« They’re 16, » added Maribelle, absently brushing away an invisible thread on her sleeve. « They’ll want more than this shack, Hélène. Trust me. They’ll be thrilled. And after all… I’m their mother. »
« And what about me? » I asked, without taking my eyes off her.
She made a small gesture with her hand, as if to brush away a speck of dust.
« Oh, you won’t be part of the equation. My husband doesn’t need to know there’s a grandmother involved in this. Especially one with your… limitations. »
« After all… I am their mother. »
She looked me up and down, slowly and deliberately.
« And let’s be honest, » she added, the venom barely concealed behind her smile. « Do you really think you’ll be around much longer? »
I didn’t have time to reply. She jumped up and shouted towards the corridor:
« Jacob! Lily! Come here, please! »
… the venom barely masked behind the smile.
I froze. My chest tightened. For a moment, I had almost forgotten that they were at home, each in their own bubble, in their own room.
The steps creaked and, a few seconds later, Lily appeared first, closely followed by Jacob. They stopped dead in their tracks in the doorway when they saw her.
« My darlings! » Maribelle opened her arms wide, as if expecting a triumphant welcome. « My God, look at you! »
Neither of them moved. Lily’s face hardened and Jacob frowned.
My chest tightened.
« You remember me, don’t you? » she asked with forced enthusiasm. « I’m your mother. »
« What are you doing here? » Jacob said, looking at me first, then turning to her. « Why do you think we should remember you? You abandoned us when we were babies. »
“I came to bring you home,” she replied, ignoring Jacob’s question. “My husband and I have decided to adopt. I chose you two, of course. You’re going to come live with us, my darlings. It will be a much better life, I promise you: private schools, new clothes, real opportunities.”
« You left us when we were babies. »
« Adopt? » Lily’s voice cracked like a blade.
“Yes,” Maribelle replied, nodding her head. “At the time, I let your grandmother adopt you as your legal guardian. But my husband doesn’t know you’re my children. I told him you were orphans.”
At that moment, I couldn’t have been prouder of the twins. They were there, standing firm.
« I told him you were orphans. »
« Let’s not quibble over the technical details, » she said. « The only thing that matters is that you’ll have something better than… this. You can’t really want to stay here. »
« Here, with the woman who raised us? » Lily asked, moving closer to me. « Our grandmother. »
Maribelle’s smile froze and, for the first time, I saw a crack in her facade.
« You left, » said Lily. « You disappeared. But she stayed. And she loved us. »
« Here, with the woman who raised us? »
« You don’t understand… »
« Oh yes, we understand perfectly, » replied Jacob. « You can’t just waltz in here as if you haven’t missed fifteen years of our lives. »
« You’ll regret it when she’s gone and you’re stuck in this dilapidated hovel, » spat their mother.
« We don’t belong to you! » Jacob shouted.
« We never were, » added Lily, squeezing my arm.
Maribelle’s face contorted, then she turned on her heel and left the house, slamming the door behind her, without another word.
« We don’t belong to you! »
A week later, everything turned against her.
I picked up the phone while I was stirring a green curry on the stove. The voice on the other end of the line belonged to a man I didn’t know.
« Helen, » he said calmly. « My name is Thomas, I am Mr. Dean’s legal advisor. I think you’ll want to hear what I’ve discovered. »
My heart stopped while I was listening to him.
A week later, everything turned against her.
Thomas explained to me that his team had found no adoption records. No orphan’s register corresponding to Lily and Jacob. However, they had found two birth certificates bearing the name Maribelle, filed with the county court fifteen years earlier.
I stopped stirring the curry.
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