Chapter 4- The Thunderstorm

Cameron sat in front of a desk as Mac spoke to him. "Cameron, your dad and Diane are on their way. I want to help you. I know you're a good kid—"

"I'm not saying anything else without my lawyer," Cameron said.

Mac nodded. "That's understandable."

Finally, Jason arrived with Diane.

Jason squeezed Cam's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"This is ludicrous," Diane said. "There is no way that Cameron stole that money. Certainly, it's on the surveillance footage."

"Unfortunately, their cameras weren't working," Mac said. "Which is why I'll need to question Cameron."

"I'll need to speak to him first," Diane said.

Mac nodded as Diane, Jason, and Cameron headed into the interrogation room.

Diane walked back and forth while Jason and Cam sat down. "Cameron, I'll need you to be 100% honest with me. What happened at Kelly's?"

"I went with Enzo and Anastasia to the counter to get desserts," Cam said. "Then Violet spilled her drink. That must be when Enzo slipped the money into my pocket."

Diane raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't feel something touching you at all?"

Cam shook his head. "I was too distracted, I guess."

"Then what happened?"

"We sat for dessert and I was bored out of my mind. Then Aunt Sarah couldn't breathe, and the ambulance came. Oh, I kind of remember Enzo going to talk to the waitress."

Jason looked up at Diane. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking it's not looking good for Cameron. Unless Anastasia comes forward and says she saw Enzo plant the money in your pocket."

"She'll probably take her brother's side," Jason said.

"Nathan stayed behind to question them," Cam said.

Diane frowned. "Hopefully she'll have the decency to tell the truth."

GHGHGH

"Hey, how was your dinner with your cousins?" Laura asked from the living room where she sat with Kevin and Lucky as Lorenzo and Anastasia walked in.

Anastasia smiled. "It was very nice catching up. Violet is adorable."

Enzo shrugged. "They're okay."

"Where's your mother?" Lucky asked.

"She had trouble breathing," Anastasia said. "Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Steve took her to the hospital by ambulance. They seemed quite concerned."

Laura exchanged a look with Kevin and Lucky.

"What?" Lucky's eyes grew wide and he grabbed his jacket. "I need to get to the hospital."

"Drive carefully," Laura said. "The storm is getting bad. And keep us posted, I'm sure Sarah will be all right."

Lucky rushed out the door.

Laura walked over to her grandchildren and wrapped an arm around each of them. "You both must be so worried—"

"Not really," Enzo said.

"She'll be okay, right Grandma?" Anastasia looked up at her grandmother.

"I certainly hope so," Laura said. "Why don't you sit with us for a while until we hear some news?"

"I'm rather tired," Anastasia yawned. "Jet lag and all."

"Me too," Enzo agreed.

Laura nodded sadly. "Well, your rooms are all set up for you. I've set out wash cloths for you in the bathroom. Don't hesitate if you need anything."

"Goodnight, kids," Kevin called from the couch.

Anastasia hugged Laura. "Goodnight, Grandma. I'm so glad we're here. I've missed you."

Laura smiled with tears in her eyes. "I've missed you both more than you will ever know." She kissed her forehead.

Anastasia laid down in her bed and pulled two twenties out of her pocket and held them high above her, grinning.

Seconds later, Enzo walked in.

Anastasia sat up straight. "You need to knock, you brat!"

"Hey, is that the thanks I get for having your back earlier?"

She shrugged. "The waitress still would've noticed the money was gone."

Enzo crossed his arms. "We might've been gone before that happened if I didn't tip her off that Cam robbed the register. So how much did you end up taking?"

"Forty."

He scrunched his face. "Forty? But you planted five hundred on Cam!"

"Exactly. They'll be too focused on the missing five hundred to even notice forty gone. Now get out of here before Grandma and Kevin get suspicious."

GHGHGH

After finishing her article, Lulu walked past Charlotte's room and Rocco's empty room to see the light from the kitchen. She was disappointed when Dante said he'd be working late.

"Rocco? Are you getting a snack?"

She gasped when she saw Rocco passed out next to the opened fridge with a half-eaten cupcake in his hand.

GHGHGH

"Cameron, unfortunately it's your word against Enzo's," Mac said. "Since Anastasia says she didn't witness any of it. And because the money was found in your pocket, you're going to have to spend the night in jail."

Cam looked horrified. "Dad, do something. I didn't steal the money!"

"Cameron is innocent," Jason said. "Can I at least pay bail money until I can prove his innocence?"

Mac shook his head. "I'm afraid that will have to wait until he sees the judge tomorrow." He started to handcuff him.

"I didn't steal anything!" Cam insisted.

"It's okay, your mother and I will figure this out," Jason said. "Just stay strong. I'm going to cancel my work trip."

GHGHGH

The lights flickered in the hospital waiting room where Carly and Bobbie sat across from Alexis and Lucas as the storm got stronger outside.

"How is Molly doing?" Bobbie asked. "And Leo?"

Lucas frowned. "Leo's slipped into a coma too. Brooklyn's sitting with him right now. Wiley is with Ned."

Alexis dabbed at her wet eyes. "There must be some connection with this. There has to be. Who is poisoning everyone?"

Crack.

The four of them hurried over to the window and gasped as the old oak tree ripped through the windy rain and smashed to the ground.

Ring. Ring.

Carly pressed her phone to her ear. "Olivia?"

"Carly, hi. I'm sorry to bother you, I really hope Jax pulls through. But I wanted to tell you that the roof ripped off the Metro Court and has already broken some windows. There's debris flying everywhere. I'm doing my best to alert all the guests to stay away from the windows."

Carly's eyes bulged. "What?"

GHGHGH

"I wanna go home," Scout mumbled as she lay on her stomach colouring on the floor of Sam's office.

"Yeah, I wanted to watch more Mandalorian tonight," Danny agreed as he sat at Sam's desk doing homework.

"Daddy's just making sure it's safe first," Sam said.

Woosh. Woosh.

Sam peaked out the window. "The storm's getting bad anyway."

"Bad?" Danny looked over at her. "It looks like a hurricane out there."

Sure enough, what looked like large pieces of debris began flying outside their window.

"Danny, Scout, let's move to the hallway." Sam scooped up Scout and ushered Danny towards the door.

"Why?" Danny complained.

"Just go!" Sam moved them quickly to the hallway.

Crack. Smash.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Sam set Scout down beside Danny. "Stay right here, together. Don't. Move."

She hurried into Drew's office. Large pieces of debris and glass sat on the opened textbooks on the desk and on the floor. Rain poured through the broken window. Her eyes darted back and forth.

"Willow!? Kristina!? Willow!?"

"Sam!" Kristina's voice called out from under the desk.

Sam made her way over the broken glass and hunched over next to the desk, where Kristina and Willow huddled under. Blood dripped from their faces and arms.

Sam reached for Kristina's hand since she was closer and helped her to her feet. "Go to the hallway! Quick!"

Kristina sprinted to the hallway as fast as she could.

Sam reached out to Willow. "Come on, baby."

Willow squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Willow, there's debris flying outside. You're already hurt. We need to move away from the window and look at your cuts."

She shook her head again.

Sam groaned and knelt beside her cutting her knees on some glass. She screamed out in pain and tried to pull Willow to her feet, but Willow just crouched closer against the corner of the desk. "Baby, you need to trust me. I will protect you, but we can't stay here. Open your eyes and look at me."

Willow slowly opened her eyes as rain gushed on them.

"Good, that's good." Sam smiled at her. "We need to go now. Your brother and sister and Kristina are out there. We need to go to them. If we stay here, we're going to get hurt. It's time to be brave. Please, please trust me."

Willow rose a little and crashed into Sam's arms sobbing. Sam rubbed her back, then helped her to her feet. She still wasn't used to Willow being an inch taller than her now and she wasn't even finished growing yet. Sam squeezed Willow's hand as they left Drew's office.