Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law

Chapter 301: What The...

Adam sighed and reached for his phone, unlocking it without a word. He held it out to Melanie. "Here. Look at this."

Melanie took the phone from him, curiosity flickering across her face. But the moment she saw the screen, her expression changed- her eyes widened in shock and she smiled,"This... this is a picture of me. From when I was a child. Where did you get this? Grandma had this on the shelf as well. All the time."

Adam exhaled slowly, the weight of what he was about to reveal pressing down on him. He had been holding on to the slim hope that it was all just a coincidence, some strange mistake. But now, faced with her reaction, that hope slipped away and he patted her waist as he continued quietly while swiping at the screen, "I was hoping I was wrong. But this is why I have it. And it is one of the reasons that I am questioning you."

Melanie’s hand froze mid-motion. She stared at the new image on the screen, her voice barely audible. "This? What is this?" Her eyes narrowed. "It’s a missing child report? But why would it have my picture..."

She trailed off then and before Adam could respond, she began scrolling through the report, her fingers moving automatically, as if needing to see more, to understand. Each line she read seemed to drain a little more colour from her face.

The more she read, the more numb she felt. She could barely breathe and felt her skin growing clammy and cold. Her hands began to tremble.

She felt herself shiver at the growing realization of what she was seeing-and what it meant.

Melanie stared blankly at the screen, her thoughts frozen, her mind unable to process what her eyes were seeing. Words seemed to blurr together-missing, kidnapped, bedroom, grandmother. They no longer felt like parts of a report but sharp shards of something deeper- something breaking inside her.

Her hands dropped to her lap, phone still clutched loosely between her fingers.

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move.

Adam, watched her unravel in silence and continued to rub her back, offering his silent support. She didn’t resist. Didn’t react. She just sat there, stiff and stunned.

"I’m sorry that I had to break this to you." he whispered, pressing his cheek lightly against the side of her head. His fingers threaded through her hair, caressing it carefully.

It was only after a long moment that she finally turned her face toward him. Her eyes, wide and glassy, searched his.

"Is this for real?" She asked in a hollow voice and Adam felt himself wonder if he had done the right thing. If her grandmother had really done what she had done, that meant the woman she loves so much was also the one responsible for taking away her parents from her.

He didn’t speak immediately, at a loss on how to console her... He simply held her gaze, then gave the smallest nod.

Her face twisted, disbelief mingling with fear. "But... this says I was kidnapped from my bedroom. I was four, Adam. Four. I am sure I have memories from before that and..."

She stopped uncertainly and looked down at the phone again, as if hoping it might have changed. Her voice trembled as she read aloud, "... last seen wearing a pink sleepsuit... window open... no forced entry... presumed to have been abducted by someone known..."

She blinked hard. "They searched everywhere, it says. And then they reached the conclusion that... that my grandmother took me?"

Her voice cracked. "I was kidnapped by grandma? Why would she do that? This... this is impossible. There has to be a mistake? Why would she take me away. And I had seen her cry so many times for her children..."

She clutched the phone tighter now, coming to a different conclusion. Did she never talk about her parents not because she was sad over their death but because she was guilty over her own deeds."

Adam didn’t answer. There was nothing he could say to make it easier.

Instead, he pulled her into his arms again. Melanie didn’t fight it. She let herself lean into him, the full weight of the revelation pressing down on her chest. Her body shivered against his, cold with confusion and disbelief.

After a long while, Melanie shifted in Adam’s arms and straightened, looking down at his phone in her hand. She stared at th edark screen as her thumb hovered over it for a few moments...

Adam seemed to understand her confusion so he took his phone out of her hand and instead held her cold hand in his," What is on your mind?"

Melanie looked up at him with a blank look before going," Should I contact them? My biological parents? The police report would be having their name and number, right?"

Adam took the phone from her hand and placed it aside. She looked up at him, still with that dazed look, that told her she was in shock as she asked him," What are you doing?"

Adam cupped her cheeks and said," Don’t worry about looking for your biological parents right now. You’ve just discovered something so big. Take your time adjusting to it."

But Melanie shook her head," No no! I have to look for them. They must have been devastated. The report says they kept on looking for me for years. I should find them..." Melanie mumbled but Adam simply shook his head," I’ve found them for you, Melanie. But I don’ want you to contact them right now. Trust me on this? You are in shock right now. You will regret it later. So... wait okay?"

He continued to stare into her eyes, wondering if she had even heard what he said and only exhaled slowly in relief when he watched her nod in understanding.

She looked at him, her lips pressing into a faint, bitter curve.

"You’re right," she said quietly. "There’s no hurry."

She looked away again, her gaze falling to the floor. Her voice dropped lower.

"They’ve already missed most of my life... a couple more days won’t make any difference."

She blinked hard then and before he could say anything, buried her face into his shoulders and whispered," I think I want to cry... But I don’t know why..."

Adam nodded against her head and held her tightly as he said," Then go ahead. Cry as much as you need. Even if you don’t know the reason."noveldrama