Ch 249 - I Want Him Back

When she heard what her father said, Leona's legs became weak and she almost fell to the ground. Lindsey supported her.

She summoned the courage to ask, "Then I'm not your daughter?" She was afraid to hear the answer, but she also needed to hear the truth.

"Yes, of course you are." Charles replied. Then he stood up and walked over to her.

"Dad." She snuggled into his arms, relieved to learn that he was really her father. She didn't think she could bear it if he wasn't.

Charles gently rubbed her back and said, "Oh, my dear. You may find the truth very difficult to accept. Do you really want to hear it?"

"Yes, I want to hear it." She raised his head and looked at her father. "Even if it's upsetting, I need to hear it. I have to know what I've experienced. How can I feel complete unless I know who I am?"

Charles sighed and stared into space, deep in thought. Then, he said slowly, "Your mother's name is Cynthia Clifton, a young lady from the very important Clifton family in Baltimore. Your mother and I met each other in New York when we were both actors in a play, and we fell in love. We were together for two months, when she fell pregnant with you. Although we loved each other, we weren't yet married."

Leona was surprised when she heard that her parents had been in love. She had assumed that they had only had a brief affair.

Charles continued, "I wanted to marry Cynthia in New York, but she was afraid to tell her parents. I had no idea that she was from the Clifton family in Baltimore. I thought that she was from an ordinary family. She had told me that she wasn't really in touch with her family, so I let it go and didn't ask any more about them. We stayed together and I took care of her throughout her pregnancy. We were both looking forward to meeting you.

"Everything was fine until she had been pregnant for nine months and was about to give birth. A group of people tracked Cynthia down and found us together in Baltimore. Only then, did I find out that she was a member of the Clifton family.

"The head of the Clifton family, that is your grandfather, Jessop Clifton, heard that Cynthia was pregnant with my child and was furious. I thought that he was going to kill me. Luckily, Cynthia convinced him to spare me, but they locked me up in a room at the Clifton family estate.

"Cynthia was not allowed to visit me there. Every day, a young maid brought me lunch. That maid was called Carla, and she would stay and chat with me for a while. She believed in me and Cynthia, you see. She believed in love, and faith. I would ask her to send messages to Cynthia for me, and she would tell me what was going on in the house. She told me the child growing in Cynthia's belly was very restless to get out.

"After I'd been locked up for about ten days, Carla came to tell me that I had a daughter and that Cynthia had named her Debbie. She also told me that Cynthia was planning to help me escape so that we could run away together with the baby."

Only then did Leona realize that her name was neither "Leona" nor "Marvel." Her true name was Debbie Clifton.

Charles continued, "The day after the birth of the child, I was driven out by the Clifton family, but I stayed in Baltimore and secretly watched them. I believed that Cynthia would find a way to be reunited with me."

His eyes became sad, and his voice dropped as he said, "However, it turned out that it was only Cynthia's death that I was waiting for. At the memorial service, the Clifton family said that I was responsible for her death. I asked Jessop where my daughter was. He pulled away from everyone else and told me that if I mentioned my daughter again, he would kill me. I could never disclose my relationship with Cynthia to anyone or the Clifton family would have me killed and my family destroyed.

"I knew that he had the power to do such a thing, so I returned to New York. However, I remained convinced that my daughter was still alive and I have been searching for her ever since.

"At first, I traced every baby I could find that didn't have parents, but that led nowhere. Later, with new advances in technology, I was able to use DNA tracing to search for her. I looked for over twenty years without finding her."

"So how did I end up back here?" Leona asked.

"Four months ago, a man called me out of the blue. He said that he had news about my daughter. I was shocked and rushed to meet with him. As soon as I arrived and saw you lying in bed, I knew that you were my daughter. You and Cynthia looked so much alike. More importantly, I could just feel that I was your father. You also had the jade phoenix pendant, which was your mother's. There's no doubt in my heart that you're my daughter."

As Charles spoke, he looked at Leona with deep affection.

"The two people who sent you here are actually from the Clifton family. It was them who told me the circumstances of Cynthia's death. They told me that the Clifton family had wanted to kill our child. Cynthia and Carla Stonehill tried to flee with the baby but were chased and forced to the cliff's edge by men working for the family. Cynthia jumped off the cliff and protected Carla and the child with her own body. Two particular members of the Clifton family never stopped looking for them. It was actually their search that led me to you."

Leona lowered her head and started sobbing. Her mother had died to save her.

"Please don't cry," pleaded Charles.

He wiped away her tears but he was unable to stop crying himself. He continued his story, "Cynthia had been very kind to those two people before she died. Years later, when they found you, they knew that if they sent you back to the Clifton family, you would be killed, so they sent you to me. You had been seriously injured so I sent you to the hospital. After ten days, you woke up, but you had lost your memory."

"Did they tell you anything else about my life before my accident?" Leona asked. She wanted to know all about Debbie. Was she really the Debbie in the diary?

"They only said that you had an accident at a hotel in New York. They didn't know anything else about you. The only other thing they told me was that on the night they found you in New York, there was an underground force looking for a girl named Debbie. Your name must have been Debbie before you lost your memory.

"Also, when you were in the hospital, you were wearing a necklace. The doctor had to remove it to treat you. When you woke up, and we discovered that you had lost your memory, I thought that it would be better for you to not remember your past or your true identity. So, I made the decision not to return the necklace to you in case it triggered your memory. I kept it safe though, and I'll give it to you now."

Charles walked to the study and quickly returned holding a necklace, which he held out to Leona. It was the octagonal diamond necklace that Alex had placed around Debbie's neck that day at the banquet that Graham Stirling had organized.

Leona took the necklace and it felt very familiar to her. Some images flashed through her mind, but they disappeared too quickly for her to see clearly. It felt as if something was awakening in her brain.

She sat at the table, picked up a pen, and opened the diary. On the first page, under the word, "Debbie" she wrote, "Debbie".

It was clear that the handwriting was identical.

"Leona, this is your diary," Lindsey said in surprise.

Leona didn't speak. She opened the diary again and looked at the words written inside. The images in her mind began to become clear.

The girl who fell into Ramsey Lake was her. The man who saved her was Alex.

The man who defended her when she was teased was Alex.

He was also the one who rushed into the water to save Maddison.

Slowly, she started to remember singing with her band in the auditions, she remembered being with Alex and Justin on an island, and being at Preston University. Everything started to come back to her.

She was Debbie.

Then, she remembered what happened in D.C. Alex had been trying to bring back her memory. She had misunderstood his intentions, and ended up breaking his heart.

She started to feel very guilty about how she had treated him.

She wanted to see him right then so that she could apologize to him and tell him that she still loved him. That she wanted be his girlfriend again.

She started sobbing and her body shook. She whispered to herself, "I remember. I remember everything. I remember. I'm Debbie. He didn't lie. I'm his girlfriend."

Lindsey saw that she was crying, and was worried. She asked, "Leona, do you remember? Try to stay calm. It's good that you're starting to remember. Don't cry."

"Lindsey, I treated him so cruelly. I think I broke his heart. What should I do? He won't forgive me but I miss him so much. I want him to come back to me. What can I do?"

Debbie sobbed even harder when she remembered her wedding day. Alex had held out his hand to her and begged her to choose him.

Her heart was breaking when she thought about how much grief she had caused him. She would willingly exchange fifty years of her life to take back what had happened. She didn't care how much pain she was in, she never wanted to cause Alex sorrow again.

"I hate myself now for how I treated him. It was clear that he loved me, but I didn't see it." She couldn't stop crying. She was completely overcome with grief.

"He will forgive you. If you call him now and tell him that you remember everything, he'll be very happy." Lindsey advised. She had also missed seeing Alex over the last days, but she didn't have the courage to call him again.

She knew that it was impossible for her and Alex to be together. She would be happy to see him with her sister.

Debbie took out her cell phone but stopped and considered what she was doing for a long time. It didn't matter how he reacted, she had to call him and tell him that she remembered everything. She hoped that he would forgive her and let her have another chance.

She took a deep breath and called him.

**

Meanwhile, at Lincoln's birthday party, only three families had not yet presented him with their birthday gifts.

An older man, wearing a dark jacket, jeans, and sneakers walked over to Lincoln. He was handsome with the unruly look of a free spirit.

Nelly and Justin were whispering to each other. When Nelly saw the man, she froze. Her eyes locked onto him and her expression became very serious.

When Lincoln saw the man approach, he stopped smiling and his eyes became cold.

"Dad, I've brought you a string of Indian red sandalwood."

The man was one of Lincoln's nine sons, Tristan Ambrose. He gave the red sandalwood string to the person in charge of receiving the gifts, and said a toast to Lincoln. "I wish you a long and happy life."

He stood in front of his father waiting to be told that he could return to his seat.

Although Tristan's gift of the red sandalwood string was valuable, it was nothing compared to some of the other gifts that Lincoln had received, such as jewels, designer watches, and famous paintings worth over a million each. In comparison, Tristan's gift wasn't very impressive.

Although Tristan looked as if his only desire was to please his grandfather like everyone else, he was not sincere. His real motives were a long way from those that he portrayed.