My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 589

Chapter 589

“That woman…” she pointed at her without a shred of hesitation, “…should be ashamed of herself. If she wanted to help you, there were other ways. A decent woman would have taken you anywhere but here. Instead she surrounded you with this filth and expected you to believe it was a home.”

Denise spoke carefully, “I understand why you hate what this place is.”

Hazel looked at her, glaring.

“But your daughter is alive because someone opened this door. I won’t apologize for feeding a hungry girl.”

Hazel held her gaze then let out a quiet laugh, “You want credit for feeding her? I will always be grateful that my daughter didn’t starve. I mean that.”

Then her expression hardened again.

“But don’t mistake gratitude for forgiveness.”

The room fell silent. Hazel looked once more at the the women standing silently together.

“You’ve had her for six months. Six months. My daughter didn’t know this city. She struggled to read. She was probably frightened, alone, and desperately looking for me. She didn’t know where to begin but you did.”

Denise scoffed, “It’s not that simple!”

“You are an adult! You’ve lived here for years. You know how this city works! You know hospitals, churches, social workers, police. You know newspapers could publish missing-person notices. You know there were organizations that reunite missing families.”

Hazel eyes burned with rage.

“And most importantly, you knew my daughter was looking for her mother. You knew my name. So tell me, how is it that a frightened dyslexic sixteen-year-old searched for me every single day… while the grown woman who took her in never found a single way to let me know my daughter was alive?”

Denise opened her mouth, “I-”

“No,” Hazel cut her off, “Don’t tell me it was impossible because I have spent the last six months searching every hospital, every shelter, every church, every neighborhood anyone suggested. If one phone call had been made… My daughter would have been in my arms months ago.”

“I never stopped her from looking,” Denise replied quietly.

“No,” Hazel agreed. “You simply made sure she stopped looking anywhere that might actually find me.”

Denise’s expression hardened slightly, “That isn’t what happened.”

Hazel’s eyes flashed with anger, “Oh, I know exactly what happened. You gave her a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, people to laugh with, a place to belong. You built an entirely new life around my daughter. And somehow, with all your connections, all your knowledge of this city, finding her mother was the one thing you couldn’t manage?”

Denise opened her mouth.

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