"The Missing Piece" is an exciting novel of drama and tenderness that will take you through the search for the true identity of a girl who was stolen at birth, and grew up believing her twin brother was her biological sibling. Join Althea on her jou...
"It must have been a loss. " Melanie commented empathetically.
Finally, they received news. Rose was taken to a room for observation overnight and to undergo some tests. Little Rose, who had turned three on August 30th, was so affectionate when she felt unwell that she only wanted to be in her mother's arms. Lizzie spent some time with them before saying goodbye to both girls. Scarlett and Melanie stayed in the room.
"I'll take June home tonight," Melanie said as she stroked her daughter's arm. "Darling, Rose will be fine. She's a healthy girl," she tried to console her.
June slept peacefully in her stroller, as if she knew it wasn't the right time to interrupt. Finally, Rose also fell asleep after watching cartoons and being surrounded by her mother's protective arms.
"Darling, visiting hours are coming to an end. I'll go to the bathroom and then I'll leave," Melanie warned her daughter, who nodded, half-drowsy from exhaustion.
Scarlett had barely been able to sleep the previous night, taking care of Rose and giving her a bath in the early hours to bring down her fever. She did everything she could to keep her daughter comfortable. Her eyes started to close, and when her mother returned, both mother and daughter were asleep. Melanie wanted to capture this tender scene, so she took out her phone and snapped a photo of her daughter and granddaughter in the hospital bed. Then, she leaned over the stroller to take a picture of June, but she found an empty stroller. She looked around and hurried out into the hallway, where she saw no one except for an occasional passing nurse. She rushed back to see if Scarlett had taken the baby and placed her on the bed. But she wasn't there. June was gone. Melanie let out a scream.
Scarlett opened her eyes in alarm.
"Rose!" she shouted, fearing her daughter's condition had worsened, but Rose woke up and looked around in confusion.
"Scarlett, June is gone! She's not in the stroller!"
"What?" Scarlett, with trembling hands, carefully laid her daughter on the bed and rushed to the stroller, finding it devastatingly empty. Reality clawed at her soul. She couldn't feel the warmth of her daughter. "Where, where is my little one?"
"Oh my God!" Melanie, her voice broken with anguish, ran into the hallway and let out a gut-wrenching scream. "They've taken my granddaughter!"
A contingent of nurses rushed to help, they called security personnel, and blocked the exits. Scarlett, in despair, began to scream, unable to contain the torrent of pain. Rose, who didn't understand what was happening, broke into inconsolable sobs. At that moment, she didn't receive the comfort of her mother, who seemed to be plunged into an even darker abyss. Rose watched helplessly as her mom collapsed to the floor, shattered by powerlessness. Then, she heard her grandmother's heart-wrenching scream as she ran to her daughter, and how the doctors rushed to assist her mother. Rose continued crying and calling for her mother and her grandmother, who embraced her in an attempt to calm her distress while Scarlett received medical attention.
"And June?" Rose asked, now in her grandmother's arms, her tears still flowing uncontrollably.
"They're looking for her, dear. They'll bring her back soon," Melanie murmured, trembling and terrified.
Rose was finally discharged. The results of the medical tests were reassuring, and she was only dealing with a temporary virus that didn't require hospitalization at that time, although she needed rest and medication. Scarlett, on the other hand, was sedated every time she woke up and realized that her younger daughter was still missing. The detective in charge of the case offered words of encouragement, but the search for the celebrity's child continued relentlessly.
On September 16, 2017,
June Melanie Johanson had been missing for six days. There was no birthday party to celebrate her first year of life. Scarlett spent the day in her daughter's room, immersed in an ocean of tears and clinging desperately to the plush toy that her daughter used to hold in her crib, a dancing rat that she could almost smell, and which reminded her of the sweet scent of her baby. Profound depression consumed her, preventing her from eating and sleeping. Her only company was the pain, and the guilt of not having protected June mercilessly corroded her.
She received visits from family and friends, but the atmosphere was as gloomy as a day without light. Lizzie, with swollen eyes from crying so much, and Chris, who tried to hide his own torment behind a calm appearance, embraced her tightly. Words were lost in an abyss of sadness.
Lizzie, in a low and broken voice, more to herself than to others, murmured, "They will find her, it can't be otherwise..."
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As promised! Sunday update <3 Remember that English is not my first language, but I hope you are enjoying the story 😊 and having a great weekend. Take care, love yourselves, and enjoy the reading!
