"AVASTASIA" from Knots Landing Reborn
Summary provided by author:
The buzz was out in Knots Landing – the woman the community knew as Ava was claiming to have recovered her memory after a bout with amnesia. She wasn’t a lost soul in search of a new beginning – she was Laura Avery Sumner.
When Laura left Knots Landing in the 80s, she didn’t think she was coming back. She said goodbye to husband Greg, sons Jason and Daniel, and newborn daughter Meg as well as her beloved friends and let them think she had succumbed to an incurable brain tumor. But secretly she agreed to undergo an experimental treatment for her condition and was cured – but the price was her identity. The treatment destroyed her tumor and her memory.
Dr. Harry Jacobs, creator of the treatment that saved her life, filled the gaps in for her – with lies he fabricated to convince her that she was his beloved. Not knowing any better, Laura became his wife Murphy and went with him to Argentina to avoid medical review boards and authorities. She took on life as the doctor’s wife, with the only remnants of Laura in her fleeting dreams.
Her wakeup call came over a decade later when an unexpected visitor tipped Murphy off that all was not kosher in her picturesque life. She fled the only life she knew and returned to the states, searching for clues to her past – not knowing that none existed as Murphy. Jacobs caught up with her, but she escaped once again. Her retreat was thwarted by a car jacker, but fate was kind to Murphy when the car jacker died in an auto wreck, leaving Jacobs to believe Murphy herself was gone. The still clueless Murphy went to a plastic surgeon for help in covering her identity. He obliged and she took on a new name – Ava.
Now, in present day Knots Landing, the past had caught up with Ava and she knew who she truly was. Unfortunately, Jacobs had discovered it wasn’t Murphy who had died in that wreck and kidnapped Laura, Abby, and Meg while trying to find her, without realizing she was right under his nose with a new face. In the ensuing rescue, Jacobs was killed, leaving Laura as the only witness to her own tragic tale.
Nevertheless, she decided to press on establishing herself as Laura once more. Her decision caused battle lines to be drawn amongst her family and friends, who had trouble believing her fantastic story. One of the most at odds with her was Janice, the gay attorney who had befriended and fallen in love with Ava. Feeling used and betrayed, Janice branded Laura a con woman and turned her back on her. Karen, once Laura’s best friend who had been entrusted with Laura’s daughter, felt a double dose of betrayal. She was angry with Mack, who had investigated the possibility that Laura was alive for over a year without telling her, and at Laura herself, who posed a threat to Karen and Meg’s family bonds. Gary and Val also looked on her with suspicion and he fired her from his employ. But it was Greg and Paige, finally back in a happy relationship after many years apart – engaged and expecting a baby, whose happiness were most threatened by her return.
The first ally to rally to Laura’s side was Abby – the last person she expected to help her. Naturally, Abby had her own motives, specifically keeping Greg off balance while Abby moved to take over his company. Her financial support helped Laura to start the road to regaining herself. Abby convinced Mack to come aboard, so his skepticism could prove that Laura was the fraud everyone believed her to be. Mack agreed – a decision that further alienated Karen who separated from him and moved out. Janice was also disgusted, allying herself with the Sumner legal team.
Meg was quick to believe in her mother’s claims and supported Laura in secret. Lilimae and Brian also expressed their belief in her. As the investigation continued, friends and neighbors changed loyalties, their lives in turmoil by unanswered questions. Even Greg showed signs of doubt. A trip to Argentina convinced Mack that Laura was who she claimed to be. And when Daniel arrived in town, his first meeting convinced him that he was reunited with his mother. With the odds shifting, Laura held out hope that she would prove herself.
Daniel and Meg conspired for him to take a DNA test to prove Laura’s identity once and for all. The case went to court and both sides presented their evidence for and against “Ava”, as emotions ran high. Laura took pen to paper to share her fears with eldest son Jason, who had professed no desire to meet her. She begged him to listen to her story and give her a second chance. The letter was sent and the DNA results came in – Laura was validated once and for all and given back her name by the court.
The outcome of the trial convinced some skeptics to accept Laura back into their lives. Gary and Val reached out to her to welcome her home. But Karen still felt betrayed by the events surrounding Laura’s departure from Knots all those years ago and refused to yield. A defeated Paige told Greg to go back to his true love, but he told her Laura was his past and she was his future.
The wedding day arrived but before Paige could walk down the aisle, Laura arrived to re-assure her and tell her she was leaving town. She went to enlist ex-husband Richard’s help to win back Jason. Richard agreed and although showing initial resistance, Jason took Laura’s letter to heart and decided to hear her out. Mother and son headed on a cross-country trip to resolve a final matter as Laura prepared to face the future with her family and her identity as her own once again.