STOLEN CHANCES - PART SEVENTEEN

PREVIOUSLY

"Okay," he says, leaning over to kiss her. "Take care of yourself. I'll be back soon."

"Don't be too long," she says as she holds him extra tight. "I love you."

"I love you too, Delgado," he says on his way out the door.

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Michelle fumbles through her purse, searching for her keys when she hears the footsteps behind her. She turns around to see that Roscoe has followed her to her hotel. Or was he here waiting for her? He always had a sense of knowing her every move.

"Why don't you let me help you with that, Michelle," Roscoe says to her, seeing that she's found her keys.

"What makes you think I want you in my hotel room? I think you should leave."

"We have some things to talk about Michelle. Why don't you let me in. You know I'm not leaving until you do."

Michelle silently obeys Roscoe and lets him. She walks over to the bar and fixes a drink for herself and for Roscoe, while he makes his way to a chair.

"This is a nice place you got here, Michelle," he remarks, looking around the room. "But Ryan can't like it very much. You know how he always liked that . . ."

"You leave my son out of this Roscoe. He's none of your concern. What are you doing here? Have you been chasing me all of this time?"

"You know what I want, Michelle. And running from me isn't going to stop me from getting it. Now that I've found you, I think it's time that you pay up. One way or another."

"What are you talking about, Roscoe? I don't owe you anything. The deal you made was with my father. Go collect from him."

"Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. It's not going to work like that. I performed a valuable service for your father. In return, he promised me something he valued greatly - you. Now, if you don't want to pay the price, I think we can come up with an equally lucrative settlement."

"You want me to pay you off? Is that what you're getting at? Roscoe, you're not getting me and you sure aren't going to get a dime of my money. If this is all you came here to tell me, I suggest you leave before I call the police."

"And tell them what? I'm not doing anything illegal. Nothing that anyone can prove anyway. And I can be pretty convincing, as you already know. I doubt they'll arrest me. Calling the cops would just be a waste of time. But, I know one thing. I can see that it's going to take a little bit more time convince you to pay me. I might have to get to know that Todd Manning. He might want to hear about. . ."

"You leave Todd out of this," Michelle demands. "He doesn't know anything about you. He just wants to get to know his son."

"So, that boy is pretty important to him. I'll bet you he won't feel that way after I tell him a few things," Roscoe threatens.

"Like what? What could you possibly have to tell him?"

"I could tell him that Ryan's not his. I could make him believe that Ryan's my son."

"But that's not true, Roscoe. You know that Todd is Ryan's father. Why would you do such a thing? It would kill Todd if he thought something like that. And it would kill Ryan for Todd to dessert him. Why would you put my son through that?"

"The question is, why would you put your son through that? Don't push me, Michelle. Pay me what you owe me, or else I'm telling Todd that Ryan is my son."

"Do you want to repeat that?" Michelle and Roscoe both look towards the door and see Todd standing there, angry and confused.

"Did I hear you right? Ryan isn't my son? Michelle, what's going on here." Todd says, trying hard to keep a reign on his emotions, but losing the battle with each passing second.

"Todd, don't listen to him . . ." Michelle begs.

"Listen, mister. I don't blame you for being upset. Michelle pulled this same scam on me a few years ago. Except, I had the good sense to get a blood test done before I believed it. Obviously you didn't think to ask for proof."

"You had a blood test? And it was definite that you're Ryan's father?" Todd looks from Roscoe to Michelle, not believing she could have done this to him. His heart was telling him to fight for the truth, but his head was telling him to get as far away from Michelle as he could. She had hurt him again, with a hurt that was unforgiveable. "I can't believe you. I'm out of here."

"Todd! Todd! Wait, he's lying. Todd!" But it was too late. Todd had raced down the hall, running from the hurt and the pain. He ran until he reached the bar downstairs and stopped to have a drink. He couldn't show back up at Llanfair a wreck. He needed time to calm down. He needed time to think.

Back in Michelle's room, a satisfied Roscoe stood in the doorway behind Michelle, laughing at how quickly his plan had worked.

"Well, it looks like the ball's in my court. You have two choices, Michelle. Todd doesn't strike me as a very reasonable man. But if you manage to somehow convince him that I'm lying, I can find some forged blood tests that will turn him against you again. Or, you can just pay me now, and I'll go to him and tell him that I lied. The clock's ticking, Michelle. Make the decision."

"You must be out of your mind. There's no way I'm paying you now. Not after that stunt you just pulled. Get out. Get out now! You're never getting a dime of my money," she yells, pushing him towards the door. All of a sudden, Michelle feels his hands around her neck, squeezing tighter and tighter. It's getting harder and harder for her to breath. She can't fight him much longer.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Michelle. I'm getting my money, one way or the other. I tried to do things the easy way, but you've pushed me too far. Things are about to get hard now," he says, banging her head against the door over and over. Finally, the darkness overtook Michelle, and the last thing she saw was the world around her spinning just before she felt her limp body fall to the floor.

TO BE CONTINUED