Joanna bent down to gaze into the face of her newborn child. But then Robert asked another question. “Did Logan ever mention his family at all?”
“No,” Joanna answered, “Not once. But he often spoke in his sleep and I’ve heard him saying this name… Elias.”
It was like Robert had just been hit. But then slowly, he admitted something he never admitted to anyone. Just before he disappeared, Logan had suddenly started to remember things from the day Elias disappeared.
For many years he remembered nothing. But one day a strange photograph arrived by mail. Though Robert never saw it, it made Logan certain his brother was alive.
They always fought with each other. Robert thought it was just another sick joke, but Logan wouldn’t let it go. He disappeared shortly after that.
Before they could say anything else, a nurse walked in with an envelope.
“Somebody delivered this at the reception for Joanna.”
Joanna frowned. “I don’t know anyone here.”
The nurse simply shrugged. “But he said he was family.”
Joanna’s name was written on it, and there was a photo inside.
Logan looked extremely tired and scared as he stood beside a man who bore his resemblance, along with his crescent-shaped birthmark.
Elias.
When Robert saw that picture, he fell apart. On the other side, Logan had written, “He’s not dead. Don’t trust my father. Protect the baby.”
After Joanna confronted Robert about that, he told her that a witness had once said that someone from their family had kidnapped Elias. Though he didn’t believe him, he couldn’t shake off the guilt.
Knowing for sure that Logan must have known everything, she insisted that they contact the detective who had been involved in the original case.
Detective Carver took a look at the evidence, coming to just one conclusion, Logan had found Elias, and someone wanted them silenced.
The case was re-opened.
Many weeks went by before Carver called them. They had found Logan and Elias alive in an abandoned house where they had been kept captive by the man who kidnapped Elias years ago.
After two days, Logan visited Joanna in the hospital room.
He apologized for his disappearance and confessed that searching for Elias had turned out to be much riskier than he had thought.
“You should have told me,” said Joanna.
“I know,” he answered.
The wounds between Logan and Robert weren’t healed overnight, but for the first time, there were no more secrets.
While the baby slept soundly, Joanna came to understand that she was no longer alone. Logan was alive, Elias had been finally home, and a family torn apart for many years had a chance to get back together.
