Page 79 of Hidden Falls
I could only nod, tears pouring down my cheeks. Dr. Wilson pushed the box of tissues over; that box was getting a workout.
“I found you in a warehouse outside of a copper mine. The air was full of the smell of smoke, and blood; Lei and I had defeated human traffickers who had stolen her friend Kelly and we were getting ready to flee and burn the place. I heard you cry as we were getting ready to burn the building; you were lying in a bed in a back room, and the sound of your voice was the only good thing in my life at that moment.” Mom took a deep breath, sighed it out. Her hands were shaky as she tore apart a piece of tissue. “I take responsibility for my decisions. Yes, I should have taken you to an orphanage and turned you in to the authorities. I could’ve left you there anonymously in a basket or something, never disclosing where you had been found. But letting go of you was impossible. I had fallen in love with you in a way that I can’t explain.”
“I understand, Mom, because I love you the same way. If you told me you’d given birth to me, I would’ve believed it,” I said.
We leaned on each other, holding hands.
“So that’s why, when you were taken from me, there was nothing I wouldn’t do to get you back,” Mom said. And then my mother turned her intense, loving gaze on Kylie, and reached across the table and took Kylie’s hand, too. “Kylie, I feel exactly the same way about you. I would move heaven and earth to save you if you needed it. Yes, there are ways that Malia and I may seem a little closer because of the past, but you are also my daughter. You are flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone, and nothing but death could separate us.”
Kylie, wrapped in Dad’s arms, kissed Mom’s hand. “I love you too, Mom. I won’t think that you love Malia more than me after this.”
“Good. Because that has hurt every time I knew you were thinking that,” Mom said.
I had been jealous of Kylie for so long for being my parents’ biological daughter. Turns out there was plenty of love to go around.
The story of how Mom, Lei, their friend Cruz, and their other friend Sophie worked together to get me back was incredibly exciting and inspiring. The twist at the end, when the FBI stabbed us all in the back, was like something out of a movie.
“But the good news is, you should be hearing from your other father soon. He has your new number,” Mom said. “And he’s already back in Mexico.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how I feel about that. All the time I was with the family, I didn’t know what he did. I mean, I suspected there was something off, but I didn’t know.”
“Well, as an attorney I think the agreements you came up with in that boardroom were pretty spot on,” Dad said. “I’m guessing Ramirez will be out quickly and will want to see you as you guys talked about.”
I glanced between my parents. “You would let me go visit him in Mexico? Even knowing what he does?”
“I will never love that idea,” Mom said. “I will worry about you every minute. But I will leave that decision up to you.”
“And I second that,” Dad said.
“Thank you,” I told them both.
Dr. Wilson cleared her throat. “I think we’ve gotten to a good place,” she said. “Let’s all get up for a group hug.”
We groaned, and laughed, and Dad said, “this is family therapy after all,” and believe it or not, the four of us hugging was one of the best moments of my life.