“Me?” My eyes snap open wide, if it’s about me then I really am panicked. “What is it?”
Ann hands me her cell phone which is opened to a newspaper app. There, my eyes run over the story which makes me feel sicker by the moment. Not only is there an absolutely dreadful picture of me accompanying the story, but there’s also terrible words written about me. My name is being dragged through the dirt.
“Gold digger?” I ask Ann. “They think that I’m a gold digger who ticked Tony into having a baby.”
“But then further on the asshole goes on to say that you knew about the bullshit money scam the whole time and you sent him back to England while you were pregnant to sort out the scam.” Ann tosses her hands in the air in frustration. “So, which is it? Are you a gold digger, or a scam artist with him?”
“I’m… I’m neither.” Does she honestly believe that?
“Oh, I know. I just mean that they haven’t even read this story before printing it. Sorry, Natasha, I didn’t mean for it to come across like I don’t trust you. I know that neither you or Tony would do this.” She believes in her son. Of course she does. What did I expect? “That isn’t really the issue. What I wanted to show you was the quote. It will be hard for you to read, but I think that you need to see it before you hear it from anyone else.”
She points and I scan my eyes downwards to where she’s pointing. What I see makes my heart stop beating. It’s a nasty quote about me given from my own mother. She’s letting the whole world know that she has disowned me because of my choices. This isn’t just a family argument anymore, this is out there for the world. Okay, so it’s only the local news, but it feels national to me when it’s out there in the world.
“Fuck.” I drop Ann’s phone on the bed, unable to look at it anymore. “This is too much.”
“I’m so sorry, Natasha, I didn’t mean to wake you up with this, I just think you should know.”
She reaches out and hugs me hard, holding me to her chest, and I sob against her. Everything that has happened with my family bringing us to this point all comes to a head. I can’t believe that my mother hates me enough to do this to me. Just because I have acted in a way that she doesn’t consider acceptable. That isn’t parenting.
“I’m going to call Tony’s lawyer,” Ann finally says with a snap to her tone. “He’s going in to meet him today for the very first time, so I will see if he can sort something out for us. He can’t stop the story from being out there now, but surely he can print a retraction or something like that.”
I don’t know if that is going to help things, but Ann is the sort of person who needs to take action to feel like she’s helping so I’m more than willing to let her go along with it. See what she can do.
She heads off with her cell phone and starts talking frantically to someone on the other end of the phone. I tune out so I don’t need to hear what she’s saying while I think about the perfect life that I had for just a moment before it all came crashing down yet again. When Tony asked me to move in here, I didn’t think I would be living here alone. Or with Ann at the moment anyway. When I saw the nursery, I didn’t think that it would be able to bring me sadness. I never thought that our happy ever after would be taken away yet again.
A pain bolts through my stomach, a little bit like heart break, which brings my knees up to my chest. I bite down on my bottom lip, so I don’t cry out while Ann is on the phone. The last thing she needs is some drama from me. I want her to focus on the lawyer, who’s supposed to be an amazing one, and getting the best out of him. If he can do anything at all to help me and Tony, then he’s all good by me.
But what if he can’t? What if Tony gets locked away in England and there isn’t a damn thing that we can do about it? Or, even worse, what if he’s guilty…? No, he can’t be. Ann doesn’t think so and to be honest I don’t either. I have tried to be rational about it, to consider it from every angle, but I don’t think Tony is a bad person.
God, I wish that I could go to England too, to be there for Tony. If this were happening at any other time, I would be able to be a big part of the trial, but I just can’t. I can’t fly this pregnant, nor with a young baby.
“Okay, the lawyer is going to see what he can do.” Ann nods satisfied for now. “He hasn’t made any wild promises, which I’m glad about because they don’t ever pan out, but he said that he’s going to see what he can do. He is very sympathetic about what’s happened to you, it’s awful.”
I can’t answer. The pain is back and worse than ever. Thank god I’m in bed. I don’t want Ann to see me like this. I nod and draw my knees up higher, but actually that’s making it much worse now.
“Natasha, are you okay? You look really pale. Do you need a drink of water or something?”
“Yes,” I rasp out. “Water. Yes, I need water.”
I don’t know if water will help right now, but it has to be better than nothing. Ann eyes me suspiciously as she backs out of the room, but I’m glad when she’s gone because it means I can feel the agony in peace.
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter, rolling on to my side. This is worse than the heart break now, so much worse. It’s so painful that it makes me feel sick. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, oh my god.”
My breath is stolen, I can hardly get any air into my lungs at all, it leaves my head spinning. I press my face into the pillow and finally let the scream out.
“Oh god, Natasha,” Ann gushes as she re-enters the room. “Natasha, are you okay?”
“The pain!” I cave and admit the truth as I roll on to my back. “It’s too much.”
“That sounds like a contraction, Natasha. I think you’re in labor.”
“No, no, no, I can’t be in labor. The press are still out there. I can’t do this now.”
“You don’t have any choice. If you’re in labor, we’re going to have to think about getting to the hospital.”
“No, we can’t!” I scream out as the agony rockets through me once more. “We have to stay here.”
But as I try to push out of the bed to see if standing helps the pain, something unexpected happens. A puddle of coldness spreads between my legs, leaving me breathless all over again.
“What just happened?” I ask Ann fearfully. “Am I dying? Did I wet myself?”
“That’s your water’s breaking, sweetie. This is happening fast. Worryingly so. We need to get to the hospital right now. Screw the press, there isn’t any choice.”
This is all wrong, not how I’m supposed to be giving birth at all. It should be all calm and nice with Tony by my side, not in jail. I should be excited to go to the hospital, not scared of the reporters. This is all wrong, but I can’t do anything to change it now. My son doesn’t know what’s right or wrong and he’s coming now!
“Okay,” I nod, finally giving in. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you worry,” Ann tries her hardest to reassure me. “I’m here. You aren’t alone. You’ll be fine.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tony
Being taken to meet the lawyer that my mother has hired for me isn’t the relieving experience that I expected it to be. As I’m taken from my cell to have my first meeting, it all just feels a lot more real. If the lawyer is here, then there isn’t any chance of this whole thing being dropped as they realize Ben and Cole are to blame.
I hang my head low, sighing sadly as I’m taken into the room with a sharply dressed guy who I can immediately tell means business. Mom said that she’d hired the best of the best, and it seems like that’s correct.
“Hello, Tony.” He holds out his hand to me for me to shake. “My name is Joseph Brock.”
“Hi.” I take his hand, trying to keep as upbeat as I can be. “Nice to meet you, Joseph Brock.”
“Yes, it’s good to meet you too, although I do wish that it was under better circumstances. I have been examining your case, and it seems that your signature was used fraudulently to steal money?”
Finally, someone believes me! “Yes, that’s exactl
y it. It was either Ben or Cole from the office…”
“Well, I’m not here to name suspects with you, just to work on getting you off.”
“But surely, you can’t do that without knowing who really did it?” I insist. “That makes no sense.”
I want to smack him hard, to make him understand what seems completely obvious to me. I need him to understand the logical path of things, to know who did it. I want those bastards to be locked up instead of me. I also want them to pay back all the money they stole, or my father’s memory will be tarnished forever. He hasn’t done anything but good. He passed away through no fault of his own, none of this is right.
I need to discover a way to make it right for him. He deserves this from me. He should be remembered well.
“Don’t you worry about how I’m doing my job. You just worry about doing what you need to do.”
I nod silently, wondering if this is right. It feels a bit too slick, almost like a business arrangement. Now I’m not too sure if he does really believe me or if he’s just doing it for the money… but does that matter? Isn’t that what lawyers are there for? I guess they always have to support who they are paid for.
“Okay, so I guess you just need to tell me what to do then. I will just… wait and see.”
“Look, Tony, I understand your attitude, but it doesn’t have to be one or the other. We can work together.”
I nod slowly. “Okay, yes, sorry. I don’t mean to fight it, I’m just very frustrated here. I’ve been taken away from my pregnant girlfriend who could have the baby any minute for something that I haven’t done.”
“I get that. I’m sorry, I know that this must be hard, and the legal system can be very slow…”
“And I have to go to England!” I rake my fingers through my hair angrily. “How long is that going to take?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer for that right now. As soon as I do, I will tell you.”
“Argh, this is so annoying. I just want to go home. I want to be with Natasha. How long do you think it will take? And what do you think are my chances of getting out of this? At any point? Because I have to admit that the longer I sit in that cell, the more hopeless I feel. I’m scared I will really go to jail for this.”
“Well, if you do, I estimate that the maximum sentence you’ll get is twenty years.”
“Twenty years?” I exclaim in shock. “You aren’t serious? I can’t lose that amount of time…”
“I will work as hard as I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. That’s what I’m here for after all.”
“But you can’t guarantee it, can you? You can’t be certain that I will be fine.”
“Your signature is on those documents. It’ll be hard to prove that wasn’t you. Unless there’s a confession.”
I snort angrily. “I really don’t think either of those guys are going to confess.”
“You don’t know what will happen. The English police are investigating everyone in the business. You don’t know what they will find in their searches. If it is these men you’ve suggested, then there might be a trail.”
“But they have gotten away with it for an annoyingly long time. I don’t like the odds. Nor do I like being completely out of control here. I don’t know what’s going on and that’s so hard.”
“I will do my best to make sure you are kept in the loop,” Joseph insists with a reassuring smile on his face. “Now that I have been hired for your case, I will be in touch a lot. With you and your mother.”
“So, you can also tell me what’s going on at home? Because it’s hard for me to find out.”
“I can certainly share relevant information with you, yes.”
He answers that so carefully it makes me very nervous. Will I have to rely on his judgement when it comes to what he deems ‘relevant information’? I hope that means the baby too. That has to be relevant.
“Okay, that makes sense. Fair enough. Relevant information.”
“Right. I’m just going to get out my files to go through some information with you.”
As he turns around to open his brief case, his cell phone rings. The sound is so weird and echoing in here, it almost hurts my ears. Much to my surprise he answers the call.
“Hello? Uhuh, yes, right, okay.” He speaks quickly and quietly. “Right, I see.”
He turns to face me as he hangs up the phone, showing me his face has gone a little pale. I can already see that call had something to do with me before he even speaks so I brace myself preparation.
“Erm, Tony, your mother called just then.” He sits up straighter, looking a little shifty.
“My mom?” Why can’t he meet my eyes? This is freaking me out. “What happened?”
“Well, it’s about Natasha actually. She has been taken to the hospital. She’s actually in labor.”
“In labor?” The world falls out from underneath me, everything spins and twists and turns. The foundation that my life has been built upon vanishes. “She’s having the baby right now.”
I hate missing this moment, it really isn’t fair. The image of her in the agony of child birth has me tortured. If I’d known this was going to happen, then I wouldn’t have read up so much about the birth process. I wanted to be prepared but now I can just use that to make me feel ill. I can’t actually help one bit. I’m stuck here in these fucking god damn four walls without a clue as to what’s going on. This isn’t right!
“Oh my god, is she okay?” I ask pointlessly because he isn’t going to be able to answer that, is he?
“I don’t know. All I can really do is let you know when I have more information. But right now, we need to go over these files.” He spots the furious expression on my face. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you need to focus on getting yourself out of here so you can actually be there for your baby.”
I hate to admit it, but he might be right. It’s hard to get out of this hot headed position where all I can think about is Natasha being in labor without me. There isn’t anything I can do to change that, and at least it seems like my mother is there. I’m sure Tara will be as well. She isn’t alone. So, what I need to do is focus.
“Okay, right.” I shake my head hard. “I will focus. Just tell me what you need to do.”
He lays the papers out in front of me and cocks an eyebrow. “As you can see, we have a lot to get through.”
I need to see this as a good thing, as the distraction that I so desperately need, and if we need to do a lot then there’s a good chance Joseph will still be here when he gets anything from my mom, and I need that. I won’t be able to sleep without anything to hold on to. I would like to think that the jailers will tell me when they hear anything. That has to be part of my human rights, doesn’t it? But I can’t be sure. Especially since they’re trying to get information from me. It may well be used as a tool, I have no idea how these things work.
* * *
By the time Joseph leaves, I head back to my cell with my head all over the place. I don’t have any more information. Even after caving to me begging and contacting my mother, she didn’t pick up the phone – probably because she’s mad busy – and there wasn’t any way that he could stay until he has news. Labor can last hours or even days, so now I just have to sit here and stew at how unfair the world is.
“Fuck!” I cry out while smacking my palm against the wall. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
This is god damn torture. Worse than any of the rumors that you hear about. If I had anything to confess to, I would do it just to get out of here. I’m half tempted to confess to what I haven’t done just for an escape. Not that I would because then they definitely won’t let me out. Here or in the UK. I’ll be locked up forever.
I’m here for you, Natasha, I think desperately, hoping that my message is getting to her somehow. I’m here in whatever way I can be, I’m thinking of you. Praying that you’re okay.
“Compton!” I’m shaken from my stupor as someone calls my name. “You got a call.�
��
“A call?” I can’t just ‘get a call’. This has to be news. “Who is it?”
He indicates for me to follow him, so I do, my heart racing the whole time. I grab the phone as soon as I get the chance to do so, the link to the outside world so needed that I can’t let it go.
“Hello?” I gasp, my pulse pounding in my chest as I do, smashing against my rib cage.
“Hi, Tony, it’s me.” Mom’s voice nearly sets me off. I’d cry if I wasn’t in prison. “I just wanted to let you know that your baby has been born. A boy, obviously, you already knew that. Seven pounds two ounces.”
“What does he look like?” I whisper, dying even more inside because I’m not there. “What’s his name?”
“I will let Natasha fill you in on all the details. She wants to write you a letter and send you a photo before you go off to England. She won’t be able to visit with him until he’s had all of his shots, and you’ll probably be gone by then, but your family will be waiting for you when you come back proven to be the innocent man that you are.” Her words make the tears fall out of my control. Half over the moon that everything is okay, half devastated that I can’t be there. “We all believe in you, Tony, and we’re all thinking of you.”
I grip the phone tighter to my ear. “I’m thinking of you all too. I love you all. Will you kiss Natasha and my baby for me? Let them know how much I wish that I could be there with them.”
“Soon enough, you will be. Don’t you worry about that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Natasha
“Hello, little man,” I murmur quietly to my boy’s ear. As I hold him close to my chest, the love that I feel for this boy is boundless. It has no end. I know that he will always be the most important thing to me. “I need to give you a name, don’t I? I wish that your daddy was here to do that with me, but I don’t know when he will be again, and I can’t leave you nameless forever. You know, the funny thing is, me and your father never got around to discussing names. I bet most parents do before their baby is born. But we didn’t exactly have a normal road…”
Lucky in Love Page 14
