"No, that's not possible," Ella said, laughing nervously. "That can't be possible."

"I have the adoption papers here," Mrs Tucker revealed and brought out three pieces of documents. She spread them onto the table and tapped on the one by the right. "This is yours. Mr and Mrs Featherington. Six north London avenue. Your adoptive parents gave you the name, Ella."

The document was right before Ella but she was still forcing herself not to believe this. This must've been a dream. She sat back in her seat, her heart pacing, sweat increasing on her forehead. There was no way this was true. Her parents were Mr and Mrs Featherington. She couldn't be adopted.

There had never been a time in her life that she questioned if her birth parents were hers. Her mother always treated her with love and her father cared for her, even though he wasn't the most supportive. So why would Mrs Tucker say such a thing?

Ella glanced at the Captain who looked like he had seen his life flash before his eyes. She was sure he felt the same way. There had to be a problem somewhere in that document. Her parents were back in London.

"There has to be a mistake somewhere," Ella said. "There has to be a mistake."

"I know this is going to be hard to accept, Ella," Mrs Tucker said. "But it's the truth." She brought out letters from the same brown file and handed them over to Ella. "These are letters your mother sent to me, letting me know how you've been doing."

Curiously, she opened it and read through;

Dear Mrs Tucker,

I write to you once again and want to use this opportunity to thank you for giving me such a lovely daughter. My husband and I have tried for years to get children but to no avail. Little did we know that our little Ella would change our lives forever.

She's sweet and funny to be around. I recently discovered some science textbooks in her room but she didn't know. I can't recall the countless time she and her father argued because of the prospect of her pursuing a career in the field of science.

So, I didn't tell her father about it. I believe in my daughter. I know she would make me proud. So if she wants to be a scientist, I fully support her with all my heart.

Ella settled the letter and it was then she noticed the warm tears rolling down her eyes. Her mother had known all along that she was sneaking around reading the science textbooks her father told her to stop reading, and she didn't tell her father. That was lovely of her.

No matter how all this overwhelming day turned out, her mother would still be her mother. And nothing would ever change it. She cleaned her eyes as the irrefutable proof was before her. It was obvious that she was adopted.

So her whole life was a lie.

"Excuse me, I need some air," she said and walked out of the house. In the backyard of the house, there was a lake which was surrounded by a canopy of trees. Ella went there and sat at the foot of a tree, her knees closed up to her chest.

"Captain Asher Newman is my father," she said, unable to believe it. So all this while they were looking, his child was right there in front of him. But why did this have to be her? Her life was already organised and didn't have any space for drama except the one Gerrard had created.

But with the Captain surfacing now, there would be trouble. She won't be sure her parents would be keen to let him come into her life for fear that she may leave them. As the letter said, her mother, Mrs Featherington was unable to have children.

Her parents should've told her. She was old enough to shoulder the truth. Maybe if they did, she wouldn't be here leaning on a tree and contemplating her life. She screamed at the top of her lung and banged hard on the bark of the trees till her hands began to hurt. Sobbing softly, she flapped her sore hand.

She was furious at her parents. All she wanted to do at this moment was to walk up to them and pour out her rage. They were great parents and treated her like their own. But they didn't have the right to keep away such a great deal of information away from her. If only she knew the truth, she was sure Gerrard wouldn't have come this far. She would've found her grandparents before he did. She would've reached Mrs Tucker before he did.

And they would've prevented him from getting this information. Now that he has it, who knew what he would do? She knew it wouldn't be good.

Her tears flowed down her rosy cheeks. "What am I going to do now?"

Ella couldn't shoulder all these burdensome emotions all on her own. She needed a shoulder to lean on. Juliet wasn't here, and that left Robert. Now she wished she hadn't told them she needed some time alone. She craved him to hug her in this moment of despair and tell her everything was going to be alright.

She waited for minutes. And when he didn't come, cried herself to sleep.

****

The sound of ripples woke her up and when she stared at the pond, she saw Robert tossing pebbles onto the lake. They bounced twice before they sank into the lake. It was evening and the sky was painted in hues of orange, yellow and a light shade of purple.

"Ella," Robert said, his blue eyes softening. She was glad that the first person she saw when she woke up was him. At least his beautiful face would serve as a good distraction from what happened earlier. He jogged over to her and sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Not good, Robert," she said. Her voice was weak from all that crying.

He pulled her closer to his, his athletic arm wrapped behind her. "Everyone was shocked as you were, Ella. I know this is a lot to process. But I promise I would be with you every step of the way."

She rested her head on his shoulders. "Thank you, Robert. You're the best."

"We'll be going to London tomorrow. The Captain feels your other siblings may be in danger."

Siblings. That felt odd to think of. When Ella was younger, she had always wanted younger siblings because no one in school wanted to play with the girl who thought she could make a banana power a stove. She truly did have some silly inventive ideas back in the day.

But her life changed when she met Juliet. Juliet always stood up for her during fights and soon, she had forgotten how badly she wanted siblings. But now she discovered she had them, that little girl in her wanted to know what they were like.

"You know about Arthur and Helen, aye?" She asked, looking up at Robert.

"Yes."

"Tell me about them."

"Are you sure?" Robert asked. "Even the Captain has decided to give you as much time as you need to take it all in."

"Yes, I'm sure."

Robert kissed her forehead as she stared into the beautiful evening sky. "Okay, if you say so, darling."

*****

In an office, a shout tore through the ceiling and a lamp flew across the room, shattering on the white wall. The man who was enraged was Mr Featherington and his black eyes fumed behind his glasses.

The door to his office opened and a younger-looking man with dark hair and green eyes walked in. He was sporting a black frock coat and there was a smirk at the corner of his lips. Gerrard enjoyed the sight before him. That was the exact reaction he was looking for.

"Mr Featherington," he said. "You're quite in the mood this morning."

Mr Featherington glared at him. "How could you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Gerrard asked, pretending he didn't know what he did this morning.

"I saw the newspaper."

"Oh, that."

"How could you do that? She's my daughter!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Gerrard said shaking his finger at him. "She's the Captain's daughter."

"I've spent ten years working for you and this is how you repay me."

"Poor you." Gerrard fixed a mocking smile. "Well there's nothing that can be done now is there? And don't think of doing anything stupid, if not I'll expose to the police, that you were the one who gave that soldier the poison to kill Cowper. Imagine the look on your so-called daughter's face when she finds out her father is a murderer."

"You wouldn't dare," Mr Featherington growled.

Gerrard smirked devilishly. "Don't forget who you're talking to, Mr Featherington. Now let's sit back, and enjoy the show."

******