Chapter 274: Partially Honest
It had been hours since the jet took off from Husla. Ryan lay on the bed at the far side, the rise and fall of his chest steady but still a little weak. Tubes and wires still clung to him, evidence of the surgery he had survived.
Emily sat a few seats away with two members of the medical team, checking the monitor that traveled with them. Mack, Ryan’s man, sat a closest to Ryan, always watchful as though waiting for orders.
Ryan’s eyes were open, staring at nothing in particular. His mind was heavy. The state of the company and the house that Abigail set ablaze were the last things on his mind.
His dominating thought was of Callan. The son he had never held. His son who now might hate him because of all he thought he knew about him. The thought made his heart ache in a way no scalpel ever could.
How could he fix it? Ryan asked himself again and again. What could he do so that Callan would be willing to see him and acknowledge him as his father?
After thinking for hours about it, he decided on what to do. He knew time was short. He could not wait until he got to Ludus. He needed to take action immediately.
His gaze shifted to Mack. "Mack," Ryan called, his voice hoarse but audible.
All eyed turned to him, and Emily’s brows pulled together as she wondered if something was wrong.
Mack went closer to Ryan. "Yes, sir?"
"Draw the curtain. I want privacy."
Mack glanced at Emily and the nurses, then pulled the curtain around the bed, shutting them out. Ryan’s face was pale but his eyes were clear.
"I want to make a video. I want you to hold the camera," Ryan said as he sat up slowly.
Mack frowned. "Sir, in your state? You should rest. If you tell me what to write, we could release a letter instead."
"No," Ryan said firmly. His hand trembled but his jaw was strong. "I want a video. I want to be seen and heard. This isn’t something for a typed line. It has to come from me."
Mack hesitated. "Are you sure, sir?"
Ryan gave a slow nod and handed his phone to Mack after unlocking it. "Yes."
Mack set the phone and angled it steady. "Whenever you’re ready."
Ryan drew a deep breath, his chest rising with effort. His lips parted, and his voice came low but clear.
His words were simple, not dressed in business talk or power. Just a father, broken but honest. At least partially honest.
When he finished, his body sank back into the pillows, breath shallow. "Upload it on my Instagram page and tag all the major news outlets," he whispered.
Mack lowered the phone slowly. "Sir... if I do this, there’s no going back. Even if we delete it, the world will have seen. Are you sure you want me to?"
Ryan’s eyes burned with quiet fire. "Go ahead. I want it to go viral."
Mack gave a short nod. He tapped quickly on the screen, posting the video to Ryan’s Instagram page. Then he tagged the biggest news outlets, one after the other.
"Done," Mack reported.
Ryan closed his eyes, tired but lighter, as if a stone had been lifted off his chest. He wasn’t sure how much difference the video would make, but he was okay knowing he’d beat the Hanks to it.
If the world was going to find out he’d switched Dawn with Genevieve, it was best they heard it from him.
Outside the curtain, Emily sat still, her eyes on the drawn curtain. She’d heard all that Ryan had said and she wondered what game he was playing this time by putting out such news.
Did he really think they didn’t know the whole truth already?
She texted Jamal on WhatsApp. [You should check Ryan’s instagram page. He just released a video.]
Away from there, Genevieve pushed the cart slowly inside the grocery store within the resort as Stefan picked up the items they needed.
They chatted as they shopped, neither paying attention to the midday news being broadcast on the television.
"What else do we need?" Genevieve asked, looking into the cart.
"Tomatoes, garlic, and maybe some wine," Stefan said, checking his small list.
Genevieve grinned. "You’re only thinking of dinner. What about dessert?"
Stefan smiled. "You should have just said you wanted to get something sweet. Go ahead and pick whatever you want, milady."
"I’ll leave the cart with you then. I saw something I wanted earlier," she said as she handed the cart to him and went to the other side of the store where they had desserts.
As Genevieve walked, she suddenly noticed that heads began to turn in her direction. At first she smiled at them thinking it was normal but no one smiled back and they looked away the moment their eyes met.
Her steps slowed. She frowned. "Why are they looking at me?" she whispered under her breath.
Stefan, who had been watching her narrowed his eyes when he noticed what was going on, and he automatically glanced at the television.
The moment he saw her picture displayed on the television, he quickly signalled to them to change the station and hurried after her to get her out of the store.
But before he could catch up with her, Genevieve’s breath caught when she heard her father’s voice and she looked up at the flat screen television.
Stefan swore under his breath when the new station that was switched to began to air the same news.
On the screen, the bold letters scrolled: GENEVIEVE HARRIS NOT DAWN HANK – BILLIONAIRE, RYAN HARRIS SPEAKS OUT
Genevieve froze. Her face drained of color, her lips parting as if the ground had been pulled from under her.
Just like that? The universe hated her so much it couldn’t wait for her to expose herself before exposing her?
Her father’s face appeared on the screen. His voice was steady, grave:
> "As you all know, I lost my wife, her parents, and mine all in the same day. Contrary to what I made the world believe, it wasn’t an accident. They were murdered. I would have lost my life like the rest of them had I not been away on an impromptu business trip. I know I should have said something back then, but I was grief stricken. I was mourning the loss of my family and trying to care for my stepdaughter, who was traumatized because she witnessed the death of her mother and grandparents. She was all that I had left and seeing how she lost her memory and voice due to the incident, I decided to put it all behind her, so I made a mistake. I did something that no one should do. But it was out of love and because I wanted to protect my daughter, Dawn. I adopted Genevieve to take the place of Dawn, while I changed her name to Abigail and kept her hidden away from the rest of the world. All these years I let the world believe that Genevieve was Dawn, but that’s not true. Genevieve is not related to me in any way. She was adopted, and she is not my heir, Dawn is...."
Genevieve zoned out. The words echoed in her ears like loud bells. The aisles blurred. She swayed, her chest tight, her stomach turning.
The truth was out. She had been exposed before she could come clean herself. Her worst nightmare had come to pass. He had had thrown her out to the dogs without warning.
"No..." she whispered. Her knees felt weak. She wanted to vanish, to melt into the floor. Shame burned her from head to toe.
She spun around, heart racing. She wanted to bolt for the door, desperate to escape the eyes, the whispers, and Stefan. She wanted to run away so she wouldn’t have to face his wrath, but she ran right into Stefan, who had been standing behind her the whole time her gaze was on the screen.
She stiffened when she looked up through glassy eyes and saw Stefan. Immediately she took a step back and wanted to flee through the other way but Stefan was faster. His hand closed gently but firmly around her arm.
"Let me go!" she gasped, her voice breaking. Her whole body shook as she pulled against his grip.
She guessed he was holding her this way to demand answers. He probably wanted to lash out at her lies and betrayal.
But instead of scolding her, Stefan pulled her into his chest, his arms wrapping around her tight. "I can’t do that, Genevieve."
Her breath hitched. Her face pressed against him as tears ran down her face. "Why are you holding me?" she choked, struggling. "Didn’t you see the news? Didn’t you hear my Dad?"
"I did. And he just admitted that he’s not your Dad. You should keep up," Stefan said softly, calm as stone.