AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Please, call me Charles,” he said. “And I’m doing well. My wife and I celebrated our anniversary last weekend. Liam pulled himself away from his job long enough to visit, so it was nice to have the family together. Well, most of the family, at least.”
A sadness clung to his words. My heart ached for this family who had lost one of their children, and likely always noticed her absence at any major event.
“Congratulations on the anniversary,” I said, trying to focus on the positive. “And your son, what does he do for a living?”
“He’s an architect,” Charles said. “He works in Chicago, so not too far away.”
“And Harper?” I found myself so curious about these people. I wanted to know everything I could about them.
“Harper is still in school; she’s finishing up a degree in journalism.”
My heart stopped.
“Journalism, really?”
“Yes, I told her I was talking to a journalist, and she got excited. She might want to speak with you at some point if you don’t mind. She never met Anabel of course, but she could talk to you about what it was like growing up knowing she had lost a sister. It clearly affected her life.”
“I don’t mind at all; I would like that.” My voice caught in my throat. The idea that I could have a brother and a sister, and that I might be able to speak with them, made me emotional.
Tears fell down my cheeks, and I tried to keep my voice even and calm as I spoke. “So, tell me about Anabel.”
“Are you okay, Bella?” Charles asked, clearly sensing that I was crying.
“Yes, I’m just a bit emotional. I’m pregnant,” I said.
“Congratulations,” he offered.
“Thank you. It’s just hard for me to imagine losing a child, the pain your family endured. It’s so heartbreaking,” I said. More tears. I was full-blown sobbing at that point. While I was partially telling the truth about why I was so emotional, it wasn’t just that. I found myself hoping that the O’Connell’s were my family. Not just for my sake, I so badly wanted this family to get their daughter back. I could already tell that Charles was much kinder and more caring than the man who had raised me.
“It was very hard,” Charles said. “Even though it's been over twenty years now, the pain never fully goes away. Both Brenda and I constantly think we see her on the streets, any time we see a woman who resembles her even slightly, but we know that we are just chasing ghosts at this point.”
“I’m so, so sorry,” I said. I wanted to tell him my suspicions, that I might be his missing daughter, that perhaps she wasn’t a ghost at all. But I knew that if I wasn’t their Bella, it would utterly crush them, so I had to be 100% sure before I could even consider bringing it up.
I could hear him take a few ragged breaths on the other end of the line, I assumed to regain his composure. “So, may I ask, what made you interested in our case? With all the high-profile missing children’s cases in the world, why ours?”
I struggled with coming up with an answer that he would believe. “Uh, well, I don’t know, really. I guess because it’s close to home, and she would be around my age now. The fact that no one has even talked about the case in almost two decades got to me as well. I was hoping to highlight the case again, along with others that have gone cold, and see if maybe new information might come forward.”
“I really appreciate it,” he said. “I haven’t told Brenda yet, just in case the article doesn’t get picked up or go anywhere, but I know she’d appreciate it too. If there’s anything you want to know about how it happened, I’m ready to tell our story. You know, earlier, I said we were chasing ghosts, but I don't think that’s true at all. I only say that to try and force myself to come to terms with our loss. But I believe our daughter is still out there, somewhere, and I dream of finding her almost every single night.”
The tears had momentarily stopped falling, but they returned with his words. I wiped them away with my hand and focused on my breathing to remain calm.
“I hope she is, for your family’s sake, and I hope you find her one day.”
“Thank you, Bella,” he said. “So do you have any questions for me?”
“Well, I do have one request. Do you happen to have any photos of the housekeeper you suspect kidnapped your daughter?”
“I have a copy of her fake ID, which did include a photo, yes.”
“Could you send that over to me, please?”
“Of course, I’m happy to.”
Everything about Charles just oozed kindness. He was the complete opposite of the man I had known as my father, who often cursed and spouted cruel words, who never had a caring thought for anyone.
We talked a few moments longer, but then his wife got home from her errands. I let him go, since he wasn’t telling her anything yet, not wanting to get her hopes up. I respected him for that, it was clear he cared deeply for his wife whom he’d been married to for almost thirty years. It gave me hope that real love could exist and that maybe one day, I’d have a family like that too.
A few minutes after getting off the phone, I checked my email and saw that Charles had sent me something. I opened it up and gasped.
