Liam stared at the DNA result until his hands began to sweat.
Mother: Amira Fernandez
Daughter: Selene Amaris
She was alive. He whispered her name like a prayer and a curse. "Selene…" It had been twenty-seven years since he held that screaming baby in his arms, the baby Amira had ordered him to make disappear. And he had almost done it. Almost.
29 Years Ago
The room was cold. The labour room was filled with her loud, piercing voice. Amira was screaming. George paced outside, nervous, but smiling. He had no idea what was coming. And Amira? She wasn't screaming in pain; she was screaming in rage. "Get it out of me," she growled. She was sweating profusely "I want it gone the moment it breathes." Liam was stunned; he was the only doctor there, but with an auxiliary nurse, she wasn't aware of anything. Amira had threatened him, manipulated him, and paid him enough to ruin a man's soul. When the baby came out, she was perfect. A girl. Pale skin, dark curls, already crying with fire. Liam held her, staring down. And he knew he couldn't do it. So, he didn't. Amira only had a glance at her baby. Instead of killing the baby, Liam paid that nurse, swhowas a quiet woman named Magda Amaris, who had once lost a daughter of her own. "Take her," Liam whispered. "Give her a new name. Raise her far from this world." Magda nodded, tearfully. Amira never looked at the child again. She had already arranged for another child: a boy, whom she named Brown. She told George it was theirs. But the real Selene? She disappeared that day. Until now. Selene and Brown were the same age.
Presently, Liam sat in his study room, with dim light, cold atmosphere; he lit a cigarette with shaking hands.
"She'll come for you, Amira," he muttered. "And when she does… I won't stop her." He took out an old photograph, faded from the time of himself, Leo, and Amira. Back when they were just young adults with dangerous dreams. And behind it... a birth certificate.
Selene Amaris Caldwell
Born to: Amira Fernandez
Father: George Caldwell
He folded the paper and placed it into an envelope addressed to Selene.
"Time to tell her who she is."
Liam reached for his phone. He dialled a number from a burner phone he hadn't used in 20 years. A woman's voice answered. "Hello?" "Is this Selene Amaris Caldwell?" A long pause. "Who's asking?" Liam's voice trembled. "The man who saved your life 27 years ago.