Chapter 1 Changes

I sat at my desk astonished by what I just witnessed. I looked at the box. Where did this box come from? Maybe this was not meant for me? This was not something my parents could have made for me. This box was a very advance piece of equipment. Most secure boxes use intricate numbers or combinations or fingerprint scanning but blood? I have never heard of such. Who would want a jewelry box with a blood scanner? Could this have belonged to my parents? Definitely not, the most advance piece of equipment my parents own was their cell phone and even that they had a hard time with.

​My hands were shaking when I finally got up the nerve to lift the lid upward. Inside the box were a small CD and a key. So, they did make me a video. They must have had help because I don't remember them being capable of recording themselves on CD. I was so excited. I wanted a video, something with them talking to me. Maybe they can explain to me what they expected from me. This was so needed right now. I was so excited I forgot about my bleeding finger. I grabbed the CD and got blood all over it. Perturbed, I ran into the bathroom and cleaned off my finger and the CD. I wrapped my finger in a face towel. I used tissues to wipe down the CD. It was too precious for me to damage.

I rushed the CD over to the DVD player and impatiently waited for the picture to come up.

After what seemed like minutes, my parents' image came up on the screen. They were both so young. They look like maybe they were in their early thirties when they made this video. They were staring at the camera man. My mother was fidgeting. My father was sitting besides her supporting her shoulders. They looked like they were nervous.

"Gena, darling, if you are watching this video, this means that we were not able to celebrate your 18th birthday with you. We made this video to tell you that we love you and wished you a happy and fulfilling life. She stopped and hesitated continuing. Then after some coaxing from my father she started again. We also wanted to tell you that we are not your biological parents. You were brought to us by a woman named Alexandria Burren. She instructed us to care for you until she returned to claim you. At the time we were living in Dawson City in the Yukons. We got a call from her one year later asking us to keep you. Her only request was that we keep this a secret from you until you were eighteen. She instructed us to make this video and store it and the key in this jewelry box. If you're watching this video, you are aware of how special that jewelry box is. We eventually relocated to Bismarck, North Dakota. Through out the years we were able to gather some information about Alexandria Burren. She is originally from Inuvik, Canada. She has a large family that's still there. We were never able to verify this information since this town is hard to get to. The jewelry box and the key inside were the two things she left with you. We don't know anything about the key. No matter what, we will always see you as our own. We love you dearly. Goodbye."

With that the video went blank. I replayed the video many times. I didn't know what to think. Were they forced to lie on video? This can't be true, so many emotions rushed through my body I didn't know how to react. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. With everything that has happened to me, was this some sort of tipping point to see if I would snap. After watching the video for the eighth time, I begin to absorb the words. I looked at my parents. They were Irish descend. They both had straight red hair, blue eyes, and light fair skin. I looked at myself in the mirror. I had none of their features. I had long wavy brown hair and brown eyes. How did I get brown eyes if they didn't have brown eyes? I jumped up and grabbed a picture of Uncle Josh from my desk. I had none of his features either. How come I didn't notice this before? Everything I know has been a lie. Everyone I thought was family was really not my family. I'm not even a Reynolds. So is my name Gena Burren?

I quickly went to my laptop and googled.

"Alexandria Burren"

But I didn't get any information. I then typed in

"Burren in Inuvik, Canada"

Every bit of information I found under that listing was about business deals. Then I typed in

"Inuvik, Canada"

Every bit of information I found about this town sounded like a nightmare. Who would live there? No wonder she left.

"Population of 3500". There were more people at Crew High School.

"the Sun does not rise at all for one long winter month" Who the hell can live without the Sun? What do they do when there is no Sun? Does that mean no school? Is that considered a day off from work?

"varying temperatures between 90 degrees to minus 60 degrees" With temperatures like that no wonder we have global warming.

So my mother gave me away. She didn't want me. Maybe I was not planned, and she was not married. How can I look for her if she didn't want me in the first place? She gave me away to strangers? What kind of trouble was she in that she was so desperate? Not being wanted by my own mother hurt me more than I can care to admit. I didn't know what to do with this information. What did my parents wanted me to do with this? Why even bothering to tell me that I was adopted when my own mother didn't want me? I don't need to find her. I don't even need her. I've been fine without her. I am eighteen years old now. I don't need a legal guardian. I don't need a parent who didn't bother to come back for me. What about my father. Did he know about me? This was exhausting. Who gets crap like this thrown at them all at one time? I lay my head down on the cold hard wooden floor. What more can I handle? How much more heartbreak can I endure before I lose it? Darkness was coming and I laid there and let it take me.

I startled awake when I heard the door bell. I had fallen asleep on the floor in my room. What time is it? The sound of the door bell startled me again. Crap Mr. Gaffney.

​"I'm coming Mr. Gaffney, just give me a minute." I yelled down the stairs. I quickly gather my hair up in a ponytail and brushed my teeth. I did not want him to take one look at how crazy I looked and declare me insane and lock me up. After a quick check, I ran downstairs and stopped just before the door to catch my breath. I quickly opened the door.

​"I am so sorry; I fell asleep on the floor... I mean the futon." I lied but than I realize this was not the Mr. Gaffney. "I am sorry you're not Mr. Gaffney. Can I help you?" I stuttered.

Standing at my door was a man as big as my door. He was probably too big to come thru the door.

He had jet black curly hair. His skin was rather tanned for anyone living in Indiana. I can almost bet he is NOT from Indiana. He looked like he was from some island like Hawaii. Yes, he looked Samoan. He was dressed in a black suit like a limousine driver. I looked at him studying his face.

"Excuse me but I am looking Ms. Gena Reynolds" he asked.

I was little afraid to confirm myself, but after a few seconds I replied "I am Gena Reynolds. Can I help you?"

He turned to look back at the black limousine parked in my driveway and nodded. I followed his eyes to the black limousine but could not see thru the dark tinted glasses. Who was in there? What did the nod mean? Was I a target for kidnapping? I became tense and panicky. With my luck, I would be killed and no one would even know. When was this nightmare life going to end? God, haven't I had enough testing? I looked around the driveway to see if there was anyone around to witness my death.

Oh great, I just opened my door to this gigantic man who is about to rob and kill me right here in front of my house.

This is going to really look good on the evening news.

"LOCAL GIRL INVITES DEATH IN AFTER BURYING HER BOYFRIEND AND UNCLE ALL IN ONE MONTH."

This is really not my year. "I am sorry but I am expecting a group of LAWYERS in a few minutes, so if you don't mind I have to close the door." I threatened.

The word lawyers should scare any normal human being away.

"I have a package for you." he said. He handed me a large manila envelope. But I did not take it. I was afraid it was some sort of trick.

"What is this?" I asked.

He turned to look at the person in the limousine.

"Ms. Reynolds this is very important. Please take it." He said as he grabbed my hand and placed the envelope in my palm. He abruptly turned and left. I closed the door quickly. After making sure I locked it securely, I ran to the front window and watched him enter the limousine and drive off. I tried to look inside the limousine but I could not make out the person inside.

What the hell was all that about? That was definitely not the Fed Ex man.

I don't know whether to feel relief that I wasn't just killed or thankful that he was just the delivery guy. What was I thinking? After all those Girl Scout training and "Stranger Danger" teaching, I go and open the door to possibly the biggest killer EVER.

The door bell startled me back to reality. Oh great now he is back to kill me.

"Who is it?" I asked

"Ms. Reynolds, it's Mr. Gaffney, we have a reading at 11am today." he answered.

I was so relieved. I opened the door immediately. "Oh yes, Good morning Mr. Gaffney, please do come in." I graciously welcomed him. He was my protector whether he liked it or not. Before I closed the door I scanned around the front yard for the black limousine. It was gone.

We both walked to the dining room table and sat down.

"Mr. Gaffney, can I get you something to drink?" I asked. I don't know why I bother to ask him, there was nothing I could have offered him but tap water.

"Oh no, thank you. If you don't mind I would like to get started." He quickly replied.

"Okay, I am ready when you are." I stated.

"Well Ms. Reynolds, being the sole surviving member of the late Mr. Joshua Reynolds, you stand to inherit everything he owns. He left you with everything including his four race cars, this Indiana estate, his ranch in California, the profit stocks from NASCAR ownership, the Reynolds family trust fund and of course anything within his property. The gross estimate for his entire estate is 150 million dollars. How would like to handle this inheritance." he finished.

I sat there for a few minutes and didn't really know how to respond. I thought about the CD upstairs. Should I tell him that I was really not a Reynolds?

"Mr. Gaffney, is there no one else in my family that I could share this money with?" I asked.

Looking confused he replied "Ms. Reynolds, your uncle named you as the sole inheritor, so it really doesn't matter if there are ten cousins out there, he named you. Not anyone else. Now you can decide what you want to do with this money and that is entirely up to you but he wanted you to have it all." He informed me.

This was typical Uncle Josh. He loved me. I was the only thing his brother left behind. He promised my mother that he was going to take care of me. I guess I just never really appreciated him for all that he has given me. The material things didn't matter to me. I have everything I've wanted or needed, he made sure of that. I have his memories. I really didn't need his money. Throughout the years I have amass quite a bit of money due to always being the "sole survivor". This was a pretty bad way of amassing wealth.

"Can you just liquidate everything and place it in the Reynolds Family Trust Fund?" I asked

"If that is what you wish, you don't want to keep anything?" he asked.

"No, I have everything I need right now. If I run across anymore Reynolds, how would I go about including them in the trust fund?" I asked.

"Well, if you choose to share the trust fund all you have to do is have an attorney add them in the trust, but are you sure you want to do that? You're very young. One day you will have a family of your own. You should transfer this wealth to your children and grandchildren." He told me.

I don't know what my life is going to be like in the next hour, how could I be thinking of children and grandchildren. The man is clinically unstable, he definitely needs to retire.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Gaffney. I will keep in touch with your office if I need anything further." I replied.

I don't deserve all this money. There has got to be more Reynolds out there that deserves some of this money. I wasn't even a Reynolds.

My real last name was Burren.

After Mr. Gaffney left I turned my attention to the manila envelope on the coffee table. I went over to pick it up from the table. It was definitely heavy. I spilled the contents from the envelope onto the coffee table. There were two plane tickets and a passport. I picked up the passport and open it up. It was my passport. How was this possible? I don't even remember taking my passport out of my room. I looked at the plane tickets. The first ticket was from Indianapolis to Edmonton, Canada. The second ticket was from Edmonton, Canada to Inuvik, Canada. Paranoid, I looked around.

What is going on? Is someone watching me? How did this person know about Inuvik?

I raced up the stairs and into my bedroom. I went over to my desk and yanked my desk drawer open, my

Passport was not there.

Someone broke into my house to steal my passport than had it delivered back to me.

Okay calm down, I have to think. I have to set everything in order:

My real mother gives me away to total strangers.

Total strangers turn out to be great parents

Father dies

Mother dies

Boyfriend dies

Loving uncle dies.

Real mother lives in some scary town in the northernmost part of Canada.

Creepy delivery man delivers my passport and fares to Inuvik.

Well that just about sums up my life. It wouldn't be so bad to accept but it was almost unreal. Someone was planning something for me. I was been set up and the destination was Inuvik. Someone wanted me to see her? Do I want to see her? Maybe I should confront her and ask her why. Does she have kids now? Does she have another family? Maybe she doesn't want them to know that she had another child.

Who sent me these things?

Did she send me these things?

Was that her in the limousine? That can't be her. If that was her why didn't she just come out to see me?

Someone wanted me to come to Inuvik.

Maybe she was someone important and I was part of a plot to embarrass her. What other reasons could it be? I have definitely been reading too many suspense novels.

Whoever this person was, they wanted me in Inuvik for a reason. Maybe to surprise her!

I refused to be used that way but I wanted to see her too. I want to see my real mother but I will not surprise her on the street, not that way.

I will find her. If she wants to see me then we will make our own arrangements to see each other. I want to let her know that I am well and doing just fine without her. I want to show her that I was not someone that would be embarrassing to her. I was well versed, smart, cultured. I was not ugly or deformed. Maybe I'll show off my achievements. Let her know that I have a GPA of 4.0, read music fluently, play the piano gracefully all these things that would please any mother. Would she even care? I don't know but I would never know unless I see her. What's the point of attaining all these things if you don't have anyone to share it with?

I will find her and ask her to come to me. She owes me that much. She owes me an explanation. I don't want an apology because she gave me to some wonderful people. I will never regret that. I was part of a wonderful loving family, something she obviously could not give me. I will tell her about my adoptive parents and my loving uncle. Whatever the situation was for her, she made the right decision in giving me a better life. I will thank her for that.

I quickly located a Private Investigator from Dawson City in the Yukons by Internet search. I did not even bother looking for one in Inuvik. With a raging population of 3500, I doubted they ever needed the services of a private investigator. They probably just yell out across the yard and find the person they're looking for. I scribbled the name and phone number on a piece of paper.

I dialed the number that was provided. My heart was racing—this was insane. But my curiosity was getting the best of me. It was too late to stop now. I wanted to know. I had to know. Knowing that she lives in Inuvik would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Hello, Yukon Investigative Services, may I help you?" the nasally voice asked.

"Um, I want to find someone in Inuvik. Do you guys do that?" I asked carefully.

"Ah well, that is what we do. Do you have anything we can go by to find this person?" she asked.

"I have a name, Alexandria Burren." I said cautiously.

"Well that's great, I just need to get some information from you and go over our billing and payment process, okay?" she responded.

"Sure, when can you get me this information and also I want this done discreetly. Okay?" I requested.

"Absolutely, we can do that. You don't have to provide us with your name but we'll require that you pay up front by wire transfer. No credit cards or checks and regarding the time, well your in luck, my husband is in Inuvik right now, so we should be able to get you some information by Monday. Does that sound good to you?" she informed me.

"Oh that's great. Um on the discreet thing I meant that I want you to find her discreetly, I don't care if you have my information." I replied.

"Oh, I understand, okay, let's gets started."

I provided her with all the information she needed. I only had less than three weeks of summer left before my Senior year starts. I wasn't sure what I would do with the information but I if I had to go see her, like if she was not able to travel or something like that than I would definitely need to do it before school starts.

Satisfied with what I've done, now all I can do is wait. I picked up the plane tickets and threw them into the trash. Whoever sent them was using me to hurt her. I was not going to be used as a pawn in some game. There is no scandal for someone giving someone else a better life than what they can provide. I definitely got the better end of the deal. I live here in Indiana, she lives in Inuvik.

I scrambled up from the floor and lurched towards the bathroom. I glowered at the image in the mirror. I have let myself go. My hair was all mangle in a deform attempt of a ponytail. My face was pale and the dark circles under my eyes made me look like a corpse. A shower was definitely needed. I swiftly undressed and got into the shower. I stood and let the hot water massage my entire body. Getting dressed I noticed my jeans were loose and my clothes didn't fit so nicely anymore. I've got to eat.

I went downstairs and fried some eggs. I needed some proteins. I hurried through my dinner, not tasting it. I tried to watch TV but sitting there on Uncle Josh's couch started to bring me down. It was too early to go to bed.

I made my way upstairs to finish packing Peter's things. After I boxed and taped everything, I moved it into the corner in my room. I haven't decided what to do with his things yet but I was definitely not ready to make a decision right now. What does someone do with all this stuff? People die everyday, they don't store dead people's things forever. When is the appropriate time to destroy it?

Right now, I needed to get to my happy place. I shoved my feet into my riding boots and dashed down the stairs. I exited from the back door. My bike. The only constant thing in my life.

I rode around for hours. Killing time. At the speed I was doing the wind tore at the skin on my skull. The adrenaline coursed through my body. The trees disappearing around me, the blurring of everything, the timeless tunnel was forming. I was there. After weeks of being sad, I finally found my happy place. I know now that I would be okay. My life would continue. I was a survivor.

I got back to the house after 11pm and went straight to my room. I needed to sleep. Doing nothing was not appealing. I lay on my bed looking up at the ceiling. I tried to think of things I would say to her. I would not ask her why she gave me away. I think I can imagine what the reasons were. Who is my father? Does he know about me? Some time during the night the questions became dreams.

I spent the next three days packing a lot of Uncle Josh's most valuable things. He had trophies, metals and plaques from all his wins. It just seems like a waste with all these accomplishments and that person is now gone. What's the point of achieving so much when you're going to die anyway? Sunday was particularly hard because I was going through his clothes and family memoirs. He had a lot of pictures of me growing up. To him, I was his only child. I cried myself to sleep that night.

I woke with a start- was that the phone ringing? I jumped over to the phone on my desk.

"Hello, hello!" I yelled.

"Oh! Hi, Ms. Reynolds. This is Faye Stewart from Yukon Investigative Services; we have some news for you regarding your interest. If you have a fax number I can fax you all the information we have on her." she added.

"Yes, it is the same number as my home number. Thanks." I replied.

I hung up the phone and waited. Looking at the fax machine I noticed it was 10:30 am. Well, I can't say I didn't get enough sleep. When the fax machine beeped, I devoted my attention to the three sheets of paper in the paper tray. That's it. Everything about her life was summed up in three sheets of paper. I quickly scanned the information.

The first sheet was her birth certificate. Alexandria Malayna Burren. What a beautiful name. Born June 15, 1970. She was born in Inuvik, Canada. She would be 38 years old now. Her parents' names were William and Beatrice Burren. That would be my grandparents. I've never had grandparents before. I wondered if they were still alive. They should be in their sixties or seventies.

The next sheet was another official document. It was a Certificate of Death. She died on June 28, 1990. She died due to "complication during childbirth". Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't even know her and she was dead. This was so unfair. How did I get dealt this life? That makes five people I know that is dead. That was a blow to all my plans. She died birthing me, how could that be?

This can't be the same person. I looked at the third page and it was a picture of her tombstone. The tombstone had her name beautifully scripted on the top and the dates of her life etched below it. Below the dates was her picture. I looked at the picture closely. This was my mother. I can see all my features in her but she was beautiful. She was only 20 years old when she birthed me and died. She had beautiful long brown hair. Her eyes were blue, so that means my father must have had brown eyes. Her features were regal. Etched below the dates were

"Most loving daughter, we will miss you our sweetest angel."

The words took my breath away and caused an ache in my heart. These were some beautifully chosen words. I blinked to let the tears fall. This was not what I imagined; finding her dead. My plans to find her were too late. She left behind parents that maybe dead too. The overwhelming loneliness started to creep up. I was surrounded by people dying. When was it going to my turn?

Feeling disappointed and dejected I went back to packing Uncle Josh's things. As I went to find a marker to write on the boxes; I noticed that the plane tickets I threw in the trash was on my desk table, neatly stacked next to the jewelry box. Did I do that last night? I could have sworn I threw it in the trash. Maybe I wanted to but didn't. I must be losing it. I stood there thinking about the events that led to me getting those tickets. Someone knows I am here.

Something wasn't right. If she died during childbirth, how could she have traveled to Dawson City to give me a way? Unless it wasn't her that gave me away, maybe I was stolen by some crazy woman who took me to Dawson City and gave me away? Somewhere in Inuvik, Someone knows what happened to me. I had grandparents that didn't even know of my existence.

Now I really have to go to Inuvik. I sat there staring at the tickets. Maybe this was meant to be.

I dialed the number for Yukon Investigative Service again.

"Hello, Yukon Investigative Services, may I help you?" she answered

"Um, Mrs. Stewart this is Gena Reynolds again, I wanted to know if you have any information on her parents. William and Beatrice Burren?" I asked carefully.

"Ah well, we can get that for you. It will cost you a little bit more." she informed.

"Yes please, just charge it to the same credit card." I said.

"Well, just wait by the fax machine for the next hour, I should get something thru to you soon." she responded.

"Okay, thanks again." I replied. She probably had that information right there and was waiting for me to call back to okay a new charge. So much for human kindness.

As I waited, I googled their names. I didn't get much, just clips here and there from the Inuvik Chronicles regarding his business transactions. He owned the largest oil distributor in Inuvik, Canada. At least they were still alive.

I went downstairs to find something to eat. I found cereal but no milk. I guess I will have eggs again. Protein is good.

I waited impatiently, but before I was about to recall her, the phone rang.

I waited for the fax to finish. One page for $250.00. They were really abusing this. It's criminal.

The fax came through. It was a handwritten note:

William and Beatrice Burren

1790 Discus Manor

Inuvik, Canada XOE OTO

867-773-2867

William Burren CEO Burren Oil Distributor.

Parents to Rolfe 44yrs, Idelle 42yrs,and the late Alexandria..

There weren't just grandparents; I had an aunt and uncle too. There is a whole family in Inuvik that I don't know and they don't know about me. I thought about the situation for a few minutes. Was I ready to open this book? What would this do to the memory of her? Maybe I should leave this alone. If they knew she was pregnant, they would have looked for me. Why didn't they look for me? I didn't have anything to gain from this.

I kept the information on my desk. Right now, I had to finish packing Uncle Josh's things. Once in a while I would glance at the information on my desk but I would chicken out. By Friday, I had everything packed. I went over to my desk to call the Storage facility, looking down I saw the Burrens' information.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number. My fingers move robotically. I wasn't sure what I was going to say or ask but if I didn't do this now I would lose the nerve all together. Just get it over with- closure I reminded myself. On the fourth ring a female voice answered

"Hello, Burren Residence." she answered.

"Excuse me; I am calling for Mr.William Burren." I stuttered.

"May I ask whose calling?" she requested.

"My name is Gena Reynolds." I provided.

"Please wait Ms. Reynolds." she politely replied.

I sat there quietly waiting for someone to return to the phone. My heart was pounding against my chest. My breathing was fast but steady. My hands started shaking. Maybe I should just hang up. I'll do this when I'm ready.

"Hello." he voice was cautious

"Hello, Mr. Burren- um, my name is Gena Reynolds. I don't really know how to tell you this but ,um, recent events in my life, um, have led me to believe that I am your granddaughter." I said it slowly and deliberately. I didn't know if I could repeat it. I sounded like I had some sort of learning disability but its too late now. I've already said it. This was definitely a way to give the man a heart attack.

I waited for what seemed like minutes and I did not hear anything. "Hello." I asked. Great now I've just shock this poor old man to death. Just add him to my list.

"Alexandria?" he whispered.

Surprised at him calling me by my mother's name I responded. "No sir, my name is Gena Reynolds, I believe, I mean I was told Alexandria was my mother." I stuttered.

"My God, your voice…" his voice was cut off abruptly so I thought my connection was lost but than I heard him stutter and what sounded like he was crying. Immediately a soft female voice spoke "Hello, who is this?" she demanded.

"Hello, my name is Gena Reynolds, did something happened to Mr. Burren, is he okay? I am really sorry to shock him like this. Please tell me is he okay. I did not mean to upset him." I pleaded.

"No, he's fine. Please hold on…" Rolfe, Rolfe pick up the phone she yelled. I can hear her calling for someone else and than I heard the background noise from another line.

"Hello, who is this?" he demanded. His voice was deeper and sterner.

What is with this family? Irritated I repeated "Hello, my name is Gena Reynolds, I called to talk to Mr. William Burren but someone just took the phone away from him. Is everything okay? I was talking to him about my mother, Alexandria." I explained carefully.

I was disrupted by the same female voice coming on "Do you hear her voice. She sounds just like her." she said calmly.

"Idelle, please. Ms Reynolds how did you come to the conclusion that Alexandria Burren was your mother?" he questioned.

"Well I was given this jewelry box when my parents died, and in that box was a confession made that I was not their biological daughter. They gave me the name Alexandria Burren and from there I obtained this phone number." I replied calmly.

"What did the jewelry box look like?" he asked.

I was kind of shocked at the question. I just told him I was a long lost family member and he is inquiring about a box? What does the box have to do with anything? It's just a box.

"Did you hear what I just said?" I asked confused.

"Yes, Ms. Reynolds. I want to know what the jewelry box look like." He demanded.

"Well it is rectangular shaped. The metal I believe is silver. It has a blue stone to each corner." I described.

"Did you hear that?" the woman name Idelle said.

"How did you open it?" he asked.

"Um, this may sound crazy but I'm not really sure but I think I opened it by accidently getting blood on the clear part of the lid. I know how absurd that sounds but that is the only explanation I can give you right now." I sounded so crazy these people may have me arrested.

"Gena, we would like to meet you, where do you live?" he calmly stated.

Shocked by his quick reply, I stuttered "Um well, can I speak to my grandfather first? Who are you?"

"My name is Rolfe Burren; I am Alexandria's oldest brother. I am your uncle." He hesitated.

"Is Mr. William Burren alright?" I repeated.

"He is a little overwhelmed right now, but he will be fine. We want to meet you." He replied.

"I live in Indiana, if it is alright I can come to Inuvik." I asked cautiously. If these people were crazy I didn't want to bring them to my house.

"Gena, how old are you? Can you travel by yourself?" he asked.

"I am 18. I can travel by myself. I've done it before." I claimed.

"You said that your parents are dead, who is taking care of you right now?" he asked.

"Well that's another thing. My parents died many years ago and I've been with my uncle up until last week. He just passed away." I admitted.

"So, Gena, you're there all alone?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I'm okay." I said confidently.

"Yes, I don't doubt that you are doing well. We are so glad that you found us. I will send someone to escort you to Inuvik. Tell me your address so we can make the arrangements." he declared.

"Really sir, I can travel by myself. I have your address I can come to Inuvik." I replied.

"Gena, I am sure you are capable of doing many things but the trip to Inuvik is quite treacherous. We would feel much better if someone we trust traveled with you. Please do not take any offense. It would make everyone here feel less worry." he firmly stated.

"Okay, um I live in Crew, Indiana in the United States. My address is 28 Hachette Road." I said. It felt uncomfortable telling strangers where you live. My "stranger danger" lessons have really been thrown out of the window now.

"Okay, what is your phone number? I will call you back with the details." he asked.

"My home number is 317-571-2387 and my cell number is 317-570-2589." I provided.

"Okay, Gena, I will call you back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere?" he commanded.

"Okay, can I ask you one last thing; do you know who my father is?" I inquired

"Gena, why don't we get you home first then we'll work on that." he stated.

"Okay. So I'll wait for your call. Goodbye." I whispered. He said home. I hope he didn't think I was going to live in Inuvik. This is my home.

I don't intend to move.

Definitely not to Inuvik.

Indiana is home to me. I'd never thought of any other place but here as home.

Would they be terribly upset if I did not want to stay in Inuvik?

Maybe I'll spend the rest of my summer with them.

There is no way I can live in Inuvik. The weather alone is a no- no.

Maybe I can convince them to come back with me.

It was probably less than ten minutes before the phone rang again. I picked it up quickly.

"Gena, this is Alain Burren. I have made arrangements to have you escorted to Inuvik. Do you have a pen? I need you to write this down." he stated. I scrambled around the room to look for a pen.

"Okay, I'm ready." I said.

"Mr. Bradley Teague will pick you up on August 26 at 8am. That's a Thursday. He will escort you to Inuvik. Just pack your most personal needs. Everything else will be provided for you. Do you understand? Oh, Gena! I am so happy that you contacted us. I can not wait to see you." he stated.

"Well, I 'm a little overwhelmed myself. I wished I'd known about you guys sooner. I'm quite excited and anxious at the same time. There are so many things I want to ask about my parents." I explained.

"My goodness, your voice sounds just like her. If I weren't told about you I would bet my life that you were Alexandria. Your grandmother is in frenzy right now. She would talk to you but she can't stop from crying."- Aunt Beatrice please just keep it together she'll be here soon. I can hear him coaxing her.

"Okay, well I have to start packing. I can't wait to meet everyone. See you soon."

When I got off the phone, I felt nauseous. Something happened to me 18 years ago, my mother died birthing me and her family knew she was pregnant but never went looking for me. I was happy that they wanted to see me but I was uneasy about why I was never looked for.

The leading up to the trip was more of getting a lot of Uncle Josh's things in the right places. I donated a lot of his home furnishings. I gave his race cars to charity. Mr. Gaffney's assistance helped me put Uncle Josh's Indiana home and California home on the market. I didn't want to stay in his house. There were still a lot of things to do. They would have to wait until I got back. By Wednesday, the house looked empty except for the storage boxes stacked up in the rooms. I will take care of those things when I get back. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with the personal things.

I rushed up to my bedroom to pack. It was well after 4pm before I was finally ready. I carefully wrapped the jewelry box in some of my clothing and placed it in the middle of one of my luggage. I wanted to ride my bike one more time but it started to rain really hard so I just store the bike into the garage. I will have to deal with a lot of things when I get home. I have to sort out my living arrangements. I need to find myself an apartment. I'll just think about that when I get home. I went inside and cleaned out the refrigerator. I took out all the trash.

I tried to go to bed early but the excitement would not allow me to rest. I checked my alarm clock to make sure it was set. I realize for the first time in days I wasn't thinking about the recent events in my life. The timing of this was really uncanny. I decided since I could not sleep I will start a list of things I wanted to ask.

Things to ask:

1. What was my mother like?

2. Do I look a lot like her?

3. Did she want me?

4. Who is my father?

5. Why do you live in Inuvik?

6. Who is this woman who took me away?

7. What is the deal with the jewelry box?

8. What the key belong to?

9. Does anyone know who sent me the plane tickets and the mystery limo person?

I thought of the last question. Obviously my new family did not send it. No one knew I lived here except maybe the woman who gave me away. Only she knew who she gave me to. This has got to be it.

The woman who stole me from my dying mother is the mystery limousine person.