Chapter 6 - I couldn't speak.The woman in the photograph looked like me.
Not vaguely.
Not in the way strangers sometimes shared features.
She looked like a younger version of me.
Same dark eyes.
Same narrow chin.
Same small scar above the eyebrow.
I touched the photograph.
“Who is she?”
Elliot answered.
“Maria Bennett.”
The surname made my stomach turn.
“Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Bennett.”
He nodded.
“She was your biological mother.”
I looked at Dad.
He looked shattered.
“Is this true?”
He whispered:
“Yes.”
The detective asked Elliot, “How did you obtain these records?”
“I spent twenty-eight years looking for them.”
“Why?”
“Because James stopped me.”
Dad flinched.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You were protecting Helen.”
Dad stood.
“That's not fair.”
Elliot laughed bitterly.
“You lied to her.”
“I was afraid.”
“You watched Helen build a family out of a lie.”
I looked at Dad.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He couldn't meet my eyes.
“Because by the time I learned the whole truth, you were already our daughter.”
“Our?”
He looked at me.
“I loved you.”
“That doesn't answer the question.”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“It doesn't.”
I stood.
“Tell me everything.”
Dad remained silent.
Elliot did not.
“Thirty years ago, Helen was told she couldn't have the child she wanted.”
My mother had struggled with infertility too.
That was something I'd never known.
“She was desperate,” Elliot continued.
“Maria was nineteen.”
“She was in financial trouble.”
“Helen approached her.”
I felt sick.
“She bought the baby?”
Elliot shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Maria believed she was signing temporary guardianship.”
My heart pounded.
“She didn't know?”
“She thought Helen would help her financially and return the baby.”
“When?”
Elliot stared at the photograph.
“She never got her back.”
I looked at Dad.
“You knew.”
He nodded.
“You knew she was looking for me.”
“Yes.”
“Did she find me?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three times.”
My knees almost gave out.
“What?”
“She came to our house.”
“When?”
“Once when you were three.”
“Why don't I remember?”
“Because Helen locked the doors.”
I stared at my mother through the glass.
She was crying.
Not from regret.
From exposure.
Elliot continued.
“Maria came back when you were nine.”
My father said:
“Helen threatened her.”
“With what?”
“The money.”
“What money?”
Elliot pulled out another document.
“Maria had signed a debt agreement.”
I read it.
Helen had loaned Maria money.
The debt grew with interest.
The amount was impossible.
Maria could never repay it.
It had been designed that way.
“She trapped her.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“She disappeared.”
“Into the river.”
Elliot nodded.
I stared at the paper.
“Was she killed?”
“No one proved it.”
“But you think so.”
“I think Helen knows.”
My mother's attorney entered the room.
“Enough.”
The detective turned.
“Your client is being held.”
“She has legal rights.”
“She also has an explanation to give.”
The attorney looked at me.
“My client has nothing further to say.”
My mother suddenly stood.
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
Her voice trembled.
“You want the truth?”
She looked directly at me.
“You were never supposed to know.”
I felt ice in my veins.
She continued.
“I loved you.”
“You stole me.”
“I saved you.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because Maria was going to sell you.”
Elliot shouted:
“That's a lie.”
Helen pointed at him.
“She wanted money.”
“She wanted her child.”
“She signed the contract.”
“Because you forced her.”
Helen looked at me.
“She couldn't raise you.”
“Then why not let me go back?”
Her face changed.
For one moment, she looked almost human.
“Because when I held you…”
She swallowed.
“I couldn't give you back.”
I didn't answer.
She continued.
“I had lost three children.”
“You made me replace them.”
“No.”
“You made me pay for them.”
Her lips trembled.
“I was your mother.”
“You were the woman who took me.”
Silence.
Then Helen said:
“There is one thing you still don't know.”
The detective frowned.
“What?”
Helen looked at Rebecca.
My sister began shaking.
Helen smiled faintly.
“Your sister isn't the one who was supposed to come first.”
Rebecca stared at her.
“What?”
Helen said:
“She was never supposed to be your sister.”
Rebecca stepped backward.
“What are you talking about?”
Helen turned toward me.
“You have another sibling.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
Helen's smile disappeared.
“She is alive.”
Elliot looked at Dad.
Dad whispered:
“No.”
May you like
Helen said one final sentence.
“And she's been looking for you.”
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