Unspoken

Chapter 22

November 2, 1992

John and Marlena sat on Tony's antique couch as Tony told them what he'd learned. Part of John wasn't surprised that Stefano had still been alive after Mexico. It was almost too easy for him to fall into a fire pit and die. Learning that both he and Marlena had devices in their necks that were designed to render their memories useless was less shocking than one would think. For John, finding out that every horrific deed that had ever been done to him by Stefano DiMera was because of the sins of his parents... that was much harder. He stared at Tony realizing that he was staring into the eyes of his nephew. Tears welled in his eyes when he thought about Shawn Brady. His surrogate father, his uncle. His throat felt tight as he thought to himself that he finally had a name - Ryan Brady.

Marlena stared at the files on the table in front of them. There were several. For John there were five. She had no idea why there were almost double for her.

Rubbing his hands over his face, he looked up when Anna came into the room carrying Brady. He laid in her arms staring up at her as he drank his bottle. At six months old he wasn't afraid of strangers yet, and Anna's coloring was so similar to Marlena's he seemed content enough. John glanced at the table. Ten files for Marlena, and he needed to know why. What had Stefano done to her during those five years, and did they ultimately want to know?

He cleared his throat, saying, "Why are there so many files on Doc?"

Tony looked over at Anna, and she said, "The whole truth, Tony. I know this is hard but if we're going to rectify what your father has done to people, it starts here."

"You're right," he said. "I know that, but you have to understand, I loved my father. He hid most of his evil from me. I'm not sure why. Maybe to shield me, but I think it was mostly because he knew I would try to stop him. I had no idea that he held Marlena for those years we all believed she was dead. I saw him so rarely during that time, and when I did, he was always alone."

John reached out, lifting a file from the table. It was dated 1987. He didn't open it. Perhaps he was too afraid. In 1987, he'd been mourning a woman he thought was his wife, while Stefano kept her away from him in some sick, twisted version of revenge. His voice was rough, when he said, "Marlena's been having what we think are memories. Nightmares, and flashbacks – most of which we can't verify."

Marlena's voice was soft when she said, "I just need to know if I'm losing my mind or if–"

Tony stood up, unable to sit still any longer. How could he calmly sit on his father's velvet couch, and tell a woman he considered his friend what Stefano had done to her? Walking towards the large front window that overlooked the long driveway and sprawling lawn, he said, "Rolf designed your microchip to fail. That's why it's happening. The flashbacks were supposed to start slowly, similar to what you describe. That was predetermined before they allowed you to escape. Another way for my father to continue to torment you, John."

"Because Marlena would come to me," John said softly. "She would come to me, and I would be drawn to help her..." He looked at Marlena, saying softly, "My desire to know the truth would drive me and Izzy-B apart."

Tony faced him with a knowing look. "Potentially destroying her marriage to Roman as well. It was just another move in my father's endless game."

Tears welled up in Marlena's eyes. "Sometimes I wake up and I can feel pain tearing through my body as if I'm in labor... sometimes I hear a baby crying. Tony, I have to know the truth. This is killing me."

"I have Dr. Rolf here at Maison Blanche. He's currently indisposed, but he has agreed to remove the microchips." Tony saw John start to protest, but he added quickly, "He will not defy me, John. You will not be harmed. Not if he wants to live." Gesturing towards the files, he said, "He's the only one who can remove them. His methods are so complicated, if anyone else tried they'd either kill you or paralyze you forever."