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Raised by : Count Armonti

Wolf Muser :
January 07 1985 (# 114) to June 04 1985 (# 219)

While it is discovered that under the features of Dominic, Joe Perkins' mysterious indic,actually  hides Sophia Wayne Capwell, a new character does his appearance in the small world of Santa Barbara : Marcello Armonti. Marcello accompanies in fact his stepmother, Countess Armonti, who turns to be the real identity of Sophia Capwell.

Marcello is an internationaly known psychiatrist, who uses hypnosis to get through the fears and the demons of his patients. Moreover, his talents made their effects on Sophia, because after her stay in an asylum in Anchorage, it is him who succeeded to relieve her of the many nightmares which haunted her nights. If Sophia Capwell returns in Santa Barbara, it is in the purpose of discovering who is the killer of her beloved son, Channing Capwell Junior, but also to be avenged of her former lover : Lionel Lockridge. On the other hand, Marcello's objectives are very different; and when he crosses the way of Eden Capwell, he clearly hints her that the purpose of his arrival is to realize the fusion between the Capwell and Armonti Enterprises. Moreover they both will work in this direction.

But to discover the deap reasons which order Marcello Armonti's thoughts and actions, we have to return in the past. Years ago, the young Hans Ruyker (his real name) lived in the Netherlands, surrounded by his family. And this is during World War II that he loses his parents. At ten years old, the young Hans attends the slaughter of his parents by the Nazis, on May 20, 1944. We really do not know how the drama happened, but Hans rejects the responsibility of the death of his parents on the shoulders of a young officer of the American Air Force : Channing Creighton Capwell. Because Hans' parents lodged this American soldier. After the departure of the German soldiers, C.C. led Hans in an orphanage, directed by Sister Martha. And at the end of the war, C.C. would have done everything to find him. But according to Marcello's version, that is not the case. This is why Marcello is also interested in C.C.'s military past, even going to ask to Eden her father's military file, in order to see him in photo, in uniform.

Thereafter, Hans, like all the children of the orphanage, are arrested by the Nazis. But Hans has more chance than the others because, contrary to the other children, he is not executed. He is led in a training-camp in Thueringen, Germany, because Hans is a fair child with blue eyes, which explains why the Nazis have taken him for one them. At the end of the war, years are passing by for the young Hans. He leaves for Italy in an orphanage. There, Count Armonti, having not been able to have a heir, decides to adopt him. And that is how Hans Ruyker becomes Marcello Armonti. He ends up becoming an excellent psychiatrist. At the beginning, everything lets believing that it is by chance that he meets a patient haunted by many demons, named John Doe. This patient is in fact Sophia Capwell. Because actually, Marcello has a very precise plan. In order to avenge the death for his parents, he dreams to abduct one by one, to C.C., the people he loves the most. This is why he first kept busy with Sophia.

Cured, Sophia, who has forgotten a good part of her past, thereafter marries Count Armonti. The years helping, Sophia ends up partly remembering her old life. And, at the death of her husband, she decides to return in Santa Barbara in order to avenge her own death. And, in the shadow, Marcello accompagnies her in Santa Barbara, where she attends the reception given in the honor of the eldest of her children. During this reception, Marcello projected to kill C.C. Capwell's hope and future. But, just like with Sophia, he retained his act. Because by mixing with C.C. Capwell, he realized that this man is egoistic, and that he only loves his own person.

This is only when Dominic is obliged to reveal his true identity that Marcello arrives in Santa Barbara, to back up, as usual for him, his stepmother. Because Marcello knows many secrets. In a first time, Marcello professionally meets Eden Capwell. He hides her his desire to avenge the death of his parents (even Sophia is unaware of his intentions) behind the project of fusion of their company. Eden, trustful, partly discloses the past of her father. Then, Marcello, constrained by Sophia, is obliged to take care of Kelly Capwell. She is indeed deeply after the murder of her husband, Joe Perkins, by her former fiancé, Peter Flint. Moreover, Kelly, contrary to many people in Santa Barbara, is unaware of the return in town of her mother. And the death of Joe awaked in her a very old wound : Kelly still suffers from the tragical disappearance of her mother, sixteen years ago. Kelly, who has lost any notion of reality, sees herself as a child and she awaits in the same time the return of Joe and of her mother.

Marcello succeeds in curing Kelly, who thereafter learns the return to life of her mother. Marcello gains in exchange C.C.'s recognition. This is why Marcello is present at Eden and Cruz Castillo's wedding, celebrated at the Orient Express. Guided by hate and revenge, Marcello tries to kill C.C. Capwell. Locked up with Kelly in an elevator which leads them directly to the basement, they risk to die. Because there, Marcello pointed a machine-gun which will shoot them. But Marcello discovers that Kelly is at the side of C.C. and he does not want to kill her. Followed by Sophia, he rushes to the basement to stop the machine-gun. Fortunately, they are saved in time. Whereas Marcello is surrounded by police officers, he realizes that an explosion is going to happen. He saves the life of the police officers and, while facing the flames, he arrives till the restaurant where the wedding ceremony between Eden and Cruz takes place. Thanks to him, everyone is healthy and except and, at the moment he was to be arrested, he does a curious allusion to the murder of Channing Junior.

Always free, Marcello allowes the investigation to start again. Cruz easily discovers that Marcello is the author of Peter's confession. Suspected of murder, Marcello has to recognize that he was present this evening, with Sophia (disguised in Dominic), at the Capwell reception. But if he was present, it was just to protect Sophia. During the reconstitution of the murder orchestrated by Cruz, Marcello, to everybody's surprise, accuses himself of the murder. Marcello, who sincerely loves his stepmother, prefers to accuse himself of the murder rather than Sophia ends up discovering all the truth. But, very quickly, Sophia clears him, because she remembers to have shot the fatal bullet. His mission of protecting Sophia from her past is now finished. But Marcello is however constrained to go to jail for creation of proof, murder attempt on C.C. and the murder of Hank Judson as he turns to be at the origin of the fall of the tunnel between the Capwell and the Lockridge mansions. He is incarcerated while however forgetting his projects of revenge.

Years later, a link with the past of Marcello could have been established with Katrina Ruyker. But at any time, within the intrigue of Santa Barbara, the link between these two characters is clearly explained.

Portrait written for this site by Lilian

Read also : The murder of Channing Capwell Jr.