The Fredericks were finished.
Every channel, every newspaper, every headline screamed their downfall. Laundering. Fraud. Bribery. Thelma's abuse of Arabella. Cindy's forged orphanage records. Lillian and Neil in court, their smug smiles replaced with pale faces and handcuffs.
London buzzed with the scandal, but at Romero, Bella's world was quiet. She had both her children with her Jessy asleep in his crib, Arabella curled against her side. For once, the storm was outside.
Bella smoothed her daughter's hair, violet eyes staring back at her. "There's something I need to tell you," she whispered. Her heart hammered.
Arabella blinked. "What is it?"
"I'm not just someone who loves you," Bella said, voice trembling. "I'm your mum. Your real mum."
Arabella's lips parted in shock. "But... I thought..."
"I know, sweetheart. You were told lies. But the truth is... you were taken from me when you were a baby. I never got to hold you, never got to see your first smile. But you're mine. And from today, I'll never let you go again."
Arabella's eyes filled with tears, then she threw her arms around Bella's neck. "Mummy," she whispered, clinging tight.
Bella sobbed into her daughter's hair. "Yes, my love. Always."
The next morning, Bella rose early. Jessy babbled softly as she dressed him, while Arabella sat quietly on the bed, watching her mother with wide violet eyes. Bella chose a simple dress for herself, brushed Arabella's hair into a neat ponytail, and held both children's hands as they walked down to the waiting car.
She had made her decision. Today, the truth had to be faced.
The driver took them to the Walter residence. The house looked the same as it always had, yet heavier now, filled with memories and questions that refused to be buried any longer.
When the door opened, Vera stood there. For a moment, the years seemed to fall away as mother and daughter embraced tightly, both clinging as if time itself might steal them apart again.
But Vera's eyes soon drifted to the girl standing beside Bella. She froze, her breath catching.
"Arabella," Vera said softly, kneeling slightly to meet the child's eyes. Then she looked back up at Bella. "How do you feel about raising Chris's daughter? And... has he figured out who her real mother is? After the court revealed Thelma only adopted her?"
Bella's jaw tightened. She shook her head slowly, her eyes shimmering. "She's mine."
Vera blinked, her face paling. "What... what do you mean she's yours?"
Bella's voice broke, but she forced herself to meet her mother's eyes. "How did you live with the guilt, Mum? It must have been eating you alive all these years. Knowing your granddaughter was stolen right under your nose."
Vera stumbled back a step, tears already filling her eyes.
Bella pressed on, her voice trembling. "It must have been hard. Finding out your daughter was in a coma, then being told she was eight weeks pregnant after 8 weeks of being in coma. And instead of letting them terminate, you begged them to keep her alive, both of us alive. You made sure they monitored me, kept me stable, even when the doctors doubted. You fought for me, Mum. And for her."
Vera's hands shook as she covered her mouth, sobs escaping.
"They managed us both for eight long months," Bella whispered, her tears finally spilling. "Until I was cut open, and she was delivered. She was stolen two days after I delivered her and two weeks later, when I woke up...she was long gone."
Arabella shifted closer to Bella, clutching her hand though she didn't understand the full weight of what was being said.
"You searched, didn't you?" Bella said, softer now. "You looked everywhere, called the authorities, begged them to find her. But you couldn't. And when you realised I had amnesia... you decided to bury it. To let me live without that pain."
Vera broke completely then, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head. "I did it to protect you, Ella. You'd lost so much already. I thought if I told you, it would destroy you. I wanted you to heal, to live. I never stopped looking for her. Not one day."
Bella knelt down beside her mother, Jessy on one side, Arabella on the other. "You did what you thought was best. But, Mum... she was mine. My baby. And Cassandra took her from us."
At the mention of that name, Vera's grief hardened into fury. Her hands trembled but her voice grew sharp. "That woman has destroyed too much of our lives. Your accident, your suffering, your stolen child all of it. I will never forgive her."
Bella wrapped her arms around both Arabella and Jessy, pulling them close. "It's over now. We found her. And I'm not letting anyone take her from me again."
Vera reached out, cupping Arabella's cheek with shaking fingers. "You're home now, my darling. You're home where you belong."
And for the first time, Arabella leaned into the touch, shy but comforted, as though some part of her had always known.