Chapter 24 Reunion

• All these years, the Johnson siblings did their own investigations about ten-year-old girls who were kidnapped around the time Clara disappeared, searching for the article that would lead them to her family, but it always led them nowhere. They followed all kinds of leads, even went as far as visiting the people who lost them, but they always ended where they started, nowhere. It never occurred to them that the bad guys had covered up her disappearance with an angle they never thought to explore.
• But now, with Celine as their lead, they had something to follow. All the doors to the past suddenly opened. 
• Clara’s parents were Nathan and Emelia Jacobs. He used to be the president of the biggest financial firm in the country. Her mom was an accountant before retiring to take care of her family. They went to the same college but did not really date until they both started working. That’s where they met and fell in love.  
• There was no mention of any kidnapping, that’s why their trial never led them to the Jacobs’ family. They had an older daughter, Carmen. All the articles said she had died in a car accident.
• Clara was in turmoil. It happened 20 years ago, and her memory was dodgy, but why does it say that she died in the article? 
• In her dream, or was it one of her memories, she heard the evil men asking her father for money. They also kept repeating that they were getting rich as soon as her dad paid. 
• Did her parents pay them the ransom? What if her parents didn’t pay? Did they leave her to die? Did they even love her? Was the dream even true?
• Now that she knows who they are, would they even want her back? What will happen if she tells them she’s been living in a city 5 hours away from them all these years? 
• They might already be happy without her. Her sister looked like she had no care in the world. 
• How can she get close to her parents? How will she know the truth? 
• A plan came to her. Her father works at Navio, and the only way she can get close to him is to use Sebastian and their project as an excuse.
• Three weeks after Sebastian visited her, she managed enough courage to get on a plane and talk herself into seeing her dad. It was a Wednesday, the middle of the week. ‘It won’t seem odd that I was in town, pitching to a client, right? Or maybe I came out to meet a friend who had a baby. No, then I’d have to produce said baby later. No, a work excuse sounds better. The simpler the reason, the easier to cover it up later.’
• She already had an ID to get into Navio, so it wouldn’t be hard to get into the building. Sebastian will have to wait until she finishes her visit with her dad before she could see him.
• -=-
• Nathan Jacobs was taking his break at the roof deck. Clara came to his office before lunch and followed him here, sitting at another table nearby so she wouldn’t look suspicious. 
• He had brought his lunch box with him. It was probably something that her mom had made when she was a kid. She started tearing up, but she wanted to talk to her dad. She had to do this.
• In another area of the roof deck, Sebastian stood behind another pillar to observe. He saw Clara enter the building, but she never came to see him or announce that she was here today. He sent her a text earlier, and it was still unread, so he followed to see what she was up to. 
• Clara gazed sadly at her dad. ‘He looks very old, and tired. I wonder if he ever thinks about me.’
• Nathan was getting teary-eyed. ‘Today is her birthday. She would have been 30 today. It was my fault for not picking them up. If I was there, they wouldn’t have gotten my baby,’ he cried to himself, using his handkerchief to wipe his tears.
• His phone was ringing. It was Celine. These days, Nathan made sure he focused on his remaining daughter. To make sure she was safe and wouldn’t feel neglected. He’s probably gone too far when he suggested they go home together, but he needed to be sure. 
• He clears his throat as he answers her call. ‘Hi baby girl, what are you up to?
• I’m having lunch on the roof.
• What? No, I’m not sad,’ he said, tearing up again. 
• There was no way he was telling her what made him sad. He didn’t want to open up all the old wounds that they’ve managed to heal. ‘Goodbye, my dear. I will see you later. 
• Don’t forget to have lunch. 
• Yes, I will finish all the food mommy made me. I love you too!’ he said on the phone, giving it a kiss.
• Clara sat beside him even before he finished his call. She didn’t even know how she got there. All she wanted to do was to see him, but having him so close opened the floodgates. She was crying before she had the chance to say anything. 
• ‘Are you okay, young lady?’ Her father asks, ‘Here, dry your eyes,’ handing her his handkerchief.
• ‘I just miss my dad so much. I was in an orphanage for the last 20 years, and I wish I could see him,’ she says. ‘I heard you talking on the phone, and you seem to have a good relationship with your kid.’
• ‘Life is short, my dear. If you have the chance to see your father, you should do it.’
• ‘My first daughter is dead because of me. If I picked them up from school that day, she would still be alive.‘
• ‘She would have been 30 today. I regret not being there for her when she needed me.’
• ‘Don’t waste your time because of trivial matters. Things will work out,’ he said, patting her hand.
• Her tears kept coming, and there was no stopping them. Her dad loved her, and he still does. 
• Today was her birthday. Who knew that she came at the right time? This was her happiest birthday.
• ‘Your daughter... I don’t think she would have blamed you.’ she says between sniffles. 
• ‘She probably loves you a lot.’
• ‘I will try to find my dad, but what if he’s already happy with his family? What if he sees me and doesn’t want me?’ she wiped her tears as they kept falling.
• ‘Don’t think about it that way.’ 
• ‘He’s probably thinking about you every day, missing you,’ he pats her back, ‘There, there, don’t cry. Everything will turn out fine.’
• Clara hugs him very tightly. She wanted to tell him, ‘Dad, I’m here. I’m not dead. Thank you for thinking about me. I love you so much.’
• Nathan uses the white handkerchief he gave her to dry her eyes. 
• ‘It’s okay… Hush. Your father loves you. You can’t let them see you’ve been crying. If you work here, you have to be presentable. Don’t be sad anymore,’ he says.
• ‘I think I should be the one comforting you. Not the other way around,’ she apologized. ‘I’m sorry if I bothered you during your lunch. Uhm... I was thinking I’d like to clean your handkerchief before I return it to you,’ she said. ‘It’s full of my snot,’ she attempted to joke.
• It was just like the handkerchief she used when as a kid. She used to carry them with her all the time, to wipe down her sister when she got dirty or sticky.
• They always had these small embroideries on them. And there it was, flowers on the corner with her name on it, Carmen, embroidered with pink thread. She ran her fingers over it. Was that really her name? And that made her cry all over again. She had to get a grip before she embarrassed herself.
• Sebastian didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their teary reunion, but he did, and his heart was breaking for her. He was not sure why she didn’t reveal her identity.
• But decided not to interfere. ‘I promise we will get to the bottom of this, Clara, and we will make everything better.’ 
• There was something else happening here. Something bigger than the picture in front of him, and he would have to take a step back.