More than two hours later, the flight took off. I'd changed my ticket to an earlier flight to Miami Beach.
I needed to find a quiet place to sort out my emotions.
Before I knew it, New Year's Eve arrived. I sat by the ocean watching fireworks.
A knot that had lived in my chest for years finally came undone. The results were confirmed—I wasn't their biological child.
It wasn't that I couldn't earn my parents' approval. They weren't my parents at all.
I was kidnapped as a child. The people I called Mom and Dad were the ones who took me.
The investigators I hired are still gathering evidence. After the new year, I'll personally see them sent to prison.
"With genes like theirs, they could never have raised someone like me."
I lifted my face to the dazzling fireworks, and tears slipped down.
I missed my real mom and dad—two people I had no memory of at all.
They must have been frantic too, right?
I'm searching for them. I just don't know if I'll ever be lucky enough to find them.
"Look, that's her, isn't it?"
Someone raised their phone and pointed at me. A crowd gathered fast.
The influencer who'd been livestreaming the fireworks nearby rushed over, camera aimed straight at my face.