Their Daughter?

With a slight change in her agenda, Gisele choose to deal with the additional stuffs she had at hand.

After she finish her meal, she picked up her phone and called the Old man. There was no point keeping him waiting she would just meet with him and tell him her decision.

"Miss Gisele. A pleasant surprise it is hearing from you" came the man's reply immediately the call was picked. "How have you been?"

Gisele smiled and returned the gesture "I'm good sir, How have you been Sir?"

"Very well. I suppose you have called to relay your decision" He didn't dilly-dally and just went straight to the main point.

"Yes. Perhaps can we meet up" it was better to tell him face to face rather than tell him on the phone.

"That's fine. I'll send you the location, my assistant would pick you up from there" There wasn't much to say so they cut the call after a few more words.

"Tell Derrick, I'd be heading out shortly" She ordered as she left the dining

She went back to her room to get dressed. Nothing extravagant, just a flowery short hand top and a bodycon skirt, along with black high heels and a knee length windbreaker. The weather was acting funny today, the temperature was a few degrees low so she had to dress warmly.

With her keys twirling in her hands. She left the house, got into her car and drove away.

*****

"How did it turn out?" Seated in his office with his tie displaced and a tired look on his face. Devon dumped the black signing pen on his table and asked the young man that just walked in.

Secretary Ben swallowed a lump of saliva and gingerly answered. "Indeed the sketch book had gotten missing at the salon"

He took the iPad in his hands and played a video footage before passing it to Devon. On the screen a couple of Salon ladies had themselves busy with attending to the woman seated on the rocking chair. The woman too was busy punching at her phone in her hands. Even though the ladies occasionally praised her, she smiled and didn't give a reply. Just at her back, her bag was tested against the body of an armchair. From the unzipped opening, a thick backed book stood peeking out of the bag.

"The book was there at 11:59 but by 12:10, it suddenly disappeared" Secretary Ben explained.

Devon didn't say anything but he could see the same thing that Secretary Ben was explaining. The video had a time displayed on the screen so he could see that the footage paused at exactly 11:59 and the next time it came back on was 12:10. By the time it came back on, that book was nowhere to be found.

"What happened to the surveillance cameras at that time?"

"The Salon has a maintenance policy for their surveillance cameras at midday on some days. The maintenance lasts for about 10 minutes. It just so happened that the day Linda Flaw was at the salon was the day set out for this policy" Ben answered professionally.

A look flashed past Devon's eyes.

"Who scheduled her for a session that day?"

"A substitute receptionist"

He cut the video and placed the iPad back on the table. "investigate that receptionist as well as that Salon lady on red" He couldn't help but notice the side glances she had given the bag seated on the couch. Plus her position had changed when the footage turned back on.

Secretary Ben nodded and took the iPad but he didn't immediately move to leave.

"What is it?" Devon asked even without looking at him.

"Chairman Hugo request that you come home for dinner." He announced.

"Tell him I'm busy" came Devon's reply. A helpless smile flew across Secretary Ben's lips. The Old man predicted quite well. How could he not know his grandson would refuse coming home.

He rose his hand and clicked on his phone and a recording from the Old man played out "if you want her next gig to go smoothly then you'll do as I say."

Devon frowned then went back to closing his eyes. It was a silent concession.

Gisele on the other hand had just arrived at the location. It wasn't a restaurant like before but the Old man's place. The Old man was living at a estate so Gisele had to wait for his assistant to come pick her at the gate before she was allowed to go in.

It might be a hundred folds incomparable to Easton Villa but still it had a class of its own. A Serene environment and tranquility that only came from nature. The house was really a place to be at your Old age. Away from the stress and hyperactivity of the city and calm enough to host your aging bones, even the winds carried a sense of peace and Bliss.

"Miss Gisele. Please come in" The man was there at the entrance to welcome her when her car pulled up at the front. Dressed in a simple T-shirt and a pair of trousers. He really looked homely.

Gisele smiled at him and followed him inside the house.

"Please have you seat" He offered as the servants poured out a cup of tea for her. She wasn't in the mood to take anything still she accepted as a form of courtesy.

"You have a nice home Mr Williams" She couldn't help but compliment. Seeing such a peaceful environment, she was reminded of her Grandfather. How would he feel if he could live in such a place. Her Grandfather was naturally a peaceful man so he would really love the environment. Perhaps when she has enough money she should buy an apartment in this estate and make him move here.

"Thanks Miss Gisele, I think it's nice too. The peace and quiet helps me think when I write. Also Mia can't stand the nosy environments in the heart of town" Gisele nodded understandingly.

"So What has Miss Gisele decided?" He went straight to the point. There was no need dilly-dallying.

Gisele opened her lips to talk but her words were disrupted by a shrill voice.

"Willy? Willy?" A shrivel old voice called from the stairs.

Gisele turned. There was an old lady trying to make her way down the stairs. Her face labelled in confusion and helplessness. No doubt she must be Mr Williams's wife.

"What are you doing? You should be in bed" He chided but the doting and warmth in his voice could be heard by Gisele. His eyes too glowed in the admiration he had for his wife. These two were a lovely couple. Their younger days would surely have been filled with love. The novel told of most of it. It was such a beautiful love that one would get drowned it in.

He stood up and went to meet the woman on the stairs attempting to take her back to her room but she shook her head. "Elena is not back yet, I can't sleep. I'm worried she might get in trouble again. She gets in trouble too frequently. Should we send someone to bring her back" She said in a worried tone and continued making her way down the stairs. A solemn look flashed past Mr Williams eyes. His head dropped a little bit.

"Mia, Elena... She_" He was yet to finish his statement when the Old lady exclaimed gleefully.

"Elena!" She struggled down the remaining stairs and rushed to the young lady seated on the couch.

Gisele was surprised to see the woman rush to her. She had heard Alzheimer patients forgetting the faces of people around them but she had never heard them taken faces for a different face.

She turned and looked at Mr Williams. Her eyes asking 'what is happening?'

The man shook his head helplessly. He kind of knew this would happened. What was he expecting when he invited someone who looked just like her.

"I'm sorry Miss Gisele but my wife has mistaken you as... as our daughter" he said with an apologetic look on his face.

Their daughter?

Gisele was shocked to hear this. Their autobiography never stated they had a child neither was it written in the story he had written.

He began explaining "From the start my wife and I were told we could not have a child of our own but we didn't see that as a problem. Then one day, she came into our lives. She had lost her memory and couldn't remember where she was from. She loved us and wouldn't want to leave so we decided to take her in as our own. She was quite the troublemaker still we both loved her with our lives. Everything was fine till that day. We got a call, her car lost it's brakes and drove off the cliff. Just like that she was gone. The news broke us both but my wife got affected by it most." He sighed "It's no coincidence, I must confess, I thought the same thing when I first saw your picture, You look just like her. The eyes, the face and even the beauty. Everything is just so similar, if I didn't know better I would have thought you were her daughter."