THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS

From the way the children were staring at the building, he sensed they must have linked it to Shawn.

"Uncle Jason," Eleanor called out meekly.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Do you know who the owner of this huge building is?"

"Eleanor!" Elvis warned in a loud whisper. He placed his small finger over his mouth with a disapproving look.

But how could Jason not know that the children were dying to know more about their father.

The fact that he was never mentioned in the house doesn’t mean that they were ok with it.

He was heartbroken at their guardedness and the effort they were putting in to keep their desires in check. It was obvious they wanted to know more about their father but were afraid of offending the adults.

His lips turned up in a wistful smile. "Why did you ask, sweetheart?"

After his brother’s warning, Eleanor wasn’t so sure about asking again, but her curiosity still got the better of her in the end.

"The name of the company is the same name as the person mom told us is our dad, so we’ve been wondering if the owner...," Eleanor trailed off, not sure if she should say it out loud but she was sure her uncle had gotten her point by now.

"You want to know if the owner of the company is your dad?"

"Mmm," she nodded eagerly. "But mummy will be upset if she finds out that we asked. "

"I want you both to be patient with your mom. At the right time, she will make everything clear to you."

Eleanor’s heart fell. It was clear their uncle doesn’t want to talk about it with them too.

"When will that be, uncle? It’s been so long yet she only managed to tell us the name of that man." At this point Elvis no longer remained passive. He was only a five-year old afterall, so you wouldn’t blame him for being curious.

"Is he a bad guy and mom is protecting us from him?" Eleanor asked the same question she had asked their mom some weeks back.

As far as she was concerned that was the only reason she felt would make their mother not want them to identify with their father.

Jason pondered on Eleanor’s question. ’Was President Hudson a bad person?’

Although he had no great feelings about President Hudson, maybe because of his poor ability to handle the situation in the past and ended up hurting his sister, he wouldn’t use the adjective "bad" when describing him.

To be fair he actually saw him as an outstanding young man who deserved the success he has today. He could even be considered as a good role model especially in the business world. Also he has not heard that he was involved in anything shady or dark aside from his ruthlessness in business.

Even with that, it was quite expected as no one will be able to go that far without a degree of ruthlessness in their nature.

As much as he would have loved to tell the children that he was a bad person, so that they would give up on him he couldn’t do that.

He wasn’t one to twist the truth for personal aggrandizement.

"Uncle?" Eleanor’s voice peered into his thoughts.

"He is not a bad person. It’s just that he and your mom have a bad misunderstanding that made it impossible for them to be together."

’At least for now,’ but he didn’t add that last part. He didn’t want to give the children any false hope. Everything depended on the two key players’ ability to sort themselves out.

The children both breathed in relief. At least the person who is their father has a clean record.

Their mother had also told them that he wasn’t a bad person, but they had felt she didn’t want them to be burdened by the knowledge that he was not a good person.

But with Jason’s answer, another puzzle popped up in Eleanor’s head. ’Why then are they not living together? There was only one possible reason for that which she revealed in her next question.

"Does he hate Mom?"

As far as Jason knew Shawn doesn’t hate his sister. The Shawn he knows is even willing to lay down his life for his sister.

The hatred is not with Shawn but rather their mother. But there was no way he was going to tell them that. The children’s view about their mother is not far from perfection.

They hold their mother in such high esteem that they don’t believe she could offend anyone or refuse to forgive those that offended her.

Jason let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn’t know taking you guys to school would be more draining than standing in a witness box in court."

Elvis’ lips thinned. "Are you saying that to avoid telling us that that man hates our mother?"

Jason was speechless. ’What sort of problem has he gotten himself into today?’

He somehow regretted agreeing to their mother’s request last night. He could vividly imagine how the rest of the day was going to be, and couldn’t help but feel that a huge weight had been placed on his shoulder.

But he felt a great relief when he remembered that they would be busy with various activities in school and that Cheryl was the person who would be with him most of the time.

He darted a quick glance at the young man who was saying things way beyond his little age.

"Hey, young man, I’m not avoiding anything. And as for your father hating your mom, I wouldn’t say he does, but there are some things that only your mom has the right to disclose to you."

"Can we just focus on getting you guys to school?"

From Uncle Jason’s comment, Elvis sensed that a curtain had been drawn over the rest of the conversation, at least for today. He relaxed his back against the car seat as they continued the journey to their school which was almost in sight.