130 Conference (1/2)
The angelic girl giggled causing her round cheeks to glow a cute shade of pink. ”As you wish but I can't have a name assigned just yet.” Carmen felt her heart swell and smiled back at the girl before she started reading like a mad woman. ”Well I must take my leave, it looks like the star of this event just showed up.” Gerson and Carmen moved their gazes towards the stage and watched Agni take her first steps towards the podium. Carmen quickly turned around and saw the girl was gone.
Gerson tried to grab the documents from Carmen's hands but she hissed as she clutched it against her chest. ”Settle down G*llum, no one is taking your 'precious' away!” He said as he raised his hands in defense. ”What tonto! Get to work and start filming. We are doing this sh*t live and I ain't gonna miss this opportunity to bring this witch down.” Gerson's eyebrows shot up when he heard his cousin and quickly looked around. No one seemed to be minding them and he sighed a breathe of relief.
”Fine, you read I will film but you gotta work fast Carmen or this could ruin you.” Gerson warned but Carmen's eyes flashed with determination. ”I'm the strongest warrior in our crew, like I would let this mess me up.” Gerson sighed and started to record.
Everyone in the room silently watched Agni walked up to the podium with her head held high. Her golden hair was tied elegantly into a side knot. Her blue eyes were misty and sad while her cheeks were a deep shade of pink and her complexion was pale. She wore a modest pale green tea dress with pastel white and pink flowers and teal stilettos.
”I have called you all hear today to share my discovery. After looking into the accusation made against me at the gala, I have come to the realization that I am in fact Falicia Coblepot.” The room erupted into a frenzy as people were talking over one another. Agni waited for everyone to settle back down. Once the room was filled with silence she allowed a few tear drops to roll down her face. She choked on air as she brought up a silk handkerchief to her small face to calm herself down.
After a few moments she composed herself. ”Please let me introduce you to Dr. Dennis MacCormack.” A stumpy looking bald man started to waddle onto the stage. With every step he made giant droplets of sweat collected onto his massive, arched forehead. His heavy breathing clouded his thick glasses while the pin striped suit he was wearing looked ready to pop at any given moment.
Agni did a small curtsey and stepped aside for the doctor so he could take his stand on the podium. The man looked completely out of breath when he stood in front of the microphones. The crowd had to wait a good 10 minutes for him to catch his breath. The fair skinned, red head came running onto the stage with a chair and bottle of water in hand. She gave the water to the doctor and placed the chair behind Agni. She then abruptly turned and left as the doctor chugged back his water.
”If I can bring your attention to the screen.” He said in a nasally voice as he pointed his stub of an index finger upwards and placed the empty water bottle on the podium. ”Ms. Falicia Coblepot has done a DNA test to confirm her identity but because of the horrific fire at the spa resort that the Coblepots were residing at in the Middle East caused Ms. Coble-oh-cough... I mean Mrs. Steel to become traumatized.” The reports started murmuring to one another wondering if anyone was fact checking while other pulled out their phones and opened search engines.
”I believe the fact that because she survived the ordeal of the fire and most likely witnessed the burning of her friends and parents, this is the key cause of her mind shifting gear and going into survival mode.Meaning she developed dissociative fugue, a type of amnesia that makes a person, Mrs. Steel, forget most or all of her personal information. Her name, her personal history, her personality and the names and faces of her family and friends. In her case, it is still unclear how but she found herself somewhere completely new and had to survive. So she did what any sane person would do and that is evolve from a nothing like clump of clay, if you will into a person and adopt a completely new identity.”
The people in the room couldn't hold back their questions. One after another reporters were talking over one another trying to get the chance to get the first question in. The doctor brought his sweaty palms up as he tried to silence the room. ”Please, please hold your questions to the end.” He said as he showed off his tiny grin. The people in the room settled down once again and the doctor waited another couple of minutes before he cleared his throat.
”I have also obtained the medical records from the doctor who was in charge of Mrs. Steel while she lived in the Middle East. As you can see, this further confirms the amnesia that Mrs. Steel had until the night of the gala. I, with my vast experience and wisdom in this field was able to help her unlock all her memories of her past and will present to you today Mrs. Falicia Steel!” The doctor stepped down and Agni swapped spots with him. She waited until the doctor took his seat before she looked towards the reporters. With a tearful smile she cocked her head and asked. ”Any questions?”
Reporters had their hands fly up, waving as they started shouting. The red head came running back on to the stage and whispered something into Agni's ear. Angi nodded, she removed a microphone from the podium and passed it down to her. The red head's ice cold aura spoke volumes as she looked out towards the crowd. She looked down at a list she had in her hand and announced the first to ask their question. ”Nathaniel Winski of channel 9 News. Please ask your question.”
A young, attractive male ran up to the stage with camera man in hand. ”Mrs. Steel do you think your first husband knew your real identity and played your innocent heart by changing his appearance and name to trick you into marrying him so he could get his hands on your assets?” Agni looked shocked by the question and took a step back, she looked at the red head and waited for a nod. New tears started rolling down her face as she stepped towards the microphones.
”No, I don't... I think he was just too in love with me and probably found out about my crush on Mr. Steel... I think it was a very cruel joke to play making me believe that I had achieved my dream and married Mr. Avery Steel. You wouldn't believe the hurt I felt after he left on a business trip and never came back then to find out he was living with another family... I mean... sob... it hurts having bits and pieces of the truth thrown at you. Especially with the information I obtained at his celebration of life service for Avery, I couldn't afford another mistake because of... of....”
Nathaniel stepped in and decided to help her find the right words. ”Your innocent and pure heart? Lack of wisdom from your amnesia?” Agni nodded her head vigorously. ”Yes, yes, all of it. I just want to apologize to the people I have hurt and move on with my life and the new life I have within me.”
The red head looked down at her list again and brought the microphone up. ”Chandra Shekhar, channel 47 news, please ask your question.” A lovely dark skinned women wearing a tan coloured skirt and white, ruffled blouse stepped up. She had a gold stud in her right nostril, bright red lips and poker straight, black velvet hair. ”Mrs. Steel will you be going by your original name or the name you have been using for the past two decades? Will there also be a family reunion in the near future?”