7. Almost twins

Zach turned white on seeing the picture Cora placed in front of him. For some seconds, he just stares at the face of the girl that looks so much like Samantha they could pass for twins. If not for Cora and her father that were standing behind the girl in the picture, he would have thought Cora somehow stole one of Samantha's pictures so she could play some stupid pranks on him.  

With slightly shaky fingers he picked the photo up and looked at the girl closely. Even with the ridiculously big chef's hat she had on her head, her long blond hair was obvious as it cascaded over her shoulders, and her green eyes that were just like his and Samantha's were sparkling with happiness. 

"Samantha!?" Zach heard his father whisper in question exactly what he was thinking. Indeed, he didn't need a DNA test to confirm to him that the girl in the picture was his daughter. The resemblance between them was so obvious even his father mistook her for the granddaughter that he knew.

And even before Ryan, the man sitting to Zach's left says anything. Zach could  see his eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets with surprise

"But how is this possible? Ryan also whispered to him in wonder "This is too much! They look exactly like identical twins.

Cora couldn't hear clearly what the men were whispering about but merely looking at their faces and the way they were staring intently at the photo, she knew it would be something about the resemblance between Zach and Isabella. She just wished they would hurry it up because time was not on her side. She hoped Zach heard her clearly when she said they have less than thirty minutes

"Zachary, what's going on?..." Derrick, Zach's father, whispered furiously. "Who is this woman? Why was Samantha with them? What gave her the guts to interrupt our meeting like this without restraint?" He asked incessantly.

Zach heard his father but he didn't have an answer for him yet as his attention was totally focused on the girl in the photo he was holding.

Cora became antsy. She paced the small space inside the U-shaped conference room table and felt like tearing her hair off its roots in agitation. The way Zach was fixated on Isabella's photo and not hustling was killing her. She understood the fact that he was shocked but who wouldn't be? She just hoped he would hurry and save her daughter first.

 

"Zach?... Please we have less than thirty minutes!..." She reminded him in desperation. She couldn't just stand and watch him freeze over a picture. 

Zach heard Cora's voice and he immediately woke up from his state of shock. 

'Did she just say thirty minutes!?... Yeah, she said thirty minutes!' He asked and answered himself in alarm. She's my daughter and I have less than thirty minutes to save her life!' 

"Dad, I have to go. I'll come by the house later to explain everything to you." He hurriedly said to his father as he gathered together the files spread out before him on the table. He put the files in his laptop bag before addressing the entire room. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, since all agenda has been covered and all necessary documents signed. Then today's meeting has come to an end. Thank you all" He finished talking, stood up, and hastily walked out of the room, closely followed by Cora and Ryan

"Get the chopper ready and take her along with you. Had to quickly make some calls, I will be with you in a jiffy." Zach said stiffly to Ryan and walked faster ahead of them towards his office with his phone already held to his ear.

It doesn't matter how Zach talked about her to Ryan as if he was referring to some stranger he picked on the street. Cora was happy when she heard him give the command to the man beside him. They would be riding in a helicopter! That was what matters. She wouldn't have to worry about getting stuck in traffic, they would arrive at their destination faster.

 

"Right this way ma'am," Ryan said to Cora, indicating toward the elevator. 

Cora nodded in appreciation, brought out her phone, and started calling Lisa's number.

[Hey...] She said when she heard Lisa's voice from the other end. 

[Cora how did it go?.... Did you see him?] Lisa asked

[Yeah, I found him, we'll be on our way soon... We're taking his helicopter so there's no risk of us getting stuck in the traffic]

[Oh God!] Lisa breathed with relief. [Thank God!]

[Yeah...] Cora replied smiling for the first time since she got the news about Isabella. [What about Isa?... Have you been able to see her? Heard anything from the doctors?]

[No! They were just hurrying in and out of her room... But I'm sure everything will be fine Cora. Now that you found Zach, everything will be okay.]

[Yeah, thanks... Please let the doctor know that we're on our way.] Cora finished talking and ended the call

They were almost at the elevator when it dinged open and five hefty security men came rushing out, hurriedly walking towards them.

"Sir, we got a call from the CEO's office about an intruder..." 

"Everything is settled. You can go about your normal duties." Ryan said with a voice that leaves no room for argument

"Yes sir!" The security men replied and stood aside as Cora and Ryan entered the elevator. 

 

In the elevator. Cora was wondering about the man Zach left her with and the position he held at Silver and Platinum that made the security men instantly obey his command without a second thought. 

"Hey, I'm Ryan by the way.." He introduced himself with his hand stretched towards her as if he knew she was curious about him

"Hi, I'm..."

"Corazon..." He said her name before she could say it herself. Cora cocked her head to one side with her two brows raised, wondering how he knew her name. She didn't want to believe Zach had been talking about her with his staff. 

Ryan saw the curiosity on her face and  started explaining to her who he was

"I and Zach go way back. I'm the best friend cum assistant cum Lawyer rolled into one. That's how I got to know all about you back then... Well not all, obviously" He smiled. "You took us by surprise with the child..." He said before his words trailed off

"Yeah..." Cora said but thought to herself 'Not that I have a choice'

The elevator opened to the building's rooftop and they stepped out, walking towards where the helicopter was parked. 

"What's her name? Your daughter I mean...."

"Isabella..." 

Ryan nodded with a smile... "Do you have another photo of her that I could   see if you don't mind?"

"Yeah, sure," Cora said and brought out her phone. She opened the photo gallery and showed him another photo of Isabella. In this one, she was posing alone on the soccer field, her hands on her waist and one leg placed on the football

"Wao... This is incredible. The similarities between them are unbelievable" 

Cora couldn't stop herself from snorting in indignation "Yeah so they look alike! Pfft... What's the big deal in that? It's biology, it happens all the time you know" She replied with irritation. She's seriously not in the mood to make small talk, especially not with Zach's lawyer.

 

Life has dealt with her unfairly. She got knocked up, got dumped for another woman, and the baby came out and looked nothing like her to the extent that people doubted whenever she was introduced as  Isabella's mother. Now she found herself at his mercy. No! She didn't want to make small talk. She just wanted her daughter to get better, park their stuff, and go back to where they came from

Ryan smiled in understanding. Even though he didn't understand the reason for her outburst, he wasn't bothered by her attitude at all. Since he didn't expect her to start laughing with him while her child lay in the hospital.

"Yeah you're right, no big deal in that for sure but what about this..." He brought out his phone and showed her a photo of himself and Zach with  Samantha standing between them

'What?... Isabella?... No, it couldn't be! Isabella has never had any contact with Zach... Then who is the girl!? She's around the same age as her daughter, as if she was her twin' She thought, too shocked to open her mouth and ask

"I see you're shocked too... That's Samantha. Isabella's sister. I'm sure both of the girls would be glad to meet each other and spend time together." Ryan said. He wanted to give her a heads up about what to expect in the future. 

Cora froze for some seconds before putting a false smile on her face. "Yeah I'm sure but what a shame that we won't be staying. As soon as this is over we're going back to Spain"

"Oh... That would be a shame indeed..." He smiled regrettably. Zach would want both his daughters together. She had no idea who she was going to be dealing with 

"Uhm do you mind if I copy this to my phone, please?" 

"Yeah sure..." They can have all the photos they want, but never her daughter.

"Thank you..." Ryan said "Uhmm..." He hesitated for some seconds before saying what was on his mind" Things are not always what they seemed to be Cora"

"Uhh?... What do you mean?" Cora replied curiously 

"Zach is here" He just said and smiled not explaining any further