Page 91 of Guarded from Treachery

“Day has a large property outside of Dallas. With a guest house. And inside—” Anger darkens Dante’s gaze. “There were women being held against their will. Pregnant women.”

Bile burns my throat. “Were they… Did Remington…”

“Remington and Day. Yes. The three captives said they discovered they were pregnant much like you did. But they were abducted soon afterwards. And they confirmed that several other women had already given birth over the last few months. Women who disappeared close to delivery and never came back.”

God. That could have easily been me.

And those poor women—the ones held captive and the ones who?—

Tears spring to my eyes. Pressure builds in my chest.

Matt glances at me, his features softening with concern. “Isles? Do you need a break?”

“No.” I shake my head quickly. “I want to hear everything.” Turning back to Dante, I ask, “How did they choose us? Why me?”

Dante glances at Matt with his eyebrows raised in silent question.

“Dante.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m right here. Don’t ask Matt if it’s okay.”

Twin spots of pink ruddy Dante’s cheeks. “Sorry, Isla. You’re right.” He pauses before adding, “One of the doctors arrested gave the FBI all the details. The women were chosen because of their… unique characteristics and talents. A genius IQ. Heterochromia. Musical talent. Or?—”

“Violet eyes like Isla’s,” Matt interjects. He glowers as he continues, “Of course, Isles would attract attention.” He turns to me. “Not just your eyes. But you’re beautiful. Smart. Talented.”

“I’m not,” I retort. “I’m just an estate manager. Or at least, I used to be. But that’s nothing special.”

“You’rebeautiful,” Matt repeats. “And you have a gorgeous voice. I know you didn’t perform, but it wasn’t a secret. People could have heard you at church. Or your music teacher could have innocently mentioned something.”

“Matt’s right,” Dante adds. “According to the doctor, the women were selected based on client requests. Day and Remington had a database of women. And when one of them matched up with what a client wanted, that’s when the woman was impregnated and subsequently abducted.”

Matt looks like he’s about to explode. “So these assholes targeted women so they could steal their babies? For some fucked up black market adoption ring?”

A shudder runs through me. Despite Matt’s obvious anger, he hugs me closer and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

Dante’s expression shadows. “From what Cruz said, yes. The goal of the entire operation was to”—he stops and shoots me an apologetic look—“create custom babies for their clients. Clients who would pay millions to have the exact baby they wanted.”

My hand comes to my belly protectively. “But why not just do IVF? And surrogates? Why all of this?”

Before Dante can answer, Matt jumps in. “Because they aren’t guaranteed to find the perfect donor by just going through clinic databases. And it’s more complicated once you have rules and ethics thrown into the mix. Remington and Day didn’t care about doing the right thing. All they cared about was the money and damn the consequences.”

“But…” My thoughts are scattered in a hundred directions. It’s almost too crazy to believe, even though I’ve spent hours contemplating all the possible reasons why this was happening to me. “I don’t understand,” I finish weakly. “They just saw me and decided I was a good pick to carry a baby for them?”

“We don’t know how they found you,” Dante replies. “Not yet. But we do know that Remington offered you the job with the intent to get you on his property. To make it easier to impregnate you. And to make you disappear once the pregnancy was confirmed. That’s why he offered you the guest house. But when he died, it ruined their plans. You moved out before you could be taken into captivity. So Day had to scramble to try and get you back.”

Each revelation is like another kick in my gut. “So it’s all because I took the job offer? If I hadn’t—” My voice cracks.

Matt brushes his finger across my cheek and it comes away wet. “I’m so sorry.”

I swallow hard a few times as I sniff back my tears. “So they got me there and changed my medication so I’d be more likely to get pregnant.” Another swallow. “But… what about the sperm donors? Did they know what was going on?”

Did I think Matt looked mad? Now he looks murderous. “I’ll ruin them,” he growls. “If they don’t end up in jail, I’ll make them wish they were.”

“I don’t think so,” Dante tells me. “From what Cruz said, the men were recruited by Milton Oaks and paid for their donation. They were led to believe it was all legitimate.”

Matt starts, “And do they know who Isla’s?—”

“I don’t want to know.” It’s quick. Loud. Adamant. “I don’t want to know,” I repeat. “Whoever it is, they’re just some person who sold their sperm.”

“But their medical history…”

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