Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
It’d take a small miracle to get me to give him custody of the small little girl.
I’d never met her, although I planned on doing that later this afternoon since she was on my way home, but I’d never give a child to someone I knew would act that way to a complete stranger.
One, incidentally, who was in charge of giving him custody of a child he so ‘desperately’ wanted.
“Can you tell me about yourself?” I asked, leaning back in my chair.
Sergei followed my example, leaning back in his chair and crossing his elegant hands over his expensive suit. “As you know, Ms. Valentine, I am Anton Sergei. My wife and I, Masha, have been married for a little over thirteen years. We’ve been trying to have children for twelve of them. After our third year of trying, we went on to fertility doctors. We tried that for six years before we started adoption. We have two children right now that we’d obtained through adoption.”
The way he said ‘obtained’ made my hands clench in my lap. Why wouldn’t he say ‘blessed’ or ‘adopted?’
Who the fuck said ‘obtained?’
What a dick.
I nodded. “Right. Can you tell me about the accommodations that you would have for a child?”
And so it went.
I asked questions and he answered them with pompous, I’m-too-good-for-you, answers.
The only reason I was still considering it was that he offered a huge donation to the center every year.
“And can you tell me about your work? Will you have time for a third child? I see that you are both prominent lawyers in the area. Mrs. Sergei?”
Mrs. Sergei hadn’t answered any of the questions so far, and I wanted to hear it from her.
Mr. Sergei didn’t let her, though. I started to wonder if she even could.
The meeting was a disaster, and I welcomed the call that came through my line moments after he answered for her yet again.
“Excuse me for a moment,” I said, answering the phone. “This is Georgia Valentine.”
“Ms. Valentine?” A frantic female voice whispered.
“Beverly?” I asked in concern.
“I need you,” she whispered.
I sat up straight in my chair. “Of course, honey. Where are you?”
Beverly was an eighteen year old senior at the local high school.
I met her for the first time at a counseling session when she wanted to discuss the option of adoption.
Since the day I first met her, I knew she’d been in a bind at home. Her parents didn’t know she was pregnant, much to my dismay. I’d attempted to get her to tell them.
However, she was eighteen, and she knew how her parents would react if they knew she was pregnant.
So I’d met with her in private at the youth center where she went after school and some weekends.
There I’d given her every available resource we had.
“I’m at a hotel. The one off the interstate. The Budget Inn on the access road. Room 41,” she whispered.
I stood up and started collecting my things, much to the Sergei’s annoyance.
“I’ll be right there, honey,” I said before hanging up.
Sergei looked disgusted that I’d even contemplated leaving during his interview, but there wasn’t much he could say since he wanted to be considered as baby Angel’s adoptive parents.
So, he didn't say anything negative. He accepted my abrupt departure graciously and I glared at their backs as I let them out the door in front of me.
They were two steps in front of me the entire way, taking a left as we got out to the parking lot, instead of the right I had to take.
They walked to a pretentious, upper class Jaguar that I could probably never afford in my entire lifetime, and drove away with little fanfare.
I got into my car and started the short drive to the hotel. I arrived in a matter of moments, pulling up directly in front of room 41 and parking the car.
I exited the car hurriedly, leaving my phone on the seat, accidentally, in my haste to reach Beverly.
I knocked hurriedly, and a clearly disheveled Beverly answered the door.
And in her arms was a tiny infant wrapped up in a white hotel towel.
I came inside, dropping my purse in the chair beside the door.
“Beverly…what…how…” I stuttered.
She looked at me miserably and thrust the sleeping child into my arms before she walked to the bed and started shoving the stuff she had into a plastic sack.
I looked down at the child, smiling at the perfectness of her.
Then I looked up, startled to find Beverly marching out of the room.
“Beverly…what are you doing?” I questioned in surprise.
She looked at me, her face devoid of all emotion.
“I can’t keep her, Ms. Valentine. If I stay I’ll want to, and I can’t. I need you to take her. Hold onto her for me for a few days. After I give it a few days, I’ll come sign the papers to release her into the state’s custody. I’m sorry, Ms. Valentine. So sorry.”
With that, she left hastily and I was left gaping at the closed motel door.
Searching for my phone, I realized I left it in the car, and instead went to the desk phone.
I didn’t remember any numbers except one. Which was the only one I really needed.
***
Nico
I walked up beside Georgia’s car and glanced down at the seat.
Yep, that’s where her phone was. However, Georgia was nowhere to be seen.
She’d called me less than a half hour ago telling me she needed my help, and then had hung up with what sounded like a wailing baby in the background.
As I made my way up to the door and knocked, Georgia’s harried voice said, “Who is it?”
I wanted to laugh, but I was also proud that she’d asked instead of just yanking the door open like she usually did.
“It’s me,” I said, taking in the area.
It wasn’t that great. In fact, I hadn’t been to this motel, nor in any if the rooms, unless I was arresting someone during a hostage situation. Which happened a lot more than one would think considering this was the go to place for hookers and their johns.