Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

Kam's POV

"What do you mean you are Chase's twin?!"

"Please give me a chance to explain. And, believe me when I say I am totally grateful that my twin is dead."

Again, Cris and I looked at each other puzzled. This we need to hear. But, not now.

"Sir, should we haul this gentleman to jail for assault?" The police officer asked Carter.

"No. I understand why he did it. And, I don't blame him at all. I blame my now deceased brother."

The police took the handcuffs off Cris, then they left the scene. Cris helped Carter off the ground.

"I will tell you everything that my brother did to me. He was a very, sick vile individual. Excuse me, but did you go to Green Meadows University in San Francisco?" Carter says to Cris.

"Yes, I did," Cris answered.

"Well, let's just say that the first two years you and I were friends, not you and Chase. There is so much to tell that it would be best for us to sit down and talk somewhere."

Cris replied, "You're right. We do need to sit down for this, but not today. Where are you staying?"

"At the Soft Seaside Resort and Spas here in Miami, located at the waterfront."

"Okay. There is a restaurant there called The Beach Grove. Our kids are back to school, so we will have to meet you around 1:00 pm?"

"That would be fine. I'll see you tomorrow then." Carter then walked away.

Cris and I went back across the street with my dad and the kids. Wait until he hears this.

"Uh, dad you will not believe who that was. Um, Uh, it appears that my attacker has an identical twin." I can never say that name ever again. "The twin's name is Carter. And, the said attacker must have done something to hurt his brother."

My dad was shocked! "That fool had a what?! Why didn't Cris beat him into a pulp?!"

"Kalani, he said that he was happy that Chase was dead. And, get this, the guy across the street remembers going to school with me. So, I have a feeling that Carter is the real 'Chase.' He is meeting us tomorrow for lunch."

"Wow. Well, I'll watch the kids tomorrow. And, tell me what happened."

"Thanks, dad. Let's go inside the restaurant." Cris and I first picked Gabby and Angelo from the car seats and put them in the carriers. Then, we locked our SUV's and went inside. "Devin, Dia, and Rocco hold hands with Kekoa and Bella, please."

"Yes, mommy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I barely touched the food that I ordered. After what happened, I lost my appetite. And, Cris and my dad noticed.

"You can't really eat either, can you?" Cris asked.

"What's wrong, Kami?" My dad asked. When I looked at him, he had a concerned expression on his face.

"I want to go tomorrow, but at the same time, I don't want to go. My thoughts immediately went to my attacker assaulting me. It hurts to even say his name. Seeing Carter brought immediate flashbacks of what happened."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I really am. If you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to go. Cris will go. And, I can go with him."

"Daddy, you have to promise not to beat him up."

He hesitated to answer, but eventually, he did. "I promise, Kami."

"I'm going to call Bliss and see if she is busy tomorrow." Daddy grabbed Gabby from my arms, so I get my phone out of my bag to call Bliss.

Kam to Bliss: "Hey, sis. How are you and are you free or busy tomorrow?"

Bliss to Kam: "I'm fine, Kami. In the morning, I planned on working for a few hours. But, I'm free in the afternoon."

Kam to Bliss: "Girl, do I have some news to tell you and Layla. I'll have the smaller kids with me. Can you meet me at Devin, Dia and Rocco's school?"

Bliss to Kam: "Sure. I'll put car seats in my truck."

Kam to Bliss: "Thanks, Bliss. We can have lunch at dad's restaurant."

Bliss to Kam: "Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, I'm spending some time with Bliss. I just can't go with Cris tomorrow. It still hurts." My dad came and sat next to me, then gave me a hug.

"It's okay, Kami. Enjoy your time with Bliss."

"Thank you, daddy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Narrator's POV

Before heading home, Cris, Kam, and Kalani took the kids to the park to play. They all had fun, even Isabella and Kekoa.

Just as she thought, Kam couldn't really sleep through the night. So, Cris pulled her closer to him so they could cuddle. She was able to calm down and go to sleep. But, Cris couldn't go to sleep, so he just cuddled with Kam while his eyes were open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, September 29th, 2021

Kam's POV

Gabby and Angelo are excellent sleepers. Thank goodness for that. While they are sleep, I'm giving Kekoa and Isabella their baths. Kekoa was first, and his bath went smoothly. Not so smoothly with Isabella. Between her and Kekoa, she is the destructive one and is making the most of the terrible 2's stage.

We have had to tap her behind several times because we caught her hitting her brother, as well as snatching toys. My child is an actress. She should be nominated for an Academy Award. When she is with my dad, she is an angel. But with me and Cris, she is a little terror.

"Isabella Jayde Fiore, stop splashing that water!" She just looked at me and laughed. But I have a magic word for her. It works every time.

"Nonno is going to get you."

"Nonno." That is one of her favorite words now. She stood up, so I grabbed her towel and took her out of the tub.

She gave me a kiss. "I love you, baby girl."

"Wuv mommy." We have been teaching Bella and Kekoa how to say I love you in English and Italian. It is a work in progress.

"Let's get you dressed so we can go see Aunt Bliss." She splashes Bliss too. She likes boys already. She will go to Shane, Marco, Ryan, Julian, Mason, and Austin in a heartbeat. And, she even tried to kiss Logan.

I grabbed Isabella's clothes off the bed and put them on her. "There, all nice and pretty for mommy. Let's go join your daddy and Kekoa."

Now, Gabby and Angelo are awake. I heard Cris coming up the stairs.

"I'll get them. You can go downstairs and get some breakfast."

"Okay, and thank you." Bella and I made our way to the kitchen.

Kekoa was also eating his cereal. He looked up from his bowl and started giggling.

"Good morning, my little prince." I bent down to give Kekoa a kiss.

I placed Isabella in her chair, then went to get her breakfast. Now with Bella, I have to spoon-feed her because my child likes throwing things. So, I went to grab her some cereal, milk, and a spoon. Then, I poured just enough milk in her bowl.

"Look here little girl, be good for mommy and eat your cereal peacefully." I heard the front door opening, so it must be my dad.

We also are teaching the kids some Hawaiian words. They know what grandpa is in Hawaiian.

"ʻAkēkē!"

Isabella likes to say Nonno, whereas Kekoa likes to say ʻAkēkē.

Kekoa was kicking his legs, so I took him out of his chair. He ran to my dad. Then, dad picked him up in his arms.

Isabella outstretched her arms. "Baby girl, you have to finish eating." She started to fuss, but grandpa was not having it. All he did was walk over and looked at her. She got quiet quick.

"Good morning, dad. Thanks again for going for me. I just can't."

"It's okay, Kami." He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before Cris left the house, he helped me put the kids in their car seats.

"Thanks. I'll see you later," Cris said. He gave me a kiss, got in his truck, and pulled out of the driveway. As soon as I sat in my seat, Bliss sent a text that she was on her way to the school. After reading the text, I started up the Escalade and made my way to the school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw Bliss' Range Rover, so I parked right behind her. The school bell just rang. Bliss and I both got out.

"Hey sis, thanks for coming." We gave each other a hug.

"You're welcome, Kam. I'll go to their rooms for you." Bliss then went inside the school to get the twins and Devin while I stayed with the little ones. 10 minutes later, Bliss came back with the kids. They ran over to me.

"Mommy!"

"Hi, kiddos. Ready for lunch?" Today, they had a half-day.

"Can we ride with Aunt Bliss?!" Rocco pleaded.

"Yes, you can. And, we are going to Nonno's restaurant."

All three of them said, "Yay!"

Once Bliss strapped them in their seats, she got in the driver's seat. I got in my seat, then we pulled off for the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cris' POV

I am a nervous wreck for myself and Kamea. Kalani and I found parking right next to each other in the restaurant's parking lot. Then, we went inside.

"My goodness, they were definitely identical. He looks exactly like Chase," Kalani says, so he must have spotted Carter. "They are the spitting image of each other."

We walked over to the table. "Carter, my wife didn't feel comfortable coming, so this is her father, Kalani." We then took our seats.

"I understand. This is my mother, Amelia Davies. Would you gentlemen like to order first?"

"Uh, I think that would be best." As soon as the waiter approached the table, we placed our orders.

Carter's POV

"While we are waiting for lunch to come, I'll start. Basically, my brother stole my identity. My birth name was Chase. His name was Cade. He always assumed that I was the favorite twin of our parents. We both had excellent grades in school, but he was irresponsible in many other things. He was always in trouble. I would hear my father tell him often, 'Why can't you be more like your brother?'"

"Did you say, Cade? That is the name he used when living next to us in Miami," Cris says.

"He never liked the name, Cade. He always liked Chase. It always got under his skin when my father asked him that question. He started distancing himself from me during senior year of high school. He even played a joke on me where I ended up in the hospital. My parents had enough. They laid him out and gave him an ultimatum - either change his ways or get out. He chose the latter. No one knows why he was so hateful. And, he told me he never had a twin and don't say his name again. That's why you never knew I had a twin."

"After that day, we never saw him again. Like I said, the first two years of college, you and I were friends. Junior year is where things changed. On my way home from a welcome to University party, I was jumped, beaten to a pulp and a bag was placed over my head. Then, I was dragged to a car and taken somewhere."

"I mean no harm by what I am about to say, but your brother was a demented, sick person."

"It's okay, Mr. Kalani because I agree. The car had finally stopped, then I was dragged again, inside a house. My hands were untied, and the bag was taken off my head. My own brother kidnapped me. He told me, 'You are never going to see the light of another day. You ruined me, so I am going to ruin your precious reputation.'"

Mrs. Davies' POV

"I started seeing patterns I didn't like - cheating at the University, stealing girlfriends and fighting. Fortunately, he graduated. All along, I thought it was Carter, but it was his deceased brother."

"He took my girlfriend from me in college. But I was glad because she was a big flirt anyway."

"Your name is Cris, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"He always bragged that he did that to you. I didn't like the road he was heading down. And, then one day at his graduation party, who I thought was Carter went swimming, and I didn't see the birthmark on his arm that Carter has."

Carter showed them the birthmark on his forearm.

"Now, I remember that. Cade/Chase never wore short sleeve shirts when he was around me, so I couldn't tell."

"I knew something was wrong. From that day on, I knew he wasn't Carter. I had to be careful around my own child because who knows what he would have done to me. We didn't know where Carter was, and it was hard to file a missing person report because Cade took the name Chase."

"My husband passed away back in 2018. At the reading of his will, he didn't leave anything to Cade, just me and Chase. He left Cade a stern lecture in a letter. Cade was both hot with anger and giddy that he took his brother's money. For years, I never knew where Carter was. I never gave up on finding my son. Back in November of last year, a lawyer came to my house and handed me a letter. The letter was from Cade.

"Dear mother,

You probably figured out by now that I am Cade. You and dad have no idea how hurt I was hearing you always praising Chase. Always saying why couldn't I be more like my twin. I couldn't take it anymore. That ruined me, so I sought revenge to ruin Chase. And, I did. I'm the one who kidnapped my own brother. You can find your precious son at this address. Good luck at trying to get his reputation back. Now, I never have to deal with any of you again. Good riddance."

"When he wrote that, I have no clue. It's like he wanted to die."

"Now that I think about it, when we fought, a beam from the ceiling started to fall. He didn't move out of the way," Cris adds.

"And, the weird thing is he left Carter a nice sum of money. Cade never once told us how he felt. That's not true that we never praised him. We did praise him. When we saw the road he was going down, he was warned about it and he never liked it. I wasn't in the room when my husband compared my son's. I would never do that. I loved them equally."

Cris' POV

"He left me his businesses, as well as a bank account that is for his businesses. Frankly, he is right where he belongs."

"As soon as my mother found me, she told me everything that happened since college. We then went to get my name changed to Carter. The name Chase went with my brother. When I read what he did to your wife, I couldn't believe it. I'm sorry about what my brother put you and your family through. I want to use some of the money he gave me and help you and your friends with the shelters for women."

"Thank you for doing that, Carter. And, I'm sorry for my actions yesterday. I am very protective of my family."

"I understand, Cris. I really do. I would have done the same thing. Thanks to my brother, our friendship was ruined. And, I don't want to cause your wife to be uncomfortable, so I promise to stay away. I'll be in Miami for a few more days, then I am going back to Atlanta. That is where I live now. Where can I send you a check?"

"Listen Carter from what you just said, you didn't ruin our friendship. And, yes it would be best to stay away."

"Cris, he can send the check to my address. If Kami sees Carter's name on the envelope who knows what she will do. And, I thank you too for coming forward with what you just said. Cade hurt not just my daughter, but his own brother and family. I hope everything goes well for you. Here is one of my business cards with my address."

Kalani gave Carter his card, then we ate lunch that just arrived.

*********************************

Kam's POV

"Braelyn and I came as soon as I got your text."

"Thanks, Layla. Hi, Lollipop."

"Hi, Aunt Kam and Aunt Bliss." She gave both of us a hug, then sat with the other kids.

"Okay, yesterday after we picked up the kids from school, we decided to take the family out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. As I was getting out of my Escalade, I glanced across the street and immediately panicked. Mr. Dalton has a twin and his name is Carter. And, they are identical."

Layla and Bliss both started choking on their water. After they recovered, "Say what?!" That was Bliss.

"Did we hear you correctly?"

"Yup. But, get this, Carter is the total opposite of his twin. Carter is glad his twin is dead. My dad and Cris are talking with him now. I couldn't go because of what happened. I don't care if they are opposites, I don't think I can ever be anywhere near him."

"Wow! Now that was a bombshell," Bliss says while picking up Angelo. Gabby and Angelo were getting fussy, so I guess it is feeding time. I grabbed a bottle for Angelo and gave it to Bliss.

"Thanks, sis." Then, I grabbed one for Gabby and fed her.

"You're welcome."

"I ordered two of the family meals for us. And, here they come now." Uncle Keoni and Uncle Koa came into the room. They help my dad run the restaurant. And, officially became Florida residents the beginning of this month. The kids love it, and so do I.

"Hey, Kami. Thought we would come in and see everyone. How are you ladies doing?"

The kids were excited. They all got up and gave my uncles a big hug.

"I'm doing okay. Just dropping a bombshell on Layla and Bliss."

"Your father told us last night. Hopefully, Kalani and Cris will not be hauled off to jail," Uncle Koa says.

"I hope so too."

"I'll fix plates for the kids, Kam."

"Thanks, Layla."

My ringtone for Cris went off. "Can someone check my phone for me? It's in my bag."

"I'll get it, Aunt Kam." Braelyn came over and looked in my bag. She handed my phone to Layla.

"Cris says he and Kalani are coming to the restaurant. They are on the way."

"Thanks, Layla."

"I'll take Gabby so you can eat, Kami."

"Thanks, Uncle Koa." She was finished her bottle, so Uncle Koa put her on his shoulder to burp her. Meanwhile, I started chowing down on my plate Layla fixed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Daddy!!" The kids yelled as they saw Cris and my dad enter the room.

"You all will need to sit down for what I am about to tell you," Cris says.

Cris then went on to tell us everything that Carter said to him for the next 20 minutes. We were all shocked at what Cris revealed.

"Hold up, Chase was Carter's birth name? And, Cade stole the name Chase from his brother?! My goodness, he was a miserable person. Wait until Shane hears that," Bliss says while shaking her head.

"He definitely was the total opposite of him. And, I think it is best that he doesn't come to the house. Maybe one day I will be able to be near him, but not now. That was really nice of him to donate to the women's shelter. If you guys are still hungry, there is plenty of food for you."

I took a huge, deep breath. It sickens me that Mr. Dalton could do that to his own brother. Carter may not have been sexually assaulted like I was, but he suffered too. I hope he gets the help he needs. Thank goodness we all can breathe a sigh of relief and move forward in our lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~