The Melaswen Paradox (Read 318,954 times)

[André DiMera]

Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone!

---

Next week...

It began with a hostile takeover on New Year's Eve...
E.J.: We're not going anywhere.

...so how did it end up with the three of them sharing the CEO position?
TONY: I think we can come to some arrangement.

Plus, Marlena checks in on Brady.
MARLENA: How are you feeling today?

And a message is sent.
NICHOLAS: Oh my...

All this and more next week on THE MELASWEN PARADOX!

[heroicmuse]

Oooh I can't wait to see how this CEO situation develops! I'm sure Tony and Chad have plans to get rid of EJ eventually.

I'm curious about this Brady/Lexie situation and how it will be resolved.

And what is Nico's plan for Nicholas?

Thanks for the great previews André DiMera!

[fluffysmom]

The CEO dynamic will be interesting. Thanks for the previews André DiMera.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 405

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
MARLENA: So, how are you feeling today?
Brady sat in Marlena's office.
BRADY: I am...very confused.
MARLENA: I'm sure that this is a very difficult adjustment to make. Do you think you can expand on what exactly you're confused about.
BRADY: It's...it's like I've got two brains in my head. One telling me I'm Lexie, and one telling me I'm Brady. And I'm not sure which one's right. I mean, I look at myself in the mirror, and I can see that I'm a man. But this idea that I'm Lexie, it's just so strong.
MARLENA: Even though you are aware that you look physically similar to Brady Black, you are having difficulty believing that you are not Lexie Carver, as your captors constantly asserted that you are.
BRADY: Exactly. And, like I said, I'm not sure which is right. For a long time, ever since I woke up in the Mansion and André took me to Dr. Rolf, I've had Lexie's memories. I remember nursing Theo. I remember loving Abe. I have so many memories of this life. But, since I started talking with you, I've gotten other memories. Memories of Brady's life. They started out as just brief flashes, but now, they're becoming more vivid and frequent.

DIMERA ENTERPRISES
TONY: Alas, I wish that I knew. Unfortunately, as I am not Brady's relative, I'm unable to find out much information on him.
CHAD: Makes sense.
TONY: The only thing I do know is that Marlena mentioned that he is making some progress.
CHAD: Well, that's encouraging. Man, I can't believe André brainwashed him to think he's Lexie.
TONY: He's done far worse than that in the past. I know that better than anyone.
CHAD: I just wish we could have gotten rid of E.J. when we had the chance.
TONY: Patience, dear brother. As I said, Elvis will no doubtedly slip up. And when he does, we'll be ready for him.

DIMERA ENTERPRISES – FLASHBACK
E.J. was having his things moved into the office that Tony and Chad shared. Tony and Chad both walked in.
TONY: Elvis, what do you think you're doing?
E.J.: What does it look like? I'm moving in. As I'm now CEO of DiMera Enterprises, this is officially my office. Don't worry, I'll be sure to have your things moved to your new offices.
CHAD: Man, you've gotta be insane.
TONY: Particularly if you think that the board would allow somebody like André to have any say in what happens at this company.
KATE: He's right.
E.J. turned to see Kate, Anna, Mr. Udagawa, Mr. Shinn and all of the other members of the board standing behind Tony and Chad.
E.J.: What's all this, then?
ANNA: We had an emergency meeting this morning.
UDAGAWA: The board have come to a decision. We're not going to accept your terms. The members who accepted André's payoff have been dismissed, except for a few who returned the money willingly.
E.J.: But it's already been done. You can't go back on the deal now.
ANNA: Oh, but we can. And we have.
SHINN: You have two options, Elvis. Give up André, and we can come to an arragement. Or, you can kiss any hopes that you have of being a part of this company goodbye.
TONY (whispering): You work very quickly, my dear.
ANNA (whispering): Well, I had to, didn't I?
TONY: So, what is it to be, Elvis? Shall we make a deal?

[heroicmuse]

That was an interesting flashback. Turning on Andre would be a death sentence, so I wonder what exactly EJ did.

I'm glad Brady/Lexie is starting to have some doubts. Sounds like the brainwashing isn't 100% effective.

Great chapter André DiMera!

[André DiMera]

Chapter 406

DIMERA ENTERPRISES – FLASHBACK
E.J.: Be sensible, Tony. You know as well as I do the price I'd pay, the price all of us would pay, if I even considered turning on André and he found out.
CHAD: So, you're not even gonna consider making a deal with us, then?
E.J.: I didn't say that, did I? Learn some bloody patience.
Chad put his hands up in defense. E.J. thought for a moment.
E.J.: I don't know what I'm going to tell André, but I will figure something out. Something that makes him think I'm still on his side, but that he can't have a large position of power at DiMera Enterprises. That he should take more of a silent partner role.
TONY: And you think that'll convince him? You don't know André very well, do you?
E.J.: Well, I don't see any of you coming up with better suggestions. Damned if I know what I'm gonna say, but trust me, I will think of something. However, there is another matter to attend to. If I do this, if I get André off of your back, I want a position of power here.
TONY: I'm sure the board can discuss-
E.J.: No. No discussions. I'm Stefano's son, that means at least part of this company is mine. You two already share the position of CEO. I want a share in it, as well.
CHAD: You want to be a third CEO?
E.J.: That's my price. Do we have a deal?

DIMERA ENTERPRISES
CHAD: I'm starting to wonder if this deal was worth it.
TONY: It will be. You need to start looking at the big picture, Chad. We must be willing to tolerate this, for the time being, if we're to succeed. As I said, Elvis will slip up. It's just a matter of playing the long game.

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
MARLENA: These memories that you're having of Brady's life are becoming more powerful. They are at odds with the memories you have which tell you that you are Lexie, so much so that they're causing you to wonder which one is real, and which was planted in your brain. Is that a correct assessment?
Brady nodded.
BRADY: Yeah, that sounds about right.
VOICE: Brady...
It was like a faint memory. Like a whisper. It was a voice Brady recognized. He looked around.
BRADY: Who said that?
MARLENA: Did you hear someone say something?
It came again.
VOICE: Brady...
BRADY: There it is again. Somebody's calling Brady's name.
MARLENA: Do you recognize the voice?
BRADY: I think so. It's a woman. But, it's not you. It's not Lexie, either.
Brady rubbed his eyes, then looked in the direction of the door. His eyes got wide.
BRADY: Oh my. It's her.
MARLENA: Who do you see?
BRADY: It's her. She's right there, by the door.
MARLENA: Who do you see by the door?
BRADY: It's Brady's mother.
Though Marlena couldn't see her, only Brady could, Isabella stood in the doorway of Marlena's office.

[heroicmuse]

This is an interesting turn of events. I wonder if Isabella will break through the brainwashing or whatever it is that has been done to Brady/Lexie.

I am sure Tony and Chad will be victorious in the end, but I also think EJ is a more formidable adversary than they realize.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[Kpatch]

I love that Isabella is in this. That's who I thought the voice was. Poor Brady.

Not sure how three CEOs will work out. It gives EJ a foothold at any rate.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 407

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
BRADY; It's her. It's Brady's mother.
MARLENA: Isabella Tuscano is in the room?
BRADY: She's right there, by the door. She's walking towards me now.
Isabella walked over to Brady.
ISABELLA: Brady, my darling, it's time to come back.
MARLENA: Could you tell me what Isabella is doing? Is she saying anything?
BRADY: She's talking to me...I mean Brady. She's telling me, er, Brady, that it's time for him to come back.
ISABELLA: Honey, you have so much to live for. Your wife. Your beautiful little boy. I know what the DiMeras have done to you. But you are so strong. You can get out of this. Fight for control, Brady.
A tear sprung to Brady's eye.
BRADY: Mother...
MARLENA: Do you recognize Isabella as your mother?
BRADY: I...I think so. Part of me does, anyway. She...she's telling Brady...she's telling me to fight.
ISABELLA: The DiMeras won't have control over you for much longer, my son. Trust Marlena. She will help you find your way back. And never forget, I am always with you.
Isabella kissed Brady's forehead, then disappeared. Brady put a hand on his head, where Isabella had kissed.
MARLENA: What is Isabella saying now?
BRADY (voice breaking): She's gone.
Brady wiped his eyes and cleared his throat.
BRADY: But, before she left, she told me that you could help me...help Brady, if that's who I really am, find his way back.
MARLENA: It is not unheard of for Brady to be visited by the spirt of Isabella. Knowing that, and having just been visited by her yourself, what does that make you think?
BRADY: I don't know. Either I'm completely insane...or maybe I really am Brady. I...I don't know which anymore. For a long while, I thought I was Lexie. But now, having just met Isabella, who may be my mother, I'm not so sure. But I need to find out. She said you could help me. Will you?
MARLENA: I would be happy to.

ALAMAIN INDUSTRIES
Nicholas sat at his desk, using his phone to Tony and Chad talking (see their discussion from the previous two chapters). He smiled.
NICHOLAS (thinking): Well, this is interesting. It's good to know that they installed the A.I. App. Now, I wonder how our good friend Philip is doing over at Titan.
Nicholas pressed a button on his phone. The scene on the phone switched over to Philip, who was signing a stack of papers for one of his secretaries. Nicholas' attention was taken away from his phone as the door opened and Ivan walked in.
IVAN: Mr. Alamain, sir.
Nicholas looked up.
NICHOLAS: Yes, Ivan?
IVAN: Your meeting with the investors is about to begin in five minutes.
NICHOLAS: Thank you for the reminder. I'll be right there.
IVAN: Very good, sir.
Ivan nodded and walked out.
NICHOLAS (thinking): I'll get back to this later. Now, it's time to make sure the investors know their money is being well spent.
Nicholas closed out of the app, got up, and walked out the door.

[heroicmuse]

I knew that app was trouble! Wonder what Nicholas is gonna do with everything he learned?

I'm glad Brady was visited by Isabella and it helped!

Great chapter André DiMera

[Kpatch]

Poignant scene with Brady and Isabella.

Curious to see what else Nicholas knows about his competitors.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 408

SALEM HIGH
It was the end of the school day. Claire was in one of the music rooms strumming her guitar. Chase walked in.
CHASE: Hey.
CLAIRE: Hey.
Claire put down the guitar, ran over to Chase, and kissed him.
CLAIRE: Thanks for meeting me here.
CHASE: No problem. Well, you must be feeling better. You're playing music again.
CLAIRE: I am feeling so much better! I went to see Dr. Kirshner again last night and he thinks we've finally found the right doseage of my new meds.
CHASE: That's great!
Chase and Claire hugged.
CLAIRE: Thanks. I'm still kinda bummed that we didn't get to do much on Valentine's Day last month.
CHASE: Hey, it's okay. You couldn't help that you were sick that day. Besides, Valentine's Day's just a day. We show each other how much we love each other all the time.
CLAIRE: I know. But, I was also thinking about what I had originally wanted to do for Valentine's Day, and since tonight's our usual date night anyway, I thought we could do it tonight.
CHASE: That'd be awesome! What did you have in mind?

ALAMAIN INDUSTRIES
Nicholas was in the middle of giving a presentation to some of his investors. He had a large screen showing a graph.
NICHOLAS: So, as you can see, since the re-opening late last week, Alamain Industries' sales have skyrocketed. #Aiapp has been trending, and is still currently in the top five trending hashtags on Twitter. We are rising very quickly in popularity. Now, I wish to show you my latest acquisition.
Nicholas tapped a button on his computer. Nothing happened. He tapped the button a second time. Still nothing. Nicholas chuckled slightly.
NICHOLAS: Gotta love computers, eh? Please, give me one second, everyone.
Nicholas pressed a button under the desk his computer was sitting on. Moments later, a young woman walked in.
WOMAN: Yes, sir?
NICHOLAS (whispering): It's Hadley, right?
The woman nodded.
NICHOLAS (whispering): Hadley, I need one of the IT guys up here but I can't let the investors see that. You work at Ecosystems, right?
HADLEY (whispering): I'm one of your secretaries, sir, but I know Ecosystems well enough.
NICHOLAS (whispering): Think you could provide a bit of a distraction for a little bit?
Hadley nodded. Nicholas clapped his hands together.
NICHOLAS: Right. Attention, everyone. As I said, I wanted to show you my latest acquisition. And, what better way to show you than to actually show you, am I right?
Nicholas gestured to Hadley.
NICHOLAS: This is Hadley. She will now be taking you on a tour of Ecosystems, the latest addition to the Alamain Industries family. We shall continue the presentation after the tour.
HADLEY: All right. Well, let's get started, everybody. If you will follow me, please.
The investors all got up and followed Hadley out of the room. Once they were all out, Nicholas pulled out his phone.
NICHOLAS: Ivan, come to Conference Room A. Bring the top three best IT guys we have on staff.

[heroicmuse]

Ha ha. Score 1 for Philip´s team. I wonder how Nicholas will deal with this.

Looking forward to Claire and Chase's date! Wonder what Claire has in mind.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[Kpatch]

So glad Nicholas is getting a taste of his own medicine!

[fluffysmom]

Nicholas thinks he has the upper hand.

I liked Brady's vision of Isabella.

I'm glad Claire's medicine is working.