Ali leaned forward to match Jack's stare. His dark black pupils dilated, giving Ali a strange lump in her throat. A faint pull of a distant time when Jack was first dating her, long before things disintegrated. A whiff of... interest. Ali swallowed. And then as swiftly as it appeared, the look was gone. Replaced by ice.

"Seems a few things have been languishing in dad's absence. I set things back on track."

Jack's move was so sudden, shooting to his feet and towering over her, Ali recoiled despite herself.

"You did what," he roared.

"Alexandria," her mother cried. "How could you?"

"You had no right." Jack's voice had lost all illusions of honey, replaced by a hard-edge Ali did not appreciate. She rose to meet his stance.

"I have every right. It's my family's company."

"That I control."

Anger fissured through Ali. Stepping closer to Jack, she spat at him, "Last time I checked, my father controlled his company."

Jack's face relaxed at that. It made a shiver scream up Ali's spine, replacing the adrenaline high from a moment ago. What did she not know?

"Oh, Alexandria," he practically laughed maniacally. "You should really pay more attention to the family business you claim to care so much about." Then Jack shifted to raise his pale eyes at her mother. "Would you like to enlighten your daughter, or shall I?"

The shiver spread into Ali's chest. Rounding on her mother, Ali caught the panic in the other woman's expression before her mask of indifference fell into place. "Mother?" Ali hated how weak it came out, like a plea.

"Well, you see when your father ... fell ... ill," Lynn's eyes were darting around the room landing on every object but her daughter. "The board had to hold an emergency meeting."

"What meeting?"

Jack pounced. "You weren't invited."

The betrayal manifested in a stabbing pain in her stomach. Inside Ali wanted to slap Jack and scream at her mother. Instead, she doubled down on the armour she had used in the past to hide her pain, her disappointment.

Lynn was still talking, her voice calm and cool like she was talking to the housekeeper about next week's dinner menu. "It was an emergency. We needed to make a call. With Jack, myself and Spencer we had a majority to pass the resolution."

There were five board members. Daniel Stinson, Lynn Stinson and herself ensured the family was always in control. Spencer was a lawyer and a long-time family friend. He offered solid, conservative advice, a sound voice amid Stinson chaos. When Ali married Jack, he was added to the board as well. It was supposed to be another vote in Daniel Stinson's corner.

Ali swivelled between her placid looking mother and a now preening Jack. "What resolution?"

"We voted to make Jack Chairman of the Board. Temporarily."

And there it was. The thing Ali didn't want to hear. Her knees wobbled slightly. Jack Blackhorne was in control of her family. Completely. In her mother's home. Running the company. Replacing her father.

"It's what your father would have wanted." Lynn continued. "Jack is the best man for the job."

"Best man indeed," spilled out of Ali's mouth. It always came down to that in this household.

Suddenly the formal room was too close, too hot, too stuffy. Ali felt heat creeping up her neck, something, some emotion bubbling up, trying to escape. She could not let them see.

"Mother. I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going to go-" Ali stopped herself before she said home. Her home was on the other side of the country. In a well-lit apartment with a sexy blonde waiting for her in the bed they shared. One that would gladly wrap his arms around her and offer comfort, not control.

"But we made salmon. Your favourite."

"I'm sure Jack will be happy to eat it. He's taken everything else," Ali muttered under her breath as she made for the foyer. In a louder voice, she called back. "Another time."

"Alexandria. Don't go." There may have been a trace of emotion in her mother's words. But it was too little too late.

Jamming her keys into the ignition, Ali turned them and the car roared to life. Frantic to put distance between her and the insanity of this situation, she thrust the gear into first and pressed the accelerator down. Hard. She sped down the driveway, slamming the stick shift up and down as the car increased in speed.

The tires squealed when she hit the road. She tried to calm herself down, pull around her defences, push down the feelings trying to burst free. Gulping for air, she accelerated again. This time easing the gears up. It wasn't the car's fault her ex-husband was a prick, her mother weak.

A light rain had started as the Austin Martin roared up the highway. Water spat against the windshield, marring her view of the windy road ahead. Ali struggled to keep control - of the car, of herself. It took the hands-free system two tries to understand Ali wanted to call Sam. Her voice was shaky.

As the phone rang, she begged him to pick up. Praying bro time was over and Sam was home, safe and sound. Wanting desperately to hear his voice. She needed Sam.

"Evening my love."

His warm timber washed over her and the walls she had been holding up all evening, all week, came tumbling down. She didn't have to hold back with Sam. Emotions bubbled up and out of her, his name escaping her lips in part sob, part cry.

"Ali," concern cracked through the speakers, "what's wrong?"

Tears started to flow, mixing with the rain, causing the road to begin to blur before her. Letting go of the steering wheel with one hand, she furiously wiped the liquid from her eyes. "It's –," she started, only to be drowned out but the blare of a car horn before a silver streak screamed by her. The hand on the wheel jerked at the sudden sound. As a result, the car swung towards the shoulder of the road briefly before she abruptly pulled it back.

"Are you driving?" Sam's voice was sharp, pinched.

"Yes," she stammered between sobs. The tears would not stop.

The sound out of the speakers changed. Sam was gentle yet firm. "I need you to find a safe spot to pull over."

Ali nodded in agreement as she searched the road ahead.

"Did you hear me, my love? You have to stop driving. Now."

Finding her voice, she assured him she heard followed by the fact there was a side road up ahead she was aiming for. Turning on her indicator, Ali slowed the car down and pulled into the lane. Sam continued talking to her, assuring her everything was going to be okay. Putting the car into park, Ali raised her hands to her face and scrubbed away the tears.

"I'm so sorry," she blubbered. Why could she not stop crying?

"My love, you've nothing to be sorry about."

"I just...I just needed to hear your voice." What she truly desired was Sam to wrap her up in his arms and hold her. Be on her side. Tell her she was right. Tell her everything would be right.

Why did he have to be so far away?

"I'm right here." It was a repeat of the words he used the other night. Ali wished she was back there, back in her hotel bed where she could pretend Sam was lying beside her.

"Ali," Sam whispered. "What happened?"

It started a fresh new wave of tears. This was not how she planned on telling Sam Jack was back in her life. She wanted to hold Sam's hand when she did it. Have him see how Jack didn't scare her anymore. If she told him now, Sam would assume the tears were fear, not anger and disappointment.

So instead Ali told Sam most of the truth. About her mother, about the business failing, about her father being ousted as the head of the company.

Ali heard Sam groan. It was a low anguished sound and it tugged at her heart.

"Please, Ali," Sam begged. "Please let me come out there. I can't stand this. Being away from you."

At that moment, Ali wanted nothing more.

"Okay."