Day Forty-Nine…
~~*****~~
Abigail tried to divert the topic away from her. She wanted to interrogate Vincent, not the other way around.
"Vincent… May I ask you something?"
"Sure, Abi. What is it?" Vincent was very friendly toward Abigail.
"I'm just curious… How long have you been in a relationship with Helena Carlsen?" Abigail directly asked him, wondering if he would answer her truthfully.
"We've been together for the past 6 years," Vincent responded, putting on a gentle smile.
"Is she your first love?" Abigail kept asking him. "And the last woman you will love?"
Dave and Vincent exchanged glances with one another. They didn't expect Abigail to ask Vincent such direct questions.
"Yes. I only have one woman in my life… just like… Dave." Vincent glanced at Dave, signaling him to speak up. Vincent was trying to ship the two back together.
But Dave knew that Abigail would feel uncomfortable if he would support Vincent's words. He could sense that Abigail was feeling sorry for him.
"Let's finish the food. Do you like it?" Dave ignored Vincent's meaningful glance. He just changed the topic for Abigail's sake.
"Yes. I love them. Your cooking skills never fade! You are still the best, Bro!" Vincent praised Dave's cooking, patting his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Abigail became more suspicious of Vincent. She could tell that he was hiding something from them. 'Love only woman? He is already in a six-year relationship with Helena? Then how about Monica? What is their connection?'
As they continued to dine, Abigail got an idea of how she would test Vincent.
"Oh… I remember something!" Abigail blurted out, catching the guys' attention.
Both Vincent and Dave glanced at her expectantly, anticipating what she was about to say. What did she remember?
"I remember seeing you, Vincent!" Abigail pretended to be shocked.
"Me? Where?" Vincent maintained his calm expression.
Dave moved his gaze back and forth between Vincent and Abigail. 'Is this part of her memory? Why did she have to remember Vincent, but not me?' Dave became more disheartened.
On the other hand, Abigail smiled inwardly. It looked like Vincent took her bait. 'Now, let me see how you will react.'
"I saw you talking on the phone. I heard you mentioning Monica's name. You were asking how was she!"
Clank.
Vincent's accidentally dropped the spoon when he heard Abigail's remarks. His calm expression cracked and it changed into something. Anxiousness? Yes. But it disappeared right away. But Abigail couldn't be wrong. She saw how Vincent's expression changed at the mention of Monica's name.
"Where did you see me?" Vincent asked her with intrigue. 'Was it in Country R?' he asked himself.
"Here… In country M… in the mall, just a few weeks ago. I bumped into you near my friend's boutique." Abigail responded, still assessing Vincent's expression.
Vincent frowned as soon as he remembered that scene. Yes! He didn't recognize Abigail at that time because she was wearing her disguise.
"Oh. I recall. Monica is a niece." Vincent nonchalantly said, maintaining his smile.
"Your niece? Do you have a niece?" Abigail eyed him in suspicion.
"Yes. I have. I will introduce you to her. In fact, she's here in Country M. She is studying here now. That's the reason why I came here. I will visit my niece."
Abigail just bobbed her head and smiled awkwardly. Dave didn't mention anything about Vincent's niece. What a coincidence! His niece's name was also Monica.
"I will be happy to meet her…" She mumbled.
"She would love to meet you. She loves your movies. In fact, she is your fan." Vincent spoke naturally.
Abigail was having conflicting thoughts right now. 'Am I wrong to suspect Vincent? But I saw him talking to Monica. Not only me… Kathleen and Nathan's father too.'
"Sure. I can give her my autograph…" Abigail volunteered, flashing her fake smile.
After a while, she started to implement her plan. She secretly took a hair sample from Vincent. He didn't notice it at all. But Abigail noticed something. After she mentioned Monica's name during the dinner, Vincent became more cautious in answering her every question.
"It's getting late, now. I'm sorry but I have to go. My niece is waiting for me." Vincent finally said goodbye to Dave and Abigail.
"Nice seeing you again, Abigail," Vincent added, smiling at her.
"Me too. Unfortunately, I can't remember you. But don't worry… I got a feeling my memories will come back… very soon."
Vincent just held her shoulders and nodded his head.
"Okay, Vince. Take care." Dave followed him, sending him off.
When Vincent left Dave's place, he immediately called someone. There was a serious look on his face. The bright smile he had a while ago disappeared in an instant.
"Vincent… How is it? Have you seen Abigail? Did you talk with her? What did you find out?" Helena bombarded him with so many questions. She had been waiting for his call. She was aware that Vincent arrived at Country M and visited Dave's place while meeting Abigail.
Vincent exhaled deeply. "You were right, Helena. We should eliminate Abigail now. She is a great threat to us… and to our plan. We shouldn't wait for her memories to come back. We should move now."
Helena was taken aback for a moment. It's been so long since the last time she heard Vincent's serious tone like this. It looked like a very urgent matter.
"Okay. Vincent. I will support your decision!" Helena responded.
*****
Meanwhile, Abigail was left in Dave's place, clueless about the danger in her life. So many people would try to kill and eliminate her— Madam Lu, Amara, Veronica… and now… Vincent and Helena were added to that long list.
"Have you met Vincent's niece?" Abigail asked him.
"Not yet. But I heard she is five years old now." Dave informed her.
'So… Vincent really has a niece whose name might be Monica.' She thought to herself. 'But this doesn't erase my suspicion about him. I have to dig further.'
"Dave, thanks for tonight. See you around." Abigail bid goodbye to Dave. She had something important to do and she didn't want to waste her time.
Dave had the urge to stop her but he had no right to do it. Abigail was no longer his girlfriend.
*****
Upon leaving Dave's condo unit, Abigail looked for a hospital where she could compare the DNA samples of Vincent and Ethan.
"I will focus on my date with Nathan tomorrow, so I have to finish this task tonight. I should rush the result. Probably, a day after tomorrow… I'll retrieve the DNA Test result."
Abigail had no choice but to ask Stephen's help. He had a connection with a prestigious hospital. With his influence, he could refer her somewhere. And she could also ask for his help to request the hospital to rush the result. She needed it as soon as possible.
At around 9:00 pm, Abigail reached Stephen's place. For some unknown reason, she wanted to trust Stephen for this task. He was someone who wanted to protect Phantomflake. Abigail could see him as a friend and an ally.
"Stephen…" She called him out. He was standing in front of Phantomflake's unconscious body.
"Oh. Abi… you're here. What can I do for you?" Stephen was surprised to see Abigail at this hour.
"I have some favor to ask… Please hear me out."
"Sure."
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