Gerald was on his way to the hospital as usual when he received a call from Milan. He was surprised to see her call; that was the last thing he expected from her -a call out of the blues when they don't even talk, not even for once.
"Gerald..."She called out slowly, unsure of her voice. Gerald could feel her anxiety in hervoice. "This is Gerald, right?"
"Yes!" His reply was blunt and quick. "Why are you calling Milan? Did something go wrong in my absence?"
Milan on the other line hesitated for a while as she breathed out sharp, contemplating on what to say or how to say it.
"It's okay, Milan." Gerald was considerate enough to cajole her, her rapid breathing was obvious on the phone. "You can talk to me, whatever it is, I'm all ears and I'll listen. Okay?"
"Okay..."She mouthed almost immediately. "Where are you? Can you come to the company as quickly as you can? This is really important!"
"I'm on my way to the hospital, but I can make a detour to the company if it's that important." Gerald responded quickly, his voice urgent. "What's going on, Milan? What's so important that you need me to come to the company immediately?"
"I promise you this is really important, I wouldn't be calling if it's not." Milan blurted out in reply, her voice hushed.
"I know, right? What is it, what's happening over there?" Gerald asked, his voice laced with urgency and concern. "Tell me! What's happening?"
"I can't really explain in detail, but a strange woman is here." Milan voiced out. "She's trying to take over the company to herself -I'm afraid there's no one to stop her, not even the executives."
"What?!" Gerald exclaimed, his heart skipping a beat. "A strange woman is trying to take over the company? What do you mean? How is that even possible? Does she have any connection to the company? What's going on, Milan?"
"I wish I could answer all yourquestions." Milan mouthed, breathing deeply in between. "I promise I'll tell you everything once you get here, but we really need your help. She has documents that make her the legal owner of the company."
"What! That can't be possible!" Gerald shouted, his voice filled with surprise and disbelief. "How did she get her hands on it? Those were supposed to be Ms. Fellers, how did she end up with it?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Milan enunciated. "She's laying down odd rules, and she said she will resume her position as the company's executive owner today!"
"What...?!" Gerald shouted out unconsciously, his breath ragged. "I'm making a detour now, I'll be right there in ajiffy!"
"Please do come quickly, I'm only telling you this because you are the only one Ms. Fellers trusts mostly." Milan vocalized with concern in hervoice. "I hope you can stop her!"
"Hang in there, Milan. I won't take long." He promised, already making a detour.
"I'll be waiting here." Milan responded with urgency in hervoice. "Hurry, please."
Gerald hung up and started driving as fast as he could towards his company, his mind racing with questions. He couldn't understand how a woman could lay claim to Ciara's company, it didn't make any sense. He knew that something was definitely wrong, and he needed to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.
He drove through the traffic as fast as he could, his mind still reeling from the news he had just received.
In no time, just as predicted, he arrived at the company. Without properly parking his car, he hopped down in a rush as he hastes his way inside the company's building.
"Ah -good. You are here already." Milan called out from a few feet away, immediately she sighted Gerald. She quickly walked up to him, watching behind her like she's been chased by unseen forces.
Gerald looked at Milan with concern. "What's going on?" He asked, his voice urgent. "You sounded worried on the phone, what's happening?"
"Oh, it's a really long story." Milan responded, exhausted. "Let's go inside first, I'll explain everything to you once we are in a secure location."
Gerald nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. Something was clearly very wrong, and he needed to know what it was. He followed Milan into the building, his mind racing with questions.
They entered the building and headed towards a private office.
"It was earlier this morning, as usual, everyone was busy with their work and this strange woman walked in." Milan began. "She did say nothing to anyone, despite how much we tried to ask her."
"If she really did not say anything, how did you come to the conclusion that she wants to take overthe company?" Gerald asked, his brows creased. "I don't get -are you a mind reader now? Or maybe a fortune-teller?"
Milan shook her head negatively in response. "That's not it, hear me out first before jumping into a conclusion." She lilted, displeased at Gerald's choice of words.
"Fine, I'm all ears!
"After much persuasion and trying to get words from her, she teared up, shedding tears profusely." She continued, Gerald was listening with rapt attention. "She insisted on passing important information about Ms. Fellers and the company itself, and an impromptu board meeting was called."
"This is getting more interesting than thought, I must say!" Gerald uttered, clearly amused. "The board meeting, who called it? The strange woman? Because it's not even possible, she's no member of this company."
"No...!" Milan shook her head negatively in disapproval. "I did! I was the one who called the impromptu meeting -and she did have a quick meeting with the company's employees, too."
"You?." Gerald exclaimed, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Why would you do that? And what was the information she was so eager to pass to everyone?"
"The information..."Milan paused, searching for the right words to say. "She said Ms. Fellers is in a pitiable condition, and she's here to take over the company in her absence."
Gerald was surprised, there was no one else who knew about Ciara's predicament except himself and her aunt -including the doctor and nurses assigned to her. Why would anyone come out of the blues to try such an outrageous act?
"How did she know that Ms. isn't in a good health condition?" Gerald asked, his brows drawn together.
"I don't know, but with the way she sounded during the board meeting, it seems like she knows more than we think." Milan uttered in reply. "Mr. Dwayne is dead too, she added this to her speech when she was being accused as an imposter."
Gerald felt as if he was drenched with cold water, his feet glued to the spot he was. This was something that had been hidden from everyone for a week -if such news goes out, it might have a huge effect on Ciara's health.
Different thoughts ran through Gerald's mind and all the fingers were pointed at one person. The more he thinks about it, the more it just did not make any sense -there is no way she would have done such a thing to her niece, right?
"She did say all of this and decided to take over the company without telling you all who she is?" Gerald asked, hoping his thoughts would turn out wrong.
"She claimed she's Ms. Fellers aunt." Milan enounced, sounding like shejust recalls something really important. "Mrs. Kent -she said her name is Mrs. Kent..."