1981 (#28) - Vanessa's suicide and Lorie's indictmen

Determined to achieve her goal of getting Leslie and Lance back together, Vanessa realizes she doesn't have much time before the disease takes over. Vanessa thus suggests Leslie to tell Lance the truth about the fatherhood, so she has a better chance of getting custody of Brooks and, above all, of living together with Lance, as she should. The woman, however, seems doubtful mainly because Lance, remembering his brother's words before leaving, seems to have convinced himself of Lucas' advice and that is giving Lorie a second chance. Vanessa, at this point, urges an undecided Lorie to tell Lance everything, who has every right to know that Brooks is his son. Lorie, for the first time, appears tempted to follow Vanessa's encouragement, since she would like to start a new relationship with Lance based solely on sincerity and that, if she knew it later, he would never be able to trust her again; however, the fear of losing Lance definitely is too big. Vanessa at this point, not being able to allow Lorie to make a decision about what to do, and feeling even closer to death, decides to take action and make sure that Lance knows the truth. No one, however, could have imagined the tragic and diabolical plan that the woman intends to execute. Vanessa, in fact, writes a letter with Lorie's typewriter addressed to herself, so as to make people believe that the author of the letter is Lorie herself. In the letter, Vanessa reveals the whole truth about little Brooks and makes sure that Lance reads it. Afterwards, she calls Lorie to her terrace, staging a violent argument, shouting, in order to make Lance feel everything, Vanessa tells to an astonished Lorie that the man has the right to know the truth and that he cannot go on living a lie. That being said, Vanessa decides to tragically end her life by throwing herself off the balcony under Lorie's shocked eyes, doing everything to make her believe that it was the same woman who killed her. When the police arrive, in fact, Lorie is accused of murder and taken to prison under the petrified eyes of Lance. A desperate Lorie tries in vain to explain the facts, but is further accused of extortion when the police find out about the financing Vanessa has made on Lorie's account, money that in the letter Lance's late mother describes as money requested to spend time with little Brooks.