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She sneaked towards the door, and once she got to it, she opened it quickly and ran out. I had no words. He pulled up a video of the entrance, and there, you could see her coming out from the back of the hospital. She was seen hopping into someone’s car, and then they drove off.
He fast-forwarded it to about ten minutes later, and there you could see me running to the hospital door like a chicken with its head cut off. He folded his hands together on the table and spoke as I stared at the screen dumbfounded.
“We and the court have reason to believe that your sister deliberately left and abandoned the baby.”
Chapter thirty-two
Brielle
“We and the court have reason to believe that your sister deliberately left and abandoned the baby.”
“Are you sure? I... I don’t even know what to say… let me see if I can call her.” I insisted, almost in disbelief, and he watched as I got up and ran to my phone to dial her number. It didn’t even ring.
“The number is no longer in service,” I whispered, and he sighed.
“We’ve tried contacting her numerous times, but we’ve gotten nowhere. We had someone go to the residence where she was residing, but it has been placed for sale as of last week. This morning, she anonymously contacted the hospital, instructing them not to search for her but to leave the responsibility of the baby’s welfare in your hands… We tried tracing the source of the call, but we had no luck. Also, the identity of the father is.. unknown.” I sat in front of him again, and he didn’t say anything, as he probably knew I was in complete shock.
“..So where do we go from here?” I questioned after trying to process everything.
“Do you have any contact with your mother or father?” He asked, and I sighed heavily, remembering how I was still resenting them for my continuous feeling of abandonment.
“…No.”
“Any contact with other immediate family members or relatives in general?”
“.. No,” I replied, as my brother really couldn’t do anything since he was deployed and I had no contact with anyone else. As if they didn’t want anything to do with me.
“Well, Brielle… it seems as though since you are the only family member this baby has currently, and you are number one on her emergency contact list, not to mention your sister gave your name as the one to take care of all this.. the best bet would be to give the baby over to you or to put her up for adoption.” I shook my head as I glanced over to the incubator.
“I don’t want to put her up for adoption.” He nodded.
“I thought as much.. now, since you only turned eighteen last month and make only a little more than minimum wage, the court is unsure if they should give you the legal rights as the parent when you yourself have just become an adult.”
“W-what do you mean? I.. I won’t be able to keep her?” I asked, and he sighed, looking into my eyes.
“Brielle.. I understand this information may be hard to process, but I need you to stay focused. With my law degree and connections, I may be able to pull a few strings and convince the court that you will be a suitable parent. If all goes well, then… she’s all yours.” I felt tears come to my eyes and held my hand up to my mouth. He leaned over and rubbed my shoulder as he gave me a small smile.
“The only issue that could arise after this is all finalized would be if your sister were to return and petition the court to reopen the case in order to regain custody, but I don’t see that happening, as we have all the evidence to deem her unfit as a parent.”
“Why are you helping me keep her?” He leaned back, and the smile on his face got brighter.
“I was in the same position as that baby, only that time, I didn’t have a person to take me in like she does. I was in the adoption process, and eventually, I got adopted by a wonderful family, but others weren’t as lucky as I was. This is why I want to help every child in this situation, if not worse.”
“Is that why you do this job?”
“It’s the exact reason.” A few tears went down my face, and I lunged over to him and gave him the hug I so desperately needed from a person who cared for me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, and he hugged me back after a second.
“…You’re welcome, Brielle.” I pulled away and wiped my tears as I smiled. He stood up and packed his things.
“I’ll be back in a few days with all the documents and the final answer from the judge… I’m sure you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” I stood up as well and walked over to the incubator while shaking my head.
“No.. I’ll be right here.”
I dragged the last box out of the elevator from the store and pulled it to the room. Being only a little over five feet tall and carrying a full-on crib is more challenging than it sounds. Mr. Burkley gave me about $300, and Madam A gave me around the same amount to buy everything I needed for the baby.
I cried when they handed me their envelopes the other day, and Madam A joined in as Mr. Burkely stared with confusion. I really didn’t want to take from them, but since they owned their own businesses, they had a little to spare and didn’t mind giving it to me.
