| Episode: | Season 1, Episode 1 – Chaos! At The Gala |
| Location: | Azalea Gibson’s Office |
| Written By: | Azalea Gibson Rhys Bennett |
| Date: | 08/29/2026 |
| Word Count: | 1,196 |
Rhys had his back turned so that Azalea could not see his face, there were simply too many thoughts running through his mind to really focus on much of anything else. He’d spent the last two days trying to sort through them. Finally, after what seemed to be a moment of clarity he turned and looked at her while shaking his head.
“So what do we do now?” Rhys asked her.
Azalea frowned, mostly because she didn’t have the answer to the question. There were a few things she could have said to make him feel better, and yet they seemed to not quite fit the situation at hand. The meeting between Riley, Todd, and their mother hadn’t gone exactly as expected. “I… I don’t know,” She told him.
“Sit down for a second,” She said and indicated the chair across from her desk before she’d stood up and walked around to the opposite side of it. Azalea pulled herself up onto its surface and placed her hands on either side of her.
Rhys scratched the back of his head as he sat down on the chair and watched the therapist closely. From what the twins had said, things escalated rather quickly. “They both said one moment it was like she was normal, then it all melted.” He shrugged, not sure if he was describing the incident quite as effectively as he would have liked.
“Does that make any sense?” Rhys asked her.
Azalea could only nod while looking at him carefully, “The reason you didn’t hear from me over the past twenty-four hours wasn’t because of what happened at the gala.” She confided in him, “It was because once things had calmed down enough with Missus Duncan, I took the time to speak with her and well…” Azalea’s voice seemed to fall flat.
She was trying to find the words for what she was trying to describe, “And, it was as if everything that happened during the visit had melted away. There’s something far deeper going on here, and I think we need to figure it out before another visit. How are they anyway?”
Rhys didn’t know if another visit between his children and their mother was the answer or not. Frankly, he didn’t want her anywhere near them after that. “Well, Riley was rather shaken up and so was Todd if I’m being honest. They’ve calmed down though, after I got them to understand that I didn’t think that was normal for their Mom.”
He didn’t know what else to say to them, “I didn’t know what else to say.” Rhys told her as he rested a little further back into the chair.
Azalea didn’t have that answer either, “I’ve reviewed the audio and video footage from the incident. I’m thankful they were only a little shaken up. Do you want me to sit with them at some point and go over things?”
Rhys shook his head, “Don’t take this the wrong way because I’m very thankful for all that you’ve done for them… But, I would rather just put this attempt behind me and behind my children if you don’t mind?”
Azalea certainly understood the sentiment and she nodded her head slowly. “Had I known there was a deeper psychological problem I would have never had the visitation arranged. I hope you understand and realize that Doctor Bennett.”
“I do,” Rhys answered her. His voice seemingly softening quite a bit. “I don’t blame you for what happened, and I don’t know that I blame their Mom for it either. I just don’t want to put them through that again.” He found himself sighing slightly as he thought about the look on their faces, he’d not seen the footage.
“Was it that bad?” He asked finally.
Azalea nodded with a frown, “I’m afraid so.” She answered him. The therapist didn’t know the answer, “I have to tell you I’ve directed the prison that she needs to be moved into the psychiatric ward at the prison for further evaluation.” Azalea told him.
“I hope you understand why I had to do that?” She asked.
Again Rhys nodded his head slowly, “I get that too.” He said, “How does this impact her release?” That had been the entire point of this exercise. Isabelle Duncan was due for release in the coming months and he was concerned about the impact it would have on his twin children.
Azalea shrugged, “I don’t know.” She answered and crossed her arms over her chest, “I know the judiciary has put in a temporary stay on that. Her lawyer seemed to be interested in fighting it until he saw the footage himself. Now, I think everyone is on the same page, and it sounds like you are as well.”
She found herself sighing, there was a part of her that wished she’d had a better explanation and reason behind what happened. It seemed like she didn’t have the answers, “I’ll continue to work with her and hopefully I can get some answers. But, I do have some questions for you.”
Rhys found himself looking at her, wondering if he wanted to answer these questions or if he wanted to just leave everything behind him. But, if it got him to the bottom of the incident then he supposed it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Go ahead.”
“Do you know of anything that may have caused her behavior?” Azalea asked. “Any kind of trauma from before the children were born or even after they were born?”
Rhys had been afraid of those questions, “She had a rough childhood. Her parents had addictions that I don’t think they ever really got past. I don’t know what happened to them after she left to live with me, before our marriage. And, she was very happy throughout the pregnancy. I don’t know what went wrong after that.”
It seemed to Azalea that was all she was going to get, “Well, I would have diagnosed her with psychosis after the twins were born. But, that should have been treated years ago, and she shouldn’t still have that problem. Based on the footage she was hearing something that wasn’t really there, at least that’s my guess.”
Rhys hadn’t known that, the twins didn’t tell him anything like that. He stared at her for a moment trying to reason his way through it. “Is there some sort of long term treatment?”
Azalea nodded, “There is… But, how effective it will be?” She shrugged, “I don’t know and I wish I had a better answer for you than that.”
Rhys sighed, “All right,” He said and he stood up. “I’ll let you know if I change my mind about you seeing the twins.” He started for the door, “For now I think this entire thing just would be better left forgotten.”
Azalea watched him going toward the door, “I understand.” She answered and watched as he left. She got off her desk and made her way back around it. She’d already planned on spending time with Isabelle, but what Rhys didn’t know was that Isabelle was still having a mental health crisis. That meant any visits were very short.