"Zack." I called out. I don't know why his name was the first to come to my mind.
He immediately rushed to me, looking confused. He followed my gaze and stared at my phone.
"Pick up and put it on speaker." I did as asked.
"Mom-"
"JENNIFER!"
"Hey, mo-"
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN MY HOUSE?! WHERE IS ALL THE CASH AND MY JEWELRY AND FURNITURE AND YOUR STUPID CAR?!"
That's what she is most concerned about. She isn't grateful that I am alive. She isn't worried if I am alright. She doesn't care where in the world I am. All this woman here cares about is, her damn house.
"SPEAK UP, JENNIFER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAMN HOUSE?!"
I felt tears stinging my eyes. I wanted to yell and shout at her but I wasn't able to say anything.
Hearing all her screaming, the others had also joined us and were staring from me to Zack to the phone in my hand.
"You don't care how I am? If I am Okay? Where I am? Aren't you happy that I am still alive to answer your call?" I whispered softly to the phone as tears welled up in my eyes.
Zack put his arm around my waist in a comforting manner. His other hand was clenched into a tight fist.
"JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MY HOUSE?! I WANT EVERYTHING BACK RIGHT NOW!"
"I can't get it back."
"WHAT?! WHY NOT?! JENNIFER! COME BACK HOME!" She yelled and hung up.
I broke down in tears and Zack hugged me tightly. "She doesn't care one bit about me." I whispered quietly.
"Jennifer, we are going to your house. I want to show that damn woman her right place." Zack said through gritted teeth. I could feel the rage that emanated off from him. He was pissed.
"Zack's right." Max said and looked at me.
***
"Come on, Jennifer. Just give her some good piece of your mind. And if you don't feel like it, I'll gladly do so on your behalf." Charlotte said as she pushed me towards the door of my home.
My home? Is it?
"They can't do anything. I am right beside you." Max encouraged me.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. It was unlocked.
I went inside with the others following right behind me. The house was all gloomy and empty. Just like my relationship with my 'parents'.
"Dad? Mom?" I called out. We were all inside now and Zack had locked the door.
We aren't in the mood to give my neighbours any free drama.
They came rushing down the stairs, both looking equally furious.
They looked up to see me and opened their mouths to shout, but stopped as they froze upon seeing the 6 people with me.
But something was weird.
They were staring in shock in particular at Max.
"K-Kyle?!" Dad said looking horrified at Max. Mom nudged him hard and shushed him down.
"Who's Kyle? I am Max." Max said as he looked over his shoulder to see behind. Zack and Liam led out sighs.
"You- you're Kyle." Dad said.
"What? I don't understand. How do you even know me?!" Max looked confused.
"You're Jennifer's twin brother! Kyle!" Dad cried out. "But you were dead!" Mom turned to glare at dad angrily.
Out came a confused and chorused "WHAT?" from the voices behind me.
"What the fuck are you going on about? His name is Max and as you can see, he's very much alive." Zack spat out.
Both of them didn't utter another word. They were just staring from me to Max.
Zack's patience had reached its peak. He looked over at Damien and took out a gun and walked towards the two adults.
I heard loud gasps from around me.
"I need ropes." Damien said to me looking determined. I nodded and went out in the basement to look for ropes.
I handed them over to Damien who instantly went to Zack and helped him in tying up the two adults who were still staring at the gun in Zack's hand with fear filled wide eyes.
"Look here Mrs. Smith. Now, if you don't answer our questions, there would be a bullet chilling in your rotting brain." Zack said in his threatening voice. The fury in his brown eyes made mom nod her head frantically.
"What's the connection between Jennifer, Max and you two?"
"Jennifer is....not our real daughter. We had- we had- kidnapped her from the hospital."
"What?!" I asked in horror.
Max had his arm wrapped around me and he looked equally shocked as me and everyone else.
"We would have to tell you everything for all this to make sense." Dad stated.
"So what are you waiting for?! Start!" Zack yelled and mom flinched.
"Is there a birthmark on your shoulder blade?" Mom asked Max who slowly nodded his head with wide eyes.
"You and Jennifer are twins. Andrew and Nina Williams are- were your real parents. They were successful billionaires. We all were best friends and had known each other since high school. Nina's parents weren't happy about her marriage with Andrew who had lost his parents at the age of 20. They had cut off all contact with her. Nina used to share all her problems with me...We were inseparable." Mom said looking down as her eyes filled with tears of guilt.
"Andrew had started his own business and within just four years, he had become excpetionally successful. At first we were really happy for them,... but then, we started becoming jealous of their success. They were buying new houses and cars and what not. While we, we were still working in their company for them." Dad continued.
"I could never bear children. This was devastating for me. I prayed everyday just to have a child of my own but I couldn't. Then, Nina had you two, the two cutest babies I had ever seen in my life. They had everything. All the riches, the happiness, two twin babies. While we thought that we didn't have anything. Our jealousy turned into enmity. Our greed overpowered us and we kidnapped Jennifer from the hospital. I just wanted a baby girl and I was desperate." Mom cried.
Max and I, we were both standing there, staring at the two with teary eyes. Everyone was dead silent. Even Celine appeared to look sad.
"But we still didn't stop there. I don't know what had gotten over us, but I wanted to see Andrew get destroyed. I always had better grades than him, still he became so successful but I didn't. So, Rose and I, planned to kill them."
A loud sob escaped my mouth and I covered my face with my hands. Max pulled me to his chest as I cried.
"Your parents were devastated by your disappearance, Jennifer. I remember how hopeless and dead Nina used to look. She had even refused to eat and drink. She just used to keep herself locked up in her room with Kyle. But I had never felt any guilt. Then one day, they recieved a news that Nina's mother had passed away. She was just more devastated. She had become completely lifeless." Mom closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Zack had already lowered the gun and was just looking at me and Max.
"They were going to the funeral with Kyle when a truck had crashed with their car, killing them all on the spot. That truck was.... Sent by me." Dad admitted shamefully.
I fell down on my knees as my body failed to support me after hearing that and Max knelt down beside me. Charlotte came and started rubbing my back comfortingly. I saw a tear fall down on the floor beside me.
Max was crying too.
"We thought that all three of them had died and we can take their place. The company would be ours, all the money and property, everything was ours. And we even had a child now. They lost their everything but we got it all....But I don't know how you're still alive." Dad looked at Max who was just looking at me with a pained and hurt expression.
"The warden at the orphanage had once told me that I was brought to them from a hospital where everybody thought that I was dead. But I wasn't. The doctor had saved me." Max said quietly.
Max pulled me in his embrace and the both of us hugged each other tightly. He was crying on my shoulder as I caressed his head.
My entire existence was a lie. The people I had been living with for 17 years were the monsters who had taken everything away from my parents and us.
Max had to live like an orphan. He was my twin but their greed had separated us.
"So, if you wanted a child so badly that you kidnapped my Jennifer from the hospital, why did you start hating her then?!" Zack asked in a harsh tone.
"Because after her 14th birthday, we found out that all the property including the company would belong to Andrew and Nina's children as they turn 18. Kyle was dead, apparently, but Jennifer wasn't. She was also starting to look more and more like Nina. We were afraid that Andrew's lawyer would find out about her." Mom said and glanced at me.
"You two are cruel monsters. I hope you burn in hell someday." I harshly whispered to them.
Everyone was quiet. No one knew what to say.
Max looked so lost and sad. It was exactly the opposite to the silly and cheerful nature he has. I held his face in my hands and he looked up at me through tear filled defeated eyes.
"We really are twins." I smiled at him. He stared intently in my eyes for a few seconds and then returned the smile. "We are."
"You're the only real family I have left. I love you, brother." I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
"I love you too, my dear sister."