Mirabella was completely unaware of the emotional storm her words had stirred up in Nellie. She nodded patiently, repeating, "This is where my Uncle Chester lives."
When Nellie heard those words again, she couldn’t help but catch her breath. She was at a loss for how to describe the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her.
Never in a million years had she expected such a twist of fate. That Rea, this child, would be connected to that man.
She knew Rea now went by Mirabella, but she’d never linked her to the Davis family... Nellie’s lips twisted into a bittersweet smile. Maybe this was fate playing its hand?
She closed her eyes for a moment and murmured, "Seems like your Uncle Chester’s quite the wealthy guy."
"Isn’t he just?" Mirabella chimed in, unable to resist adding, "Oh, my Uncle Chester is loaded, but who knows who’ll end up with his fortune one day."
Nellie was caught off guard again. After a pause, she asked, "What do you mean? Shouldn’t it be... shouldn’t it be his kids who inherit?"
Mirabella glanced around the grand hall and sighed, "Well, my Uncle Chester’s had a pretty rough ride. No kids, no wife, living all alone in this big ol’ mansion. Don’t you think it’s a bit sad, Nellie?"
Nellie felt a pang in her chest, like a heavy weight pressing down. "He never got married or had children?"
Mirabella detected the tremor in Nellie’s voice through the phone, confirming what she’d suspected all along.
So, the person Nick had been digging into was indeed the family patriarch, and from their recent chat, it wasn’t hard to guess there was some hidden past between Nellie and Uncle Chester.
One had never married, and the other seemed to live as if a part of them was missing.
It was tough to believe there wasn’t some connection between them.
Mirabella pondered this, then softly replied, "No, he didn’t."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)