Chapter 4 - The Price of Being Found
By Monday morning, photographs of the sidewalk encounter had appeared online.
Someone had recorded the moment when Celeste confronted Ellen's black sedan.
The video showed Theo standing beside the barefoot boy.
Their resemblance was unmistakable.
News outlets began contacting Celeste's company.
Reporters waited outside her apartment building.
Strangers sent messages claiming to know what had happened to Eli.
Some offered help.
Others accused Celeste of abandoning her missing son.
One anonymous message said:
"If you searched so hard, why was he living on the street?"
Celeste read it twice before putting her phone away.
The question hurt because she had already asked herself a thousand versions of it.
She had searched.
But she hadn't found him.
And from Eli's perspective, that failure had defined his entire childhood.
The hospital had confirmed that Eli was physically stable, though he needed further care, regular meals, and evaluation for the effects of prolonged neglect.
His identity still required formal confirmation.
Investigators had collected DNA samples from Celeste and both boys.
Until the results and child protection arrangements were completed, Celeste could visit Eli but couldn't simply take him home.
She hated the uncertainty.
Still, she understood why the rules existed.
A missing child's return needed to be handled carefully.
The next afternoon, she brought Theo to a supervised visit.
Eli was sitting at a table with a puzzle when they arrived.
He immediately noticed Theo's clean sneakers.
Then he looked at his own hospital-issued shoes.
Theo followed his gaze.
"You like basketball?"
Eli shrugged.
"I've never played on a team."
"We could play sometime."
"Maybe."
Theo sat across from him.
For a few minutes, they worked on the puzzle without speaking.
Then Theo reached for a corner piece.
Eli reached for the same one.
Both pulled their hands back at exactly the same time.
They looked at each other.
A small smile appeared on Theo's face.
Eli smiled too.
Celeste watched from the doorway, afraid that if she moved, the moment might disappear.
But later, when Theo went to get water, Eli turned toward her.
"Did you stop looking for me?"
The question landed harder than anything Ellen had said.
Celeste sat across from him.
"I never stopped hoping I'd find you."
"That's not what I asked."
She lowered her eyes.
He was right.
For years, she had searched actively.
Then the tips became less frequent.
After Daniel died, she continued contacting investigators and keeping Eli's case active.
But she had also started rebuilding a normal life for Theo.
Some days passed without her checking for updates.
Eventually, entire weeks passed.
She had never stopped loving Eli.
But there had been days when she stopped searching because she couldn't bear another disappointment.
"Some days I couldn't do as much as I wanted," she admitted. "And some days I was exhausted and afraid of getting my hopes up again."
Eli stared at her.
"Did you think I was dead?"
"Sometimes I was afraid you might be."
He pressed his lips together.
Celeste leaned forward slightly.
"I won't pretend I did everything perfectly. I didn't. But I never decided you weren't worth finding."
He looked at the puzzle.
"I used to think maybe if I was good enough, Ellen would tell me where you lived."
Celeste felt tears gathering again.
Eli continued quietly.
"I cleaned the kitchen. I finished my lessons. I didn't complain when she locked the front door."
His small fingers moved along the edge of a puzzle piece.
"But she never told me."
Celeste wanted to reach across the table.
Instead, she asked, "Would it be okay if I held your hand?"
Eli hesitated.
Then he nodded.
His hand felt so small inside hers.
That evening, Detective Reyes called.
Investigators had located Ellen's rented property near Beacon.
The house was empty.
Inside, they found children's clothing, old photographs, handwritten records, and documents connected with Eli's disappearance.
They also discovered evidence that Ellen had used several identities.
But Ellen herself had vanished.
The detective explained that authorities were coordinating a search.
"There's one complication," he added.
"What?"
"Ellen has contacted an attorney. She's claiming she has legal custody of the child under another name."
Celeste stood beside her bedroom window, looking down at the reporters gathered outside.
"That's impossible."
"We believe the documents may be fraudulent. But they still have to be examined."
Celeste gripped the phone.
"So she's trying to take him back?"
"She's trying to create confusion about his identity and custody."
After the call, Celeste opened the drawer beside her bed.
Inside lay Theo's silver locket.
She placed it on her palm.
Eight years earlier, she'd given one to each boy because she wanted them to have something that would always remind them they belonged together.
Now one necklace had returned covered in scratches.
And the woman who had stolen her child was still trying to claim him.
Celeste realized that waiting quietly for someone else to solve everything was no longer enough.
May you like
She needed to tell the truth publicly.
Even the parts that made her look like a mother who had failed.
