Another picture. “Elizabeth Marie was an infant.”
And then another, “Charles Edward….”
“That’s Colin!” Catarina shouted, tears streaming down her face as she jumped to her feet, staring at the very young boy on the big screen. Getting up, I stood behind her and looked at the small boy on the screen. He looked so much like me, I couldn’t believe it, right down to the light blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. He was the spitting image of me.
“If you have a picture of Colin, I can do a facial recognition on him to verify his identity,” Phantom carefully said to both of us. When neither of us responded, she turned to Reaper, who calmly asked, “Catarina, do you have a picture of Colin?”
“Yes,” she sniffed, reaching around her neck removing a locket. Handing it to Reaper, I said nothing as Reaper opened the locket, smiled, then gave it to Phantom.
“I will get this back to you as soon as possible,” Phantom said, looking around the room. “There’s more, Reaper. This recovery isn’t going to be easy. All three of their kids have been legally adopted. I had to search deeply, but I found the adoption papers. They were sealed adoptions. They are a prominent family with deep connections. Add in the fact, there is no record of any of their children being abused or mistreated. In fact, for all intents and purposes, the kids are loved and well cared for. They attend the best schools and have round-the-clock care.”
“That’s my son,” Catarina cried, turning to me as I wrapped her tightly in my arms. “I want him back, Reggie. I want my baby back.”
“We’ll get him back, Cat. I promise,” I said, holding her as I made her sit down again. Turning to Reaper, I asked, “That’s my son, Max. I don’t need some facial recognition to know the truth. He looks just like me. I know you see it too. Everyone does. I want him back, and I don’t care how we get him. Just help me bring my son home.”
Reaper nodded. “I hear you, Player. That boy has Golden blood in his veins. He’s ours. He belongs to all of us. We will get him back if I have to kidnap him myself to do it. We will get your son back.”
Brothers all around me agreed and nodded. Even Luciano nodded, “And the family will help. That boy just doesn’t have Golden blood in his veins, he also has Valentinetti blood in him, and we take care of our own. Count the family in, Reaper.”
Ten
Player
Closing my bedroom door quietly, I slowly headed downstairs and headed for the kitchen only to find Reaper, Ghost, and Viper sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer.
I’d spent the last couple of hours trying to console Catarina. When she saw our son on the screen, everything she’d been holding in came rushing out. She was a mess, and if I was being honest, I was too. It wasn’t every day that I learned I had a son with the woman I loved, and to not be able to touch him was killing me.
I didn’t care how my son came to live with his adoptive family. He was mine, and I wanted him back. I heard Phantom when she said the adoption was legal, but I couldn’t see how that was possible. I know for a fucking fact Catarina didn’t sign away her parental rights and neither did I. No matter how legal his adoption seemed, it was illegal, and I intended to prove it fast.
Walking to the fridge, I opened it, grabbed a beer, twisted off the top, and took a long drink.
“How is she?” Viper asked, concerned.
“She cried herself to sleep. How the fuck do you think she’s doing? Some bitch has our son, and we have no idea how to get him back.”
“We will figure it out, Player. We just need some time,” Ghost said.
“Has she said anything else, like how he was taken from her?” Reaper asked.
“No,” I said, taking a seat at the table. “She’s inconsolable right now. Seeing Colin on that screen was too much for her. She kept saying,‘he’s my baby’over and over again, even in her sleep. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to leave. I don’t know what to do. I want to be there for her, but I am still trying to wrap all this around in my head. I have a son. He looks just like me. A boy and I wasn’t there for him. He doesn’t even know me. How is this possible?” I said, hanging my head in my hands.
“Well,” Ghost smirked, “If you’re not sure, I can have‘the talk’with you about the birds and bees.”
“Fuck off, Ghost,” I chuckled, shaking my head as Reaper and Viper laughed at my expense.
God, I needed this.
The banter, joking, laughing, anything to get my mind off the craziness over the last three days.
Mainly I needed anything to stop me from thinking about my son.
I dreamed of the day that Catarina and I would start a family. We wanted a big one, lots of kids running around and driving us crazy. We wanted a house filled with laughter, scuffed floors, handprints on the wall, everything. We couldn’t wait for that day, and having Colin, we were both denied that joy.
Catarina had to go through the whole pregnancy alone and was scared. I never got to see my son being born. I didn’t get to hold him, rock him, sing to him. I wasn’t there when he said his first word, took his first step. I already missed so much.
“Look, Player, just be there for her, and when you need to talk or beat the shit out of something, come find one of us. We are all here for you,” Reaper added, then smirked, “However, you ever call me Max again when we are in Church, I will kick your fucking ass.”
I grinned.