JANE'S POV
"Lola!,"l called out for the umpteenth time, standing outside the toilet cubicle.
I could hear Lola quietly sobbing inside. My hand softly knocked on the door again.
"Lola, please open up. Talk to me," l pleaded again feeling my heart breaking for her.
It's been an hour since she locked herself in the toilet. I fully understood what she was feeling. I had experienced the same pain when l discovered that the man l thought to be my father for all my life was not and to add more pain to my misery, l discovered he was also a murderer and a fraud.
"You don't get it , Jane! You can't imagine the pain l am feeling right now," she cried from inside in a frustrated voice.
I sighed and leaned my head against the door.
" l also felt the same pain when l discovered that Luis was my real father and that the man l thought to be my dad was Ferracco's father and the same man who killed his mother."
" l don't get why my parents kept this from me,"she cried out still sobbing.
"They were protecting you from a bitter truth," l replied absentmindedly as l remembered Ferracco echoing the same words when l asked him the reason why he betrayed me.
Lola let out a mocking laughter and banged her hand at something l assumed to be the wall.
"That's all excuses!"
"Lola, do you regret the years you spent calling Uncle Roberto father," l asked her.
The door suddenly opened nearly knocking me down. She stared at me with horror written on her face.
"How can you say that, Jane. You knew how much l loved and adored him. I will never trade the years l spent with him for anything."
I smiled sadly and laid a hand on her shoulders.
"l know," l told her.
"Then why the hell were you asking?," she asked me with a deep frown on her tear-stained face.
"Just my ploy to get you out of the toilet."
Lola smiled and playfully punched my arm. I felt relived seeing her smile again.
"This news changes nothing, Lola. Uncle Roberto will always remain your true father. Just think of Augusto as a sperm donor," l said, earning a laugh from her.
"I can't believe Ferracco is my brother."
The smile on my face widened as l realised many similarities between them. They both had strong wills and they were very stubborn when it came to getting their ways.
"No wonder you are both strong-headed," l chuckled.
"I guess that's why we instantly clicked the moment we met,"Lola responded and we both broke into loud peals of laughter.
Her smile faded to be replaced by a surprised look. She pointed at me.
"So that makes you my..."
"sister-inlaw," l finished for her with a fond smile on my face.
"I guess we were destined to be real sisters afterall."
We hugged each other laughing and crying at the same time. I realised in that moment that some bad times in life were meant to lead us to good times like this.
Afterwards, Lola and l went back to Ferracco's room. When we got there , he was already conscious and sitting up on his bed. Amira, Luis and Bianca were also there with him. I could tell by the stunned look on his face as he stared at Lola that he now knew their relation.
The two siblings stared at each other for a moment then a smile lit Ferracco's face and he held out his arms for Lola. Lola's lower lip quivered and she rushed into Ferracco's arms sobbing.
"I have always wanted a big brother but l never imagined it could be you," Lola chuckled still crying.
Amira and l cried as we stared at the two siblings uniting. Two days later, Ferracco underwent the operation with Lola as the donor. We were relived when the doctor told us that the operation was successful and that they had managed to remove all the tumour.
****
FERRACCO'S POV
The car was racing down towards a cliff at an insane speed. I tried the brakes but they didn't seem to function and panic seized me. I could see the cliff looming ahead of me and l was heading towards it. I could see myself heading towards my death and there was nothing l could do about it.
I tried to remove the seat belt so that l could break out through the glass window but the seat belt seemed stuck. I looked up and to my horror my car was jumping into the cliff. There was a loud crash as the car landed on the bottom of the cliff. My hands shielded my face as glass splinters flew everywhere. Jane's beautiful smiling face crossed my eyes before darkness consumed me. I woke up breathing heavily and sweating profusely.
"Jane!," l whispered as l looked around my surroundings.
I felt small delicate hands stroking my face and my head snapped aside to see Jane's smiling face. I drew in a deep shuddering breath as relieve and joy rushed into my heart to the point of bursting. Sitting up , l immediately enveloped her into a bone-crushing hug. My head settled into the crook of her shoulders and l breathed in the scent of her hair.
Jane hugged me back, gently stroking my back.
"It was only a nightmare , Ferracco," she whispered to me.
I closed my eyes as the events of that horrible night flashed before my eyes like a movie trailer. I felt hot tears prickling my eyelids but l blinked them back.
" l was so scared that night. I thought that l was going to lose you and our daughter forever."
She unwrapped her arms from me and held my face between her palms. Her dark eyes were shining with unshed tears. My condition must have frightened her so much.
"l am sorry, Jane for scaring you."
"You don't know how scared l was, Ferracco. I thought that l was going to lose you. Promise me that you won't put your life at risk by driving at such a late hour. I don't care even if it's an urgent business meeting," she said in a firm voice.
My mind took me back to the night of the accident when l failed to use the brakes. I knew that someone had set me up and l was determined to find that bloody bastard at any costs. The wretched man had almost made me lose the family l had yearned for years. I flipped open the blankets and attempted to put my feet on the floor. I had to get that man as soon as possible.
Jane held me back with a stunned look on her face.
"Ferracco, are you crazy? Where do you think you are going? You can barely walk on your own,"she protested in a screeching voice.
I drew in a deep breath as l tried to calm down my anger
"Jane, l need to find out who is behind my accident?," l said through gritted teeth.
"The police are already on the case," she argued.
"Jane, l need to help them."
She glared at me and pushed me back on the bed.
"You are not going anywhere. Let the police do their job."
I laid back in blankets as my mind worked at a furious pace. I recalled Reid, my head of security calling me that night to tell me that a murder had taken place in one of my hotels in Rio.
"Jane, did a murder occur in one of the hotels on the night of my accident?," l asked her.
"What murder, Ferracco? There was no murder," she replied with a confused frown.
My hand clawed back my hair as realisation hit me. I had been set up and the worst thing was, one of my trusted employee was involved. I gritted my teeth in anger. Damn Reid! Jane laid a hand on my arm looking worried.
"Are you okay?"
"Where is Reid?"
"He resigned three days ago when you were still unconscious. I heard he left the country."
I punched the pillow beside me seething with rage.
"Ferracco, tell me what's wrong. You are scaring me."
I relaxed my face and glanced at her but before l could tell her, a knock sounded on the door. Two policemen walked in.
"Mr Morretti, we have got some news about your accident,"one of the policemen stated.
"Go ahead."
"The brakes of the car were tempered with."
"l am already aware of that," l replied in an impatient voice.
"We also got an anonymous call this morning. There was an informant who told us that Martin Paula was the one who set up the accident . We are still looking into that to see if the information is correct."
My hands curled into fists at my side. There was no need of an investigation in this case. There was no doubt that Martin Paula , that damn bastard had tried to kill me.