?”

Shawn nodded. “You can say that. Give me some privacy, please.”

“Of course. Let us know when you’re done.” The EMTs walked off.

Shawn closed the doors of the ambulance. “Wesley?” he whispered. “You’re not really - “

“Of course not.” Joy sat up. “Ruby - “

“Ruby Michaels is involved in this,” Shawn said. “Figures. All right. Tell me what happened and keep your voice down.”

Joy sighed. “The guard who works on my cell block is compromised, sir. He told Ruby that I’m a cop.”

“Crap. How’d he find out?”

“I don’t know. I guess he overheard you talking to me? Anyway, he’s a Fire Lion. He told Ruby if she didn’t kill me he’d make life miserable for her. So she came to my cell and made a half-hearted effort. I overpowered her pretty easily and made her tell me everything, and she did.”

“And you think she’s telling you the truth?”

“She didn’t want to, but I got it out of her. I may be a rookie, but I do know how to get people to talk, especially a frightened, lonely girl who was upset that her best friend turned out to be a cop.” Joy crossed her arms. “Anyway, so after she confessed, she was scared that the Fire Lions would kill her if they found out I was still alive. So I told her to help me fake my death and then go to the warden and confess but demand to talk to you.”

“That was some quick thinking. Of course, you wouldn’t be in this situation if you’d listened to me in the first place and not taken this assignment.”

“And then we wouldn’t have a chance in hell of saving Ruby! Shawn, she’s ready to turn things around. You have to get her a deal with the DA where she gets reduced charges in exchange for telling you everything she knows about the gangs in here.”

Shawn’s eyes narrowed. “She held my sister up at gunpoint and left her tied up on a park bench in a snowstorm. Ciara could have died because of her.”

“But she didn’t. And Ruby didn’t want to do that any more than she wanted to attack me tonight.”

“Stop making excuses for her. She didn’t have to rob anyone, and she didn’t have to attack you, either.”

“You expect a fifteen-year-old who has been abused all her life to stand up to the only family she’s ever known?” Joy glared at Shawn. “In the end, she did the right thing. She risked her life by defying them, and did it again by telling me the truth. If you don’t at least try to get her a deal, you’re teaching her that good behavior doesn’t pay and she might as well go back to a life of crime.”

“Which would be her choice, not mine.”

“She needs to be in protective custody until you get her that deal,” Joy said, her voice hard. “I know I can’t tell you what to do, that you’re the boss and I’m just the rookie, but I promise you, if you don’t help her out, the first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is go straight to a lawyer’s office and file a lawsuit in memory of her, because the Fire Lions WILL kill her and it will because you could have protected her and you didn’t.”

Shawn shook his head slightly. “You realize you’re risking your career over this girl?”

“I don’t care.” Joy’s eyes were blazing. “If being a cop means throwing her to the wolves, then I was wrong to want to be one.”

Shawn sighed. “All right, fine. I’ll get her moved into protective custody and I’ll take her statement. But I can’t promise more than that. The rest is up to the DA and I don’t know that she’ll be inclined to give someone a deal who was running around terrorizing people with a gun at the age of 14. And as for you… when you get back you’re seeing the department shrink, and until that person clears you, you’re riding a desk.” Shawn stormed off. Joy’s eyes narrowed and she hugged herself tight.


Rafe was in a suit and tie when he came into Nicole’s office. She stood, taking him in. “I like,” she said. “I wish neither of us was working so I could enjoy the way you’re dressed in private.”

Rafe reddened, but he said, “I just wish I was dressed up to take you out on the town instead of going where I’m going. I gotta testify before Trask’s sham of a grand jury, and Justin’s tied up with Victor’s will so I gotta rely on one of his associates. A Martin Berger, you know him?”

“I know of him. He helped Paige out when she was accused of killing that prostitute turned surrogate sister.”

“Considering she went to jail for three months before that was straightened out, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.” Rafe sighed. “I’ve got about two minutes before I have to head to the courtroom. What’s up?”

“Our favorite enemy, that’s what,” Nicole said. “Kristen’s up to her usual tricks, and this time she’s messing with your dad.” She showed Rafe her screen. “She owns the facility where he’s supposedly recovering from his coma, and by a mysterious coincidence, he’s not making any progress.”

Rafe’s eyes widened as he looked at the screen.