#Chapter 29 – A Stolen Life
Stella
Luca helps me out of the car, holding onto my arm as we warmly greet the front doorman. His muscular and egregiously tall frame towers over my petite build, making is laugh whenever we catch a glimpse of ourselves in a reflection.
“Are you sure I can’t carry you? It’d be much faster–”
“Luca, I have two perfectly good legs, let me use them!” 1 interrupt him with a small laugh, lightly punching his. arm as the elevator doors open to reveal my floor’s hallway
We exit and make sure to avoid any people who pass us in the hall. Luca holds out his hand and I place my keys into his palm, watching as he opens up my apartment door
“Come on, let me make you some food before I go,” Luca says before disappearing inside my apartment. I roll my eyes and follow behind, locking the door behind me.
“I don’t have much,” I state with a shrug, watching as he scavenges around my small kitchen. “I haven’t had the time to go to the grocery store.”
“Then I’ll take you tomorrow. We’ll get everything that you want and need!” Luca stands and places his hands on his hips. “For today, I’m going to order you something, okay? And you better save the leftovers.”
“I will, I will,” I laugh and plop down onto the couch, groaning from the aching feeling in my lungs.
I really should not have pushed it today by running after my mom. My health is not good after the countless surgeries and has left me so weak. Some days, I can barely pull myself out of bed let alone make myself food…and it looks like today is one of those days.
“Are you okay, sis?” Luca sits down next to me. The couch dips and my body immediately moves towards his, my skinny arms colliding with his.
“Yeah, I’m just tired,” I chuckle with a cough. “I think it’s allergy season?”
“Allergies?” Luca raises an eyebrow at me. I nod. He narrows his eyes before ultimately relaxing, moving to his phone to order me food. “Is there anything else I can get for you you today? Since Mom made me your assistant.”
“Actually, could you grab my laptop from my room? I have some work to do.”
Just as I am about to sit up, Luca stands and the couch returns to its normal state, pushing me back to the side. I watch as he leaves, the smile disappearing from my face.
I can’t help but feel that I am a problem, a liability to my birth family. When I was just a baby, I was taken away from them and have caused so much despair and pain. I know it is not my fault, but I can’t help but feel as if there was more I could have done in my younger years to find them.
Luca walks back over with my laptop in his hands. It looks so tiny compared to him. I can’t help but laugh as he holds it out to me.
“Who’s the best brother ever?” Luca asks with a smug smile.
“Hm,” I reach out for the laptop, “Sebastian?” He immediately pulls the laptop away from me, a look of disgust prominent on his face.
“Is Sebastian here helping you? I don’t think so,” he holds out the laptop, “try again.”
“Luca,” I take hold of the laptop, both of us still holding on “you are the best brother ever.”
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#Chapter 29 A Stolen Life
Thank you,” he smiles and lets me take hold of the computer. I place it on my lap and return his smile despite feeling so sad inside about our past. “I gotta head out now. Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay!” I watch as he makes his way towards the door, finally leaving my eyesight.
I let out a heavy sigh and lean back into the couch, melting to the plush cushions. My tears sting from tears but I don’t let them fall, unsure that I will be able to stop once I start. Sitting up, I look at my laptop, blinking the tears away.
How can I repay my family for all of the misery that they have been put through? I can see the pain through their smiles and it tugs at my heartstrings, making me want to collapse to my knees and beg for their forgiveness of the sins that others have committed.
My disappearance leaves me with more questions than answers. Mother was vague about it and I know that there’s more to the story, more than she is letting on.
I slip my laptop onto my lap and open up my mainframe as my Tracer persona. Clicking through a few buttons and portals, my mind wanders around, trying to find the best place to start.
I do not know what exactly happened revolving my disappearance, but I do know that I was dropped off at an orphanage before Clara and her parents adopted me and took me into their home.
My fingers furiously type against the keyboard, bringing up any old files about the orphanage before I pull up their website. With a few simple backdoor codes and sneaking my way into their main server, I immediately direct my attention to the portion where adopted children sit.
I scroll for what seems like hours, shifting through various other girls that share the name name as me. Their pictures make my heart ache, many of them more and more malnourished the farther I go back.
I stop. A younger picture of myself stares at me through the screen. I click on it and open up all of my information, expecting there to be a plethora of information.
There is barely anything.
All it has is the age I was accepted at the orphanage, barely one years old, to the time I was taken in by Clara’s family, which was when I was just a young kid.
Hospital records are attached to my name, showing off blood tests and DNA samples that looked into my genealogy and any genetic mutations. Half of the information is blacked out, leaving it useless for me to use as a clue to what is being hidden.
My mouth goes dry. There is no birth certificate within the numerous amounts of paperwork showcasing my results from the tests.
Anger and sadness twist my stomach. Even from a young age, I was never able to escape being poked and prodded by needles. I mourn the loss that my younger self had to go through.
When I reach the files regarding my origins at the orphanage, almost all of the pages are blacked out just like the blood panels. There are a few sparse sentences across the pages.
Woman dropped her off on the steps.
The name “Stella” was written on her arm in marker.
No family found or known.
I close my laptop screen. Hot tears run down my cheeks, dripping onto my clothes and the couch beside me.
The hole I once felt in my heart as a child returns to me. The blacked out pages and my blurry memory only make
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#Chapter 29–A Stolen Li
me sadder, unable to process just how shady my childhood was.
I’m depressed that I can’t remember my birth family and the short amount of time we spent together. Instead, I am left with the ugly scars and nightmares of my adoptive family treating me with such cruelty and my time at the orphanage.
I have to do something to bring our family together. I need to make new memories with them to replace the old ones; I must fill my life with the happiness that I deserve to share with them.
