THE FAMILY I NEVER KNEW

FIONA'S POV

“How did you know that?” I looked at them individually, from face to another.

I didn't want to understand what was happening here.

“Fiona, my dear—” The woman tried to speak.

“No! I am not your dear. How did you know that information?”

“I am…” she hesitated. Heavens be damned if she says the word ‘mother’.

“Excuse me.” Another doctor walked in at the wrong time. “It's time for your surgery.”

“What surgery?!” I shouted. “Whatever is happening here, I need details.”

Damien approached me, motioning me to calm down. “Okay, calm down. Remember, you have a condition, it has worsened. And if you don't get this surgery done, you have limited time to live.”

Wait. There was a treatment that could help?

“How can I get a surgery that I know nothing of? I have no blood relatives here.”

He looked at the people behind him and sighed.

“Fiona. Just listen to me and go ahead with your surgery. Do you want to die?”

In that moment, I couldn't answer that question. I didn't know if I wanted to die anymore. There was a treatment.

And I might not die. I might live again. Get my life and happiness back.

“I will go in for the surgery. But promise to explain everything to me after that.”

“I promise.”

Somewhere in my confused heart, I trusted Damien. Those brown eyes weren't lying as the nurse wheeled me out of the room.

I looked at the woman, who watched me with teary eyes, and the rest of them. Somehow I was drawn to them.

~~

Four months after the treatment and a series of surgeries, I was out of the hospital. Damien walked out of the hospital with a big smile on his face and two brown envelopes.

I sat on the bench as he approached me. He had been a great help with the treatment. He explained everything to me, reassured me and waited for me outside the surgery room after each surgery.

“Congratulations. You can live your life as happily as you wish now. But you still have maintenance check-ups to do, and oral medications to take.”

“Yes. I have definitely lost all my color and body fat. But I am strong.” I got up and took the envelope from him. I stared at it and my eyes swelled with tears.

No more six-month countdown on my back. No more wishing for death. I could have my life again.

I only wished I could rejoice with the only family I had left on this earth. My husband and daughter. But they were in another country with a new wife and mother.

I wish I could stop thinking about them in this moment. I couldn't bring myself to open the envelope.

The tears finally came through and my sobs turned to weeping. Damien held me as we sat down.

He tapped my back gently and I slowly stopped crying.

“What’s wrong, Fiona?” He asked.

“Its nothing. I'm just so grateful for this second chance.” I wiped my tears as I finally opened it and looked at the results with blurry eyes, I didn't understand a word.

And finally exhaled. “I will make my late mother proud this time.”

“Your late mom?”

“Yes, the woman who adopted me,” I said, getting up. “And…You promised you would tell me what I needed to know.”

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Yes. But I will take you to a beautiful place first.”

“Okay. What's the second envelope for?”

“It's for you as well. But you will get it when we arrive at our destination.”

I studied him for a bit. He gripped the file a little too tightly and sweat trailing down his neckline.

He finally took off his lab coat. I guess he was done with his gynecology duties today. He had the time to take me to wherever he was taking me.

He pointed his key at his car and it responded as we approached. We got in and he drove out of the hospital premises.

Sancoria was really beautiful with its large vegatations and ancient buildings. I saw a huge fountain that could cover the area of the MedCare hospital.

This country is definitely vacation-worthy. Now that I can live like others, I would definitely come back here for tour and vacation.

After a few minutes we arrived at a large gate with ‘LOCKWOOD’ written boldly on it. As we waited for the gate to open, Damien quickly texted someone on his phone.

Yeah, shit. My phone. I don't know where—

What do I do about a phone in a new country?

“Ummm. Fiona, I got you this since you came here with nothing. I'm sorry about that.”

He reached into the backseat and brought out a cartoon of the iPhone 17 Pro.

“What? I can't take this.” I looked at him as he stretched the phone to me.

“Just take it as a apology for the accident.”

I sighed as he pointed it at me again, and I took it reluctantly. As if it had been waiting for me to take the phone, the gate opened.

He drove into a driveway that seemed to last at least ten minutes. My belly began to churn at the feeling I was getting.

Where was he taking me to? The last driveway I followed led me to a lifelong sadness and heartbreak.

The second gate opened by itself and we drove in to a large compound with an ancient three-story mansion standing in the middle of the green environment.

“Wow.” I was stunned by the architecture of this place. The building gave off the aura of old money and royalty. Whoever the Lockwoods were, they were not people to be messed with.

“Wow, indeed.”

“What are we doing here?”

“You will soon find out.”

“Oh, no. No more surprises. What am I doing here?”

“Fiona. Please, I assure you there are no surprises. Let's go. This is my home.” He walked ahead of me.

“Your home? You're Lockwood?”

He chuckled a bit. He walked into the mansion, and I trailed carefully behind him.

The entrance led to a majestic hallway lined with pictures of the Lockwood family.

I paused at one empty picture. It was looked empty, like someone was meant to be there but wasn't.

“Come on.” I looked at Damien ahead and followed him.

I entered where he had disappeared and arrived in the living room, if I was permitted to call such a massive space that.

“Welcome, my daughter.” An unknown voice echoed from the nearby.

“What?!”

Then two people walked in with Damien by their side.

“Fiona! Before you run away, you asked for an explanation, and that's what you will get. But you just have to calm down.”

I erupted into a loud laughter but suddenly calmed down.

“What do you mean? These are the same people I met at the hospital the first day I got here. And now they are calling me their child? It's not possible.”

“Here is the second envelope.” Damien walked over to me. “Read it.”

I took it from him and opened it. The DNA results showed I had a 99.9% match to them. I scoffed and ripped it to shreds.

“So, what? I should run into their arms at some stupid, “Welcome my daughter” scene?”

“Fiona, please….” The woman rushed over to my side. “Please listen to me for at least one second.”

“No, my mother is dead. She died from a heart attack when I was sixteen. You have no right to call me your daughter, okay?”

“Please.. Fiona. I beg of you. For my sake,” Damien said, “listen to them. And if you don't like it, you can leave.”