Cataclysmic devastation crushed Dana and Alice. They sat in tearful silence for a few minutes before Alice composed herself and summoned the courage to speak.

“The baby was a girl,” she whispered and dissolved into tears again.

Dana’s reaction was far more internalized. She closed her eyes and bit her lip in an attempt to regain some control. Tears would not undo this. She had survived, but the baby had not. This made no sense. It had happened so quickly. Just a few hours earlier, they’d been on top of the world. And now their daughter was dead.

Bette and Tina made a tactful exit shortly after Sharon and Irwin arrived at the hospital. They knew that there wasn’t anything more that they could do at the moment and opted to spend the rest of the day with Angelica. She was the tonic they needed to get them back on an even keel as the memories of their own loss and the aftermath flooded over them.

“I always knew you were a manipulative conniver,” Richard Perkins spat at Lara, “but I’m telling you now that you will not get away with this. Charlotte was vulnerable and you took advantage of her. Anyone can see that.”

“That’s not true,” protested Lara. “I had no idea that she changed her will. We never once discussed it.”

“Why couldn’t you just stay away,” hissed Jane. “You’ve brought us nothing but shame. And now this?”

“I beg your pardon,” Helena said icily, “but Lara has done anything but…”

“No one was speaking to you,” interrupted Richard. “This is none of your business. Being a Peabody doesn’t give you any rights here.” He glared at Helena.

“Be that as it may,” Helena continued calmly, “Lara has made a place for herself in this world despite what you did to her. She’s a rising star in the culinary world…she has friends who love her and are her family… and she makes a fine living. She has no need or desire for Charlotte’s money.” Lara’s hand found its way to Helena’s and she gave it a gentle squeeze. Helena stopped speaking immediately.

“What we did to her?” Jane was incensed. “Are you really that twisted? Have you never read a bible? We did nothing to her but love her and give her the best of everything. She chose a deviant lifestyle and in doing so, got exactly the consequences we told her came with it.”