FULL EPISODE SYNOPSIS (spoiler!)

Bianca comforts a shell-shocked Kathy as Victor's body is carried away by the police. Now that he's dead, Kathy finally admits to Bianca that she believes Victor may have murdered their father. The police agree and close the case a week later.

Finally free of the weight of finding Rex's killer, Bianca decides to leave her job, her family, Eddie, Jake and all the complexities of Monarch Cove behind. Before she takes off, she meets an attractive New Yorker at the hotel and accepts a date with him. The New Yorker stands her up, but Eddie is there, ready to stand in.

The next day, Eddie has his chance to keep Bianca in town when Detective Ramos brings him a videotape solidifying Victor's alibi at the time of Rex's death. At first, Bianca refuses to believe it, but when Eddie shows her the tape, she changes her mind about leaving and reunites with an ecstatic Eddie.

Kathy, meanwhile, uses her influence with Alexander to finagle a position as organizer of a massive fund-raiser usually hosted by Arianna. Steamed that Kathy is taking charge of an event that should rightly be her responsibility, Elizabeth convinces Alexander to let her "help" run the event, then wrestles emceeing duty from Kathy by forcing her to participate in a bachelorette auction. But Elizabeth is not a public speaker and embarrasses herself trying to show Kathy up at the mic.

Fortunately for Elizabeth, she isn't the only one out to put Kathy in her place. Parker takes revenge for Kathy's betrayal at the poker table by persuading partygoers not to bid on her and then purchasing her himself for $50, giving Elizabeth the upper hand. In the end, Elizabeth takes the glory of the evening, and Kathy is out-manipulated.

Sophia, reeling from the loss of both her mother and Ben, acts out by attempting to crash the fund-raiser. When Alexander bans her from the event, she makes a desperate call to her mother's rehab clinic, only to be told she's not allowed to speak with her mom.

When she can't find it elsewhere, Sophia turns to Caleb, Ben's bad-news friend, for comfort, and ends up at a beach party in Los Angeles with him. She rejects his advances, and Caleb leaves her alone and intoxicated on the beach. With nowhere else to turn, Sophia drives to Palm Springs and her mother.

A day and a half after she's disappeared, the Prestons realize Sophia is gone, and Jake goes to fetch her. Instead of a warm welcome, he gets confronted by Sophia about his feelings for Bianca.

© 2006 Lifetime Entertainment Services