Victor Rowan was about to open the door of his black sedan when a timid, hesitant voice intervened on the front iron gates of his sprawling estate in Northern California.
“Sir… are you looking for someone to work? I can clean, cook, do laundry. Anything. Please. My baby sister hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”
His security team responded right away and advanced just as they had been trained. Victor had witnessed this type of situation far too many times. He’s heard a lot of heartbreaking tales of random strangers prepared to try and soften the heart of a wealthy man.
He learned not to pay attention because if he would, he knew it would bring trouble.
That day, this billionaire should have kept walking, but something inside him told him not to. There was something in that girl’s voice that made him stop.
The girl who was standing there seemed just about sixteen years old. She was painfully thin and was wearing a jacket that was much too big for her. Her shoes were dirty and her hair was pulled back in a hasty, sloppy bun. What’s more, she was tired in a way no kid her age should ever be because she was taking care of a baby.
The baby was bundled up in an old, worn-out blanket and tied around her back. Nothing was new or warm, just wrapped tightly enough to keep. What struck Victor first was how quiet the baby was. It was so quiet that he found himself watching the child’s chest rising and falling at a slow rate. Because of some reason, it caused discomfort at him.
At first, he was annoyed at the teenager crossing his path, but then he noticed something.
Below the girl’s jaw, at the top of her neck, there was a mark that he had seen before.
His sister had one too. It was the same curve, at the same place. He remembered his sister called that mark her “little moon,” but always tried to hide it with scarves and collars.
Viktor hadn’t seen that mark for twenty years, the same amount of time his sister Elena was missing.
“Who are you?” he asked.
My name’s Clara,” she said. “I’m not asking for money. I just need work. Any kind. My sister’s hungry.”
He lifted his arm slightly, forcing the guards to back away. “Give them something to eat,” he said. “And bring some water.”
When the food came, Clara tore the bread into small pieces and fed the baby whenever she stirred. Only after the baby was full did Clara take a few spoonfuls of soup herself.
“When did you last eat?” he asked.
“Yesterday morning,” she said. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“What’s her name?” he asked, nodding toward the baby.
“June. She’s eight months.”
Before he continued, Viktor hesitated. “And your mother?”
“Elena. She died last winter. Pneumonia.”
“Elena,” he repeated quietly. “Did she have that mark too?” he asked, pointing toward Clara’s neck.
“Same place. She hated it. Said people stared.”
Victor closed his eyes for a second.
For years, he tried to convince himself that his sister had walked away because she wanted to. That she didn’t want his life, his rules, his way of doing things. It was easier than admitting he hadn’t tried hard enough to find her.
And now her children were standing in front of him, hungry and exhausted.
“She said you were her brother,” Clara added. “She said you were important. Busy. She told us not to bother you.”
That hurt more than anything else she could have said.
Victor then reached for the gate and unlocked it.
“Come inside,” he said. “Both of you. You don’t need to work. You don’t need to explain anything.”
That night, Clara had a hard time falling asleep. She was scared for herself and her sister because she knew that good things never lasted long. But the following morning, June was taken to the hospital for a check-up and Clara was given new clothes, and she somehow knew they were finally where they belonged.
“I should’ve looked for you,” Viktor said. “I shouldn’t have stopped.”
Clara hesitated, then said that her mother had always thought he would come for them. It was then that Victor realized he was not only a man behind gates and guards, he was an uncle.
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.
Bored Daddy
Love and Peace
