Mom Cooked Only for Bella, So I Found My Real Mother novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: Eat What You're Given

"Mom," I said.

I walked to the gate and stood on the plant side of it.

"Virginia." Brenda's voice cracked right on cue. "Look at your hand. Look at you. You're bandaged and thin and they've got you working a factory line."

"It's a bottling line."

"Sweetheart, you're confused. Pastor said grief does this."

"I'm not the one who's grieving."

Twelve of the lavender women made a sympathetic noise at once.

One of them held up her phone and filmed me.

"We have a statement," Brenda said. "I told the church what I said Sunday was a breakdown. I was out of my mind. I lost a baby eighteen years ago. I have never taken anyone's child."

"There's a certificate in my hand with her name on it."

"A certificate anyone can print."

"With a county seal."

"Printed," Brenda said, sad and gentle, to the women behind her. "You see how deep it goes."

Behind me, Odette stiffened.

I put my hand on her arm and kept my eyes on Brenda.

"You're good," I said. "You were always good."

"I'm your mother."

"You were the nurse who signed me out."

The woman filming lowered her phone an inch.

Brenda only smiled.

"Pray for her," she said to the group. "Let her go back inside. She'll come home when she's ready."

They left in the minivans.

By two that afternoon, the damage showed up.

Odette's office phone rang for an hour.

The first call was a regional grocery chain.

"They're pulling the Fire line from forty stores pending review," Odette said, covering the receiver. "The buyer says there's a safety complaint."

← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend