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(EXT: Mark & Sherri's house)

----Mason drags an irritated Mark back inside, throwing him onto the living room couch. Mason tells Mark he could kill him for what he's done to Mary.

"What I've done? You mean saving her life? Or taking her away from you?"

Mason stands up to punch Mark, but Pearl holds him back, reminding him that Mark needs to be concious for them to get the answers that they're looking for. Mark looks at his mother, with a desperation in his eyes.

"How could you? How could you, of all people, do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Mark. But I needed to do the right thing and this is it. I think you see that though. Letting Mary go on the way she has is......abominable," Maureen says, choking the words out, "and is not at all reminiscent of the boy I raised. What happened?"

"I think you know what happened mom. Worked out nicely for you, didn't it? Dad was dead, I killed him, and you didn't have to pay for it in any way. But that's not why we're here, is it? We're here to discuss mine and Mary's child, isn't that right?" he says, smiling at Mary.

"There's no way of knowing for sure who's child it was Mark. You made sure of that."

"Oh believe me, he was every bit my son..."

"HE!?!" Mary exclaims, "I thought I had a little girl, that's what you told-"

"Surprise, surprise Mary. You were misinformed." Mark smiles, looking at Sherri.

Mary's face fills with rage and she jumps up and lunges at Sherri. "YOU B!TCH! How COULD YOU?" she shrieks as she attacks her. Mason & Pearl jump up and pull the two apart, while Mark sits looking at them with a smile across his face.

(EXT: Baja, Mexico- CLINIC)

----Angel is stunned when he sees Kirk & Santana standing over Cruz's bed, but not half as shocked as they are when they see him looking at them. They lock eyes and Angel begins running down the hallway. Kirk takes off after him, with Santana not far behind. The nurses ask Santana if everything is alright and she says fine as she speeds past. Kirk catches up with Angel outside and stops him from going to his car.

"Stop! Angel, stop, it's not what you think?"

"Are you kidding me? You think I was born yesterday pal? I know all about your obsession with Eden and hatred for Cruz....."

"All of that may be true, though some of the same could be said for you. After all, didn't Cruz send you to prison? And when he got out, wasn't he the direct cause of your daughter's kidnapping?"

"Yeah, I hated Castillo- for years I hated him. But I wouldn't wish this on him- and working with him and the way he got me out of prison......He was an honorable man. Or I should say is an honorable man."

"And you'd be deeply betraying him if you told Eden that you saw him," Santana says, approaching the two.

"Santana. You see how it's tearing her up, the way she's treating my family. How could you-"

"Because I'm respecting Cruz's wishes. No one can know he's alive, or he'll be in great danger. Until this killer is found and brought to justice, nobody will be safe, especially Eden. If you go to that police station and tell her, what do you think she'll do? She'll come running here to see him and then we'll all be in danger, which isn't what Cruz wants."

"So I'm supposed to just say nothing and watch her go on in agony, lashing out and teetering on the edge of......God knows what?"

"That's exactly what you do Angel. For Cruz. You think it's easy for me? I was raised with Eden, I was in love with her brother, I can't stand what this is doing to her. But she's alive, isn't she?"

"I don't know if I can-"

"Oh drop the innocent act Angel, you had no problem trying to pull a switcheroo with me with those maps. This is child's play compared to that. Don't you think you owe it to Cruz?"

"I wanna talk to him."

"That's not possible. He's in and out of conciousness and today has been a particularly traumatic day for him. You're just going to have to trust me."

Angel looks at Santana, then looks Kirk up and down. He gets in his car and takes off for the police station.

(EXT: Baja Police Station)

----Marta emerges from the interview room, shaken and disturbed. Eden looks at Julia and they approach the distraught girl.

"Where's my dad?" she asks.

"He had to leave for a little while, he'll be back shortly," Julia responds, "Are you alright?"

Marta nods that she is.

"Was it them?" Eden asks. "Was it the same two guys who kidnapped you? Did they get the right ones?"

Marta again nods at her. "You gotta understand, Mrs. Castillo, I feared for my life from these guys."

Eden gives Julia a disbelieving look.

"Lady, for someone so affluent, you're a really dumb woman. These guys were trying to take your daughter. I stopped them. I messed up their whole plan and then they had me, the wrong girl, of no use to them. If I didn't do everything that I did, I would've been dead months ago. I understand you lost your husband in the deal and I'm real sorry about that. I am. But I did what I had to do in there to stay alive and I won't be judged by you or anyone else for doing what I did. You woulda done the same thing if you was me."

The lead investigator then comes out and tells them that both men are being interrogated. Eden tells them to offer them whatever they want to get to Cruz's killer. He tells her they're being less than forthcoming and no matter what, have to pay for their crime. Julia shows them the authorization from the SBPD, explicitly saying that offers are to be extended going as far as immunity for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Cruz's death. Marta is appalled by what she hears.

"You mean these guys, that I just identified, that they could go free after what they did? What kind of bull-"

"What kind of BULL is it that my husband is dead? Is that what you were about to say? Because that was the end result of your little kidnapping, Marta. You were let go without a scratch on you and my husband was blown to smithereens!" Eden turns to the investigator. "Offer what you can. I want whoever did this held accountable, no matter what you have to do."

The investigator nods in affirmation and says he'll do his best to keep them posted on the interrogations. He heads back to the interview room, as Angel arrives on the scene. Marta runs and hugs her father, sobbing a little.

"Marta, my Marta, are you alright? What happened?"

"It's them, papa, it's them. It was the guys-"

"Ay, mija, shhhhh, shhhh, it's okay now. I'm here."

"They're gonna get away with it because of them. They're gonna get away with it!"

Angel asks what Marta is talking about and Julia fills him in. Marta is stunned when Angel takes the news in stride, saying they need to do whatever they can to make sure Cruz's murderer is punished, even if it means Marta's kidnappers going free.

(EXT: Newark, New Jersey)

----Mason and Pearl are able to pry Mary and Sherri off of one another. Maureen looks and sees her son continuing to smile at the scene.

"You laugh at this? Look at the pain you've caused these people Mark, the torment and the agony they've suffered for years. All because of you, my son. Where is the good in you? How can you not feel compelled to do what's right, especially since you say you loved this woman."

"He doesn't know the meaning of the word, Maureen, at least not the Mark I've always known," Mason snorts.

"And the only word you can understand, Mason, is revenge. It's what drives you, always has. Bruises your ego a bit to know that somebody turned the tables on you for once, doesn't it? You want the truth? I may regret what this has done to Mary, but don't think for a second I regret keeping her away from you. It was the best thing I could do for her and that baby. I respected her wishes and didn't dare raise our son. But I wasn't about to let you have any influence over his life."

"You keep referring to the child as yours, but I still see no proof of that." Mason retorts.

"Oh, it's my son Mason, but you don't have to take my word for it. After all, if it were my son, why would you even care about him? Oh, that's right, because you "care" so much about Mary. That's why you manipulated her into prosecuting me in open court, much against any will of her own."

"So where is he, Mark? Where is my son?"

"Quite honestly, I don't know. He bounced from foster home to foster home for many years, but when he turned 16, he left the system and hasn't been seen since. You can check with the state of California for his records."

"What's his name, Mark?" Mary asks.

"Actually, that changed from home to home. He would claim to want to reinvent himself wherever he went, and swiched his first and last names as he bounced around. Again, the state will confirm what I'm telling you. He's alive, I'm certain of that. I've researched the deaths of young men around his age in California and some of the US over the years and none match up. But that's it. That's all I know."

"Are we supposed to believe all this Mark? You hid and sent us on a wild goose chase because you know absolutely nothing? I'm not buying it."

"Believe what you want Mason, I don't give a damn. The records in California will back me up. He's out there, somewhere he's out there, alive. But keep in mind this is my son you're looking for, Capwell. Mine and Mary's- nothing will ever change that. You're looking for MY son. MINE!"

Mason looks at Pearl and Pearl nods his head affirmatively. Mason pulls back and decks Mark, sending him across the couch and leaving his lip bleeding and face red.

"That was a long time coming," Mason says, as he, Pearl, Mary, and Maureen exit the house.

THE END........................til later