Page 97 of The Kidnapped

“It seems like it, yes,” Dylan replied. “She also doesn’t have any credit cards, any bank accounts, or property in her name.”

“She changed her name,” Hollis concluded.

“And probably her appearance as well,” Dylan added. “She might have even cut or dyed Eden’s hair so that she wouldn’t be recognized. But, Raleigh, it’s been over a year. Even if she’s done that in the beginning, she’ll get lazy or make a mistake. Eden’s four now. People will wonder why she’s not in school soon, wherever she is. Maybe she’ll mess up and put her in daycare. Eden might say something that makes people think or question.”

“Do you think she remembers me? It’s been over a year,” Raleigh said.

“I don’t know,” Dylan said honestly.

“Hollis didn’t remember her mom until she was older,” Raleigh reasoned.

“Hey, my dad told me my mom was gone, and–”

“Lied to you, I know. Eden’s probably been told this crazy woman is her mom so many times that she doesn’t even remember who her real mom is,” Raleigh said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Raleigh, we’re not sure this is Eden yet,” Dylan tried to caution.

“But if it’s her, this is good news,” Hollis suggested. “She’s with a woman who wanted her own child so badly that she was willing to take someone else’s. She’s probably taking good care of her, babe.”

“What do I do now?” Raleigh asked.

“Nothing. There’s nothing you can do right now. We don’t want to spook her into picking up and moving by doing any press. She’s probably feeling okay right now, like she’s safe, and that’s what we want. We want her guard down because it’ll make it easier to find her. Once we do, we’ll surveil first to learn what we can. Like I said, we don’t even know if this is Eden yet. If it’s not, we don’t want to scare the little girl.”

“Dylan, is it her? Do you think it’s really her?” Raleigh asked, wiping the tears from her cheek.

“I can’t…” Dyland sighed. “I made a promise once, and it really hurt someone, so I don’t make promises anymore.”

“But you found him; you found Noah. And you found Oliver,” Raleigh replied.

“And caused Ada a lot of pain before that,” Dylan remarked, shaking her head. “I don’t know if it’s Eden, Raleigh. Her daughter did die, but she could’ve been babysitting for someone else the day she moved or something. I don’t know. This is the best lead, and it’s the only lead I’ve got right now, so we’ll follow it until we find this woman. We’ll see if it’s Eden.”

“Once you think you’ve found her, though, she’ll be brought back to Raleigh, right?” Hollis checked.

“First, we would do a DNA test to confirm, but yes,” Dylan replied.

“She’s my daughter; I just need to see a picture of her, and I’ll know it’s Eden,” Raleigh argued.

“We would still need to do the test,” Dylan replied. “This woman could make the same claim. The DNA results would need to confirm that it’s Eden before we can get her back to you.”

“Hollis, what do I do?” Raleigh asked, catching Hollis off guard.

“I’d love to get a DNA sample from you right now,” Dylan said instead, saving Hollis from having to answer. “We have one on file, but I don’t want this woman or her potential attorney claiming that we have an old sample that could’ve gotten contaminated or–”

“Whatever you want,” Raleigh interrupted. “Take my arm. I don’t care. I just want my daughter back.”

“I’ll get the technician to come in and take a cheek swab. Then – and I hate to say this – but then, you’ll have to wait until we find her. I should hear from her brother no later than tomorrow. And her cousin might know where she is, but we’ll still have to–”

“I get it,” Raleigh said.

“This is still good news, Raleigh. It’s something.”

“I know. Thank you, Dylan. Hundreds of people were looking for my daughter, and you might have actually found her.”

Dylan nodded politely, stood, and left them alone in the room. Hollis could hardly feel her hand, so she pulled it out of Raleigh’s and wrapped it around her shoulders just as Raleigh crashed into her side and began to sob against Hollis’s neck.

“Oh, baby,” Hollis said softly. “This is good news.”

“I could get her back,” Raleigh said between sobs.

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