My Undercover Life | ✓

Chapter 43

"I-I, um—"

"Excuse me, Sir. My daughter here," Al stepped in, as I heard the smile in his tone. His hand gently squeezed my shoulder, letting me know he was here for me. Even though I barely knew Al, his strong protective demeanor, instantly calmed me down. "As, you can see, she's quite shock to be discovered so quickly. Avery is her real name, and Lily is just her stage name," he quickly made up. "To be honest, we were hoping to start fresh in this town."

He tilted his head, his hands wobbling on his cane. "A stage name?"

Al smiled. "My daughter is quite the star, you see. She's the lead actress on this webtoon show she started and her stage name is Lily."

"Oh! I didn't know such a famous actress lived in my neighborhood. Annemarie will be stoked about this!" the old man announced happily. "Do you perhaps know a guy named Bradlee?" My ears perked up hearing Bradlee's name, as my pulse skyrocketed in my chest. Scratching at the back of my hand, I tried not to make it too obvious I was nervous as hell. 

"Um, yes. He's my co-star," I told him when I found my voice. "I didn't know Annemarie was a fan of mine."

"She is! My daughter has a ton of pictures of her favorites entertainers in her bedroom. I'm guessing they're all from your little webtone."

I couldn't help but cover a grin when I realized he pronounced webtoon as webtone. "Probably. May I see this collection of hers?" I asked, as I heard the quiet gasp from Al. "If she's such a fan of mine, I'll love to sign the picture she has of me."

His brown eyes widened. "Really? You'll do that?"

"Of course!" I chirped happily. "Anything for a friend of mine. I'm surprised she didn't say anything to me sooner."

"Anne's pretty shy like that." He chuckled. Opening the door wide enough for us, he welcomed us. "Come in, her room's this way."

Al went in first, making sure everything was safe, before he grabbed my wrist, bringing my body close to his. Clutching the side of his coat, I walked forward, making sure I let the video camera I'd attached to my breast's pocket see everything. Every evidence I could get on this girl, the better.

Making our way up to the staircase they'd in their entrance way, Annemarie's father stopped at the bottom of the staircase and looked at us.

"Her room is on the second floor. Just go right on up, and I'll meet you there," he said. "I'm going to take the elevator up since these old legs of mine don't function like they used to be."

"Okay, Sir."

He smiled kindly at us. "Please call me, Jim."

"Okay, Jim." I smiled back at him.

He lowered his head at us, saying his goodbyes, as he made his way slowly to the elevator. When he was out of earshot, Al turned to me.

"Come on, Avery. Let's hurry before he gets up there. I want to scope out the place before we go into her room."

"Sure thing." As we ran up the two flights of stairs, we saw pictures of Annemarie with her father and mother. While Annemarie's father looked to be in his sixties, her mother didn't look a day over forty. By the pictures alone, I could tell Jim wasn't Annemarie's biological father. There were no baby pictures of Annemarie, and there were hardly any pictures of her growing up. Seeing the last picture, I knew for a fact, Jim was her second father. Annemarie stood smiling next to her mother and father on the day of their wedding. She looked to be around ten years old with her round cheeks, and her black hair tied up in a ponytail.