SWNOVELS Chapter 79
Marlon, Rosetta, and Marirosa Sinclair were having breakfast when their home telephone suddenly shrilled.
“I’ll take the call.” Rosetta rose from the dining table and marched over to the living room to answer the phone.
“Hello?” she greeted.
“Can I speak to Mrs. Sinclair?” asked the person at the other end.
“Speaking,” replied Rosetta.
“Hello, Mrs. Sinclair, this is Detective Inspector Roger Brown,” the man at the other end of the telephone introduced himself.
“What’s going on, Detective?” Rosetta enquired apprehensively.
“Mrs. Sinclair, I’m calling to tell you that a teenager answering the description of your missing daughter was found unconscious in a fringe of woodland last night. That’s why I request your family to come as quick as you can to the hospital to identify the girl,” Detective Brown informed.
“All right, Detective. We’ll be there directly,” Rosetta said and with that she hung up the phone.
“Honey! Honey!” Rosetta called out. Her scream brought Marlon and Marie running.
“What’s going on, Honey?” her husband, Marlon asked anxiously.
“Rosanne, Rosanne,” she answered.
“What’s wrong with Rosanne, Mom?” her daughter, Marirosa queried. There was a worried expression on her face.
“Detective Inspector Roger Brown phoned me just now. He told me that the police found a teenage girl answering the description of Rosanne. We’re asked to go to the hospital as soon as possible to identify her,” Rosetta elaborated.
“So Rosanne is still alive, Mom?” Marie inquired. Hope was shining through her eyes.
Her mother only replied with a nod.
“Let’s go to the hospital now!” Marlon said decidedly.
“Okay,” his wife and daughter chorused.
The three of them finally headed for the front door. They ran out of the house into the bright sunlight before piling into a car that was parked outside their house.
“Before we go to the hospital, I have to warn you not to raise your hopes too high, I don’t want you to be disappointed,” Marlon spoke to his wife and daughter.
Marirosa nodded her head. “Yes, Dad, I understand.”
“Let’s just pray that it’s really Rosanne. But if it’s not her, we must not give up hope that we’ll find her safe and sound some day,” Rosetta said hopefully.
“You’re right, Honey,” Marlon commented.
“Let’s get moving, Dad! I can’t wait to find out whether that girl is my sister or not,” Marirosa said impatiently.
“OK.” Marlon started the engine and they finally drove off.
On arriving at the hospital, Detective Inspector Roger Brown was at the door to welcome the Sinclairs. The detective then led them to one of the hospital rooms that was located on the second floor.
“The girl is inside. I want you to meet her and identify her. You need to confirm whether she’s your daughter or not,” Detective Inspector Roger Brown spoke to Marlon and Rosetta Sinclair.
The couple, along with their daughter, Marirosa, nodded in understanding.
The detective pushed the door open to reveal a girl who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed with tubes and needles sticking into her little body.
They all stepped into the room. The Sinclairs edged closer to the hospital bed and scrutinized the unconscious girl’s face.
“This is Rosanne, Mom, Dad!” Marirosa squealed with excitement.
“Yes, it’s really my daughter.” Rosetta closed her hand over Rosangela’s. Tears of joy sprang to her eyes.
“Are you sure it’s her?” Detective Inspector Brown wanted to make sure.
“Oh, it’s her all right,” Marlon answered with absolute certitude. His eyes shone with happiness.
“I’ll wait outside,” Detective Brown told them before he walked out the room and closed the door behind him because he wanted to give the family some privacy.
After the detective’s gone, Marlon hugged his wife sideways. “At long last, our prayers are answered, Honey. We managed to find our daughter safe and well.”
“Yes, Honey. Thank God our daughter is alive!” Rosetta said gratefully.
“I am so happy you finally come home, Sis,” Marirosa told her adoptive sister.