Smashwords (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, iPad, Adobe Digital Reader, PDF, etc.)
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To catch up on the story:
Part 1
Part 9
The next installment:
Part 11
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Disgraced, Amanda’s father rubbed his head in his hands and stared at the floor. He couldn’t believe she had done it. And all for what? He shook his head in disgust.
Weak. He’d always known she was weak.
I should have never taken her in, he thought and his mind wandered back to the beginning. He saw her. Her small, dirty face mixed in with all the other orphans. She wore shabby clothes, her little dress patched and re-patched. Her hair flew out at all angles in complete disarray.
“Ariana,” said the headmaster in Russian. “Her name is Ariana. We are so glad you’ve come for her.”
He’d gotten the distinct impression the headmaster was acting. He’d have given her away to anyone who asked.
“Ariana!” the headmaster called out. The little girl looked up when she heard his voice. Her face was sticky with food and dirt and snot. She sniffled. “I’m afraid she has a bit of a cold. Nothing a little rest won’t solve,” he’d continued.
The little girl named Ariana walked over, stood in front of him, and stared.
“Ariana, you’re going with Mr. Edward to live,” he’d said to her. She’d only blinked.
“Mrs. Peabody?” the headmaster barked. At his words, a stout older woman in a brown skirt and floral apron rounded the corner.
An English nanny in a Russian orphanage. It was unusual.
“Mrs. Peabody,” he’d repeated, “This is Master Edward. He’s adopting Ariana. Can you take them to the office?”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Amanda’s voice cut into his thoughts and he glanced up. Her face was flushed with success. “Now you know what it’s like to have it all taken away.”
“Why?” he asked. “Why did you do this? What is the child to you?”
Amanda shrugged. “She was mine. It’s that simple. You had no right.”
“But I know what will happen, it happened to me,” and he gazed in her eyes. She was impossible to read. He’d trained her well. “One minute you’re free and the next you’re tied down. You always have to look back, to be extra careful.”
“Was that SO bad?” she said angrily. “You’d rather not have had me. Is that it?” She was beginning to shout.
“Amanda! Watch your volume.”
“Why? Who cares anymore? I’ve never had a father, whoever you are.” With that, she produced the paper taken from the limousine and shoved it into his face. “You’ve gotten soft. It was so EASY to take this. I knew I wasn’t yours. I’ve always known it.”
He reached up and took the paper from her grasp. It crinkled between his fingers.
“Where is Yvette?” she demanded. “You owe me that. I want her back.”
“There is no getting her back,” he said. “It’s too dangerous, even for you. You couldn’t possibly do it alone.”
“She’s not alone.”
Looking up, behind Amanda stood the fellow who’d blocked the door.
“She has me, and you’re going to help us get her back.”
“Now why would I do that?” Sarcastic, he leaned back in the chair. “I have no reason now.”
“You’ll do it. You’ll do it because then I’ll be out of your life forever. You never cared for me, whoever I am, and I don’t even care about that. I only care about Ivy.”
“Where will you take her?” he asked. His voice was snide.
“You let us worry about that,” Paul said.
Amanda shoved a cell phone into his face. “Make the call,” she said. “NOW!”
Reluctant, he took the phone and began to dial. “This is a mistake,” he mumbled, but his fingers kept pressing the buttons. “You really do not know what you’re in for.”
The ringing on the other end persisted for a few seconds and a male voice with a thick, Russian accent answered.
“It’s me, Edward,” he said smoothly. “I need to make you a business deal.”
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Suzanne
Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA
Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.
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