FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 9)

George Reinholt played Steven Frame on Another World.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 8)

It was Russ himself who inadvertently told Alice Jamie was Steven's son after all! One evening, after a hard day at the clinic, Russ found himself unwilling to go home and face Rachel's sarcastic resentment of his work. Since her hopes for great wealth were dashed, Rachel hadn't even made an effort to pretend any love for Russ. The only reason he even bothered to go home at all was Jamie. He visited Alice and confided all this to her. He reminisced that he and Rachel had only one brief period of real happiness, the time she came back to him and they conceived Jamie. When Russ mentioned that until the reconciliation he and Rachel hadn't lived as husband and wife for weeks, Alice realized that for once in her life Rachel had told the truth. Jamie was Steven's son.

With incredible effort Alice managed to keep her shock from Russ. The following day she reported the conversation to Steven who was as shaken as Alice had been. Alice quickly reassured him she knew he had no idea the child was really his or he wouldn't have tried to avoid responsibility for him.

Alice confided the truth to her parents who didn't waste any time in telling Russ the story. He went directly to the apartment where he confronted Rachel in a bitter argument. She tried to deny the story, claiming that his family, as usual, was plotting against her but Russ now had all the pieces to the puzzle. He told her the marriage was over, he was getting out.

Russ then went to Alice to console her for the misery his wife had put her through. He was angry to find Steven there with her. Russ bitterly told Steven that while he had no doubts that Rachel had engineered the whole situation, Steve, as an astute man of the world, should have been able to resist her. Steven offered no excuses, he could not and he would not. He just took what Russ wanted to hand out to him. But it hurt badly when Russ's parting shot noted the only good thing about this mess was that Alice had seen Steven for what he was and had broken her engagement to him.

Another World's Matthews family: Shepperd Strudwick
as Jim, Virginia Dwyer as Mary, and Sam Groom as Russ.

Alice now realized she was much too close to the situation to be objective about it. When she next saw Steven she told him she had made a decision. She still loved him but she had to sort everything out in her mind and put it all in perspective. She was going to Europe alone for an extended stay and wouldn't be in touch with him until she had found answers that would give her peace of mind. Steven tried to change her mind but soon realized she had to do this. He let her go with the promise that no matter how long he had to wait, when she returned she would find him there with open arms.

When Steven called Rachel to arrange a visit, she was sure that she had finally won. From the moment he walked in she bubbled over with plans for her divorce and their marriage. Harshly, Steven broke in that once more she misunderstood. He loved only Alice and if he never married her, he would never marry. No, he was only there to assure her he was going to accept his responsibility toward Jamie. He explained he was prepared to support Jamie and Rachel as well, as long as she needed it. He had instructed his lawyers to outline a more-than-generous settlement with only one condition: I don't want to see you or have anything to do with you, he explained as he walked to the door.

Rachel wanted vengeance. She wanted vengeance on everyone. First on Steven for not wanting to marry her. When his attorney showed her the amounts Steven had stipulated for child support, a trust for Jamie, and her own personal allowance, Rachel concealed her satisfaction at his generosity and promptly demanded more. And when Steven refused to consider enlarging the amounts, Rachel engaged an attorney, Brian Blake, a handsome clever young man whose divorce practice provided him with a constant supply of frustrated women to console in bed until the case was over, the fee paid and the next client on the hook.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jered Holmes made his first appearance as Brian Blake on the July 2, 1970 episode of Another World.

Brian made Rachel see that if she forced Steven into court for more money she would certainly come out with less as he was offering her far more than any judge would settle on her. Rachel followed his advice and accepted Steven's offer, realizing she had another ace in the hole. Steven, in agreement that a child needed the security of two parents, had arranged to see the boy regularly with one stipulation: that Ada, not Rachel, be there during his visits. Rachel tried to violate this agreement at the very first but, when Steven spun around on his heels at seeing her and walked out, she agreed to stick to the terms.

She then set her sights on Jim and Mary, who were trying to recover the trust fun they'd established for Jamie in order to use the money for their new grandchildren, Pat's twins. Since Rachel refused to relinquish her claim to the money, Jim and Mary, with John's legal advice and Russ's consent, sued Russ, as trustee, for return of the money based on Rachel's fraud over Jamie's parentage.

But Brian was very clever. He forced Jim to admit that Alice had told Mary and himself that Rachel claimed the baby was Steven's even before it was born. Since Rachel had told the truth and they were informed of the facts by Alice, there was no fraud. The judge found for Rachel and this time she savored a victory.

Continue reading Part 10 of a very detailed flashback series, Another World - The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice...

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