Sonny
was looking for a way to intertwine his and Brenda's lives. She was
very nervous about his mob connections, and hesitant about being in
a relationship with him. One day, Sonny overheard Brenda, and his old
friend Lois Cerullo (who was now Brenda's best friend) discussing starting
their own record label. Lois was managing a band called Eddie Maine
and the Idle Rich, whose lead singer, Eddie Maine, also happened to
be Ned Ashton, a member of the prestigious Quartermaine family. Brenda
was the only person other than Ned who knew of his double life. Sonny
quickly offered to fund the project, and after some negotiating, he
became majority partner in L&B Records with Lois and Brenda. Now
that they were business associates, Brenda was even more convinced that
she and Sonny shouldn't get romantically involved. Sonny was not happy...especially
when Brenda changed her mind every other day! It was on a trip to see
the Idle Rich when Brenda finally gave into her desire for Sonny. Ned
told her that she needed to keep Sonny away from the show...no matter
what it took...and she jumped at the opportunity. Sonny made her work
for it, since she'd kept him at bay for so long, but they finally made
love that night. Now, they were an integral part of each other's lives.
The
second artist signed by L&B Records (Eddie Maine being the first)
was Miguel Morez. Although Sonny wanted Miguel on the label, and pulled
a lot of strings to free him of his previous contract in Puerto Rico,
there was a lot of friction between the men. Sonny quickly became convinced
that Miguel wanted Brenda, and soon Sonny was reacting violently to
their friendship. It was after one of these jealous rages that Brenda
got an inkling of the abuse Sonny suffered as a child. But Sonny was
still not ready to tell all to Brenda, or anyone.
The
L&B family took a trip to Puerto Rico, where Miguel...who had recently,
with Sonny's help, been reunited with his childhood sweetheart Lily
Rivera...was performing in a home coming concert. While there, Sonny
received a call from his old boss Frank Smith, who had been on the lam
ever since Sonny and Luke busted him out of prison. Frank was concerned
with Sonny's friendship with Luke Spencer, and the other business enterprises
Sonny was involved in. Sonny realized it was time to make a break, but
that would probably mean taking Frank out. He also knew that Luke had
his own reasons for wanting Smith gone, so Sonny called his friend back
in Port Charles. Luke immediately flew down, and convinced Sonny that
he should be the one to kill the boss. Once Luke had completed his mission,
Sonny went to inform Hernando Rivera...Frank's associate in Puerto Rico.
Rivera also happened to be Lily's father, and he hated Miguel. Brenda
knew something was weighing heavily on Sonny's mind, and she followed
him to his meeting at Rivera's house. She was caught, and Rivera decided
to hold her hostage in order to ensure that Sonny did what he wanted
now that Frank was out of the picture. Sonny rescued Brenda, and they
made a getaway with Luke's help. But Rivera's men were hot on their
trail, and Luke was shot and fell overboard as they sped off in a boat.
Sonny and Brenda made it to another part of the island, and collapsed
onto the beach in a passionate embrace. Later, they made their way back
to the resort, and to Miguel's concert. But Sonny knew that Rivera would
be coming for them, and once the concert was over, Sonny, Brenda, Miguel
and Lily were kidnapped. Some smooth talking from both Sonny and Lily
secured their release, but everyone, including Ned and Lois who were
left behind at the venue, was very suspicious of what Sonny was really
into.
The
reality was, with Frank out of the way, Sonny was in a position to take
over his entire territory. And when he returned to Port Charles, he
did just that.
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