2017

Somewhere off the coast of St. Tropez, France

(One Year Later)

The 52 foot yacht sailed along the waters at a comfortable 20 knots. The sun shone brightly across the deck as the young woman, her beautifully bronzed svelte body dressed in a fashionable bikini, stared out at the glorious horizon. Unfamiliar worry lines creased her pretty face. She had a lot on her mind. It was time to go back and she didn't like it. Not that he would listen. He never listened, not to her or anybody.

"Hey, sexy", he grinned, planting a playful slap on her ass as his lips knicked at her neck.

"Hey."

"That sounded convincing", he rolled his eyes. "You okay?"

She turned to look at him.

"No."

"What now?"

"You know what."

"Babe…" he protested as she pouted and folded her arms.

"You know damn well what this is about. I can't believe you're gonna do this."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because it's stupid. You could seriously get caught."

"I won't", he shrugged.

"But you could. What if that happened?"

"You worry way too much."

She shook her head.

"I just want to be smart about this."

"Relax, baby", he rubbed her smooth shoulders. "We have our plan all worked out. It's gonna be just fine. Everything will go smoothly."

"You mean smooth like last time?" she raised a questionable eyebrow.

"So we hit a few bumps in the road. In the end, everything turned out just fine, didn't it?"

"Only because I was there to save your ass and cover your tracks."

"And I've thanked you a million times, a million and one ways. I guess that's just my good fortune my love and partner in crime is the county medical examiner."

"And I suppose it's my good fortune my love and partner in crime came up with the idea to fake his own death. Lucas, you know that's fraud, right?"

He shrugged.

"You call it fraud. I call it brilliant."

Both words described his, their crime, perfectly. No one had ever thought to look at Faith in everything. She was simply "the girl that used to go to school" with them. Sure she worked for the city at the coroner's office and her impeccable reputation commanded much deserved respect. No one knew about her life outside of work. And no one said or thought much when she all of a sudden disappeared without a trace or forwarding address from North Carolina not long after murder charges were dropped against Jake Jagielski. And no one knew she had kept in touch with Lucas for years.

It had started when he and Brooke separated and he retreated to River City. That's when two old friends reconnected. They talked, they began an affair and both driven by boredom, lust and irresistible greed, had hatched the plan for the perfect crime. First Lucas would steal enough of the Scott fortune to leave them both setting pretty for a lifetime, then he would murder his brother and frame their good friend, Jake, for it.

It was simple enough as they had put nearly a year into planning it all. Every detail was mapped out perfectly. Down to the wire both knew how Nathan would be killed and how Jake would be framed. When the time came, Lucas bid Brooke a farewell as her plane took flight to Minnesota. Then he hopped one of his own to Tree Hill. He secretly watched Jake's every move right down to the kid he paid to pretend to be a Raven, who went up to Jake striking up conversation about the beloved Whitey being sick. Jake was a sucker, of course he'd fall for it and the minute he went to visit the former coach, Lucas was there as well, hiding in the background until it was safe to sneak in and steal the gun, a theft Jake surely would be blamed for when he stood trial for two counts of murder.

Then he made the call to Nathan, the call that would lure him to the Docks, waiting until he was sure the younger Scott was well aware of the large amount of money missing from the trust. That would be enough to have him irate. He would come and Lucas would lure Jake as well. After he killed Nathan, Lucas would go forth with the setup, leaving his own trail of blood and clothing as if he had been shot and his body disposed of. Jake certainly had a motive and when Nathan would try to intervene, Jake would kill him, too…or at least that's how the police and everyone would see it. And Faith, with her access to the police department, morgue and crime lab, would be there to cover his tracks, tie up loose ends and assist with the clean getaway. They had talked and planned each portion meticulously. It was supposed to go off without a hitch…but it didn't.

Haley showed up! Where the hell was Nathan? Lucas almost peed himself and so did Faith who was eyeing the action from a distance. And when things couldn't get any worse, when she had already botched their perfect plan, she had to make it worse by getting hysterical. That forced him to point the gun to scare her but she surprised him again by wrestling for it. Then it went off! Son of a bitch! That pain! The shock! Lucas couldn't help but groan as he thought karma was finally catching up with him. He had been shot. No faking to it, he was really going to die. Haley went to call for help but stopped. That little bitch! Then she tossed the gun in the river and just left him there to croak.

Faith ran to his side, using her training, skill and expertise to unlodge the bullet that was still visibly embedding itself into him. But before she could do anything more, Jake had shown up. After that, those kids had discovered "the body". To Faith, who watched along with everyone else, she thought Lucas was dead as well. Then she saw it. That faint puff of breath and movement. Thank God! Immediately she declared him dead and rushed procedures to have his body transported back to the medical examiner's office. But there was no autopsy. Instead, she nursed him back to health, well enough to get the hell out of dodge like they had planned all along.

Working alone, she used the preserved organs of another deceased adult male similar to Lucas' body description for her autopsy. And she had used the bullet in her pocket, the one she pried from his near lifeless body. All that was the hardest part and the unexpected near fatal glitch had thrown them both for a loop. Then came the easy part. It was called the House of Wax. A place where a family could create lifelike figures that looked more humans than humans did. That's where Lucas had ordered his deceased body double months before. He and Faith had always marveled just how much it looked like him. They dressed it and put it in the coffin. Faith had fixed all the paperwork. Her work was done. They had gotten away with it…almost. Then Brooke had called and asked Faith to perform the eulogy.

It unnerved her partly because her nerves were already on edge but that too seemed to work itself out. In fact, it was kind of fun. Lucas had co written the beautiful and kind words himself so they had shared a good laugh on that one. And then when Nathan commented that the body's skin felt "like wax", Faith nearly had a heart attack of her own and joined the fake in the casket. Lucas had gotten a good chuckle out of it but his partner hadn't been able to rest easy until the coffin was buried.

Of course she had been subpoenaed. She cooperated fully with the police she worked beside everyday. She testified and her falsified documentation seemed to be strong, important evidence in the case. When Faith was no longer needed, when everything began to die down, only then did she join her lover on his boat where they had been spending money and living the good life ever since under the aliases Colin and Jennifer Banks. It had been the perfect plan and anything but the perfect crime. But they had gotten away with it and their shadiness had proven major dividends for both. Life was grand. Now Lucas had to ruin it. He was jeopardizing everything by going back.

"It's not safe."

"It'll be fine. I won't even be near it. I'll be at a distance, a safe location. I hired a couple of people to do it."

"Can they be trusted?"

"Hell yes. Money talks."

"What about the baby? Won't she be traumatized?"

"No. I already told you. They're a sweet old couple with toys and stuffed animals. Minnie won't be afraid. They're not gonna harm her, they are just gonna take her for a little ride. And when she wakes up, she'll be with her Uncle Luke."

"You mean, Daddy."

He smiled.

"Exactly."

"Jake and Peyton are going to be devastated thinking their daughter was kidnapped."

"They'll be fine", he shrugged. "Those two will survive. When it comes to dealing with tragedies, they're actually kind of pros at it. Besides, she's my daughter."

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Because she belongs with me. And when she's 17, I'll let her go back."

"Why then?"

Lucas sighed.

"Dan used to have this sick plan about a family dynasty and legacy and all that. At the time I thought it was crap. Now I see the big picture. My family's future, my name depends on Landon and Minnie. They're all that's left. Those two are the next Scott generation. Trust me, in a few years, Lan will grow to hate his parents. I feel sorry for the kid. He'd be better off if we snatched him too. But the important thing is, we'll have Minnie. And we'll raise Minnie."

"Luke…"

"It's for the best, Faith", he said, kissing her.

She sighed and smiled, shaking her head as she looked into his overpowering blue eyes.

"I let you talk me into everything. What am I gonna do with you?"

"You know I love you."

Faith smirked.

"You love yourself. I love your money and your power and everything else that makes you the devious, crazy son of a bitch you are."

"Then we have a lot in common, my dear."

They both gazed off into the distance and the beautiful scenic view.

"You sure it will work this time?"

Lucas laughed a laugh eerily reminiscent of Dan Scott, the father who seemed to live on in the tiny piece of coal that served as Luke's heart. He looked around at his boat and his millions and his woman. He was a genius. He had set into motion part one of the perfect plan, only part two awaited.

"Trust me. Have a little Faith, Faith", he said as he guided the boat. "Besides, have I ever steered you wrong?"

She gave him a kiss. Life was pretty grand…for a dead guy.

THE END!

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews and the support. I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed the story. My final thoughts will be posted in my blog over at my myspace page. Thank you again…

Mal