Chapter 2

"Cassidine?" Robin asked, shocked. "Is Nikolas your cousin?"

Lucien smiled. "Yes, and my uncle's name is Stefan. Do you know them?"

"Yeah, I was pretty good friends with Nikolas before I came back to school here. I helped him with his speech therapy after he was shot."

"Ah yes, I was told about that. He was outside of Luke Spencer's club, I believe, and was shot in the throat by the mob." Lucien said gravely. He couldn't help feeling angry. He was raised to hate Luke Spencer, and was always reminded of the pain he had caused his family.

Robin noticed how his voice had changed when he said Luke's name. She figured he had be told all of his life to hate him, just like Nikolas had been. "How come you've never met your cousin? He's probably about your age. I bet you'd get along wonderfully!"

He shook his head. "I am forbidden to go to Port Charles. It is too dangerous as long as the Spencers are there. Also, Nikolas and Uncle Stefan do not know about me. My existence has been kept a secret to protect me."

Robin was confused. "To protect you from whom?" Helena, maybe?

"From everyone. For most of his life, Nikolas was led to believe that he was the family's heir, but in reality, he was Stefan's son, information which has only recently come to light. Since he is not the eldest son of the eldest son, Stavros, he has no right to the estate. It is thought that there is no heir to carry on that tradition, but in reality, I am the only remaining heir. Stavros was my father. My grandmother and Uncle Cesar were the only ones who knew about me. I was raised by them to take over the estate once I turn 24, and until then I must keep my identity a secret." He didn't really know why he had just told her this, especially since she knew his cousin, but it had been so long since he'd had someone his own age to confide in, he got a little carried away.

"Wow. So, Helena is your grandmother?" She was still trying to process everything he had just told her.

"Yes. She is afraid that if Stefan knows about me too soon, he may take measures to secure the estate for himself. I'm not really sure how he would do that, but she seems convinced that he would. Which is why I can't go anywhere near Port Charles, and why I must ask that you keep this to yourself. I really shouldn't have told you in the first place." He looked worried.

She smiled. "Don't worry. I haven't spoken to Nikolas since I left, so your secret is safe with me. No one is going to get hurt when you take over, are they?"

He shook his head. "Not by me. What Luke Spencer does is another story, though."

She smiled. 'He's definitely a Cassidine!' She looked at her watch and realized it was getting late. "I'm sorry, but I have a class in a few minutes." She stood up and extended her hand. "It was nice to meet you, Lucien. I hope to see you around again."

He stood up as well and shook her hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you too, Robin."

~*~

Cesar Faison was relaxing out by his swimming pool when he heard the phone ringing inside. He got up reluctantly and went in to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Uncle. How are you today?"

He smiled. "Lucien, it's so good to hear from you! How is the Sorbonne?"

"Paris is a beautiful city, and the school is wonderful. I meet a very kind girl at the library today, who happens to be from Port Charles. She even knew my cousin, Nikolas." He sounded excited about his new friend, but Cesar's heart nearly stopped beating when he heard this.

He tried to regain his composure before speaking agin. "Really? It's a small world, isn't it? What's her name, I may have met her parents the last time I was over there."

"Robin Scorpio, I believe. It turns out we both had similar upbringings. Her parents died while she was young and she was raised by her uncle as well. Isn't that amazing? With all the people at this school, I have the good fortune of meeting her!"

Cesar couldn't speak. Robin Scorpio? This couldn't be happening! He quickly finished his conversation with Lucien and hung up, making sure to stress the importance of keeping his identity as the heir a secret, as well as reinforcing their order that he never go to Port Charles. He was afraid that if Lucien talked to Robin again, he would get curious about his long-lost cousin and want to go over to the States to meet him. Oh, this was definitely not good.

He quickly ran to the east wing of the mansion. He knocked loudly on the large double-doors at the end. After a few minutes they swung open.

"What is it? This better be important, I was just getting ready for my massage!" the woman said angrily.

"Well, it will have to wait. We may be in trouble." Seeing the pained look on his face, she quickly shooed the masseuse out of the room and closed the doors.

"All right, what is the big emergency?"

"Lucien just called from Paris. It seems that he has recently made the acquaintance of a young lady from Port Charles. A young lady named Robin Scorpio!"

She cursed loudly and glared at him. "I told you sending him away to school was a bad idea. You spoil him too much. If everything is ruined because of this, I'll have your head!"

Cesar had heard this threat too many times to care anymore. "Oh, Helena, give it a rest. This is not my fault. How were we supposed to know that out of all the people in Paris, he would meet her? I doubt she's made the connection, anyway. Don't worry, our plan has gone splendily so far, and it's not about to end now."

She smiled proudly. "We have done a good job, haven't we? In just four short years, we were able to turn him from an angry, insolent boy to an obediant, educated young man. You're right, there's nothing to worry about. He firmly believes that he is Lucien Cassidine, son of Stavros Cassidine and Anna Faison, heir to the Cassidine estate." She chuckled. "Yes, we have definitely outdone ourselves this time."

Faison smirked. "He has not even the slightest clue that his childhood memories of Greece were all put into his head by us, and that the man he has been taught to hate so much is really his own father. It's perfect, really. I have to admit, when you first told me of your plan, I was sure it wouldn't work, especially after seeing how stubborn the boy was, but our efforts have finally paid off."

Helena smiled, put her arm across his shoulders and chuckled wickedly. "Yes, this endeavor has been a great success. Lucien Cassidine will go on to claim control of the Cassidine estate and will never be able to remember that he was once Lucky Spencer."

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