Fighting My Way Out

In the Beginning

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet," I say, my voice still hoarse from continuous crying.

State Trooper number one looks disinterested in my plight. "Reagan, I know this is difficult, but we need to talk about what happened at the mansion. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"You're not in trouble, ma'am," says State Trooper number two, taking out a pen and paper. "But to get to the bottom of these events, you need to tell us everything you can. We're just here to help you and to make sure this never happens again, to anyone else."

I feel tears well up in my eyes and I'm surprised there's still liquid left to give after my misadventure the last few days.

I take a deep sigh. "It started when I found out I was adopted, I wanted to find my birth parents, but I didn't think it would end this way... I didn't think they---,"

I pause, unable to finish the sentence without choking back sobs. After finding out I was adopted, I thought finding my birth parents was going to be an adventure to discover my roots. What I found instead were identity thieves who weren't exactly upstanding citizens connected to something far worse. Something that tried to drag me down with it.