I Came Home after a Year Away to Find a Baby & Three Letters in My Kitchen — The Truth behind It Shook My World
When Alex comes home after a year away, he finds a baby in the kitchen and three heartbreaking letters: one accuses him of being unfaithful, the other is from his wife, and the third advises him to keep quiet.
Alex has to discover the truth before it’s too late after being thrown into pandemonium.
It had been almost a year since I left my house, and I had been counting down the days. The only thing that had kept me sane throughout those lengthy months spent working on an engineering project overseas was the thought of seeing Jennifer again.
But something didn’t feel quite right when I eventually parked into our driveway.
The house still had the same appearance, but today it seemed dead and frigid. As soon as I got inside, I dismissed it as jet lag or maybe nerves.
“Jen?” I cried out, feeling lonely and hollow as my voice echoed back to me. My heart began to race in that horrible manner that occurs when you know something is not right.
I made my way through the rooms, feeling as empty as the previous, until I came to the kitchen. It was then that I noticed it.
On the counter rested a wicker basket with what appeared to be a bundle of blankets. For a brief moment, I wondered if Jen had made the decision to surprise me with an unusual welcome-home gift.
But as I approached, I saw that the bundle contained more than simply blankets. It was a young child. A small baby, sound asleep.
My brain was unable to process it. I gazed at the infant for a moment, then at the basket, and that’s when I saw the three envelopes lying flat next it.
I opened the first one with a mixture of fear and bewilderment as my hands trembled.
The letter opened with the lines “Dear Alex,” and I had trouble keeping my eyes on it. “This is your daughter Lily. This may come as a shock, but it’s the truth. You own her. Mila.
Mila? Mila, who the hell was she? There has to be some sort of error here. I had no hidden love child, nor did I know any Mila. This was completely crazy.
The second letter, the one that made my blood run cold, I tore open.
“Alex, I’ll be gone by the time you read this. It’s unbelievable that you would do this to me and to us. Although I can’t stand the treachery, I still loved you. I’ve made my divorce filing. Don’t look for me. Jennifer.
The space began to spin. Was Jennifer going to leave me? due to the falsehood of some insane woman? I was unable to comprehend it. I had cheated on her, she believed. And with this woman named Mila? It was untrue!
The worst letter was the third one. It was shocking, brief, and direct.”Don’t call the police or you’ll regret it.”
I had the feeling that my legs might give out beneath me. Trembling to the table, I sank into a chair with the entire burden bearing down on me.
I ignored the mayhem that had just completely destroyed my life and just stared at Lily, who was still sleeping soundly.
Even though she was innocent in all of this, I couldn’t even look at her without feeling a wave of perplexity and rage come over me. Who would act in such a way? Why?
I was desperate for an explanation to make sense of everything and felt as like I was drowning. Snacking for any clue, I reached for my phone and began frantically going through my texts and emails.
Buried in a garbage folder, I discovered it.
One of my old emails was from a “Mila,” months ago. Initially, I dismissed it as spam, but now it seems like the start of a sinister game.
The email was brief—just a few lines—but it had a spooky tone.
“Your wife believes she is an expert on everything, but she is not. When you get back, we’ll see how well you handle the truth. Mila.
I was feeling ill. Who could be harming me in this way? As I struggled to think of someone I might have harmed, Kate’s face suddenly appeared in my thoughts.
All those strange moments before I left, when Jennifer’s best friend Kate had seemed a bit too interested in our marriage, a bit too ready to provide counsel, flashed through my head. I had dismissed it as her simply being guarded, but now
I wasn’t so sure now. Bits and pieces began to fit together in my mind to build an image that chilled my blood. Does Kate have any involvement in this? Is it possible that she was the one pulling the strings and creating this nightmare in my life?
I needed to know the reality. I refused to allow the deceit of another person to cause my life to fall apart. I needed someone who could uncover Kate’s possible hidden agenda and uncover Mila’s true identity.
I picked up the phone and, without thinking, dialed the number of the greatest private investigator in town. One thing was for sure, though: I was not going to lose Jennifer over something I did not do. I had to fight for my marriage.
Some of the worst days of my life were the ones that followed. I tried calling Jennifer to get an explanation, but she didn’t answer. And Lily, in between fretting over Jen and biding my time till the private investigator returned my call.
My initial thought upon her awakening was to call Child Protective Services to come get her. She was never mine, and I didn’t want her around to constantly remind me of how completely my life had changed.
But when I saw her eyes, my heart began to soften. Well, she was naive after all. A pawn in the sick game of somebody else.
I then proceeded to the store to buy formula, diapers, and other necessities for a baby. She needed me, even if it wasn’t easy to manage her on top of everything else going on in my life.
The call I had been waiting for then arrived. The private eye had discovered something.
As I sat across from Kate, the typical afternoon crowd was buzzing through the café, but that all faded into a far-off hum. My heart was thumping so hard I could feel it in my throat as I placed my evidence-filled folder on the table in front of us like a loaded rifle ready to fire.
Kate had been drinking tea. My wrath boiled at her blatant arrogance in sitting there and pretending nothing was out of the ordinary. But I had to maintain my composure. Everything has to go just right.
“Kate,” I said in a low, somewhat growling voice. “I know what you did.”
I just caught a glimpse of something crossing her face: fear? Feeling guilty? But she bounced back fast, her visage settling back into that comfortable worried mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I leaned forward and met her eyes. “Cease. Simply stop. I have the money transfers, the texts, and the emails. Kate, I am fully informed. The deceit you told Jennifer, the arrangement with Mila, and the entire dark scheme.”
Even though her teacup shook a little when she put it down, she made an effort to maintain her position. “Alex, you’re being ridiculous.”
“Stop lying!” I lost my temper. People began to turn heads and observe, but I didn’t mind. “My marriage nearly ended because of you. You attempted to destroy us by using a baby and a defenseless mother. Why not, Kate?”
Glancing around, she could see that there was nowhere for her to go, and the fractures in her façade were finally beginning to show. “Alex, please, can we not do this here?”
“No, we’re doing this right here, right now,” I firmly stated, sounding icy. “I need the truth from you. You at least owe me that after all you’ve made us go through.”
When Kate finally looked up at me, her shoulders drooped and her eyes became almost regretful. “All right, I was jealous. Seeing you with her made me uncomfortable since I knew you had picked Jennifer above me.”
“What?” I whispered.
“Alex, I’ve been in love with you for years, and it just… it made me feel so twisted inside. Maybe if I could split the two of you apart, I thought.
With a knot in my stomach, I gazed at her. This exceeded my expectations. “So you thought ruining my life, dragging an innocent baby into this mess, would make me love you?”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she cringed at the disdain in my voice. “My reasoning was faulty. It’s too late to undo what I did, even though I realize it was wrong and that I wounded you and Jennifer.”
I growled, “Darn right, it’s too late.” Kate, you did more than simply harm us. You almost brought us to ruin. You can’t just apologize and hope that everything will go better.”
Kate burst into tears. I resisted her hand as it sought out for mine.
“Don’t.” I got up and picked up the folder. “The police have arrived. You must accept the repercussions of your actions.”
Her cheeks turned pale as she gasped. “Alex, please say no! Avoid doing this—”
“You made your choices, Kate, and now you have to live with them.”
She began to cry as I turned to go, but I didn’t turn around. I was unable to. Even without having to look at the ruins of her life, the weight of what she had done was unbearable.
The days that ensued were indistinct. Mila lost her parental rights and Kate was sent behind arrest. Despite the fact that she had contributed to this horror, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.
But I felt I had to be there for Lily because she was innocent, simply a baby entangled in a web of falsehoods.
A few days later, Jennifer arrived at my door with tears in her eyes, and I was filled with both hope and worry. We stood in quiet for what seemed like an eternity after she entered the room until she finally said something.
She broke into a whisper, “I’m sorry, Alex.” “You deserve my trust. I ought to have had faith in us.”
I gathered her into my arms and clung to her as if I would never let go. “We both made mistakes,” I added, a lot of emotion in my voice. “But we’ll overcome this. In unison.”
We talked and cried for hours, slowly and painfully putting our broken world back together. And in the midst of it all was Lily, our unexpected blessing and little light.
It felt like the first completely right thing that had happened in a long time when Jennifer recommended that we adopt her.