Chapter 216: Large Family

Words : 1951 Updated : Oct 8th, 2025

Chapter 216: Large Family By the time it was lunch break, Genevieve wasn’t back from her meeting yet, so Jamal and Abigail left for lunch. They were thankful since Genevieve left with the car and they didn’t have to deal with the car key. Jamal made a reservation at a quiet restaurant where they could talk freely in private, and he booked a Uber ride to take them there. "What’s wrong? You look worried," Abigail observed as the elevator door closed behind them. "Is it about what we discussed earlier?" Jamal nodded, "Yeah. There is other stuff on my mind too." "Like the stuff bothering you yesterday?" She asked, and he nodded again. "My best friend, Callan, I think his mom might be the same person blackmailing Genevieve. Karen Combs..." Abigail’s brows pulled together, "You think your best friend might be Genevieve’s brother? Doesn’t he have parents?" "His mom abandoned him. He was adopted. He called and asked me to help him get information on someone named Karen Combs. That’s the same person who has been blackmailing Genevieve," Jamal explained. Abigail’s frown deepened. "None of this makes any sense. Of all the people in the world how can your best friend be related to Genevieve?" Her tone was incredulous. Jamal nodded in agreement. "That’s what I was thinking too. To make matters worse, I spoke with Tom earlier. Ryan found her and shot her." Abigail gasped, "He shot her?" Her eyes were wide as the elevator door opened, and they both stepped out and headed for the door. "Yeah. But they were able to get her help. Tom says she will be okay. But that’s not what is bothering me. Tom sounded very worried. He says the issue is more complicated than we thought and he needs to get us out of here before things get messy. He didn’t explain what he means or what he found out, but I have a feeling it isn’t good. And now I don’t know whether or not I should tell Callan that his mother was shot. I’m..." he trailed off when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out of his pocket and raised a brow when he saw it was Stefan. "It’s Stefan," he said before receiving the call. "How’s everything going over there? I just left the family meeting. I never realized this whole situation was so messed up. I can’t imagine how you must feel knowing the connection between Abigail and Cal," Stefan said, assuming that Jamal was aware of everything. Jamal frowned. What connection between Abigail and Cal? "What family meeting? Wasn’t that supposed to hold by weekend? What is the connection between Abigail and Callan?" Abigail raised a brow at the mention of her name. Jamal spotted the Uber, and led Abigail towards it. Before Stefan could respond, Jamal received an awaiting call notification from Tom, "Tom is calling," he said as they got into the Uber. Stefan, who has realized from Jamal’s question, that he didn’t seem to know about the connection between Abigail and Callan yet, decided to leave the explanation to Tom. "Take his call. You’ll hear from him. Call me when you’re done," Stefan said and hung up the call immediately. "I want to hear what Tom says," Abigail said, as Jamal received the call, and Jamal placed it on speaker. "Tom what’s going on? Did the family meeting hold already?" "Where are you? Can you talk right now? Can Abigail join you? My mom arrived this morning..." "Grandma Evelyn is there? That’s great. I’ve missed her," Jamal said, happy to know that Evelyn made the trip. "I’m here, dear. And I’ve missed you, too. How are you doing? I hear you knocked up Dawn and now have a kid," Evelyn asked, since the call was on speaker. Abigail blushed at that, and so did Jamal when they heard the laughter in the background. "I didn’t realize everyone was there. Is that my grandfather I hear wheezing?" Jamal asked, wanting to change the subject. His grandfather laughed, "I’m not wheezing. I’m laughing." "Sounds like wheezing to me," Jamal countered. "Sounds to me like you’re changing the subject because she called you out on knocking up her sister in-law," his grandfather said and everyone laughed in the background, while Abigail turned away from Jamal, and trying not to laugh despite her embarrassment. "For chrissakes, Abigail is right here. You’re embarrassing me." Jamal covered his face with his palm and leaned back in the car seat. "I can’t believe you all," he groaned. "Oh, she’s there! Great. We want to talk to you two. And I’d like to see her face. Tom, do you think you could switch the call to video call?" Candace asked. "Hello, Mom. We are in a cab right now," Jamal said when he caught the driver’s gaze in the mirror, "I’ll call you back shortly. We are almost at our destination." "Alright. We’ll be waiting," Tom said before hanging up. "Sorry about that," Jamal said, facing Abigail. She giggled. "Your family is something." "Our family. Yours and mine," Jamal corrected, reminding her she was a Hank. "Yeah. Right. So, grandma Evelyn is Tom’s mom?" She asked, and Jamal nodded. "Yeah. I wonder why I didn’t hear uncle Harry in the background," Jamal said as the Uber stopped in front of the restaurant. They both got out and walked into the restaurant without another word. They were led to their private dining corner which Jamal had reserved, away from the rest diners. "I wonder why I haven’t heard from Ryan all day," Jamal said, and Abigail smirked. "He’s probably too busy shooting at people to worry about you. Please call Tom let’s find out what’s happening," Abigail urged him. "Are you up for a video call?" Jamal asked as his hand hovered over the call icon. Though her heart was racing, she nodded. "It’d be nice to get acquainted with them this way before I meet them in person. They do know that this isn’t my real face though?" "Yeah. They’re aware." Before Jamal could place the call, a waiter appeared with a menu in hand and they both placed their orders. After the waiter left, Jamal sat beside Abigail before dialing Tom’s number and placing it on speaker. The call connected a second later. "Can we switch to a video call now? Is everyone dressed over there now?" Sonia asked, in a teasing tone. Jamal shook his head, but before he could speak, Lucy came to his rescue. "Sony! It’s work hours! They’re probably in their office!" Lucy chided her best friend, laughing. "Didn’t stop you and Tom or anyone else bent on an office romance for that matter," Sonia retorted making everyone laugh. "We are out for lunch," Jamal said defensively, "Tom, are you sure this call would work? Perhaps we can talk to just you and Lucy, and grandma Evelyn." "What about me?" His grandfather asked. "And me?" His mother asked as well. Abigail tittered with laughter. "Where is Uncle Harry and aunt Jade? Are they not there?" Jamal asked when he still didn’t hear their voice. "They just left for a meeting with Hunter," Tom said, and Jamal’s heart skipped a beat. "Why are they meeting with Callan’s Dad? Is it about what I told you? I told you it had to stay between us, Tom. Callan doesn’t want them to know he’s searching for his biological mother. He’s not going to like this if he finds out I told you," Jamal complained. "That’s not the reason they’re meeting with him," Tom assured Jamal. "It’s not? Then why? Does it have anything to do with us? Stefan mentioned something about a connection between Callan and Abigail..." "Switch to video call, Tom," Evelyn ordered, and Tom did that and went to sit near his mother as he waited for the call to connect. Jamal accepted the switch request and he smiled when Evelyn’s face came into view. "Grandma..." "Where is Dawn?" Evelyn asked, and Jamal handed the phone to Abigail without another word. Abigail’s heart raced as she looked into the old woman’s face. "Hello, Dawn. I’m Evelyn. I’m pretty sure you don’t remember me. We met when you were a little girl. You are my late husband’s sister." Abigail nodded. "Hi." "I’ll pass the phone to the others so they all say hello to you, and then we can continue with our conversation. I want you to get acquainted with your family before we go further," Evelyn said, and Abigail swallowed and nodded. "But this isn’t my face," she pointed out. "Well, maybe faces are not as big a deal as we make them. It’s the person that matters not the face. We thought Genevieve was you all these years simply because of a face change. All that matters to us right now is that you’re Dawn Hank. That might not be your real face, but this is ours. We will see your face when the time comes," Evelyn assured her, and Abigail nodded. Tom’s face came up on the screen and for a moment he didn’t say anything. He remembered the first time he met her and how he had thought she was his daughter. Lucy nudged him, and he cleared his throat, "Hi. I’m Tom. I’m sure you’ve heard about me from Jamal." Abigail smiled and nodded. "Yes, I have. It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for all you’ve been doing for us." Tom passed the phone to Lucy. Lucy smiled. "Hello, Dawn, I’m Lucy, Tom’s wife, and your self-ordained fairy godmother. How are you?" Abigail giggled, "I’m fine. It’s nice to see your face, fairy godmother." "Well, it’s nice to see your fake face too," Lucy said with a grin, and everyone including Abigail and Jamal laughed. Lucy handed the phone to Jamal’s mom, "Hello, Dawn. I’m Candace, Jamal’s mom, and your baby’s grandmother. How are you? And how is Josh? I can’t wait to see you both." Abigail smiled. "I can’t wait to see you too. Josh will be happy to know he has a pretty grandma like you." "Aww, I can’t believe you are so grown up. It seems like just yesterday when I stepped out of the shower to see you fighting with Jamal..." "You can’t believe someone that gave birth to your grandkid is grown up? Did you think Jamal impregnated a preschooler?" Sonia cut in dryly, and everyone laughed. "Sony, get lost. You’re embarrassing my daughter-in-law," Candace said laughing as she skipped Sonia and handed the phone to her father. "Wow! So I don’t get to talk to Dawn like everyone else? You do realize she is a Hank just as I am, and if we don’t give our blessings, Jamal can’t marry her?" Sonia asked, laughing. "No one needs your blessings," Candace said, and they all focused on Aaron. "Hello, dear. I’m Aaron, Jamal’s grandfather. You don’t have to worry about anything, Dawn. We’ll get you all out of there safely," he promised and Abigail smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir." Aaron handed the phone to Sonia, and she smiled at Abigail, "I’m Sonia. My husband, Bryan, is next to Tom. He’s not here because he’s not in the country right now. But you should know we are all happy you’re fine, and we hope to keep it that way." "Yeah, Jamal’s Dad and Aunt Andy are not here as well. They’re all celebrities and out of the country at the moment. But I’m sure you’ll meet them when you get here," Candace said as she took the phone from Sonia and passed it back to Tom. "Alright. Now that we are done getting acquainted, let’s talk."

Chapter 216: Large Family

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