"I
stand here today as the representative of the Cassadine estate,"
Alexis began, then smirked and added mentally 'what there is left
of it'. Years of bad investments and high interest loans made by
her late brother Stefan had severely damaged the million dollar
empire.
"As most of you know, many of our holdings around the world
are being auctioned and sold for financial reasons," Alexis
added. "But there are some homes...mansions, really... that
we have retained. I am here to announce that my family intends to
donate those remaining homes and their contents to charity."
The room was punctuated by a sudden collective gasp. It was common
knowledge that several of those homes were worth millions. Alexis
smiled indulgently at their shock, looking every inch the well-bred
royal. When they quieted, she began again.
"The Cassadine Foundation will be working with Operation Shelter,
a non-profit organization worldwide. With the help of generous donations
internationally, we will be converting some mansions into shelters
and schools for orphans. Other properties will be used as a refuge
for impoverished AIDS patients. General Hospital has made perhaps
the most meaningful donation: it has allowed several of its prestigious
staff members to volunteer time overseas assembling medical staffs
in the orphanages and in the AIDS clinics. My thanks go out particularly
to Nurse Barbara Spencer, Dr. Kevin Collins, Dr. Ian Thornhart and
Drs. Alan and Monica Quartermaine.
My nephew, Nikolas, has been designated the chief operating officer
of this united mission. I will function as a legal advisor. It is
our hope that in this way the Cassadine family can contribute to
those in need across the world and can give back to those less fortunate.
Thank you all for coming today."
The announcement ended, and after a stunned moment of silence came
a burst of staccato applause from the audience. As Nikolas again
took the stage, he gave his aunt a grin of approval. He stepped
to the microphone and announced that he would field any questions
the Press had for him. After about a half-hour of this, one question
made both Cassadines stop short, the enthusiastic smiles wiped instantly
from their faces.
A reporter asked, "Pardon my cynicism, but your family is not
renowned for its charity. What the devil is in this for the two
of you?"
The audience hushed once again, eagerly awaiting the answer from
the two on stage. Alexis and her nephew shared a long, meaningful
look. Through her mind flashed sounds of her mother's beautiful
voice before it was silenced so brutally by the point of Helena's
knife...the memory of Mikkos and his cool, distant eyes upon her
when she'd lived on the Cassadine island as a "cousin",
the eyes that had never once said, "my daughter"...images
of the nightmarish days spent locked in a cellar room when she'd
displeased Helena... and the nights, all those nights, spent running
so hard she had no more breath when she had angered Helena's favored
son, Stavros...
Nikolas' mind was filled with scenes from the island as well...distant
memories of a father who was feared more than loved...of a mother
who'd had to abandon him just to survive...of a grandmother whose
idea of love was to blackmail him into decisions he didn't want
or need for his life... of a beloved uncle who was so haunted by
the past that he was driven into mania.
All these images played on the screens of their minds. Finally,
it was Nikolas who turned to the reporter.
"We'll make no money from this deal, except for the legitimate
salaries we'll earn from working for the charity. In fact, we'll
lose money by giving away the mansions. But you know what, we'll
gain far more than you could ever imagine by going through with
this. And that I cannot make you understand. You would have had
to be born on an island to people who would rather freeze the world
than learn to live in it peaceably with others. Then maybe you could
grasp why my aunt and I aren't losing a damn thing in this deal.
Not a damn thing!"
Alexis chuckled at the last part and so did her nephew, and as they
embraced their laughter grew louder and truer. It was the laughter
of people who were truly and finally free. The reporter gave them
each a quizzical glance and turned resolutely to the camera.
"Well, there you have it folks," he announced. "The
start of a charitable mission that will have ripple effects all
around the world. Word has it the first of these shelters will begin
to open next month. In Greece, there will be the Kristina Cassadine
AIDS Clinic; in London, the Laura Spencer Hospice Shelter; in Uzbekistan,
Russia, the Stefan Cassadine Memorial Clinic, and in Port Charles,
the Kristen Bergmann Home for Orphans. We'll see if the Cassadine
clan can pull off this ambitious venture. Stay tuned."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Halfway around the world on a yacht moored in the Aegean Sea, Helena
Cassadine sat in the salon of the spacious vessel. Two faces smiled
at her from the monitor of her television set, beamed by satellite
across the globe from Port Charles, NY. Her grandson, her beloved
Nikolas...and his imbecile aunt, the bastard Natasha.
Helena had to give credit where credit was due: Natasha certainly
had her powers of persuasion. The woman had had those journalists
eating out of her hand.
But, the matriarch fumed inwardly, how had she managed
to corrupt Nikolas, my precious boy? That he would give Helena's
homes away to infidels with no one to care for them! It brought
a surge of bile to his grandmother's throat. Too long the family
had been guided by softhearted liberal thinkers like Stefan and
Alexis. Nikolas had been Helena's hope for a return to the days
of almost savage power, when nothing mattered except victory over
the enemy.
The scene on the monitor changed to include a young woman with a
child in her arms. Ahh, the Quartermaine girl, Helena mused,
recognizing Emily. Nikolas had married her a while back.
Helena dismissed the girl instantly; she was insignificant.
But the child in Emily's arms Helena didn't recognize. She knew
that it was not Nikolas' child so whose...? Sudden memory flashed
through Helena's mind. Natasha's brat, she noted. The
one she'd had nearly two years ago. Yet another bastard.
Helena laughed to herself as dark plans began to take shape in imagination.
Well, she mused, Natasha looked so very strong and capable
through that news conference. So much the Cassadine spokesperson
she has no right to be. But here on the screen is the perfect
chink in her armor: her child.
Helena watched as the tyke tilted her head and smiled beatifically
for the cameras, displaying deep dimples in each cheek. Her raven
curls framed her face like a little halo. She looked like an angel.
So lovely.
