The Parent Trap

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chase Jacobs

POV

Stella was finally fell asleep an hour later of her crying when she was separated from Carly. Carly Lewis, the woman fell from the sky. Stella loved the woman and didn’t want to separated from her.

I couldn’t understand it. Stella barely liked my ex wife. Amelia treated Stella like her own daughter, but she also treated Stella like an accessary to help her win fans.

I sighed... One of the many reasons for our divorce was because she’d call paparazzi to have pictures taken of her when she was with Stella.

She’s always known I didn’t want Stella’s face on the internet. It was something I’ve told her many times.

I stood in the doorway of Stella’s bedroom, one hand braced against the frame, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her lashes rested dark against her flushed cheeks, one small fist curled around the edge of her blanket as if she were afraid it might disappear if she let go. She got so attached to a woman she’s just met.

I wanted Carly to be her nanny because I knew Carly could handle herself if they were in trouble. But it wasn’t because I trusted her blindly either.

When I carried Stella upstairs this evening, she didn’t cry, she only asked for one thing. Where’s Carly?

I had promised her she’d see Carly tomorrow. I didn’t know where this woman had come from, but I was going to make sure that she never hurt my daughter.

Promising to see soon was the only reason Stella agreed to go to bed without an issue. My little girl... I swallowed at the thought of what might have happened if Carly wasn’t there.

She was supposed to be with Amelia. I didn’t even know my daughter was missing until I got the call she was found. How scared she must have been. And I wasn’t even looking for her.

I exhaled slowly closing the door slightly, not completely closed, Stella wakes up sometimes at night looking for me. I’m careful not to make a sound. As I make my way downstairs I listen to quiet of the house. Since Amelia moved out the house always felt too quiet without Stella’s small voice filling it, Amelia’s reality tv on constantly. It felt too big. Too empty. It was taking some getting used to.

I walked down the hall and into the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water staring at the playground in the backyard my brother got Stella for her birthday last month.

The glass in my hand but I didn’t take a sip. The image replayed over and over in my mind, Stella clinging to Carly like she was her last life line in a world and that everyone was trying to take that away from her. You’d think Carly was her mother that everyone was trying to tear them apart. The way she’d sobbed into Carly’s shoulder. The way she’d refused to release her even when I held out my arms for her.

Stella didn’t do that. It wasn’t like my daughter. She didn’t bond instantly with people like she did with Carly.

She barely tolerated her long time nanny on good days. Amelia had complained endlessly that Stella was distant, cold, difficult.

But tonight? Stella was a whole other person...

Tonight, his daughter had chosen a stranger.

A woman with no visible fear. No hesitation. A woman who had stepped in front of danger without knowing who Stella was or who I was. It was refreshing not having to worry whether this would be headlines in the morning.

I rubbed a hand over my face.

Had I made a mistake? Inviting a woman I didn’t know into my house, and family?

I hated how shaken I felt. My daughter was sleeping sweetly in bed and I was shaken at the thought of what might have happened if Carly hadn’t been there.

The knock at the front door echoed softly through the house.

Michael.

I opened the door and stepped aside so he could enter.

"She asleep?" Michael asked.

I nod. "Out cold." I said. "Doctor says she’s fine. Just scared."

Michael nodded. "We’ll increase security. I’ve already got men more stationed outside for the night."

I hesitated. "And the woman?"

Michael raised a brow. "Carly Lewis? I did a deeper dive and she’s clean. No criminal record. No red flags. Not even a parking ticket. Though she does have a drivers license. Nothing unusual."

That unsettled me more than if there had been something. How could there be nothing. She should be special forces, the way she fought, she was trained in the military was her file redacted?

"She works at a bar." Michael continued. "Lives a few blocks away. No family listed. Not even a friend group. She’s only on a support group for people living with head injuries."

I nod absentmindedly, my mind was thinking about what she could be hiding...

"Do a deeper check, I want you to check the military, any special forces." I say. "I want everything. Even if it’s redacted..." freewebnoveℓ.com

Michael studied me carefully. "You don’t trust her?"

My thoughts ran back to Stella’s arm locked around Carly’s neck so tightly she could choke Carly out. "I don’t know yet. We’ll see what you find" I admit. "But my daughter does." And that scares me.

Michael inclined his head. "I’ll look again."

After Michael left I walked around aimlessly. Too much has happened recently. With the custody case and Stella’s kidnapping. It’s like everything is stacked against me. I sat on the edge of the sofa looking at Stella’s toy blocks scattered across the rug. Half built wall to a castle she’d started building that morning before I’d left.

But my head wasn’t there I was thinking about Carly, something about her... I didn’t know what it was. But there was something about her that drew me in.

I could still hear her voice low, steady, soothing telling Stella she was safe. I’d watched her hand rub slow circles into Stella’s back like she’d done it a thousand times before. When she’d just met my daughter that very night.

It shouldn’t have meant anything and yet.

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

My phone buzzed on the coffee table. I didn’t even remember putting it there.

An unknown number.

Against my better judgement I answered. "Hello?"

"Hi," a woman said softly. "It’s Carly. I just wanted to make sure Stella’s okay."

The tension in my chest eased at the sound of her voice.

"She’s asleep," I said. "Finally."

"I’m glad," Carly replied. "She was very brave."

I swallowed. "You were, too."

There was a pause. "I didn’t really think about it," she said. "I just... did what anyone should."

I doubt anyone would put themselves willingly in danger to save someone else.

"You’re packing up your apartment tomorrow right? But I was wondering if you needed help..." I asked carefully. "Stella is excited to see you..."

"No it’s fine I don’t have much... Someone from work helped me get this place the things mostly belong to her." Carly said. Then, quieter. "I just have to pack up my clothes there isn’t much..."

I glanced up the stairs to where my daughter was sleeping peacefully.

"Okay that’s okay..." I say slightly confused. I didn’t know a woman who didn’t have a bunch of things. "Thank you. For everything." I had thank her.

"You’re welcome," Carly replied. "Good night, Chase."

"Good night, Carly."

The line went dead. I sat there a long time after the call ended, the phone still in my hand. I was aware of the truth I wasn’t ready to examine. I wasn’t ready to find out what it meant. I wasn’t ready...

To me it felt like I nearly lost my daughter.

I didn’t know who Stella’s mother was. I had too much to drink that night. All I remembered was waking up alone in a room, the woman gone.

A year later, a three month old Stella was left at Carter’s company for me. I’ve had my daughter for four years after that, Stella has been a blessing in my life. She was my everything.

I nearly lost her and in that time, a stranger had walked into our lives and somehow, impossibly, felt like she belonged there.