Chapter 196 Return to What It Used to Be The letter was positively crawling with wishes and hopes for Deirdre, and only a few lines described the motherâs own state of affairs. She had clearly beli eved this was just another of many letters she would pen for her daughter in the futureâshe had thought she would get to write again.
She had not known, at the time, that she was writing the last letter she would pen in her life.
Brendanâs chest tightened. He had just destroyed one of the most priceless things in the world⦠with his own hands. If Deirdre knewâ¦
She would go mad.
He immediately called someone in to restore the letter.
Deirdre returned to her room shortly after he left. She instinctively got down on all fours, her hands grazing across the floor to feel for the pieces. To her disappointment, she could not find a single piece, even though she was sure Brendan had scattered it like confetti.
âMiss McKinnon, what are you looking for?â Sam asked.
âCan you help me look, please?â Deirdre replied with a request. âAre there any pieces of paper on the floor?â
âNo,â Sam answered matterâofâfactly. âDid you drop something? Let me help you search.â
For a noticeable second, Deirdre seemed dazed. Then, suddenly, she shook her head. âNo. Itâs okay. Itâ
s not important.â
Sam was nonplussed, but upon seeing the woman abandon her search, he let it go.
A few days passed while Brendan focused on creating a pristine replica of the original letter. Creating a copy of the letterâs content was not hard, but the devil was in the details. A perfect repl ication would take time.
Then, he received a call. âMr. Brighthall? We found a candidate. Sheâs currently waiting downstairs. Do
you want her to come to your office now?â
A glint flitted through Brendanâs black eyes. He clenched his jaw, and the words on the letter suddenly
appeared distant and alien. âBring her in.â
A few moments later, the door was pushed open, revealing Sawyer and a middleâ
aged woman in a nondescript getup. Brendan had never seen her before.
âShe fits all of your requirements, sir,â Sawyer stated.
Brendan scanned the middleâaged woman. Her appearance was average and unremarkable, but that was not a problem. The only qualification she had to meet was having the right voice. âSpeak.â
The woman was visibly disconcerted by Brendanâs overall composure. Even her voice sounded tight. â
H- Hello, MâMâMr. Brighthallâ¦â
Manic glee dashed across Brendanâs handsome face. Her voice! Her tone! It was 90% close to Ophelia âs! No, scratch that. They sounded exactly the same!
Deirdreâs blindness was the biggest advantage he could ever have asked for. It would have been almos t impossible to look for a doppelganger who bore an uncanny resemblance to both Opheliaâs face and v oice. But since he only needed one over the other, the search for an impostor had become so much easier.
âHave you read the documents Sawyer gave you?â
âYâYes.â
âDo you know what your job is?â Brendan followed up in his most professional tone.
The middleâ
aged woman looked visibly relieved. âI am to portray a young womanâs late mother and talk to her in cha He nodded in satisfaction. There were more things to being a perfect impostor than sounding like the ori Despite the middleâaged womanâs palpable apprehension, she gave him a firm nod of determination.
Brendan watched her leave and felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. He felt his highâ
strung nerves finally relax. If he could solve the Ophelia issue once and for all, Deirdre would fall in line He loosened his tie, rose, and grabbed his coat. He did not want to stay in his office any longer.
Brendan stopped his car at the entrance overlooking the mansionâs front yard. There, Deirdre was crouc It was a very windy day. Brendan put his coat over her head before asking, sounding a little annoyed, âWhy the hell are you outside in this weather?â