Feature film makers may produce the following "Jane Doe" (working title) story -- a true, heart-throbbing, mystery thriller. Typically, several documents are created for a film production package. This article includes the story -- both a short summary and a more detailed description -- told chronologically, where some key names, photographs and details are omitted at this time, given the involvement of some of the most powerful elites in the United States. Second, a screen writer may tell the story in another document called the movie treatment, which is how the story may be presented theatrically, including various devices to show the events, which may be seen out of order (flash-backs), etc. In short, the treatment describes what will be seen and heard, leaving it to the audience to "discover" the story. Story Summary
Born in the Midwest at the height of the roaring 1920's, the "mystery" mother -- our character M -- grew up to be attractive and flirtatious with a high sex drive. Working her way to the prosperous Northeast, as a young woman, M marries a super-wealthy Old Man, famous and a pillar in the social and economic elite of the nation. Alas, M has lovers and gives birth to a baby girl secretly in a neighboring state hospital to hide her affairs from the Old Man. The baby immediately disappears! M had arranged with a low-level employee of her Old Man for he and his wife to raise the baby as their own and move far away to hide this arrangement. For many years, M secretly sent hush-money and support payments to the "foster" family and even visited at least once to see her daughter.
Fast-forward to 1990's when the baby girl (Jane Doe) is full-grown, intelligent, holding a security-related position with lots of responsibility and a son of her own. Jane also has a strong sex drive. Growing up, Jane had long suspected that she had been kidnapped as a baby. There were lots of troublesome details. She was physically and mentally completely unlike her clandestine "foster" family and her supposed dull sisters. She was the only "sibling" good at math. No birth certificate. Entries in her baby book from a mysterious woman (M?). And much more. Jane initiates a serious search for who she really is.
Jane contacts the father of kidnapped children (the Author) seeking assistance on how to investigate this matter. Slowing piecing many details into a coherent story, Jane and the Author come to a rather convincing, but still tentative, identification of her real birth mother M. After some three decades from Jane's birth, M now has control of the vast wealth of the now deceased Old Man, and is an icon in the nation's press for the wealthy, power elite, dabbling in travel, very young men as lovers and horse racing.
In a climactic moment, after much tribulation and deliberation, Jane becomes convinced that M is her true biological mother. Sparks fly when Jane confronts M publicly at a classy hotel. Jane is arrested for disturbing the peace. Mysteriously, M and police drop the charges, and Jane is released from jail ... and she and her son disappear (!), go underground. Was there a deal? Did M (or her representative) and Jane have a little chat privately at the police station? Was Jane paid off and is now living the easy life?
Story Details
Again, although exact dates and names are most often known, these will be obscured as described above. xxx indicates redacted text.
In the 1890s, one of the most notable marriages of the decade combined the Wxxx and Vxxx families of the economic and social elite of the nation. The Vxxx family descended from a famous 19th century robber baron. There were three children -- two daughters and a son (our character named Old Man), who was to be 28 years older than his future bride, our character named M.
In the roaring 1920's, a year or so before the great stock market crash, M was born in a middle-class family in a mid-western state.
M graduated from high school and went to the University of xxx, but had to come home and get a job after her father died. She got the perfect one: flirtatious war-time (WWII) disc jockey at a radio station.
After WWII, a friend who worked for her spread the word that she was an aspiring actress from "a very prominent family." Though she didn't make it as an actress, people say she seemed more interested in marrying a rich man and just enjoying herself. "She was a fun-loving girl at all the parties," remembers another fun-loving Palm Beach girl of the era.
A bit of a publicity hound, M was adept at handling reporters. "Tell them everything, but don't tell them anything," she once advised an intimate. In a colorful moment reported in the press, the petite, blue-eyed M rode a horse up to a popular up-scale hotel and hitched it outside while she partied.
Toward the end of the 1940's, M made her first marriage to the alcoholic heir to the fortune of one of the largest equipment companies in the world.
By the end of the 1950's, M was socializing with A-category, Hollywood movie stars. After a divorce in her first marriage, she married the super-wealthy Old Man, 28 years her senior. Thus, M became a member of two of the nation's wealthiest families when she married an investor and racehorse owner (Old Man). These families were direct descendants of a major inventor in all U.S. history books and a railroad magnate -- both long-time political players.
Meanwhile, in the 1960's, the father in a family (named D) worked as an assistant to the Old Man even though father D had taught at Harvard at one time. The D family were to have several daughters, including our mysterious leading character -- Jane.
Jane was to discover upon growing older that her birthday and her birth certificate that had been filed by the D family were both falsehoods. However, it appeared she was born in the early 1960's.
It was later found that one of America's most famous nightly news anchors (character B) was a social friend of M in this same period.
Jane contacted the Author of a missing kids web site in the early 2000's. She emailed writing, "I am your poster child". Later, Jane wrote:
Jan 6, 2004 ... I am a 40 year old woman in a state of shock. In my attempt to make sense of my world, I began trying to find some sort of resource.The Author requested that Jane Doe describe herself:
... I ordered my birth certificate this summer after a lifetime of questions my "parents" shamed me for asking. Questions like, "Why are all my sisters blond and I am brunette? Why am I the only person in our family with a different blood type? Why don't I mirror the features of my family?, Why don't I have a birth certificate?". The response, "How could a child say these things to her parents. What is wrong with you?".
The truth -- my name, birth-date and birth-town -- are all fraudulent. There is absolutely no record of me. I had a very extensive, expensive search done for three years [regarding] ... my fraudulent birth date -- nothing.
... my instinct told me that in all probability I am a kidnapped child.
[Regarding Missing Keene Kids,] Sadly, I didn't even need to be turned against my parents. I was unaware of their existence until the present. This discovery sent my "family" running for cover. I have not heard a peep from my "Mother" or three "sisters". Criminals usually run from the scene of the crime. They have absolutely nothing to say to me. Loving family, eh?
So -- no Birth Certificate, no Name, no Birth date, no Birth Place. Good Grief! My poor parents -- whoever they are. I am sure they shared the same heartache you did over the years. Worse, they probably assumed because of my young age, I would not know my name. They are right.
I celebrated my very first UN-Birthday this year. I know it isn't my real birthday, but have another 363 days to eliminate. I wonder what my real birthstone is, what my real horoscope would reveal, how old I really am.
These are the things that start bubbling up in your mind. Such a cruel thing to do to a human being!
Jan 9, 2004 ... The lie I have lived my entire life is far more credible than the truth. ... I did not wake up one day and decide I would turn my life upside down.
My life was reordered April 1, 2003, when I was casually looking in my cedar chest. I stumbled upon my baby book and began flipping through. As a child, this book passed. Now, an adult with her own child, it screamed at me to take a closer look. The very first thing that caught my eye was my footprint. The moment I lifted up the edge of the paper and saw an article on the back, sheer panic flooded my body. Then, another "picture" of me as an infant, with an article about sailboats on the back.
My baby book was constructed from magazine clippings, just like a collage a child might make in elementary school. What was missing was any remotely authentic birth document. No hospital tags, no newspaper announcement, no pictures. Just my "Mother's" handwritten account of my infancy.
With baby book in hand and her own devious imagination, she rewrote the story of my life to fit her agenda. It worked for almost 40 years! Each lie carefully built on the lifetime of lies, until the bottom fell out.
Life has a way of putting you on paths you could never have chosen on your own, with a passion that reaches beyond the depths of your soul. If you would have told me I would be sitting in an adoption support group meeting, or writing to a Doctor about kidnapping six months ago, I would have laughed. I'm not laughing.
I have no choice but to get back on the proverbial horse. I have spent six months trying to wrap my head around my life situation. I have spent even more time trying to dull this indescribable pain. Until now, I have been unsuccessful. The only way out is through the fire, and I am geared up and ready to go. ...
What I hold on to in my deepest moments is this one truth: I am and always have been the same person despite my life circumstances. I can only look like those who gave me my genes. It takes no effort to be me. My dimple, my deep blue eyes, my intellect, even more amazing, my integrity, my honor, my inherent gifts which do not mirror or match those I spent the first 16+/- years of my life with.
These parts, I firmly believe, cannot be altered through abuse, deception or lies. You cannot kidnap a soul. ...
I believe I am as far from my roots as my kidnappers could possibly run without leaving the country. ... We traveled extensively as children. ... Interestingly enough, my passport is the only form of identification I have ever used, and I had it as a young child.
The only other birth document I posses is a baptismal record. I am told this is a loophole used in my days to obtain false documents. It is my understanding that an infant can be given any name by the "parents" during the baptismal ceremony and then this "official" document can be used in lieu of a birth certificate. ...
Jan 12, 2004 ... In the next few days, I will begin compiling information. ...
I contacted my "Mother's" sister for the first time in at least ten years. She has been very helpful, ... [and] shared the fact that her husband of over 30 years did mention how different I looked from my siblings, how I appeared out of nowhere.
Jan 17, 2004 ... a woman in [omitted] discovered she had been taken from her family some 35 years ago. Her story was rooted in the same sort of deception, however, her "mother" had been willing to come clean and provide some names.
The "Mother" had told this woman that she had taken her from a life so horrible that this woman was grateful to have been "saved" by this good Samaritan. She was told her mother was a drug addict among other things. Her abduction occurred in [omitted] by her biological Father and his mistress. When things fell apart between the Father and his girlfriend, the girlfriend took the child and never tried to locate the Mother.
This now grown woman, [omitted], finally met her biological Mother recently. She was far from the addict her abductor spoke of. She was a Mother who NEVER stopped looking for her child. Her entire family knew of her, and each Birthday the entire family bought a cake and hoped one day they would celebrate with her.
That day finally came. After reading the article, I contacted the journalist who wrote it. It has been over a month, and [omitted] gave the newspaper permission for me to make contact under certain conditions (giving a sort of password). I cannot wait to speak with her -- hopefully soon.
What I found interesting is how quickly the group of adoptees at a support group were able to tell me with complete certainty that the birth certificate my "Mother" provided to me was a fake. It was missing really obvious things to them....like some sort of number that should be on the document, and a seal. They know all the tricks of the trade, so to speak. I wonder if other documents will have similar glaring problems.
Jan 20, 2004 I have always felt empowered, in control of my life, and safe in the world. ... If I could place my trust in an entire family that could toss me away ..., my mantra has been, "Closed for reconstruction".
I am in the tear down phase of this reconstruction. Picture a gutted-out building with spectacular plans, but right now there is still dust and rubble to be hauled off before the new stuff can enter ... that's me.
I graduated at the top of my class in High School, was involved in many sports, and other academic groups. Math seems to be our [Jane and her son] genetic gift. I took the National Math Test for my High School as the top math student. My son is in Algebra based on his math results from his national test results. He is receiving High School credits this year while still in middle school. ...Jane regularly reported her research efforts:
College was a breeze for me as well. I rarely studied outside of class and had an active social life. I graduated with a four year degree in three years. ...
I am average in every way. I have an average shoe size 7 1/2, average height, 5'7", and my weight is within a normal range... I have blue eyes, fair skin, naturally curly brunette hair. I have larger ears than the average gal ..., but I am aware that they are an unusual feature worth mentioning. [Blood type O+, no birthmarks.].
I haven't given you many specifics....mostly because I don't have many true details. My false birth name is [omitted]. My false birthday is October 24, 1963, and my false birthplace is [omitted]. This information with an official seal from the director of vital statistics for the State of [omitted] does not exist.
The only thing this information is useful for is my track record. I have never been in any legal trouble, have a work history, education, financial history, etc, linked to this name that is honorable.
What a waste, eh? ... because I don't exist in theory.
It does amaze me that I held such a high level (speaking from security and access to secure privileged locations) of freedom to [omitted]. I supposedly had the highest level of background check prior to being hired. We had fingerprinting, full background, medical records, blood work and yearly physicals as a condition of employment. For 14 years I was randomly drug and alcohol tested as an obvious requirement of such a high level of accountability and safety to the [omitted].
All this for a non-existent human being.
Dr. xxx was the name of the Doctor in my records. The hospital was xxx Memorial in xxx, NY. My home address at the time of birth was xxx Street in xxx. It says I was born on Thursday at 11:37am. 7lbs 12 1/2oz. 20 inches...In a museum owned by M, one of her works was a statue. Oddly, the body was actually her own body with a different face.
I found a card from the hospital that appears to be from flowers. It even has a drop of water that ran across it. It is signed, Mxxx, Jxxx, Dxxx, and Sxxx. In another shocking card -- a Birthday card, signed Daddy, it is in the identical handwriting (a handwriting I do not recognize as my "mother or father" [of the D family]).
I cherish this card, knowing it was written by my biological father.
The day my parents left the hospital "with" me, we left in a brand new 1963 green Mercedes Benz. This story was told to me over and over. It also is written in my baby book. It actually describes the car in more detail than me. "It was a memorable drive" and so on. I DO remember this. My mother said that fathers were not allowed in the hospital in those days, so while she was delivering me, my father went out and bought her this brand new car. It didn't occur to me then, they were 19/20ish, they both didn't work, had a baby just 18-22 months older, and that he never bought a new car or other grand gift for any of the other children. There was something unique about my arrival into this world.
My Aunt told me a hundred times how shocked her parents and family were at this car. They just didn't have this kind of money. Her parents nor any family would ever be able to afford this sort of car. They assumed my "father" came from wealth. Far from the truth.
When I began looking for Wxxx's from New York, three people told me with the Mercedes story, it might be M.
After examining photographs of M's family, Jane discerned features, such as the shape of the left ear, that were similar comparing Jane herself and M's family, which really "freaked" her out: "What freaked me out the most...his left ear. That is MY left ear!"
Jane also wrote of a book she read:
I am hacking up the quote, but too lazy to get up and find the page I copied from the book. ...It also described the way she pronounced her S's. I spent many years with a speech therapist attempting to get rid of this same almost "sputtering" sound when I say the letter S. My son incessantly teases me about this...always has. Now I tell him I am just being a Vxxx, leave me alone. (He does it too, but just doesn't see it in himself)...Recall that at the time Jane wrote the above, her working theory was that she was abducted as a baby, although this theory does not fully agree with many other facts.
Even M has some books published...
My name....xxx...is also the name of a country club owned by xxx... This is interesting because...my abductor....xxx [the D family]...had his funeral services done at xxx Country Club in Mass. at the 18th hole...the final hole...He was an avid golfer.
As described, Jane finally obtained her Birth Certificate, which she deemed to be fraudulent based on a baptismal record. She also recalled childhood stories of riding on the shoulders of B, the famous nightly news anchor. On life with the D family, Jane wrote:
We lived in the Philippines for many months just before we moved across country. They then moved all the way across country and never paid a cent back. Father D never ever worked again when we moved from the East Coast to xxx, Washington.In Washington state, the D family used a Post Office Box and "definitely did not get public assistance", Jane wrote.
Family cars were licensed in Massachusetts while we lived in Washington State. Their drivers license the same; out of state plates and license. We also had our next door neighbor and very close friend of my father's [D] die in a freak accident...In the early 1980's, as a teenager, Jane left the D home, managed to go to college and get air traffic control (ATC) training and finally was hired by the FAA working as an ATC.
In 1990, Jane had a son from a marriage that later failed, and writes that he
had an odd gait or way of walking. It doesn't mirror myself or his father. He walks like he has been riding horses his whole life. He walks with his feet outward.Meanwhile, a few years later, M's husband dies at age 93, and M inherited his entire $100 million dollar estate. A few more years later, Jane's supposed "father" D passed away, perhaps taking with him some of the truth about W's true origins. Later in the 1990's, M, now a widow in her 70s, married xxx, a 32-year-old tennis champ and aide to former Governor xxx of xxx. Shortly after their marriage, M appointed xxx president of xxx Industries, replacing xxx, her elder son.
In this period, Jane retired from her job as an Air Traffic Controller for 14 years. Her research for her true family continued. For example, she found that in 1998, her taxes had been "amended to include some sort of trust fund". Did M have a hand in this? Later she wrote to the Author, "My life was reordered April 1, 2003." About 2 months later, famous news anchor B passes away, a still mysterious figure from Jane's early childhood.
In Jan, 2004, Jane struggles to find out who she really is. She writes:
My blood type is O+. The oldest blood type. My mother [D] and three sisters are O-. This was a key discovery for me, as my sisters each had to have shots for RH factor when they delivered their children. I do not have any birthmarks. I do have a prominent widows peak, as does my son. One really significant medical condition that is not present in my family that I am treated for is psoriasis. It is a genetic condition, usually appearing with arthritis in later years. I have asked a hundred times who has it in the family and what do they use for it. There is no relative I know who has psoriasis in my family. I was once told that I had tiny cuspids (teeth) and that it was a sign of royalty. It was such a weird comment by an older co-worker at lunch one day, that I simply dismissed it. Our mouths have some odd secrets. I have a very unusual tongue. It has fissures on it. One day I was having my teeth cleaned at a dental college and the instructor asked if I would mind having the students look at my tongue because they would probably never see this in the real world and only have a book image of it otherwise. It is called something like geographia. I forget. No medical worries, just unique. xxx [W's son] then had his turn. He has supernumerary teeth below his adult teeth. Four extra teeth below his lower adult set and two more on his upper jaw. I have no idea where that came from.Jane's observations about supposed genetic disparities with the D family and similarities with M's family appear to make sense. Further, the fact that both Jane and M exhibit a higher-than-average sex drive was also a clue. Increased sexuality occurs in a minority of the population, so two persons matched on this parameter is even less likely, as those with increased sexuality can attest regarding finding a suitable partner or mate considering this variable. These persons face the odds that the majority of the population have average or below-average sexuality levels. This is just a consequence of the well-known bell-shaped curve of human traits.
After Jane contacted the Author, research identified xxx, M's literary agent in New York City and her friend over 40 years, who was contacted by the Author to explore the possibilities, which might eventually include reunion of mother (M) and daughter (Jane).
Finally in 2004, Jane travels to the East Coast and confronts M, whom Jane now believes is her real mother. This confrontation was very public at a high-class hotel, causing quite a commotion. Jane was arrested and the press reports allege Jane was impersonating a daughter of M and the mental health of Jane was questioned. News reports also alleged that Jane was trying to claim her share of the xxx estate. It was also alleged that Jane had registered at the hotel near a famous race track using M's name. Keep in mind that M probably owns most of that particular city, perhaps even including the newspaper.
Jane told the newspaper that she did not have a birth certificate. Reportedly, Judge xxx agreed with two city psychiatrists that Jane is mentally unfit to face felony forgery charges. Eventually, charges were dropped. From that time, Jane has ceased contact with the Author and is out of contact.
Jane dropped out of communication with the Author after emailing from a public library that her computer had broken. It was several years later that the Author learned that Jane had gone cross country to provoke the news reports cited above.
Summary and Conclusion
Not only were specific names and dates redacted in the story detailed; a number of juicy items difficult to describe without specific names were simply omitted above. In other words, the full story is even more interesting.
A talented screen-writer could craft a gripping psychological thriller tracing how Jane developed from a young girl feeling out of place in the D family to the early indications that something was quite wrong, and on to her adult life with considerable achievement and responsibility as an air traffic controller and a son she cared for properly with no sign of any mental illness or defect. In her 40s, the urge to find out who she really is emerges in full force as strange unexplained things happen such as mysterious alterations in her tax returns. Finally, as the new 21st century rolls in, Jane collaborates in dozens of emails with the Author to develop a chronology which might explain her mystery.
Obviously, the news reports that Jane was mentally unfit were a cover for the real story -- that M was really Jane's biological mother, that a sordid transfer of care of baby Jane to the D family was an arrangement to cover-up one of M's love affairs. Jane had feared for years that she was a kidnapped child (by the D family), while the truth was payments to the D family to hide Jane from the Old Man. How might we calibrate the pain Jane endured? How selfish was M to have perpetrated such a plan to sacrifice the best interests of her daughter Jane to save her own skin and inheritance of multi-millions when Old Man passed on?
Finally, where is Jane and her son now? How are they doing? Are they well? Did M and Jane strike a deal involving continuing cover-up of M's deeds at Jane's birth ... perhaps with more payoffs? Or shall we just conclude that Jane finally did get "her share" of the inheritance in return for keeping quiet about this story? Will Jane write a best-selling book, once M passes away? No end to questions.
© 2011 James J Keene
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