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Be brave, little lioness.
A phrase I continued to utter to myself long after Adrik stopped writing to me. Even when he’d broken my heart by leaving me standing at the willow tree, alone and scared, I still found strength in those words.
Do I tell him who I am?
Confront him?
Anger bubbles inside me at the thought of confronting him about why he abandoned me. Does it really matter after all these years? Especially since the man in the letters seems to be nothing more than a lie. A false identity. Had I fallen into his trap, he would have used me just like Ada.
Doubt wells in my chest as I think back to the man and his daughter. She is a carbon copy of Ada.
“Look,”I point out the same birthmark on my arm to him. “I have the same birthmark. Everyone in my family does.”
The man shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he stammers as he pulls the girl along. “Just leave us alone.”
“But we’re family,” I insist. “We have to be related in order for her to have that mark.”
“Just leave us alone.” He’s walking faster now, the girl barely able to keep up with his long strides. I chase after them, begging him to stop and talk to me. To hear me out. I need to understand why she looks like my friend. How does she have that mark?
“Please…” But my words go unheard as he exits the building, leaving me with more questions than answers.
Hadmy entire life with Ada been a lie? I think back to the name on the tomb in my family’s mausoleum. My name. My birthdate. The date of death, and the tomb was sealed for a casket. Someone’s remains are in there and they aren’t mine.
So, whose are they?
Blackness pitches through me as my thoughts grow darker and darker. They all come back to that little girl. Who is she? She can’t be Ada’s, can she? Did my best friend cheat on her husband and that girl is the byproduct?
No. She’s at least ten years old which means she would have been born prior to Ada marrying Adrian. Why does she have my family’s birthmark? Nausea builds in my stomach, working its way up my throat. Did my father…? Oh god. Did he rape Ada and cast the child on another family? Is that why he took her away so often? So that I wouldn’t notice?
I need to find them. Need to find the truth. If anyone were to find out she is the daughter of a Castellanos, she’d be in danger. Getting out of bed, I quickly run through my morning routine before dressing in a simple pair of black leggings and a lavender tunic cinched by a black belt. Pulling on my flats, I grab my purse and twist the knob on the door, flinging it open.
There is one person I know who can help me.
“Where are you going, little mouse,” a low murmur penetrates the hallway as I walk past Adrian’s office. He’s leaning casually on the doorframe, arms folded against his chest.
“Out,” I tell him. His brows raise.
“Where?”
I shrug. “Just out.”
He gives me an expectant look.
Sighing dramatically, I turn to fully face him. “I want to go buy a cell phone. It might have escaped your notice, but I don’t have one.”
“Where is your old one?”
My forehead puckers.
“Old one?”
“The one you used before you showed up on my doorstep.”
Oh. I awkwardly stare down at my feet and shrug a shoulder.
“You didn’t have one,” his voice softens.
“Didn’t really matter, then,” I mumble. “There was no one for me to call.”
