GABRIELUgh, I couldn’t believe that the DNA test results were still not here. I mean, I paid good money for this test and now it is taking forever. This was so frustrating!But wait, what if there was a good reason they’re late? Maybe something unexpected came up, or they backed the lab up with other tests. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It was best to call the clinic and see if Chris could give me an update.“Hello, this is Dr. Chris speaking. How may I assist you?” he said as soon as he picked up.“Hi, Chris. It’s me, Gabriel. I was just wondering if there’s any update on my DNA test results. They were supposed to be here by now.” I asked worriedly.“Ah, yes. I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t received your results yet. We actually had a bit of a delay at the lab, but I can assure you we’re doing everything we can to get your results to you as soon as possible. Most likely this evening at closing time.”“Oh, I see. Do you have any idea of the exact time?” I pushed more. “Well, I
KIRA“Alana, I can’t find Maddie anywhere. I am desperate!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “She is missing again, and it is already late” “What do you mean, you can’t find her? Where did you last see her?” Alana asked in shock.“I took her to school when I went to work this morning. I expected her to be home when I got back. Mrs. Crane always picks her up from school. But when I came back, she wasn’t here.” I was hyperventilating. I knew we had been through this once before, but now it was well into the night, and Maddie was nowhere. “Oh my god, have you checked with any of her friends’ houses or with any of the neighbors?” she panicked.“Yes, I’ve already talked to everyone in the neighborhood, but no one has seen her. Mrs. Crane called to tell me she didn’t bring her home because she went to wait for her at school but Maddie didn’t show up. Oh my God! Where could she be?” “Okay, don’t panic. We’ll help you find her. Maybe we should call the police?” “You know how they ha
GABRIELI walked out of the office shocked and distraught. She was my daughter. My own flesh and blood. And the more I thought about it, the more my blood boiled in my veins. I took deep breaths, trying to come to terms with the news, but it was so damn hard. I couldn’t believe it. Little Maddie was my daughter. The more I said it the more I could hardly believe it. The DNA test results didn’t lie. It was like a bomb just went off in my head. I was in shock.How could Kira keep this from me? How could she deny me the chance to be a father to my own flesh and blood? It was not fair. It was not right. What was her reason for doing it?I couldn’t help but feel angry and betrayed. Kira and I were together, talked so many times, and she never once mentioned Maddie. I found out in the most horrific way. Why did she do that? Was she trying to punish me for something? And what about Maddie? She was an innocent child caught in the middle of all this. She deserved to have a father in her life
KIRAThe moment I saw Gabriel in the doorway with Maddie in his arms, being the early morning, I simply went crazy.“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked without a hint of agitation. “I’ve been looking for my daughter for half a day and she shows up in your arms practically the next day and you didn’t even bother to call me to let me know she’s okay?” I exploded. And as if he didn’t listen to me he put Maddie down and walked nonchalantly into the house.“Thank you for finding her, Gabriel, and bringing her home safe and sound,” he said as he walked past me.I was expecting a heated argument. What argument was I saying? A war in the genuine sense of the word.“I can’t believe you didn’t bring Maddie home as soon as you found her. It was after midnight, and I was so worried about her,” I yelled at the top of my lungs, watching Maddie already going upstairs.“I understand you were worried, Kira, but I didn’t feel comfortable bringing Maddie home by myself in the middle of the night. I thou
KIRA“My friend, I am here now,” Alana said and wrapped her warm arms around me. I needed that hug like I needed air to breathe. “Alana, I’m so glad you’re here. I need to talk to you about something really important,” I told her, holding her gaze. We eventually sat on the couch. It felt like the earth was shaking under my feet. “Ok, now you can tell me. What’s going on?” she said, grabbing my hands. “Gabriel brought Maddie home in the morning like nothing happened and I snapped. I yelled at him. He had no rights and that he is not the father to tell me what is best for Maddie and what is not. And that was when Gabriel made a threat. He said that my words will cost me dearly and that things won’t stay the way they are.” “What does that mean?” she asked.“I’m scared that he’s going to find out that Maddie is his daughter and file a paternity suit against me. He is capable of threatening me with a lawsuit,” I explained. “Wait, why would he do that? Maddie is five years old now. Wh
GABRIEL I was so pissed off. Enraged. I had been thinking about this for a while now, and I had concluded that it was finally time to take action. It was time to sue Kira for full custody of my little girl, Maddie. It had been a constant source of frustration for me that Kira had hidden Maddie’s identity from me for so long. I couldn’t help but feel like she’s been intentionally keeping Maddie away from me. It was not right, and it was not fair to Maddie. I tried to be understanding of Kira’s situation. I knew that being a single parent was hard, and I tried to be there for Maddie as much as possible since I met her. But I realized now that Kira was not willing to cooperate. Mostly because of her misplaced reaction to our last meeting. She was not interested in co-parenting or sharing custody. She was not willing to compromise. It was time for me to take matters into my own hands. I couldn’t just sit back and let Kira call all the shots. Maddie deserved to have a relationship wit
KIRA“What the hell is this, Alana?” I asked, reading an envelope that clearly said someone summoned me to Court. I didn’t even have to open it to figure out what was inside. Alana was standing in front of me at the kitchen table sipping coffee. I skipped work, and she did, too. She didn’t want to leave me alone. “Alana, I don’t know what to do. I just received this envelope from the court and it’s a citation in my name,” I said in a panic.“What? What does it say?” she asked.“Gabriel is petitioning me for full custody of Maddie. The man is crazy.” “Oh my God! Ok, we knew this would happen. Are you ok with this?” “No, I’m not okay. I’m freaking out. There is nothing I can do. I feel like I’m going to lose Maddie.” I said, and tears started welling up in my eyes.“Kira, you need to stay calm. The best thing to do right now is to contact Mark. You need to tell him everything from the day you conceived Maddie until you kicked Gabriel out of your life. He will know what to do and how
KIRA“OK, Mark, I will tell you everything that happened between me and Gabriel,” I said, acknowledging that if I wanted this to work, I would have to be totally honest with him. “Of course, Kira. You can trust me. Tell me all about it!” he said, giving me the exact confidence I needed.“Well, it all started when I first met Gabriel. He was my direct manager, and I was immediately wary of him because of his reputation as a womanizer. But over time, I fell for him.” I started gulping a few times, thinking of how stupid I was.“I see. And what happened next?” “One day, Gabriel made advances on me, and I resisted at first. But eventually, I gave in, and we started a relationship. It was intense, and we even went on Hollow Peak for Christmas five years ago, where Maddie was conceived. But that you already know. It was then that my decline begun” “I know, no need to remember that time again. One question is bothering me. I could tell you loved him, Kira. Why did you decide to leave Gabr