The Stolen Daughter

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

  “Where’s your mom?” Cynthia asked.

  “Aunt Marilyn and one of her church friends are bringing her home from the hospital. I had to stay here for the people to come fix our window,” I said.

  “Oh, and Destiny?”

  “She’s with Malcolm’s sister.”

  Cynthia turned up her nose. “And all of them left without baths?”

  I rolled my eyes at my friend. “We used some bottled water to brush our teeth.”

  “You know that’s crazy, right?” Cynthia retorted. “Especially considering your father is stupid rich.”

  I was just about to say something else to her when the doorbell rang.

  “You’re expecting somebody?” she asked.

  “No.” I shrugged. Outside of Malcolm’s friends, no one ever visited us. I walked over and glanced out the peephole. I turned to Cynthia, my eyes bugging. “It’s Phillip,” I whispered.

  “Who is Phillip?” she asked.

  “Major’s nephew. My cousin, I guess.”

  “Well, open the door and let our rich family in. Is Phillip cute? Maybe I can get in this rich family, too.” She wiggled her hips in anticipation, eliciting a chuckle for the first time in the past twenty-four hours.

  I spun back toward the door. “Hello, Phillip,” I said after I’d opened the door. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, his nose turned up like the very sight of my small town home disgusted him. “I just happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to drop by.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t know what he was up to, but he was a horrible liar. “Oh, you just happened to be in my neighborhood?”

  “Okay. So, I came over to see you,” he confessed. “May I come in?”

  I wanted to ask him if he was sure he wanted to do that since he was looking at my place with such disdain. But I was curious, so I stepped aside and motioned for him to come in.

  “Well, hello,” Cynthia said, sashaying over to him. She threw her burgundy braids over her shoulder and smiled in his direction. “I’m Cynthia, Jill’s bestie.”

  “Do grown people say bestie?” he replied, his nose scrunched up.

  Cynthia wasn’t fazed by his rudeness. “I do. And you are?” she said, her seductive meter on ten.

  Phillip didn’t bother to shake her outstretched hand. He just looked at her, turned his nose up some more and said, “Not interested.”

  Cynthia dropped her hand, cocked her head and looked at me. “Did he really go there?” she asked.

  “Chill for a minute, okay?” I replied. “I’m sure Phillip wasn’t trying to be rude.”

  Phillip pursed his lips and didn’t respond. “Look, I just stopped by because I would like to talk with you for a moment,” he said, dismissing Cynthia.

  “Talk to me about what?” I asked.

  He looked over at Cynthia, like he expected her to leave the room. Instead Cynthia said, “Yeah, talk to us about what?”

  “Not us,” he said, not bothering to look at Cynthia. “Talk to you.”

  “Well, she’s my best friend, so . . .”

  “I would prefer to have this as a private conversation,” he said, his irritation evident.

  Cynthia stepped to the side of me. “Well, we don’t really care what you prefer.” Her desire to be a part of the Logan family was out the window and she’d brought out South Side Chicago Cynthia.

  I looked at her and said, “Give us a minute. Okay?”

  She rolled her eyes, looked Phillip up and down, and then hissed, “Ol’ bougie, pint-sized . . .” she muttered as she walked off.

  “Phillip, what can I help you with?” I asked once Cynthia had disappeared upstairs.

  He sighed, brushed his tweed coat down, stood erect like he was about to recite a well-rehearsed speech and said, “Well, as you can imagine, your appearance has caught this family by surprise.”

  I folded my arms and glared at him. “Well, as you’ve been told countless times, I didn’t seek them out. They sought me.”

  “I understand that.” He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “My aunt has this desperate void that she’s been trying to fill for years.”

  “Okay. And?”

  “And my point is,” he began pacing, “I am very protective of my aunt and uncle. And if I think for a moment you are trying to do something dirty—”

  “Whoa, let me stop you,” I said, holding up my hands to cut him off. “If I am indeed their child, we will deal with it then. But don’t come walking into my house, hurling accusations at me.”

  “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.” He paused, like he was thinking about how to say his next words. “I’m sure they will want to rewrite their will, so I simply want to make sure you’re on the up and up.”

  I laughed. “Oh, that’s what this is about? You’re afraid that everything will no longer be left to you?”

  He ignored my question as he looked around my place. His eyes widened at the sight of the shattered window and the holes in the wall. “Oh my God. Are those bullet holes?”

  “What can I do for you, Phillip?” I really didn’t have the stamina for this right now.

  He pulled his coat closed, like he was scared someone was about to open fire again right then. “I didn’t think this place looked safe. You can’t possible by okay with raising your daughter in these conditions.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out what looked like his checkbook. “How about I just write you a check for you to just forget this DNA nonsense with my aunt and uncle and tell them you have no interest in getting to know them. Then you and your family can go back to your normal . . .” he looked around my living room, “. . . drama-filled lives.”

  I couldn’t believe the nerve of him. If I’d given one iota about the Logan money, I wouldn’t be sitting here lamenting my bleak financial situation. “How about you get the hell out of my house?” I said.

  “Jillian, I don’t want things to be ugly between us,” he replied. “I’m just trying . . .”

  “Goodbye, Phillip. I have things to do.” I walked over to the door and opened it, just as my aunt Marilyn and my mother walked up.

  “Doggone it,” I mumbled. I silently cursed. I really didn’t want Phillip to see my mother. I tried to gauge her mental demeanor, but she was all smiles, so I couldn’t really determine where her head was.

  “Hi, Jill. Marilyn promised me teacakes today,” my mother announced with a wide grin.

  “Aunt Marilyn, I thought you were taking her to your place?”

  “She insisted on coming home and I don’t have the energy to fight with your mother.”

  “I wanted to come home,” my mother said. She smiled when she saw Phillip standing behind me. “Oh hi, are you Jill’s friend?”

  Phillip didn’t bother to smile as he said, “No, but I am an acquaintance. And you are?”

  “I’m Jill’s mother, Connie.” Her voice was childlike as she said, “Did you go to school with my Jilly?”

  “Your Jilly?” he said, a slow smile crossing his face. “I did not. I’m Ivy League educated. Cornell.”

  “Oh, I like their glass baking ware. They make the best cakes,” she replied.

  Phillip looked confused for a moment, then said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

  “Cornell. I got the set last Christmas. Jill and Malcolm bought it for me. Do you bake?”

  Phillip seemed like he was fighting back a chuckle. “Really?”

  I took that opportunity to jump in. “Mom, why don’t you go on inside. Aunt Marilyn, are you staying?”

  Aunt Marilyn shook her head. “No. I’m exhausted. Sister Addie is taking me to dinner. This is all just too much for me. This dementia is going to be the death of us all.” She sighed and headed back to her car.

  “Bye, Aunt Marilyn!” my mother called out after her.

  Aunt Marilyn waved over her shoulder, then disappeared around the corner.

  “Jill, do you want some of my teacakes?” my mother asked.


  “It’s okay, Mama. Go on inside.”

  Phillip quickly stepped up. “You sound like you really love your daughter.”

  “Oh, I do. She’s my heart.” She walked over and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s not many mothers that can say their daughter will never ever leave them. And Jilly will never ever leave me.”

  “Mom, go on upstairs. Cynthia is up there. She would love to see you. Maybe ask her if she feels like letting you braid her hair.”

  “Oh, that would be nice,” my mother said. “Then maybe afterward, we can go see the new Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby movie, Let’s Do it Again. I heard it’s really good.” She smiled at Phillip. “Goodbye. What’s your name again?”

  “Phillip,” he replied, still looking confused.

  “Goodbye, Sam.” My mother smiled and walked toward the stairs.

  Phillip stood with a smirk on his face. “Your mother seems like a wonderful person. I would’ve never guessed that she was a coldhearted kidnapper.”

  “Goodbye, Phillip,” I said.

  He smiled, turned and walked out the door. The twinkling in his eyes told me that meeting my mother had sent the wheels spinning in his head. And I didn’t have a good feeling about what was to come.

  Chapter 19

  The maintenance man had fixed the window, but every time I looked at the holes in the wall, I cringed. What could have happened had been playing on a loop in my head.

  I’d called in sick to work. It’s not like I was lying—I really was sick of my situation. And it didn’t make things any better that my life had been thrown into an upheaval.

  I tried to busy myself to keep my mind off Phillip’s invasion into my life. I didn’t have a good feeling about him, and I just knew he was going to cause trouble for me and my family.

  I cleaned the entire downstairs, but before I knew it I was back in front of my laptop, trying to dig up more information on the Logans. There was no shortage of pictures and articles about my father. But at every charity event, every major dinner, everywhere. . . he was alone. A few of the articles made mention of the depression his wife had suffered since the abduction of their child, but in public it was just Major rolling solo.

  I sighed and closed my laptop just as my husband walked in the front door with a look of exasperation on his face.

  “No luck?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Malcolm had awakened this morning determined to find a job so we could move.

  He shook his head and sat down. “No. Reggie just had to let two guys go at the garage because business has slowed down. We have to get out of here. Next time we might not be so lucky.”

  Now would be the perfect time to tell him about Phillip’s offer, but the words wouldn’t come. Plus, I was unsure how my husband would react, especially now that he seemed desperate to move.

  “Are you okay?” he said, finally noticing the expression on my face.

  I sighed. “Not really. Phillip came over here.”

  “Your cousin?”

  I couldn’t believe the ease with which Malcolm just welcomed these people into our lives.

  “Major’s nephew.” I corrected him.

  That caused Malcolm to sit up. “Oh really? What did he want?”

  “Well, initially he said he was in the area and just wanted to drop by. I knew that was a lie.” I sat down next to my husband. “Basically he came to offer me a check to go away. For fifty grand.”

  Malcolm frowned. “Go away? As if Major would even let that happen.”

  “I think Phillip really believes I’m only about the money, which is crazy because he doesn’t even know me,” I said. “But he tried to give me the whole ‘you could have money to move, and you’d get to keep your relationship with your mom’ spiel.”

  Malcolm looked like he was thinking. I just knew he was about to chastise me for kicking Philip out without entertaining his offer.

  “I know you probably think I should have taken the money,” I said after we sat in momentary silence.

  “No,” Malcolm replied, “actually, I’m thinking if he was willing to give you fifty thousand to disappear, how much are the Logans going to give you to stay?”

  “Malcolm, my life is about more than money,” I said, frustrated. I could see how money became an issue for people. It felt like it dominated every conversation with us now.

  Malcolm scooted closer to me. “You know I don’t mean it like that,” he said, taking me into his arms. “You know where my heart is, babe. I’m sorry if it seems like that. I’m just so frustrated raising my child in this place.” He pointed toward the bullet hole in the wall. “I can’t seem to catch a break.”

  Before I could reply, my phone rang. I grabbed it off the coffee table.

  “It’s Major,” I said, pressing the Talk button and putting him on speaker. “Hello?”

  Panic was in his voice. “Jill, I just heard what happened. Is everybody okay?”

  I cut my eyes at Malcolm and when he immediately looked away, I knew he’d called Major. My only question was why.

  “Yes,” I said, returning to the phone conversation. “We’re fine. The neighbors are just into some bad stuff and we got caught in the crossfire.”

  “My God,” he said. “You’ve got to move. That is utterly ridiculous.”

  I sighed. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this right now. “Okay, Dad, we can talk about it later.”

  “What is there to talk about?” he said. “No daughter of mine should be living in a place where she has to dodge bullets.” He paused. “Can you and Malcolm be at my Houston office tomorrow?”

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Just indulge me,” he said.

  “Fine,” I replied. “I’ll come but I have to go to work at one p.m., so I can’t stay long.”

  “I will see you then. In the meantime, stay safe!”

  When I hung up, my husband was standing in the middle of the floor with a smile.

  I didn’t return his smile. “Why did you call him?” I asked.

  Malcolm shrugged. But I could tell he was nervous about my reaction.

  “Babe, I’m sorry,” he said. “I just felt like they should know.” He paused. “And I was thinking maybe he could help me find a job.”

  “You asked him that?” I said, stunned that the man who wouldn’t ask his own family for anything was putting in requests to my newfound relatives.

  “I did,” he said defiantly. “It’s time out for that prideful stuff. We’ve got to get our daughter out of this hellhole and the only way we can do that is if he can help me find a job.” I rolled my eyes and my husband squeezed me tighter. “This is good, baby,” he said. “Real good.”

  I nodded, but only because I didn’t want to argue with him. But something told me that this wasn’t about to wrap up in a nice big bow anytime soon.

  Chapter 20

  My life could be on the verge of changing. Forget that, it could be about to shift completely off its axis.

  I could tell that money was still at the forefront of Malcolm’s mind. He was so giddy that right about now, I was wishing that I had just decided to go to the attorney’s office by myself, but I knew that I needed my husband’s support. Besides, the way his mood had instantly changed after Major’s call, no way would he have let me come alone.

  Plus, my husband had already played out this scenario multiple times. “So, do you think they’re going to cut you a check?” he asked as he straightened his tie.

  “I have no idea. You heard him. Major just asked us if we could be at their attorney’s office at ten a.m. We’ll find out when we get there.” I placed a pearl earring in, then snatched it right back out. Why was I so concerned with my appearance? I’d spent the past hour trying to find the perfect outfit. I guess I was just on edge.

  “God, I hope they do cut you a check,” Malcolm said. “It’s not like they’re going to miss it. They are millionaires.”

  “You know we’re not doing this for the money,” I said, turning
to him as I tried to hide my agitation.

  He stopped securing his tie and looked at me. “Babe, I know that. And I don’t mean to make light of this at all. I know this is hard on you.” He pulled me to him and put a kiss on my forehead. “And I am here for you, no matter what.” He released me from his grasp and added, “But I can’t help but get excited at the thought that maybe we can finally get some financial footing.”

  I guess I had to give my husband that much. This all had been so much to process that I had never thought about the fact that they really could write me a check today.

  “You know, I looked up his net worth,” Malcolm said with trepidation.

  “Really, Malcolm?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. When you first told me they thought you were their daughter, I looked them up. Major Logan’s company is worth fifteen million dollars. Mrs. Logan’s family is worth three times that. So he ought to give you a couple hundred thousand. at least. Do you know what we could do with that?” Malcolm said. I could see the cash register ringing up in his head. “And we’d have the money to finish up this app development. I just need about twenty thousand dollars and I could get everything I needed.”

  “Again, slow your roll,” I told him. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  “I’m just saying, babe. We need this.”

  I let out a sigh and said, “Can we just go see what they want and be done?”

  He kissed me again and pulled me close. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. We’re going to be okay.” I nodded and headed out of our bedroom just as I heard him mumble, “Especially if they give us a check.”

  Downstairs, Aunt Marilyn was sitting on the sofa, bouncing Destiny on her lap.

  “We’ll be back in a little bit,” I told her.

  “Well, your mama is still asleep and Destiny is in good hands,” she said.

  Malcolm and I kissed our daughter and made our way to the attorney’s office.

  We were silent on the drive over. I was thinking about what this discovery meant for my life. I’m sure my husband was thinking about what getting some money could mean for us.

  Major had us meeting him in his attorney’s office in downtown Houston. I was glad because I couldn’t imagine the one and a half hour drive to Beaumont with my stomach doing flip flops the way it was.