One Wild Night

Lawrence's letter read,

[To the family I can call my own, thanks to my son;

If you are reading this now, it could only mean that I am dead. I know it's going to be too sudden for you all to take in, but I hope you don't feel sad or guilty over my death. I don't want any of that for you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all about the state of my health. I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I do not know if my heart will make it through the night, but if it does, then I will come to see you all one last time after my speech in the morning. But again, if you're reading this, it means I didn't make it. I am as disappointed in myself as I know you will all be when you hear that Dawn is my daughter. Forgive me.

To my dear son, Desmond:

I'm sorry for not being a good enough father for you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in the way you wanted me to be there, and I'm sorry for being too proud to admit my regrets all this time. There has never been a moment that I didn't love you, nor one in which I wasn't proud of you. You are a far more better father than I am, and I can only hope that you can find it in you to forgive your foolish father, and remember me for the times when I was present and there for you, if any. I love you.

To my lovely Evelyn:

Thank you. Thank you for being the daughter I never had. Thank you for being a good friend to this foolish old man all these years. Thank you for being there for Desmond in ways I never was. It is thanks to you that he built this beautiful family which I cherish. I love you, Evelyn.

To my first grandson, Tom:

I'm sorry once again for pulling such an expensive prank on you. I never even knew she was my child until after the prank. If I had known Dawn was my child, I would never have thought of pranking you that way using her. I'm sorry. I hope you do not hold my mistake against her. I also hope that things work out between you and Lucy and that you both end up getting married. I'm so proud of you, Tom. And I'm proud of the empire you've built for yourself.

To my second grandson, Bryan:

I'm happy you finally decided to stop being a rascal and chose to settle down. I'm grateful that I was alive to learn about your engagement and the fact that you are already on the path to fatherhood. I'm sorry I won't be there for your wedding or get the chance to hold your child.

To my precious granddaughter, Jade:

I'm sorry I couldn't hang around long enough for you to proudly introduce your boyfriend to me. Harry is a loyal gentleman and he has such a brilliant mind. I have no doubt that he would be a wonderful partner. Yes, I am aware that Harry is your boyfriend. And I'm happy to give you my approval even in death.

I know it's selfish of me to ask this from you all, especially Desmond, but I still have to ask. Please, do not let Dawn suffer for my sin. I beg of you to look past my shortcomings and accept her wholeheartedly.

Your unworthy father, grateful father-in-law, and proud grandfather, Lawrence.]

The study was silent as Desmond read the letter. Desmond rose and turned his back to his family as a tear dropped from his eyes.

He didn't know how to feel now that his father had actually apologized to him. Why did he have to wait until he was dead to apologize to him? Why didn't he do so during their last dinner together if he truly felt that way? Desmond mused sadly.

"What does it say?" Evelyn asked, cutting through Desmond's thought, and he passed the letter to her, which she in turn passed to Tom after reading, and Tom passed it to Bryan until all of them read directly from the letter.

Evelyn placed a hand on her husband's shoulders in silent comfort since she knew he might be feeling quite overwhelmed after reading the letter.

"You told him about me and Harry?" Jade asked Evelyn curiously.

"Is that what is important right now?" Bryan asked her with disapproval.

"I don't mind if she told him. I'm just glad that he knew," Jade said with a sigh.

"So what are we going to do about Dawn now?" Jade asked when no one said anything after some time.

Everyone looked at Desmond since this was his decision to make. Dawn was after all his kid sister, whether or not he liked it, and as such, he was responsible for her.

"There is nothing we can do about her right now. We can't take her away from her family, and we can't bring her close right now, else her mother would become a part of our lives, and we don't want that either, considering what she had done. We will have to do keep an eye on her from afar and wait until she is old enough to make decisions for herself before approaching her. Her inheritance will be kept in trust for her pending when she turns eighteen."

"We don't have to bring her close. Checking on her occasionally should be enough to establish our presence in her life. I don't think she would want to have anything to do with us if we only watch from afar until she turns eighteen," Evelyn said and Jade nodded in agreement.

"That is a valid point. Tom you don't have to be involved. Your mom and I will visit as often as we can and call them to check on her. The rest of you can reconnect with her when she grows older," Desmond said and they all nodded in agreement this time.

"I guess you are all leaving for Ludus tomorrow, right?" Evelyn asked and Jade shook her head.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, but not to Ludus. Harry and I are going to Sogal with his family," Jade explained, and Evelyn raised a brow.

"Is something happening there?" Desmond asked and Jade shook her head.

"Harry wants to help them settle in, and I want to go with him. We will go back to Ludus in a day or two," Jade said and her parents nodded in approval.

"Sonia and I won't be going back to Ludus yet either," Bryan announced and they all turned their curious gaze to Bryan.

"Why not?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"I promised to go with her to visit her parents gravesite before our wedding," Bryan explained.

"I guess that means Lucy and I will be traveling alone together tomorrow," Tom said and they all nodded.

"Let's go join the others so we can retire for the night. It has been a long day," Desmond said as he rose, and they all did the same.

While the Hanks were in the study, Lucy, Sonia, Harry, Candace, and Matt, were all seated in the Den watching the video of Sara's disgrace which had been sent to Harry.

Aaron had left earlier with Jamal, saying he wanted to get some rest, but Harry and Candace could tell that he had left because he didn't want to see the video of Sara.

As they watched it, Lucy called her mom to inform her of what had happened and to ask her to look out for it on the evening news.

"This was so satisfying to watch," Lucy said with approval as they watched Sara collapse on the screen.

"For someone who wanted to double cross you, Crystal looks quite shaken," Candace observed in amusement.

"She was going to double-cross you?" Lucy asked and Harry nodded as he told her what happened and how he handled it.

"It's no wonder she looks so shaken. She is probably thinking about what you would have done to her had she double crossed you, seeing what you did to your own mother," Candace said and Harry raised a brow.

"Your mother, you mean?" he asked and she shook her head.

"No. I meant your mom," Candace said with a sweet smile and the rest of them laughed.

"How did you come up with the idea to have police detectives and reporters disguised as hospital staff?" Sonia asked as she looked at Harry with newfound respect.

"That wasn't part of my plan. I planned for her to walk into the theater and be greeted by the reporters. I think Tom is the one who arranged for that," Harry said and Lucy looked at him with interest.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't want any mistakes. I hope you liked my surprise, Harry?" Tom asked Harry as he walked into the Den with Jade and Bryan.

"I loved it," Harry said, giving him a thumbs up.

"I'm glad she finally got what she deserves," Candace said and they all nodded in agreement.

"You should come and see the videos, Jade," Candace said but Jade shook her head.

"I will do that tomorrow. I'm going upstairs now. I'm exhausted," Jade said, and Harry rose to follow her.

"Let's call it a night then," Harry said as he extended a hand to Jade and she took it.

"Let's talk in the morning, Tom," Harry said to Tom and he gave him a nod.

"Babe, let's go to the bedroom so you can get some rest. You must be exhausted from all that bawling earlier," Bryan said and Sonia glared at him.

"I didn't bawl," she hissed as she rose to go with him.

"Yes, you did. Go to bed," Lucy said and both Bryan and Sonia glared at her.

"Don't talk to my fianceé that way," Bryan said to Lucy.

"Don't talk to my best friend that way."

"Don't talk to my girlfriend in that manner," Sonia and Tom said simultaneously, and Jade rolled her eyes as she pulled Harry away with her.

"I can't stand this. Let's go," she said to Harry who was chuckling.

"Don't talk to my cousin that way," Harry called out as he walked away with Jade, and they all laughed, while Jade rammed her elbow against his side playfully.

"My feelings are hurt. The world has turned against me," Bryan said dramatically and Sonia kissed his cheek.

"I'm your world, and I can't turn against you. Let's go to bed," Sonia said and bid the others goodnight as she left with Bryan.

"We should also call it a night, Jewel," Tom said, and they both left.

Matt who had been silent the whole time turned to Candace. "It's just the two of us now," he said and Candace smiled.

"Yeah."

"So, are you alright?" Matt asked, and Candace raised a brow.

"Sure. Why?" Candace asked and he shrugged.

"I was just thinking that your feelings might be hurt. I mean, watching your moth...."

"Sara. Call her Sara, Matt. She isn't my mother," Candace cut in.

"There is no reason for my feelings to be hurt. She doesn't know me, and neither do I know her. I like things the way they are," Candace said dismissively.

Even though Matt didn't entirely believe her, he didn't argue with her. Instead he took her hand and raised it to his lips.

"I'm relieved you are unaffected by her. For a minute there I was worried that you might be upset at the thought that she would have wanted to do something like that to you had she gotten to you first before Harry," Matt said but Candace said nothing to that.

The thought had actually crossed her mind while watching the video but she had refused to dwell on it. It didn't matter. There was no point dwelling on what could or might have happened.

What was important was that Sara had been exposed and would most likely be spending the rest of her life in jail by the time all her crimes as exposed by Amos would be brought up in court.

"Let's go to bed," Candace said but before she could rise Matt stopped her.

"I want to travel with you tomorrow. Can I come?" He asked and she raised a brow.

"Why? I thought you had other plans?"

"I did before you became my girlfriend. Now I have to go with you to help you move from your former home to your new home. And I also want to know where you will be living now," Matt said and Candace smiled.

"Alright. You can come with us," she said, happy that she wouldn't have to say goodbye to him the next day as she had thought she would.

Right now, Candace was happy with the direction her life was going. It seemed like Lady Luck was smiling at her. She now had a wonderful family, a doting boyfriend, and she knew she was never going to have financial issues ever again. All that was left to make everything perfect for her, was Andy's presence.