Chapter 4
1259 Words
Dinah's POV
*****
My eyes opened slowly and the first thing I noticed was the quiet. Then a sharp headache hit my head, causing me to grit my teeth.
Then came the sterile scent of antiseptic. And the sound of beeping from a machine. I was covered in warm bed sheets and I could still feel some pain on my back and ribs.
I blinked repeatedly, my eyes widening with shock.
A hospital room?
I tried to sit up, biting my bottom lip as a sharp pain shot through the right side of my body.
Suddenly, the hospital room door opened and a man walked in.
He was tall, had dark hair, and dressed in a black suit that probably cost more than an average person's rent for a year. His sharp eyes scanned me without emotion, his posture straight and his movements filled with confidence.
He looked like a man used to giving orders and watching the world obey.
“You’re awake,” He said plainly. “That's good.”
I blinked, eyeing him from his head to his toes before I asked the obvious question. "Who are you?”
“Jayden Castle,” He responded with a small smile curling up the corner of his lips, standing in front of the foot of my bed.
I didn't recognize the name, causing me to furrow my eyebrows.
But then he added. “I’m the reason you’re not in a prison cell right now. And also the reason you're alive."
My fingers clenched the sheets. Why did he make it sound like I should be thanking him while kneeling before his feet?
“Why?” I queried, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he dropped a folder on the table in front of the foot of my bed and then sat down, causing me to subconsciously curl my toes as I stared at him cautiously.
“I’ve been following your case for a while now,” He said. “Not because I was interested in your family... But because I was interested in you.”
Oh, so he's a stalker?
I became even more cautious as I asked. "What do you mean?”
He opened the folder and handed it to me. Inside it were old photographs, a copy of a birth certificate, and what seemed like handwritten letters.
And then... I saw her.
A picture of a woman smiling in the sun. She was holding a baby close to her chest.
“That’s your mother,” Jayden said quietly. “Your real one.”
I stared at the picture, shaking my head with confusion. “No. My mom is—”
“Mrs. Redwood is not your biological mother. A fact you should already know." He interrupted. “You were taken in under false pretenses and covered up by lawyers. It was an illegal adoption that violated almost every code in the book.”
I swallowed hard, speechless and shaken.
But he didn't pay much heed to my distress and continued, pointing at a page in the folder. “Your mother’s name was Miriam. She worked for the Redwoods as a housekeeper for four years and then gave birth to you in a clinic. Five months later, she vanished.”
Breathing became almost impossible as I shook my head repeatedly, unable to come to terms with most of the information I was getting.
“I don’t... why would they take me?” I queried, stuttering with a shaky voice.
He leaned forward and spoke with a low voice, his rich cologne whiffing into my nostrils.
“Because Lilah had an accident. One that was made private by her family. She was supposed to be the one to carry the Redwood legacy forward, and your mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You were born healthy. You were... convenient.”
The world seemed to spin once again, forcing me to place my hand on my forehead as I drew in a heavy breath.
“They stole me?” I asked with a whisper, my jaw clenching with both disbelief and anger.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t breathe, my eyes stinging as I blinked repeatedly to hold back any tears.
Jayden studied my face for a moment, then added. "But your mother didn’t go quietly. She tried to fight for you. She reached out to people. Lawyers. Activists. She was set to go public with a story.”
Then he paused, sighing lightly.
“And then she disappeared.”
I placed both hands in front of my mouth.
“She’s dead, isn’t she?” I whispered.
“We don’t have a body,” He responded solemnly. “But we do have this.”
He handed me a phone, causing my frown to deepen.
“Her last voicemail. She sent it to a friend hours before she vanished,” He explained as I stared at the phone.
However, I didn’t reach for it but Jayden didn’t force me.
Instead, he said. "I’m giving you a choice, Dinah. You can keep pretending you’re part of a family that used you. Or you can fight back.”
Fight back?
I blinked back tears, and my breathing became hitched. "How?”
“Marry me.” He suddenly said words that I would've never imagined in a million years.
What the heck?
"Excuse me?"
He stood just then, buttoning his suit. “I’m not interested in romance. This is merely a contract. You become my wife, and I give you everything you need... Immunity, protection, power. No one will be able to touch you. Not the police. Not the Redwoods. Not even your pathetic ex, Daniel.”
My heart pounded as I parted my lips repeatedly, unable to believe what I was hearing.
“Why would you do this?” I asked, fiddling nervously with my fingers as I stared at him.
“Because I have my reasons. Personal to me." He said bluntly. “And because people like the Redwoods only understand one thing... Status. They took your life and I'm offering you the chance to reclaim it.”
He took a step back, his eyes still lingering on me until my face heated up with embarrassment.
“I don’t need your answer today." He blurted, finally looking away from me. "But at least, listen to the voicemail.”
He gestured at the phone and then turned to leave. “Press play when you’re ready.”
With that, he walked out of the room and the door clicked shut behind him.
~~~~~
I sat in silence for a long time, thinking about all the things I discovered today.
Then I picked up the phone Jayden had handed to me, staring at it for several seconds.
My hand trembled as I pressed play.
Then her voice came through, sounding soft and nervous. My real mother.
“Dinah, baby... if you're hearing this, it means I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry. I tried. I went to the house. I begged her. But she’s made up her mind. She says you’re hers now. But you’re not. You’re mine. And I love you more than anything. If anything happens to me... Don’t believe their lies. Remember who you are.”
My hand dropped to my lap alongside the phone.
I didn’t even realize I was crying until tears fell to my legs, forcing me to use the back of my hand to wipe them off.
She was real.
And they’d stolen me from her.
Everything I thought I knew was a lie.
- Writer
