The Prodigal Daughter

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SCENE OPENS on Bryce (Derrick Pierce), Kim (Dee Williams), Darryl (Brock Slayden), and Rhonda (Venice Rose), all waiting anxiously in a living room. Bryce and Kim are excited and nervous. Kim says she can't believe this is happening after all this time! Bryce kisses his wife's forehead lovingly. He says that he can't believe it either -- their little girl is coming back to them! They have a second chance to be a family -- it's almost too good to be true. 'It IS too good to be true,' Bryce's brother, Darryl, speaks up. His expression is suspicious. His wife, Rhonda, is standing nearby and looking worried as well. 'SOMEONE has to be the voice of reason, so it may as well be your brother. Your little girl went missing 12 years ago. No one turned up ANYTHING! Not the cops, not the FBI -- NO ONE. And now Scarlett suddenly pops up out of nowhere?' Darryl states. At that moment, the doorbell rings, and Bryce and Kim answer it excitedly. A teen, Scarlett (Jane Wilde), waits on their doorstep with a police officer, announcing that she's the daughter they've been looking for. As they greet each other, Scarlett avoids talking about her past, though her parents don't seem to find it suspicious. Darryl and Rhonda are even more suspicious of Scarlett, and she seems to recognize that they are a threat to her plan. Kim says that she'll show Scarlett to her room. 'That'd be great... Mom,' she says. Yet, as they head off, Scarlett gives one more cautious look back to Darryl and Rhonda. When Kim and Scarlett leave the room, Bryce gets even angrier at Darryl when Darryl tries to warn him again. Exasperated that he's not getting through to his brother, Darryl and Rhonda leave the house. A week later, Bryce returns home from work and overhears Scarlett having a suspicious conversation that signals she may not be who she seems. Scarlett hears him listening at her door, asking if there's anybody there? Bryce makes himself known by opening the door and acting like nothing is wrong. She lies and tells him that she was napping. Bryce knows that isn't the truth, so he looks a bit taken aback as he tries to recover. He says that she should wash up because when Mom gets home shortly, they're going to go out for dinner. Scarlett starts to double-down on her deception, trying to resort to sexuality to find out what Bryce knows, but their confrontation is interrupted by Kim coming home. 'Ahh, that's your mother. I'll leave you to get ready for dinner,' he says as he leaves the bedroom. As he slips out, Scarlett's expression becomes worried and dark. Downstairs, Bryce quietly talks to Kim, sharing that he's worried something is amiss with Scarlett. Kim looks more anxious now, asking if he thinks Darryl and Rhonda are right? 'Right about what?' Scarlett suddenly speaks up, appearing behind them. She's still trying to look innocent, but there's something more sinister about her now as she approaches them. 'You ARE our precious Scarlett, aren't you?' Kim asks, her voice trembling as she grips Bryce more tightly. She hugs herself, putting on a show, and says that when she was six and on a playground, she was... taken away by a man and woman. They claimed they were friends of Bryce and Kim's, and that they were there to take her home. But... they never took her home. She'd repressed it for many years but then started to wonder when she was a teen where she came from. Then, just after she turned 18, she finally found a story in an old newspaper at the local library about a missing youngster. When she saw the picture, she knew it was HER. That's how she got Bryce and Kim's names, and, well, here she is, after all this time... Bryce questions what Scarlett was wearing the day she went missing. Scarlett accurately describes the clothes that were mentioned in articles about the missing young one. But Kim asks more specifically about a necklace, which Scarlett stumbles over. Faced with no other choice, Scarlett finally admits that she's not their real daughter. Kim chokes back a sob and Bryce shouts at Scarlett to get the fuck out of their house before they call the cops! Scarlett is unmoved and unafraid, saying that wasn't the past week the best week of their lives? 'That was when we thought you were our family! Our flesh!' Kim cries. Scarlett continues to manipulate them, trying to get them to accept them as their daughter to live out their fantasy of having a real family. She's more than happy to keep this up and build a life with them, although it'd be nice if there were some... extra perks... with the arrangement as well. As she says this, she traces a finger along Bryce's arm, looking at them with more seductive eyes. They're very beautiful people -- it's a shame she never got their genes. Bryce and Kim are horrified and reject Scarlett. She presses on, breaking them down by threatening to lie to the police and tell them that Bryce and Kim were the ones who snatched her and were keeping her locked in their basement for all these years.