Trapped in the Shadows

Chapter 47 - Veronica Griffen

"I'm your mother," the woman that we had encountered confessed, causing my grasp on her to slacken.

"Wh-what?"

"My name is Veronica Griffen and I believe that you are my daughter. I-I abandoned her twenty-two years ago and now I think I have found her again."

"Why are you telling me this? What do you want?" I demanded, knowing that there had to be a reason she was approaching me now.

"I don't want anything, I just wanted to see you with my own eyes. I was so uncertain about introducing myself to you, you have created such a wonderful life and must hate me for what I did, but my selfishness overtook me and I came to New York to see you."

"Why did you leave me?"

She shook her head, "this is not the place to talk about these things. I'm checked in at a hotel not too far from here, perhaps it would be more private there."

She began to lead the way but I hesitated, wondering if this could be a trap. I mean, why else would she wait until this moment to reveal herself to me? There had to be something up her sleeve. When I didn't move, Peter came over to me and whispered in my ear, "what do you think? Should we risk going with her?"

"I don't know, I'm curious, that's for sure. But I certainly don't trust her," I replied, my gaze not leaving my so-called mother.

"Let's change the venue then," Peter suggested, scanning the street we were on for a suitable location. "How about that tea shop?"

"Ms. Griffen, would it be alright with you if you discussed in there instead?" I called out to her, pointing out the location that Peter had chosen.

She turned back and nodded, "very well, if that is what you would like."

I removed my hood and mask before entering the shop, hoping to appear a little less threatening. Peter, on the other hand, still had to protect his anonymity and remained fully suited up, acting as my bodyguard in case something went wrong. Ms. Griffen and myself both ordered a drink and then sat a secluded table, Peter sitting right next to me with his hand placed atop my thigh.

"So, Ms. Griffen, please do explain yourself," I requested in a hushed voice, keeping my senses alert for any sort of foul play.

"Are you sure that you want him here? I mean, it is rather personal," she questioned, appearing to be nervously stalling.

"I trust Spider-Man with my life every day that we go out on patrol, I am entirely comfortable with him hearing whatever it is that you have to say."

She took a breath and seem to be trying to figure out where to start, "Well, I was still quite young when I met your father. He told me he was from outer space and when he demonstrated his powers, I fell in love with him instantly. I thought what we had was true and didn't care about what my parents or friends warned me. I sprung right into a deep romantic relationship and it was indeed some of the best months I have ever had.

"That all changed rapidly when I found out that he had gotten me pregnant. At first, I was thrilled that we were going to have a child and rushed to tell him. He, however, grew angry at me when I told him that I was expecting. He stormed out of the apartment we owned and that was the last I ever saw of him. I kept believing that he would return, desperate to prove that our love was true and I had not just been some fling of his. I went through with the pregnancy and soon found myself regretting that decision. You were only about three months old when I realized that I could not afford to raise you. When I received my bill that month, I panicked and left you in an alleyway in hopes that someone else could take care of you. I wasn't thinking properly, I hadn't really slept much since you were born and the next morning I remembered what I had done and decided to go after you, but you were gone.

"A few weeks passed and I wasn't able to track you down. Then again, I couldn't exactly go to the police about it. They would definitely take you out of my custody even if they did manage to find you. I could only hope that you had found a good home, which it is clear now that you did. It wasn't long before I was forced to leave New York, there was no way that I could continue paying the rent. So with my fairytale over, I returned back to my home in Arizona.

"I still remember that day that you revealed yourself to the public, everyone was talking about it. At first I didn't think much off it, but then when I heard Mr. Stark's story of finding you combined with the knowledge that you had almost alien powers, I knew that you had to be my daughter. Look at you, you even have my (e/c) eyes. I wasn't sure if I should go to you and tell you the truth, but by the time I had made up my mind to swallow my pride and confess everything you had disappeared."

"So why come now?" I asked her, taking in all of the details she had told me thus far.

"When news had reached me that you had been found and rehabilitated, I knew that it was my chance. However, I was still quite nervous that you would hate me for what had happened so I delayed my trip. I was sent to New York on a business trip and I took that as a sign, so I began to keep an eye out for you and tried to prepare what I would say to you once I met you. My god, you have grown into such a wonderful young woman, I am so proud of you. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Stark for raising you to be such a strong and intelligent woman and for giving you the life that I know I never could have provided you with."

"You said my father was from outer space, do you happen to know what species he was?" I inquired, still not positive that I should believe her story. She hadn't appeared to be lying, but I knew there were people who would do anything to get a free pass into the private circles of the Stark family and pretending to be my biological mother would indeed do that.

She paused as she tried to remember, "he never said, at least not that I can remember. He said space and he had already won me over. Those powers of his entranced me, I had never seen anything like it."

"What do you think you'll get from this interaction? Do you want money or fame or what?"

"No, no. I merely wanted to see my daughter with my own two eyes and explain why I had to leave you. I do deeply regret abandoning you out there all alone, I should have brought you to an orphanage. But I can't change any of that now." She took a napkin from the table and began to write something on it. "Here, this is my number if you have anymore questions or just want to keep in contact. I completely understand if you would rather me stay out of your life, I'd imagine you're still angry at me for abandoning you."

I accepted the napkin as I watched her leave the tea shop. Peter was the first to speak up, "so, what do you think about her?"

I shrugged, "her story seemed true, at least for the most part and it does line up with what I know. But I still don't like this situation. Why would she come to me if she didn't want anything from me? It just doesn't seem to add up."

"Or you're just being paranoid. Although I will admit that I have a bad feeling about her as well."

I pursed my lips as I thought for a moment, "I'll stay in touch with her, see if I can't figure out what it is that she wants. Also, I'm going to go run some tests to make sure she's actually my mother."

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(A/N): Do you think she's actually your mother or is she just running some sort of scheme? Or is she both your mother and running a scheme? I'm honestly not super happy with how this chapter turned out, but I am too exhausted to do any major editing. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!