91. Angela managed to leave the hotel in her disguise and when she got out, she realized that she was on the other side of town.
If she needed to get home, she would need transport and she didn’t know who to ask and she didn’t even remember whom she gave her phone to.
She thus thought that the best thing to do was walk to her father’s company that was in the CBD and then from there it would be easy to get home.
She just needed a phone to call Andy or her manager.
She walked still wearing the scarf and the mask and in a big town where everyone is concerned about their own thigs and with a hundred of people lining the streets everyone going to only the lord knows where, it was easy for Angela to navigate her way to her father’s company without getting noticed.
The Philips Company stood in a ten storied building in the middle of the CBD and it was in one of the best places in town.
This was because the founder, their great grandfather or someone great great, Angela did not care ot know the family tree since she learned that she wasn’t a Philip, had been able to buy a land in that area before the town grew.
That was during the time of recession when people thought that the capital would be changed from Washington to New York.
It was later established that the rumour had been started by some real estate moguls who wanted to buy land cheaply so that they could sell it at a high prize.
This great great something of the Philips family was the one who thought it didn’t matter where the capital was.
He had this huge vision that one day, the city would thrive again and it did.
That was how the Philips Company found itself in such a good plot of land and the reason why Angela wanted to be the sole heir of the company.
Angela smiled when she saw the big star with a ruby inside that was at the top of the big revolving doors to the entrance of the building and then before she could cross the road, she saw a horde of reporters running towards the building.
“Yes, it is here. Our informer has told us that she escaped from the hotel and she is on her way here.
Look for her. She must be inside,” the reporters were talking amongst themselves and Angela managed to catch a few words.
She wondered who it was that they were looking for.
She looked at herself and the cleaner’s uniform she was wearing and decided that she could not go to the company that was swarming with reporters in her current clothes.
She was a respected entertainer in DC and she needed to keep up te image.
She thus stood where she was buying her time waiting for the perfect moment to sneak into the company.
“Why am I sneaking around?” She wondered aloud but she still didn’t have an answer.
All she knew was that she needed to.
She needed to sneak around because something told her that she didn’t want to be seen.
The street was getting more and more swarmed with reports and people and she saw the guards at the gates increase and prevent people from going inside.
She then saw a group of young people carrying placards and all manner of paraphernalia and she waited until they were closer and she could read what was written on them.
CANCEL ANGELA!
ARREST ANGELA!
GIVE ANGELICA “MURDERER” PHILIPS TO THE POLICE!
CANCEL THE KILLER AND CHILD KIDNAPPER!
CANCEL THE PRETENDER!
WE WANT HER OUTED!
WE WANT A REPORT FROM THE PHILIPS COMPANY!
Angela stood there wondering if she was still in a dream.
“I must be. I must be dreaming.
I need to call Andy. Andy will get me home and I will know what to do from there,” she talked to herself as she felt her heart race.
She leaned against a building and willed her heart to calm down as she thought of what to do.
An idea struck he mind and she smiled sinisterly.
She adjusted her scarf and her mask and made sure that only a small portion of her facial skin was visible.
She then walked towards that throng of people and mixed with them.
She then pushed a few and there were screams as everyone tried to steady him or herself and someone at the front screamed into a hand held loudspeaker.
“Behave back there!
We already agreed that there won’t be any shoving or pushing.
One step at a time and mind your neighbor!” She said and after a while, peace was restored.
But what they did not know was that in that mayhem, Angela had managed to steal a hone and a wallet.
She then lagged behind and after a while, she broke from the group and walked away.
She didn’t know why these people were after her but she now knew that the last thing she wanted was for anyone to recognize her.
She took the money that was in that wallet and threw the wallet in a bin.
$23. 75.
That would get her home and she would have some spare change.
She hailed a taxi and gave the driver her directions.
While in the taxi, she tried using the phone but it had a password protection and Angela wasn’t a pro when it came to technology.
“Excuse me?” She asked the driver and the man looked at her through the rear view mirror.
“Yes miss?” He politely answered.
“Do you know what the fuss is about about that actress? I… errrm… Angela?” She asked trying to disguise her voice as much as she could to make sure that he did not recognize her.
“Oh, you don’t know?
Well, it happened last night and everybody is talking about it.
Do you mind if I turned on the radio and we listened to an entertainment channel?
I am sure one of those radio stations must be talking about it.
It has really created a sensation.
Who could have thought that she was a pretender all along who was hiding a monster inside her.
And to think that my son was in love with her and wanted to marry her when he grew up.
He knows all her movies by heart.
I am telling you that I learnt the truth about how not to judge a book by its cover last night,” he talked as he tuned the radio and before he could, Angela had heard enough.
“Please drop me here,” she said and the man was startled.
“But we are still three blocks away from your destination,” the man said as he looked at her through the rear view mirror again.
“I… errrm… I forgot that my daughter needed more pencils and I will pick… errrm… I will pick them from eh store.
Thank you,” she said and the man stopped the car in front of the store.
“That would be twelve dollars ma’am. Card or cash?” He said and she gave him three five dollar bills and left the car without another word.
She sat on a bench outside the store and she felt her heart leave her body.
Could it all be true that someone knows something about her?
What was it and how did she know?
She needed to get home and learn the truth.
What she was sure of was the fact that Andy loved her and he would help her through whatever it was.
Also, she had built a very good image with her parents and she knew that they would cover for her.
She stood up and walked the few hundreds of meters to the house where she and Andy lived.
It was a pent house in a building owned by the company owned by Andy that was in real estate.
They had the best room there since Andy had personally designed it to look like a home.
She went and keyed in the code to their pent house and when she got in, it was all dark.
They had no live in house help and the one they had came in three or four times a week to clean up and then leave.
“Andy?” She tried although she knew that he was probably at work.
“I need a shower then I will call him,” she thought as she put the clothes she had stolen in the trash and then walked into the large bathroom and started running a shower.
She left the water running and went to the pantry.
She took a bottle of wine from the small cellar that was there, picked a clean glass from the shelves and then walked into the bathroom.
She needed a long soak because she felt dirty.
“It is good to be rich,” she said with a smile.
She breathed in and smiled because she was at last safe.
Or so she thought.