AT MAISON BLANCHE:

Up in the attic, Sami finished her breakfast and pouted. She walked across the room to take out the diary and as she sensed its power in her hands, she decided she had to take action now. It had been several weeks earlier that during the long, boring hours she spent in the attic that she had figured out how to use an old bobby pin to pry open the lock on the old attic door. Now was the time to put that knowledge into action, before it was too late, she thought.

Sami figured Bart would be posted outside Maison Blanche’s front door and that Rolf, Lexie, E.J. and Stefano would all be downstairs. But she had to get down there somehow, either to find an escape or find a way to Lexie. She grabbed one of the luxurious robes that hung in the attic’s closet and put it on and stuffed the diary into its large front pocket. Sami headed downstairs slowly but swiftly, at least as swiftly as a pregnant woman could.

Out of sight, but within earshot of E.J. and Lexie, Sami hid in the stairway and listened as they talked.

“So Lexie, are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?” E.J. asked as he and Lexie walked down the last steps of the grand staircase and walked into the large front room of the mansion.

“Yes, E.J. I will tell you, but you aren’t going to like hearing this,” Lexie said with trepidation. “Despite the improved spirits Father has been demonstrating the past several months as he recovered from the kidney transplant, I’m afraid he’s not going to make it much longer unless…”

“Unless what?” E.J. asked with concern.

“Well, Rolf says that we need to induce labor now,” Lexie said. “He needs that umbilical cord blood now to develop the cure for Father’s condition, if he is to live.”

“But Samantha is so close to giving birth already. I don’t see how it’s necessary to risk her life or the life of her child,” E.J. said throwing his hands up in disgust.

“It’s quite necessary,” Rolf said, stepping out of the fireplace passageway to join their conversation.

AT ABE'S HOUSE:

Celeste had heard about the strange disappearance of Sami and E.J. after Sami’s honeymoon, but she had just figured that E.J. kidnapped her or the foolish girl had run away with him. Now she wondered if the two of them were with Lexie.

“Thank you spirits, for your patience, but can you tell me what is going to happen? I must know,” Celeste said trembling as she turned over the next card.

It was The Tower – the card she feared the most. The picture itself was disturbing enough with the lightning bolt striking the tower causing its crown to pop off, a fire to erupt and showing two men tumbling face first to their deaths. But even more troubling was what the card stood for: forever life-changing chaos and destruction.

Celeste had to find Lexie before her life was ruined or worse, she was killed. But how?

“Spirits, I appreciate all you have done for me, but I need something more – someone to help me make sense of this and help me find my daughter. Who in this world can help me figure out where Lexie is?”

After Celeste finished her question, the candle wick burnt itself out. Celeste knew the spirits had done all they would do to help her as she turned over the next card.

“The Fool?” Celeste scoffed as she looked at the young man depicted treading blissfully unaware that he is about to step off a cliff. “Is this some kind of joke?”

But Celeste knew the card had to have a purpose. She believed the card held the answer to her question. She paused for a moment to try to make sense of it, before a knowing smile wrapped around her face.

“Ah yes,” Celeste said getting up to find a phone book to look up the listing for Mythic Communications.

She dialed the phone and put it up to her ear.

“Hi, can I speak with Lucas Roberts please? Tell him this is Celeste. It’s important.”