As Justin makes a second attempt to save Andrew on Home and Away in the UK the next week, he is stunned to see the teen handing him over to Vita Nova!
Senior Constable Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright), who has been removed from the investigation by his superiors, is compelled to stay informed about what is happening with Andrew Lawrence (Joshua Hewson) and the Vita Nova cult.
After the gang’s leader Margot Dafoe (Mandy McElhinney) pretended to be Andrew’s missing mother Esther at the police station, Cash is urgently trying to make up for his spectacular failure of giving the defenceless adolescent back into their grasp.
Andrew was persuaded to leave Summer Bay with Margot since Justin (James Stewart) and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) had no reason to disbelieve Cash’s assertion regarding “Esther.” The police taskforce didn’t alert Cash about his error till later.
Margot was overjoyed to see Cash and Justin when they paid a ‘off-the-record’ visit to Vita Nova’s estate, and the teenager afterwards claimed he was pleased to be back living with his ‘family’.
Although it was obvious that Andrew had been brainwashed to say these things, there was little Cash and Justin could do as Margot requested them to go because they were unaware that she had been brutally punishing Andrew for his interaction with the outside world.
The following week, Rose (Kirsty Marillier) alerts Cash of a worrying development in the case. Following a taskforce visit, it was discovered that a woman’s body had been found in a suitcase inside a storage facility.
Despite being dead for at least eleven years, DNA testing has proven that she was the genuine Esther Lawrence.
Cash is certain that Vita Nova are to blame, but as he later informs Justin, he has no choice. Not only is he not involved in the case, but the taskforce has not yet discovered any concrete proof connecting Esther and Vita Nova.
Not wanting Andrew to suffer the same fate as his mother, Justin is now even more motivated to save him.
Cash tells Justin that since Andrew is older than 16 and has stated his desire to remain at the commune, taking him away would be considered kidnapping. But Justin swiftly clarifies that Andrew didn’t have all the information before making his choice.
Justin inquires of Cash whether this is where he imagined himself when he wanted to become a police officer after Cash drops Justin off at home. Saving the day is less important than constantly getting bogged down in red tape.
When Cash later commands Justin to get into his police cruiser, he makes it plain that Justin’s statements have struck a nerve. They’re going to catch Andrew!
As they travel, the two come up with a plan for Cash to leave Justin with some wire cutters at the boundary fence while he continues on to the main gate and creates a distraction.
Justin sneaks around the rear of the buildings in search of Andrew as Cash is being led inside the compound and waits for Margot.
Andrew is working in a storeroom when Justin ultimately finds him there, but he is frightened to see him and tells him to go before anyone notices him.
Andrew is more worried about Justin despite Justin’s attempts to convince him that Vita Nova are dangerous and that he must go with him right away.
Then, in a startling technique, Andrew manoeuvres Justin towards the door while yelling to some passing heavyweights!
As he is immediately turned over to the armed cult members, Justin is astounded.
Margot, in contrast, is unimpressed by Cash’s return and says it might be seen as police harassment.
Margot points out that there are no neighbours within miles of where Cash claims to have received a complaint. As a result, he won’t be leaving without a warrant.
The plot quickly fails when the heavies invite Justin and Andrew over and Margot admits that she was aware of their true intentions the entire time.
Cash tries to talk Andrew into joining them, but he stays silent, leaving Cash and Justin back where they started with Margot asking them to go.
When they are gone, Margot questions Andrew about what he told Justin. Despite Andrew’s claims to the contrary, Margot doesn’t accept his explanation.
The heavies pull Andrew back to “the room” on Margot’s orders while he cries out for compassion.
Leah arrives back in Summer Bay after seeing her mother-in-law Stella, and Justin invites her to sit down while he gives her an update on the situation.
Leah finds it difficult to process everything as Justin explains how Margot deceived everyone; she finds it hard to understand that Andrew would act in such a hostile manner towards Justin. Andrew has been brainwashed, Justin is certain of it.
The next day, when Leah’s thoughts about Andrew’s absence persisted, she eventually turned on Justin, blaming him of not doing more to save Andrew.
Leah is upset that Justin and Cash visited the commune twice without success and tells him that she would never have ‘given up’ so quickly, despite Justin’s explanation that they did their best.
Will Justin, however, be given new hope that Andrew can be healed after all when Leah later finds a message that has been tucked into his coat pocket?
