Chapter 86: Family Meeting

Chapter 86: Family Meeting Inside the house, Abigail walked into her bedroom after speaking with Ryan and checking on Josh to see how his lesson was going. Ryan had informed her that she didn’t have to worry about her shopping because he had called a clothes store to have some clothes delivered that evening and she could choose from them or shop some more online if she needed more clothes. After shutting the door behind her, Abigail leaned against it and drew in a deep breath. She still couldn’t believe all that had happened with Jamal today and all that he had told her. She felt like she was dreaming. She walked into her bathroom and turned on the tap, then sprinkled some water on her face before tapping her cheeks with both hands to wake herself up. She was Dawn Hank. Her father had been a one time president. Jamal, her son’s father, and first love, had been her childhood best friend, and he was the famous under 30 billionaire CEO of HAJ studios, Jamal Jonas. Lucy the panda had been a gift from an actual Lucy, who she cared about. And she had a large family and support system. Life as she knew it had taken an unexpected yet very welcomed and interesting turn. Her thoughts drifted to all the times that Genevieve had slipped in the past but she had not realized what Genevieve had been saying. She was going to make sure both Genevieve and Ryan paid for all the pain they had caused her. She smirked at the thought that Genevieve was out with Jamal’s assistant thinking he was Jamal. What had Genevieve been thinking trying to connect with Jamal? She knew without a doubt that Ryan was involved in it since he seemed to know of Jamal’s visit. What were they planning? Had they assumed that they could fool Jamal as they had fooled everyone else? Well, she didn’t care what they were planning since it wasn’t going to work now that Jamal knew the truth. She was grateful that they had invited Jamal over and enabled her to cross path with him again this way. She had spoken with Jamal today longer than she had ever spoken since she regained her voice. Thinking about Jamal, her lips curved in a wide smile when she remembered all he had said about their first meeting and how he said he was going to marry her. As she took off her clothes to freshen up, she wondered how they were going to be able to hide their closeness from the others. It shouldn’t be hard, right? Since she was close to all the domestic staff, so no one would read any meaning to it. She made a mental note to ask him to come around the kitchen more often so she could see him whenever she was hanging out there. And maybe she could find a way to get him to see Josh and spend time with him too. She wanted Josh to like Jamal. Abigail quickly freshened up, and just as she finished, a knock sounded on the door and one of the maids informed her that the people from the clothes store had arrived. As Abigail walked out of the room with the maid, she texted Jamal, asking him to go to the kitchen and to form a rapport with the rest of the domestic staff so that it would be easier for them to see each other. Outside the house, Jamal sighed deeply as he ended the call with Tom and Harry, and wondered who to call next. He didn’t want to talk to Lucy until she spoke with Tom about it. He’d rather she hear it directly from Tom. Before he could make up his mind, he received the text from Abigail and he smiled as he texted her back letting her know he intended to do just that, and that he had just gotten off the phone with Tom and Harry. After sending the text, he decided that the next people to talk to should be his grandfather, his mom, and his aunt Andy, since they had all been very invested in helping him reconnect with Dawn. Also, they didn’t know he was in Westend, so he needed to let them know and also inform them that Dawn had a son for him. Not wanting to have to repeat what he had to say, he went on WhatsApp and created a group chat, adding just the three of them to it, and then he placed a group call. He waited for a while as it rang, and his grandfather was the first to join the call, "Should I be worried about this new group you just created?" His grandfather asked, his tone tinged with amusement. "It depends," Jamal said, hoping that his mother and aunt would join the call. "On what? Shouldn’t you be on your way back from Westend?" His grandfather asked, and before he could respond, his aunt Andy joined. "Hello, Dad. Jam, what’s up? I have a studio session in ten minutes. Is this an emergency?" She asked in a breezy tone. "Not exactly an emergency. I have an important information to share with you all, and I didn’t want to have to talk to you individually," Jamal explained. "Then shouldn’t Harry be on the call, too?" His grandfather asked curiously. "I already spoke with Tom and uncle Harry," Jamal explained. "Of course, you did. Why did I bother asking?" his grandfather said dryly just as his mother joined the call. "What’s going on? Why are we having a family meeting in the middle of a work day? I had to excuse myself from a meeting to take this call," she said, and Jamal winced. "I’m sorry. It skipped my mind that you’re all busy people. Perhaps we can reschedule the discussion. I just didn’t want you all to hear it from Harry and Tom first," Jamal said, knowing that would get their attention. "What are we hearing from Harry and Tom?" "Did something happen?" "Are you alright?" They all asked simultaneously. "I found Dawn," he announced. For a moment they were all silent and then once again they asked at the same time. "Was she missing?" "Haven’t you always known where she was?" "What do you mean you found Dawn?" "Genevieve isn’t Dawn. Abigail is Dawn. You remember Abigail? The mute girl from five years ago? She is Dawn. Genevieve was the stepsister she told me about. Genevieve is Ryan’s daughter and has been pretending to be Dawn all this time," he explained in a rush. "Jamal, are you being serious?" His mother asked, a frown in her voice. "Abigail is Dawn?" His aunt asked, her tone tinged with disbelief. "Well, well, well!" his grandfather exclaimed with a whistle. "So should we reschedule? It’s going to take a while to explain it all to you, and..." "Shut up and speak," Andy interrupted. "Give me a moment to find somewhere private," his mother said. "Well, I’m free. And I’m all ears," his grandfather assured him. "Of course you’re always free. You do nothing but spend all day loving up with your wife," Andy teased, and they all laughed. "You can talk now," Candace said as she walked into her office. "You can start by telling us how you came upon this information," Andy suggested, and then Jamal went on to tell them everything exactly as he had told Tom and Harry. "Hold on. You mean she had a child for you and he took the baby from her?" His aunt asked in disbelief. "That piece of shit!" Aaron cursed, his voice slightly raised in anger. "Judging by all you’ve said, it’s going to be tough separating the kid from that bastard," his mother said thoughtfully. "We will do what we have to do. But there’s no way a bastard like that is going to raise a Jonas. It’s annoying enough that the kid is registered as his and bearing his name," Jamal’s grandfather said angrily. "You said you told Tom and Harry. Is Lucy aware? She’s going to be really broken by this," His mother asked curiously. "I trust Tom will tell her about it. I couldn’t bring myself to. Tom and Harry plan to call a family meeting. You’re all going to be hearing from them soon since this isn’t just about the Hanks," Jamal said with a tired sigh. "This is insane. Poor girl. Only God knows what she has been through," his mother muttered. "I still can’t believe this. I mean, I thought things like these only happened in movies or novels. How could a person be so cruel? So, he married Kimberly just so he could do this?" His aunt asked. "It’s obvious that was the reason he did it. We will all have to figure out a way to make that son of a bitch pay. Despite the circumstance, I’m happy you finally found her, Jamal. Your patience paid off in the end," his mother said softly. "Yeah. It paid off," Jamal agreed. "How are you holding up, Jamal? You’ve got to be strong. Your duty now is to protect her," his grandfather said. "I plan to do just that," Jamal agreed. "I just needed to let you know I’ll be here for a while. I don’t know how long, but Stefan is going to cover up for me at HAJ," Jamal explained. "That’s fine. What’s the kid’s name? Send me his pictures," his grandfather said. "His name is Josh. I don’t have his pictures, but I’m sure you can find them on the internet," he said, making a mental note to look for it himself. "Jamal, you have to be careful, okay? Whatever you do, make sure to stay safe," his mother said, worried about Jamal being in such close proximity with a man that vicious. "Don’t worry, I’ll be okay," Jamal promised, and after chatting for some time, Jamal ended the call.