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I thought about my mom, or the woman who claimed to be my mom, at least. I hadn’t heard from her in weeks. She didn’t even know that I’d had the babies yet, even though I tried to call her to tell her. I shouldn’t have bothered, but there was something in me that desired to connect with her after the birth of my children.
Gabe’s family was nice to have around but it just reminded me of everything I lacked.
I sipped my tea as they talked amongst themselves. My phone lit up on the table, and since I couldn’t bend easily yet, I was grateful for Gabe handing it to me.
He watched my face as I checked who was calling.
“It’s Charles,” I told him.
“Do you want to take it?”
I nodded and started to move from the couch, but he stopped me. “We can give you some privacy,” he said. “No need to get up.”
I answered the call as the others left the room.
“Hi, Charles,” I said. “What a surprise.”
“Sorry to call unexpectedly. I hope I’m not crossing a boundary here, but I remember your kiddos were due any day now, and I hadn’t heard from you, so I wanted to check in and make sure everything was okay.”
“Thank you, Charles, everything is fine. I had the little ones five days ago,” I said, a smile spreading across my face. He cared enough to call, even though he hardly even knew me. “They’re doing well, though in the NICU, which is normal with quads. We’re still waiting to see if Vincent needs surgery for his heart.”
“That’s right, you said one of the babies had a hole in his heart? Just like my son, Liam,” Charles said. “But looking at him today, you wouldn’t even know. My brother had the same defect, in fact, and he’s still going strong too. It does seem to be genetic.”
The way he said that last bit was rather strange. Maybe I was imagining it because of my suspicions.
Charles quickly added, “Not that I think Vincent is related to us or anything. I mean, well, I wanted to ask you...”
He trailed off, his voice cracking at the end.
“Yes?” My own voice barely came out as a whisper.
“It’s silly, like I said, I’m always seeing ghosts of Anabel everywhere. It’s just, well, when you emailed me, I googled you to see what I could find out. We get a lot of people trying to scam us—psychics offering to help find our daughter, private investigators who swear they saw her and will tell me where for the low price of a million dollars, that sort of thing. Well, when I searched your name, I came across your Instagram account and I couldn’t help but think that you look a lot like my Bella, just all grown up. Like I said, it’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous at all,” I replied. “In fact, I contacted you because I believe I might be your missing daughter. I didn’t say anything at first because I needed to be sure, and I wanted to wait until after the babies were born to tell you.”
“Oh gosh,” Charles said. “Wow, I can’t believe it.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mention anything sooner.”
“No, don’t be sorry, Bella. I understand, your sweet babies come first,” he said.
So comforting. So understanding. The complete opposite of the people who raised me.Is this what it feels like to be loved? I thought to myself. A lump formed in my throat.
“Thank you for understanding. But now that the babies are here, I would love to find out the truth once and for all. I suspect my mom was your housekeeper and that she kidnapped me from your home. It only cemented my belief when I saw the photo you sent over because it looks just like her.”
“I’m not sure what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, we have time, Charles. We will find out the truth. We can take the next steps as soon as you want to go to the police.”
“You’re still healing, and the babies are in the NICU. I think I need some time to let it all sink in before we go to the police. Because in my head, I already believe you to be my daughter, and if we find out you’re not—”
“I know, but I believe it too. There are just too many things that align and make sense.”
“I’ve had my hopes up a lot over the years, Bella, so please forgive me if I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves here.”
“I understand, and we can take all the time you need,” I said.
“I just really like thinking of you as my daughter,” he admitted.
