The Truth

"What happened to him?" The man asked the nurses as he advanced toward Tyrone. 

Tyrone was weak but he recognised the man's voice from earlier on the phone. 

"I told you, I'm not Tyrone Jeffer... Ugh!" Tyrone had run out of energy as his head fell onto the floor and he slipped into unconsciousness. 

"Quick, please help us carry him into the emergency ward." One of the nurses said, the man stepped forward and held Tyrone back from falling to the ground. 

Fred came up from behind them and carried Tyrone onto his shoulders. "Stay with us, Ty," Fred begged. 

"Where do I take him to?" Fred asked the nurses. 

"Follow me." The same nurse said and led him to the emergency ward. 

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Tyrone's eyes fluttered open, he tried getting up but a sharp pain in his stomach kept him back from getting up. He gently let his eyes sweep over the room where he was. 

"Where am I?" Tyrone mouthed. This place didn't look anything like a hospital or was it because this was the first time he was at St Louis? The large wardrobe that was situated across from Tyrone confirmed his doubts that he was not in a hospital. 

The chilly breeze from the air conditioner cooled his skin. 

"He's awake, my son's awake." 

Tyrone recognized his mother's voice and quickly spun his head in the direction where the voice had come in. 

"Mother?" Tyrone called out. 

"Oh, my poor baby." His mother came up to him with tears in her eyes. She sat on the bed and put her hands around Tyrone. 

"I'm so sorry Ty," she cried and kissed him on the cheek. 

"It's okay, mom," Tyrone said and hugged his mother back. 

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier, now he has come for you." She said and broke the hug. 

"What are you talking about Mom?" Tyrone asked as he managed to sit up, ignoring the pain in his stomach. "And where is this place?" 

"This place was meant to be your room." She said to him. 

"What are you talking about, this place doesn't look anything like our home." He said and looked around the room, taking in the exquisite decor in the room, not to mention how large the room was. 

His mother sniffed before she spoke again. "This is your late parents' home and it's the place where I stole you from." She confessed. 

"What?!" Tyrone exclaimed and tried getting up from the bed but was quickly reminded about his condition when the pain in his stomach hurled him back down. 

"What are you talking about? You can't be serious, can you?" He asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. 

"She's telling you the truth, Tyrone." The man in the fine suit curtly approached the bed. 

"You did a really good job raising him, Amanda. Look how strong and healthy he looks even with the bruises on his body." The man commented. 

Tyrone's mother tried to hide her face in shame as the man clamped his hand down on her shoulders. 

"Can someone please explain what's going on? Mother, what do you mean by you stole me from this place, where is this place and what do you mean by my late parents?"

"Go on Amanda, tell him." The man said, urging Amanda. 

There were visible beads of sweat on Amanda's face as she opened her mouth to speak, she looked at Tyrone but couldn't hold his gaze for long, her eyes immediately fell on the floor. 

"And who might you be?" Tyrone asked the man. 

"My name is Jason and you can consider me as part of the family only that I've been a faithful butler to this family long before you were born and I didn't try absconding with any of the children that were born into this family, unlike some people," Jason said, referring to Amanda. 

"You'll never understand, Jason!" Amanda yelled at him in defense. 

"Then make me understand," Jason said to her. "It's been 26 years, Amanda, 26 whole years since you stole Tyrone, you were very lucky that the boss didn't put a lot of effort into trying to look for you. If I had been the one, I would have made sure I looked for you and had you jailed for kidnap." Jason spat out the words with spite, obviously still angry over what Amanda did 26 years ago. 

"You'll never understand," Amanda said again softly. 

"Then make me." It was Tyrone's turn to reply. He was tired of the both of them bickering at each other like children. 

Amanda looked up at Tyrone, her eyes red and filled with tears. She immediately went on her knees, surprising Tyrone. 

"I'm so sorry Tyrone but I did it out of desperation." 

"Did what?" Tyrone questioned, trying to put his emotions under control. 

She sniffed again before she went on to tell Tyrone the whole story. "Your mother and I were about the same age when she gave birth to you and I was just newly employed. My husband had divorced me because for years that we had been married, I had not been able to give him a child and he sent me out, I longed for a child I longed to nurse a child as my own cradle him in my arms and watch him fall asleep."

"And when the opportunity came from me to nurse a child, I didn't relent. I became very very close to your mother until she was able to trust me with you. And when you were just five months old, she would leave you with me and go on long trips and come back in the evening because she knew that I could take very good care of you and then one day when she and your father went on one of their long trips I took the opportunity and ran away with you."