CORY PUBLISHING - AMANDA'S OFFICE

Allen walks in...Amanda is sitting at her desk.

Allen: Good morning.

Amanda: What have you done?

Allen: What do you mean?

Amanda: I got the Head Editor's file this morning.

Allen: What about it?

Amanda: The Editors are concerned that the content these people are writing about is not going to sell books.

Allen: Can they tell the people to change it?

Amanda: If these people that we signed don't pan out, the company is gonna be in big trouble.

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CORYS LIVING ROOM

Elizabeth comes downstairs, notices Mitch sleeping on the couch, and screams "Fire!", and Mitch jumps up.

Mitch: What! Elizabeth is everything alright?

Elizabeth: Everything's fine here. I guess you'll be asking Felicia that when you get home.

Mitch: It was late and I was tired, so your mom let me crash here.

Elizabeth: But you could have gone home from the hospital, but you decided to come home with us. Is something going on between you and my mom?

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CASS'S HOUSE

Cass answers the doorbell, and sees a familiar face, his and Frankie's daughter, Charlotte, otherwise known as Charlie.

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HOSPITAL

John and Sharlene tend to their son Gregory, who is lying in the bed, unable to move his legs.

Gregory: I can't believe this happened.

Sharlene: Why did you get so angry at your father?

John: I was removing the hinges from his bedroom door.

Gregory: He was invading my privacy.

Sharlene: Well John why would you do that?

John: Did you see the living room the other day when we came home?

Sharlene: Yes he got angry because he was kicked off the football team.

John: No...Sharlene, that's not why he's been getting angry.

Gregory: Dad.

John: It's not time she knew. Gregory's rages are a result of steroid use.

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Cass: Charlie...uh...come in. What are you doing here?

Charlie: Nice to see you, too dad.

Cass: My God, you must have been driving all night. You're probably tired.

Charlie: As a matter of fact I am.

Cass: I'll have to order us something because I don't have a lot of food in the frig.

Charlie: Cool.

Cass: So how long are you staying till you go back to school?

Charlie: Dad...um...I'm not going to back to school.

Cass: Did I hear correctly? YOu're not what?

Charlie: I've been ruled academically ineligible. I flunked out.

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Allen (listening attentively): What are you saying?

Amanda: If these writers you signed don't pan out, we're gonna be in more financial trouble than we already are.

Allen: Well if you don't think material is gonna sell magazines and books, then we can just buy them out.

Amanda: We can't even afford buyouts, but we won't have a choice if they pull out.

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Mitch: Elizabeth, your mom is a friend. She's Matt's mother, too.

Elizabeth: And you're Matt's father, blah blah blah, same old story.

Mitch: Well I better get outta here.

Elizabeth: You haven't answered my question Mr. Blake.

Mitch: Oh ok. There's nothing going on between me and your mother. We're friends, that's all.

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Sharlene: And I guess you both decided it was best I didn't know until now!

John: We didn't want to upset you.

Sharlene: It took something like this to happen for you to tell me what was going with my son!

Gregory: Mom we didn't want you to react like the way you are now.

John: Sharlene we had you in mind. Gregory said he stopped using them.

Sharlene: You two lied to me when I found the needle! Excuse me I need to get some air.

As Sharlene walks to the elevator, she sees doctors and nurses walking, and has another flashback of Grant being wheeled in to the hospital after he was shot, and then another flashback of her standing over Paulina in tears, with Rachel holding Paulina.

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Meanwhile, a man with a gun walks up to another man sitting at a table, and the man at the table signs his signature on divorce papers for Cameron Sinclair and Amanda Cory Sinclair.

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Allen is on his cell phone in a secluded corner of Cory Publishing. "Reginald, I think we're getting closer than we thought."

----------------------------------------------------------END OF EPISODE 17------------------------------------------------