“Alright, mom!” Janet simply agreed because she knew going back and forth was a loose situation.
“Get some rest, and I will check on you in the morning,” Margaret said with concern in her voice.
“Love you, mom.” Janet was done with the conversation and just wanted to get off the phone.
“Love you too,” Margaret said before ending the call.
Janet grabbed her laptop and googled B.L. investigation in her area. The first link was the website with the number (732) 555-1864. Janet wrote down the number and closed her laptop. She figured she would call in the morning because she could not leave her freedom in her mother's hands. It wasn’t that she did not trust her, but this was something that she was becoming obsessed with - finding out who would want to frame her for murder, especially of a man she barely knew.
Chapter 8
Foster parents raised Elliot. Elliot never had the desire to meet his biological parents. Elliot’s foster mother was a doctor of family medicine. As for his foster father, he’s a happy, hardworking man. Elliot’s foster father, Dave, was a well-established OB/GYN doctor. Dave has been practicing for about 35 years. Retirement was soon approaching for both Dave and his wife, Belinda. Elliot was the only child of Dave and Belinda. So, when it came time to make college decisions, he wanted to follow his role model, his foster father, Dave. However, he did not want to specialize in OB/GYN but rather focus on neurology. Elliot stayed to himself and focused on school. He had relationships here and there but never anything serious.
Elliot’s mother, Belinda, was a primary care doctor who had her practice. Belinda was very involved with her family and always made time for her family. She was determined to be very involved with Elliot’s upbringing. Belinda and Dave adopted Elliot from an orphanage church when he was six months old. As far as they know, the adoption was a closed adoption. The parents were not interested in knowing much about Elliot other than a couple of request for his upbringing. The parents requested that Elliot live with a loving but prominent family. Even though the parents were giving Elliot up, they still had his best interest at heart.
Belinda and Dave were loving and took their time in their search for the perfect child. Belinda found out at an early age that she could not have children due to ovarian cancer diagnosis. Dave and Belinda crushed the possibility of having a baby of their own. They did not want to deal with the stress of a surrogate. They did not want to invest the money and time and possible deal with legal action towards the end if the person wanted to keep the baby. The safest way was to adopt, and Elliot was perfect. Twenty-four years later, and after being told he was a foster child, Elliot was determined to be the best at whatever he does and decided to meet his biological parents so he could show them what they let go.
Elliot has become successful and would soon become an internal medicine doctor who’s in his last year of residency. He was compassionate about family people he met on his journey in life. Elliot worked mainly night shift and took classes during the day. Elliot visits home on holidays and every other weekend to make his mother happy. Elliot previously had no real intention to find his biological family at first, but now curiosity is getting the best of him. Lately, Elliot has been curious to know who his parents are. Elliot started spending more time at the bar and was pondering all those questions foster kids ask themselves: why his biological parents gave him up, etc.
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Elliot sat at the bar like most Thursday nights with a beer in hand. He knew he had lots of assignments due. That did not matter; he was focused on how he should go about finding his parents or if it would be worth it. Another thought that crossed his mind was Janet, his neighbor, who lived across the hall. He was attracted to her, and she normally was at the bar around this time. Just as Elliot finished that thought, Janet walked in. They glanced at each other and gave a quick nod, but she sat at the end of the bar and ordered her usual henny and coke.
Elliot pulled out a small piece of paper and his phone. He had not checked his messages all day. He was usually good at keeping up with his messages but since he started looking for his biological parents he was terrified to look at his phone. He had no clue what he would find out about the parents who gave him away. He knew that this day would come and he would have to put those thoughts aside. As he scrolled through his emails, he saw an e-mail from the private investigator who is looking for his parent.
Elliot,
So, I did find out good and bad information about your biological parents. The bad news is that I am still working on finding out who your biological mother is. However, I did find your father. Your father is a rich man who you have probably heard of. He works for Wall Street and is the CEO of a major chain upscale hotel by the name, The Chariot. His name is Robert Ward, and he has an office in lower Manhattan 55 West St. New York, NY 10006. His number is (212) 555-3655. I hope this information is helpful. I will continue to find your biological mother. Let me know if you need anything else.
Ron
Elliot reread the text about five times before writing down Robert’s information. Elliot tried to think whether he should call or just show up to the office. What would he talk about or even ask? he thought to himself. Elliot had a couple more beers and decided to call it a night. As he walked home in the cool breeze, he could feel his buzz from the alcohol intensify. He started to lose his balance as he was walking. He stopped trying to shake it off and gather himself. He always drank the same amount of beers and never felt this drunk from beer. Soon he felt like the world was closing in on him. Elliot knew he had to hurry home or he was going to pass out right there on the street. Right before he felt his knees buckle, he saw a dark figure in front of him. He could not make out who it was because his vision was so blurry. At that moment, Elliot collapsed right in front of his building.
Chapter 9
Margaret was raised in the Bronx in a lower-class family. Her father was a high school janitor, and her mother was a school teacher. Growing up, Margaret and her younger brother and sister barely had what they needed. Her mother and father struggled to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.
When Margaret was 16, she would travel to the lower east side of Manhattan and hang out with a more prestigious crowd. She would dress up and act like she belonged to the upper class. She made plenty of friends. That is how she met Ron. She took a liking to Ron and Ron was very fond of Margaret. She told him her family was wealthy and she just turned 18. Somehow Ron knew she was lying about both her parents and her age. What Margaret didn't know is that Ron's family knew most of the wealthy families in the area, given that Ron's family ran Wall Street and owned their marketing firm. He never questioned Margaret because he was very into her. However, there was a huge age difference. Margaret, from what Ron thought, was 18 at the time and Ron was 29 and engaged to be married to his high school sweetheart. Margaret had no idea about his fiancé. She was more concerned about getting in where she fit in. Ron would spoil Margaret with Chanel purses, red bottom shoes, and Rolex watches. She got used to the high life to the point she dropped out of school and moved out of her mother's house. Ron put her up in a penthouse in the Chelsea Piers area. Ron eventually introduced Margaret to his brother, Robert, as his assistant. Robert had no reason not to believe his brother, as his brother would run through assistance like clockwork. Robert was younger and working his way through NYU to eventually take over his father's company.
After a year of being with Ron, Margaret ended up pregnant. She thought this would help Ron commit to her and move in and become a family. When she told Ron, she was pregnant, everything changed. He stopped paying for the apartment she was in and stopped coming around. He wanted Margaret to have an abortion immediately. He just got married and could not have a child with the woman he was having an affair. To top it off, he found out Margaret lied about her age. He just never confronted her, but having a child with a 17-year-old was unacceptable for his image. Once it was too late to abort, Ron gav
e Margaret an ultimatum to put the baby up for adoption, or he was done supporting her luxury lifestyle. Margaret was devastated, but she ended up putting the baby up for adoption. Soon after she went on a downward spiral and found comfort in Robert. Robert had no idea about Margaret's pregnancy or a baby with his brother, Ron. Hell, Robert had no idea Margaret was even having an affair with Ron.
Ron and Margaret’s relationship was not the same after Margaret gave up her child for adoption. Ron slowly let Margaret be, but he still paid for her apartment. The trips and shopping sprees slowly came to a stop. After months of seeing Robert on and off as friends, things started to get a little more serious. Margaret and Robert ended up getting married when she turned 21. Margaret and Ron never told Robert about their three-year-long affair or their baby together. A couple of months after the wedding, Margaret became pregnant with her second child, but a first child with Robert, a little girl named Janet.
Chapter 10
Olivia grew up in foster homes and group homes. Her upbringing was not easy. Olivia had to make things happen for herself. She ran away multiple times to the point she became a ward of the state of New York. That did not stop her from doing what she wanted to accomplish. She ended up finishing school and went on to college to study criminal justice. Later, she would take the test to become a police officer. Olivia worked hard for everything she had. It was a rough start, but Olivia felt that those trials and tribulations helped form the woman she is today. After excelling with being a police officer, Olivia finally made detective. Olivia focused her whole life in making detective. Once she became a detective she knew this was the perfect time to find her biological parents. Growing up in foster care and group homes was a very traumatic experience for her. She supposed those thoughts helped her excel in the test to be in the field of law enforcement. Once, as she was working towards becoming a detective, she decided to seek therapy under the table.
While in foster care and bouncing from different group homes, she suffered a lot of sexual assault from those who she considered foster family. Her weekly therapy and journaling got her through her darkest hours. Once she could function and use what she learned in therapy, she could take her thoughts for finding her biological family to the next step. She did not want her research to backfire on her with work. So even though she hired a private investigator she still would research some things at work. Looking for her parents brought her to Janet. The problem was how she would run her DNA to see if Janet was truly her stepsister. That is where the private investigator came into play. She could find her mother and stepsister, but it would be a challenge to find her biological father since he was not on the birth certificate.
Olivia made it a point to introduce herself and make her way into Janet’s life, which was very easy given the mess that Janet was always in. She met Janet one day at a bar for disorderly conduct. The bartender wanted to cut Janet off, but Janet did not hear it. From that point forward, Olivia made it her business to look after Janet. She knew that she would eventually cross her mother’s path (Margaret) if she gets closer to Janet. Olivia had no clue how she would handle meeting her family for the first time, but she knew she wanted to know more. Olivia made it her business to watch after Janet. One night when Janet was in her drunken fits, Olivia opened up to Janet to let her know that she is, in fact, her half-sister. She tried to explain that Margret was her mother as well. Olivia knew that Janet did not process that information; she was too drunk to follow. Olivia ended up going through Janet’s phone to find Margaret’s number. She had no clue what she would say to Margaret.
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Once Olivia and Margaret connected, it was something that Margaret had to adjust to. She did not want Ron to find out about her previous life, but she was very curious to get to know Olivia. Olivia was a child that Margaret and Ron had together, her first love. Margaret was in awe with Olivia’s presence. She was a reflection of what was once Ron and her love child. Ron could not deny the love they once shared for each other; it was evident in Olivia’s presence. Margaret was speechless and stared rudely.
At first, both ladies sat quietly trying to mustard up the first words they would start the conversation with. Olivia stayed calmed but had many questions. She waited for this day, for what seemed like an eternity.
“So, Margaret we finally get to meet? I don’t want to bombard you with a million questions,” Olivia said trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t mind any questions you have for me. I feel that I owe you that much,” Margaret responded.
“Well, let’s get right to it then. It is finally good meet you,” Margaret said and smiled.
“Let’s get straight to the point. Why did you give me up? You seem to be doing just fine to me,” Olivia stated while looking Margaret up and down. “You had another child, from what I have gathered,” Olivia said in one breath!
Margaret sat speechlessly; she needed to have a moment to understand the question, and then how to answer it.
“Long story short, Olivia, I was young, and I know that sounds so cliché. I know, but it’s the truth. I fell in love, and a girl from nothing did not have much to offer. I wanted you to have a great life; not a life with struggling and heartache,” Margaret said with sincerity.
“Sounds like you had a selfish plan. That is not at all how my life went. My life was far from easy and comforting. I was in and out of group homes and foster homes. I bounced so much from foster homes I eventually ended up as a ward of the state,” Olivia said in aggravation.
Margaret felt her heart drop deep into her chest. She felt the guilt with every word Olivia spat at her. How can she live this fabulous life and leave behind her flesh and blood suffering? Margaret was lost for words of what to say to Olivia. Margaret knew that there is nothing she could say that would take away the pain she heard in Olivia’s voice. Margaret knew at this point that nothing could come out of her mouth to make her answer easy, but she knew she had to give the correct explanation.
“Honestly, Olivia, I was young and caught up with the fast life. Long story short, I was dealing with a multi-millionaire who was engaged to be married. On top of that, he never really knew how old I was, or that is what I thought. I fought for you, but if I did not either have an abortion or give you up for adoption, my life/your life would be over before it started,” Margaret attempted to explain.
“Now, was I selfish? Absolutely! But at the age of sixteen, the amount of money that was coming in spoke volume, even over my flesh and blood,” Margaret managed to get in.
“Margaret, honestly that is here nor there at this point, but the damage is done. I just want to know why I was not important enough to keep. If your circumstances were the cause, then we will go with that,” Olivia said sensibly.
“I just want to move on and hopefully build from here,” Olivia suggested.
Margaret took a sip of her tea. She needed to let not only what Olivia said catch up to her thoughts, but how do you turn down your child?
“Well, Olivia, it’s good to see you and meet you finally. The issue is, I have a family and, no disrespect, you were my past life. Don’t get me wrong, I live you and always have. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about you or how you are doing. However, you being in my world will complicate things more,” Margaret said, never looking up from her cup of tea. Both women sat in silence. Both looked out the window at the people hustling and bustling in New York City streets. Neither knew what really to say at that very moment. They both had the same intuition; however, they want to find out more about each other.
**Silence**
“So basically, I would be an inconvenience for you or your current life,” Olivia broke the silence.
“It’s complicated Olivia; you would not understand how inconvenient that would be. I would have to explain a lot of my past, with you surfacing. Honestly, it is deeper than ‘I don’t want you in my life’. Rich families have dark secrets,” Margaret explained.
> Olivia took Margaret’s speech as a hint. A hint to consider the family a bit more.
Chapter 11
Janet held her mouth from screaming as she looked at Elliot’s mutilated body. Who could have done this? she thought.
Janet jumped up from her nightmare, sweat dripping down her face, pillow moist. The third time this week she had the same dream. She felt like she could get closer to who did this if she did not wake up so suddenly. Janet looked at the clock; it read 4:03 AM. She figured she would get up and get the day started. She had to meet with Olivia later in the afternoon. Olivia stated she had some “telling news”. Janet was curious as to what she could possibly tell her.
While in the shower, she kept trying to decipher her dream. The phone ringing took her out of her element. “Who could be calling this early,” Janet questioned. She hopped out of the shower and ran towards the phone. The caller id read MOM. “What could she want now?” Janet thought.
“Mom, do you know what time it is?” Janet opened the conversation.
“Baby girl, it’s important, and we need to meet. I could not sleep, so I figure I would call and get to meet with you. Then maybe I could get some sleep,” Margaret insisted.
“I have a meeting with Olivia today,” Janet responded.
“Wait, you and Olivia are not done talking to each other?” Margaret questioned.
“She reached out to me yesterday and said she needed to speak to me, so I decided it was a good time to talk given the case issues and how she disappeared,” Janet responded, puzzled about her mother’s interrogating demeanor.
“Listen, I can’t go into it all with you. I rather tell you in person, but Olivia is your half-sister,” Margaret spits out.
Janet sat in complete silence for a moment. The information she gave hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt violated as if this woman was a spy. She thought about all the personal conversations they had.