CHAPTER 233: GOVERNESS

As Abigail returned to upstairs with Josh, the nanny intercepted them, and offered to take Josh so she could prepare him for school.

Abigail smiled thinly at the lady, who seemed to think Josh was her responsibility and Abigail was stealing him from her.

"He is my son. Henceforth, I will take care of him myself," Abigail said, startling the nanny, who was surprised to hear her speak.

The lady’s eyes widened in surprise and her mouth opened and closed as she looked from Abigail to Josh, and then back again, wondering if she had been possessed by an evil spirit.

"But Mr Ryan... he..."

"I don’t care what Mr Ryan told you. He’s not here right now, is he? Thanks for your services and for taking good care of my son until now. I will take it up from here. If you’ll be kind enough to give me your bank details, I’ll compensate you for your time," Abigail said politely.

"Abi?" The cleaner, who was walking by gasped when she heard Abi. "You can speak? How? When? I thought..."

Abigail smiled at her, "Yes, I can. If you don’t mind, please gather the others in the kitchen. I’d like to have a word with everyone. I’ll be down as soon as I freshen up and Josh is ready for school."

The nanny looked from the cleaner, who was now scurrying away eagerly to go spread the news that Abigail could speak, to Abigail, then she quickly took out her phone from the pocket of her apron and dialed Ryan’s line.

When the line didn’t go through she looked at Abigail, "I can’t leave without hearing from Mr Ryan first."

"He’s away on a business trip and will be away for some time. You should leave. Maybe come back when he’s back," Abigail said, and the lady swallowed.

"When would he be back?"

Abigail shook her head. "I don’t know. He didn’t say. Whatever you decide is up to you. Excuse me," Abigail said, taking Josh’s hand.

Before she could leave, the nanny stopped her. "I’ll take the money."

Abigail turned with a smile and nodded. "Good choice. Give me your account details, please."

After the lady gave it to her, Abigail transfered some money to her, and the lady’s eyes widened with surprise when she saw the huge amount. "This is a lot."

Abigail nodded. "That’s my way of thanking you for taking good care of my son. I wasn’t here to do it, but you did a really good job and got that I’m grateful. Thank you."

The lady nodded, then hesitated before meeting Abigail’s gaze. "I didn’t know he was your son. If I did, I would have let you have your way more. I’m sorry. I was only following Mr Ryan’s instructions."

Abigail nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

As Abigail walked away with Josh, he looked up at her, "Now everyone is going to know you can speak. Will that be okay? Will you be fine?"

Abigail turned to look at him with a smile, and then she crouched down so she could look into his eyes.

"You said you wanted us to run away, right?" She whispered.

Josh nodded.

"We are doing that now. So, you don’t have to worry about me. We will both be fine," she promised, and he smiled and wrapped his arms around her neck.

Abigail kissed him before straightening. As she stood, her phone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was the number that had been calling her anonymously for a while now.

It was a video call.

Abigail’s heart raced, and she looked around her before receiving the call. Ordinarily she would have waited until she got to the privacy of her bedroom before receiving the call, but knowing how quickly the caller changed her mind, she decided not to give her a chance to do so.

The face that appeared on the screen was that of a middle aged lady with greying hair at her temple.

The woman looked both familiar and unfamiliar, like an image from a dream Abigail couldn’t quite recall. She seemed more familiar to Abigail than anyone she had met.

Her brows were thin and arched, and there was a tiredness behind her eyes that told stories no one had ever asked to hear.

She was dressed plainly, her hair pulled into a low bun, and she sat in front of a white wall that looked like it belonged to a hospital room.

The woman blinked when she saw Abigail’s face. And then, her lips quivered. "Oh, Dawn, you finally remembered, didn’t you?" she whispered.

Abigail’s lips parted slightly. Her throat felt dry. She didn’t respond at once. Her heart pounded so loudly, she could barely hear herself think.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, her voice shaky but audible.

The woman gave a shaky smile. "You may not remember me, child... but I remember you. Every day I think of you, and I remember you."

Abigail’s heart dropped to her stomach.

This wasn’t her mom, was she? Her mom was dead, right?

"I used to be your governess. I practically raised you myself," the woman continued, her voice cracking. "My name is Althea."

Governess? That made sense. An image of a lady always standing with her flickered in her mind, and she remembered she was the lady standing by the dining in her dreams, when she dined alone.

Josh tugged lightly on Abigail’s skirt, confused. Abigail placed a hand on his head to comfort him but kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"Althea?" Abigail repeated slowly. "You’ve been alive all these years? You knew I wasn’t Genevieve? Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you do anything to help me?"

"Can you talk right now? It seems like you’re standing in the open."

Abigail looked around her and nodded. "Please don’t hang up. I’m going to my bedroom," Abigail said as she took Josh’s hand and led him to her bedroom.

She locked the door behind her, and handed Josh his tablet to keep busy while she sat on the edge of her bed.

"We can talk now."