True Identity - Part 1
"You are the stolen child of the Coopers," announced the old man and both Jason and Benjamin looked at the man surprised.
"What are you talking about Dad? What stolen child? Jason was adopted by Mr Haward, do you not remember?" Benjamin asked the old man, whom he had earlier introduced as his father.
"Sorry J, my dad is old and sick. He doesn't have a sharp memory anymore and sometimes says things that don't make sense," Benjamin said to Jason as he tried to send his father back to his room.
"Mr Haward adopted you from the Coopers who abandoned you after stealing you, a month-old baby from your real family?" said the old man who refused to leave despite Benjamin's attempts to send him away.
"What?" reacted Jason with a frown and also wondered how long his friend Benjamin had known he was adopted hearing the statement made by Benjaimin earlier about him.
"Dad, please, let me take you inside," Benjamin persuaded and turned to Jason.
"Don't take it seriously I am sure he had mistaken you for someone," he apologizes
"I know what I am saying. I will give you a proof. If you doubt me, do your investigation and I will give you the missing story. Read about Wellington's Tragedy that happened twenty- four years ago," the old man said before Benjamin could send him back to his room.
"Enough Dad," Benjamin said as he finally dragged the old man out of the living room.
Jason remains seated as Benjamin sends his father back to the room. The day he found out he was adopted; the birth certificate had the Coopers as his parents. He had heard of the news about the 'Wellington's Tragedy' but had never paid attention to it. He wondered what that had got to do with him.
"Sorry about that. My father is very ill. Please forgive him and don't take anything he said seriously," Benjamin apologized.
"Sure," Jason replied as he decided not to ask anything further.
Jason knew immediately his friend was hiding something. He knew he would get nothing by asking him and it would make him cover his tracks and prevent him from finding the truth. Jason decided to act normal. They spoke at length about the offer made by Benjamin. Jason decided to take his leave when Peter's call came through informing him of his arrival. He informed Benjamin he would think about his offer and share feedback by the weekend which was four days away. Under Benjamin's instructions, one of his workers left with Jason for his hotel in one of the cars parked in the garage. Benjamin stood and watched as the back of the car gradually disappeared.
"This my old man will put me in trouble one day," Benjamin thought and headed back to the mansion with a frown.
Jason asked the driver to drop him off at the airport. On their way to the airport, he sent Julia's bank details to her and also sent an email to the bank for the account to be made accessible to Julia. After thinking about what Benjamin's father said, he sent an SMS to someone to do an investigation on the Wellingtons and he quickly got a reply.
"Sir, the Wellington's are the second most rich and powerful family living in California. You can't investigate them. All information about their family is well protected from the public. Even the 24 years ago incident is nowhere to be found,"
Jason read the message and replied with an 'Okay.' There is only one person who can help with this. He looked at his watch and asked the driver to drop him at the airport. Two minutes after arriving at the airport, he saw Peter walking towards him.
"Good to have you here Peter. I have to go somewhere to do something very important. Here is my card, you can use it to book a room at the hotel to rest. We will move into an apartment later this evening," Jason said.
Peter took the card and headed for the Hotel while Jason headed for another location. Jason arrived at the doorstep of his dad's friend. He pressed the doorbell and was received by a woman in uniform. She led him inside after confirming who he was looking for.
"Please have a seat, sir. He will be with you shortly," the woman said and left.
"Mr Jason Haward, what a pleasant surprise," came the voice of a grey-haired 70-year-old man.
He was full of age but still looking strong.
"Hello, Mr Greg," Jason stood up and greeted him with a handshake before they both sat down.
"Last I heard, you left Florida," Mr Greg said looking at Jason.
"Yes, I needed to start over," Jason replied not saying anything further.
"I can understand. After what Mrs Haward did, that was the best decision," said Mr Greg. "Anyway let's not talk about the past. What brings you here?" he asked with a smile after asking the servant to serve them tea.
"You and my dad were friends. Perchance did he ever tell you anything about me?" Jason asked.
"I knew this would come up one day. Well, He didn't but I do know something," Mr Greg began and shifted his gaze from Jason to the blank screen of the TV on the wall.
Jason was looking at him awaiting his response. He had thought the Coopers were his parents. Mrs Haward once mentioned his mother abandoned him. The stories were not straightforward. He wanted to know who he was.
"There was a man called Steven Strong and a woman, Debbie Fynn, who claimed to be a couple. Well with everything coming out now, there is a doubt they were a couple. Well, the investigation has it, they had lived in so many places. They have become well known for child abduction and their target was the rich and powerful. They request huge ransoms for these children and they always get away with it. You were a victim of their activities," Mr Greg narrated and Jason listened attentively.
"Your nanny took you to the park and got distracted by a phone call and that was when the child abductors got you. You were just 8 months old according to the nanny," Mr Greg continued. "They called and made their demands and your parents were ready to give them the money just to have you back," he paused and inhaled deeply.
"And what happened? How did I end up with the Hawards?" Jason asked as the old man was silent for a long time.
"To these two, they thought they had just abducted a baby of a rich family only to find out your family were not just rich but powerful. Out of fear, they left California for Florida with a fake birth certificate under the name Mr and Mrs Cooper presenting you as their only child," Mr Greg said.
"They gave you up for adoption, with the woman claiming her husband had died and she couldn't cater for you. Mr Haward decided to take you in by adopting you. You were just 9 months old," Mr Greg said and turned his gaze back to Jason.
"Do you know why he adopted me?" Jason asked, wanting to understand why Mr Johan Haward abandoned his own daughter but chose to adopt someone's child.
"Something about you being a beautiful baby," Mr Greg replied.
"So where are the Coopers now and do you know who my real parents are?" Jason asked.
"The Coopers died in a terrible accident. Rumour has it that they were killed. The nanny has also gone missing for years," Mr Greg said looking at Jason.
"What do you know about the Wellingtons?" Jason asked trying to see if there was a connection.
"They are the second most powerful and rich family living in California," Mr Greg replied nonchalantly and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, why do you ask?" he asked.
"I heard there was an incident that happened 24 years ago concerning their family," Jason replied.
"Well, I remember that story of the Wellington's Tragedy. It was said Mrs Wellington committed suicide when she lost her only son but it later came out that it was a lie and she had a terminal illness that led to her demise and her son was in London, with his nana at the time," Mr Greg explained.
"Okay," replied Jason with no expression.
"Thank you, Mr Greg. This was very helpful," appreciated Jason.
"I can see I didn't answer your question but rather left you with more questions," Mr Greg said sadly.
"No, Mr Greg. You have been more than helpful," Jason said with all honesty. "I would like to take my leave," he added.
"I wish I knew who your real parents are and where they can be found," Mr Greg said as he walked with Jason to the door.
"Mr Greg, thank you. This was helpful. I would leave now. I will come around again some other time," Jason said before leaving.
Mr Greg stood watching Jason leave and he felt sad. It is sad for one not to know who their parents are. It would have been okay even if he knew one. He went back inside and closed the door.
Jason went back to Benjamin's Mansion. He had confirmed his thoughts, Benjamin's father knew something but his major concern now is, if Benjamin would let him speak with his father. He had known Benjamin for a while and knew when he his doing something shady. The question is who is paying him to be quiet? He pressed the doorbell once at the huge gate.
"Hello, may I know who you are?" the sound of a female was heard through the intercom
"Jason, I am here to see Benjamin," replied Jason.
"I am sorry, he went out," she replied.
"Okay. Do let him know I will come around tomorrow then," said Jason knowing she was lying.
Benjamin, his friend had given that instruction because he also knew, he, Jason, will go and investigate what his father said.
"He went on an emergency trip and I am not sure when he would be back," replied the lady.
"Okay, thank you," said Jason.
"You are welcome," replied the lady and Jason froze in his spot when he heard Benjamin's father in the background asking Benjamin a question.
Jason just walked away as his suspicion was confirmed, his friend was hiding something from him but the question was why. He went back to the hotel but said nothing to Peter. They stayed in the hotel for the night and spent time online looking at apartments. Jason settled for a beautiful apartment in Melbourne.
"That is a nice apartment Boss," Peter complemented and continued when Jason said nothing. "Would Mrs Haward be coming to stay with us?" he enquired and Jason turned to look at him.
"Goodnight, Peter," Jason said and got up from behind the desk and headed for his room.
Peter watched him leave but he had already seen a reaction he had never seen in him before. He never cared about women and didn't want them around himself but this woman Julia is different. He did notice the change in his expression which lasted for just seconds.
"He misses her," Peter thought and smiled as Jason exited his room.