Her phone began to buzz again and she reached for it angrily, jerking it to her ear.
“What!?” The word tore from her in an anguished shriek.
“…Gabby?”
Immediately, the young woman sobered. It was Phillip. He sounded nothing like the calm, quiet man that she knew. Instead, his voice trembled with rage and desperation. “Gabby, are you there?”
“Phillip.” She whispered, her heart beginning to race. “Phillip, what is it?”
“Tristan.” The words fell from the man’s mouth in a jumble. “He’s been arrested for intended kidnapping.”
“
What
?
”
Fingers of ice closed around Gabrielle’s throat. “That’s fucking ridiculous. Kidnapping who?”
“
Your
baby.” Phillip’s voice had turned suddenly accusatory. “The arrest warrant had Sebastian’s authorization on it. What the hell is the going on, Gabby? Has the man lost his mind?”
Jesus.
Jesus.
A sudden pain lanced through her, making Gabrielle stiffen as she gasped in discomfort. There was a gush of liquid between her legs as the floor beneath her shone with moisture. Gabby cried out in dismay. Not now! It was too early! She wasn’t ready! Another sudden pain tore through her and she groaned, clutching her phone tightly as Phillip’s shouting rang in her ears.
It couldn’t be avoided. The baby was coming now, and she was utterly, completely alone. Trembling, Gabrielle hung up on Phillip, praying that she would be able to salvage things, and dialed Doctor Bletchley, clutching her stomach tightly.
She had signed her baby over to a madwoman. Sebastian had abandoned her and her closest and dearest friend had been falsely accused and arrested. Her child was going to arrive into a world in chaos – and there was absolutely nothing she could do.
**
Sebastian stared down the hall in the direction of the foyer. He had been confined to the manor in Raithwithe for five days now and with every hour that passed, he feared more and more than something awful had befallen Gabrielle and the baby. His phone had been taken, so he had no way of reaching them, and he wasn’t allowed access televisions or computers.
He had to get out.
If he didn’t, he would lose his mind with worry.
Rising, he paced back and forth along the parlor rug. There had to be a way out he hadn’t thought of. There were giants at every doorway, but what about the windows? They were usually locked, but if he could sneak away and find even
one
unlatched…
At that moment, a knock on the front door drew his attention. He stopped mid pace to see one of his guards open it and mutter something unintelligible. The next thing he knew, the man was slumping to the floor and Sebastian’s heart leapt into his throat. The two men from the back veranda came running.
The first man was struck in the chest by a Taser and shuddered as the current coursed through his body before collapsing to the floor. The second ran right into a weighted fist, the blow stunning him before another crippling punch to the stomach had him wheezing on his knees. A brief blow to the back of the neck was all it took to ultimately dispatch the man. Sebastian gaped as the black lad figure standing over the three unconscious bodies straightened to face him with an almost bored expression.
“Amir.”
The head of guard nodded in greeting, a smirk lighting his features. “You mean to tell me you couldn’t take out these wankers on your own?”
Sebastian couldn’t help his ecstatic grin. “You took them out with a Taser. And a weighted fighting glove. Hardly comparable.” As quick as the exuberance had risen to the surface, it faded as Sebastian remembered
the woman waiting for him in London. He raced for the door, Amir falling into easy step beside him.
“Where’s Gabby?”
“At the hospital.” Amir replied curtly, ever on top of things. “She’s having a hard time of the labor and your mother’s outside the room like a bloody vulture.”
Sebastian’s heart seized. “Why?” He demanded. “What has she done?”
“No idea.” Amir returned grimly, following Sebastian down the front steps and toward the idling car. “I was
relieved
of duty yesterday morning when she arrived in London. When I didn’t want to leave my post I was
escorted
.” He scowled deeply. “We have to get you back. I don’t know what’s on with Gabrielle but I do know that Tristan’s been arrested for intended kidnapping. It’s all over the news.”
“
What?”
Sebastian skidded to a halt just outside the vehicle, his eyes round with disbelief. “Who the hell would Tristan want to kidnap?”
“The heir to the Hunter estate.” Amir’s answer was grim. “Apparently, you issued the charges.”
“
Bloody fucking hell
!” Sebastian swore, shaken to the core. He certainly hadn’t pressed any charges! He’d been locked up in Raithwithe all week.
Which could only mean one thing. His mother was responsible.
He yanked the door open, sliding into the passenger’s seat of the car. “
Drive
. Now.”
He only hoped he could make it to London before it was too late.
**
The pain was incredible. No matter how many books or pamphlets she’d read, nothing could prepare her for the agony she currently endured.
Screaming, Gabby clutched the bed as medical personnel swarmed around her.
This couldn’t be right. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
She’d been in labor for almost a full day and, despite the blinding pain that consumed her with every contraction, she didn’t seem to be progressing. For the tenth time that day, Doctor Bletchley knelt between her legs to check her dilation.
“Still only three centimeters.” Though the man’s tone had been calm enough when she’d arrived at the hospital, it seemed to grow graver and graver with every passing hour. Straightening, the dark-skinned man rounded the table to her side to take her hand, barely wincing when she proceeded to squeeze it with all her strength. “Gabrielle, your labor isn’t progressing normally. The child has breached and to continue in this manner will only cause you further discomfort and endanger the baby’s life.”
Gabby groaned loudly as another contraction consumed her. “We need to perform an emergency caesarian.”
“Yes!” She gasped almost immediately. Anything to save her baby’s life. Doctor Bletchley nodded solemnly, giving the order to make the necessary preparations. Gabby’s heart pounded as she watched him and two other nurses prepare for the surgery. She was hoisted painfully forward and injected with something that immediately began to numb her lower half.
While it was a relief to feel the pain ebbing, she was still frightened for her baby’s health. Its heart rate, the doctor had revealed to her, was unsteady. The moment the child had breached – mere hours ago – things had suddenly taken a turn for the dangerous. It was imperative that they get the child out as soon as possible.
Gabrielle’s eyes slid shut at the sight of the scalpel and immense tools they brought forward, thankful for the sheet they raised to hide her belly from her vision.
She was scared. More scared than she’d ever been in her life. She wanted Tristan and Phillip. Though he had betrayed her and cast her aside like a plaything he’d tired of, she wanted Sebastian. She just needed him to hold her and tell her that everything would be OK.
Listening to the doctor’s instructions, she tried to breathe. She couldn’t feel anything below her waist, but she knew the medical staff was working to get the baby out. The next ten minutes were the most excruciating of her existence and anxious tears flowed down her cheeks as she waited helplessly.
Then, all at once, the air was rent with a squalling cry.
Gabrielle’s eyes widened at the piercing wail, her heart stopping in her chest. It was if time itself had ceased to exist.
Reality rushed back in after mere seconds as Doctor Bletchley’s smiling face appeared over the sheet that served as the surgery partition. He extended to her a squalling, messy ball of human flesh that squirmed, its eyes tiny slits as its cries split the air. “It’s a girl.” He announced. “A healthy, beautiful baby girl.”
A choked sob escaped Gabby as the baby was placed against her breast. Her cries filled the young woman’s ears as her and perfect, soft lips undulated against her shoulder.
She was absolutely gorgeous.
Gabby clutched at her tightly, gently smoothing jet black hair from her ruddy red face. “Hello sweetie.” She cooed through her tears. “You’re so beautiful.
So
beautiful.”
“Let me through.
Let me through
!”
All at once, Gabby froze in horror as Amelia Hunter’s voice spoke over the din. Dr. Bletchley turned to the woman, his expression irate. “Lady Hunter, I believe you were told to wait
outside
.”
“I have
documents
.” The woman rebutted primly, and Gabby’s heart was rent by the sounds of ruffling pages. “Stating that this child belongs solely to the Hunter estate and forfeiting this
woman’s
,” she spat the word with disdain, “parental rights.” For a moment, silence reigned in the room as the Doctor reluctantly examined the pages presented to him.
Then, he spoke softly, slowly. “Everything seems to be in order.”
“Indeed!” The Duchess huffed, and just like that, the nurses were taking Gabrielle’s daughter from her, wrapping her in white blankets. The young woman trembled in despair, watching them place the baby in the despicable woman’s arms.
Amelia’s gaze met Gabby’s over Dr. Bletchley’s shoulder and she grinned with a kind of vicious triumph. Then, turning on her heel, she carried the baby girl from the room – and out of Gabby’s life.
The room began to swim before her eyes as her breathing rate increased. Within moments, alarms were going off from a series of machines.
“Doctor, we can’t stop the bleeding!” Gabrielle could barely make sense of the Nurse’s terse shout. She only wanted to sleep. To sleep and forget everything – Sebastian Hunter, the London Gentry and the daughter she’d never know.
Darkness swallowed her up, and she could only think that she had never been so relieved.
**
Sebastian burst into the hospital with Tristan, Phillip, and Amir on his heels. It had taken only an hour for him to make it to the police station and demand that Tristan be freed. He’d been able to prove within moments that his signature on the charges issued was a forgery, and the authorities apologized profusely – citing that they’d procured the document from a reputable source.
The Duchess of Raithwithe’s personal attorney.
Sebastian had never been so infuriated in his life. What his mother had done was a vicious, vindictive crime that sickened him. As he raced up the stairs to the maternity ward, his heart raced in his chest.
He was terrified of what he might find.
The earl skidded to a halt in the entryway of the ninth floor and stared at the vision that greeted him.
His mother stood in the center of the hallway, clutching a squalling baby and looking completely ill at ease. The moment his eyes fell on the tiny figure, Sebastian’s heart stopped. Tiny black ringlets and breathtaking gray eyes. Full lips and a tiny, perfect nose.
His child. His baby.
Slowly, he made his way towards her. When Amelia caught sight of him, she froze in place, clutching the babe to her breast. “Sebastian.” When she finally spoke, she made pains to keep her voice pleasant. “How good of you to make it!”
He knew immediately that something was amiss. Sebastian took a step towards her and the Duchess took one backwards. Immediately, his eyes narrowed in fury. “What have you done?” He demanded, seething.
“Only what needed to be done to protect our family’s reputation!” She replied breathlessly. “You don’t understand how much this child could mean for us, Sebastian.” His child’s squalling filled his ears and Sebastian’s blood boiled. “The favor of the queen! A place as England’s most lauded highborn family!”
“You conniving old cow.” Tristan snarled, taking a step towards her even as Phillip held him back.
“Give me my child” Sebastian’s voice booked no room for argument. “Now,
mother.
”
“I won’t! Not until you see reason!”
“You’re the one who needs to see reason! Have you lost your mind? Separating me from Gabrielle when she needs me the most? Posting false accusations?
You’re
the one who should be arrested for kidnapping!” His voice thundered across the floor, drawing the attention of every nurse and doctor on duty.
“I have done
nothing
wrong!” Shifting the wailing newborn to one arm almost carelessly, the woman drew a document from her jacket, waving it before his face. “She signed this! It declares our family the legal guardians of the child and forfeits all her parental rights!”
Sebastian snatched the papers from her, taking his eyes from the woman for the few seconds needed to scan the contents with widening eyes. The terms was utter madness! There was no way Gabrielle had signed.