“Yes!” Jessica continued to ask, “Where are they now? Are they okay?”
Jacob hesitated briefly before answering, “I sent someone to check and received some information. One died from serious injuries at the hospital, while the other passed away in a car accident. Both were cremated, and their ashes are placed at the funeral home.”
Silence ensued for a while after Jacob finished speaking.
“Josie, are you all right?” Jacob asked worryingly.
“They are… dead?” Jessica responded after a long while with a stammer. “Both are dead?”
Jacob hurriedly answered, “There’re many people with the same name in the country. Could it be that you gave me the wrong ID card numbers? Perhaps you’d like to verify the info again; I can always check again on my end.”
“No, it can’t be wrong… The ID card numbers are correct…” Jessica suddenly began to sob. “How can they be dead… They were the only family members I had left in this world…”
Jacob smacked his head after realizing his recklessness.
If he had known Jessica was asking about her family members, he would not have told her the truth directly.
“Relax for now, Josie. It might be a mistake on my end,” Jacob gently comforted her. “I’ll ask my men to check again. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything without verifying the facts first.”
The sobs on the other end of the phone had already turned into loud wails, drowning Jacob’s voice.
It was a heart-wrenching cry that made Jacob anxious and upset.
He hung up the phone and called the housekeeper taking care of Jessica to head upstairs and check on her while making his way to the private room.
Upon entering the private room, Jacob apologized profusely, “I’m sorry, everyone. I need to leave now as I have an urgent flight to take. Please continue to have fun.”
He found his jacket on the couch and prepared to leave.
Wyatt glanced at Jacob. “You’re going to Yartran to find your girl?”
“Yes. I said something wrong and made her cry… So I got to make amends. Argh, what a nuisance!” Jacob scratched his head in frustration. “Anyway, they’re your guests. It’s only right that you entertain them.”
Wyatt could not be bothered to respond and looked away.
In a hurry, Jacob did not realize he had grabbed his jacket the wrong way. As such, something dropped out of it as he walked.
It bounced on the carpet a few times before landing near Wyatt’s shoe.
The private room was rather brightly lit. Thus, it was not difficult for Wyatt to spot the item that had rolled to his feet. He bent over and picked it up.
Wyatt’s eyes widened when he saw the sunflower pendant made of gems on the carpet.
It was the pendant gifted to him by Jessica.
He was sure it was the same pendant as the sales associate at Van Cleef & Arpels mentioned that it was the only piece in the world!
Seeing Wyatt help to pick up his item, Jacob approached him and wanted to take it back. “Thanks, Wyatt. I’m leaving—”
“Where did you get this pendant from!” Wyatt interrupted Jacob. Holding on to the pendant tightly, he had no intention of returning it to the latter. “Who sold this to you?”
Jacob was taken aback by Wyatt’s abrupt uproar and his ferocious expression.
He thought Wyatt was joking around with him and replied tiredly, “Stop fooling around. I must leave now.” With that, he reached out for the sunflower pendant.
Wyatt grabbed Jacob’s wrist with his other hand. Gritting his teeth, he demanded, “Answer me. Where did you get this from!”
“D*mn it, that hurts!” Jacob shouted in pain. He thought that his wrist was about to be snapped by Wyatt. “It’s a gift from my wife. Wyatt, don’t f*cking tell me that you have your eye on it. I’m not selling it.”
“Where did your wife get it from?” Wyatt continued to question. “What’s her name?”
“I don’t know!” Jacob was still gasping in pain. “Let go of me first. You’re going to break my hand, d*mn it.”
“What’s her name!”
Jacob yelled again in pain as Wyatt tightened his grip once more. He gave up and replied, “Josie. Her name is Josie.”
“Josie…” As Wyatt mumbled the name, he realized it was similar to “Jessie” and suddenly thought of the sunflower painting he had brought back earlier. At the thought of that, his breathing became rapid.
“The painting that I brought back. Was it drawn by her?”
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