Previous recap: Ashes (October 12)
At Grayson Manor, Emily asked if Nolan had been able to find the intruder on the surveillance footage, but Nolan reported that most of the cameras had been down, and she could have been killed if it hadn't been for the motion detectors. Emily wondered if Victoria had orchestrated the attack, and Nolan suggested that they call the police, but Emily said no. Nolan thought that they should let Jack know, but he realized that Emily suspected that "Arson Annie" had been behind it. Emily recalled her promise to help Charlotte, but Nolan warned that the girl that Emily was trying to save wanted to see her dead. Emily refused to turn her back on her sister again, and she insisted on keeping the cops out of it.
Later, Jack and Ben entered as Emily cocked a pistol, and Ben inquired whether she was going for another walk in the woods. Jack explained that Nolan had reported the break-in, and she discounted it as someone just setting the alarm off. Nolan protested that the intruder had been carrying a knife, and Ben encouraged Emily to humor them by making a statement. Emily explained that she'd barely been able make out anything before the intruder had jumped off the balcony, and Jack guessed that the culprit had hurt himself.
Nolan led Ben to the jump site while Jack quizzed Emily, and Jack suspected that there was more to the story. Jack said that he'd let her stand by her statement after the fire, but he theorized that the latest incident had involved murder for hire. Jack advised that Emily couldn't make the people she loved change, even if it was for their own good. He speculated that the event was tied to Victoria, and he implored Emily to let him do his job, since he would arrest Emily if Victoria turned up hurt or worse.
On their way out, Jack noted that Ben hadn't previously mentioned running into Emily in the woods. Ben explained that she hadn't seemed happy to see him, and he surmised that she hated cops, but Jack claimed that she simply hated asking for help. Ben planned for police cars to drive by the manor, and Jack guessed that Ben would drive one of them to try to impress Emily. Ben asserted that he'd ask Emily out if he wanted to, but he felt that Jack had a problem with it. Jack reiterated that he was trying to reach an uncomplicated place with Emily, and Ben said that he'd received the message loud and clear.
Victoria called out for David and Charlotte at their hideaway, and she spotted a prescription bottle on the table. She jumped when she saw an injured David in the doorway, and she asked him what had happened. He countered that her car had still been warm, and she explained that she'd taken a suite in the city. She inquired where Charlotte was, but he didn't know, and she scolded that his job had been to protect their daughter. He set down his hunting knife and revealed that he'd sneaked into Emily's house the prior night, and a stricken Victoria asked if he'd killed Emily.
David reported that he almost had, and Victoria queried whether anyone had seen him, but he said no. Victoria cautioned that it was a different world than the one he'd left, and they had to carefully plan his reemergence by crafting an explanation about where he'd been. Victoria rushed into David's arms and said that all she wanted was the life he'd promised her years before, but they couldn't rush it, and she urged him to let her take care of things. He half-heartedly agreed that he wasn't thinking clearly, and she told him to get some rest.
Later, David found a note from Victoria, and he realized that he was alone. He pulled out a chain and took off his shirt, and he proceeded to whip his back, creating bloody marks as he screamed in agony.
Charlotte returned home and found Victoria in her apartment, and she huffed that her super needed to be fired. Victoria confronted Charlotte about refilling one of Victoria's old prescriptions, and Charlotte spat that Victoria had made everything about hurting Emily, but Victoria insisted that she wanted to see Charlotte happy. Charlotte said that she was sick of the "lie and deny mantra," and she wanted a relationship with David but not if it hurt her. Victoria implored Charlotte to fight for a relationship with David and to earn Victoria's respect, but she warned Charlotte not to give in to the darkness that could destroy her.
Daniel sneaked up behind Margaux in her office, and he wished her a good morning. He revealed that the rent on his place had become too expensive because his family's assets had been frozen, but he'd survived worse. Margaux informed him that Victoria had visited her, and he assumed that his mother had told Margaux about their financial situation. Margaux asserted that she truly believed Pascal had loved Victoria, who was in the position of owing Margaux. Daniel called it a "hell of a card" to have in her hand.
Margaux reported that the quarterly earnings were down and that she had content issues, but she was more concerned about Daniel's meeting with Louise. Daniel excitedly disclosed that he'd been plotting a strategy to expand Louise's portfolio, and he thought it could be the start of his own wealth management firm. Margaux affectionately declared that Louise would be a fool not to hire him, and he replied that he felt like he was starting over from scratch. Margaux said that he would make it work because that was what they did, and they kissed.
At the hotel pool, Victoria offered Daniel an envelope of cash in an effort to remedy how she'd failed him and Charlotte, but he told her that he was aware Margaux had supplied the funds, and he warned her to stay away from both Charlotte and Margaux. A waiter approached and offered Victoria an expensive glass of champagne from a secret admirer, but Victoria declined and left. The waiter informed Louise that Victoria had passed on the drink, but he assured her it had been a lovely gesture. Louise snapped that a $20,000 bottle of champagne was more than lovely, and she told him to enjoy it himself. He thanked her, and Louise flirtatiously waved at Daniel.
Daniel eyed Louise emerging from the pool in a sexy bikini, and she asked if he was still checking out her portfolio. He noted that she could afford to take some risks, but her past advisor had been overly conservative. She suggested that he cool off in the pool before they discussed business, but he was focused on increasing her return. Louise questioned why she should trust him, since she knew nothing about him other than his last name. Daniel defended that the tabloids had printed lies, but she insisted that he tell her something personal about himself, like details about his relationship with his mother.
Daniel admitted that he and his mom didn't have the best relationship because she'd meddled, and Louise pointed out that at least his mother cared. She complained that she'd never been good enough for her mom, and nothing she'd done had made her mother love her, but she would give anything to start over with a great mom. Louise pressed for details about Daniel's mother, but he said it was a story for another day. Daniel said that he wanted to make Louise a lot of money, but he wondered what she wanted. She handed him a bottle of lotion, untied her bikini top, and said that she needed to know he had her back.
Later, over the phone, Daniel informed Margaux that the retainer from Louise had allowed him to move back into the penthouse. Margaux asked what Louise was like, and Daniel suggested that he tell her all about the deal over dinner. After he hung up, Louise stepped off the private elevator with a bottle of champagne, and she explained that she was staying in the other penthouse, so she figured they could celebrate their new partnership with her mother's favorite brand of champagne.
Daniel noted that it was the same kind of bubbly that Victoria had been offered earlier, and he asked if Louise had sent over a glass to his mother. Louise claimed that it had been a coincidence, but meeting him at the bar had been divine intervention. She purred that she had something else for him, and she presented him with a gift box and declared that her number one rule was to squeeze in playtime while working together. Daniel found some skimpy swimwear for him inside, and Louise told him to enjoy his champagne as she sauntered out.
David entered a general store, and he nearly knocked over a display stand. The clerk asked if he could help, and David apologized. The clerk spotted David putting something into his pocket, and a security officer tackled David. A cop placed David under arrest.
At the police station, officers escorted David in, and Ben observed that David was walking with a limp. A cop relayed that the suspect had been arrested for shoplifting but that he'd had no weapons or identification, and Ben left a message for Emily, asking her to stop by the station. Jack led in five men for a lineup, and he instructed them not to attempt communication of any kind. David bowed his head, but when he looked up, Jack stared at him in shock. An officer asked if Jack was okay, and Jack said that he had to go, but the officer warned that they needed to follow the book.
Ben informed Emily that a guy matching Nolan's description of the perpetrator had been caught, and she questioned whether Jack would call off the squad cars. Ben admitted he'd arranged for the extra surveillance, and while he knew she was no damsel in distress, he'd just wanted to give her peace of mind. He added that he knew she could take care of herself, since he'd almost forgotten she'd been in juvenile detention.
Jack introduced Emily to Chief Alvarez, who assured her that the case was in capable hands. Jack requested to speak with Emily alone, but Ben objected that it was against the rules, since Jack had prepped the lineup. The men in the lineup filed in, and Ben urged Emily to take her time. She stared incredulously at David and said his number, and Ben requested that David step forward. An emotional Emily approached the one-way mirror and gazed at her father's face, and she tried to hide a smile as she struggled against tears. Jack rushed to her side, and Ben reminded Emily that the suspects couldn't see her. Emily was adamant that she didn't recognize anyone in the lineup.
Emily ran out of the police station, and Nolan arrived and asked what was going on. She sobbed hysterically and breathlessly informed him that her father was alive, since she'd just seen him in the lineup. Emily wondered how it was possible, and she grappled for an explanation for why David had broken in to hurt her. Jack approached, and Nolan asked if it was real. Jack reported that David's fingerprints were a match with his file, and David had been bruised and disoriented when he'd been arrested. Emily begged to see David, and Jack swore he'd find a way to make it happen.
Later, Nolan asked Emily what she would say to her father, and government cars squealed as they halted in front of the police station. Emily worried that it was too late, and she tried to race into the building, but an officer informed her that the precinct was shutting down. She said that she was there to see Jack, and Ben assumed that she was there on Amanda's behalf, but he told her that there was nothing to do but go home and wait. Emily pleaded that Amanda wouldn't have wanted her to, but Nolan led Emily away.
Chief Sanchez summoned Victoria to the police station, and she asked if she was in trouble. He informed her that he'd wanted to give her some news in person before the story broke, and he revealed that his officers had arrested a man whose fingerprints matched those of David Clarke. The chief imagined that her head was spinning, but he promised that they would get answers. Victoria asked where David had been, and Sanchez replied that the investigation was underway, but they suspected that she might have been the intended victim of the break-in at her former residence. Victoria feigned shock and requested a moment alone.
A lawyer named Susan Luke arrived to represent David, and an FBI agent asked who had retained her. Victoria appeared in the doorway, and Susan asserted that David had the right to confer with counsel, but David proclaimed that the truth was all he had left. David swore that he wasn't a terrorist, but he had been framed, taken from his daughter, and stabbed in prison. He continued that Conrad had faked David's death, locked him away, and tortured him.
David said that Conrad had paid guards to crush any hope David had had left, and he raised his shirt to display his injuries. David worried that Conrad would find him and kill him, but the agent revealed that Conrad had been killed six months earlier after admitting to framing David. The agent announced that David's name had been cleared, but he wanted David to lead the FBI to the location where Conrad had kept him. Susan requested that David be released, and Victoria insisted that he go home with her.
Emily watched the news, but she reported to Nolan that there had been nothing about David. She recalled that after she'd lost her dad, all she'd wanted had been to see him one more time, and Nolan mused that her wish had happened. She suddenly turned up the volume, and Chief Alvarez confirmed that David Clarke was in custody and that David had given a statement that Conrad had held him and tortured him for ten years. The chief added that the police had decided to release David in good faith, and a reporter announced that David was expected to make a public statement within the hour. Emily wished she'd killed Conrad herself, and she hurriedly prepared to meet her dad, but Nolan protested that she deserved more than a public display. Emily countered that she'd deserved a reunion for 20 years, and she refused to wait one more day.
Victoria told David that Charlotte was on her way, and she assured him that he could tell her anything. David recalled that Victoria had said that she'd take care of everything, but he refused to be anyone's prisoner, and she pointed out that she'd stayed when he'd grabbed her. She noted that he had six months of time he couldn't account for, and she vowed not to let him go down for Conrad's death. There was a knock at the door, and an officer stated that the press conference was ready. Victoria declared that David still needed her and that she'd always need him, and he stood up and walked out.
In Daniel's hotel suite, Margaux asked if she had Daniel all to herself or if she had to share him with his new client, and he teased her for being jealous, but he admitted that he kind of liked it. They kissed, but Margaux's phone erupted with calls and text messages, and she told someone to run a story immediately. She said that she had to get to a press conference, and she flipped on the television. A news reporter announced that Conrad had held David against his will, and Margaux marveled that David was alive.
Ben asked if Jack was okay, and Jack apologized for freaking out, but he chalked it up to David being his father-in-law. Ben said that he understood, but he said that Jack should have filled him in. Jack claimed that he'd thought he'd been seeing things until he'd observed Emily's reaction, and Ben assumed that Jack and Emily wanted answers because they'd cared about Amanda. Jack started to leave, and Ben was surprised that Jack didn't want to meet David. Jack replied that he wasn't ready to see David, and he didn't want David to know he was on the police force.
A reporter said that they were moments away from hearing a statement from a man who had been suspected of a heinous act of terror, but David had since become a symbol of hope and courage. David entered the press conference, where a swarm of reporters and photographers looked on. From the sidelines, Victoria thanked Charlotte for being there, and Charlotte clarified that she was there for David. David addressed the crowd and said that he'd prayed for his freedom, but he'd never imagined seeing support from the public who'd condemned him and the family who he'd believed had forgotten him.
David asked Victoria and Charlotte to join him at the podium as Emily glowered in the audience. A reporter commented that the Grayson family couldn't escape the ghosts from the past, but Victoria responded that they were focused on getting to know David again. Victoria added that Conrad had been an evil man, and they needed time to understand and to process while David readjusted with his loved ones. Emily shook her head and seethed, and Nolan asked what had just happened. Emily hissed, "She got to him first."
Previous recap: Ashes (October 12)
