Back to the Present
Now she sat in my living room like a stranger inspecting a property she might buy.
“My husband and I are looking to expand our family, Helen,” she said casually. “He wants children. I want children… but I don’t want to give birth to them. And naturally, the twins fit the bill.”
“You did give birth to them,” I said slowly. “You can’t be serious.”
“Ben doesn’t know that they’re biologically mine,” she continued. “I told him I wanted to adopt a pair of orphaned teenagers. He thought it was noble.”
I stared at her.
“So, you lied to your husband?”
“I prefer to think of it as strategic framing, Helen.”
“And now you want to uproot two teenagers, lie to your husband, and erase the only family they’ve ever known?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I want.”
“And you think they’ll go with you?”
“Of course. They’ll live with us, attend private schools, travel every summer, and have unlimited resources.”
My chest tightened.
“They’re 16,” she added. “They’ll want more than this shack, Helen. After all… I’m their mother.”
“And what about me?” I asked quietly.
She waved a dismissive hand.
“Oh, you won’t be part of it. My husband can’t know there’s a grandmother involved—especially not one with your… limitations.”
Then she looked me up and down and smiled coldly.
“And let’s be honest. How much longer do you plan to be around anyway?”
Before I could answer, she raised her voice.
“Jacob! Lily! Come out here, please!”
For illustrative purposes only
The Twins’ Response
Footsteps creaked on the stairs.
Lily appeared first, Jacob close behind her. They both stopped when they saw Maribelle.
“Darlings!” she exclaimed, spreading her arms. “My Goodness, look at you.”
Neither of them moved.
“You remember me, don’t you?” she asked brightly. “I’m your mother.”
Jacob frowned.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why do you think we’d remember you? You left us when we were babies.”
“I came to take you home,” she said. “My husband and I have decided to adopt. I chose you both. You’ll live with us now—private schools, new clothes, real opportunities.”
“Adopt?” Lily asked sharply.
“Yes,” Maribelle nodded. “I allowed your grandmother to adopt you legally back then. But my husband doesn’t know you’re my children. I told him that you were orphans.”
“You lied to him?”
I felt a surge of pride hearing them challenge her.
“Let’s not get caught up in technicalities,” she said. “All that matters is you’ll have a better life.”
“You mean with the woman who raised us?” Lily asked, stepping closer to me.
Maribelle’s smile faltered.
“You left,” Lily said. “You disappeared. But she stayed. And she loved us.”
“You don’t understand…”
“Oh, we understand perfectly,” Jacob said. “You’re not coming in here like you didn’t miss 15 years of our lives.”
“You’ll regret this when she’s gone and you’re stuck in this rundown dump,” Maribelle snapped.
“We’re not yours to take!” Jacob shouted.
“We never were,” Lily added, gripping my arm.
Maribelle’s face twisted with anger.
Then she stormed out.
A Week Later
A week later, everything unraveled for her.
My phone rang while I was cooking green curry.
“Helen,” the man on the line said gently. “My name is Thomas. I’m legal counsel for Mr. Dean. I believe you should hear what we’ve discovered.”
He explained that his team had searched adoption records.
There were none.
Instead, they found birth certificates listing Maribelle as the twins’ mother.
“Mr. Dean was shocked,” Thomas said. “He had no idea these were his wife’s biological children.”
Within forty-eight hours, Maribelle received divorce papers.
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