Jane was busy picking a small portion from all the dishes. Rosalind kept smiling to see how eager Jane was to try everything. She took an empty plate and followed what Jane did.
That’s when Gabriel showed up and shook his head. “My, my. If I don’t know better, I’d have thought you two were war refugees.”
Rosalind and Jane glanced at each other. Their laughter broke a second later.
Gabriel grinned and joined them. “I’m famished!”
“What do you want to eat? Do you want me to pick anything for you?” Rosalind lifted a brow.
“How about a little from everything?”
Jane chuckled and shook her head. “Miss Rosalind told me to do the same!”
So they ate their meals, talked, and laughed together. After finishing the main dishes, Rosalind offered the desserts to Jane, but the little girl shook her head.“I’m too full, Mom.” She rubbed her rounder belly because she ate so much. “I can’t eat more.” Then she lay on the grass and closed her eyes. She soon snored.Rosalind and Gabriel exchanged glances again and smiled to see how carefree their little girl was. She was glad they would adopt Jane. To see a seven-year-old girl choose them as her parents was overwhelming, as they were new people to her. But then, it might be fate as they could love Jane instantly, although she wasn’t any blood related to Gabriel or Rosalind.Touching Jane’s cheek tenderly, Rosalind glanced at Gabriel. “Maybe it’s better you carry her inside, love? She will rest
When they arrived at Lydia’s house, Rosalind got out of the car and opened the back door to help Jane. The little one tiptoed and hugged Rosalind.The mother-to-be bent her body and hugged the little one. She caressed Jane’s hair and looked deep into her eyes. “Sweety, I will count the days until you will be with us again. Let’s hope it’ll come soon.”Jane said nothing as tears already fell from her eyes. She could only nod and hug the older woman. Gabriel was already at the door. He pressed the bell button and waited for Lydia to come.After a while, Lydia opened the door. She smiled as she saw Gabriel, but it faded soon when she glanced at Rosalind and Jane. “Oh, you’re here.” Then she yelled at Jane, “Say thank you to Daddy Gabriel!”“Yes, Mommy.” The little one hugge
As soon as Gabriel and Rosalind left Lydia’s house, Gabriel drove to his apartment. Once he was in his apartment, he contacted his lawyer immediately.“John, it’s Gabriel. I need you to send an agreement letter to Lydia Robinson tomorrow morning that she’ll release all her rights as Jane’s mother. Please also state that Lydia won’t meet Jane nor me again in the future.”“Right, I’ll create a draft soon. Has she agreed to that?”“Yes, she agreed to that. For her agreement, I’ll give her a half million dollars.” Gabriel also added, “Oh, by the way, I turn the speaker on so Rosalind can hear our conversation too.”The lawyer whistled as he heard the amount of money. “A half million for the mother’s right, huh?”
Rosalind nodded. Holding Jane’s hand, she walked to the car. She took Jane’s luggage from the little girl’s hand. After giving the luggage to Luca, Rosalind entered the car with Jane. Luca placed the luggage in the baggage, then went back to the car and waited for Gabriel before they could return to the WLS. Gabriel approached Lydia and nodded. “Everything is done. I hope you won’t contact Jane or me again.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you for the past. You were a part of my life back then. I’m leaving now.”Lydia said nothing. She could only stare at Gabriel’s back until he entered the car. After a while, the car left the area. She clenched her fist and shook her head. A smile spread across her face. “It’s not over yet. You will be mine soon, love.”The first day Jane stayed with Gabriel and Rosalind was exciting. They were busy preparing the little girl’s room. Gabriel wanted to hire an interior designer, but Rosalind and Jane refused it because they wanted to decorate the room by
Rosalind rushed to check from aisle to aisle. When she finally saw Jane stare at a small table, she let out a relieved sigh. “Sweety, next time you must tell Mom first if you want to wander to the shop, okay?”“Yes, Mom.” Jane nodded. “I’m sorry because too excited to see many things in the shop. I forgot it was a huge shop.”Rosalind smiled and shook her head. “It’s okay. I was excited too when we first came. Now, let’s go home, sweetheart.”They walked hand in hand to the car. Luca saw them from his seat. He immediately got out of the car and opened the backdoor for Rosalind and Jane. But then, unexpectedly, a guy grabbed Rosalind from behind and covered a cloth to her face. Jane who saw what happened screamed, “Stay away from my mom! Help! Help! Somebody help!”Luca ran to reach Rosalind and the guy. “What are you doing? Release her!”“Stay away. Otherwise, you will meet your Creator today.” The guy picked a knife and drew the knife in Luca’s direction. “Easy, man. We can talk abo
Gabriel took a deep breath because a lump formed in his throat. It was shocking to hear about the accident, knowing how Rosalind might be hurt, but then it was Luca who got wounded instead of Rosalind.But what Jane said was even more devastating because he realized how deep Lydia already harmed the little girl with her evil words. He knew he had to bring Jane to a psychologist to have therapy.That’s when the sign ‘Operation’ didn’t shine anymore. A few nurses pushed a bed. A doctor approached Gabriel and Jane.“Mr. Luca Russo’s family?” the doctor asked.Gabriel shook his head. “No, but I’m his employer. How is he?”“Mr. Russo’s condition will need at least two to four weeks to recover. Luckily, the knife
Meanwhile, in the police station, the police interrogate the villain who tried to kidnap Rosalind and hurt Luca. Two detectives asked him many questions for hours. Since the bad guy didn’t want to answer anything, they stopped the interrogation for fifteen minutes.After the recess, a pair of different detectives were assigned. They weren’t patient with the criminal because they still had a lot of cases to handle.One of them said, “If you keep refusing to admit what you’ve done, we will press the highest charges on you. Kidnapping attempt max charges twenty years. Wounding someone with knife max charges for ten years, but from our record, it’s not the first time you are involved with the assault. So you may face fifteen to twenty years’ charges.” The detective tapped the table with his fingers. “Thirty-five
The WLS staff asked some people to move the furniture to Jane’s room the next day. Later, Gabriel left the apartment and went to the dock where he usually visited whenever he needed time alone. He stepped into his yacht that anchored to the dock, sat on a couch, then took his phone. After dialing a number, he waited.“Mr. Da Costa, what a surprise!” the police commissioner said. “How are you?”“Well, to tell the truth, I’m not okay, sir. I need your help,” he said. “Oh, what is it? If I can help you, surely I will. Just let me know first.”“So here is the thing. Your detective told me yesterday that the one responsible for trying to kidnap my fiancee, Rosalind Miller, and stabbing my driver, Luca Russo, is someone I knew in the past, Lydia Robinson.”“Go on. I’m listening,” the commissioner said.“Recently, I made an agreement with her. She would release all her rights as a mother and let my fiance and I adopt her daughter.” He stopped for a second to take a breath. “Her daughter isn’