Chapter 8

In the backseat of the cab, Esther pulled out her phone and called Jasper. "Jasper, it's me. My daughters are in Sunflower Welfare." Jasper raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" Esther explained how she and Felix had worked together, and Jasper frowned. "Esther, do you fully believe what a child says? Aren't you afraid it's a trap?" "I can't care as much now. Even if there's only a sliver of a chance, I want to give it a go." "Alright, we'll meet at the welfare home later." "Okay." After spending five years behind bars, Esther now appreciated the bright neon lights of the city at night as she sat in the backseat of the cab. The cool breeze kissed her face, and she took a deep breath, genuinely smiling. This was the smell of freedom. The map showed that Sunflower Welfare was on the other side of the city. Despite not being peak hours, the roads were congested. The experienced cab driver ended up stuck on the overpass a kilometer away from the welfare home. "Mister, how much longer till we're there?" The cab driver checked the navigation app and pointed at the red route. "At least 20 minutes with how we're stuck." "Isn't it just one kilometer?" Esther asked anxiously. "From the map, yes, but we can't turn left immediately after the overpass. We have to go further and make a U-turn at the junction. You saw it, too. They're building a subway here..." Esther paid the fare on the meter. "Mister, I've paid you. Please unlock the door. I'll get off now." The cab driver agreed easily. "Watch out for the cars, miss." Once out of the car, Esther saw Sunflower Welfare and ran toward where her daughters were. As she ran off the overpass, an ambulance sped past her, its siren blaring. Her shoes didn't fit well, but she was eager to meet her daughters, so she ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding. Impatient drivers honked their horns as they were stuck in traffic. The loud honks drowned the ringing of Esther's phone in her purse. She stumbled and ran barefoot for Sunflower Welfare. When she stopped to wear her shoes again, a luxurious Bentley car pulled up beside her. In a suit, Jasper got out from the back and carefully helped Esther into the car's backseat when he saw blood on her feet. Crouching down, Jasper gently picked up Esther's foot to wipe the blood off with his handkerchief. "Esther, this is your first time meeting the girls. You have to leave them with a good impression." Esther glanced at Jasper's hair, embarrassed. "I can do it myself." "I'll do it. Tidy your hair so that we can meet them sooner." Jasper placed Esther's feet on his knees and softly wiped off the blood. After noticing the blisters on her toes and heels, he frowned. "Esther, the shoes don't fit?" "I wear size 37 shoes now." Esther had worn size 36 shoes before she was pregnant, but her shoe size went up after giving birth. Jasper paused. "Sorry, I thought you were still wearing size 36. Hold on. I'll get my assistant to bring a new pair." "Jasper, it's fine. I'd like to see the kids first." Jasper weakly agreed. "Alright." At the same time, he texted his assistant to send size 37 shoes. Esther endured the pain of wearing the relatively small shoes. Compared to the joy of meeting her daughters, the pain was nothing. "Jasper, let's go in." Jasper offered his hand to help Esther, who wasn't walking quite well, into Sunflower Welfare. The security guards assumed they were a couple coming to adopt a child and greeted them warmly. "Are you two here to adopt a child? The children here are very well-behaved..." "I'm here to make a donation." The guard beamed at them upon hearing what Jasper said. "Hold on. I'll inform the director right away." Sunflower Welfare was a charity project with many orphans, most of whom were terminally ill. While it wasn't in the worst financial situation, it wasn't easy to manage. The guard made a call, and Camila Jenner welcomed Jasper and Esther to the guest lounge personally. Camila praised them. "You two make a great pair. I thank you for your kindness on behalf of the children here." Jasper placed a check of $150,000 in front of Camila. "Madam Jenner, a pair of twin girls were sent over in August five years ago, right?" Camila's expression changed for a moment before she answered, "I wasn't the director yet five years ago, so I'm not too sure about the situation." Esther took out a photo of Pixie and Tinkerbell from her purse and placed it in front of Camila. "Madam Jenner, can I see them?" Camila picked up the photo, put on her glasses, and took a closer look. "This is Pixie and Tinkerbell. Who are you to them?" "I'm their mother," Esther said eagerly. Camila scanned Esther briefly before saying gently, "I can see that you're quite well-to-do. Why did you abandon your daughters?" Esther's heart ached. She had given birth prematurely in prison five years ago. The doctor had said back then that it was critical as her premature labor caused an amniotic fluid embolism. The doctor had done their best and only managed to save the mother. She hadn't even gotten to see her babies when they were taken away. All these years, Esther had thought her children were no longer alive. If Felix, Bradley, and Liliane's son, didn't need her bone marrow, she guessed that a cruel man like Bradley would punish her by permanently separating her from her children. "They were born in prison." Camila didn't ask further after hearing this. She only asked, "Are you here to take them back from the home?" "Yes." Esther wanted to take her kids back and compensate for the five years she owed them. "According to the procedure, we can't let you take them away for now. We need to have the officials as witnesses tomorrow and do a maternity test with you and the kids. We'll discuss it further once we confirm that you're their mother." Esther understood Camila's concerns and agreed. "Can I see them now?" Camila checked her watch. Before she could answer, Jasper gave her a bank card. She took the check and the bank card and led them to the lobby outside the office. There were children reading books in small groups. Esther quickly spotted the girl crying in the corner.