CHAPTER FORTY SIX

Lia had been home for a good amount of time now, and still, there wasn't a trace of Leo.
Her guilt plus Cynthia's nagging was eating her up inside.
Lia had called Leo several times at different hours but he never picked up the calls.
Her phone was by her side always, just in case Leo would want to return her calls.
The phone suddenly rang catching Lia and Cynthia's attention. But to their disappointment, it wasn't Leo calling but Mary.
Lia picked up the phone and accepted the call.
"Lia" Mary said.
"Hmm"
"What happened to you earlier?" Mary asked.
"What do you mean?"
"When we met again after our little gathering, you were acting strange"
"No, I came straight home after that, maybe it was someone else you saw," Lia said.
"Hmm, Maybe you are right. Anyway, that isn't the main reason I called"
"What's up?"
"Something terrible happened," Mary said.
"What did?"
"It's Josiah's father, he was shot dead"
"What? That's horrible. How is Josiah doing"
"He isn't holding up too well, I think I will have to stay in the hospital with him for the rest of the night," Mary said.
Lia heard a car pulling up in the driveway and went to check if it was Leo's car. He had finally arrived.
"Please send my condolences to Josiah, I have to go now. Something just came up"
"Ohk," Mabel said and Lia cut the call.
She wanted to make sure that she was there when Leo enters the house so that she can apologize to him.
She went to the door where Cynthia was already waiting.
Lia opened the door and both she and Cynthia were taken back by what they saw.
Lia saw herself, no she saw someone who looked exactly like her, while Cynthia stared between the two girls with her mouth hanging open.
Liana tilted her head to the side and stared at Lia.
"Big sister?" Liana said.
"What's going on?" Cynthia finally choked out and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Leo appeared behind Liana, but he walked straight past the three women and went straight to the kitchen.
He poured himself a glass of water and chugged everything down in one go.
The three women still stood where they were looking between themselves.
Right now the situation was confusing for everyone.
Cynthia believed that the real Lia was dead and Leo's wife was just a coincidental replica. Her seeing two of them now was a big blow to her.
Leo believed that Lia was still alive and he had married her, but seeing another one who claimed that she was also Lia made him question himself.
And as for Lia ( Leo's wife ), she was completely clueless and she knew nothing of the past.
(Also, both Liana and Lia bear Ameliana. I just used Lia and Liana to be able to differentiate ).
"Do you know where my brother is?" Liana asked both of them. Neither of them said a word.
Liana shrugged her shoulders and walked into the house almost pushing Lia aside.
Liana sat down on a couch as Leo came back to the living room and sat down on another couch.
Cynthia did the same while Lia closed the door and stood beside Cynthia who was now seated opposite Leo.
"Who is this?" Cynthia asked Leo.
Leo said nothing because he too had no answer to that question.
"Are you referring to me?" Liana asked Cynthia.
Cynthia nodded at Liana.
"Hello, my name is Liana. I am looking for my brother. Have you seen him?" Liana asked.
In the ears of the others, Liana talked as though she was still a child even in the way she spoke.
"What is your brother's name?" Leo asked.
"Brother told me to call him brother. I won't say his name" Liana said.
"Where did you find her, Leo?" Lia asked.
"She was wandering on the street, so I stopped thinking it was you," Leo said.
" Why didn't you leave her where you found her? This is kidnapping" Cynthia said and Leo glared at her.
" She had nowhere else to go" Leo spat out.
Liana suddenly stood up from where she sat and began walking away.
" Where are you going? " Cynthia asked the girl.
" I'm going to find my brother"
" No, you just sit. We will find him" Cynthia said to Liana.
" Okay," Liana said and sat back down.
" Lia come with me," Leo said and they both went into Leo's study.
" What's going on Leo? " Lia asked.
" I don't know, Lia," Leo said frustrated, and ran his fingers through his hair.
" I feel like you guys are not telling me something," Lia said.
" Lia are you sure you don't remember anything thing from before you turned five? " Leo asked for the second time.
" I don't, but what does that have to do with anything? "
" We knew each other when we were younger. We were childhood friends, but then you got into a car accident with your father. Your father died but you survived, but I never saw you again until after that night in the club" Leo said.
" That's impossible, my father is alive. You know that"
" That man isn't your father Lia. He is your uncle. The brother of your mother"
" No, Leo. He is my father and my mother is dead" Lia said.
" She could be dead Lia, no one knows. She went missing years ago"
Lia didn't believe anything Leo said. She strongly believed that Ben was her father and that her mother was dead. Accepting what Leo was saying meant calling her father a fraud.
" Then what about her?" Lia asked referring to Liana.
" She could just be a look-alike," Leo said.
Lia wasn't satisfied with his reply. With the thoughts that ran through Lia's head, she felt like all this while she had just been a substitute for another person.
Lia finally brought herself to ask almost tearing up. Lately, her emotions have been taking control of her, mostly when it came to Leo.
" Leo, have you ever thought maybe, I am not the person you were looking for? That person in the living room could be the one "