Ulric paused for only a few seconds before dialing Johnny’s number. It rang several times before it was answered. The background noise on Johnny’s end was loud, indicating he was out drinking, with the clinking of glasses audible.
“Where are you?” Ulric asked.
“Drinking! My friend just got back from abroad, so we’re having a get-together!” Johnny replied.
Ulric frowned. “The photo of the child you sent me, did you Photoshop it?”
Johnny was taken aback and raised his voice. “I’m not that bored! I saw this kid while I was working overtime at the office today. He found his way to W Group. The security guards probably noticed how much he looks like you and brought him to me.”
“Where is the child now?”
“Right next to me! The kid says he doesn’t know his mom’s name, only that his dad looks like him. I couldn’t just leave him outside.”
But Johnny had plans for the night and had no choice but to bring the child along.
“You took a child to a bar!”
“What else could I do?” Johnny seemed to step outside, as the background noise quieted down significantly. “He looks so much like you that I’m almost certain he’s your son! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
Johnny wasn’t fond of children in general.
“Stop drinking, take the child to a hotel for the night. I’ll be back tomorrow,” Ulric instructed.
Although Ulric didn’t understand what was going on, he needed to find out more about this child who resembled him so closely.
“Alright! I’ll make sure to deliver him to you safe and sound! He might be my nephew after all!” Johnny laughed. “Man, you’ve got some explaining to do when you get back! Having a son this old without knowing it!”
Ulric felt a headache coming on. He tried to recall his past but couldn’t think of any clues. After some thought, he picked up his phone and called Cedric.
Cedric’s voice was raspy, indicating he had been asleep. “Mr. Walters, is something wrong?”
“Sorry to disturb your rest. I need to ask you something. You once mentioned that Rosalind’s friend Tilda might be married with a child, and it’s a daughter?”
Cedric paused before replying, “Yes, I saw her on the surveillance footage when Taylor was hospitalized. She rushed over with her child.”
“Are you sure it’s a daughter?”
“Yes! The child had pigtails and was clearly a girl.”
Ulric felt a throbbing in his temples. He had thought…
“Does the girl look like me?”
Cedric hesitated, as most of the footage he saw was from above and not very clear. “I don’t think so.”
But he couldn’t say for sure.
“Then it shouldn’t be…”
Ulric didn’t know what to feel at that moment. He had suddenly wondered if Tilda’s child could be the same one Johnny had found, which would mean he and Rosalind had a child together-a son! But Cedric’s words shattered that thought instantly because the genders didn’t match and Cedric said the girl didn’t resemble him.