The listing states that he is married to Allira Bortham and they have three kids together, and the kids’ ages match his Facebook profile so the address must be correct.

“Is this really his house?” Sydney asks when we turn onto a long driveway heading toward the mansion at the far end of the property.

She searches the address on her phone and informs me that it has six bedrooms, six baths, a two-bedroom guest house, and sits on two-hundred acres.

The driveway is lined with towering pines and the occasional oak tree and the majority of the property is dotted with birches. The fresh snowfall makes the place look like a winter wonderland.

“This is so beautiful,” Sydney mumbles.

“Are you sure we have the right place?” I ask.

She shows me the phone with the address that I had found and memorized last night.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I say, gripping the steering wheel.

“C’mon, this is nothing.”

“You say that but it’s not true,” I insist. My mouth feels parched.

“Olive, don’t worry. You already went to see your biological mom and you did that all on your own. This is…”

“What?” I ask.

“This is…Pink Eye! You can’t be intimidated to talk to Pink Eye.”

I look at her and then we both burst out laughing.

18

Olive

When I knock on the door…

After a little bit of prodding, I finally go up onto the porch and ring the doorbell. No one answers for a while. We wait. I ring again and again no one answers. Finally, I hear someone. I’m tempted to run back to the car, but Sydney blocks the exit.

“Can I help you?” a woman with a petite frame and thick red curls piled up on top of her head asks.

“I’m looking for Robert Bortham. Is he home?” I ask.

“Yes, he is. Are you one of his students?” she asks with a smile while holding a wet pan and a drying cloth.

I stare at her without saying a word. But luckily, Sydney comes to my rescue.

“No, we’re not but we really need to speak to him.”

“Sure, he’s in his office. Do you want to follow me and I’ll show you where it is?”

I’ve either been spending too much time in the city or with criminals but I am really taken aback by her hospitality.

The house is an old Victorian that has been completely remodeled and updated. The furniture is sleek and contemporary and is a perfect complement to the interior.

We walk on a polished wooden floor, down a beautiful foyer, and through the living room with enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into forest behind the house.

Mrs. Bortham stops and knocks lightly on the door across from the open-concept kitchen with an enormous marble island in the middle.