---- Chapter 43 The old lighthouse stood on a treacherous, windswept cliff overlooking the churning Atlantic. The storm had returned, lashing the island with wind and rain. Liv arrived alone, her face pale but resolute. Serena was waiting, a wild, manic glint in her eyes. She held Finn, wrapped haphazardly in a thin blanket, dangerously close to the cliff edge. "Serena, please," Liv begged, her voice hoarse against the wind. "He's just a baby. He's done nothing to you." "He's his father's son," Serena spat, her hair plastered to her face by the rain. "And you... you took everything from me! Michael, my life, my chance!" "| didn't take anything, Serena. You destroyed it yourself." "Liar!" Serena shrieked. "You think you're so perfect, with your money and your perfect life! Well, now you'll know what it's like to lose everything!" She held Finn out over the abyss. "One life for another, Olivia. Yours for his." Terror, stark and absolute, ripped through Liv. She looked at her son, so small, so vulnerable. There was no choice. "Alright, Serena," Liv said, her voice surprisingly calm. "You win. Let him go. Take me instead." ---- She took a step towards the cliff edge. "No!" A shout from the shadows. Michael. He had followed, hidden, unable to let Liv face Serena alone. Serena whirled, startled, her grip on Finn momentarily loosening. Michael lunged. Not at Serena. At Finn. He snatched the baby from her grasp, tucking him protectively against his chest. Serena, enraged, turned on Michael, clawing at him. "Give him back! He's mine!" "He's not yours, Serena! He was never yours to harm!" Michael yelled, shielding Finn with his body, backing away. Liv used the distraction. She charged at Serena, a primal roar of maternal fury. The two women grappled on the slippery cliff edge, the wind howling around them. Serena, crazed and desperate, shoved Liv hard. Liv stumbled, her feet skidding on the wet rock. She was going over. Then, in a desperate, self-sacrificial act, she twisted, pushing away from the cliff, and deliberately jumped into the raging sea below, hoping to draw Serena away from Michael and Finn. "LIV!" Michael screamed, his heart stopping. He turned to Serena, his face a mask of cold fury. He shoved Finn into the arms of Jennings, who had arrived with island security, alerted by Michael. ---- "Take him! Get him safe! Call the Coast Guard!" Jennings nodded, his face grim, and rushed Finn back towards the house. Security guards subdued the screaming, struggling Serena. Michael didn't hesitate. He looked down at the violent, churning water where Liv had disappeared. He kicked off his shoes. And then, he dove. Heroically, foolishly, into the maelstrom, to save the woman he loved, the woman who hated him. He surfaced, gasping, searching frantically. He saw her, a pale form being tossed by the waves. He fought his way towards her, the current brutal, the waves crashing over him. He reached her, grabbed her, held her head above water. She was unconscious. "Hold on, Liv!" he gasped, trying to swim them towards shore. "Hold on!" A rogue wave, massive and dark, rose up before them. It crashed down, engulfing them, tearing Liv from his grasp, and dragging Michael under, into the violent, churning depths. Tragedy, swift and absolute, on the storm-tossed coast.