Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 299: I Loved Her

Abigail knocked on her bedroom door before walking in. She saw Genevieve standing by the window looking out, with her breakfast untouched.

Genevieve turned when the door opened, ”Thanks for the clothes you set aside. But I’d rather wear this,” she said, brushing her hand down her two piece pant.

”That’s fine. You didn’t touch your food,” Abigail said, jerking her head towards the tray.

Genevieve forced a smile as she looked at the tray of food. ”I can’t keep anything down. I’ve not been able to since I saw the news. My chest and stomach feels so tight there is no space for anything. Can I see Mr Hank and his wife now? I’d like to apologize to them before I leave,” she said, and Abigail shook her head.

Abigail shook her head. ”I’m afraid you can’t do that right now. We just got word that Ryan is in Ludus now, and Callan is on his way to the hospital. We need to leave now so we can join Callan there.”

Genevieve drew in a deep breath and nodded. ”Okay. I’m ready. Is Stefan still downstairs?”

”Yes. I need to freshen up quickly and get dressed. You can go downstairs and join them. See if you can talk to Tom and Lucy,” Abigail said as she headed for her closet to take out her clothes.

”I will. Thanks,” Genevieve said, heading for the door.

Abigail paused when she remembered something, ”We looked through the flashdrive. How did you get them? You had a lot of stuff there to use against him. Why didn’t you?”

Genevieve stopped and turned to look at her, ”He always believed I was on his side, which was true at some point, but he also thought I was completely stupid, so he trusted me. So, it was easy for me to go in and out of his office. As for the reason I didn’t use it against him, you know very well how powerful he is. It’d be foolish for me to put myself at risk by starting a fire he can easily extinguish. The only reason I’m giving you this is because I’m ready to open up now and face the consequences and I know that you have the Hanks to make sure Dad would never walk away from this.”

”How can you still call him Dad despite everything he’s done?” Abigail asked, and Genevieve smiled softly.

”I can understand how you feel about him, but it’s different for me. I was angry all this time that he treated me so harshly and used me this way, and yes a part of me resents him, but I’m still grateful to him. He at least treated me better than my own mother did. I want him to be punished for what he used me to do to you and for his other crimes, but that doesn’t mean I want to abandon him. He’s always going to be my Dad to me,” Genevieve said, and Abigail sighed.

”If you say so. I need to freshen up now,” Abigail said as she went to take out her clothes from the closet while Genevieve left the room.

As Genevieve headed down the hallway and walked down the stairs, her heart raced as she wondered how to face the Hanks.

What could she possibly say to them?

At the foot of the stairs, she saw Jamal, and he smiled when he saw her. ”I didn’t get a chance to say hello earlier.”

Genevieve looked at him, ”I’m sorry for everything. For what my lies and deception caused you.”

Jamal pinched his nose and he sighed. ”I was angry when I first found out the truth, but I couldn’t stay angry for long. I thought you were Dawn for twenty years, so even when I found out you weren’t Dawn, I couldn’t bring myself to be mad or hate you. And if Dawn is cool with you, then I have no problem with you. Stefan is in the Study with Tom and Lucy. It’s the second door by your left,” he said before going up the stairs while Genevieve went to the study.

She knocked on the door twice, and when Tom said whoever was at the door could enter, she went in.

Tom and Lucy exchanged a look when they saw her, while Stefan’s gaze softened as he looked at her.

He had been trying to plead with them to go easy on her just before she walked in.

When she met Stefan’s gaze she looked away from him in embarrassment, wishing he wasn’t there to witness whatever was going to happen between her and the Hanks.

She bowed her head as she went on her knees. ”I don’t have any excuse for what I did. I know what I did is unforgiveable. Still, I’m sorry for whatever my actions must have caused your family. I’m willing to face whatever punishment or do whatever you ask me to do.”

Tom turned to Stefan, and met his pleading gaze. He turned to Lucy with a raised brow, and she smiled.

”Help her to her feet, Stefan,” Lucy ordered, and immediately Stefan went to pull Genevieve up.

They watched silently as Stefan helped Genevieve to her feet.

Genevieve’s hands trembled slightly at her sides, her throat tight with fear and shame as she looked down, unable to look up into their faces.

Lucy rose slowly from her seat, and crossed the room to where Genevieve stood. She placed a gentle hand on Genevieve’s shoulder, her voice soft and kind. ”You’ve made some terrible choices, Genevieve— choices that hurt others and yourself. But no one is ever too far gone on the wrong path to turn around. The moment you stop running from the truth and decide to face it, that’s when change begins, and that’s exactly what you’ve done, my dear. For that, you deserve to be acknowledged.”

Her gaze softened when she saw the tears running down Genevieve’s cheeks and she brushed them off, her tone deepening with warmth. ”What matters now isn’t what’s behind you. You can’t change what you’ve done. But what you do from here will define you. Choosing to come here to open up and not run away after Ryan released that video was the first step, and I’m sure it took a great deal of courage. The road ahead won’t be easy, but it’s far better than walking the same dark path. Now you have a chance to become someone you can finally look at without shame, someone you can be proud of.”

Genevieve sniffled, ”Thank you,” she murmured, and broke into a sob when Lucy hugged her.

Tom looked at his wife with a weary sigh. When they found out the truth about Genevieve not being Dawn, she had been breathing fire and he’d been so sure she would crush Genevieve when she set eyes on her. But here she was embracing her.

Tom leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable as he waited for Genevieve to stop crying. When she finally calmed down, Tom exhaled and looked at Lucy briefly before turning back to Genevieve.

”You do believe that you deserve to be punished, right?” he asked, studying her face.

Genevieve nodded slowly. ”Yes, sir.”

”I’m not the only one involved in this, so I can’t give you a punishment right now. I’ll need to discuss with the rest of the family.” His voice was calm, but carried a quiet authority that made the air in the room feel charged. ”Whatever we all come up with, I’ll let you know. But you should know we won’t press any charges against you. Dawn doesn’t want that, and we’ll respect her wishes. Also Stefan and Jamal have been interceding nonstop for you. They’re family, so their opinions of you will also count. So, for now, you can go home with Stefan. We will summon you when we make a decision.”

Genevieve swallowed hard. ”I understand. Thank you.”

”One more thing, your mother... she’s receiving treatment at one of our facilities. Will you like to meet her?” He asked, and she frowned and looked at Stefan, wondering what Tom was talking about.

”What treatment? Do you know my mother?” She asked, since Stefan had not mentioned anything about them knowing her mother.

”Karen Combs. Yes. Ryan Harris shot her some days ago. Stefan can fill you in on the details,” Tom said, and Stefan resisted the urge to scowl at him for putting him on the spot that way.

”You both can excuse us,” Tom said, and Stefan led Genevieve away.

”What was that?” Tom asked Lucy after they’d left, and she laughed.

”What was what?”

”You were treating her like a prodigal daughter who returned home,” Tom said, and Lucy giggled.

”In case you’ve forgotten, I watched that girl grow for twenty years thinking she was Dawn. I loved her. She might not be Dawn but that face of hers have a place in my heart. And knowing about her background and how rough her life has been, I can’t bring myself to hate her. Besides, when we see someone trying to take responsibility for their actions and become a better person, we should encourage them not make things hard for them. That’s what I was doing. She looked like she needed it,” Lucy said, and Tom smiled softly.

”I always knew I married an Angel,” he said, and she laughed.

”Let’s hope everyone else are more lenient with her. If she’s going to be punished, it should be done to help her become better, not make things hard for her,” she said, and Tom nodded thoughtfully.

”I’ll keep that in mind.”