“You really think you can find them?” I asked.
Her answer was steady.
“I already have.”
My head snapped up.
“What?”
She nodded slowly.
“That depends on you.”
“It took years. Cross-referencing, tracking origins, working through private channels. But eventually… I found a match.”
My pulse spiked.
“And you’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I weren’t.”
My hands trembled slightly.
“What do we do?”
Desiree didn’t hesitate.
“With your permission… I call them.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“What do we do?”
That was it. Everything shifted in one moment.
I took a breath.
“Do it.”
She nodded and reached for the phone.
The call was short. Calm. Direct.
When she hung up, she looked at me.
“They want to meet you,” she said.
“When?”
“Tomorrow. Here at the shop, at noon.”
I was scared, but agreed. I wanted… no… needed answers.
“They want to meet you.”
***
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I couldn’t, but because my mind wouldn’t stop working behind the scenes.
***
By morning, I was back at the shop.
Waiting for my real family.
The bell above the door rang.
And everything inside me went still.
A middle-aged couple walked in.
Well-dressed, composed. But their eyes—
Their eyes were locked on me.
I didn’t sleep that night.
The woman took a step forward, her hand trembling slightly.
“Oh my God…” she whispered.
The man beside her didn’t speak. He just stared, as if he were afraid that if he blinked, I’d disappear.
Desiree stepped forward. “This is her.”
The woman’s eyes filled instantly.
“You’re alive,” she said.
I didn’t know what to say.
None of this felt real.
