Page 87 of Justice Denied

Dolores blotted her cheeks with a fresh tissue. “You still don’t know the identity of the person who stole all that money?”

“Not yet.” Emily’s cell rang, and she picked it up, hoping it was Jetta. But an unfamiliar number flashed on the screen, sending her pulse skyrocketing. “I’m sorry, I need to get this.”

“I’ll leave. Thank you for seeing me. If you find out anything, please let me know.”

“Will do.” Emily waved goodbye as she swiped to answer. “Hello?”

“Ms. Ainsley, this is Officer Brody. Is your daughter with you?”

“Jetta? No, she’s not, and I’ve been trying to reach her for more than an hour.” Emily gripped the phone tighter.

“We found your daughter’s phone on the sidewalk outside of Topher Robotics but no sign of her.”

Emily pushed herself to an upright position in the bed. “Is Seth Whitman around?”

“Was he on the Topher campus too?”

“He was. He went with Jetta to the shareholders meeting, although he couldn’t attend since he doesn’t own shares. Please, you must find my daughter. She’s close to nine months pregnant and under a lot of stress.”

“We will do everything we can to find her, ma’am. We’ll be in touch as soon as we know something. If you hear from her, please call this number.”

Emily thanked the officer and disconnected. Hugging the phone to her chest, she prayed for Jetta’s safety, for her unborn baby, and for Seth. That young man would do everything in his power to keep her daughter safe. She prayed her daughter would give her fear about making a mistake with Seth over to God and see what a fine man Seth was, one who Emily believed was very suited to be Jetta’s helpmate. Seth would love Jetta’s baby as his own and never hold its conception against the child or her daughter.Please God, help Jetta to see Seth for the man he is, and keep them both safe.

After praying, she reviewed her conversation with Dolores. Something had jogged a memory of Jay muttering to himself a few weeks before he died. What was it? Then it came to her in the proverbial flash of remembrance.They’ve been discounting her for years. She’s flown right under their radar.

And with that memory, Emily knew who had taken the money. She had no proof, but FinCEN had the authority to dig deep into the person’s finances. She found the FinCEN contact and dialed, praying her hunch would pay off and this nightmare would soon be over.

* * *

Jetta shiftedin her seat as the pain built in her belly. She huffed out small breaths, willing the fake contractions to go away. Her doctor had said stress could bring them on, and she’d certainly had a stressful day. But the contractions lasted longer than they had previously and seemed at regular intervals.

Wetness dampened her jeans. She peed her pants? Then realization struck. It wasn’t urine but amniotic fluid. Her water had broken.

She was in labor.

In a car in the middle of nowhere.

Alone.

“Jetta?”

Not totally alone.

Seth touched her arm. She sucked in a breath as another contraction hit her, this one stronger and longer. How many minutes had passed since the last one? She struggled to remember but couldn’t seem to catch hold of a thought as the pain ripped through her body.

“You’re in labor. I’m pulling over.”

She wanted to argue, but the tightening of her stomach yanked her attention back to the baby, who apparently was ready to come several weeks early. She most certainly wasn’t ready, not when she hadn’t decided what to do once baby arrived.

Then managing the indescribable pain of the contraction took all of her concentration. She bit back screams while scrambling to remember what the nurse had said during the online birth classes she’d taken. Short breaths? No breaths? How could she breathe anyway?

When her muscles relaxed, she noticed Seth had stopped. Panic clawed at her throat. She couldn’t give birth in some stranger’s SUV in the middle of nothing. “Where are we?” An inane question, given she really didn’t care, but she needed to talk about anything other than what was happening inside her body.

“The Loudoun County Fairgrounds.”

This being late September and evening, no one would be around. It was just her and this baby she wasn’t sure she wanted, and Seth, the man she did want but kept pushing away for his own good.

Jetta yelped as a contraction shuddered through her body, doubling her over. She clutched her stomach, the pain all she could think about, all she could experience. As the contraction lessened its hold on her, Seth’s voice registered.

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