EPISODE 235
Written by: Bre L. Drew
May 8, 2023
Last Time on Town and Country
-
After Ernest and Thora found Dr. Toussaint dead in his office at the hospital, Samuel informed them he had information relating to the late psychiatrist and their daughter Jordan, which Ernest decided to hear at the police station.
-
Due to her mental breakdown, Jordan was admitted to Stonecrest on a 72-hour hold, where she remembered standing in the middle of the road that caused Max and Shauna to crash their car into the ditch. Resulting in Max being now paralyzed and Shauna miscarrying their child, which Daniel can't help but feel guilty about since his actions led to these tragedies.
RADCLIFFE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The last thing Ernest and Thora McKnight had expected to find at the hospital came to fruition when finding the body of Dr. Pierre Toussaint in his office. It later had been discovered he possibly took his own life. So, when Samuel told them he had information to discuss in private, they all came here to hear it in Ernest's office at the police station.
"What is this that you need to tell us?" Ernest asks from his position behind his desk. "You make it sound like it's important."
Across from him, Samuel Gupta and Thora McKnight are both seated.
"Well, I think I should wait until Tommy gets here."
"What does Tommy have to do with this?" The police chief's ex-wife questions him curiously.
"All I can say is it involves Jordan," Samuel adds.
Both are about to ask more when a knock grabs all of their attention.
"Come in," Ernest announces.
Tommy Covington enters the room, still quite confused as to why Samuel texted him to come down here, as he was expecting to meet up with him to talk about Jordan's blood test results since he initially suspected she had been drugged,
"What's going on?" he asks.
Samuel glances at Jordan's parents, then at the younger man. "I don't know where exactly to start from; uh, Toussaint is dead."
"What?" he asks surprisingly.
"We found his body in his office a few hours ago over at Radcliffe Receiving; it looks to be suicide."
"Damn it!" he swears. "At least, can you tell me if he was behind Jordan's breakdown?" he asks the psychiatrist overseeing Jordan's recovery.
Ernest and Thora look at one another to hear coming out of the wealthy heir's mouth.
"What is he talking about?" Thora demands. "What are you keeping from us?"
Samuel takes out the results from his bag, and he can feel his eyes on him. "Tommy had suspected some foul play had been happening to Jordan, so I conducted a blood test on Jordan to reveal whether or not Toussaint had been prescribing a higher dosage of her medication, and there's no doubt that's what he had been doing."
While Ernest and Thora are surprised to hear that Tommy isn't,
STONECREST
After Tricia left after visiting Jordan McKnight at Stonecrest, she remained in her room until it was time for her to attend group therapy, which is part of her treatment plan during her seventy-two-hour stay at the state-of-the-art mental health facility. While heading to her room with the other eight other patients, she goes through the community area where some other patients choose to watch television and participate in activities such as playing pool and board games. Jordan keeps focusing on what's ahead when she hears someone calling out behind her.
"Come on, don't tell me you don't recognize me; it hasn't been that long."
Jordan turns around and forms a smirk when she sees the person standing across. She then jogs and launches herself into his arms.
"Hi," she says.
"It's so good to see you," her brother Presley McKnight replies.
The reverend is wearing a dark blue button-down shirt and blue jeans.
They then let go of one another as they decided to sit on the empty sofa, where surprisingly, not too many people were paying attention to them.
She can see that her brother is looking at her to determine whether or not she fully become crazy.
"Trust me; I'm not fully one flew over the cuckoo's nest; just yet." Jordan says half-jokingly, "What are you doing here?"
"For the record, I don't believe you're crazy; you needed to get yourself together to heal and start fresh," Presley says encouragingly. "Anyway, I wanted to see how my sister was doing."
"I can't lie to you," she says. "I'm a little bit nervous to get outta here tomorrow. How do I reclaim my life after being in here?"
Presley exhales before responding. "Taking things one step at a time, you weren't responsible for any of the outcomes because you weren't in your right mind."
Somehow, the context of that statement makes her glare in confusion.
"What do you mean by the outcome?"
After taking Jeremy in the middle of the night to the woods in Lake Hudson, she fell asleep and lost track of her son. While getting in the middle of the road, she saw Max and Shauna, who were on their way to their weekend getaway. They had to swerve the car, which ended in a ditch, to avoid her.
At first, she can sense Presley thinks he said too much, but he knows his younger sister so well that he can't avoid answering her.
"Shauna lost the baby, and Max is paralyzed," Presley reveals candidly.
Jordan covers her mouth in shock, realizing what her actions have caused.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
"Come on, one more time, Max," the white male physical therapist with dark hair in his late thirties tells him.
Daniel Covington stands in the doorway of the physical therapy room on the hospital's fourth floor. He spots his eldest son receiving treatment in his wheelchair by the PT, who is having him lift his leg with a resistance band, though it's obvious Max is having a hard time complying.
He had been at the office all day when he realized he hadn't visited his son in a few days. Knowing he's the reason behind his son's fate due to him being the one who gaslit Jordan into a mental breakdown as he wanted Tommy to obtain full custody of Jeremy, knowing if she believed she couldn't be any mother to him, it would occur nonetheless; he couldn't help but feel guilty over it.
In addition, he hadn't been able to get in touch with Dr. Toussaint in a day or so, knowing he needed to remind him what he would lose if he slipped up with the truth. The shrink had been treating Jordan for postpartum depression for months.
With some struggle, Max does one more lift.
He groans while the male physical therapist holds out his hand.
"And we're done for the day; we're making some progress, Max."
"Five lifts; better alert the media," Max scoffs.
"As long as you work at it, you'll be okay," the PT tells him. He nods at him while he says goodbye as he readies for his next patient. At the same time, Daniel walks into the room, where he faces his son.
"Well, Dad, you better get used to this; because these are going to be my new wheels from here on out," Max says sardonically to his father, referring to his wheelchair.
"I will get you the best wheelchair that's top-of-the-line, and you will be behind the wheel of a car when you are ready. We can get one especially equipped for your needs."
Max shakes his head in disbelief. "I hate sounding like an entitled asshole, but I can't believe I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life."
All because of me, Daniel thinks to himself.
"By the time you leave this place, the estate will be accessible to you,"
Daniel hired a small crew to input a ramp and other means to help him get around the estate.
Max gives a thumbs up in a sarcastic motion. "Something to look forward to," he decides to move the subject forward. "Shauna and I've been thinking about how to proceed with Jordan."
Daniel gulps as to what he is trying to say to him.
STONECREST
By now, Jordan is standing still, astonished at finding out that she is the reason why her child's father's family is suffering.
"Oh my god, what have I done?" she asks mostly to herself.
Her brother is now standing over her, placing a comforting hand around her. "You were not in your right mind," he states. "Blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone."
Jordan shakes her head, recalling what she's feeling. "Not only am I responsible for someone losing their child, but I've caused someone to lose the use of their legs, and the father of my child hasn't come to visit me once. Then again, who can blame him? Who would want to visit someone in a place like this?"
"Look, you know how I feel about Tommy," Presley remarks. "But Jeremy is his first priority and I'm telling you, your little boy can't wait for you to come home and be with him."
"You know, I've realized since I've been here, I haven't heard those voices," she reveals. "But I'm scared that if I get back out there, it's gonna happen again."
For months, she heard voices telling her she was selfish and an unfit mother, which led her to take off with him.
Presley finds himself embracing his little sister. "It's okay; everything is going to be all right," he whispers to her as she remains in his arms, sobbing.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Max places his hands on the wheels and looks at his father. "Shauna and I decided we're not going to take the matter further regarding the accident with Jordan."
A sense of relief washes over him, knowing this can't come back to him.
"It's not solely her fault that she was in the middle of the road; she's struggling with her mental health. Besides, Jeremy shouldn't lose his mother. Shauna and I already lost enough."
The somberness in his voice makes Daniel feel even more guilty for what he did.
"I will always wish I could've prevented this,"
"Well, not even you can go back in time," Max responds. "I'm ready to go back to my room... I can't believe I just said that." he admits amusingly.
Daniel pushes Max out of the room into the hallway to the elevator bank. He skims to the two female nurses and another male physical therapist converging behind the front desk.
"I can't believe it," one of the nurses proclaims.
"I had just seen him the other day; he seemed preoccupied, but I never expected him to take his own life," the other nurse said.
"They found him in his own office; I hear he took his own life. This place isn't going to be the same without Pierre Toussaint." the PT states.
Hearing the news makes Daniel speechless.
He realizes that perhaps he hadn't been in touch with the doctor because of a suicide for which he holds responsibility.
"Dad!" Max says. His son's voice takes him out of his thoughts.
"I think it's safe to go in," he says, oblivious to what's happening.
The elevator door is open in front of them.
"Sorry," he says.
He then proceeds to wheel himself into the lift.
RADCLIFFE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Tommy remains standing near the door with arms crossed, still trying to come to terms with Samuel's informing him and Jordan's parents about Toussaint overmedicating Jordan.
"Ernest, I knew something was off with that man, and that was why we were going to talk to him until... you know." Thora recalls seeing the doctor lying on the floor with blood spattered in his office.
"That son of a bitch!" Ernest pounds his fist down onto the surface of his desk.
Thora grips the strap of her purse that sits on her lap. "Why in the world would that man do this type of thing to his patient, our daughter?"
Tommy and Samuel exchange gazes since Tommy told him he suspects someone had instructed him to do this, but he hadn't revealed that he believes it is his father who has the means and the motive to do so. However, he is still unsure of the part of the puzzle but hopes he can get some answers.
"I will do some digging into him to see what turns up," Ernest remarks matter-of-factly.
"This medication should be working out of Jordan's system, meaning she will not be suffering from any more hallucinations," Samuel reports. "Normally, I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing my patient's condition without their knowledge, but I think this is an exception." he concludes.
"The only good thing I've heard so far," Thora declares.
"Look, I know this might not mean much to you, Ernest and Thora, but I assure you I will do right by Jeremy and Jordan too."
Thora gives a favorable nod, while Ernest, who hadn't been keen on him fathering a child with his only daughter, tilts his head to indicate he will believe it when he sees it.
Though Tommy is aware he must take this matter seriously, knowing that if his father is behind it, he needs to be held accountable for it,
​
END OF EPISODE
​
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Tommy encounters Daniel.
Presley and Tanner have a disagreement.
Lynn calls Aaliyah out.
​
Leave your thoughts here on the T&C forum.
​
​
​
​
​