I looked around and a smile spread on my face as I saw her. Gretal is our neighbor's daughter. After Aunt Debra had an accident and after she had to be hospitalized, her parent's took care of me. Aunt Maddy would not allow me to cook and made sure I ate all meals with them.
"Gretal, sorry dear, that's not what I meant."She didn't let me say another word and said, "OK, serious talk, we saw the news. Dad said that's not you, what's going on, and why's Kyle with her? Oh, mom-dad said come over." Bending over, "And who's he, cute!"
"Gretal, he's older than me and my brother."Gretal does the same and does not let me say another word and says, "Well that's great. Since he's your brother then I get a character verification certificate and I'm not a teenager, I am twenty-five. And he's too cute to consider the few years gap I might share."
I bend over and whisper, "He's the only heir to a multi-millionaire shipping business. I think his parents have a lot of plans for him."
She smiles and whispers, "Oh, plans can always change."
That's Gretal for you, always knows how to get the last word. Then I looked towards Derak and said, "Derak, she's Gretal, our neighbors Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Maddy's daughter. Let's go over it."
Over at Gretal's home
As we entered Aunt Maddy and Uncle Jonathan welcomed us. They were very happy to meet Derak and thanked him for supporting me.
As Aunt Maddy brought the tea over, Uncle Jonathan said something that shocked me, "You know when I saw her, I mean that girl, I was shocked. At first I thought it was you, so I was hurt that you didn't wish me. But when I came face to face with you, or her, I realized she wasn't you. She was a lookalike, but she didn't have the brightness you have in your eyes. We wanted to call you, but the last storm broke the tower lines and then Aunt Debra passed away, so we let it go."
"Uncle, can you remember when she came here?" I asked in a curious tone.
"Now, let me see, I don't remember the exact date as it's been so many years, but a month before Debra's death." Uncle Jonathan says in a frank tone.
"Uncle, Aunt, first, me and Kyle, we've divorced."
"We understood that when we saw him standing beside that girl." Aunt Maddy says in a frank tone.
"Well, then do you know who else she was with?" I asked in a curious tone.
"Her parents of course, but why does she look like you, Jessica, weren't you a single child, or are you a twin?" Gretal asks in a curious investigation tone.
I took a deep breath as I know this will shock them. After all, finding a billionaire heiress was and is sitting beside you at the dinner table is not a common fact.
"Aunt Maddy, Uncle Jonathan, they are my parents, and that girl is Amanda, my lookalike. I don't know how she found out about them, I don't know why she looks like me, but she's an impostor."
Gretal quickly says, "What? So, you are the real, the real heiress to their billionaire business. Then what are you doing here? Go and show them your DNA and take your place."
"Gretal, for parents who have not seen their daughter since she was born, DNA is the only proof one can give." Uncle Jonathan says explaining to Gretal, "So, this means Amanda Has found a way to do that. That's the only way she can prove she's their daughter."
"Wow, then she's a major fraudster."
We all laughed at her simple yet assertive comment.
I didn't notice over the chatting when it was already one in the afternoon. Seeing the time on the wall clock and said, "Derak, it's noon, we have an appointment with the property consultant."
Aunt Maddy instantly says, "Oh, you still haven't taken the apartment?"Seeing me confused, Uncle Jonathan says, "Jessica, Debra told us she wanted to buy an apartment for you. She didn't want you to think she was alone and could not afford a separate apartment for you, one that would be close to your university. She bought it in installments. But she got into that accident and could not hand it over to you. But, she told me to let them know so they could hand it over to you. I called them a few days after Debra's death and they told me they were in talks with you. So, I backed out of the conversation."
Though I was as confused as I was before, I took a deep breath and said, "Uncle, I never knew about any apartment till I found the file among Aunt Debra's stuff over at the nursing home. And then I got a call from the consultant telling me some paperwork is pending. We're going to meet him now."
Uncle's facial expressions shifted from being calm to stressed, as he said, "OK, if you both need any help, remember I'm a call away."
At the Property Consultants office
As Derak parked his car, we entered the office and saw Mr. Blake, he got up and said, "Oh, Miss Jessica, you look more beautiful than the last time we met."
"Oh, really, we'll meet my brother Derak Claude."
On seeing Derak, Blake got up instantly and said, "Oh, Mr. Claude, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, ma'am, sir, take a seat."
Derak pulls a chair for me and then as he also takes a seat, he says, "You called my sister for some paperwork."
"Yes," He removes a file from the drawer and opens it. He removes some papers and says handing them to me, "There's a red dot where you need to sign. Once done, the apartment will be officially yours."
I took the papers and took a look towards Derak. Seeing his assuring look, I signed the papers and handed them back.
Blake takes the papers, and then calls on his intercom, "Hello, Rachel, please tell Claire to come in, thank you."
"Yes, Sir, one minute, please."
Claire enters in exactly a minute. As she enters, Blake says, "Clair, please check the documents."
Claire takes the papers I just signed and then she takes some papers out of the file she was carrying. Then she looks at both and says, "Blake, this Miss Jessica is the real one, and the one before is a fake."
After hearing this, I had to speak up, "OK, what's going on?"
"Miss Jessica, when your aunt came to pay the final installment, she gave your signature samples so we could avoid fraud. I think she knew something at that time, but we presumed she was just being extra cautious." Blake says continuing in a concerned tone, "When the previous Jessica came, her sign didn't match, but we stalled her by saying some paperwork is pending and we'll call again. We tried calling you home, but no one answered. It took us a lot of research to get your current phone number."
"Actually, I never knew about this apartment and after I began my fashion business, I shifted with my aunt over to Chapel Row. And then she got into an accident and suffered from DAI. The rest you must be knowing."
Blake says in a concerned tone, "Yes, your uncle came to tell us. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Mr. Blake, now it's obvious the fake Jessica or Amanda, that's her real name, she will come back for the papers."
Blake intervenes and says, "Yes, but obviously you'll tell her she's the fake and that's that."
"Sorry, but Mr. Blake, that's not that. We want you to hand over the apartment to her. And, leave the rest to us." Derak says in tone implying he has a plan.
When I saw the impression of Derak and Blake's face, I understood what Derak meant by, 'I had no experience in this field. Though I didn't understand what Derak meant by giving her the property, one thing I understood was he had a plan.
Then we got up, and Derak gave his card and told Blake to keep him updated on the matter.
As we came out, I had to speak up, "OK, Derak, you want to fill me in on what happened? I mean, did we not come here to take the property from her? Didn't you all say, 'How can you let your aunt's hard-earned money go into her hands? What happened now? She can't because of her forged sign; I'm handing her duly officially signed property papers."
"Jessica, for a thirty-year-old woman, you really think like a kid at times, and keep it that way. That's the only way you can keep yourself stress free."
OK, that didn't make sense at all. "Derak, what was that? A puzzle or a riddle I'm supposed to crack." I said in a sarcastic tone.
"Jessica, she will get duly signed papers, but fake papers with her signature. This will make her think she has won again and might even set up the apartment, or she might do what I think she will."
"OK, now I really don't know what's going on, so what's next?" I asked in a confused tone mixed with curiosity.
"For now, let's head over to Garden City Hospital." Derak says in a capricious tone,
"Garden City Hospital?" I took the name in a shocked tone, "Why are we going there? Did you also get a call?"
"Call? What call?" Derak asked me in a confused tone.
I replied in a frank tone, "Oh, the way I got from Aunt Debra's hospital. Did you?"
"Of course not, but that's the place we both knew about her existence." Derak says in a cautious tone.
Garden City Hospital
As we arrive at the main gate, Derak tells me to go in and wait for him as he parks his car. As I went inside, it was odd to say, considering it's a hospital and some might not have good memories about it, but for me I had a lot of sweet memories.
Yes, this is the place I met Kyle for the first time. I came to congratulate a friend of mine for her baby. If I think about it, it looks like only yesterday:
Flashback: Three years ago
I got a call from my friend Cecilia's husband, who told me she had a baby girl over at Garden City Hospital. So, I bought a newborn baby set and went to visit her. I remember clearly, I was going through the hall when I suddenly heard a glass-breaking voice come from one of the rooms.
Worried, I went in and saw a man was leaning over the bed, and a glass was broken on the floor. I quickly went over and pressed the call button and helped the man get back and said, "I'm Jessica; do you want to drink water?"
The man looked at me, smiled, and said, "Yes, please. I was getting it, but the glass was too far."
As I handed him the glass, he took a few sips. I never felt the way I felt when I saw him. For me it was love at first sight, and at that time I thought it was for him as well. After all, we both were lost till we heard the nurse call us, "Miss, Miss, Mr. Kyle."
Realizing the nurse had come, I looked at her and said, "Oh, sorry, but..."
The nurse didn't let me complete my sentence and said, "It's nice to see your family has come. Miss."
She looked at me for my name, so I said, "Jessica. Jessica Jiles."
"Miss Jessica, it's good you finally came. For a while we thought he had no family, especially after his girlfriend left without a word."She's not my girlfriend. She's only a mistake." Kyle said with a lot of hurt in his voice.
Seeing he's getting irritated, the nurse said, "OK, sorry for that. I'll send the cleaner to clear the glass."
Recalling the reason I came, I said, "OK, then I'll take my leave. I came to congratulate my friend." I looked at Kyle and said, "OK, take care."
As I came out, I heard the nurse say, "Mr. Kyle, your bills are pending. By when can you clear them?"
"I know, sister, I'll arrange the money in a few days. Don't worry." Kyle says in a low, esteemed voice.
The nurse nods and comes out. Seeing I'm still standing there, she asked me, "Miss Jessica, may I help you? You were going to visit your friend. The gynae section is on floor five. You can ask for the room number from the reception."
"Oh, no, that's not the matter. I'm sorry, but I was here when I heard about the bill issue. May I know what's the matter?" I know it sounded intrusive, but for some reason I was being pulled towards Kyle.
The nurse's expression changes from being calm to worried. "Oh, Miss Jessica, the reality is Mr. Kyle; his parents passed away, and he's an only child. His girlfriend, well, that's what we thought she was. She used to come here and pay the bills in the beginning, but then one day she left like usual, and then one day she called to tell Mr. Kyle, 'She's not coming back."