Absolute Betrayal

by Ronni Meyrick

  “No, I don’t want to do that…I just can’t!”

  Helen stood. “Would you like to see your son?”

  When a nod was her only answer, she guided her daughter out of the room.

  “He’s with your father.”

  Claudia’s strong tanned arm linked with Stella’s, and Stella found herself being led out into the hallway. Nothing registered as she staggered along. The pain in her heart filled her body, and her head thudded with her heartbeat, making her squint with the intensity.

  They stopped in front of a plain brown door. Doctor Bourne opened it and held her arm out to indicate that Stella should enter. “Your father and son are in here. Due to him being three weeks early, I’d like to keep him overnight for observations.”

  As she walked into the room her gaze landed on her father’s tall form. His back was to them as he stood in front of a window. His soft whisper echoed as she took a tentative step forward.

  The sound of the door closing caused Thomas Williams to turn around. In his arms swathed in a fleece white blanket was the baby.

  “I don’t know if I can do this!” Stella turned and jerked toward the door. But she once again found herself unable to move as her mother and best friend grabbed hold of her arm. “Please, let me go.”

  Helen dug her heels in. “No, you need to see your baby.”

  “Please, I don’t think I can do this without Jenny.”

  “Nonsense! Your boy needs you.” Helen released Stella’s arm and took her grandson from her husband. “Please, Stella, be the mother Jen would want you to be. I know you envisioned this scene as something you’d be doing together, but unfortunately, fate had other ideas. The poor mite needs to bond with you as soon as possible.”

  Stella looked at her baby. He had Jennifer’s nose and heart shaped mouth. It felt like a kick in the teeth to look at him. The most important person in her life had been viciously stolen away from her, and their hours-old son was her spitting image.

  Helen’s patience waned, and without a second thought, she laid the little one in Stella’s arms and stepped back out of the way. “Support his head, love.”

  Stella focused on the small pale wrinkled face. The dam inside her broke, and she slid unceremoniously into a chair. Tears streamed down Stella’s face as she studied her son properly for the first time. She stroked his cheek gently and reached up to remove his hat. His hair was as black as the night, the same colour as hers.

  Claudia took a step closer and reverently ran her hand over his head. “Wow, he has the same colour hair as you.”

  Tears still ran down Stella’s cheeks she looked up at her friend. “We chose the donor to resemble me. We knew he’d have some of her features as she was carrying him, but we wanted him to have some of my attributes as well.”

  Thomas kissed his daughter on the forehead. “I’m so sorry, love.”

  She reached up with her free arm and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him down into a desperate hug. “What am I going to do, Dad?”

  He patted her back and rubbed soothing circles on it. “First, we need to give this little man a name. We can’t go around calling him Baby Williams for the rest of his life.”

  Looking down, she allowed a sad grin to grace her face. “Jen and I liked the name George.”

  Claudia placed a soft kiss on his head. “Welcome to the world, George. I’m your Aunt Claudia. I’m going to love you forever and treat you like a prince. I’m sure your mummy will be mad at me when she realises how much I intend to spoil you.” When she stood back up, tears were in her eyes. “What about a middle name?”

  “That was to be a surprise…” Stella chanced a brief glance to her parents. “His full name is George Thomas. We thought he should have one family name, so we chose to include his brilliant grandfather’s.”

  Thomas’s chest ballooned, and he stood tall and proud. A gentle smile tugged at his lips, as her tears mirrored in his eyes. “I’m honoured.”

  Her eyes once again fell on her son. “So, my little one, what are we going to do now? Without your other mummy, I’m lost. But I’ll promise you one thing, you’re going to know everything I know about her and we’ll talk about her all the time when you’re older. I could never love anyone more than I love her. I’ll try my best to raise you as she would’ve liked.”

  The family gathered around them and watched as Stella bonded with George. “We’ll help as much as we can, too.” Helen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  Stella knew it wasn’t going to be easy. While trying to raise her son correctly, she also had two successful international businesses to run and her own grief to deal with.

  How am I ever going to cope?

  Something her mother said stuck in her mind. George needed her, and no matter what, she’d make sure he had everything he would need in life.

  Chapter Two

  Seven Years Later

  The sun beat down on Stella’s face as she sat on the back patio enjoying her early morning coffee. The soothing dark liquid calmed and bolstered her for what her day held in store. Her ever-present laptop lay on the table in front of her, open and ready for any problems either of her businesses should encounter.

  An excited giggle echoed around the house, and the sound of heavy running footsteps slapped against the hardwood floor. “Mum, Mum, Mum. Look what I’ve found!”

  She placed her mug down and turned in time to catch the excited seven-year-old, George. “Hey, slow down.”

  He stared down at the floor, causing her to grin and lean down to kiss his face.

  “Now, what was so important?”

  George held a small stack of creased, slightly yellowed papers out to her. “I found these in an old suitcase in one of the rooms at the top of the house.” He separated them out across the table and pointed to one of the photos. “Is that my mum when she was younger?”

  Stella picked up the photograph of her wife a smile curled at her lips as she remembered when the picture was taken.

  “Yes, and it was only taken twelve years ago.” She did a quick calculation in her head. “She would’ve been twenty-one.”

  “Come on! Dance with me!” Jennifer raised her arms above her head and swayed her hips in time to the music.

  Stella’s eyes moved to the large event screen mounted at the side of the main stage of the festival. Her eyes squinted together, and her head shook from side to at the grunge band piping out a low bass. “It’s not really my thing, perhaps a bit later when the dance music starts.”

  Jennifer reached out, snagged Stella’s hand, and pulled her away from the tent entrance. “You only live once, baby. I know how well those hips can move and shimmy.”

  Stella rolled her eyes as she was propelled forward into a group of gyrating bodies. Jennifer joined the crowd; she turned her back to Stella and inched closer until she felt Stella’s hands on her hips and her pelvis tuck neatly against her arse. .

  “I’d do anything to make you happy, Jen.”

  Jennifer’s head rested against Stella’s right breast; she arched her head and puckered her lips. Without hesitation, Stella seized Jennifer’s lips with her own and flicked her tongue over her lips.

  “Hey, you two, smile!” Claudia jumped in front of them with her camera raised to snap a picture.

  George hopped onto her lap and took the picture from her fingers. “She’s so pretty.”

  Over the years, she’d come to see more of Jen in their son. He had a mix of both of their senses of humour but had Jen’s laugh and mannerisms. “She was, and I couldn’t have loved her any more than I did.”

  “Why didn’t she have a mum or dad?”

  Stella bit her lower lip and worried it between her teeth as she considered her words carefully. “She did. But they died when your mum was a teenager. They were involved in a horrible car crash and didn’t survive. She told me she has no other family members.”

  George seemed to consider what his mother said. She’d never denied him the knowledge of his
other mother and was happy to answer whatever questions he had about Jennifer.

  He held a yellowed piece of paper up and then unfolded it in front of them. “What does that word mean?”

  He pointed to the top of the document, and Stella squinted.

  What the hell! She did a double take and her eyes widened as she stared at it unblinkingly―it was an adoption certificate with Jennifer’s name printed at the top. How could I have missed these when I sorted through her things?

  “The word is adoption,” she finally answered after she’d gathered her wits and remembered George’s question. Her eyes scanned the document and settled on an official court stamp. The name of her adoptee was Josie Reece, named as Jennifer’s aunt. Slapping her hands on to the arms of the chair, she pushed herself up.

  “I won’t be a minute.” Her brisk stride took her to the downstairs bathroom.

  After running water into the sink, she splashed some on her face. The reflection looking back at her from the mirror was not the one she was used to. Large black circles ran under both eyes, making them appear sunken, and the skin on her face was grey in colour. Her hands formed into tight fists as her stomach rolled unpleasantly, bile rose in her throat, and made her take several deep breaths to combat the nausea.

  A loud bang sounded from the front of the house, and Claudia’s low timbre voice called out. “It’s only me.”

  Stella wiped her face on a towel and opened the door to find George waiting for her.

  George twisted the toe of his shoe on the tiled floor and didn’t look up from something he’d been entranced by on the wall. “Mum, have I done something wrong?”

  Stella shook her head. She reached for his hand and led him back into the garden. “No, son. I’m surprised, that’s all.”

  Claudia strode out onto the patio and slammed her briefcase down on the table. “Stella, we’ve got a huge problem.” She bent and kissed her godson on the forehead. “Can you give us a minute to talk, please?”

  “Okay, Auntie Claudia.”

  Stella watched him race into the house to ensure they were alone before she turned to Claudia. “What’s up?”

  Claudia took a seat then reached over and poured herself some coffee from the cafetière Stella had prepared for herself earlier. “The accountant Jen used to file her tax returns and keep her books was sent to prison a couple of months ago for defrauding the Inland Revenue, embezzlement, and being responsible for some creative accounting on behalf of some unsavoury characters.”

  Stella’s head fell into her hands. “Do I want to know who these people are?”

  Claudia shook her head from side to side. “Anyway, that’s not what I am here about. When I discovered what’d happened, I hired a new accounting company. They came in to conduct an audit on the main club last month and have only just finished. Something was picked up on.” She took a deep breath, then climbed to her feet and started to pace up and down the patio. “The minute I tell you, I know you’re going to blow up.”

  Stella pinched at her bottom lip. “Come on, spit it out!”

  Stella’s hand left her mouth, and she folded her arms across her chest and drummed her fingers impatiently on her biceps.

  Claudia cringed and took a step away from her friend. “Apart from the prior accountant, there is someone stealing funds from the main club.”

  The coffee pot and cups tipped over as Stella jumped to her feet and slapped the table hard with her hands. “For how long? Do we know who is responsible?”

  “I don’t know how to say this…but it’s been going on for over ten years. I wonder why the club was never audited. I guess they must’ve missed them by mistake.”

  Realisation smacked Stella in the face, and she sunk back into her chair.

  “Okay, we’re going to sort this out today.” Her voice was low and dangerous, and there was a murderous glint in her eye. “I need to drop George off with mum first. Then you and I are then going to the club.” Today is not going to end well for someone. “I also need you to look into something for me.”

  She picked up the document George had found and handed it to Claudia.

  “Apparently, Jen was adopted. I need you to find out everything you can about this.”

  “What!” Claudia snatched the paper from her hands and scanned it. Her eyes threatened to bulge out of her head as she read the last line. “Fucking hell, she told us she was an orphan. Her parents had died!”

  Stella stared into her friend’s eyes.

  “I know, and what makes this worse is that George was the one to find it, which is even more upsetting than the lie itself. He has questions, and to tell you the truth, he’s not the only one. Please help me to sort this mess out. I don’t want there to be any skeletons in her closet that will come out and bite me on the ass, or worse—” She closed her eyes to fight the tears that stung. “That she has family members who might try to take George from me.”

  Claudia scooted around the table and wrapped her arms around Stella. “I’d never let that happen. Anyway, you’re registered as his mother and legal guardian.” When Stella’s lips curled up in a small smile and she wiped her tears on the sleeve of her jumper, Claudia released her. Jennifer’s adoption certificate folded easily along the creases, and she slipped it into her briefcase. “I’ll have someone start the research straightaway.”

  “I appreciate it, and if you can think of anything else I can do to protect George, go ahead and do it. He must remain safe through all of this. Until we have news on that…we’ve bigger dragons to slay.” Stella picked the phone up and pressed a speed dial button. “Let me call my mum and make some arrangements for George, then we can get down to business.”

  ***

  The ride to the main club was made in silence. Stella’s blood boiled, and her stomach muscles tightened. She pulled into the first available parking bay, and they jumped out and marched towards the club entrance. As she pulled on a large bronze handle attached to the glass doors, she expected some resistance, but when it opened freely, she stumbled back. “That’s weird.”

  Claudia’s eyebrows moved close together as she frowned. “I thought the club was closed during the day.”

  The loud bass sounds pumped out and seemed to shake the building.

  “It’s supposed to be.”

  They hurried inside. Both of them tripped over their own feet and abruptly stopped, their mouths dropped open in shock at what greeted them. The dance floor was heaving, as at least forty people crowded on it, all of them swaying and gyrating to the music.

  “What the hell’s going on here?”

  Claudia scanned the unusually well-lit club and spotted a familiar face behind the bar. However, it was out of context, she would never expect to see another friend here, especially serving drinks.

  “What is she doing here?” She asked nobody in particular. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

  Stella watched as Claudia moved to the bar and beckoned the barmaid closer with a finger. The small redhead beamed a smile at Claudia that lit up the place. Yet, as Claudia spoke the woman’s face fell. Claudia pointed in her direction, and she watched the woman’s eyes bulge.

  Claudia walked back to Stella and motioned with her head towards a set of stairs that led up to a gangway that served as an entrance hall to the offices. “Naomi is up there.”

  Stella was intrigued, and her unwavering gaze settled on the woman at the bar once again. “Who was that?”

  “Her name is Carly Martin, and she’s an old friend of the family. I didn’t know she was employed here. But I haven’t seen her in six months. Apparently, she’s been too busy working to call me.”

  Stella led them up the gangway to the manager’s office. When they reached the door, she thumped once on it, then pushed it open.

  The club manager, Naomi Crawford, sat behind a large black glass desk. Her head of short black curls was down, and she never once looked up as they entered, she was too preoccupied in her task, cutting up long neat lines of white po
wder on the desktop with a razor. A purple twenty-pound note was rolled up next to her free hand, the fingers of which twitched towards it.

  Stella swore under her breath as she strode across the room and swept her hand angrily over the desktop and scattered the powder to the floor. Her hand grasped the front of Naomi’s purple shirt, and with a Herculean heave she pulled Naomi’s small frame across the glass and threw her onto the floor.

  “Get the fuck out of my club now!”

  “Stella!” Naomi stumbled to her feet and backed up toward the exit. “What…what are you doing here?”

  Claudia grabbed Naomi by the collar of her shirt and dragged her to the door. “You heard the lady, get out, and don’t come back.”

  “Claudia, apart from the staff, everyone else downstairs needs to leave. I want to question our employee’s one by one. Someone’s going to tell me what the fuck has been happening here.”

  Stella moved to the other side of the desk and sat in the large high-back leather chair. She reached down to open one of the drawers, and when she saw its contents, she slammed it shut quickly.

  “Don’t let her leave! Find something or somewhere to restrain her, and call that pal of yours who works for the drug squad. I want them here as soon as possible!”

  A fast-loud knock sounded on the door, and it swung open. Claudia’s friend from the bar walked in carrying a tray of cups and a pot of coffee. “Sorry to interrupt, I thought you might like some coffee.”

  Stella stood and took the tray from her then extended her hand. “Thank you, I was going to ask Claudia to ring down for some. It’s nice to meet another of Claudia’s friend’s.”

  Carly shook her hand in return. “Likewise, I hoped I would one day get to meet you.”

  “Is the cellar door here still lockable from the outside?” Stella released Carly’s hand and moved to stand next to Claudia. Carly’s eyes narrowed as she frowned, but she bobbed her head up and down. “Excellent! Claudia, throw her arse in there until your friend arrives. They can deal with her.”