Jessica slid on a pair of clean gloves. In front of her, she had three glass cups, some cotton swabs, and three small clear transparent pouches. Inside each pouch were strands of hair—some long, some short, and some grey.
She worked slowly and carefully, just like a professional. She picked up the first glass cup, swabbed it gently to collect anything left behind, and sealed the sample. Then she did the same for the second and third cups. Once done, she turned her attention to the hair strands. Each type was easy to tell apart—Bella’s hair was long and brown, Davis’s was short and dark, and Elliot’s hair was grey and thick.
Jessica had always felt the girl in the picture had an uncanny resemblance to her best friend Bella whom she had met by coincidence and had since shared everything with.
Not having a recollection of her past memory, Jessica had let her bury the past and start a new life. It was funny that on the day of her name she had asked her name to choose a name for herself and she subconsciously said Bella but that was all
And for the past decade, she has been with her but meeting Davis who had mentioned his sister’s name as Bella and with their similarities Jessica had been suspicious.
But then, her worry and suspicion increased with Elliot’s visit. Looking at Davis and Elliot, It was as though they were cut out of the same mold.
Earlier that evening, while they were all having dinner together, Jessica’s sharp eyes caught something strange. It wasn’t something loud or obvious—it was subtle, but she couldn’t ignore it with the rising suspicion.
Even though Bella, Davis, and Elliot were different in age and background, they all seemed to enjoy the same dish. Not just that—they reacted the same way to most things on the menu. It felt unusual.
Jessica had always trusted her instincts. And her instinct tonight told her that this wasn’t just a simple coincidence. Something deeper was going on. The strange similarities in their behavior pushed her suspicion even higher.
So, after the meal, while everyone was distracted with laughter and conversation, Jessica whispered to one of the maids. She told her not to wash the cups. Instead, she wanted them brought straight to her room. The maid obeyed without question. With a plan in mind, she played along with them.
Later, she suggested they all go up to the room set up for fun—karaoke and music. While Bella sang joyfully and Elliot chatted with Davis, Jessica slipped away quietly. She needed this moment to do her little investigation.
As she placed each swab and hair into a labeled pouch, she thought back over the past months, years and week. She had been watching closely. All three of them—Bella, Davis, and Elliot—had so many things in common. Their preferences, their reactions, their gestures. At first, she thought it was simply because they were spending time together. But now, she wasn’t so sure.
The only clear difference she had noticed so far was their opinion on strawberries. Bella loved them—she would eat anything with strawberries. But both Davis and Elliot seemed to dislike them and avoided them completely. That small detail made Jessica even more curious yet was the only thing stopping Jessica from leaping to conclusions
She had series of questions echoing in her mind all through the time the dined "Could they be related? Why the similarities? Why the same taste and preference?" She didn’t want to say it out loud yet. But the thought kept coming back.
There was something strange about how similar Davis and Elliot were. Their preferences, their way of speaking, even the way they smiled sometimes—it all felt too close to be a coincidence.
Jessica hated uncertainty. She didn’t like to guess or make assumptions. That was why she had taken the lead in suggesting they go to the karaoke room—it gave her the perfect opportunity to gather the samples without raising suspicion. Now, with physical evidence in hand, she could finally begin testing and confirm whether her instincts were right.
Jessica carefully placed all the samples inside a box and sealed it. She planned to send them to her lab tonight but with Davis clingy habit she had to wait till morning. She would have delegated Richard with the task but this she needed to handle carefully and discreetly.
Standing by the table, Jessica looked out of the window. The moonlight poured gently into the room. Her face looked calm, but her heart was beating fast.
She knew that truth had power. It could heal—but it could also hurt. Whatever she found from the test, she had to be ready. And she had to prepare Davis for it too.
As she turned off the light and left the room, her thoughts raced with questions and assumptions. "What if Davis was connected to Elliot? What will be the case after the result comes out positive?"
Jessica returned to the karaoke room, her steps light and playful. She had planned to sneak up on Davis, maybe tickle him just to see that rare smile on his face. But as she bent down beside him, her hand froze mid-air.
"Sister..." Davis murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jessica’s heart skipped. Her eyes widened in surprise as she slowly straightened up. For a moment, she thought he was talking to her—but when she followed his gaze, she realized he wasn’t looking at her at all.
His eyes were fixed in the distance, lost in thought. His expression was soft, yet shadowed with a deep longing.
Jessica let out a quiet breath and lowered her hand.
It was Bella, standing on stage, singing. The soft lighting danced across her features, and from where Davis sat, it wasn’t hard to see how he might confuse her with his sister. So that was it? Bella reminded him of his sister.
Jessica’s gaze returned to Davis, there was a vulnerability to him in that moment that tugged at her. He wasn’t just the cold, calculating heir everyone feared in the past. He was a man carrying pain of loosing a loved one... holding onto a memory that refused to fade.
Her curiosity deepened, but so did her resolve.