“She looked like you. Just like you.”
Sevin shot up from the bed. “I need some air.”
He walked out the door, slamming it behind him.
Feeling empty, I curled into the bed, wishing I had drugs to numb the pain.
After everything sunk in, a strange, almost calming fogginess came over me. It was similar to how you feel after a long run or after coming down from a panic attack. It was a feeling of relief at the same time, like the worst was over. It couldn’t get any worse than admitting to Sevin that I gave his child away.
An hour later when the door burst open, Sevin’s eyes were wide and frantic upon returning from his walk.
Alarmed, I straightened my back against the headboard. “What happened?”
He clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath. “I know where she is.”
CHAPTER 24
SEVIN
“I’ve seen her…our daughter.”
“What?”
“Your mother lied.”
“That’s not possible.”
“She lied! She knows where our daughter is.”
“How do you know that?”
“It all hit me just now on my walk.” The words were spilling out of me so fast. “I’ve been going to this church for a while in Spearville. I go there to clear my head a couple of Sundays a month. I always sit in the back row. There was this family that caught my attention a couple of times because one of their daughters was missing the bottom half of her arm. Her hair was darker than her sisters’. I remember thinking how much they reminded me of my half-brothers and me, three blondes and a dark-haired child that stuck out like a sore thumb.”
“But it could be a coincidence. That doesn’t mean it’s her, Sevin.”
“Let me finish. What also made me pay attention to this family was that the father always looked so damn familiar. The one or two times he’d turned around to hand the donation basket to the people behind him or offer a sign of peace, I swore I knew him from somewhere but could never figure it out. Well, one day I did. I remembered that he was the same guy who showed up at Sutton once. This guy was in the lobby. The receptionist handed him an envelope, and then he left.”
“I don’t get it.”
“It seemed a little suspicious to me at the time, so I asked Jeannie if she knew what was in the envelope. She said that it was cash and that Olga had come into the office and instructed her to give it to the guy. She must have not wanted her business done at home. I assumed it was some kind of charity donation, that maybe they were poor or something. I never gave it another thought again…until now.”
She covered her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“I’ve seen her, Evangeline. Only from the back. She has long, black hair—just like you—except she’s a little pudgy and precious. It’s her. I just know it is. Your mother must have been giving them money for her all this time.”
“I can’t believe this.”
I started to pack up our things. “I have to think about what I’m gonna do.”
“What do you mean? There is nothing you can do. She’s legally theirs.”
“She’s still my daughter.”
I told Evangeline it was best if she moved in with Addy and Luke for a while until we could figure things out. It was too soon after her dropping that bombshell to think about repairing our relationship. I was still in shock and trying to figure out how to proceed. I wanted to be armed with as much legal information as possible before confronting anyone.
Unfortunately, everything I read basically stated that it wasn’t cut and dry. I could legally challenge the adoption, claiming parental rights, but it wouldn’t be an easy process, and nothing was guaranteed. Was it even fair to put my little girl through that?
My little girl.
It still hadn’t sunk in completely.
So much was uncertain, except for the fact that I knew I needed to see her. The one time since finding out the news that I returned to church, she wasn’t there.
Only one person knew where to find her. It was time to confront Olga.
It was the middle of the afternoon. I checked to make sure Lance was at Sutton Provisions and that Emily was gone before heading over to the main house.
Olga was holding a laundry basket when she opened the door. Looking surprised to see me at that time of day, she tilted her head. “Sevin.”
Maybe it was the look on my face. Or maybe it was the fact that I said nothing at all in response. The smile on her face quickly faded.
I gritted my teeth. “Where is she?”
“Who?”
“My daughter. Where does she live?”
Olga dropped the laundry basket, and her face turned white. With her head down, she moved aside to let me enter.