The Mother Who Raised Her
Chapter 05 - The Mother Who Raised Her
Helen Parker arrived at the station furious and terrified.
She was a forty-eight-year-old school librarian with short brown hair and a voice that shook only when she looked at Richard’s forged consent.
“I did not steal anyone’s child,” she said.
Sophia believed her.
Helen explained that she and her late husband, David, struggled with infertility. A lawyer named Martin Voss arranged a private adoption and assured them the birth mother wanted secrecy.
They paid legal fees.
Nothing more.
Helen met no relatives.
A nurse brought Emma to their home three days after the birth.
“Did you ever question it?” Adrian asked.
Helen looked ashamed.
“We asked why there was no hospital meeting. Voss said Sophia had left the state.”
Sophia asked the hardest question.
“Did my father contact you later?”
Helen’s silence answered.
Richard called once a year.
He asked whether Emma was healthy and doing well.
He sent money through the lawyer for education.
Helen believed he was honoring a private agreement with Sophia.
“He told me never to contact you because it would destabilize you,” Helen said.
Sophia laughed bitterly.
Richard used the same word for everyone.
Stability.
His favorite name for obedience.
Emma sat between Helen and Sophia in a quiet diner near the station.
The three women did not know how to look at one another.
Helen was the mother who knew Emma’s favorite books, her allergies, and the exact song that calmed her during thunderstorms.
Sophia was the mother whose body remembered carrying her.
Neither erased the other.
Emma finally said, “I’m not choosing.”
Helen reached for her hand.
“You do not have to.”
Sophia nodded.
“I would never ask you to.”
Adrian watched them from across the table.
His phone rang.
Vanessa’s name appeared.
He stepped outside to answer.
May you like
She spoke quickly.
“Richard is destroying files at the mansion.”
