TELL ME
"Travis, I am now tired of having to ask you every day, you said the news of Jeremy being the father of Kiara's child did not shock you. How is that possible?" Aletha refused to let the matter rest.
"How long are you going to continue asking me that?" Travis sounded impatient with his wife.
"I will ask until you tell me! We all knew that the DNA result proved Vine to be the father, yet when you heard that Jeremy is actually the father, it did not shock you a bit?"
"I suggest that we keep this thing silent. Vincent Lisandro is the only reason why Kiara is still alive. Once the Pinkertons know that that child is not theirs, they will have no reason to spare Kiara's life. She will die." Travis said.
"That part I perfectly understand; and I agree with it. Now is not the time to reveal to the Pinkertons the truth that we found out. But what I want to know is; why did it look like you knew all along that the boy was Jeremy's son?" Aletha asked.
"It's because I knew it all along."
"What! How? What do you mean, Travis? How on earth did you know such news, and you kept it from all of us? Tell me! Our daughter was unhappy at the Pinkertons, yet you had some truth which could have set her free from such slavery? Explain yourself, Travis! Tell me!"
SCENE FROM DECEMBER THE 30TH; ONE DAY AFTER VINCENT LISANDRO WAS BORN
When it was finally agreed that a strand of hair from Vine was going to be used to run the DNA test, Travis became sick. He had hoped with all his heart that everyone was going to just drop the subject of the DNA test. On that day, when Travis got home, he called Jeremy to come to his house.
Jeremy was not too sure about it, but still he went. He wondered what Travis wanted, because since the day on which Kiara was taken by the Pinkertons, Travis had not shown any interest in the young man at all. He flatly ignored Jeremy, acting as if he did not see the young man, even if they happened to arrive at their gates at the same time. And if Jeremy greeted him, Travis did not respond. Yes; he stooped that low.
On that day, Travis explained that he was very sorry about everything that had happened between the two lovebirds, and he too apologised for acting in such a rude manner. When Jeremy said it was all in the past and did not matter anymore, Travis went on to tell Jeremy:
"If you want, you can give me strands of your hair. I will have a test done, in case the child is yours." He said.
Jeremy hesitated. "I might need to run it past my mum and brother."
"Why would you need to do that? You are an adult, Jeremy. You are old enough to make your own solid decisions. And besides, the child is either yours or Vine's. Surely no one can crucify you for wanting to find out the truth. There is a fifty percent chance that this child is yours."
"I understand," Jeremy faced down and thought on the issue.
He told himself that there was no harm in trying, especially considering that he had nothing to lose. If anything, he was going to finally know the real truth. The young man willingly plucked off his own hair and handed it over to his senior sitting in front of him.
When Travis got the hair, he kept it like gold. He could not afford to lose it for any reason whatsoever. He just had to make sure that it was safe.
SCENE FROM DECEMBER THE 31ST, THE DAY OF THE DNA TEST
The Pinkertons were arranging for Tessa to be driven back to the mansion so that she could bring a strand of hair from Vine's hair brushes. They were hoping and praying to find something; because Vine's room was usually spotless. The chances of failing to find the strands were quite high. Swiftly, Travis offered to drive Tessa to the mansion. Although lady Pinkerton stated that there were drivers to do the job, the man said he felt that he needed to do it as a way of supporting his daughter. He insisted.
So off they went to the mansion, and Tessa went inside to get the hair strand. Travis watched it all in silence, ready to play his cards well. When they arrived at the hospital, the Pinkertons' family doctor, who resided at the mansion, was the one to go and hand over the samples to the medical geneticist, whose name was Dave. Travis, still using 'supporting my daughter' as an excuse, escorted him. He stood by the door as he listened to the two men talking, and he watched as the samples from Vine were handed over to Dave.
SCENE FROM JANUARY THE FIRST
Making sure that no one was seeing him, Travis crept into the room. Good for him, he saw the same man from yesterday, working in his blab.
"You seem to be busy," he commented.
"I am. Oh, you're the father of that girl, the one who married into the Pinkerton family? Do take a seat," Dave pointed at a chair.
Smiling and happy that the man remembered him, Travis sat down.
"How can I help you today?" Dave asked.
"I have a very serious request. Can we talk in private? I mean in strict, strict privacy?" he said.
The man, wondering what Travis wanted, led him to an inner office. With all windows and the door closed, Travis narrated his ordeal.
"I am sure you know that the Pinkertons are well known for being ruthless." He began.
"No-one really has the evidence of their cruelty. It's just hearsay," Dave responded.
"Ok, but for the sake of my child, I cannot take any chances. You see, my daughter cheated on Vine Pinkerton. I am ashamed to say it, but it is what it is. She cheated, and as a result, she is not sure who the father of her child is. It can be Vine, and it can be the other man."
The man widened his eyes in shock. "She had the guts to cheat on him? What do women want, really? I thought the rich folks like Vine never got cheated on. What was he doing wrong? He probably wasn't getting it down in the bedroom," he laughed heartily.
Travis felt that the man was wasting time, so he quickly brought him back on track.
"Please, help me. I know that you already have the strand of hair from Vine, and I also have a strand of hair from the man that she cheated with."
"And?" Dave spoke, still smiling, for he had been laughing quite a bit.
"Please, for the sake of my child's life, can you kindly make sure that the test comes out positive. The child has to be Vine's."
"I can do that even without that strand of hair from the other guy," he said.
"Oh, you will do that?"
"I didn't say I will. I would never risk my profession and my life for a girl that I don't even know." Said Dave.
"Please, I will pay you handsomely." Travis pleaded.
"It's really not about money. It's about me upholding my moral principles as well as the work ethics."
"I know, but please help me. The Pinkertons have promised us that, if the child is not Vine's, my daughter will die." Travis lied.
"Really?" the man was shocked to hear that.
Seeing that his lie had the potential to get things done, Travis used his most pathetic voice as he went on, "please, I beg you. Kiara is my only daughter, and I cannot afford to lose her. As a father, I will have to do anything to save her life."
"Let me see the hair from the other guy," Dave stretched out his hand, and at the speed of lightning, Travis placed the paper in the open palm.
There was silence in the room. When Dave finally spoke, he told Travis that he needed time to think about it. He asked Travis to go back home, promising to get in touch on the same day.
Travis went home, and he failed to eat or drink or do anything.
"What's the problem with you? Are you failing to welcome the new year?" Aletha teased.
"I just feel jittery. It could be because we're now grandparents; and I feel a bit too young to be called grandpa," he said.
Aletha laughed and did not say anything more.
On that day, Travis went to bed very late, since he was waiting for either a call or a message from Dave. Aletha was already fast asleep when he joined her. Travis kept tossing and turning in bed, checking his phone every few minutes.
"What do you keep checking? I want to sleep and you keep disturbing me with the light from that phone," Aletha complained.
"I'm checking to see, just in case Kiara sends us a message about the baby. In case he is unwell or anything, we must be the first ones to know," Travis lied.
"Oh! Who would have known that you would make such a great grandfather!" she said in an irritated tone.
"Kiara is my child, and Vincent Lisandro is our first grandchild. We have to show some care," he said.
"Go to sleep. They are both well." Aletha said as she closed her eyes.
Within a short while, she was already snoring.
Travis softly turned, making sure not to disturb his wife. His phone flickered, and he slowly and carefully picked it up.
The man tip toed to the bathroom, his phone in his hands. He closed the door behind him and opened the new message. Finally, the message which he had been waiting for all along had arrived.
It was an image of a piece of paper, on it scribbled a huge amount of money.
Travis wondered what it meant. Was that the amount of money that Dave wanted? While he was still trying to make sense out of it, another message popped in.
It was written
"The amount above is what I charged the Pinkertons for the DNA test. I need triple that amount for me to produce the results that you want."