Chapter One
Thirteen years prior Katherine Mayfair had been together with Mike Delfino, they were once happy together and they loved each other very much. But on the day that Susan and MJ were captured by Dave Williams, Mike Delfino had fallen for Susan all over again. Katherine was distraught, and so she plunged a knife into her chest and blamed Mike. She had lied to her daughter Dylan about how she and Mike were married, but Dylan found out the truth and had her mother locked up for a mental breakdown. She finished the program, but then decided to go to Las Vegas, Nevada to clear her mind. Once she arrived however Katherine Mayfair's water had broken. She didn't even realize that she was pregnant.
Katherine was taken to the hospital where she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She had considered giving her up for adoption due the painful memories associated with her, but once she held her in her arms she knew she couldn't give her up. However a few hours later she heard the words that would forever change her life. Code pink. You see, a code pink is when there is a missing infant or child. Katherine had felt something in the pit of her stomach and against her doctor's advice she went to go check on her baby, but her child was gone. Her daughter was the one that was abducted. This destroyed Katherine who went home empty handed. She decided then and there that she wasn't going to tell a soul about the missing child, nor who it's father was. She couldn't live with it, and it would absolutely destroy her reputation, however thirteen years later she received a phone call that she desperately wanted to hear.
"Hello?" Katherine asked as she answered the phone. "Is there a Katherine Mayfair at this residence?" a voice on the other end spoke. "Speaking." she replied. "This is the LVPD, we have some news regarding your daughter." the officer replied. Katherine dropped the phone and stood there for a few moments with the officer asking if she was alright. Katherine regained her composure and picked the phone up off of the floor. "Please...is she alright? Where is she?" Katherine asked quietly over the phone. "We captured the woman who took her, but it looks like she is no longer in town. We forwarded the case to the Idaho Falls Police Department and they are waiting for you to arrive to reclaim your daughter." the office told her. "I-Is she alive?" Katherine asked him quietly. "She's alive and well." they told Katherine. She and the officer spoke for a few moments before Katherine hung up.
She ran to her room to book the flight on her computer which left in four hours. She packed her bag for at least a week and booked a hotel as well. Once it was time to leave Katherine placed her bag in her vehicle and walked around to the front where she was stopped. "Oh Katherine, are you leaving?" a familiar voice asked, it was her neighbor and business partner Bree. "Yes, just for a little while, I'll be back in a week or less." Katherine said to her. "Oh did something happen?" Bree asked her. "Nothing to be concerned about." Katherine replied as she looked at her car. "Well, have a safe trip then." Bree told her before Katherine got in her vehicle. She drove herself to the airport and checked her bag. Katherine waited until it was time to board the plane and then left. Little did she know that her wardrobe wouldn't be season appropriate.
Once she arrived several hours later Katherine checked in at her hotel and got some sleep. It was going to be a big day tomorrow. She was nervous though, what was her daughter like? What did she look like? Would she forgive her from not being able to protect her all of these years. These thoughts plagued her mind until she eventually fell asleep. The next day she got up and got ready for the day before driving to the police station. Once there the officers led her to the detective who had been assigned her case. They introduced themselves before speaking more on the case and then told Katherine to follow them to the house she was living at and knocked on it. Katherine stood behind them, freezing in what clothes she had brought, having not checked he weather before she came.
A woman pulled into the driveway and asked them if they needed something. "Are you Lily Miller?" the officer asked her. "Yes, why do you ask?" Lily asked them as she shut and locked her car door. "We've come regarding your niece Rachel Russo, would you mind if we had a word with you?" the detective asked. "Sure, come on in." Lily said as she opened the door. "Don't mind the dogs, they're friendly." Lily said. Two dogs came up to them, one was part pitbull and part lab, her name was Daisy and was extremely friendly. Another dog, this time a german shepard came up to Katherine and sniffed her. Her name was Midna. Midna rubbed up against Katherine, thinking she smelled like her master. She panted and sat down on her foot. "Midna, come on, get over here." Lily said to her and Midna came trotting over.
"Cute dogs." she said to Lily. "Thanks, that girl is Midna, she's my niece's dog, and the part pit is Daisy, don't worry they're both friendly." Lily told her. She invited them to have a seat and they all sat down. "You must be freezing, here I'll turn on the fireplace." Lily said as she turned it on for them. "Thank you." Katherine told her. "You're not from here are you? Neither are we, this is our first winter here in Idaho Falls. Now what can I do for you?" Lily asked them. The officers then explained that her former sister-in-law had kidnapped a baby around Rachel's age and that the LVPD had found the remains of the real Rachel's body. They then explained that they believed that Rachel was in fact Katherine's daughter.
"How can you be so sure?" Lily asked them. "Does Rachel have heterochromia?" Katherine finally spoke up. "I'm sorry? Hetero what?" Lily asked her as she looked at Katherine. "Heterochromia, it's a condition when eyes either have multicolors or one eye has a completely different color than the other. My daughter's left eye is blue, while her right eye is hazel" Katherine explained. "So that's what it's called." Lily realized. "May I ask, why do you have custody of her?" Katherine asked her. "My parents adopted her and her younger sister Amelia, but my mom had cancer and she passed away three months ago, my dad died of a broken heart a month after that. I was the alternative guardian. Amelia went back to live with her biological father, but Rachel wanted nothing to do with him." Lily explained. "I'm so sorry to hear that." Katherine replied as she placed her hand on Lily's.
"Thank you." Lily replied. "Where is she?" Katherine asked, referring to her daughter. "Rachel is at school, she's staying late for the bake sale. It will be lunch soon, I will call the school and let them know I give my permission for you to speak with her." Lily told them. "Thank you." Katherine replied. Lily called the school and then gave them the go ahead. Katherine followed the police to the school. Once they arrived they headed to the office. "We'd like to speak with Rachel Russo." the detective asked. "Ah yes, Lily Miller said you were coming by. I'll call Rachel on the intercom. "Rachel Russo to the front office please, Rachel Russo to the front office." the receptionist spoke before putting down the intercom.
Ten minutes had passed, but Rachel was still nowhere to be seen. An office aid came into the room. "Do you know where Rachel Russo is?" the receptionist asked the student. "Yeah, she's in the home ec room, the teacher is giving her permission to bake for the bake sale." the student replied. "Oh sorry folks, the home ec room has a busted speaker, she won't hear you. But if you folks take a left when you leave the room and then go straight to room 104 the door will be on the right. You can speak with her there." the receptionist said. "Thank you." the detective said as they led Katherine to the home ec room. There they saw a girl, listening to music with earbuds in as she added ingredients to a bowl. Rachel hadn't even seen them come in, concentrating on adding the correct ingredients. There was no recipe card, no cookbook, Rachel had the entire recipe memorized. After all she had an eidetic memory, which meant she could remember something in exact detail after hearing or seeing it once.
Katherine saw the redheaded girl humming music to herself as she continued to throw ingredients into a bowl. Her red wavy hair and her multicolored eyes focused on making everything perfect. The detective stepped forward and tapped her on her shoulder, which frightened her so much that she dropped the bowl. "Oh no! My cupcake batter!" Rachel panicked. She paused her music and looked up. Katherine rushed over and helped her pick everything up. "Thank you." Rachel said as she looked at the woman. Katherine noticed the girl's eyes and knew that this girl was her daughter.
"Rachel Russo?" the officer asked her. Rachel took out her earbuds. "Yes, I'm Rachel Russo...did I do something wrong?" she asked, quite frightened that there were police in front of her. "No, we would just like to speak with you." the detective replied. "Do you mind if I make a new batch of cupcake batter while we speak? I need to get these done in time for the school bake sale. Everyone is expecting my cupcakes and I can't let them down." Rachel replied. "No, you may continue." the detective replied.
"Rachel, there is no easy way to say this, but you are not who you think you are." the detective told her. "I'm not?" Rachel asked she carefully measured the dry ingredients and added them to the bowl. "Your mother, Marina Russo, isn't actually your mother." he continued. "What are you talking about?" she asked them as she continued to add ingredients. "Thirteen years ago Marina Russo killed an infant and attempted to replace her with a newborn from the hospital. That newborn was you." the detective replied as he looked at Rachel. "Your real mother has been looking for you for thirteen years." the detective continued. "She has?" Rachel asked him. "Yes, this is Katherine Mayfair, she's your biological mother." he replied as he introduced Katherine.
"You're my real mother?" Rachel asked her. "You can't be...you're too kind, and I don't deserve such kindness." Rachel said quietly. "Why do you think that?" Katherine asked her as she stepped closer to Rachel. "Because...I'm a horrible person...that's what she said anyway..." Rachel replied sadly as she started to cry. "Hey, look at me, you aren't a horrible person. She was a monster...a monster that took you away from me. I know you're a good person, you came from me, you can't be the horrible person you make yourself out to be." Katherine said as she hugged Rachel. Rachel thought the hug felt nice, they usually just felt awkward, but she felt that she had been missing something like this in her life.
"Thank you..." Rachel said as she hugged her back. She then dried her tears. "How about I help you finish up these cupcakes?" Katherine offered. "I dunno, it's a secret recipe." Rachel said with a laugh. "I know all about secret recipes." Katherine laughed. Katherine decided that she was going to help her daughter bake the cupcakes to help make up for startling her. Once the baking was done they let them cool down before decorating them. "Hey, you're really good at this." Rachel replied with a smile. "I better be, I help run a catering business." Katherine laughed as she continued to decorate. "Oh wow, that's pretty cool." Rachel replied with a smile. She hadn't been this happy in a long time.
They finished decorating the cupcakes and Rachel brought out two spares. "Here, we should probably taste test these before they get handed out." Rachel told her as she handed her a cupcake. "Thank you Lucy." Katherine replied as she took a bite. It was really good and the icing was perfect, the cupcake incredibly moist, now Katherine had to know her secret. "Lucy? Is that my name?" Rachel asked her. "Yes it is." Katherine told her. "These are incredible, you really did an excellent job sweetheart." Katherine added with a smile. "Thank you Ms. Mayfair." Rachel replied. It was going to take time for her to get used to her name. "You know, you can call me mom, I don't mind." Katherine replied. Rachel grew quiet for a few moments as Katherine looked at the expression on her face, it was a sad one.
"I'm sorry Ms. Mayfair...I...I don't feel quite comfortable calling you that, it's nothing you've done, but..." Rachel started to say. "What's wrong?" Katherine asked her with a look of concern on her face. She could really tell that her daughter had something on her mind. "I-It's nothing..." Rachel replied. "You're upset...please...I want to understand why? Please tell me..." Katherine asked once more. "But you'll hate me..." Rachel said softly. "No...sweetheart I could never hate you, not in a million years..." Katherine said as she sat Rachel down.
Rachel sighed and knew she had to tell her why, but it was going to be incredibly hard. "The last person I called my mother..." Rachel started as tears fell onto her fist. This concerned Katherine quite a bit. Rachel stood up and lifted up her shirt to show her back to Katherine. It was completely scarred with deep cuts healed up on her back and burn marks. Katherine gasped as she looked at every scar that had healed on her daughter's back. Katherine stood up and examined the scars closer, growing angrier, and angrier as she looked. That woman had hurt Lucy, and Katherine was pissed. But she didn't even know the worst part.
"She did this to you?" Katherine asked as her daughter pulled her shirt down and nodded. Katherine ran over and hugged her daughter tightly and tried to keep her from bursting into tears. She didn't go into the worst part, and by the look on her biological mother's face, she decided that she would never ever tell her this. "So you see, I must be a horrible person...I deserve what happened to me...you can't possibly want a horrible person like me." Rachel sobbed as Katherine hugged her. "You are not a horrible person. Look at me Lucy." Katherine said as she tilted her daughter's chin up. "This is not your fault, that woman, she is a monster, and I promise you she will NEVER EVER hurt you EVER again." Katherine told her. "And I understand why you don't want to call me mom, I get it okay, just take your time. We'll work it out together okay?" Katherine said as she hugged her once more.
"Thank you." she said as she hugged her back. A few seconds later the home ec teacher walked in. "Rachel, you're done early? And who is this?" she asked as she saw Katherine. Rachel dried her tears and looked at her teacher. "Ms. Simmons, yes I finished early, I had help." she said as she looked at Katherine. "Hello, I'm Katherine Mayfair, I'm Lucy's biological mother." she introduced herself. "Ah yes, the office told me about you. So you helped Rachel with the cupcakes? I see, I'll have to deduct points from your score Rachel." Ms. Simmons told her. "Why are you deducting points from her?" Katherine asked her. "Because her assignment was to prepare for the bake sale and bake as well as decorate the cupcakes by herself." Ms. Simmons told her. "Yes Ms. Simmons, I understand." Rachel replied.
"I'm the one that startled her and made her drop her batter." Katherine told her. "Yes, well be that as it may, the assignment was for her to do it by herself." Ms. Simmons replied. "Can't you make an exception, just this one time?" Katherine asked her. "I'm sorry Ms. Mayfair, but I cannot make any exceptions." the teacher replied "Your final grade is a C-." she added. "A C-? But that will bump down my grade down to a B." Rachel argued. "I'm sorry Rachel, but you knew this assignment was 75% of your final grade." Ms. Simmons said. Rachel threw down her apron and ran out in tears. This would mess with her perfect GPA. "Lucy wait!" Katherine said as she took off her apron and followed after her. Katherine looked around, but couldn't find her daughter in the massive crowd of people changing classes. She tried calling out for Lucy, but she wasn't answering. Katherine had to find her, and find her she would.