Irresistible Boss Succumbing to Your Touch (Maria Anita) novel Chapter 3

Cam’s POV

The woman who approached me was over forty, with very simple manners and eyes filled with tears. She was wringing a small handkerchief in her hands, and a young man stood beside her, supporting her.

"I apologize for my mother, but ever since the police officer came to our house, she's been restless and nervous," the young man said.

I moved closer to her and gently held her hands. There was so much pain in those eyes; it seemed they had been crying for a long time - the marks around them told that story. My grandmother used to say that the heart of a mother who loses her child could never be consoled.

"I'm so sorry!" was all I could say before becoming emotional myself. I knew that baby could have been her daughter or my sister; there was a pain uniting us in that moment. "Could we talk for a while? Do you have time?" She just nodded.

We left the cemetery and sat down at a nearby diner. My father and she connected through their shared pain, through the tragedies that had struck them, but this woman had been haunted by doubt every day for almost twenty years. And I understood that worse than the certainty of a daughter's death was the uncertainty of where she might be.

"You know, when I had my children, nobody believed me, nobody believed there were two," she began to tell her story. "My husband thought I was going crazy because I almost died during childbirth. But I wasn't; I was certain of what I had seen and heard."

"And what did you see and hear, Teresa?" That was her name.

"The first one born was this one here, Jefferson. He was born crying strongly, loudly. The woman who delivered the baby said it was a boy, put him aside on the bed, and told me, 'now push again because the other one is coming.' I didn't know there were two; I hadn't had those tests to see the baby, so I was surprised, a bit scared, but very happy - it was a blessing God gave me. We lived in the hollow, had a small corn field there, life was tight, but we had plenty of love for two children and even more. But after everything that happened there, my husband got discouraged, sold everything, and bought a small house here in the city. He works at your farm." Teresa gave a small smile. "And it was better that way, life got better. But nobody believed I had two children, not even my husband. He only believed it now that the police officer came to our house."

"Look, Orlando, there's no need to apologize. I came here to thank you all. I came to thank you because all these years I lived with doubt and with people calling me crazy. One way or another, you're giving me peace, the peace of knowing where my little girl is. And at least I'll have a grave to cry at and bring flowers to." Teresa had the resilience that only a mother possesses. "That's it, I just wanted to thank you and say that I'm also sorry for everything you've been through and are going through, and if I can help with anything, you can count on me."

We talked a bit more and learned that she couldn't have more children after what happened. But the son she had was a good young man; he was studying, working in town commerce, and attending college in the neighboring city. They were a loving, hardworking, and very close family. Before we said goodbye, I asked Teresa her husband's name; I wanted to see what I could do for this family.

I arrived home with the painful realization that much had been taken from my sister, more than what was taken from all of us. Manu grew up being mistreated, ostracized, rejected, whereas if she had been raised by Teresa or my mother, she would have been a very wanted and loved child, she would have been infinitely happier. Nothing could erase what my sister suffered at Rita's hands, I knew, and thinking that her story could have been so different filled me with great sadness.

But I had no time to keep lamenting; I needed to keep my head straight, resolve things, and stay alert to protect my sister, because it wouldn't be long before Rita discovered we were investigating the past, and she would surely come after Manu, which I would never allow again.