The Billionaire's Authentic Daughter ▶️

7 0 | J U L I A

"What is it?" Braxton asked as I stared at him with my jaw dropped.

I didn't answer. I just handed Dale's phone to him. He frowned, looked to Dale for a moment then started the video again with it's grainy quality and hazy view.

"It's from the night of when I was abandoned in the park. The woman in the video is my mom. And..." I stopped, taking in the tiny figure in the woman's arms. "Most possibly my sibling. Looks to be a twin."

The video started with a woman–my mom–with a stroller stop in the park near a bench. She looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone watching her. Then she bent down and spoke to the two babies for a few minutes, then scooped one of them into her arms. Then we could see her caressing the other baby's head who was still in the stroller, alone. Wheeling her to the side, she stepped back with the other twin and stared at the sleeping toddler who was unsuspecting to the fact that her life was going to change forever.

I watched Braxton's face as he reached the end of the video. He returned the phone back to Dale. Then he turned his sympathetic eyes on me. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, and now seeing how it happened..."

I brushed off his pity. "I already knew my mother left me like that. Seeing it doesn't make it any worse." I stated but then felt awfully like I was trying to convince myself of that. I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I have a new lead. The other baby could be my twin and if I get to her, I can get to my mother."

"Your twin," Braxton echoed as if just grasping that detail. Then his eyes flashed with realization. "Juliet? It can't be," he asserted.

The way he said that so quickly, dismissing the possibility without a second thought rubbed me the wrong way. "Why, because I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth?" My words came out sharper, intended to sting and making it clear that I was offended.

He winced. "No, that's not what I meant. I only said that because when Charlotte Jenson gave birth to Juliet, it was big news and I wouldn't have missed it if there was something about twins and her having to abandon you. Plus, if you were her daughter she really wouldn't have any reason to desert you because the primary reason as to why children get abandoned is due to financial hardship and Charlotte Jenson and poverty don't go together at all unless she's donating for the cause."

"I'm sorry. I just...I guess I'm just really desperate to find my mom. At this point, I'll believe anything and everything even if it's just circumstantial."

Braxton put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I understand, and you don't have to apologize."

Dale gave me a small smile. "I really hope you find her one day, and as painful as this was I hope it helps you in your search."

I nodded my gratitude. "This is very helpful. Now I have two people to look for and really, how many more women can there be who look like me? This will make it easy."

"What if your twin is not identical?" Dale asked.

"I'll think about that when I rule out the possibility of us being identical. There's a high possibly that we are identical because my twin...it looks like a girl."

Dale nodded. "If you need any help, you can call me."

"Thank you." I said. "Today was a wonderful day. We should hang out more often, and I do want to meet Lucija next time."

Dale looked pleased. "Yes! We can do that...as long as Jade doesn't tag along."

"Hey, she's not that bad." I defended, laughing.

He didn't look convinced and shrugged. "It's getting late. I'll leave now," he said, looking at his watch then turned to acknowledge Braxton who's hand was still on my shoulder. "And Braxton, you have a lovely house."