Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Emily stood before Ryan, her heart beating fast as he stared at her for a while without saying a word.

She'd been busy having lunch with Dan at the cafeteria when Dr Loma and Ryan's man approached her, and the moment she saw the apologetic look on Dr Loma's face she'd known the reason they were there.

"Is everything okay?" Dan had whispered to her when he saw staring at her.

"Yeah. I need to go with them," she'd said before rising to follow them.

She'd followed them without letting them say a word to her, since she didn't want them to say anything that might give her away to the others in the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry," Dr Loma whispered when they got to the hallway.

"It's fine. Just don't let the others know what's going on," Emily said before following the man into the room, while Dr Loma went her way.

Standing before Ryan now, she wondered what he wanted to say to her.

"Sit down," Ryan said gently, gesturing to the seat by his bedside.

Emily glanced at the man standing behind her before she sat down.

"Relax," Ryan said to her before looking at his man. "Mack, wait outside."

The man gave him a nod and stepped out of the room, leaving Emily alone with Ryan.

"You know who I am, don't you?" He asked, and Emily nodded, seeing no reason to deny it.

"Does Callan know too?" He asked, and she was silent for a moment as she contemplated how to answer the question.

It would be unwise to say Callan knew he was his father, since that would raise the question of how they knew about it, and he'd know they'd hacked his phone.

"I doubt there's a business person who doesn't know you," she said with a stiff smile, looking physically calm even though her insides were quivering.

"You're not a business person, and I doubt you were standing outside my window because of your interest in me as a business person. What do you know about me?" He asked, and before she could speak he added, "the truth, please."

"The Hanks are my family friends, and I know about your relationship with Dawn. That's what I know about you," she said, since she knew that by now he knew that Abigail already found out the truth since he'd figured out Jamal's connection with the Hanks.

Ryan nodded slowly. "I take it you informed them about my condition?"

"The ethics of my profession does not allow me to do that," she lied without batting an eye.

Ryan snorted, making it obvious he didn't believe her. "You're close to Jamal Jonas and Pete… is his name even Pete?" Ryan asked curiously.

"It's not my place to answer that. I've answered the questions I can. Although I'm curious. Why do you want to see Callan? Is it a business matter or something personal?" She asked, since she knew it would be suspicious if she didn't ask that.

Ryan stared at her for a moment. "It's a personal matter. Is he really in Ludus? Or are you lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you when I know nothing about the reason you're here to see him?" Emily asked as calmly as she could. "He left in the early hours of yesterday morning. He should have arrived by now."

Ryan nodded slowly. "What's your relationship with him?"

Emily hesitated. "Our moms are sisters."

"So, he's your cousin?" Ryan asked, wondering why she didn't just say so.

"Not exactly. We're not related by blood. His mom is his adoptive mom, and mine is my stepmom," she explained and his lips twitched with a knowing smile.

"You have feelings for him," he said, not asking but stating a fact.

Emily shrugged, not bothering to deny it. "Unfortunately so."

"Why is it unfortunate?" Ryan asked, curious to know whatever he could about Callan.

"He doesn't have common sense," Emily muttered under her breath, and to her surprise Ryan chuckled.

She stared at him. She didn't expect someone like Ryan Harris to have a sense of humor or that she'd be this relaxed talking to him this way.

As a matter of fact this wasn't the sort of conversation she'd imagined having with him, yet here she was talking with him comfortably.

Ryan smiled as she gawked at him. He knew without a doubt that whatever she felt for Callan was mutual, since he'd recognized the look on Callan's face when he talked about her in the video clip.

"Can you tell me about Callan?" Ryan asked, deciding to worry about Abigail and everything else that was wrong with his life later.

None of it mattered to him as much as Callan did, anyway. Not the company, not the house, nothing.

The doctor had told him how bad his heart was now, and it had been a surprise that he survived the heart attack. He'd die sooner or later and what he wanted most was to know Callan.

Emily eyed wearily. "Why do you want to know about Callan? The answer to that would determine how I respond to your question."

Ryan nodded slowly, seeing sense in what she said. "I used to be friends with his biological parents," Ryan lied, not wanting to say anything to her until he spoke directly with Callan.

Emily raised a brow. "His biological parents? You knew them?"

"Yes, I did."

She knew he was lying but she decided to play along. "Wow! That's shocking. The world must be smaller than we think."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. I guess. So?" He asked, reminding her that she was yet to tell him what he wanted to know.

"Like me, he knows about you and your relationship with the Hanks. I hope you're not here to cause any problems for Callan."

Ryan's heart broke at the confirmation that Callan must have been told lots of awful things about him and he might not have the chance to correct Callan's wrong impression of him.

He shook his head. "I won't cause any problems for him. If I find out that getting involved with him would cause problems for him, I will keep my distance," he promised.

Emily held his gaze for a moment and when she was convinced that he meant what he said, she nodded. "There's not much to tell…"

"You can just tell me the things you love about him, and those things that infuriate you. Tell me about the first time you met him. What was your first impression of him?" Ryan asked,

Emily smiled as she told him what she could about Callan. She didn't bother telling him about the first time she'd met him at the orphanage home. She focused on telling him how smart and intelligent Callan was, and how loved he was by his parents and everyone else that knew him.

Ryan chuckled when she wrinkled her nose as she mentioned how he was a ladies man. "Does he know how you feel about him?"

"He'd rather not know. Anyway, that's all there is to say about him. So, what's your plan? Are you going to be transferred back to Westend?" Emily asked curiously.

"I've not made up my mind yet. I'm not sure there's anything to go back to in Westend. And I don't plan on going back until I see Callan. Could you call him so I confirm you're not lying to me?" Ryan asked, and Emily hesitated.

"I'm not going to let you speak to him," she said as she took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Callan's number.

She frowned when the call didn't connect. "It seems his phone is switched off," she said as she dialed his father's line instead.

"Uncle Hunter, has Callan arrived yet? I'm unable to reach him," Emily said, moving away from the bed so Ryan wouldn't hear the conversation.

Ryan's gaze followed her.

"He arrived safely. We talked to him about his biological family. He's been in his room since then."

Emily's heart skipped a beat. "How's he? How did he take the news? You didn't leave him alone, did you?"

"His Mom is with him. He's sleeping," Hunter said to Emily's relief.

"How did he take the news?" She asked again.

"He didn't take it well. Your Dad told me about the plan to have Ryan Harris transfered to Ludus. Are you coming too? It'd be nice to have you here with Callan. I know you both don't always get along, but Callan would need you here," Hunter said and Emily drew a deep breath.

"Yes. I will come along," she promised before hanging up.

"Is everything alright?" Ryan asked as she returned to join him.

Emily nodded. "I just spoke with his Dad. He's in Ludus, but he's sleeping. Jet lag. If you want to go to Ludus, I could accompany you. And you could be transferred to my Dad's hospital," she offered.

Ryan sighed deeply. "Could you help me find out if Abigail and Genevieve are there in Ludus? I'd like to see them. Maybe talk to them if they'd agree to see me, and explain things to them," Ryan said, and Emily frowned, wondering why he seemed so contradictory.

"Let's be clear on one thing, Mr Harris, I'm only being cordial with you because you're a patient here and because you told me about your connection to Callan. I do not talk to you about Abigail or Jamal or the Hanks. When you make up your mind on whether or not you're going to Ludus, let me know," she said politely, and headed for the door without waiting for a response.

"If Callan is in Ludus, then that's where I'm going," Ryan said before she could leave, and she turned to him and gave him a nod before walking out of the room.