Fantastic S5 Episode 68(2/14/24)

At Julia’s penthouse, Julia opens the front door and finds Virginia standing outside. “You made it.” Julia observes. “Of course I did, sweetheart! Can I come in?” Virginia asks. Julia steps aside and Virginia walks in. “Listen, I just want you to know how sorry I am about what happened yesterday! I came off too strong and I can see why you got upset.” Virginia says. “I know. When I invited Victor to the wedding, he told me how upset you were over our argument.” Julia says. “Even moreso when I found out you’d be getting married today and I hadn’t been invited. Honey, I understand why you’re angry. I’d be angry if anybody questioned if my relationship with Victor was real or not! I just really hope you can forgive me. Not only do I not like you being angry with me, but the thought of not being there to see my girl walk down the aisle absolutely kills me!” Virginia says. “That’s why I called you down here. I was very upset last night, but after taking some time to think about it more, I’ve come to realize that I may have been a little harsh on you. I understand why you’d be concerned, and I should know better than to ever expect you not to voice those concerns. I overreacted, mama, and for that I’m sorry.” Julia says. “I’m sorry too, baby. Can we start over?” Virginia wonders. Julia smiles. “I’d like that. In fact, I would love it if you would come to the wedding today.” Julia says. “You don’t even have to ask! Of course I’ll be there!” Virginia says. “There’s something else…I’d also really like it if you would walk me down the aisle.” Julia says. “You…you want me to do that? Ain’t that ordinarily the father’s job?” Virginia asks. “Ordinarily, yes. I considered asking Victor to do it, but the truth is I haven’t known him for all that long. I’ve known you my entire life. You have been the one constant in my life since the day I was born, and I’d love it if you would be the one to walk me down the aisle to my future husband.” Julia says. Virginia smiles. “I’d love nothing more. Come here!” Virginia exclaims, before pulling Julia into a hug.

At the Lakeside Diner, Brody and Acerbi are seated at a table. “This is so strange.” Brody says. “What is?” Acerbi wonders. “Enjoying a meal out in public with my mum. I’ve been a fugitive for the past eight years, it just doesn’t feel all that normal to me.” Brody says. “Well I suggest you get used to it, this is your new normal. It pleases me so much that you have been granted a second chance at life, that you’ve given me a second chance! Thank you, my dear son.” Acerbi says. “Thank you for giving ME a second chance. I know I haven’t always been the best son, but now that I’m back, hopefully you and I can make up for lost time.” Brody says. “I’d like that. Does that mean you plan on staying in Fantastic City?” Acerbi questions. “That’s the plan. I’m hoping to be able to plant some roots here, I’m tired of traveling all over the world. I’d like to be able to call somewhere home.” Brody says. “If its a home you are looking for, you could always move in with me. I have plenty of room!” Acerbi says. “I appreciate that, but I think I’d prefer to stay at the castle.” Brody says. “Darling, with all due respect, no one in the castle likes you!” Acerbi says. “Maybe, but they’ll come around eventually.” Brody says. “I wouldn’t count on it. It took me a decade to be welcomed into the family, and I’ve done less than you have.” Acerbi says. “Well then its a good thing I can be very persuasive.” Brody says. Lydia walks over to their table. “Olivia, thank god I found you! I could really use your help.” Lydia says. “Of course! You sound upset!” Acerbi observes. Lydia pulls up a chair and sits at the table. “You have no idea!” Lydia says. “Go on, tell us all about it.” Brody urges. Lydia turns towards Brody. “Would you mind stepping outside for a minute?” Lydia asks. “Actually, I would mind. My mother and I were in the middle of enjoying a nice quiet breakfast when you rudely interrupted.” Brody says. “Don’t listen to him, Lydia. There was nothing rude about your interruption.” Acerbi says. “Whatever. I’m not quite finished with my pancakes yet, so I’m not going anywhere.” Brody says. “Okay, fine. I guess its probably not much of a secret anyway. Lucas and Julia are getting married today, and I’m afraid that I’m about to lose him for good.” Lydia says. “That is terrible news! Lucas can not be allowed to marry that woman!” Acerbi says. “I know! But at this point, I’m not really sure what I can do to stop him!” Lydia says. “Its your lucky day then. You have a problem, I have the solution.” Brody says. “Oh god…do I even want to know?” Lydia asks. “If you really want to prevent Lucas from marrying Julia, you could always just kidnap him.” Brody suggests!

At Stanpatos Enterprises, Ava is working on a computer in an office when there’s a knock on the door. “Come in!” Ava calls out. The door opens and Hannah walks in. “Good morning, Ava!” Hannah exclaims. “Can I help you with something?” An annoyed Ava wonders. “Wow, sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d drop in, check out the place you work. You know, I had no idea you had your own office. You’re really climbing up that corporate ladder! Good for you!” Hannah tells her. “It's not my office, it belongs to my uncle Dylan. He’s letting me use it because he’s working from home today.” Ava says. “Lucky you.” Hannah says. “No, not lucky me! This job sucks!” Ava shouts. “I thought you liked working for your family company.” Hannah says. “I did in the beginning! But now that I’ve been here for a few months, I’ve realized that this is probably the most boring job in the universe. I don’t care about spreadsheets!” Ava says. “Well I guess that explains why you’re in such a pissy mood this morning.” Hannah says. “No, that’s your fault.” Ava says. “Me?! What did I do?” Hannah questions. “Do you even have to ask?! When I was leaving Colin that voicemail, you took the phone and completely blew things for me! Now I’m probably never gonna hear from him again and it's all your fault!” Ava snaps.

Serena and Colin are walking through the food court of Goo Village. “So now that you’ve spent the night in jail, are you gonna promise to stay out of trouble from now on?” Serena asks. “I will try my best.” Colin says. “That isn’t the answer I was looking for.” Serena says. “You needn’t worry, I’ll be just fine, especially now that that entire ordeal is behind me. So tell me, what are your plans for the day?” Colin asks. “Nothing spectacular.” Serena says. “No? You don’t have any special plans with your new friend Vic?” Colin asks. “Vic isn’t even home. He’s out looking for a job, something you should consider doing.” Serena says. “I’m a man of incredible wealth, why would I even need a job?” Colin asks. “So that you don’t lose your incredible wealth, which is gonna happen if you keep spending the way you have been.” Serena says. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be just fine. Anyways, I really should get going. There are people to talk to, places to see.” Colin says. “I see how it is. I bail you out of jail so now suddenly you don’t care about me.” Serena says. “Come now, I always care about you. I’ll tell you what, how about we meet back up later for dinner? My treat.” Colin says. “I’m gonna hold you to that.” Serena says. Colin smiles. “I know you will. I love you.” Colin tells her. “I love you too.” Serena says, as she pulls Colin into a hug.

Upstairs in the shopping plaza of Goo Village, Mia steps out of a store carrying multiple bags. “There’s nothing quite like a shopping spree to put one in a good mood. Well, that and torturing Lucas and Lydia. Today is already looking bright!” Mia says. Someone then grabs Mia from behind!

At Julia’s penthouse, Julia and Virginia are now seated on the sofa. “So do you need any help getting ready for the wedding?” Virginia asks. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m sure you’re busy.” Julia says. “I’ve got some stuff going on today, but I can clear my schedule! Nothing is more important to me right now than making sure today is gonna be perfect for my girl!” Virginia says. Julia smiles. “Thank you, I really appreciate that. Honestly though, I don’t think there’s a single thing that could happen that could ruin this day for me. Everything is going so good right now, I can’t imagine today being any different.” Julia says.

At the Lakeside Diner, Lydia leans in towards Brody. “Please tell me I misheard you.” Lydia says. “I can assure you, your hearing is fine darling.” Brody says. “Well then you must have been joking.” Lydia says. “No, not this time.” Brody says. “Are you out of your mind? I can’t kidnap Lucas! That would be illegal!” Lydia states. “So isn’t pulling a gun on someone and threatening to kill them, yet you still did that to Mia Goo.” Brody points out. “Which that wretched woman deserved!” Acerbi adds. “That’s besides the point! Lydia, if you hope to put a stop to this wedding, then you’ll need to take drastic measures!” Brody says. “My son could be on to something…” Acerbi admits. “You’re agreeing with him?” Lydia asks. “Hear me out for a moment! You abduct Lucas before he has the chance to marry Julia, and then, you do everything possible to remind him of the love the two of you once shared! If you do that, then perhaps you will be able to break through whatever Doctor Andropov did to Lucas!” Acerbi suggests. “I mean, maybe it would help. I’m sure part of the reason I haven’t been able to break through to Lucas is because he won’t even listen to anything I have to say!” Lydia says. “But if you were to abduct him, I’d say you would have quite the captive audience.” Brody says. “Captivity jokes! How amusing!” Acerbi says. “This is a MAJOR risk! If I kidnap Lucas, I could end up in huge trouble! That coupled with the fact that I just got arrested for holding Mia at gunpoint, I’ll probably end up in prison before the week is over!” Lydia says. “Only if Lucas were to press charges, but if you manage to break through to him, I don’t think that is something you’ll have to worry about.” Acerbi says. “But how am I supposed to even pull this off? Do I whack him over the head and drag him off to some remote warehouse? That may be a bit much for me to do on my own.” Lydia says. “I wouldn’t worry about any of that, you can leave the specifics to me.” Brody says. “Excuse me?” Lydia asks. “If there was any sort of certification for being a kidnapper, I would have a masters degree by now. No one is more experienced at kidnapping people than I am.” Brody says. “I’m not sure that’s something to be bragging about!” Lydia says. “Brody does have a point, this is his area of expertise.” Acerbi notes. “And I’d be willing to do it for just a small little fee.” Brody says. “Are you serious?! You want money?!” Lydia asks. “Of course! I’m not gonna commit a crime out of the kindness of my heart! If you expect me to step off the straight and narrow path for a bit, you’re going to need to give me some form of incentive!” Brody says. “I don’t expect you to do anything! I never even agreed to move forward with this ludicrous plan!” Lydia snaps. “I’ll tell you what. How about I offer you a bit of a discount? I’ll take care of this little task for you for a mere 10k. That’s pretty cheap for the quality work you’ll be getting from me.” Brody says. “I can’t believe it's come to this…” Lydia mutters. “I know, but sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. So, do we have a deal?” Brody asks. Lydia turns towards Acerbi. “What do you think?” Lydia questions. “I think that if I were in your position, this is something I would do.” Acerbi says. Lydia sighs and then turns back towards Brody. “Okay, fine, I’m in. How are we going to do this?” Lydia wonders. “I’ll let you pick out the location for your little romantic reunion. As for the rest? You just leave that to me.” Brody tells her…

In Dylan’s office at Stanpatos Enterprises, Hannah sits across from Ava. “Wait just a second! All I did was ask him out for you! How is that so awful?” Hannah questions. “I wasn’t planning on asking him out, Hannah! I was just gonna see if he wanted to hang out sometime! There’s a BIG difference!” Ava notes. “I still don’t think what I did was all that bad. In fact, I think you’ll be thanking me eventually.” Hannah says. “I don’t think I’ll be doing that today. Scratch that, I don’t think I’ll be doing it EVER.” Ava says. Hannah rolls her eyes. Ava’s phone begins to ring. “You gonna get that?” Hannah wonders. “Its probably just my mom making sure I didn’t forget to take a lunch with me. She still thinks I’m seven.” Ava says. Ava picks up the phone and looks at the Caller ID. “Oh my god, its Colin!” Ava reveals. “Looks like I didn’t scare him off after all. Go ahead, answer it!” Hannah says. “Are you crazy? I can’t answer it! Not after the way you embarrassed me in that voicemail!” Ava says. “Oh my god, Ava! Its either you answer it or I’ll answer it! Since you’re clutching your pearls over that innocent voicemail I left him, I don’t think you want me to answer the phone for you.” Hannah says. Ava sighs and then answers the call. “Hello?” Ava answers. “Good morning Ava. How are you doing on this glorious day?” Colin wonders. “I’m-I’m good. How about you?” Ava questions. “I’m better than I was. I’m sorry I didn’t return your call sooner, I had been detained. It's a long story.” Colin says. “I see…out of curiosity, did you happen to listen to the voicemail I left you?” Ava asks. “You mean the one where your charming friend asked me if I wanted to go out on a date with you?” Colin asks. “Okay, I would NOT call her charming for one. And two, there was no mention of a date. When she mentioned going out, she just meant going out somewhere. No date mentioned.” Ava says. “I see.” Colin says. “And for the record, if she had let me finish what I was gonna say, I was just going to ask you if you wanted to hang out or whatever. Nothing major or anything.” Ava says. “Alright, well regardless of the context, I would be delighted to meet up with you sometime, even if it is just to hang out.” Colin says. “Cool, cool. I’ve gotta get back to work, but maybe you could text me with the details or something?” Ava asks. “Sounds good. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” Colin says. “I’m looking forward to being seen. Bye.” Ava says, before hanging up. “Hey, what do you mean I’m not charming?” Hannah asks. “I said what I said, dumb ass.” Ava says. “I’d be careful who you call a dumb ass. I’m the one who got you to second base with Colin. You’re welcome.” Hannah says. “Second base? I’m not even at first base! I haven’t even gone up to bat yet! Still…I guess you didn’t completely screw things up for me, so…sorry for overreacting.” Ava says. “Apology accepted. So, should we go and get you ready for your date with Colin?” Hannah asks. “Its not a date! We’re just gonna hang out.” Ava says. “Right, “hang out”. I’ve heard that one before.” Hannah says. “Were you born this annoying or is it a skill that took you years to master?” Ava wonders. “Its a gift. Its also one of the reasons I’m your bestie.” Hannah says. Ava smiles and rolls her eyes.

An unseen person drags Mia into a back alley and then lets go of her. “What the hell is the matter with you?! Assaulting an old woman like that?! Who the hell are you anyway?” Mia wonders. The person who grabbed Mia is revealed to be Vic! “I’ll be your worst nightmare if you aren’t careful.” Vic says. “I see what’s going on here! Lydia sent you, didn’t she? After getting arrested the last time she attempted to kill me, she didn’t want to leave anything to chance so she decided to hire a thug to do her dirty work!” Mia suggests. Vic pulls out his gun and points it at Mia! “Enough speculating! Its time we cut to the chase. I want information, you’ve got that information. If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll let you live. If you don’t, I’ll put a bullet between your eyes and find another way to get the info I’m after.” Vic says. “Well then you may as well go ahead and shoot me! I have no intention of helping Lydia reunite with Lucas, I’d rather die!” Mia shouts. “I don’t care about any of that. I’m more curious about Lydia’s kidnapping, and the person who recruited you to watch over her on Stanpatos Isle.” Vic says. “Oh…that? Well that’s easy, Lysandros Masters was the one behind everything! You would know that if you bothered keeping up with the news.” Mia says. Vic fires a shot past Mia’s head! “YOU’RE LYING! We both know Lysandros had nothing to do with any of this, you just gave the WPA his name so you could get yourself an immunity deal without tossing the real culprit under the bus!” Vic says. “Just exactly who wants to know this information? Lydia seems to have lost interest in her kidnapping so I don’t think she’s the one who sent you. Besides, she’s had plenty of opportunities to ask me herself and she hasn’t.” Mia says. Vic points his gun at Mia’s head. “Do you want to lose an eye? Tell me what I want to know. Who kidnapped Lydia and what is their interest in the three diamond jewels?” Vic questions. “I genuinely have no idea why they are after those stupid jewels, nor do I care! My only investment in that whole mess was keeping Lucas and Lydia apart! I didn’t care about the jewels or what he intended to do with them!” Mia says. “He? Who’s he?” Vic asks. “Oh to hell with it! Protecting him isn’t worth losing my life over! Just don’t tell him I was the one who told you, okay?” Mia asks. “I’m listening.” Vic says. “The person who orchestrated Lydia’s kidnapping, the individual who is trying to collect the three diamond jewels…he is none other than Lawrence Stanpatos.” Mia reveals! Vic lowers his gun. “That’s all I wanted to know.” Vic says. “Lovely, so what does that mean for me?” Mia wonders. “Go. Get the hell out of here.” Vic urges. “With pleasure!” Mia says, before scurrying away. Vic then takes out a burner phone and makes a call. “It's me. I spoke to Mia Goo and she gave me the name of the person who kidnapped Lydia, its Lawrence Stanpatos. What do you want me to do?...Got it. I’ll take care of it right away.” Vic says, before hanging up. Vic then exits the alley…