Carlos back. By now, the tension in the air was palpable.

"Take a moment and cool your jets before you do anything rash, Carlos!"

Valerie advised, her voice unusually firm

“And you think I'LL cool my jets that easily?" Carlos retorted.

“Forget about it," he threatened.

Knowing the kind of person that he was, Valerie didn't see the point of arguing with him. Education and impressive work ethic aside, sometimes

Carlos could be a pain in the ass.

Right now, rage nearly clouded his sense. Frightened, Lewis managed to summon up his courage to speak up.

"What's the point of us quarreling over a woman, Carlos? Given that Grandma and your parents are all against the woman, I'd be reluctant to marry her, if I were you. At least, for the sake of peace within the family. Megan is..."

Before he could finish, Carlos swept him off his feet. Clutching for support, he knocked hard into the vase beside which he was standing while they argued.

Feeling disappointed in Carlos, Tabitha moved in swiftly. With all her might she grabbed his clenched right hand, which was ready to strike

“Carlos, from what we know, Debbie wasn't hurt at all, and neither was she raped. Are we going to live in terror just because your woman has been offended? How many more squabbles are you going to pick with people over the same woman?"

Standing by and watching in silence, Emmett opened his mouth, wanting to say, "But Kasie would have been raped if Debbie hadn't gotten there in time." Obviously, he also wanted revenge for Kasie.

But before his words could come out of his mouth, Carlos angrily retorted to Valerie's scolding.

“Squabbles? This is not the first time

I'm confronting Lewis for improper conduct towards my wife. It's only that I have been patient with him, seeing that we are cousins. But my patience has its limits. True, Debbie didn't get hurt. But what about

Kasie? She was drugged! What if Debbie had arrived at the hotel room only a little later? Do you know what we'd be dealing with now?" he sneered.

According to Lewis, most likely, Debbie was the wire-puller's target.

It only happened that Kasie was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or maybe, Kasie might have posed a threat to the plot in some way.

That night, Carlos, Wesley, Damon, and Curtis were all out of the city.

Emmett too was out of town, on a business trip. If Debbie had been drugged and Kasie happened to be the only person around to help, it was unlikely she would have stopped Lewis.

Mulling over how the situation might have turned out, the elders were mortified.

Turning to Emmett, Carlos commanded, "Go fetch Portia at once!"

Just as Emmett stepped aside to give orders to his men over the phone, the doorbell rang.