The Reveal: II

"What the f*ck?" Zac exclaimed, whipping his head in his mother's direction.

His mother observed him coolly, causing him to blush slightly as he realised how he had spoken. His mother faced the Darcy clan again and cocked her head. Memories were slowly evolving before her eyes and she winced as a pain ripped through her head. Opening her eyes, she shook her head slowly and looked more closely at the twins.

"I'm their mother?" Diaan, or Jessica, asked slowly.

Carson gave her a funny look. "Yes."

Zac's mind was buzzing, information that he had read on the internet suddenly flashed to the forefront of his mind and he felt the air rush out of him. Gaping at his mother he asked, "Jessica Blanche? Cousin of Samantha Blanche? Daughter of the actors? Disappeared at age twenty? Wasn't sure if it was her who was found in Gallo? The lady who was found was said to be pregnant but was never found after that... all of that was you, mom?"

The twins were now gaping at Zac. Carson just looked confused as he was told she was presumed dead after they found a charred body that was apparently very similar to Jessica's.

Zac's mother looked at him as if she was seeing through him, as if her mind was far away. "What are you talking about, Zac?"

"I'll show you," Zac said before he ran up to his room.

Meanwhile, Carson and the twins took a seat and had their eyes glued to ‘Diaan's.’

Jake spoke up after a while, "I can't believe that all this time you were right in front of us."

Jane added, "And that our brother has been with us for just over a year."

Before anything else could be said, Diaan's phone rang. She gave them a look before she turned towards the window and answered her phone.

"Diaan Blue," she answered. Carson couldn't help but feel like he didn't know the woman in front of him anymore. Everything about her was different. Even the way she regarded him was that of a total stranger. Even her name was different. He now knew she spent the past fourteen years in Gallo so he understood why her accent was a lot different than he was used to.

"Oh hi, love. What, you're in Drase?! That's great! You know where Kailey is staying, right? Okay good. Will tomorrow be good for you? Cool. Also, can you please bring your supplies with you? Yes, I'm thinking ash brown this time and maybe grey contacts and glasses. You have my prescription, right? Okay, looking forward to seeing you again. Yes, bye." Diaan put the phone down and turned around in time to see Zac walking towards her.

Zac caught the tail end of her conversation and asked, "Who was that?"

"Nat," his mother replied while taking the papers he held out towards her.

"Nat?" Zac asked with raised eyebrows, "another makeover?"

"Yes," his mother replied while her eyes were skimming through the papers. She read the articles Zac had printed and finally came across the letter Zac had anonymously received a few months prior.

Zac noticed how his mother's face paled, and that was quite a feat considering her naturally tanned skin. "Mom?"

"Zac, my love, who gave you this?" Diaan asked, her eyes not leaving the letter in front of her as she slowly took a seat.

Zac sat beside his mother and peered at the letter, "Oh, I found it near my window by accident a couple of months back."

Diaan whipped her head in his direction and almost knocked heads with him, "Why'd you never tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Zac said while looking away shamefacedly. "Besides, when we did speak, I was just so happy to hear from you again that I forgot all about it."

The twins witnessed the love between their mother and their brother and felt their hearts wrench. Even Carson felt like crying at how much of their lives they've missed out on with each other.

Diaan gave Zac a hug before she pulled away again. Her phone suddenly rang again, this time it was a video call coming through.

Diaan answered her phone and Will's face immediately popped up, "Hello, love. Hey there, Zac! It's been a while."

"Hello Will! How've you been? Why aren't you here with my mom?" Zac asked.

While they caught up with each other Diaan looked up in time to see Carson look away, a frown marring his face.

"Will," Diaan said seriously, "she made contact with Zac."

"What? I thought we got her off our trail. Also, it must've been fourteen years since I last saw you without your contacts or your hair dyed."

Zac interrupted, "Fourteen years? But you only started dating like five years ago."

Carson tensed and the twins looked at their father with pity.

Will exchanged looks with Diaan and she nodded, "Yeah I'll tell him the full story. And I'll send you a picture of the letter."

Will nodded and said, "Okay, talk to you soon. I've got another call coming through."

They said their goodbyes and the room was once again enveloped in silence. Kailey was looking at Diaan with concern when she sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, Zac saw how truly exhausted his mother was. She gave another sigh and said, "Okay, there's much to discuss and a lot of gaps that need filling."

©Crimson B