Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 309: Zoe And Nora

The car ride back to Tom’s residence was quiet. Abigail leaned her head against the window, her mind full.

They had received several calls from Tom and the other members of the clan asking about the news of Ryan’s suicide. Harry and Jade were waiting for them at Tom’s place.

Jamal glanced at Abigail after a long moment of silence. ”You okay?” he asked quietly.

”I don’t know,” she said truthfully, her voice soft and tired.

He gave a small nod, brushed her hand lightly with his thumb. ”You sound tired though.”

”I am. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep off the day. I’m not feeling up to talking,” Abigail said softly.

”I understand,” he said with a sigh.

”It’s funny to say this so soon, but right now, I’m craving my usual solitude,” she said with a faint smile. ”Do you think the girls will mind?”

”I’m sure they will understand,” Jamal assured her, ”I guess our plan for the weekend is cancelled.”

”It doesn’t have to be. I’m sure I’ll be fine by morning. Tomorrow we can go visit your parents and grandparents. Josh is looking forward to it. I am too.”

For a while, they said nothing. Then just when Jamal was thinking she’d dozed off, she spoke again, her voice quieter this time. ”Do you think we handled it wrong? That maybe the outcome would’ve been different if we’d taken another approach?”

Jamal shook his head. ”What happened wasn’t anyone’s fault, babe. Ryan made it clear he planned to end his life even before we arrived. He just wanted witnesses.”

”Witnesses?” Her voice trembled. ”How could he be so mean? So heartless?” Tears gathered in her eyes, but they were tears of anger not sadness.

He sighed. ”I have no idea.”

She turned her face toward him. ”Do you think Callan will be fine? Earlier he didn’t seem okay.”

Jamal sighed deeply when he remembered the way Callan left the hospital. ”I’ll check on him after I talk with Tom and Uncle Harry,” Jamal said softly. ”He’s been through a lot and he was just trying to come out of his shell, and now this.”

”Emily left with him, right? Maybe you should call her first,” Abigail suggested.

”Take my phone and dial her number. It’s saved as Em baby with a heart,” he said, and she picked up his phone and dialed the number.

Emily, who had just finished freshening up and was getting into bed to sleep, picked up her phone on the second ring. ”Hey, Jam.”

”Are you still with Cal? How’s he doing?” Jamal asked and Emily sighed.

”He left after dropping me off. I can’t tell if he’s okay. Though he seemed so. But you know he doesn’t open up to me that much so I guess you’ll have to ask him yourself,” she said with a yawn.

”You must be exhausted,” Jamal observed.

”Today has been a nightmare. I still can’t believe all that happened. Mr Harris told me he was going to do whatever Cal asked him to do. I wonder exactly what Cal could have said to make him change his mind,” Emily said, and Jamal shook his head.

”It’s not Cal’s fault...”

”Of course it’s not. I’m not saying it is. That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying I wonder what happened between when I last talked to him and when he pulled the trigger. I just know I’m going to be having nightmares for days. I am traumatized, yet I’m too exhausted to even feel it. How are you, though? How’s Dawn? She seemed pretty shaken earlier,” Emily asked, and Jamal raised a brow at Abigail.

”I’m fine, thanks,” Abigail responded.

”That’s good to know,” Emily said with another yawn. ”Jam, I promised to give Mari a call but I can’t do so right now. I hardly slept all through the flight and I was paralyzed with fear for most of it because of Mr Harris’ threats. Right now I want to sleep for twenty four hours without being bothered. So, please give Mari a call when you can to find out how she’s doing and let her know what’s up if you can. I’m hanging up now, my biological battery is shutting down.”

With that Emily hung up.

”How do you cope with being everyone’s favorite friend?” Abigail asked, and Jamal shrugged.

”Cope? It’s not a difficult task. It’s like asking how you cope with caring about the people you love. That comes naturally. Everyone cares about everyone in our friendship and family. I’m not doing anything special. Besides, this is not a usual occurrence. We all don’t usually have dramas like this in our lives. After now everything would be fun again. Hopefully.”

”Hopefully,” Abigail repeated.

The rest of the drive was silent and Abigail soon dozed off.

When they reached Tom’s house, Jamal parked in front of the house where the other cars were parked and Abigail didn’t open her eyes until he opened her door.

”We are here,” he said, and she sighed tiredly before getting out of the car.

As soon as they walked in, Lucy rushed forward and wrapped Abigail in her arms. ”Oh, sweetheart,” she said, her voice soft. ”How are you holding up?”

Abigail just nodded weakly, unable to speak.

”It’s been a long day. She needs to rest,” Jamal said since Abigail had said she wasn’t up for conversations.

Lucy nodded. ”Of course,” Lucy said gently, still holding Abigail close. ”Come on, dear. I’ll escort you upstairs.”

As they disappeared down the hallway, Jamal Jamal ran a tired hand through his hair as he turned to Tom, Harry, and Jade, who were seated in the living room.

”Where’s Josh and the others?” he asked quietly.

”Josh is in the Den,” Tom said. ”Brenda and the others went out for a friend’s birthday party.”

Harry added, ”Josh is in there with Zoe and Nora.”

Jamal grinned at the mention of his cousins. ”It’s been a while since I saw them. I will be right back.”

He walked toward the Den. The moment he stepped inside, all eyes turned from the cartoon on the TV to him.

Two teenage girls sixteen-year-old Zoe and fourteen-year-old Nora squealed and jumped up. ”Jamal!” they cried, running toward him.

Josh also jumped up, his small face lighting with joy. ”Daddy!”

Jamal laughed as he caught them in his arms, hugging the girls first then lifting Josh.

”How’s my little man doing? Are you having fun?” he asked Josh. His voice soft but bright for the first time that evening.

”Yes!” Josh grinned. ”We’re watching cartoons!”

”Sounds like fun,” Jamal said before turning to the girls. ”I’ve missed you two. What have you been up to?”

”I missed you too,” Zoe and Nora chorused before chattering his ears off with all that had happened in his absence including Nora’s ballet and violin recitals, and Zoe’s debut performance on screen.

Josh tugged Jamal’s sleeve when the girls paused to breathe. ”Where’s Mummy?”

”She’s upstairs,” Jamal said gently. ”She’s a little upset, so maybe you can go cuddle her. That’ll make her feel better.”

Josh nodded seriously and once Jamal set him on his feet, he ran off in search of his mother.

Jamal turned to Zoe and Nora. ”I’ll catch up with you girls later and hear all about your recitals and movies, okay? Gotta talk to the adults for a bit.”

”We can just catch up at grandpa’s tomorrow. Tomorrow is barbecue Sunday, remember?!” Zoe said, and Jamal slapped his forehead.

”I almost forgot. But I was going to go there tomorrow, anyway.”

”Josh is so sweet. I like him!” Nora said, and Jamal chuckled.

”Of course. He takes after me, don’t you think so?” He asked, and they giggled.

”I hope you’re bringing aunt Dawn tomorrow?” Zoe said.

He raised a brow. ”Aunt Dawn? Why’s my girlfriend aunt Dawn, and I’m Jamal?”

”She is our mom’s aunt, so she’s our grand aunt. You are our dad’s nephew, so you’re our cousin,” Zoe explained with a flourish.

”Besides, we are close to you and can call you Jamal, but we are not so close to her yet. When she says we can call her just Dawn, then we will do that,” Nora added.

”Yep,” Zoe nodded with agreement. ”We heard she’s cool though!”

Jamal chuckled. ”You did? From who?”

”The cousin-sisters group chat,” Nora said with a grin.

”What else did you hear?” Jamal asked, amused.

Both girls exchanged a look and rolled their eyes in amusement. ”Just go talk to the adults already!” Zoe said, pushing him out the door.

He laughed and raised his hands in surrender. ”Fine, fine. You’ll tell me what I want to know tomorrow.”

As he walked back to the living room, the laughter faded, replaced again by the heaviness that had followed him from the hospital.

Lucy was back now, sitting beside Tom, her face thoughtful.

Jamal sank into the spot between them and told them everything that had happened at the hospital.

When he finished, Jade exhaled. ”That bastard,” she said. ”I wasted two nights building a case against him and I didn’t even give an opening statement in court.”

Harry chuckled quietly. ”Are you upset he died, or that you can’t take him to court anymore?”

She shot him a playful glare while the others laughed. ”You joke too much.”

”I guess we should have considered that he’d do such a thing.” Tom said, and Harry nodded in agreement.

”Yeah. He was dying and didn’t even bother with treatment. And now that he knows Callan isn’t on his side taking his life was his last resort,” Harry added.

Tom looked at Jamal. ”How are you holding up?”

Jamal shrugged. ”I’m not sure. I’m just worried about the others.” He leaned back and sighed. ”So, now that Ryan’s no longer a threat, can we finally focus on Mari’s parents?”

Harry nodded. ”Yes. Some of our best men are on it already. And Barry already tapped into...”

”Not while I’m here. I don’t want to hear about any of your illegal plans until I’m gone,” Jade cut in quickly.

Lucy rolled her eyes before turning again to Jamal. ”How did Genevieve handle things?”

”She wept all through the drive to Stefan’s,” Jamal said quietly.

Jade sighed. ”Well, now that Ryan’s gone, it’s up to her to reveal everything he did. He’s left her to carry all the responsibility. I suppose that will be her punishment.”

Jamal rose, stretching wearily. ”Now that I’m done bringing you up to speed, I need to check on Dawn before leaving to see Cal.”

Lucy reached out and squeezed his hand. ”You seem to be everyone’s emotional anchor, Jam. Try not to wear yourself out.”

He gave a faint smile. ”I’ll be fine. I just need everyone else to be fine too.”