Client Asked for a Tattoo and Showed Me a Photo of My Children — Story of the Day

A man comes to Kira for a tattoo and requests one based on a photograph. When he hands the photo to Kira, she is horrified to discover it's a picture of her twins. The man claims they are his children and they will soon live with him.

It was again a busy morning for Kira who was a tattoo artist. As she got ready for the day, her twin kids, Tommy and Zoe, were playing with their nanny, Stacey. Kira told Stacey she would be home late from work.

"No worries, Kira. The kids and I are going to have fun today!" Stacey said. "Right, guys?"

Zoe and Tommy nodded happily, and Kira sighed. She felt bad for not being there for the children and told Tommy and Zoe to listen to Stacey.

As she was leaving, she heard one of them call Stacey "mommy" by mistake, which made her feel terrible. Am I giving too much importance to work and completely ignoring my children?

But Kira knew she had no other way out. As a single mother, she had to work if she wanted to give her kids a good life.

At the tattoo shop, she was all set for the day's clients. Her first customer, Michael, had a special request. He wanted a tattoo of his children, but when he showed Kira their photo, she couldn't believe her eyes — it was her own kids, Tommy and Zoe.

"These are my kids," Michael explained. "I want the tattoo to show my love for them."

Kira was too shocked and upset to respond properly. "I... I'm sorry, Michael. I can't do this tattoo," she stammered, giving back the photo, her hands trembling. She couldn't explain to him her refusal.

Michael, puzzled and let down, took back the photo. "Thanks for your time," he said, leaving Kira in a storm of emotions, wondering about his claim to her children.

Shaken by the encounter, Kira felt a rush of fear for her kids. She canceled the rest of her appointments and rushed to the cops, driven by a mother's instinct that something was off.

At the police station, she explained everything to a cop — about Michael's strange words and the photo of her twins.

The officer listened but responded with procedural caution. "Without a direct threat, there's not much we can do," he said, suggesting Michael might just be dealing with mental health issues. She tried explaining how worried she was, but the officer said they couldn't act until they had enough evidence that Kira's children were actually under threat.

Unsatisfied with the cop's words and driven by desperation, Kira took matters into her own hands. She called every tattoo shop in town until she finally tracked down Michael. He was getting his tattoo done.

Driving to the shop, she waited, and after what seemed like an eternity, he finally came out. Kira followed his car, ensuring she wasn't noticed, but lost sight of him in the busy traffic.

Kira knew she couldn't give up. She had to find out how this man had a picture of her children. So, she asked a friend who worked in insurance to help check his car's license plate. They found out the car was reported stolen, which made Kira even more worried.

Kira tried calling Stacey to check on her twins, but there was no answer. The silence on the other end of the phone line amplified her fear.

Racing home, Kira's mind was consumed with worry. She blamed herself for not being there, fearing the worst for her children. The drive seemed to take forever, each second stretching out as she dreaded what she might find.

Kira stepped into the eerie silence of her home, calling out, "Tommy? Zoe?" But no reply ever came; there was just the unsettling quiet.

"Stacey, are you here? Kids?" she called, her panic rising with each empty room. Kira noticed the stove was still on, the soup on it forgotten — a chilling sign of trouble.

Dialing Stacey's number, Kira's heart raced. Again, there was no answer.

Fearing the worst, Kira thought, "Michael found us."

She dialed the police. "My children and their nanny are missing. I think it's a kidnapping," she sobbed on the line.

As Kira awaited the police, her tears wouldn't stop. Then, suddenly, the sound of footsteps snapped her to alertness. Gripping the fire poker, she prepared to defend herself, only to halt at the sight of Stacey, their nanny, terrified and in tears.

"Stacey!" Kira dropped the poker, rushing to her. "Are you hurt? The kids, where are they?"

Stacey was shaking as she sobbed. "He... he took them."

"Who took them, Stacey? Tell me!"

"The plumber," Stacey whispered. "I let him in, thinking you called him for the sink. He showed me a gun... I ran to hide."

"Why-why didn't you call for help?"

"My phone… it was in the kitchen. I couldn't reach it," Stacey stammered.

"I've called the police. We'll find them. Can you describe the man?"

Stacey nodded, wiping her tears as she described Michael. The realization hit Kira like a cold wave; her fears about Michael were confirmed.

"Let's sit down for a bit. I'll make some tea. It might help us think clearly," Kira said.

But as she reached for the teapot, dizziness struck her. A cloth with chemicals pressed against her face and Stacey's whisper, "Sweet dreams," was the last thing she heard before blacking out.

Waking up in her basement, tied up, Kira saw Stacey in her clothes. "Pretending to be you was easy," Stacey said, her voice disturbingly calm.

"Why-why did you do this…"

"The police believed my story. When they saw me with the children, they thought I was you. It was easy to fool them. Thanks to Michael's help," Stacey bragged.

"Where are my children?" Kira's voice trembled, desperate for their safety.

"They're mine now. What have you done for them, really? You don't deserve them." Stacey's voice was cold, her stance menacing.

"I've done everything for them! My work, my sacrifices—everything's always been for their future."

Stacey mocked her efforts. "You chose work over them. But now, Michael and I will be their family."

Then, Stacey forced a bitter liquid down Kira's throat. "This will hurt," Stacey said before leaving Kira alone in despair. "And I'm glad it will. Goodbye!"

But Kira's resolve hardened. Soon after Stacey was gone, Kira saw a chance to free herself. Spotting a nail in the floorboard, a nail that could be the key to her freedom, she dragged herself to it, and with a persistence born of desperation, Kira sawed at her bindings, refusing to give in. Freeing herself, she staggered towards the basement stairs.

"I can't give up," she whispered to herself as she emerged from the basement. Her love for her children fueled her determination to fight the poison Stacey had forced upon her.

In the bathroom, she looked into the mirror at her pale face, trying to make herself throw up to get rid of the toxic stuff inside her. "I'm doing this for my kids," she said, trying to breathe through the tough moments, her determination strong.

When she felt better, hoping the poison was out of her system, she knew she had to find out where Stacey might have taken her children.

Looking through some drawers, she found Stacey's job application paper. Reading through it, Kira's eyes stopped on Stacey's last name, a name she remembered. It belonged to the person who owned the car Michael was driving — the car that was reported missing.

With the clue, Kira quickly used her computer to look up who owned the missing car. She found out the owner had recently passed away, and he was none other than Stacey's dad.

Armed with this information, Kira drove to Stacey's address, calling the police en route.

As Kira approached her once-trusted nanny's house, the sight of the stolen car confirmed her fears.

Inside, Kira saw total chaos. Tommy and Zoe, her twins, were crying for her. "We want Mommy," they kept saying through their tears. She had managed to get inside quietly, without being noticed, but she was helpless.

Stacey glared at them, insisting she was their mom. "I'm your mother!" she yelled, and her facial expression proved one thing to Kira — Stacey was mentally unstable. Meanwhile, the kids' cries got even louder, and Stacey lost it.

Right then, Michael noticed where Kira was hiding. "Come out here!" Stacey shouted, her voice cutting through the noisy room.

"Please, let them go," Kira begged Stacey and Michael as emerged from her hiding place. "They need their mom."

"They're not your kids! You don't know them; you're never there for them!" Stacey yelled, her words hurting Kira deeply.

It was then Kira's eyes fell on a bottle of lighter fluid, and an idea popped into her mind. "Stay away from the kids!" Stacey warned her, but Kira knew she had to take a risk to save her twins.

She moved towards the lighter fluid quietly as soon as Stacey and Michael were distracted. With a swift tilt, she spilled the fluid, watching as it soaked into the fabric and wood.

Her hands found the matches next to the fireplace, and striking a match, Kira watched as the flame came to life.

Michael and Stacey tried to stop the fire, but it spread fast. Kira could only think about her kids.

"Run to the window!" she told them, her heart racing. They finally ran out into the night.

As Kira tried to escape, Stacey tried to grab her, but Kira fought her off, driven by her love for her kids, and ran out into the cool night air. Finding her kids safe was the best feeling ever for her.

"No more nannies," she promised them, holding them close as police sirens got closer.

At that moment, Kira knew that her kids mattered the most, and she would never trust a stranger with them. Yes, she would still work hard to provide for her children, but not without ensuring that they were safe.

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If you enjoyed reading this story, here's another one, where a tattoo on a young woman's shoulder which she had done to honor her beloved departed grandmother ended up saving her life.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.