Crystal Palace:
Isa spots Belka coming back to the palace. She waves her over towards her. She could tell that Belka was in a good mood.

“What’s up Isa?” Belka was curious about why Isa waved her over.

“There’s someone I would like you to meet.” Isa had a smile on her face.

“Who is this person?”

“She’s a guest here and she has a lot in common with you.” Isa didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

“Okay, where is she?”

“She’s waiting for you in parlor room 1. I’ll bring a tray of a fresh pot of tea for the two of you.” Isa hopes things work out between Belka and Maria.

Isa escorts Belka to parlor 1. When they arrive at the room, Isa knocks on the closed door.

“Enter.” Maria has been sitting inside the room waiting, while Isa went to find Belka.

She has been going over what she wanted to say to her son/daughter. She has been hoping for this day, for a very long time. Maria looks up as the door opens and the young girl, she has been watching comes walking in. Behind her was Isa.

Belka saw the woman she noticed yesterday sitting at the table as she walks in. She extends her hand out to the woman “hi, I’m Belka Karlen.”
Maria stands up and shakes Belka’s hand “I’m Maria Morrison, Belka. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Why don’t the two of you make yourself comfortable, while I go and prepare a tray of snacks and bring in some tea and cups for you.” A pleasant smile appears on Isa’s face.

“Okay.” Belka sits down across from Maria.

Isa backs out of the room and closes the door. She hopes things will work out for Maria and Belka. She heads towards the kitchen to fix a tray for Belka and Maria.

Belka looks over at Maria “Isa said you and I have a lot in common. What did she mean?”

Maria takes a deep breath “Belka, what do you know about your birth parents?”

“Nothing, except I was left at my first foster family’s doorstep. Why are you asking?” Belka was curious about why Maria was asking her about her birth family.

“How many foster families have you had since that day?”

“Seven. It seemed every two years or so I was being passed off to a new family, without any explanation on what I did wrong. You still haven’t answered my question on why you are asking?” Belka wanted to know why Maria was concerned.

“Because Belka, I’m your birth mother. You were taken from me by your father because I caught him with another woman and was going to
divorce him. It wasn’t the first time I caught him with another woman either.” Maria noticed that Belka was stunned by her admission that she was her mother.

Belka sat there stunned by the admission that Maria had just told her. She had been told that her parents had abandoned her. That they couldn’t afford to raise her or want her. They even showed her a letter reinforcing what they said.

“How do I know you are telling the truth? Anyone can claim to be my mother.” Belka was suspicious.

Before Maria could respond to Belka's question, there was a knock on the parlor door.

“Enter!”

Isa walks in with a tray filled with a porcelain teapot and two cups, saucers, silver spoons, sugar and honey containers. She walks over and sets the tray on the table and pour tea into each teacup.

“I hope you ladies enjoy the tea. It’s an herbal blend. Also, you might enjoy the finger sandwiches as well.”

“Thank you, Isa.” Belka looks up at Isa.

Isa just smiles and winks at Belka. She turns around and walks out of the parlor. She hopes Belka and Maria can come together as mother and daughter.

Maria looks back at Belka “I have your birth certificate and I know for a fact you have a birthmark in the shape of a square on the lower part of your back. You were born in Denver, Colorado on September 14 at one in the morning. I was in labor with you for twelve hours.”

Maria remembered that night because her husband had come to the hospital late. She had been taken to the hospital by their driver.

“Why did my father take me away from you?” Belka wanted to know the truth.

“Your father took you from me, to hurt me. He knew how much you meant to me. He never wanted children, because he knew I would devote my time to you, and he didn’t like it. So, to hurt me he took you and gave you to people who pretended to be your foster parents. He would pay them to take care of you. The reason you bounced between families, was every time I got close to learning where you were. He would get the word about it and send you to another family. He would change all your records, so I couldn’t find you again.”

“How did you find me, now?” Belka was curious about that.

“I wrote a program to search through all the news articles about you. Someone did a news article about an unknown girl being found out in the desert. The description they give matched the last picture I had of you.” Maria reaches into her pocket and brings up a picture of Belka. Maria shows Belka the picture.

Belka looks at the picture “that picture was from a couple of months ago, before my prom.”

Tears were starting to form and slide down Belka’s cheek. Belka couldn’t believe her father would do something like this to her. Why would any father do this to their child?

Belka gets up and rushes over to her mother and wrap her arms around her. She buries her face against her mothers’ shoulder and cries. She has always wanted to know why her parents left her.

Maria holds her daughter, as tears came from her eyes and slide down her cheeks. She holds Belka close to her and is thankful she finally found her baby. Her husband needs to pay for hurting their daughter.

The rest of the afternoon Maria and Belka get to know each other. Belka finds out that everything she had been told was lies. She finds out that her father was the CEO of a technology company.