Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 251,602 times)

[heroicmuse]

Week 505 - 3
“So much for the judge being fair,” Nicole said. “So Rafe fudged things on his statement. Who doesn’t, when they have to talk to the cops?”

“I wouldn’t say that too loudly,” Justin said, coming over. “We don’t want it getting back to the judge, or worse, to that pathetic excuse of a lawyer over there.”

“Right,” Nicole said. “Well, there’s more than one way to get a case thrown out.” She pulled out her phone and called Alison. “It’s Nicole. Where are you on getting dirt on Sloan? Right. Yes, come to the office as soon as possible.” She hung up.

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Justin said.

“Me either,” JJ added. “Way back when, you told me we’re in the business of reporting the truth, not running stories to mess with people.”

“THe truth?” Nicole said. “The truth is that Sloan Petersen is a sorry excuse for a human being that wants to get Rafe locked up when he didn’t do anything wrong, and the judge sees it but won’t do anything about it, so it’s up to me to fight fire with fire.”

“Nicole…” Justin began.

JJ said, “Let me handle this, Uncle Justin.” He turned toward Nicole. “You remember back when I was working for you and you said I was giving you gray hairs going off all half cocked? You and Sally were constantly telling me to slow down and think things through. You taught me that being a reporter’s about a lot more than shouting the truth the second you find about it. Now come on! If it was me ready to unleash the gates of hell over this, what would you tell me?”

Nicole made herself smile. “Didn’t I tell you to stop using my words against me?” She let her breath out slowly. “You know what the worst part is? You’re right. But just like you didn’t want to sit on your hands while Paige was in trouble, I see this snake attaching Rafe, trying to get him thrown in jail, and nobody doing anything about it.”

“That’s not true,” Justin said. “He has a lawyer, aka me. Now this is how it’s going to go. Now that the probable cause hearing is done, Rafe has to attend a pre-trial conference. Sloan will make some ridiculous offer, two years jail time if he pleads guilty or something like that, and I’m going to shoot her down. We’re required to have three conferences where we try to work it out and if we can’t, which I doubt we’ll be able to, then it proceeds to trial. And the difference between this hearing and trial is that I get to actually defend Rafe. That means objections and cross-examinations and all the rest of it.That means I can poke holes in Agent Cooper’s testimony and in Roman’s, which I couldn’t do this time around. I can put Johnny on the stand to testify about what he remembers about that night, if the judge lets me. He might not, but if he does, I can get him to talk about how Rafe was trying to protect him when the shots rang out and maybe that’ll help the jury be sympathetic. And then Rafe can take the stand and this time, we’ll make it clear that there was no deliberate lie, no coverup.”

“I guess we can’t appeal this, huh?” Rafe said, coming up to them.

“We could, but it would probably be a waste of time. The judge’s reasoning was sound on all counts, and if we tie up the appeals court it makes it look like we’re desperate to delay the start of the trial, which is not a good look. We need to approach this strategically, and fighting losing battles isn’t a winning strategy.” He patted Rafe on the shoulder. “Why don’t you and Nicole grab some lunch and then meet me at my office and we’ll figure out what is.”

“I actually have to get to the office,” Nicole said, “since I did insist Alison meet me there. It would be bad form to make her sit there having a staring contest with Sally until they figure out I’m not coming.” She hugged Rafe. “Don’t worry. We’re going to help get you out of this.”

Nicole walked away. JJ shook his head slightly. “I hope I got through to her.”

“Me too,” Rafe said, “but all we can do is pray.”


Charley stared down at the table. “It wasn’t important,” she said, her voice so quiet Sydney could barely hear her.

“Yes it was,” Izzy said. “She asked if Charley knew how to talk in a sneer-y way and laughed at her.”

Charley slid down further in her seat. Sydney treached over and tilted Charley’s chin up a little. “How about you and me go for a walk? Would that be okay? Just us?”

“K,” Charley said, her voice shaking.

Sydney put her arm around Charley. “We’ll be back soon. In the meantime, when you guys finish eating, after you clean up your mess see one of the counselors in the green camp shirts to sign up for your activities. Come, Charley.”

Sydney walked away with Charley. Ari watched them go. She couldn’t believe how grown-up Sydney was.

“I hope Charley will be okay,” Izzy said, “and that she’s not mad at me. I was only trying to help.”

Ari didn’t know what to say. She patted Izzy’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s go sign up before all the good activities fill up.”

Izzy’s shoulders slumped and she shuffled over toward the sign-up table, staring at her feet.

[André DiMera]

I hope J.J. got through to Nicole, too. It was interesting seeing their roles reversed. Glad Justin has a plan.

Glad Sydney went to talk to Charley privately. I don’t think Izzy has to worry about her being mad at her.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I'm glad Sydney is taking Charley under her wing.

[heroicmuse]

Week 505 - 4
Now that they’d been given phones with secure wifi, Hannah had downloaded some ebooks onto hers to pass the time. That was one step above jail, she guessed. You weren’t allowed a phone there at all and the only books you could get were the ones in the tiny jail library.

Still, it was harder to concentrate on reading than she wanted it to be, and she kept reading the same sentence over and over.

There was a knock on the door. Hannah looked up and saw that Chanel (or was it Brianna now?) was standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” Chanel/Brianna said. “I know I’m not your favorite person but I do know what it’s like being on pins and needles in this place so…”

Hannah shrugged. “Long as they don’t cancel your testimony cause we’re hanging out.

“Don’t worry.” Chanel put her hands up in mock surrender. “I’m being good. Paul said I gotta keep your door open so he can make sure we’re not talking about what you said in court or what I’m gonna say, so even though I don’t like being spied on, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Back to junior high, huh?” Hannah smiled slightly. “Mefore I moved down from San Fran with my mom, she’d make me keep the door open when I had friends over after school or whatever.” Her smile faded. “When this is all over I’ll tell you all the things I regret forever about how my life went after we moved.”

“At least you had am om,” Chanel said. “Mine was just down the road but I didn’t know that so I was busy acting stupid and getting in trouble.” She sighed deeply as she took a step into Hannah’s room. “Um, I can come in, right?”

Hannah nodded. Chanel said, slowly, “Did Kenneth tell you I’m changing my name back to Brianna Hansen like it was supposed to be?”

“I heard.” Hannah smiled slightly. “I never thought I’d say this, but it’s good he has you. It’s been rough for him ever since he learned the truth about his birth parents.”

Brianna raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know the whole story but I guess it’s for him to tell me, huh?” She checked her phone. “Come on, DA. I wanna get this testimony over with.” She turned her head over her shoulder. “I”m not saying anything about what I want to say, just that I wanna say it ASAP.”

Paul came up behind her. “You’re fine. And you’ll be up in just a few minutes. I heard the judge is making a ruling and then calling the jury back in.”

Hannah swallowed hard. “So Nat didn’t get it thrown out?”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Paul said. “But on that note, Chanel, I need to escort you back to your room so you’ll be ready to testify when the call comes through.”

The light went out of Brianna’s eyes at being called by her old name. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t say anything, Legally, she was still Chanel Dupree, so that’s who she had to testify as. “One day we won’t be in these jail conditions and we can really talk,” she said as she turned to follow Paul down the hall.


Judge Hildebrand had indeed recovened the court. As they sat down, Saxon whispered to Nat, “Whatever happens, stay calm. I doubt she’s sending you to Supermax, but if she does, you can believe I’ll be working around the clock on your appeal.”

“You’d better,” Nat said under her breath, “and not with all that stammering and sweating you did just now. I don’t know what I bother paying you for.”

Saxon clenched his jaw. “If you want me to quit, that can be arranged.”

“Don’t try it,” Nat said, her voice very quiet. “The Fire Lions don’t like traitors.”

Saxon’s eyes widened with fear, but there was no time to respond because the judge was calling the court to order.

“All right,” Judge Hildebrand. “I have considered the issues surrounding Ms. Simmons’ bail release. Stand up, please, Ms. Simmons.”

Nat and Saxon stood. Saxon hissed at Nat, “Look respectful.” Nat’s eyes flashed, but she put her hands behind her back and stood respectfully, though her head was tileted up in defiance and she had an angry light in her eyes.

“Ms. Simmons,” the judge said, “your behavior during this trial so far has come very close to you being removed from this courtroom to watch the trial on CCTV in a holding cell. It has also resulted in you being charged with additional serious crimes. Thus, I agree with Ms. Rubin that you have violated the terms of your bail and should be remanded to custody for the duration of this trial, for everyone’s safety as well as because actions have consequences and you have violated the bail agreement so many times that there is no reason to give you a second chance.”

Nat gasped. “You can’t do that!”

“I can, and I will, partially because of outbursts like this. You will learn to respect this court and these proceedings, or you will find yourself in increasingly hot water.” The judge leaned forward. “Unfortunately, the law does not allow me to grant the prosecution’s request that you be remanded to a maximum security facility pending the outcome of this trial. Such settings are meant only for those who have been convicted of sufficiently heinous crimes that the only way to keep society safe from them is to place them in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. Thus, I am forced instead to remand you to Salem City Jail, effective immediately. That means that when we adjourn for the day, you will be escorted in handcuffs onto a bus going to Salem City Jail and you will be escorted back here in the morning, each and every day until your trial is complete. I suggest you follow all jail rules or you will find the times that you are not in court to be miserable.”

Nat glared at Saxon. “My lawyer will appeal,” she said, her voice rising with annoyance because Saxon had not done it himself.

“If he wishes,” Hildebrand said. “In the meantime, Ms. Rubin, are you ready to call your witness?”

“Yes, your Honor,” Rubin said.

“In that case, we will bring the jury back in and set up the technology to hear from Chanel Dupree,” Hildebrand said. “Sit down, Ms. Simmons, and please be quiet and respectful, or your non-court time is not the only time you will be spending behind bars.”

Nat threw herself into her seat, her eyes flashing, as Chanel’s image came up on the television monitors.

[krw627]

Nat is digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole.

Nice to see Hannah and Brianna trying to be civil to each other.

[André DiMera]

Nice to see Chanel/Brianna and Hannah bonding, or at least starting to. Hope the testimony goes well!

Nat’s losing it. Love that the judge isn’t letting her get away with anything!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I'm glad the girls are talking. Chanel/Brianna can't expect others to use her new name. She will need to change it legally and people will have to get used to it.

[heroicmuse]

Week 505 - 5
Rory flinched, surprised by the hand on his shoulder. As he pulled away, David held his hands up and said, “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s cool.” Rory swallowed hard. “Guess you’re here to pay your respects too, huh?”

“Yeah. And to talk stuff over.” David glanced at the gravestone. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but even though I’m just talking to myself…”

“It’s like you’re talking to him even though he can’t answer back.” Rory smiled sheepishly. “Course I get that. I was doing the same thing when you rolled up.”

“Right.” David knelt and put his bouquet of flowers on the grave. “Doug’s gonna have more flowers than he knows what do with.” He smiled sadly. “Hey, if you ever want someone to talk to who can talk back…”

Rory’s face trembled. “Y-you mean like go for coffee like normal people, shoot the breeze, that kind of thing?”

“Yeah. Why not?” David crossed his arms. “We are brothers… maybe half or step, I lose track with how all those things work. But it doesn’t matter. My mom and Doug took you in with open arms, and when they adopted you, we became family. And I know I haven’t exactly made much of an effort, but that’s cause I take people for granted except sometimes when something wakes me up out of my slumber. I mean, I abandoned my wife and daughter for years and assumed they’d just be frozen in time, waiting for me to come to my senses, so…”

“You got stuff to forgive too, huh? Bet Doug forgave you just like that.” Rory snapped his fingers. “That’s how he was. Effort counted a lot with him. I know cause he never once blinked at my past. Before he adopted me, I was a different person, man. Skipping school, getting high, getting in trouble. I was so bad when JJ sobered up he almost didn’t want anything to do with me, and he was the best friend I ever had. But Doug, he said the past was the past and all I could do was put one foot in front of the other now. One time he took me out in the car and asked me how I’d like it if he drove all the way to the Square with his head turned over his shoulder to look in the mirror…”

David said in unison with him, “and when I said I wouldn’t, he said to stop doing that in my life, then.” He smiled slightly. “That was one of Doug’s greatest hits, no pun intended. Did it help you when he said it? Cause when he said to me, at the time I thought he was being corny.”

“Same,” Rory said, “but now I wish he was here to say it again.” He blinked hard. “Um, you still good for that coffee?”

“Sure,” David said. “It’s about time we got to know each other as brothers.” He smiled at Doug’s grave. “Just like you wanted,” he said softly. He sighed deeply, then put his hand on Rory’s shoulder as they walked away.


At camp, Sydney had taken Charley over to the horseback riding area, where they were sitting on a bench outside the fenced-in area where the horses were grazing right now.

“It’s nice and quiet here, don’t you think?” Sydney said.

Charley shrugged but said nothing.

Sydney put her hand on Charley’s shoulder. “It’s just you and me,” she said. “No one’s here to overhear anything you say. So you can tell me what’s on your mind, okay? Was Izzy right that someone was bullying you?”

“I guess.” Charley stared into space. “I knew camp would be bad,” she said, her voice shaking. “I don’t know anyone but Ari, and Parker’s all the way across in the boys’ section.”

Sydney put her arm around Charley. “It’s hard coming to camp for the first time. It was for me too when I was your age, even though my big sister was in my cabin. It was so big and I was afraid I was going to get lost, and I didn’t know people and seeing so many strangers made me feel shy.”

Charley put her head on Sydney’s shoulder. “Did people make fun of you for being shy?” she sniffed.

“Some people did,” Sydney said, “but I didn’t care. You know why?” Charley shook her head and Sydney said, “Cause I knew they were the ones with a problem. I didn’t want to be friends with mean girls. I wanted to meet nice girls.”

Charley said, “I don’t like people being mean to me.”

“Of course not,” Sydney said, “and if it happens again, you point them out to me and I’ll take care of it. This is supposed to be a bully free camp.” She squeezed Charley’s shoulder. “It seems like you made friends with the other girls in your cabin already. Jaiyi and Izzy. Right?”

“I guess.” Charley stared into space. “They were talking about something I didn’t know about but Izzy said they should stop cause I couldn’t join in.”

“See?” Sydney smiled. “Now, which activities are you going to sign up for? Horseback? Archery? Swimming?”

“How about tree climbing? I like to climb up high and watch people without them knowing I’m there.”

Sydney smiled. “That’s not an official activity, but you can do that in your free time as long as you’re careful. But if you like that, maybe you’ll like horseback riding. That’s up high.”

Charley thought for a minute. “Actually, I like archery better. I want to learn to shoot an arrow.”

“Well, then that’s what we’ll do,” Sydney said. “Feeling better?”

Charley nodded.

“Let’s go find the others, then,” Sydney said. “Come on.”

Charley’s heart pounded at the thought of going back to the group, but she slid off the bench and followed Sydney anyway.

[André DiMera]

Glad David and Rory are taking the chance to get to know each other.

It makes sense that Charley’s shy, especially after those jerks from earlier. Glad Sydney talked to her.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[Kpatch]

David and Rory could develop a nice friendship.

Now you've got me worried about Charley getting hurt doing some activity or other.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera, Kpatch, and krw627 for your comments this week!

I'm excited for what's coming up at camp as well as for Marlena's storyline back in Salem, and some developments in court. Here's a sneak peek at what's ahead.

[bComing Up on Breaking Ties...[/b]

Brianna takes the stand now that the judge has finally made her ruling about the case moving forward. At first, her emotional testimony doesn't look good for Nat, but then a slip of the tongue gives Saxon an opening for a spurious demand to have everything she's said stricken from the record. Will he again be put in his place or will the judge make the wrong decision this time? And with the walls closing in on her and her bail already revoked, Nat is desperate, which means she's dangerous, but is there anything she can do to stay out of prison?

Elsewhere, Nicole tells Alison that she realizes she was wrong to want to use her news show as a weapon against Sloan and agrees to let her investigate her brother's arrest instead, but Alison has a surprising request.

Justin calls Kate into his office as he prepares for the next part of Rafe's defense... and to issue a warning, but will Kate take him seriously?

Finally, the pre-teen campers face a new crisis when Izzy freaks out about a mandatory swimming test, plus Ari seems left out when Charley gravitates toward Izzy. And in Salem, John tries to calm Marlena down about the possible meaning of her test results, but there may be more of a crisis to deal with when one of her kids overhears their conversation.

[André DiMera]

Hopefully whatever Saxon tries will be shot down again, and hopefully Nat won’t be able to get out of anything.

Wonder what Alison’s request is.

I kinda doubt that Kate will listen to Justin.

Hope Izzy will be okay. Marlena as well. Wonder which kid overhears something.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Thanks for the previews. I'll be honest. There are a lot of non-canvas characters in this saga and I unfortunately have a hard time remembering who each of them are and what their stories are.

My niece who is the same age as Charley went to sleepaway camp for the second year in a row and she loved it. I hope Charley's experience improves!

[heroicmuse]

Week 506 - 1
“There she is!” Sally said as Nicole came into the newsroom. She turned toward Alison. “Told you she was on her way.”

“Not that I doubted it,” Alison said quickly. “I was worried you got in a car accident or something, it’s not like you to be late.”

“Sorry,” Nicole said “I could make an excuse but you know what they say, truth is stranger than fiction so… I was busy having my butt handed to me by my former intern, who reminded me that hypocrisy isn’t actually a good look on me and talked me out of going off all half-cocked on Sloan Petersen.”

“Uh oh,” Sally said. “If JJ’s talking sense into you instead of the other way around, things must have gone bad at court.”

“You could say that.” Nicole pulled out a chair with her foot and sank into it. “I’m surprised you didn’t read it on the wires by the time I got over here. The judge dismissed about 90 percent of the charges, but he couldn’t manage to throw the entire case in the trash.”

Sally frowned. “How bad’s what he’s still facing?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not conspiracy or any of those other fancy words for interfering with getting someone else locked up, but last I checked, judges don’t like people who lie to the cops, especially if they’re cops themselves so if he’s found guilty, the book they throw at him is going to be encyclopedia sized.”

“Maybe he won’t be,” Alison said. “I was looking into Sloan anyway. She switched to the prosecution side around when my brother was arrested, and my spidey senses tell me that thoes two things are connected. And I know it’s been so long coming that you probably thought I was just imagining there was a story here, but I have proof positive something was fishy with Josh’s arrest.”

“I’d be happier if you told me you had proof positive that something was fishy about Rafe’s arrest,” Nicole said, “but gotta start somewhere. Whatcha got?”

“When Josh was arrested, supposedly he still had a ton of alcohol in his system after sleeping it off on the median all night. That’s part of what got him convicted of DUI. But get this.” Alison opened her tablet. “The tox screen has mysteriously disappeared from his file, and the cop of record’s being super evasive about where it might have gone.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying he might not have been drunk?”

“Who’d have thought it?” Sally said, rolling her eyes. “Cops lying to ruin people’s lives.”

“And Rafe’s the one on trial cause he did it to protect someone,” Nicole said. “I never said that, bb the way. The official story is he misspoke.” Nicole leaned back in her chair. “Back to this, I don’t doubt some cop somewhere framed an innocent kid for DUI. I’ve seen more than enough for that to be plausible. But what I don’t get is why.”

“Me either,” Alison said. “He had to have been a threat to them somehow, right? I mean, he was genuinely passed out and didn’t have any memory of how he ended up in his car on the median. So if he wasn’t drunk…”

“Someone drugged him,” Sally said. “Which means most likely they had a reason for wanting to put him away for a long time.”

Nicole nodded. “I suggest you go straight to the source. If someone pruposely got him locked up for something he didn’t do that carries a 25-year sentence, chances are he knows why they wanted him out of the way. So all you have to do is get him to tell his baby sister.”

Alison nodded. “And if that something has to do with Sloan, we both win.”

“You said it, not me,” Nicole said, “but yes.” She turned toward Sally. “Set up an expense log so we can send Alison to Chicago to find out what the story is.”

Alison stood. “Um, can I take someone with me?”

“Emily too,” Nicole agreed.

“Not her. I mean, yes, if she wants, but um, you haven’t met her yet, but my friend Dani has been really helpful in looking into this and I’ve been trying to convince her we could use her graphic design skills at the station so is there any way she can come with me?”


Brianna sat nervously on her desk chair, testifying. She had wanted to sit on her bed, but ADA Rubin had instructed her to sit at a desk so that she would look more professional, and so she’d had no choice.

“Tell the court about the first time you met the defendant,” Rubin said.

Brianna swallowed hard. “I was fourteen and, um, I was playing hooky from school.”

“Playing hooky. So you skipped school that day?”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Brianna pushed her hair behind her ear, trying to remind herself that was all in her past. “I did that a lot in those days, but I’ve turned things around and got my GED and everything now.”

Saxon started to rise, then thought better of it and sat down. Nat glared at him.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Rubin said. “But going back to that day, what exactly happened?”

“I was, um, I went to Buddy’s Burger Barn but I didn’t have enough money for a burger so I… well, I was outside asking people for change so I could get a burger.” Brianna pushed her hair behind her ear. “And Nat, she came along and she not only offered to pay for a burger with all the works and whatever else I wanted, she said if I needed to get off the streets she could give me a place to stay.”

“So this stranger offered to pay for food and give you a place to stay,” Rubin said. “What did you think at the time?”

“I thought she was my fairy godmother.” Brianna’s voice shook. “Nobody had ever given me anything. In some of the foster homes I’d been in, they beat me if I got out of line, and in others they just kind of forgot I was there, like it was real clear I wasn’t really theirs and didn’t matter. So for Nat to do all that, I felt like I’d won the lottery.”

Rubin nodded. “Tell the court what happened next.”

“At first it was cool.” Brianna fidgeted nervously, twisting her hands together. “For like a week, maybe two, she just gave and gave, and the only thing was her brother. Marcel, um, he kind of made me uncomfortable, always looking at me like he wanted my body.” She shuddered.

“And you were how old again?”

“Fourteen.” Brianna swallowed hard.

“And he was how old?”

“I dunno. An adult.”

Rubin nodded. She said gently, “Chanel. I know this is very difficult, but I need you to tell the court what happened next.”

Brianna let her breath out slowly. This happened to Chanel, she thought, not me, so it’s okay. She whispered, “One night, I woke up and Marcel was in my bed. H-he put his hand over my mouth a-and he tpld me to lie still and stay quiet and then h-he put himself inside me…”

“He raped you,” Rubin said. “And again, you were only fourteen?”

Brianna nodded, blinking back tears.

“What happened next?” Rubin asked softly.

“I told Nat the next morning but she said… she said that he was taking payment for what she’d given me a-and that if I didn’t want to pay with sex, I’d have to do other things for her.”

“Other things. Like what?””

“Delivering packages, mostly. I’m not stupid, I knew they were drugs even though she didn’t say, and I also knew if I got caught I was going to jail. But it was that or him in my bed at night so…”

Rubin nodded again. “Chanel,” she said gently. “I have to ask, if you were uncomfortable with all of this, why didn’t you leave?”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. Marcel, he was, um, he was gang connected, and as far as he and Nat were concerned, I owed them money, so if I left, what happened to me would be even worse than what he’d already done to me.”

“You were afraid you’d be hurt or killed?”

“Tortured and left to die,” Chanel said hoarsely. “Nat warned me. She said it was all Marcel and she didn’t want to do that to me, but that she couldn’t stop it.”

“So it’s your testimony, then, that Natalie Simmons told you that if you walked away, her brother would hunt you down, torture you, and kill you, and claimed that she could not stop it. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Brianna sniffed. “I didn’t want to deliver those drugs or any of the rest of it, either, but I was too much of a coward to let them kill me.”

Nat glared at the screen. She leaned over and hissed at Saxon, “She’s lying! Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Patience,” Saxon said. “Our time is coming. You’ll see.”

Nat crossed her arms. “Better be,” she mumbled.

The judge cleared her throat. “Mr. Saxon, do you need a minute to confer with your client?”

“No, your Honor,” Saxon said, straightening his tie.

“Be quiet, then.” Judge Hildebrand turned toward Rubin. “I apologize for the interruption. Go on, Ms. Rubin.”

“Thank you, your Honor,” Rubin said. She turned back toward the screen. “Did Natalie Simmons ever attempt to recruit you into the Fire Lions?”

Chanel nodded. “She did, and um, I joined up.” She rolled up her sleeve. “Got the tat and everything. But I’m having it removed ASAP. It’s not something Brianna would want.”

Rubin frowned. “Sorry?”

Chanel’s face darkened with embarrassment. “Sorry. That’s my birth name. I was just saying the person I am now doesn’t want a tattoo anymore.”

Saxon jumped up. “Your Honor, this witness is clearly unstable. She’s calling herself by two different names, so she obviously has some sort of disorder. Therefore, I move to have her testimony stricken from the record on the grounds that she suffers from a mental illness that makes her unable to distinguish reality from fantasy.”

[André DiMera]

Glad Nicole is letting Alison look into this. Hopefully she’ll agree to letting Dani go with.

Saxon, shut up! It’s not a disorder to want to change your name. Hopefully the judge overrules that quickly.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!