T.A series Volume 2: The Illegitimate Extra

Chapter 10 - Chaos in Shibuya

Growing up, Miyama Emiko had always believed that there will be no such atmosphere that could beat the shock the artist is currently having right now.

Dealing with her parents' acrimonious divorce when she was approximately eight years old had trained her to adjust with ease. Emiko was positive that if she could handle her parents' hatred for one another, joining the Tantei Association, which is led by a psychopath, would be a piece of cake.

So, imagine Emiko's surprise and horror when she hears, via u/silentmaid, a.k.a Tsutsumi Kameko, who happens to be the Tadashi family's former maid, that the Tadashi family's matriarch was forced to give away her firstborn son 14 days after he was born.

"I'm sorry, the infant was forcibly removed after only 14 days in this world!? Is this what I'm hearing?" Emiko couldn't believe it.

"You're not mistaken, Miyama. That did occur.  Around 3 days after he was born, the matriarch of the family would end up pinching the child's limb black and blue anytime the poor boy wailed in hunger, needed a diaper change, or was feeling ill because she couldn't sleep," the woman said tearfully.

"Couldn't she just hire a nanny then? I mean they are rich."Emiko suggested.

"There are, but she was also wary of everyone who was near her child. So she'd shut herself in her master bedroom with the weeping infant every day, vowing she'd look after it. That's right, she even shuts her husband out of the room, and he's unable to intervene when we express our worries.  Things got so out of hand, that one day, as we drugged her to sleep, the late matriarch decided to take the infant and send it over to an adoptive family to avoid the abuse," the receiver paused for contemplation.

"Oh, so that's why he had to do it, huh?" Emiko murmured to herself, not long after growing enraged after knowing all of this. "Then there's the abuse-"

"Yes, it was also her hatred for her husband on what he did to her firstborn that she started to target her son Saji and the adopted one Fumihito."

"What the hell..."Emiko muttered in disgust, "Some women really shouldn't be allowed to become mothers. Why couldn't they just neutered her!?"

"The current matriarch is, unfortunately, the only one with biological ties to the Tadashi family, so the family's options are limited."

"What about IVF?"

"The late matriarch can't bear a child, let alone after that cancer battle she had dealt with. So IVF isn't an option."

Emiko battled to keep her emotions in check; she couldn't help herself, considering that the kids were completely innocent in all of this, and they were forced to take the beatings as a result of the adult's selfish actions. To top it all off, forced to carry a significant family legacy. "Mrs Tsutsumi, do you happen to know what the baby's registered name was before he was given to his adoptive parents? Or, at the very least, do you know who adopted him?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," the woman said solemnly, "one is given 14 days to register the baby's name, I only held him for 13 days after he was born before this happened.  Because of the devastation, his mother was causing, no one in the family could bear the thought of giving him a name. We were all on our toes."

"I understand, "Emiko couldn't blame the unfortunate late matriarch; she too would do the same if caught up in such chaos. At the same time, another question regarding the case has been plaguing her. "I believe that if the late matriarch hadn't tried to marry her off to her cousin, none of this would have occurred."

"Then again, what choice do they have? She is the only remaining heir at that time. It's tough to remain under the same roof when your husband's evidence of adultery walks about you." The ex-maid highlights.