While checking
the archives looking for a reason that could explain why 'Yawn' John
Abbott doesn't know that Ashley Abbott isn't his biological daughter, I
came across the somewhat forgotten fact that twenty years ago Paul
Williams looked into Brad Carlton's past but he didn't learn much. Then
recently Brad produced a news clipping depicting a family had been
slaughtered a long time ago and it struck me that the family could have
been the Mansfield family.
Going back in my mind I could see Lisa Mansfield holding Brad hostage in a
cage, but I couldn't recall what so possessed her. So I went into the
archives again and found that it was late 1986 when Brad gave up his
duties as the Abbott pool boy and hedge clipper. This came about because
Yawn had given Brad a job at Jabot Cosmetics and because Brad had done
such a fine job and was being praised by Yawn on a daily basis, Jack
Abbott got it into his head that Brad was a gold digger.
Jack was also worried that his porky sister, Traci, who had the hots for
Brad, would get hurt if she keep pining for Brad and sure enough, Traci
beat Ashley out to win Brad's love and married him. Brad wanted Jack to
make Traci happy by appearing at the wedding, but Jack had been disowned
by his father and said he couldn't show his face. He did manage however,
to get a glimpse of the newlyweds as nobody saw him lurking in the
shadows.
Following the wedding Yawn put Brad in charge of Jabot sales and by the
end of 1987 Brad was moving up the corporate ladder when Traci decided
she'd go to California to attend graduate school at Stanford which just
happened to be where Neil Winters went to college. With Traci out of the
way, Lauren Fenmore made a move on Brad and he was eager to date her. That
same year, Lauren's father died and she took over the Fenmore Department
Store empire. The next year Jack hired Paul to investigate Brad's
background and when he learned Brad had married the 16-year-old Lisa he
was sure Brad was after the Mansfield fortune.
Lisa's family had the marriage annulled but Lisa wasn't about to let Brad
go so easily. She came to Genoa City on the pretext that Brad had to help
her straighten out paperwork concerning her father's estate. Brad fell
into the trap, Lisa drugged him, got him in bed, took suggestive photos
and told Brad later they'd had sex.
Brad's life took a downturn when Jabot sales began going south so Yawn put
Jack back in charge as Jabot CEO. Brad thought he'd go to work for a
company in Chicago but changed his mind when lo and behold, he found out
Lisa was a major shareholder of the company. Then Brad found himself
booted from Jabot entirely so he took Lauren's job offer at Fenmore's.
Lisa meantime was pestering a pregnant back in town Traci. Brad told her
to stay away from the fragile Traci, but like an annoying rash Lisa wasn't
easy to get rid of. She told Brad he could love her again and if he
rejected her he'd be sorry. Brad hit the reject button anyway so Lisa
bought a remote lodge, had a cage erected in it and hired the real Rich
Little to make a recording of Brad's voice explaining why he'd quit his
job at Fenmore's which was to be with his first love, Lisa.
One tape was delivered to Traci and the other to Lauren. Then Lisa showed
Traci the photos and told her she and Brad were to be married. Then Lisa
hired some goons to kidnap Brad and deliver him to the cage. As to be
expected, Traci miscarried when she thought she'd lost Brad and later
filed for divorce.
Brad figured if he wanted to be free he'd have to go along with Lisa to
get along. It was 1989 when Brad tried to escape. Too bad for him, Lisa's
goons were waiting outside the lodge door. Later, Brad got deathly ill.
Lisa refused to take him to the hospital, but she did call 911 and had a
prescription filled for him. As it just so happened, while Lisa was
picking up the Rx, Lauren, in the area with Jack on a skiing trip, spotted
Lisa and followed her to the lodge. As Lisa opened the door Lauren burst
in and found Brad and then found herself locked in the cage too. Lisa
turned on the gas and split. But, as fate would have it, Lisa bumped into
Jack on the way out. Lisa pulled a gun, but it didn't do her any good.
Jack easily took the gun away, broke down the door and was saving the day
as Lisa sped off never to be seen again.
The question might be: What does Lisa know that we don't? Did Brad kill
her family? Did Lisa help him? Why was she never captured? Why did Brad
just forget about her and nobody, not a single person ever asked Brad,
"Hey! Whatever happened to that crazy broad who kept you in a cage?"
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