1981 (#23) - Vanessa's illness and manipulations with Lance and Lorie

Once the marriage with Leslie was over, Lucas decided to get closer to Lorie, the only woman he has ever loved. It is Vanessa in particular who pushes Lucas into Lorie's arms, so as to avoid a reunion between her and Lance; Lucas declares his love to Lorie and, surprisingly proposes her to become his wife. Lorie, who has meanwhile engaged in an affair with Jean-Paul Vauban, asks the man for time to put his life back in order and reflect on her future. Lorie, in fact, still loves Lance and tries in every way to get in touch with him. When Lance informs her of his return to Paris, therefore, Lorie is over the moon, even though she has no idea that the man will return with his new girlfriend, Simone. The shocking thing is that Simone is Jean-Paul's sister, happy that his sister has also arrived in Genoa City. A sad Lorie, so is compelled for a short time to go out with Jean-Paul and his beloved Lance, in the company of Simone. It is clear, however, that even Lance still has feelings for Lorie, who soon decided to end her relationship with Jean-Paul, also giving up the film in her book. Meanwhile, Vanessa discovers that she is seriously ill. The doctors unfortunately tell her that she is in a terminal phase, with only approximately two months left to live. The woman, however, does not lose heart and decides not to reveal her state of health to anyone by burning her medical records; she then decides to concentrate, in the little time she has left, on achieving her only goal in life, which is to get Lorie away from Lance and, at the same time, to join him and Leslie.First of all, then, Vanessa sets herself the goal of driving Simone away from Lance; she achieves this goal by being friends with Simone and encouraging her to do the only thing that Lance could never have accepted, which is a marriage proposal. In fact, Lance, who has just recently, and painfully, end the marriage with Lorie, the last thing he wants is to commit again to a woman. And so, when Simone talks about a marriage proposal, Lance immediately appears doubtful; this is enough to convince Simone to return to Paris with his brother, who is also disappointed by the break-up with Lorie. Vanessa, at this point, focuses on her second objective, which is to get Lance into Leslie's arms; to do this Vanessa decides that she absolutely must make sure that Lance discovers that he is Brooks' father. Complicating Vanessa's plans, however, is indirectly Lorie. This one, after ending the story with Jean-Paul, understands she doesn't want anymore to lie to herself and decides to be honest with Lucas, telling him she doesn't love him and therefore can't accept his proposal. A heartbroken Lucas reluctantly accepts Lorie's rejection; however, though still caring for the woman's sake, he urges Lance to give his ex-wife a new chance, since it is clear that the two love each other. After that, Lucas decides to leave Genoa City forever to start a new life.