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“It’s best that you don’t,” Grace said in a soothingly quiet voice while rocking Ella.
“Why?” My brows drew together.
“Because you’ll get too attached.”
“I changed my mind,” I said. “I’m keeping my baby.”
Grace frowned, and she and Winston exchanged a glance.
“I’m afraid that simply isn’t possible.” Winston gave me a firm look and motioned his wife toward the door. Grace moved away, still holding my Ella.
“No.” I tried to sit up in bed, but I was tethered to the IV pole, and I was so weak.
“The paperwork is already done,” Winston said. “It’s been decided.”
“That was before.” Tears filled my eyes. “Ella is mine.”
“Ella is a good name.” He tilted his head. “It has a certain ring to it. Ella Skellin.”
My bottom lip trembled. “She’s my daughter. Not yours.”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s incorrect. A little nothing from Southside raising a Skellin?” He wrinkled his nose. “I think not.”
My heart pounded like a war drum inside me. “You were never going to let me keep her.”
“That is correct.”
“No,” I choked out, though this was a betrayal I probably should have seen coming. “You can’t do this. I’ll fight you.”
“With what? Wishes and dreams? Your naivety?” He gave me a disdainful glance. “You’re in no position to take me on. Nor can you provide stability or financial security for a newborn.”
“But, Martin.” I tried to swallow, but my throat was too tight and dry, and it hurt too much. “The evidence.”
“I have that evidence in my possession now.” He gave me an indulgent smile. “It was brave of you to confront my son. But very careless of you to leave the evidence behind.”
“What did you do with it?” I clutched the hospital sheet to my chest.
“It’s in a safe place, and there it will remain.”
As he tugged on his jacket sleeves, the shiny platinum MWS cufflinks he wore reflected the overhead light. His eyes didn’t reflect anything. They were as cold as Martin’s were.
“As much as it pains me to acknowledge, given his recent actions, my son is a Skellin. We can’t have the Skellin name dragged through the mud.”
“What’s going to happen to Ella?” I whispered. With my world in a sudden downward spiral, she was what mattered. She had to be saved.
“She’ll be provided for,” he said. “She will be loved, I assure you. My wife will dote on her. She’ll grow up in a stable environment, just as we discussed. She will lack for nothing.”
“And me? I’m Ella’s mother.”
There was nothing for me to hold on to. I thought of Barry, of course. I longed for him, his voice, his presence, his strong arms around me. But that was over.
“There’s much more involved in being a mother than just giving birth to a child,” he said.
Winston was right. My entire body jerked as if he’d backhanded me. One of my worst fears had materialized.
“But not to worry,” he said. “I won’t turn you out on the street penniless. Grace has developed some fondness for you. You’ll be compensated. Your idea about a trust was a good one. Paperwork has been drawn up. My son will pay for it by selling Winston’s. You were right about him needing a hard lesson.”
I didn’t say thank you, though I could tell he expected it. Winston Skellin had my daughter. He had everything.
