Chapter 7

In the next three days, Jack was working from his home office and taking care of his son. Marry was of great help, she was teaching him everything that she knew about babies. Marry had experience and was in his earliest childhood memories. She also cooked his favorite meals even though he objected, he didn't want her to exhaust herself.

Robert came by again, bringing him everything that his PI managed to find. Hiram used to be an FBI agent, but he kept in touch with his old colleagues since he started his private practice hence had no trouble finding everything that concerned Margaret Colt and Jennifer Lewis. It turned out that was the real name of the girl he married. Jennifer had a few aliases, and Margaret's name was one of many that she used in her not that long life.

Jack gave his instructions to Robert about everything that he needed him to prepare for tomorrow morning and after Robert left, Jack took the file his friend brought with him and went into his office to look through everything thoroughly.

In 2006 John Lewis was an accomplice in a robbery of the bank he used to work in, but according to the police, he was blackmailed by the robbers. He wasn't a voluntary accomplice. When police arrested the robbers, John stepped up and offered to be a witness in a court and that in return, the government protects his wife and only daughter. And that's what happened. Lewis's got into the witness protection program, and after the trial, they were relocated from Portland to Charleston, North Carolina, where they were assimilated into the community. They got new names and new identities.

But what they didn't know is that the robbers that got arrested were just a part of the criminal organization that suspected John took their money and fled, and they organized a hunt on the Lewis family. Three years later, the family was relocated again, but this time, their teenage daughter ran off. Police lost track of her, and it was suspected that she was a victim of the criminal organization that hunted her family or some other crime of opportunity. Her parents were killed a year ago, and until a few days ago, the police had no information about Jennifer.

However, it was clear now what she was doing all along. She was stealing identities, so she could move around the country easier. It was also suspected that she was involved in some frauds and small robberies, but there was no proof for any of those.

It also wasn't clear who killed her and why and the police faced the dead end in their investigation quickly.

His name was not mentioned anywhere, and the realization lifted a weight from his shoulder. Whatever Jennifer or Julia or Natasha was involved with, looks like she made sure to keep one of her identities secret and protect the one she gave life to, her son. Jack could not be more grateful for that.

Now there was only one thing left to do, and that is to settle things with the real Margaret Colt.

Her file was thorough too. Form her grades in high school to her classes in college, the names of all her friends, bank records, hospital bills, doctor's reports on her mother's progress, recommendations, and so on. It was easy to conclude that she drop off the college when her mother got sick to take care of her, she was working multiple jobs throughout those two years, and her current ones were simple waiting jobs at the local restaurants and clubs.

Ok, she was selfless, Jack had to admit. Not many girls of her age would give up their lives like that to take care of a sick parent. That was a sad fact, but also a true one. Rebecca was a lucky woman to have a daughter like that.

That gave Jack an idea. He will offer her to pay her off in a way, to settle all the hospital bills and both mortgages, and in return, he will ask that she simply signs two documents. That should work. Money always works. If not for her, she won't be able to refuse it for her mother.

With that thought in mind, Jack contacted his pilot and made arrangements for a flight for tomorrow morning. He also called his office to give further instructions to his PA. His company is producing and selling aircraft parts. He had no idea about the mechanics and science behind the creations, but he knew how to run a company, manage people, and sign the best deals he could. Since he took over the business almost ten years ago, when the company was facing bankruptcy, he managed to do what others thought was impossible. He roused this company from ashes and made a giant from it. Today, he was proud to say that he was the owner of the most successful company in the field, not only in the US. His influence is recognized internationally. 

Through it all, Jack managed to keep a low profile. He was rarely a center of attention, never interviewed by the reporters, never appeared on TV. He was well-known in the business world, but common folks knew next to nothing about him. He kept his life private, just the way he liked it. And this potential threat made him anxious. He had to regain his peace soon.

~ ~ ~

Sunday early morning found Jack on the small private airport just outside of Chicago where his two smaller airplanes and one jet were parked. He used one of the smaller ones whenever he had to travel somewhere within the States and the jet when he was going somewhere outside the country.

"Good morning, sir. Everything is in order. We can leave whenever you say." Harris, his pilot, greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Jenkins. Let's go."

After almost three hours of flight, Jack's plane landed at one of Charleston's private airports where the car he rented on-line waited for him. He gave two days off to his pilot and paid him accordingly for that time.

A ride to the hotel was brief, there was no traffic jam on the streets. After he checked in, he hurried to the restaurant where he already knew Margaret worked. It was a time almost time for lunch, after all, he could use some food in his system. For the past week, Jack wasn't paying attention to his diet and if it wasn't for Marry, he would probably starve.

As soon as he took a seat at one of the tables, Jack noticed her. She was walking around, doing her job with a smile on her face, even though it was more than obvious that her face was tired, so tired. Somehow, how she felt didn't affect what she was doing. If it was him on Margaret's place, he would probably break someone's nose out of nervousness, because that's how he acted when he was tired. He would get aggressive.

By some chance, Jack's table wasn't in her sector and the waitress that served him was just a little too upfront with flirting. Jack ignored her, hating those kinds of girls who threw themselves at random people.

Throughout his meal he kept watching her, not missing any detail about Margaret. Her every smile and blink, each time she moved a strand of hair from her forehead or touched her lower back, caused a new kind of plan to form in his head, the one that quickly overtook his mind and senses and made him forget about his previous one.