Just discovered this fandom after having watched all "Legacy" episodes on DVD within a two or three-day "marathon" earlier this year, while I was sick at home. Such a shame the series was never finished - loved both the story and the characters!

I didn't care much for the Winters family either, but the original scriptwriter (Chris Abbott) clearly needed some antagonist characters; and so they fit the bill nicely. Even Vivian's selfish bent was evident when Ned Logan suggested that she distribute the money from the Winter family's liquidated holdings to the depositors (and their families) of their bank, whom her father and brother had cheated through greed and irresponsibility. It was clear she didn't feel naturally compelled to "do the right thing"; but I chalked that up mostly to her indulgent upbringing at the hands of her extremely dysfunctional parents.

I loved the way Vivian later called her mother out, though, after Georgina had returned. I sincerely believe that, had the series continued, Vivian's character would've developed a stronger conscience and progressed to self-redemption - especially if (or when!) she discovered that Georgina was responsible for Asa's death.

Lisa Sheridan definitely used her acting ability to its greatest potential in the scene during the Logan's house party, where Sean had gotten cold feet when it came time to make their engagement official... The way she batted her eyes up at him - followed by that angry slap-in-the-face when she'd realized he'd backed out. So dramatic! It was understandable that she'd feel hurt and rejected, not to mention publicly humiliated over his attraction to Marisa; and so her response was totally in-character.

While I'm more of a Sean/Marisa shipper, I still think it would be interesting to explore where the series might have gone had Sean and Vivian remained together, as you have written here. I believe that after all Vivian had endured at the hands of her conniving, unscrupulous family members, she deserved some genuine affection along with a happy ending. I also suspect, though, that if she and Sean had married earlier in the series, her character development might have stagnated, as she wouldn't have been affected so directly by the later negative goings-on within her family. On the other hand, I've sometimes wondered how she and Sean became engaged in the first place; since she basically had a silver-spoon upbringing while the Logans (although moderately wealthy) aren't exactly into white-collar professions (the horse-breeding and tobacco farming). Nor does it seem that Sean is financially independent, at least at this point. So it'll be interesting to see where you take them in this story.

On a more practical note, you've got a bit of tense-shifting going on in your story, from past to present. This happens in your next-to-final paragraph when Sean "wonder(s)" about the identity of his father's love interest (since the remainder of the story is written as a flashback of sorts); also in the final paragraph ("...time didn't stop for the family just because we [were] gone.")

It looks like not much has been posted in this fandom for quite a while; but I wanted to thank you for your more recent contribution and encourage you to keep writing. :)