Eun Ho gave an eerie smile. "Very good. Custody shall be." The boardroom was full of tension. Joseph Whitehaven looked at the menacing women. He had to step in, or she would murder someone here. He could not control these lawyers.
Joseph Whitehaven interrupted. He was facing a civil lawsuit, a slam-dunk one from Ms. MacDonald and the Lowrie family. They wanted his very blood. "I think we need to take some time to discuss the implications of these results," one of them said. "Custody arrangements will need to be negotiated, and—"
"We don't want to negotiate," Eun Ho interrupted, her voice firm. We want our daughter back. She's been taken from us for far too long. We will allow our child to see her on visits as she pleases, but let me assure you..." Eun Ho paused menacingly, "Legality means nothing to us, Ms. MacDonald."
Molly looked up, her eyes red-rimmed from tears. "You can't just take her away from me," she said, her voice shaking. "I've raised her, cared for her...She's my daughter. I'd protect her with my life. I would give everything for her. DNA doesn't matter to me. I will go to the press if I have to."
Molly would risk it all to go to the press over her daughter. Her will to live was tied up in that child. She was the reason she had made it this far. She would be dead and in jail if Selena's existence had not set her straight. She was who she was today because she was.
Ms. Jenkins's hand tightened on her shoulders, seemingly understanding the consequences of calling the Lowrie's bluff. Molly shook her hand almost imperceptibly.
Jonathan's expression softened, and he took a step forward. "Molly, we understand that you've cared for Selena, and we're grateful for that. But she's our biological daughter, and we have a right to be a part of her life. We raised McKenna for 14 years and have grown to love her too." Jonathan paused, his mind making quick calculations.
Molly had seen that look before on her own daughter's face. It was when she was insecure and trying to think her way out of trouble. "Thank you, Selena. Your naughty face has trained me well," Molly thought. She had him over a barrel. He did not want the press involved in the matter as much as she did, so she stood more confidently.
"Don't you want to get to know your biological daughter? We can certainly afford to accommodate your family in the luxury loft near our Brownstone so that we can see both daughters," Jonathan said. He did not want the media to dig too deeply, or it would be too hard to cover up. The media needed to be controlled and steered, not sent off like dogs on a fox hunt.
Molly lifted her head as she felt an urging tap from Mrs.Jenkins, her lawyer, "Molly, take the deal for now. You'll be able to see her when she wants; all you gotta do is keep up with being the mother you have been to her." Ms. Jenkins whispered.
Molly quickly opened her mouth. "Deal. But you can't just push McKenna away and steal my daughter. Make sure you fulfill your promise and don't fuck with my daughter's head. She'll see through any onslaught of gifts. She's so smart. I understand that you could buy her the moon, but she is the moon itself. She is such a treasure that those meaningless things do not mean a damn to her." Molly preached.
Eun Ho shot a look at Jonathan, her eyes flashing with a mix of emotions. Disgust was the first. Jonathan shrank. She looked Molly in the eyes. This woman revered her daughter as a treasure. The investigation did point to her doing everything she could to provide for her, to the point of self-sacrifice. She could appreciate that.
However, as much as she loved McKenna in her way, her blood tie with Selena meant more to her than her unbearable relationship with her. She felt guilt about the loathing of that child. "I will only make sure she gets what she deserves. McKenna…is part of our lives. However, she's had some problems. I can assure you that we won't negate that relationship; however, we intended to give her a sizable trust fund due to her various challenges." Eun Ho looked at the woman, shaking like a leaf, and felt sympathy.
Eun Ho had always felt guilty for disliking her daughter and for not being able to connect with her on a deeper level. The kid was a hellion that therapists and medication could not crack. She still loved her, but she had killed animals and didn't do well in school. McKenna hated everyone but herself, and it started from a very young age. If she was like this woman, maybe she could reach her.
"Maybe you are what she needs, Molly. You must have done well with Selena," Eun Ho said, softening her tone. She, after all, looked like the daughter she raised.
Eun Ho gazed at Jonathan. Eun Ho realized that her subconscious mind had been rejecting McKenna all along. She had been pushing her daughter away, unable to accept her as her own. It was all because she had doubted Jonathan's words, doubted that McKenna was truly their child. She was right. Eun Ho whispered in Jonathan's ear, "Just wait to see what comes from your little arrangement. That property goes in her name. Not that trash."
But now, with the revelation that Selena was their biological daughter, Eun Ho felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She finally understood why she had been feeling so disconnected from McKenna. It wasn't because she was a bad person, but because Eun Ho's subconscious mind had been trying to tell her something - that McKenna wasn't her biological child. Getting her little phoenix out of this nest was of the utmost importance; there was so much riding on her back.
Eun Ho's eyes locked onto Jonathan's, and she saw the understanding there. He knew, just as she did, that their relationship with McKenna would never be the same. But they had a second chance, a chance to connect with their true biological daughter, Selena.
"Jonathan, we should talk about this. Arrangements like this are sensitive," Eun Ho said, switching to Korean. Her voice was low and urgent as she reached out and took Jonathan's hand, squeezing it tightly. She shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "If they don't agree, I'll have my father sort it out. He is very disappointed in our current daughter. If he finds out she's a fake. Only blood ties matter to him." Eun Ho vehemently said to Jonathan.
Molly felt like she was covered in ice. She had stopped crying and listening to the power couple's threats, and she started to shake. Her lawyer kindly guided her back to her chair from the pissed-off powerful couple that had the hospital and its lawyers scared shitless.
Eun Ho's voice dropped to a whisper, and she spoke in Korean, her words dripping with venom. "I wonder if the three of them will meet an accident to clear a way for the real Dal-Rae." Jonathan's eyes widened, and he felt his blood run cold and a cold sweat form.
But before he could respond, Eun Ho's expression changed, and she spoke in English, her voice filled with emotion. "Look, we just want to give her everything she deserves. She has an inheritance from her Korean family and the Lowrie side. We can enrich her life. Between the four of us, her twin brother, uncles, and her grandparents. We can give both McKenna and Selena the lives of their dreams. We don't lack the funds."
Jonathan's eyes locked onto Eun Ho's, and he felt a surge of guilt and regret. He remembered the countless arguments they had about McKenna's lack of the birthmark and how he had dismissed Eun Ho's concerns. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his mind reeling with the implications.
Eun Ho's words echoed in his mind - Dal-Rae meant Moon child. He dismissed how Eun Ho had sworn that her daughter was born with a birthmark of a crescent moon on her wrist.
She claimed it was a sign of their daughter's true identity and that McKenna was not their daughter. He dismissed her repeatedly. He said she must have hallucinated it from the general anesthesia. He felt Eun Ho's foot connect with his shin, and he winced, his eyes never leaving hers.
For 14 years, their daughter had suffered because of his doubts and fears. He had dismissed Eun Ho's concerns, and now they were facing the consequences. Jonathan's heart heavy with regret, he squeezed Eun Ho's hand, his eyes filled with a deep sadness. The room fell silent once more, the tension between the two families palpable. It was clear that this was only the beginning of a long and difficult journey.
Molly sighed, her eyes welling up with tears. "How do we even tell her?" she asked, she wrung the edge of her coat, upset.
James, who had been quietly observing the exchange, spoke up. "We'll figure it out together, Molly. We'll make sure Selena is okay."
James was afraid that this was the end of Molly's sobriety. Could she take this? The last 14 years of her life were in vain. The most precious thing in the world to Molly, her heart, was being ripped away from her and stomped on. They would need to go to meetings between shifts.
James himself was on the verge of collapsing. Selena was his daughter. He changed her diapers when he was home on leave, his pay bought her clothes, and he paid for the doctors when he was in the service. For the past two years, he had been at home solid with the kid. He walked her to school and dried her tears when she was bullied. God, he could cry.
He steeled himself for Molly and for this new child, this piece of Molly that would be coming into their lives. She would be hurt and sad being thrown away like trash by these rich jerks.
Molly nodded, knowing that the Lowries were right. They could give Selena a better life, one filled with opportunities and financial security. At least away from Robert Gonzales, Selena's false biological father, she had nothing he could take from her anymore.
Selena wasn't technically hers or Robert's, but she had raised her as her own. Molly's heart ached at the thought of losing Selena, but she knew it was inevitable. The Lowries were Selena's biological parents and had the connections and money to fight them in court and win. Mostly, they had a right to be a part of her life. They had no choice but to accept the breadcrumbs, albeit generous, the family offered.
"We accepted your offer. Selena must, however, be the one to choose. She is such a great girl. The same goes with McKenna. I won't force her to have a relationship with me if she does not want one, and I won't have you pressure her either." Molly said and took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come.