"You’re the reason I still have it around. Was it not the only words you hear when i talk to you, I wouldn’t be using it all."
Kelsie resisted the urge to scoff and hummed slightly.
"Don’t you have a bunch of surgeries tomorrow? I’m not any of your assistants. So why are you on the line with me instead of them?"
Jade Callahan’s voice came up sounding bothered almost immediately.
"My assistant got into a car accident a week ago and was hospitalized. I came with another resident whom I’m not very close with."
Using her free hand, Kelsie placed the portrait on her thigh and wiped off the dust with her fingers before placing it on her desk without a word.
Thirty seconds went by without her saying anything that Jade had to speak up again.
"I know you’ve not hung up yet. Why aren’t you saying anything?"
Kelsie pressed her lips into a thin line.
"If you’re not familiar with them, stop calling me and call them instead. They should know about the surgeries they would be assisting you with tomorrow..."
Jade scoffed, "I’ve not seen you or my chipmunks in over a year. I don’t want to be surrounded with those hypocritical greedy old hospital directors."
"So spend your day with me if you have nothing planned for tomorrow." Then take me to your house afterwards so I can see those cute midgets."
Kelsie agreed disinterestedly, "I’ll think about it."
Jade flared up on her end at the dissmive tone from her.
"You’ll think about it? This little... how can you still be so rude? I would’ve wacked you on the head were you in front of me!"
Kelsie was quiet for a while before she mocked, "Did you grow taller? You can’t whack a 175cm lady on the head when you’re just 160cm."
"Watch and see how I’ll do it tomorrow."
"I didn’t say I was coming."
"What? What did you say? Goodness, the network is suddenly horrible. It’s affecting you too, isn’t if? Tell me what you just said when we meet at Summit Health Center by 10am tomorrow. Bye now."
The line went dead almost immediately and a subtle smile creased Kelsie’s face.
She put down the phone and leaned towards the box again. She emptied everything inside onto the table then began going over them one by one.
They were mostly pictures of her as a child and a few more portraits of her with her mother.
After reminiscing about the past for half an hour, she picked up a hand towel and began wiping the frames clean.
But on one of the frames, her fingers felt something hard at the back and she turned it over to take a closer look.
There was nothing protruding from it, but the more she felt it with her fingers, the more convinced she was there was something behind it.
She set down the hand towel and tore open the back of the portrait to see a flash drive.
It was disguised as an incredibly little pinky finger.
She drew her laptop closer and inserted it into it, but after searching it, she only found a video of less than a minute on it.
She connected her earbuds to the laptop and started the video.
The video started with Lois Fletcher setting the camera properly before she leaned back and smiled at it.
"Kelsie, if you’re watching this, then I am long dead. If you’re watching this as the overweight daughter of the Sutton family who can’t stand up for herself, then make sure to trash this video and never think of it again."
"But if you’re not, I want you to know I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. Forgive me for dying so early, it was a necessary I had to make to ensure nothing happened to you."
"Your father must’ve found ways to take the shares I left under your name, but don’t you worry, I left some other shares with a man on the board."
"He will always have your back and will give you the shares when you ask for it. He goes by the name Clinton Smith."
Kelsie leaned forward and paused the video when she heard the door creaking behind her.
She took out one of the earbuds and glanced behind her to see Zade walking up to her yawning and rubbing both eyes sleepily.
"Mommy, are you back?" He murmured sleepily, barely able to open his eyes as he sauntered towards her.
"Yes, baby. Did you have a bad dream?" He nodded and stopped beside her.
She reached down and scooped him into her arms, then gently stroking his hair until he fell asleep again.
Once he did, she started the video again.
"He’s a good friend of mine. So go to him if you ever face a situation you can’t get out of. He has some friends in high places who can be of help to you."
Suddenly, Lois Fletcher looked away from the camera when someone knocked and came into her office.
"Professor, there’s someone here looking for you. May I let them in?"
Lois Fletcher nodded and turned off the camera, ending the video.
Kelsie’s eyes dimmed slightly.
Her mother was a professor?
And that voice... why did it sound so familiar?
Her eyes subconsciously darted to her phone.
It sounded a lot like Jade Callahan’s. But how? She never saw her around the house back then and her mother never said anything about being a professor.
In fact, had her aunt not introduced her to Jade six years ago, she never would’ve known someone like her existed.
Kelsie lowered her eyes to Zade and held him properly before walking to the bed to lay him.
Then she walked back to the portraits on the desk and began tearing their backs one after the other, but found no other flash drives.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Serbian Howard walked into the apartment building to speak to the receptionist.
"Hi, I’m looking for someone. I believe her name is Kelsie Sutton. Is it possible to inform her there’s someone waiting for her in the lobby?"
Jett Adler, who had just walked past him, paused and glanced at him, his eyes narrowing slightly.