Chapter 12

Jonah was silent. “Wait…” he said slowly. “What did you just say?”

“I know, it sounds crazy, right? But it’s true. The child is mine.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I saw her and she is my replica. I felt as if I was looking at my baby videos. She looks so much like me, Jonah. I am one hundred percent sure she’s mine.”

“Wow… this is nuts.”

“I agree.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know where Rachel lives, and I don’t know how to reach her.”

“How about leaving a comment under her most recent video?”

“Are you kidding? You want me to post a comment on public space and say what?”

“Hey, don’t bite my head off. It was just a suggestion.”

“An awful one.”

“Fine. Have you got a better idea?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t she have any social media accounts? Instagram, maybe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, find out. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

The flight attendant showed up with a smile that indicated that she needed to speak with him.

“Yes, Lily?”

“We will be landing in a few minutes, sir. Please, fasten your seatbelt.”

“Ok, thank you.”

“Would you be needing anything?”

“No, thanks.”

Lily nodded and returned to her station. Once upon a time, Derek had had a crush on the sassy brunette, but right now she was as appealing as tap water to him. All of his senses were attuned to his current predicament and nothing else.

“Hello, Jonah. Are you still there?”

“Yeah. So, what’s it going to be, my man?”

“I’m going to launch a search for her on Instagram first, and if I find her, I’ll send her a DM and see what happens.”

“I’m rooting for you, Derek. I hope this ends well for you.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“What would you say to her if you find her on social media?”

“To be honest, I don’t know.”

Jonah sighed. “You know what, just go with your gut.”

“Yeah…”

“Are you ok?”

“I guess so. I just don’t know what scares me the most; knowing that I have a daughter or the fact that I actually want to see her in person.”

Jonah chuckled. “I know what you mean. My mother used to call it ‘the blood pull.’ That’s your DNA calling you.”

Derek laughed. “Come on, man. Stop it. You know I don’t believe in that woo-woo stuff. I think I’m just curious and that’s natural.”

“Ok, if you say so. Good luck, man. Let me know how it all works out.”

“Sure thing. Thanks, Jo.”

“Any time.”

He hung up the call just as the jet began its downward approach to the airport. Derek decided that he was going to wait until he got to his office before he began his online search for Rachel. This new discovery made him feel like a jerk whenever he remembered how he had spoken so rudely to Rachel the last time they met. He still hadn’t had time to process his thoughts, and his brain felt scrambled.

Back in his office, he instructed his secretary to hold all his calls and cancel all of his scheduled appointments. He needed to track down Rachel today and form his next course of action thereafter.

“Is everything ok?” Asked Diane, from his office doorway.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied without looking at her.

“The team from Bond Tech will be here in an hour. They weren’t supposed to come in today but you said –“

“What part of ‘cancel all of my appointments’ do you not understand, Diane?” He asked sternly. He was eager to begin his personal assignment but his nosey secretary was getting in the way.

“Uh, ok boss,” said Diane with a red face.

Derek sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m a bit stressed at the moment and I just need some privacy, ok?”

“Yes, Mr. Fraser.”

“I’ll give Bond Tech’s CEO a call later to reschedule, but I think you should call his office now to notify them that the meeting is canceled until further notice.”

As soon as Diane left, Derek tapped the screen of his iPad and the device came to life. He went straight to his Instagram app and typed Rachel’s name, but he then realized that he didn’t remember her last name.

“Crap!” He swore in frustration. How was he going to find her with only her first name? Besides, her YouTube channel was called, All Things Rachel, so that was no help either. What was he going to do now? Should he leave a comment under her video as Jonah had suggested?

He sighed. At this point, he needed to use all of the resources at his disposal to track down Rachel. It was now obvious that he couldn’t find her on his own and it was time to involve the big guns. He picked up his landline and dialed a familiar phone number.

“Hello, Rabbit,” he said when the call was answered. “I need to find someone.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” came the reply. “Who are you looking for?”

********

Rachel was as excited as Zoe this morning as they tinkered about in the kitchen, making a huge breakfast in preparation for Rob and Taylor’s 5-day visit to Atlanta. The last time they’d come around was three months ago, and now they were coming to take part in Zoe’s first birthday party which was a few days away. Her brother and his ever-supportive boyfriend have taken it upon themselves to organize the party for their adorable niece.

Her mother had visited them twice since Zoe was born and thereafter, they have continued to keep in touch via daily phone calls and video calls. Rachel was thankful for her family’s support throughout her journey into motherhood, and her extended family had been so good to her, taking her in on short notice and making sure she was ok all through the pregnancy, to the birth of her child and have continued to show up for her whenever she needed them. It had been initially difficult for her to get back to her content creation work, but her aunt had encouraged her to get back to it because it would keep her busy and take her mind off things. She’d taken that advice and it had paid off.

Once she announced her pregnancy on her YouTube channel, a few brands had reached out to her for partnership opportunities and Rachel had found herself creating content that was centered around pregnancy, prenatal vitamins, workout aids for expecting moms, and skincare products for pregnancy-induced skin problems. Her earnings had dramatically increased and by the time Zoe was born, she had made enough money to rent a place of her own and move out of her aunt’s house.

Recently, she’d been doing more of baby product reviews on her channel, thanks to brands that she was now partnering with, and Zoe has had a few baby modeling jobs that came up as a result of her getting featured on the channel. Rachel finally felt like she now had her feet solidly planted on the ground after months of a chaotic existence. It was a satisfying feeling and she was very optimistic about the future.

The doorbell rang and Rachel glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen. The time was a quarter past 9 a.m. and way too early for Rob and Taylor to have arrived. She wasn’t expecting anyone this morning, so who could that be?

“Bell!” Zoe yelled excitedly from her spot on the highchair where she was nibbling on a banana.

“Yes, darling, that’s right. It’s the doorbell,” said Rachel. “I better go see who it is.”

She dropped the whisk in her hand beside the bowl of eggs and wiped her hands on her apron before making her way to the front door. When she opened the door, her jaw dropped as soon her eyes landed on her unexpected visitor.

“Hi, Rachel,” said Derek with a stiff smile. He extended the bouquet of roses in his hand toward her. “These are for you,” he said and cleared his throat self-consciously.

“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked in surprise. “How did you find me?”

Derek shrugged. “I had help,” he said. “May I come in?”

“No, you may not!”

“Rachel – “

“No! Look, you need to leave now. I don’t know why you came here, but you are not welcome and I don’t want to see you again. Ever!”

“Mommy!” Zoe called out to her from the kitchen.

“I’m coming, baby,” she responded. To Derek, “Please, go away. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Rachel, I know I owe you an apology and I would like to – “

“Save it,” she cut him off. “I don’t need your apology and I don’t need you butting into my life out of nowhere and expecting me to welcome you with open arms.”

“Rachel, please,” he pleaded soulfully.

“You have got some nerve,” she said bitterly and shut the door in his face.