Page 39 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

“After gathering your demographic information from James, I was able to piece together past whereabouts of your uncle.”

“I see.” The words choked my throat on the way out. I was utterly stunned at what James had done. I recalled sharing my wishes to find my family at his apartment, but I hadn’t expected him to do anything about it.

I supposed James could have used the required information from my internship application, like my father’s name and date of birth. But why would he have gone through all that trouble on my behalf? “After graduating from the University of Cairo with his degree in business, Yusuf Taha appears to have married a woman by the name of Miriam Salah. She is the daughter of a successful textile manufacturer.”

“My aunt,” I breathed out. This was wild. My uncle had a wife—a family! “Did they have any children?” I blurted out in excitement.

“Two. A boy named Shiraz, and a girl named Shireen.”

My heart was racing so fast that my head felt dizzy. “Are they still alive?”

I held my breath, feeling the familiar ache of the disappointment I had felt when I’d visited the abandoned house in Cairo pierce my chest.

“It would seem so as I haven’t found any death records with their names listed.”

This was too good to be true. My insides bubbled with excitement. “Where are they?”

“That, I don’t know yet. They lived in Cairo after they married for nearly twenty years before relocating. I have no leads yet on their whereabouts.

Thoughts raced in my head, making it difficult to articulate. “Do you think you can find them?”

“I’ll need some more time.”

“How much longer?” I was desperate to find them soon. What if we waited too long and something happened to them, like a freak accident where I would never get to see or even speak with them?

“I’m not sure. But trust me that I’m working as hard as I can.”

Hope.That was all I’d had my whole life, and I just needed to hang onto it a little longer.

The idea of payment crossed my mind. This must cost a fortune, and I didn’t know if I had enough to cover his fees. “Um...I’m not sure what the going rate for your services is, but I’m kind of on a budget.”

“Unnecessary,” he answered bluntly.

“I’m sorry?”

“My fees have been taken care of, so no need to worry about payment.”

James.My eyes burned with the liquid that pooled in them.

“Can you call me if you receive any updates?” I could barely speak, so overcome with the tears that clouded my eyes.

“I’ll definitely do that.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Do you need my number?”

“Already have it.”

Of course, he did—he was a PI with a caller ID.

“Do you have any more questions for me, Miss Sanura?”

I couldn’t think anymore. My heart was squeezing too tightly for me to think logically. “No, thank you.”

“Then you have a good evening. Goodbye.”

“Bye.” The line went dead.

I gripped the phone in my shaking hand.

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