Page 44 of Question Everything

“Mia,” he began, taking her hands in his. “Please believe me when I tell you that there is no way those men can get to you or Daisy now. You’re safe here with me. My brothers are here, my dad and Geoff. No one will hurt you.”

“You don’t understand, Kyle. They’ll stop at nothing. I remember that much.”

“Do you remember who Daisy’s father is?”

She shook her head no and let him move closer to her. “That part still feels shadowy to me. I’m not sure. He’s wealthy and powerful, or at least I think he must be for him to have those scary men hunting us.” She watched a shadow cross his face.

“Mia,” Kyle began, tightening his hold on her hands and looking directly into her eyes.

She heard the tentative tone of his voice, and it pushed her further to what she was pretty sure was the edge of what she could endure.

He squeezed her fingers and continued, “There are other small things that I might have ignored, things that might be clues. I mean, I don’t know a lot about women’s clothing, but yours have always seemed expensive. You had a good deal of cash on you. I think you might be wealthy, or at least have access to wealth. And, when I first met you at the scene of the accident, you had a British accent. Does any of this ring a bell?”

“Me? A British accent? No way. I mean, I’m American, right?” she said nodding her head as if that made her last statement true. “I have a state issued driver’s license, for God’s sake!” She pushed the blanket off and jumped out of the bed and began to pace back and forth.

“Anyone with residency can get one if they pass a road test,” he said. “We’ve already determined that your papers are fake. I mean, the woman who lived at the New York City address, the real Mia Sawyer – we know that she passed away.”

Mia could sense that there was something else that he wasn’t telling her. She turned to face him. “Kyle, why is it that I feel as if you know more than you’ve let on? How would I have forged identification? Do you know more, something you haven’t told me?”

He looked away then, and when he recaptured her gaze, she prepared herself for the worst.

“Okay, Mia, here it is. I was afraid to tell you, afraid that if I did, that you wouldn’t be ready to hear it. I just don’t want you to be more scared than you already are.”

She looked back at him and saw nothing but true concern and care in his eyes. She drew in a breath and prepared herself for whatever was to come next.

“Just tell me, Kyle. I have to know. I have the right to know.” She gathered her strength, stood up and turned to face him. “I’ll be okay.”

She could see the internal struggle he was having, whether to share what he knew or not. “Really, Kyle. If you know more, you have to tell me, you have to tell me right now!”

He drew in a deep breath and shook his head, as if he wasn’t sure if telling her was the right thing for him to do. But she knew that he lived by a strict moral code. He wasn’t going to continue to lie to her, even if it had been a lie of omission. In a rush, he said, “I know your name, your real name. It’s MaeveByrne. I found it on an Interpol alert about Daisy. The British government is looking for you and your daughter. I’m going to continue to assume she is your daughter, right?”

At that moment the room started to spin, and the next thing she knew, he was kneeling next to her, and she was sprawled out on the floor.

When Mia came to,there was a cold washcloth on her forehead. Kyle was holding her hand and whispering her name.

“Mia. Mia. Come back to me. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out.”

Her eyelids fluttered open, tears spilling out immediately. She tried to sit up, but he gently pushed her shoulders back down.

“Just stay where you are for a minute. You fainted and scared the hell out of me. I was afraid you might have hit your head again, but I think I caught you in time.”

She turned away from him, but he reached for her and said, “Mia. Look at me.”

When she did, Mia could see the concern on his face. She raised herself by her elbows and said, “Kyle. Daisy is my daughter. I swear it. Please, help me get up.”

He put a one strong hand under the small of her back and the other behind her knees, then he slowly lifted her off the floor, placing her carefully onto the bed. Once she was situated back against the pillows, she said, “Thank you. But tell me that you believe me. Daisy is mine, I promise you. I’m telling you the truth.”

“I’m sure she is, Mia. I know you wouldn’t lie about something so serious.”

She watched him rake his hand through his sleep-riddled hair. Then she had a thought. “How could I be breast-feeding her if she wasn’t mine?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think that’s possible. I mean, didn’t Victorian women have wet nurses for their children? I don’t think you need to be a biological mother to breastfeed.”

“Well, if that’s not enough information for you, Daisy and I can each take a blood test. If our types match, will that convince you?” She looked down at her fingers; they were intertwined tightly, rapidly turning white. “No, now that I’m thinking about this, we can do a DNA swab. It’s easier and Daisy won’t even know it happened. We can go to a lab tomorrow and do it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I believe you,” he said. “There’s no need…”

“Yes, yes there is. You and your family have done so much for me. I don’t want there to be the slightest doubt about what I know to be true. Please, Kyle, let me do this.”

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