Caleb had decided to bring Julie back at the garage. For a few days, both of them were feeling really down but Julie, especially looked depressed then usual.
'Thankyou for bringing me here.' Julie smiled, doing her hand sign.
He gave a small smile, " Its the least i can do to cheer you up."
Inside the garage, all of his bandmates were there practicing on their own. After seeing the two, they all froze in shock. " How did....Julie..." Ryan asked, eyes wide. They all knew, Julie had passed away two years back. This was more than just shocking for them. It was terror.
Julie couldnt help chuckling after seeing their reactions. She nudged Caleb to tell them the whole story as they couldnt understand sign language.
" Well...she was taken to a foreign country and got a surgery there. Which is how she is standing here right now, good as alive." he glanced at her and realised his choice of words were a little dark, " I know you guys are shocked. I was even more shocked than you, hahah..."
The garage was silent at first but Ryan broke into a smile, " Good to hear then. Welcome back Julie....we missed you." The rest of the bandmates nodded and gave the same sort of comments about welcoming her. Julie responded to everyone of them by nodding and smiling.
Aaron who was at the corner, tilted his head and continued fixing his guitar. " So, that is how rich people die old." he whispered to himself.
Caleb led her to the kepyboard at the other corner, alone and dusty. This was the keyboard Julie used to play when she visited the garage. As their band didnt have a any keyboard player, it was abandoned in the corner, useless.
'At least they didnt throw it away.' Julie told through her sign language.
" Yeah,...." he nodded, " It just didnt feel right to throw....as you used to play it."
Julie stared at him with sad eyes, remembering how she came to the garage so often. Being here always made her feel happy and excited. Those days were still on her mind so vivid, it made her heart ache.
"But!" Caleb's voice was louder, " Now, you are back, this keyboard wont be alone anymore."
She broke into a smile, coming back to the present. As long as Caleb was here to light up her mood, she wouldnt care less about anything else. Blowing away the dust carefully, she put her fingers on the keys and played a simple tune.
Julie preferred her piano back at home but this keyboard wasnt all that bad. At least she could play with the others rather than alone and in pain. When she played her piano, its tune always made her sad and hurt for some reason. And after some hours of continuously playing, she would end up with tears falling down her cheeks.
" Not bad....you already seem like you're used to it." Caleb added, observing her fingers smoothly pressing on the keys.
She nodded with a smile on her face. This place reminded her that music was what she loved the most.
In the next few hours, they all practiced new songs and Julie also took part with their rehearsals. After they had won the competition, gigs and live performance requests were packed for them. And this was why Caleb had become busier than before. But as long as his father didnt stop him, he didnt care how much exhausted they would be. He loved performing the most after all.
---
" We had so much fun because of you Julie!" Ryan said genuinely once their rehearsal was over.
She quickly signalled 'thankyou. i had fun too." Caleb looked back at his friend, " she says thankyou and she had fun too."
" Your welcome. By the way, we have a live performance day after tomorrow. Would you like to join us just for that day?" Ryan gave a tight smile, making the request. Her piano skill would raise their performance's quality. They couldnt miss the chance.
Julie gave a shocked face, not knowing what to answer. She glanced at Caleb but he was waiting for her answer too. Biting her lips, she forced a smile, ' Im sorry. I wont be able to.'
Caleb translated the message and Ryan showed visible disappointment. " Well....alright then. Maybe next time?"
She nodded, to not make him feel bad. Later, the two walked out of the alley way while Caleb continued talking about his life. Julie nodded along, listening to him.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist out of nowhere, terrifying the life out of her.
" Julia!!!??" a woman with ragged features and clothes asked with big eyes, almost popping out of her thin face. By her appearance, it was pretty obvious that she was homeless and poor.
Julie pulled her hands away immediately, with a terror-struck face. Her eyes were wide as her breathing quickened looking back at the woman.
The woman continued shouting Julia, Julia continuously that she had to cover her ears, tears streaming down her face. Caleb quickly pushed the woman aside and grabbed her arms with the same shocked face, " Julie! do you know this woman??"
She frantically shook her head, trying to pull Caleb away. He understood and took her hands as they sprinted from the alleys, finally reaching the spot where they had parked the car.
Julie panted and coughed hard as soon as they stopped. He worriedly supported her body, waiting for the girl to get her normal breathing pace. Once, she was back to normal, Caleb stared straight in her eyes, " Do you have any idea who that woman was?"
She avoided eye-contact but decided answering: ' I think she was one of our house maids.'
Seeing her panicked state, Caleb didnt ask any further questions and both of them got in the car. Meanwhile, Julie clasped her hands tightly, controlling her tears.
---
In the Brent company building, William was in the meeting as always. His three uncles were also present. Last week, William had lost control with his anger and out of this anger, he had ordered for their suspension. But right after that day, he regretted what he had done out of his personal feelings. The uncles accepted his apology and they continued coming to work like as if nothing had happened.
And now they were in a serious meeting. The contribution they had planned for this month was a very good one. As all the upper employees of Brent company had suspected about the sudden swarm of investors, the three uncles decided to research it.
" So, according to my findings...." Mr.Miller said pointing at the projected screen of his slideshow, " about 70% of the investors have invested in Lennon manufactures too."
William scrunched his brows, observing the screen, " What if they invested after the marriage proposal?"
" I thought so too but...." he changed the slides to the next one, " seems like all of them had invested in the Lennon company years before the actual marriage proposal."
The slides showed all the numbers and proved Mr.miller's words. William leaned back on the chair, thinking hard. Was this Mr.lennon's plan from the beginning or was it coincidence?
" Mr.lindson has been researching about the investor's locations."
" I havent completed my research yet but," Mr.lindson stood up as well, " the investors location are around the companies area who are in elite rank."
William was confused about the results. What did this all mean?
" I still need few more days before i can confirm it. As for Mr.ron, he is also researching if the investors are professional people. But looks like they are not..." the uncle continued and all the few employees who were present started mumbling confused.
" Wasnt our company mostly sought by professional investors?" William asked, playing with his pen.
" Yes, William. That is what is making us even more confused." Mr.miller folded his arms, indicating this as a serious situation.
---
The meeting lasted for about a few hours and according to his schedule he was finally free at 3pm.
" Sally, any appointments?" William asked the secretary heading to the office.
" Yes, sir. Miss.lennon was supposed to come by now but she hasnt arrived yet."
He halted his steps, turning to the secretary, " Wish? Why?"
" She had actually visited yesterday evening too but you had left already, sir. As for the reason, i dont know about it."
Reaching his office, he hung the coat checking the phone. There were no messages or calls from Wish. After what his secretary said, he was looking forward to her visit. Must have been something urgent right?
Two hours passed but still no sign of Wish. He called the secretary if she had passed and her answer was no.
" Hmm? she is usually always on time." he shook his head, going through the work again. Later, he even finished his last meeting and she was still not here yet.
He became worried all of a sudden. Even if she couldnt make it, she would have made a call or messaged. William finally dialled her number and after a long deafening ring, the call was forwarded to her message box.
This made him scrunch his brows as he dialled again. But she didnt pick up.
" Where are the hell are you, Wish?"
.