"I thought your name was Kiara," Gareth spoke angrily to Lee-Anne.
"I'm not. Kiara is my friend."
"Will you be able to connect me to her? Give me her number." The man said.
"I will look for it, I don't have it now." Lee-Anne lied, because she had the number, but the thought of Kiara being the one taking her place in the Pinkerton mansion just got her irritated.
After dropping off Lee-Anne, the driver drove to a bar, as per Gareth's instruction. Seated in the same dim corner, he dialed the number that Kevin had previously used to contact him.
"Hallo?" came Kevin's voice.
"Meet me at the same spot, in the next twenty minutes maximum."
'You…you are the man from the Pinkertons? But you did not…"
"If you value your life, make sure to be there." Gareth placed his phone on the table.
It did not take long before Kevin appeared, looking all sweaty and dirty.
"I had to ask for some money from my neighbor for a cab. I was in the backyard trying to clean up the space at home." he explained in fear. The image of the gun that Gareth pulled on him the previous time was still tormenting him.
"Sit," Gareth pointed at the chair opposite him.
Kevin sat down, and a huge brown envelope was placed in front of him.
"Open is!" Gareth commanded.
The young man's hands shook as he opened the envelope. Never in his entire life had Kevin seen such a lot of money.
"Is it mine? All of it?"
"All of it. Now give me her number. Kiara."
Kevin fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Umm, what an old phone for a youngster like you," Gareth commented.
Kevin briefly narrated his demise of losing his job and also how their family was financially struggling.
"Give me her address," Gareth said.
"I don't have it, but I know where she works," Kevin stated.
On the day that he collected the phone from Kiara, the two of them met near Kiara's workplace, that was how he got to know the place.
Gareth collected all the required information and he left.
***.
On the following day, Gareth parked a simple car near Kiara's workplace. He avoided using one of the posh cars, for he wanted to avoid attention at all cost. According to his investigations, the staff members parked their cars in the basement, so he went in, wearing a cleaner's uniform. He held a mop bucket.
He already had many pictures of Kiara, taken from social media platforms.
Sure enough, he saw a very beautiful heavily pregnant woman walking into the basement, and she tiredly threw herself into a car. Gareth memorized the registration number and went back to his car outside.
After a short while, Kiara drove out, and from a distance, Gareth followed her. He saw her car driving off to a shop where she bought a few groceries. Gareth followed as the lady drove to her home, parked in front of the house, and a woman came out to hug her. It was Sharon. Gareth thought he had managed to get all the information that he needed, and he drove off.
Unaware that she was being trailed, Kiara threw her shoes off and went to take a shower. She was feeling very exhausted. When Jeremy came home, Kiara sat up in bed and started talking happily.
"Jeremy, it's been a while since we went for that scan, yet until now we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl. Let's have the gender reveal. I don't want anything flashy, I want us to keep it as simple as can be."
"Oh yes, the gender reveal. When do you propose that we have it?" Jeremy yawned, because he too was exhausted from the day's work.
"I want Nesisa to be there as well, so the best date is when little Elvis is a few weeks old."
"He's already a few weeks old," Jeremy said.
"You're right. So, how is this coming weekend!"
"If that's what you want, it's all good with me. How do you want it to be done?" he asked.
"I was thinking, we could have some balloons in a box, and then people will count down and we open the box to reveal the either pink or blue balloons."
"Umm. That sounds so overused. I have seen a number of people doing that." Jeremy said.
"What if we have a dinner…I would love for us to have a dinner as one big family. We invite my parents, Jacob and Nesisa…"
"And Elvis," Jeremy smiled.
"Oh yes, of course, of course. Elvis too. And I was thinking we can do something indoors, for the sake of Elvis. After our dinner, we do the reveal."
"You can ask your mum to bake us a cake and fill it up with either pink or blue skittles, depending on the gender of our baby."
"I like that idea!" Kiara screamed happily. Her baby kicked wildly in her tummy and she pulled Jeremy's hand so that he could feel the kicks.
"She's happy just like her mother," Jeremy smiled.
"She? How do you know it's a girl?" Kiara asked.
"I was just guessing. I always assume that we will have a girl."
"Tell the truth, that's what you prefer."
"Not really," Jeremy denied. "I just imagine a cute little girl, just like her mother." he smiled and kissed Kiara softly on the forehead.
"If we get a girl, what would you like to name her?"
"I haven't really given it some thought. But when Jacob and Nesisa had a son, I thought they were going to name him something starting with a J, seeing he is Jacob Jay and I am Jeremy Joseph."
"Why did your parents love the Js?"
"I have no idea. Never asked them. But now that we have Elvis Aneni in the family, I was thinking we could also have names starting with an E and an A, what do you think?"
"A girl name starting with an E…umm, I would say Elianah. And a boy name, I have always loved the name Ethan. You can pick the child's second name," she nudged him with her elbow.
"Oh, so you have given your final names? So easily? That was super fast; I thought it took time to come up with names."
"Well to be honest I have always loved the name Ethan. As for Elianah, I thought it would be great for a girl." Kiara smiled.
"I like the name Anesu. It's almost like Aneni. Aneni means God is with me, while Anesu means God is with us, and it can work for either a boy or a girl."
"Wow," Kiara smiled. "I'm excited but I get scared whenever I think about going into labour. I pray that I will be able to handle the pain." Her voice was low, sounding scared.
"You have been exercising and all, I'm sure you will be fine. I'll be there with you all the way, Kiara."
"Thank you," she lay down on the bed, resting her head on his laps. The baby moved again, and Kiara quickly grabbed Jeremy's hand, placing on it on her tummy.
***.
Dear Kimmy
It's been a while since I updated you. I am happy now. I found my happiness.
I am going to have a child. If it is a girl, her name will be Elianah Anesu.
If it is a boy, his name will be Ethan Anesu.
Dear Kimmy, thank you for being there during the days that I needed you the most. There were times when I was not able to talk to anyone, and you were there for me. Although you never spoke back, your pages were blank, waiting to be filled up by me. You gave me your all, dear Kimmy, and you helped me to heal.
I think I can do without you now. I am a happy girl. I healed, and I found my joy and my peace. I have never been this happy in my life. Jeremy is my life. He completes me, he makes me feel whole. When I am with him, I am in no need of anything or anyone else.
I am a happy girl. Thank you my dear Kimmy.
***.
Meanwhile, in the Pinkerton mansion, Gareth had done an intensive search on Kiara. Using pictures on social media and some of his secret investigating methods, he managed to find the basics about her, and he updated the lady of the house.
The maids were very busy, preparing the wing that was reserved for Kiara. Very expensive and classy furniture was brought in, and the house was prepared especially for her.
A huge room was converted into a play room, with little chairs and tables in it. Unisex toys were bought and they decorated the room. Mrs Pinkerton promised to buy more toys once she knew the sex of the child.
In the child's bedroom, huge pure white letters 'VL' were stuck to the walls above the little head board. It was pure white with diamonds lacing its borders. At night, it was set to automatically switch on , and it produced some nice lullabies if commanded to.
"What is the VL for?" Gareth asked lady Pinkerton.
"That's for the child's name. Whether the child is a boy or a girl, their initials shall be VL." She stated proudly.
"Do you have the names already?" Gareth asked. He already knew that VL was for the child's initials, because master Pinkerton's names were Vice Leo Pinkerton, his late son was Victor Lewis Pinkteron, and then the young master Vine Lucas Pinkerton.
"Yes, I was thinking Valerie Louisa for a girl, and for a boy…umm, I have a feeling if it's a boy the grandfather will be dying to name him. But if he gives me a chance, I will name him Vincent Lisandro." She said it with a lot of pride.
"What if young master Vine has his own names?" Gareth laughed.
"I hope not. I'm dying to name this child," she said.
***.
When Gareth updated lady Pinkerton about Kevin losing his job and all the resultant financial problems which him and his family were facing, the old lady told Gareth to find out what qualification Kevin had. Since he had a lot of experience as a waiter, he was offered a job with a very high salary and flexible working hours at one of the Pinkertons' hotels. All that was as per instruction from the lady, and just like that, Kevin kissed goodbye to the days of his endless tears, and hallo to a totally new life.