Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 73: Backstory (2)

”Ignore it,” Abigail said when Jamal showed her his screen so she would see that Ryan was calling.

”That would make him suspicious,” Jamal said, and then raised a hand to his lips for her to stay quiet as he received the call and placed it on speaker so she could hear the conversation.

”Hello, sir,” he said in a polite tone.

”Where are you both now? Have you left the hotel?” Ryan asked, his tone tinged with concern.

”Not yet, sir...”

”Why not? What’s the issue at the hotel?” Ryan asked impatiently.

”The maintenance team are going from room to room to fix things, and because Mr Jamal’s suite is the presidential suite, they need him or someone to be in his suite. So, we are in his suite right now as they’re checking...”

”What sort of stupid hotel does maintenance while they have guests? Couldn’t that have waited until the guests checked out?” Ryan hissed, and Abigail pressed her lips together to keep from laughing when Jamal glared at the phone.

She too had thought that Jamal’s excuse was lame. Why didn’t he come up with something better?

”My thoughts exactly! I was quite displeased when I got here and found out this was the reason Mr Jamal asked me over,” Jamal said, watching as Abigail’s eyes gleamed with amusement and her body shook with suppressed laughter.

”And Abigail? What’s she up to?” Ryan asked, and Abigail rolled her eyes.

”She’s just sitting down and looking around with a scowl. I think she’s bored and upset that her plans were changed,” Jamal said and Abigail grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

”Are you going to be there for much longer?” Ryan asked, and Jamal raised an eyebrow when Abigail shook her head, gesturing to him to say no.

”I’m not sure. I think they should be done within the next thirty minutes to an hour,” he said and Abigail nodded.

”Alright. Let me know how it goes. I think I should get her own driver so that things like this won’t repeat itself,” Ryan muttered.

”I don’t think this will happen again. Miss Genevieve said I only have to attend to Mr Jamal until he leaves. So, you can just pay me the money you will pay the other driver and I will keep driving her around when I’m not driving Miss Genevieve,” Jamal rushed to assure him, and Abigail pressed both hands over her lips when a laugh almost sputtered out.

Ryan chuckled, ”You’re greedy, aren’t you? I like that.”

”Thank you, sir,” Jamal said with a smirk.

”Alright. Let me know how it goes,” he said before hanging up.

”You’re greedy,” Abigail said and Jamal chuckled.

”Greedy people like people who are like them,” Jamal said as he set his phone aside. ”So, where were we?”

”You were telling me about all the mess my mother caused,” Abigail said and Jamal nodded.

”Yeah. So after she put out the false news about her and Tom, and Tom released the news about your paternity, the Hanks agreed that your mother couldn’t be trusted and they didn’t want to have to deal with her, so they asked her to come get you. They didn’t want her to use you as an excuse to cause more problems for Tom and Lucy,” he explained and Abigail sighed and nodded.

”Lucy must have disliked me because of all my Mom did,” Abigail said but Jamal shook his head.

”On the contrary she loves you. She never judged you by the action of your Mom. And if Ryan had let her, she would have adopted you. I think after me she’s the second person that loves you most,” he said and she raised a brow, an amused smile on her lips.

”After you?”

”Yeah. I know nobody loves you like I do,” he said with a confident smile, his brown eyes gleaming with undisguised love for her.

Abigail felt butterflies flutter in her belly at his words but she focused on something else, ”So, you and Lucy loves me more than the Hanks who are my family?”

”They love you, too. But you were closer to Lucy. You got along more with her, while the rest of them were too shocked to find out their grandfather had a three years old daughter.”

”What about Lawrence’s kids? You’ve only mentioned Tom and his sister who I suppose are some of his grandkids,” Abigail reminded him, changing the subject because she didn’t want to be distracted.

”He only had a son, Desmond. That’s Tom’s father. And Demond had three children. Tom, Bryan, and Jade. Desmond was one of the wisest old men I ever met. He died a long time ago,” Jamal said with nostalgic sigh, missing the old man.

”You seem to be close to everyone,” Abigail observed and Jamal shrugged.

”I guess it’s my personality. But you should know that Desmond always regretted asking your mom to come get you. After he heard about the accident and Ryan stopped everyone else from contacting you, Desmond felt quite guilty and sad. Before he died he told me that he hoped I would be able to meet you again as I always said I would and he wanted me to let you know that he was sorry. He didn’t have a very good relationship with Lawrence so he believed that might have also influenced his decision to send you away,” Jamal said and Abigail sighed.

”None of that matters anymore now, does it? Continue with the story. I guess we both met before my mom came to get me,” she said, not wanting to dwell on the sad parts.

”Yes,” he said with a smile, recalling how they met. ”My family and I came to pay condolence visit to the Hanks and to attend your father’s funeral. My uncle is Tom’s best friend and he is also married to Tom’s sister,” he said and Abigail shut her eyes.

”Why are you all tangled up this way. The names and relationships are so much. Your mom is Lucy’s cousin, and now your uncle is Tom’s best friend and brother-in-law,” she said and Jamal laughed.

”Oh, you have no idea just how tangled up it is. This is still keeping it simple. But don’t worry. I’m sure you will understand it with time,” he assured her.

”I guess your family is really large,” Abigail said and Jamal nodded.

”Yes, it is. And it is your family, too. You’re a Hank. That’s why you should know that you have a large army behind you. And trust me, Ryan is going to be crushed completely when they find out what he did to you,” Jamal promised and Abigail swallowed.

”Go on. Tell me how we met. I must have made quite an impression on you seeing how you just couldn’t forget me,” she urged him with a teasing smile and Jamal stared at her for a moment before laughing.

”Do you know you’re full of yourself?” He asked, and she shrugged.

”Did I make a lasting impression on you or not?” She asked with a smirk and he grinned.

”I guess you did,” he admitted as his thoughts drifted to their first meeting twenty years ago.