Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 403: Explosion

Jamal swallowed his food and frowned slightly when Dawn told him what Genevieve said Ryan had done to the Will according to the lawyer.

"He removed everyone?"

"Yes," Dawn repeated softly. "Josh. Me. Genevieve. Even Callan was not a part of it. He left everything to the foundation."

Jamal leaned back and rubbed his jaw slowly. "What do you know about the foundation?"

"I checked it out after you left earlier. The foundation is meant to fund medical research, mental health programmes, support for victims of domestic violence, and help single mothers."

Jamal was quiet for a moment. "That actually sounds like something good."

"Yeah. I didn’t exactly expect that."

Jamal lifted his fork again. "That man..." he muttered under his breath. "How could he give away what wasn’t his in the first place?" Jamal’s brows pulled together. "How do you feel?"

Dawn shrugged. "Relieved."

"For real? Are you really okay with it?" he asked gently.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. I want no part of it. I wanted to burn it all to the ground and make sure he has nothing. Now that he’s dead, it is pointless. And it’s going to be stressful managing that anyway."

Jamal studied her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "And Genevieve?"

"She’s coming back soon. She said there’s nothing else for her to do there."

"That’s good. Stefan will be pleased to hear that."

Dawn smiled faintly. "Right. By the way, I asked her to feature on my podcast, and she agreed."

"Did she now?"

"Yes, she did. I let her know she could say no and was under no compulsion to agree to it."

Jamal smiled softly. "That’s good enough then. I’m ready to call it a night," he said with a yawn as he pushed his empty plate away.

Dawn picked it up and took it to the sink, where she quickly washed it. As she rinsed it, Jamal walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I can’t wait for when we finally get married and start living together," he whispered into her ears.

Dawn smiled softly but kept her hands under the running water as she rinsed the plate.

"You are not saying that because you expect me to always clean up after you this way, right?" she teased.

He rested his chin lightly on her shoulder. "Of course not. We would get housekeepers and nannies to look after Josh..."

"No. No nannies or housekeepers. We can get cleaners to come around to clean, but I’ll rather take care of my home myself."

"You’ll be working..."

"Yes. That’s why I want to work for myself. I want to be able to take care of my family," she said quietly, and Jamal heard the ache in her voice when she said family.

He lifted his head slowly from her shoulder and turned her gently so she faced him.

The water continued running softly in the sink.

"Hey," he said quietly. "What’s going on in your pretty head?"

Dawn kept her eyes lowered for a moment as she turned off the tap without looking at it.

"I remember having nannies, and I remember eating alone and feeling so lonely. I don’t want that for Josh or any of our future kids. I want to be a mother to our kids. I want our kids to have everything we both didn’t have. I want them to have a stable home," she said as she lifted her eyes to his.

Jamal watched her quietly. The playful smile that had been on his face a moment ago slowly faded.

He reached up and cupped her cheek gently. "They will," he said softly. "They will have that because they will have you."

Dawn’s throat tightened slightly.

Jamal brushed his thumb lightly across her cheek. "And you will have me too," he added. "So you won’t be doing it alone."

Dawn nodded slowly. "I know."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Good. Now come on," he said gently. "You promised me a massage. My legs are about to go to sleep here."

That made her laugh softly. She nudged him toward the door. "Let’s go upstairs."

Jamal took her hand, and together they went upstairs.

Inside the bedroom, Dawn went straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Steam slowly began filling the room as warm water rushed from the showerhead.

Jamal leaned against the sink and watched her when she began to undress.

"You’re joining me?" he asked.

Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Of course."

"Is your plan to make me relax or to get me fired up?" he asked, narrowing his eyes playfully.

Dawn giggled as she reached up and unbuttoned the first button of his shirt.

"Relax first," she said. "Everything else depends on how exhausted you are."

Jamal laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "That sounds like a dangerous challenge."

"We will see."

A moment later, they stepped under the warm shower together.

The hot water ran down Jamal’s shoulders, and he let out a long breath as the tension slowly left his body.

Dawn stood behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Relax," she murmured softly.

Her fingers began kneading the tight muscles along his neck.

Jamal closed his eyes. "God... I needed this. Now I understand the importance of having a partner?"

"And what is this importance?" Dawn asked with a soft laugh as her fingers continued working the tension from his shoulders.

Jamal tilted his head slightly as she pressed her thumbs into a tight knot at the base of his neck.

"The importance," he said slowly, "is having someone who knows exactly how to put you back together after the world spends the whole day pulling you apart."

Dawn smiled faintly behind him. "That sounds very poetic."

He reached back and caught her wrist gently, pulling her around so she stood in front of him under the warm spray.

"Let me show you something even more poetic," he said quietly, "this can make you sing poems," he said, looking down at his erection.

Dawn laughed as she looked down at it, then she shook her head and pushed lightly against his chest.

"Turn around, Mr. poetic. I’m not done yet."

Jamal obeyed with a quiet chuckle. "Yes, ma’am."

Dawn smiled faintly as she resumed massaging his shoulders while the warm water flowed around them.

Steam filled the bathroom, and the quiet sound of running water wrapped around them.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

When she was done, he turned slightly and pulled her gently into his arms.

"Thank you," he murmured.

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "You’re welcome."

A few minutes later, they stepped out of the shower.

Dawn handed him a towel and rubbed his hair dry while he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Lie down," she said.

Jamal obeyed without protest, lying on his stomach stark naked.

Dawn straddled his back and poured a little oil into her hands and began massaging his shoulders again.

Jamal groaned softly into the pillow. "You’re very good at this," he said.

"Perhaps I should become a masseuse..."

"Never!" Jamal said, making Dawn laugh.

"Why not?"

"The only body I want your hands on is mine," he said, making her giggle.

"Jealous much?"

"Very jealous, and you can add possessive to that," he said, and she laughed.

"So my hands shouldn’t be on Josh?" She asked playfully.

"Well, Josh is our son. You can dress him up or cuddle him for a limited time," Jamal said with a yawn.

"Yes, my lord." Dawn laughed as she worked slowly down his back until his muscles finally relaxed.

After several minutes, his breathing slowed.

Dawn leaned forward slightly. "Jamal?"

When there was no response, she smiled.

"You’re asleep already."

She gently pulled the blanket over him and turned off the bedside lamp before lying down beside him.

Jamal shifted slightly and instinctively pulled her closer even while asleep.

Dawn rested her head against his chest, and within minutes, she fell asleep too.

Jamal woke first the next morning. The blanket had slipped low on his waist, and he realised he was completely naked beneath it.

A slow smile spread across his face.

Right... the massage. He had fallen asleep halfway through it.

His gaze shifted to Dawn. She was still asleep, lying on her side facing him, her hair spread across the pillow, and the blanket loosely covering her body.

Jamal’s smile widened when he saw she was naked herself.

He carefully got off the bed and went to make sure the door was locked, then he got back on the bed and slid closer to Dawn.

He slipped an arm around her waist under the covers. Dawn stirred faintly but didn’t wake.

Her breathing remained slow and steady.

Jamal leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. She murmured something unintelligible and shifted closer to him in her sleep.

His hand moved slowly along her side beneath the blanket, exploring lazily.

Dawn’s breathing changed slightly. She frowned in her sleep as if trying to understand what she was feeling.

Jamal chuckled softly against her neck. "Morning, sleepyhead," he whispered.

She didn’t answer.

For a moment, she seemed convinced she was still dreaming.

Then Jamal kissed her again, slower this time.

Dawn suddenly inhaled sharply, and her eyes flew open. "Jamal—"

He looked up at her with a mischievous grin. "It’s not too late to pick up the massage from where we left off, is it?"

Dawn let out a breathless laugh that quickly turned into a soft moan when he kissed her again and brushed his thumb across her taut nipple.

"It’s not," she murmured.

Jamal grinned and pulled her closer as his hand moved between her thighs.

Just as his fingers touched her sensitive bud, his phone began to vibrate on the nightstand.

He froze while Dawn groaned softly.

"Let’s ignore it," Jamal told her and picked up the phone to silence the call.

But then the call came in again, and the phone kept vibrating.

Dawn reached over lazily and glanced at the screen.

"It’s Stefan."

Jamal frowned. "Why is he calling when it’s barely six? I’ll call him back later."

The phone stopped ringing.

Silence returned.

Jamal leaned toward Dawn again, but before he could do anything, someone knocked on the door.

Jamal groaned. "Why is everyone determined to ruin our morning?"

Another knock sounded.

Then Tom’s voice came through the door. "Jamal. You should come out here. It’s important."

Jamal exchanged a look with Dawn.

"That doesn’t sound good," she murmured.

"I’ll be out in a minute!" Jamal called as he got off the bed while Dawn reached for her phone.

The screen lit up with several notifications.

There were news alerts and messages. She tapped on the first news notification, and the headline made her heart stop.

EXPLOSION REPORTED AT I-GLOBAL GRAND HOTEL.

Dawn sat up instantly as her eyes raced across the article.

At the same time, Jamal’s phone started ringing again, and he received the call when he saw it was Stefan.

"Is everything alright?"

Stefan’s voice came through tense and urgent. "Have you seen the news?"

"What news?" Jamal asked, glancing at Dawn, who suddenly looked pale and was trembling as she stared at her phone.

Jamal reached for Dawn’s phone to see what she was staring at.

"Genny..." Dawn whispered. "No..." she breathed.

Jamal’s eyes moved across the screen, then he froze. His heart began to pound as he read.

Explosion destroys several rooms on the 12th floor of the I-Global Grand Hotel. Authorities confirm the explosion originated from one of the hotel suites currently registered to Genevieve Harris.