9 o'clock, in the hotel suite:
Third person's POV:
Antonio opened the door and saw the Parker family standing outside. He knew them as he had read the information about them before. He had seen the pictures of them. He let them in and closed the door.
Everyone was looking at them. Gabriel went and shook his hand with Evan, said, "Hello, I am Gabriel. These are my sons Antonio, Leonardo, Rafael, Alfonso, Benjamin and Matteo."
Everyone nodded politely. Evan and Hollan nodded back.
"Come on. Let's go sit and then we will talk." Antonio said. They went and took their seats. All of them were looking nervous.
"Ok so how do you know Ariana's adopted?" Evan asked.
"Mr. Parker, I want to ask you something. Where did you adopt Ariana from?" Gabriel asked.
"Why? First tell me how do you know that and what do you want?" Hollan asked.
"Please rest assured. We won't do any harm to Ariana. We only want her safety. Please tell me. It's very important and you will know by the end of our conversation." Gabriel said.
Evan took a breath and looked at Hollan. She nodded at him. "We actually couldn't get pregnant due to medical reasons. So we were looking for a baby to adopt. We went to the orphanages but we couldn't find any child to adopt."
"One day, when we were returning from our work we heard a baby's cry. We went there and found her. We took her to the doctor and found that she's a month old baby and was running a high fever. We admitted her there."
"Then when she recovered we took her to the police. The police couldn't find any relatives of her. So we decided to adopt her. We were very connected to her in an instant."
As Evan was telling the story of how they found her and adopted her, the Romano's were getting very angry and sad also.
"Mr. Parker, did you find a pendant on her?" Gabriel asked.
Evan was stunned. "Yes. Why? How do you know about the pendant?"
Gabriel took a sharp breath and replied, "Mr. Parker Ariana is my daughter. She was a month old when she went missing. Since then we have been searching for her."
Evan and Hollan were stunned. They were looking at them wide eyed. Actually, now that they looked carefully, they found, they have similar features to Ariana but they didn't pay much attention to that at that time.
Evan asked, "Tell me the details of the pendant."
"It is a platinum pendant with a gold chain. On it is carved Ariana in cursive with diamonds laded on it. When she went missing, she was wrapped in a pink blanket." Antonio replied dazedly. He was thinking back to that night.
Evan was stunned. He took a deep breath and asked, "How did she go missing?"
"Mr. Parker, our enemy did that. They were looking for an opportunity to hurt us and they succeeded. We failed to protect her." Gabriel said.
"How did you know that she is your daughter?" Hollan asked.
"We have been searching for her since she went missing. We couldn't find her before because she was here. Actually we live in New York. So we hired a PI and he told us." Gabriel said.
"Ok. So now what?" Evan asked.
"We want to meet her and take her back to her home. We will not stop you from meeting her as she is your daughter too." Gabriel explained.
Evan looked like he was in a trance. There was so much information to absorb. "She doesn't know about being adopted."
"We know, that's why we want you to tell her first. As it would be better coming from you and then you tell her about us. What do you think?" Leonardo said.
"Ok. I think it is right. So we will go back and tell her." Hollan said.
"Inform us, when you have told her. So that we could come and meet her as soon as possible." Gabriel said.
"Ok. Mr. Romano, we will take our leave now. Wait for our call." Evan said.
Then they got up and went home. After they left Romano's were tense. As they thought about what would happen. They were now waiting for the call.
_______________________________________
Present time:
Ariana's POV:
I am looking at them as they are looking at each other. "Tell me. Please."
"Ariana, we received a call this morning. It was from Gabriel Romano. He wanted to meet us, so we went and met him. He and his sons were there and we talked. We got to know that he is your..." Dad took a deep breath as if he couldn't bear to say it.
"...Dad." he exhaled and whispered.
I was shocked. I don't know how I felt. I can't describe the emotions I am feeling right now. They abandoned me and now what do they want?
Mom came and hugged me tightly like I am going to disappear if she doesn't hug me tightly. I started crying in her arms. Dad also came and hugged us. We remained in that position for who knows how many minutes. But I felt a lot better after the hug. I needed it.
I stopped crying and looked at my parents to let them continue.
My parents told me the whole story about me. How I went missing, how they have been searching for me and how they want to meet me.
I sat there processing everything. I feel overwhelmed. I went to my room and took a shower and got onto my bed. I fell asleep dazedly.
_______________________________________
Meanwhile in the hotel suite:
Third person's POV:
Romano's were waiting anxiously. They went to do their work to distract themselves. They ate some dinner. They were doing their work when the phone rang. Gabriel accepted the call. Then came a voice.
"We told her everything. She is asleep now. It was a lot for her. She is exhausted now." Evan said.
"What did she say about us?" Antonio asked.
"She didn't say anything. Why don't you give her some time. I will try to see what her reaction is tomorrow. Ok?" Evan replied.
"Ok then. Call me tomorrow. Tell her that we want to meet her very badly."
Gabriel replied and hung up the phone. He told the boys about the call and they also understood that it was a lot for her. They went to sleep with the hope that they will be able to see her tomorrow.
_______________________________________
The next morning:
Ariana's POV:
I woke up from my sleep. I felt like I haven't slept very well. I feel like it was all a dream. How I knew that I was adopted, about my family from New York and everything.
I lay there processing everything bit by bit. First about the adoption, well I don't feel anything different from before. I feel blessed to meet with my parents. They loved me, took care of me, nurtured me and everything a parent could do, they did.
I feel that it could have been so much worse. Some bad people could have also found me and then my life would have been totally different from what it is today. Or I could have died on that cold night and anyone wouldn't even know until it was too late.
So I feel blessed that my parents adopted me. And now I don't feel that much confused. It feels like I got clarity.
Now my biological family. Now that I think about it carefully, I think they are not at fault also. I mean there are always people who get missing or get kidnapped. I also got kidnapped.
Sigh, I am sure they would have also felt terrible. At least I didn't know about my family but they knew about me. Imagine that your daughter/sister gets kidnapped and you have to live with that for 18 years.
I can't imagine what they went through. When my parents first told me about being adopted I thought that my biological family abandoned me but they didn't. There is happiness in me that at least I am not abandoned.
I think I should meet with them. At least they will be happy after meeting me and feel some peace.
I now feel like I am in control of my thoughts. I feel relaxed. I got up and went to take a shower. I wore a cute top and a skirt. I paired it with some jewellery like earrings, bracelets and my pendant in a long chain as the previous one was short.
I spritz my favourite perfume and wear my sandals. I went down the stairs to see that my parents are looking worried, probably thinking about what will be my reaction now.
"Good morning mom and dad." I said, giving them a smile.
They looked surprised to see me dressed and my smile. They replied, "good morning baby girl."
"How are you?" Dad asked.
"I am alright dad. I thought about all of this and now I don't feel that much confused. I have some clarity. I think it was best that you guys adopted me and not some bad guys. You guys love me so much as I love you."
They were very happy. They smiled a very big smile and said, "don't you ever doubt that. We will always and forever love you. But what about Romano's?" Mom said.
"I want to talk with you about that. What do you think?" I asked.
"I think you should talk with them. After all, they are your family. They have missed you. We saw sincerity in them. They have been searching for you. They are very eager to meet you." Dad reassured me.
"Ok dad. I will meet them."
"They have been eagerly waiting for your reply. I will call them now." Dad called them and told them that I am ready to meet them. They are going to come to our house for lunch and then we will meet.
I am very nervous now. I don't know what I will say or how I will feel. For me, this is my home and my parents.
Ariana, it's ok. Deep breath. Everything will be alright. You have mom and dad.
"Ariana, don't be nervous. We are here." Mom comforted me.
"Thanks mom."
We then sat there talking. Afterwards my mom and I went to the kitchen to get the lunch ready. We started preparing lunch. I don't know how today will go but I am somewhat assured that my parents are with me.
We completed the cooking. I looked at the time and it is 12.45 p.m. They will be here soon. I went to my room and got fresh and up.
The door bell rang. "Ding Dong." I froze. It's them. I took a breath and went downstairs. I saw my dad opening the door and there stood a man and some boys. I think they are his relatives.
"Mr. Romano, come in please." Dad welcomed them.
"Please call me Gabriel. Thank you for letting us meet our girl. This is for you." He gave dad a gift bag.
"No Gabriel. There's no need for this. Please don't use these formalities." Dad said.
"Please accept it. We can't come to our baby girl's home empty handed." The man said.
Dad took it and opened it to see that it is wine. From the looks it is very expensive.
"Gabriel, this is my favourite wine. Thank you. Come let's go in." Dad took him to the living room. I went there. They didn't notice me yet.
"Where is my princess?" Asked the man. Dad smiled and looked at me. He pointed towards me and said softly, "there she is. Ariana, come here and meet your family."
The man and the boys turned around to look at me and were stunned. They were looking like they couldn't believe I was here. I was also dazed as I looked at them. I felt deep within my heart that I knew them. Like I have some connection with them. I guess that's what you feel when you look at your family.
I unconsciously started walking there. I reached to them and said, "hello, I am Ariana. Nice to meet you."
"Ariana princess, I am Gabriel, your father." He said. I nodded and gave him a small smile. He gestured to the boys and said, "these are your big brothers." I was stunned. All of them? There were six boys. All of them were my brothers?
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