JULIAN’S POV
Did I just hear her right, or were my ears deceiving me? My mind struggled to process her words as if they were foreign sounds bouncing around in my skull.
YOs say?” I asked, my voice uncertain
“What… what did you just say?” I asked, my voice uncertain, almost shaky. I needed to be sure, because surely, I couldn’t have heard her correctly.
From the other end of the phone, I could hear her soft sobs. She was crying. Not just sniffling or tearing up, but genuinely crying. This was serious. My heart clenched as I imagined her sitting there, tears streaming down her face.
“Liv, breathe. Calm down for a moment,” I said gently, trying to steady my own racing heart. “Take a minute, then tell me what’s going on. What do you mean you’re adopted?” My voice was low, concerned, and urging her to explain.
She took in a shaky breath, then another, clearly trying to compose herself. I could hear the sound of her swallowing down her sobs.
“Remember when I told you I found something at Adrian’s place? And I said I was going to tell you about it?” she finally managed to say, her voice still trembling.
“Yes,” I replied immediately, my mind flashing back to that moment. She had seemed. disturbed, but I never imagined it was something this big.
“Well…” She paused, and I could tell she was gathering her courage. “After I found out what I did, I went over to confront them my so–called parents and while I was there, I overheard them talking. That’s when I heard them say it. That I was adopted.” Her voice cracked slightly at the end. “And when they realized I had overheard them, they confirmed it. They didn’t even deny it.”
Damn. I felt like the floor had dropped out beneath me. My knees buckled, and I had to sit down, running a hand through my hair in frustration and disbelief. Just earlier today, I had been feeling good – hopeful, now that we got one of them, And now this? My chest tightened with sympathy for her.
“That must be a lot to take in… I’m so sorry, Liv. Really, I am,” I said softly, my heart aching for her.
“There’s no need for you to apologize,” she responded quickly, her voice tight with pain and a trace of bitterness. “It’s not like you were the one who lied to me all these years.”
Her words stung, not because they were directed at me, but because of the raw hurt in her tone. I wished there was more I could do to comfort her.
“Do you want me to come over? Successfully unlocked! > properly,” I offered, hoping she‘ d let me be there for her in person.
But she quickly declined. “No, I’m at the hospital right now, and Adrian’s here with me. I really don’t want to create another scene,” she replied, her voice sounding exhausted.
1/3
CHAPTER 074
My concern only deepened. “Hospital? Wait, why are you at the hospital?” I asked, my pulse quickening.
She sighed heavily, and I could hear the weight of her guilt in that breath. “I… I might have said some things I shouldn’t have told my dad. He got worked up, and he had a heart attack,” she confessed quietly.
Ouch. Even though, technically, he wasn’t her biological father, the news still hit me hard. It was complicated – painful and messy in ways I could hardly imagine. My mind. raced with questions, but all I cared about at that moment was her.
“Liv…” I began, my voice soft, but the words caught in my throat. How could I even begin to make this better for her?
“It’s not your fault, he kept something like that from you all these years, it’s only natural to react that way,” I replied to her.
Silence
She didn’t reply to what I said, I hope I didn’t say anything wrong.
“Don’t stress yourself too much, okay? All of this… it’s not good for you right now,” 1 added, my voice full of concern. I could still hear her sobbing quietly on the other end, and it tore at me. I wished more than anything that I could be there beside her, to comfort her, to take some of the weight off her shoulders.
“I’m fine,” she replied, though her voice betrayed her words. She was trying to sound strong, trying to hold herself together. I could tell she was fighting to keep herself from crying even harder. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good,” she added, but I wasn’t
convinced.
“Please, Liv… really try to be fine. Not just for your own sake, but also for your baby,” I reminded her gently. It wasn’t just her anymore
“Alright, I will,” she promised softly, though her voice still trembled under the weight of her emotions.
Trying to shift the focus slightly, I updated her on the situation. “My private
investigators are still working on getting that driver to confess,” I informed her. “But he‘ s proving to be more stubborn than we expected. Every time we question him, he just clams up tighter.”
“I trust you,” Olivia said with a bit more strength in her voice. I could hear a flicker of determination returning. “You’ll get him to talk, Julian. I know you will. He’ll break eventually.”
“I was actually on my way to check on their progress before I saw your call,” I admitted. Truthfully, I’d been eager to see if they had made any headway, but hearing from her had taken immediate priority.
“Julian, I need a quick favor,” she said, her tone shifting, a hint of hesitation laced with hopefulness.
CHAPTER 074
“Anything,” I replied without a second thought. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath, as though preparing herself for the words she was about to say. “Since I got to the hospital, I’ve been thinking… my real parents. Are they still out there somewhere? Should I try to reach out to them?” Her voice wavered between fear and longing. “I don’t know if you could do some digging, maybe find out something about them?”
I paused for a moment, weighing her request carefully “Um… Olivia, that’s going to be really difficult,” I admitted honestly. “Even for someone like me. To track them down, I’d need at least some information. Anything at all. Without even a starting point, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“But how am I supposed to find any information about people I never even knew existed?” she replied, frustration creeping into her voice. It was a fair question, one! wished I had a simple answer to.
“Well,” I said, thinking out loud, “another route we could take is going to the foster home that took you in before your adoption. They might have some records, something we could work with.”
“So I still have to go talk to my adoptive parents… even when I don’t want to,” she said bitterly. The thought clearly pained her, and I couldn’t blame her. After what they’d bidden from her all these years.
“I know it’s not what you want to hear,” I said gently, “but they might hold the missing pieces we need. Just think about it, Liv.”
She let out a sigh again then said “When my dad wakes up I’ll go ask him about it.” She said, I could hear from her tone how she didn’t want to do it.
“All alright then, just give me a call when you’re done, and please reply to my messages faster so my heart won’t leave my chest every second,” I said to her.
And I heard her let out a small laugh, at least that would living her mood a bit.
Without another word I ended the call, until she called me back I had another problem. to take care of.
CHAPTER 075:
